ella’s husband announced! and, yay!!! SUPER yay!
This has been a while in coming, and sorry to tease, but the ducks needed to be lined up first. It was hard to wait, as I am thrilled to be able to use this dog. I think he will do a lot for Ella, and can’t wait to see what they make.
So, anyone recognize him? He’s only a year old in this picture.
But he’s been around for a little while. 😉
Yep, it’s Nicky. He is shown below from his Veteran win at the National.
(photo stolen from Kathy’s Facebook page)
For those of you who aren’t familiar with him, this is CH Phi-Vestavia Neon Black, aka Nicky, owned by Kathy Schwabe of Xtacee Cardigans. Bet that litter theme really makes sense now. 😉
Those who saw him at the National were, like me, impressed by how well he got around the ring at 11+ years old. I overheard many on the sidelines whispering, “Wow. He looks amazing.” He can still move. I am delighted to have a dog who looks this good at this age as the poppa of Ella’s babies. The DM and Fluff clear parts are just icing on the cake!
Chilling during the Megan.
On the table at the Megan.
I snapped this from a win picture, so forgive the quality. It is from a specialty in 2007 where Nicky was Best Veteran, Freddie was BOB, Sera was BOS, and Pricilla was WB to finish her championship. I love this picture. I hope to have one like it some day. 😀
It is not only his health, but his progeny that made me settle on Nicky. Among them, I LOVE Sera, and am quite frankly IN LOVE with Spotman. I liked his picture, and when I tracked him down at the National (I have, like, the worst facial recognition in the world, and asked Bonnie Money twice if she was Sophia Marvel – how embarassing!) I was then HOPELESSLY IN LOVE with him. He may not be for everyone, but he’s just my type. He reminds me a ton of GoGo, in body and in personality. What I don’t like about him? He’s black brindle. I HATE black brindles! Invariably, I find one I adore and want to breed to, and then they aren’t black. 😉 Very unfair. Still, I hope I have something for him some day, though sadly it can’t be from this litter. I won’t line-breed that closely.
Sera at Westminster.
Spotman. Fooled you too, didn’t he?
A cool side-note on this is that Nicky is one of the first Cardigans I knew. He was campaigning when GoGo came to me. I remember watching him several times on Animal Planet with Golem, his ears still in tape, on my lap. “Neon Black. What a cool name…” I thought. I could never have guessed.
The pedigree for the litter will be available on the Puppy Page of the website, as I couldn’t figure out how to get it on the blog.
Ella, for her part of it, was unimpressed with my choice.
(Or at least with his flirting!)
The “Newlyweds” at the National. 😉
Seriously, guys, I am SO EXCITED about this litter. I’m talking giddy. Blue bitches are, to use a family expression, the shits. It is so hard to find a dog that you feel like you can totally get behind, and I am stoked about Nicky. I cannot possibly thank Kathy enough for the opportunity to use this wonderful dog. GREAT temperament, too. How could I have not mentioned that!
Now I get to collect my hopes, dreams, and prayers, and channel them towards good things happening, towards the breeding taking, and towards the easy whelping of a nice, healthy litter in 2011.
I do not expect to have show puppies available and will not be taking inquiries, as I already have homes arranged. If I pull a “Jeri” and get a huge depth of quality, I will address that at placing time. I am accepting inquiries for pets, however, so long as the inquirers keep in mind that there is no promise of actual puppies until she takes and then births the wee evil beastlets.
where i will be june 5th
I received an email asking me to attend Judging Advanced Herding Institute, as they needed quality dogs to be used as examples. The way that it was sent, my address wasn’t in the details, so I did that check over my shoulder thing to see if anyone was standing behind me, and wondered if they’d actually meant to send it to me. But that’s how I am. If I owned Harry Potter I would cry about what a terrible dog I had. Anyway, they did mean to send it to me, and Dex and Ella and I will be headed down that Saturday. I’m excited, as it will be a great learning experience, and even if I can’t show for a while, it will be fun to do something dog-related.
website redux
I’ve revamped the site, as I get bored with it from time to time. Check it out.
another day, another $300…
I certainly hope my lenders aren’t knee-breakers, cause I don’t have enough knees for everyone. But they tell me that as soon as it warms up I will have so much work that it will make me puke. That’s a quote.
Tomorrow is Ella’s last test. I will be glad to have it done, and be able to make my decisions.
I ran across this the other day while cleaning out my files. Some things never change.
Showing off her VTR.*
*Very Tasty Rock
go junie b!
June went with her gramma and brother to a show down South this weekend and, what do you know, got a major! I might have to send Jeri the blue dogs next. 😉
This is the fourth puppy in Jeri’s litter to be major pointed. What an amazing accomplishment for a first litter.
clown car
Getting started posting pics from the National… If I owe you (which is mostly Jeri, I think) photos, I will try to get them emailed to you this weekend. Also, if I owe you a Bulletin ad, or fancy new buttons for your website, hope to get to those, too.
First day of work is Sunday. Yay!
TONIGHT’S INSTALLMENT
Leaving Joanna’s house, Gettysburg bound.
photos by Joanna – as if it weren’t obvious.
lessons learned
The problem with not knowing what you’re doing is that…you don’t know what you’re doing.
I was supposed to bring Janet a whelping box at the National, but several things went wrong (among them: 60 grit sandpaper = not a good idea; corner knocked off; my pig rail system was a total fail; and so on) and I didn’t feel good enough about the finish job to give her this one.
So I sold my little walnut one to Dawn, am keeping this one for myself (managed to rig the pig rail up in such a way that I can live with it), and I’m getting one of the Amish carpenters to come over sometime this month to help me rebuild Janet’s, as well as build three others that I have on the agenda. I’m learning more every time, and think I almost have it down.
I am now happy with the door (was having a hard time finding a latch system I liked), and I now know how to make the pig rail fit snugly and evenly. This last part may sound like a silly problem to have, but making both the pig rail and the front of the box removable made things a little more complicated.
This is just the whelping box. The weaning pen is broken down out in the addition and still needs to be varnished. Ella is modeling in the very room where she and Dex were born and spent their formative weeks.
glamor shots
Haven’t gotten a chance to put these up yet. She was a little worried about being up on the big tall rock with the waves beating behind her, and we never could get her to put her ears up. These are the ears of Ella apprehension.
feeling a little blue
Friday just headed out with Dawn to go home to the Kimballs, and June went with Gramma Jeri yesterday, to go to fat camp and be shown a little. That just leaves me with this lot…
I’ll be headed home soon myself. Back to the real world! I will try to post what pictures I have once I get home.
world domination: underway
I was amused and flattered by how many people came up to me this week and asked, “Is this Ella? Can I pet her?” Of course, Ella was not surprised. It is all part of the master plan…
airborne ella
Glad to finally have proof of Ella’s leaping ability, which is obscene. Joanna took all the photos I’ve been posting, by the way. I should have said so before, but I thought the quality of the pictures made it obvious. 😉
She’s quite a fan of the ChuckIt!
on the move
For good or for bad, here they are. Most of these are Honor moving them. She is a natural and I am hugely jealous.
best in sweeps
I have never been happier with a photo. Usually I can pick out something that I wish looked better, but this time, wow, it turned out just perfect. I so hope she grows up to be a special…
new jersey, part 2
The ocean was only half an hour away from the show site, so Hillary and I went over to check it out. I have never seen the Atlantic, and Hillary has never seen the ocean at all. It was a little chilly, but tolerable and sunny and beautiful. I tried to get all the photos into this post, but we took about 500 pictures, so I’m halving it.
Dex wasted no time. He broke into an enthusiastic frap.
Ella harassing June.
“Wow, that’s a long way down…”
See the itty bitty sliver of shadow in the upper right?
Watch out, here he comes!
Aaargh!
Ella – pretty as a picture.
That MIGHT be Manhatten.
She spots her prey.
And starts to stalk.
Stalk.
Stalk.
Stalk.
And……….
ATTACK!
Junie eating sand. She later pooped a pile of it in the motel room. 😉
Dex worried by waves.
My girl.
Ella’s vacation wouldn’t be complete without a beach humping.
Then the silliness began.
Handsome boy of mine.
shenanigans
Chuck-It!
Give chase!
Since Ella has been in heat, GoGo has perked up his ears and said, “What??? You mean she’s a LADY DOG??? In that case, I will play with her and love her!”
What the house looks like these days.
Yes, she’s peeing, but I thought this was the best photo of the session otherwise – the placement of the dogs, and the light and shadows. So, just ignore the peeing.
Herding pose.
Girls looking for trouble.
Dex stalking the girls.
And then beating a hasty retreat.
Hot dog.
Hagaren Cardigans 