Halloween 2010

Ziggy

Hannah, Marley and Paloma

Crawford

A Very Special Wish

This great, big, virtual steak is for Ziggy, Patriot, Jasper, Loki, Crawford and Paloma to help them celebrate their 2nd birthday. I know some of you are relieved there will be no loud presents in the mail this year!!  

You have made us proud! You have grown into obedient, loving and talented Vizslas! In this last year, you have earned three Junior Hunter titles and one Championship. Two of you have enjoyed hunting trips and adventures with your men. Two of you have enjoyed the thrill of agility and seem to like it quite a bit. Two of you have mastered the art of air travel. All of you are some of the best looking Vizslas on the planet!

We love you and look forward to the stories of how you celebrated your birthday. We hope you will send pictures.

Congratulations and we wish you another year of fun and success -

Marc, Audrey, Marley and Hannah

New Champion

UPDATE: It's official!!  Loki's AKC Championship was approved mid-September. He was moved to Best of Breed for the Saturday Longview-Kelso Show and was Select Dog which earned him his first major (4 points) towards his Grand Championship.

Pending AKC recording and approval, we are proud to announce that Loki finished his Championship by going Best of Winners at the Trail's End Vizsla Club of Oregon's 2010 Specialty.

Thank you, Steve and Jamie, for letting Loki come out to play show dog.  Suzanne really had fun showing him to his championship and I enjoyed having him around the house from time to time.

From the Show Ring to the Field - Loki gets two pheasants on opening day on Sauvie Island. Steve says "He not only looks good but he can hunt, too!!"

Congratulations Loki!!

We've Been Just A Little Busy . . .

Around here, it's show time! 

June 26th, Clackamas Kennel Club, Canby, OR - Catch A Fire's Autumn Prairie Wind JH, Paloma, went Winner's Bitch for 2 points - her very first ones!

July 3rd, Mt Bachelor Kennel Club, Redmond, OR - Catch A Fire's Loki Haust JH, Loki, went Winner's Dog and Catch A Fire's Autumn Prairie Wind JH, Paloma, went Winner's Bitch/Best of Winners, each earning one point.

July 4th, Mt Bachelor Kennel Club, Redmond, OR - Catch A Fire's Loki Haust JH, Loki, went Winner's Dog/Best of Winners for one point. Catch A Fire's Autumn Prairie Wind JH, Paloma, went Winner's Bitch for 0 points (not a big enough entry to earn one point without going Best of Winners.)

July 18th - Nisqually Kennel Club, Lacey, WA - Catch A Fire's Loki Haust JH, Loki, went Winner's Dog for 2 points.

July 24, 2010 - Stumptown Kennel Club, Portland, OR - Catch A Fire's Loki Haust, Loki, went Winner's Dog/Best of Winners for a 4 point major.

And, it's official now - Jasper, Patriot and Paloma all have Junior Hunter (JH) after their names! 

Congratulations to everyone!

New AKC Junior Hunters (pending posting results)

Marc and I took Paloma and Patriot up to Scattercreek, a hunting area between Rochester and Maytown, WA,  June 19th and 20th, 2010.  Marc jokingly kidded that Father's Day was cancelled this year because he would be running dogs. 

The Washington Brittany Club and the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Washington held their Hunt Tests on both days which meant there were four chances for each of them to earn their JH titles.  Patriot already had two legs from the Irish Setter Club of Washington's tests at the beginning of May and only needed two more but, Paloma needed all four.  The weather was nice when we arrived at the field but by the time it was Marc's brace with Patriot, it had started to rain. And, not just rain, it was pouring. Nevertheless, Marc came out of the field with a smile on his face - Patriot had done well. We broke for lunch and then returned to the southern field for Marc and Paloma's brace. Again, the rain came down.  I would love to be able to give you a "bird by bird" account but I wasn't in the field.  All I know is that both dogs found their birds and pointed them for both tests. Patriot finished at the GSP HT and was awarded a big triple ribbon from Char Benedict, GSP HT secretary. The judges on Saturday were Joe Waitman, Mark Sherman, Peggy Tucker and Meg Eden.  

Sunday morning was a little more dramatic. I had estimated we wouldn't be on the line until 9:30am but Kirsten called at 8:20am to let us know we had 25 minutes to get from the hotel in Tumwater to the line. We made it in 15 with plenty of time to spare. Paloma ran first and I wasn't sure she was going to qualify but she proved me wrong, finding and pointing her birds. Marc ran Patriot for good measure since he finished his qualifying legs the day before.  We broke for lunch and returned to the northern field and camp.  The braces became skewed as people finished their dogs and scratched them from the run list. Marc and Paloma were moved up to second brace and he would run back to back with Patriot in the third.  Paloma found two birds and finished her JH at the Brittany of Washington's test.  Hunt Test secretary, Jodi Pollack, awarded Paloma her three ribbon rosette.  Patriot did well, ran big and followed a bird to the staging area where a guy picked it up and was holding it. With everyone's back turned to him, Patriot responded to Marc whistling him back on course. He went on to find another bird before time was called.  Patriot ended the weekend with six qualifying legs.  

Finishing Paloma and Patriot's AKC Junior Hunter titles was an exciting Father's Day present for Marc. He was extremely stoked at how well both Paloma and Patriot did in the field.  They still need lots of fine tuning and if they were to move on to a higher level, they would need plenty more training. We'll just have to see but for now, it's time to get into the show ring.

Catch A Fire's Autumn Blaze aka Jasper

Jasper earns his AKC Junior Hunter title at the end of May 2010. 

Brian writes: "Roy and I left Friday morning, the 21st, and drove 12 hours to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The hunt test started the next morning at 7 am at a location that was about a 20 minute drive from Sioux Falls.  Of course, it was raining as we drove to the course, but by the time the junior braces were called at about 10 am, it was just overcast and windy.  The course for the test was different from any of the others we had run this year.  Instead of a front course, a clearly marked bird field, and a back course, this one was laid out as one long course with a continuous bird field.  The juniors were to run the same course as the senior and master levels but they were not in the field as long.

Roy and I were somewhat apprehensive about that arrangement at first, but it ultimately provided the dogs with plenty of opportunities to find birds.  On Saturday, Jasper ran well  and was not hampered by the strong wind.  He covered the course well, circling back whenever he caught scent and narrowing his search area until he was on the bird.  He had two finds in the first half of the course and although he wasn't as steady on his points for as long as I had hoped for, it was good enough for a pass.  I ended up being very thankful for his performance, though, especially since his brace mate went birdless.   Kaari also passed on Saturday, so the pressure was off for all of us on the first day.  Roy and I had two new junior hunters!"

Congratulations Brian and Jasper! 

The Puppies' Grandsire

This is a photo I received from Siskel's owner, Nancy. It was taken last Saturday at the Vizsla Club of Northern California's Specialty. Nancy entered him in the Veteran Class - he didn't win but he and Nancy sure had a good time. Everyone enjoyed seeing him and couldn't believe he was already 13!  I hope you enjoy "meeting" the puppies' grandsire and his owner, Nancy. 

Take care -