Happy Holidays from Grayhart!

Photo and design by Sara Renee.

Gray-t Weekend for the Grayhart Girls! Delaware Water Gap KC Show

 Sunday was the Delaware Water Gap Kennel Club show and the Weims had an 8:00 am ring time.  No sleeping late for the princesses.  Trudy stayed with Pat in his room and my girls enjoyed going back and forth between Kel's room and mine in our suite.  They are truly creatures of comfort!

 Sunday was a repeat performance of Saturday.  Ike was Winner's Dog and both Savi and Trudy won their classes.  Pat stayed on Trudy and I took Savi in for winner's.  I was thrilled when the judge pointed to Savi and she was Winner's bitch.  There was a major in dogs so Savi would have to go Best of Winner's to get the major.  Again, Michelle, our Weim friend, took Savi in for me while I showed Jam.  Michelle worked hard to show Savi off.

Jam showed really well and was full of attitude.  After all the champions were examined and lined up, the judge had the one dog special and Ike gate around together.  She then pointed to Jam and had us go to the front.  Then placed Savi second and then Ike.  She had the group go around together and the final results....Jam won Best of Breed, Savi was Best of Winners and Ike was awarded Best of Opposite!!!

This gave Jam a Grand Champion major and also earned Savi her second major.  Savi now only needs one single point to finish her AKC championship title.  We were just floating after the judging was over.

Jam - Best of Breed (unofficial win picture)

Since Jam went Best of Breed, we needed to wait around for the Group competition. The Sporting Group, was the last group before Best in Show. We had a lot of time to kill, so Kel and I bundled up and took the dogs for a long walk and then went out for Chinese food for lunch. We then visited the many vendors and did some shopping. It was a thrill to watch our friends show their Vizslas and see Jenna go Best of Breed with her special, Miles. Miles won the breed on Saturday and had gotten a Group 2.

The Sporting Group was late in the afternoon and since it was full of professional handlers and some of the top dogs in the country, my goal was just to have fun with Jam and make her shine.  Kel got some terrific shots of Jam and Miles in the group.

 It takes about 20 minutes for each of the seven groups to be judged.  It is a long time for the dogs and you want to make them look their best when the judge is looking.

Congrats to Jenna and Miles for winning the Sporting Group and competing for Best in Show!!!

A wonderful end to a great weekend!  We look forward to the dog shows in 2012 and finishing Savi and Trudy's championships.  We plan to breed Jam in January so she won't be back in the show ring until after her maternity leave and she's in shape.

Gray-t Weekend for the Grayhart Girls! Lehigh KC Show

Kellyann and I headed off early Saturday morning to Allentown, Pennsylvania, for the last show weekend of the year.  We were looking forward to seeing friends and hoping that we could finish the year with a win.  What an amazing weekend it turned out to be, beyond our wildest expectations.

Savi, Winner's Bitch for 2 points!

 Saturday was the Lehigh Kennel Club show.  I showed Savi in the bred-by-exhibitor class, which we won.  Pat O'Brien, who was there to show both our Trudy as well as a very nice puppy named Ike, out of Pat's dog Duke, littermate to Zeke, Trudy's sire.  Pat went winner's dog with Ike and then won the Open bitch class with Trudy.  Since Trudy is so attached to me, Pat and I decided to switch dogs and I took Trudy in for winner's and he handled Savi.  We were afraid that if I was standing behind Trudy, she would keep trying to turn and look at me.  Trudy was quite the happy girl and tried kissing me nonstop while I stacked her.  The judge even commented on my happy girl.  The judge pointed to Savi and she was Winner's Bitch for 2 points!

Next was the Best of Breed class and a fellow Weim friend took Savi in for me as I had to handle Jam.  Ike was picked for Best of Winners and Jam was awarded Select Bitch, earning Grand Champion points.

Jam in the Best of Breed class

This show has a Bred-by-Exhibitor competition and Savi was Best BBE Weim, so we waited for the BBE groups which did not start until mid-afternoon.  The BBE Sporting group was last.  After a long wait, it was finally our turn to show.  The group was quite competive, with eight sporting dogs, most of which had gone winner's for majors in their respective breeds.  Savi showed well and we had fun in the big group.

 Yay!  The judge awarded Savi a Group 3!

Savi doing a bow while we played and had fun in the BBE group.

After a long day at the show, we rushed off to the hotel to meet Pat and Ike's owner, Sandra, and went out for a fabulous celebration dinner.  Back at the room, Savi and Jam had a wild play session, well deserved after being crated all day and strutting their stuff in the show ring.

Off to bed to get our beauty sleep for Sunday's show...

Life is ducky!

Savi is a nooker...not all Weims are but it is a Weim trait - sucking on toys or blankets in a trancelike state. I personally think that it is soothing for them.  When Savi does it, she also kneads her front feet, with them going back and forth, so cute.  Amazingly, this duck toy, one of her favorites, which still makes a quacking sound, is from Savi's litter's whelping box and has lasted a long time.  Quite a feat for any toy, especially a stuffy that makes noise!

Speaking of things that last...I took Savi to obedience class for the first time since the summer.  I was so proud of how well she did, showing how much training she had retained.  To be fair, even though she has not been in a formal competitive obedience class in months, doesn't mean that there has not been training.  My dogs get training everyday at home, whether formal or informal and we include obedience in agility and field work.  They have to work for treats and I'll take a few minutes to practice various skills, whether it is sending to place or a drop on recall.  My goal for Savi is to get her ready to compete in novice obedience and earn her CD or companion dog title in 2012.  A very doable goal to work towards as she's had a nice foundation and knows the exercises.  Just a matter of fine tuning and focusing on her on and off lead heeling.

As seen in Martha Stewart Living...

 What a nice surprise to see Savi's Gap ad in the December issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine.

Handle this

It wasn't a Weim only class but with four Weims training, we definitely had the majority.  From left to right above, Jam with me, Bebe with Bonnie and Steve working the puppy.

What better way to spend a rainy Tuesday morning than go with friends to handling class and then out for a scrumptious lunch?  An added bonus was the shopping at Total Pet Care, where they have terrific prices on food, treats, toys, collars and everything your dog would need.

 Savi practicing her free stack

 This shot of Savi is actually the reflection in the mirror on the other side of the room.

 another free stack of Savi after our go around...

 Jam, out for some ring practice as we get ready for the Delaware Water Gap and Lehigh shows in two weeks.

 Good girl!  She remembers how to be a show dog.

 Jam loves Steve and he took a turn working her...

 And around we go...

 More treats please!

 Jam above and Savi below...

 Kel tried her best to take shots of all the dogs without intruding on the class.  It was challenging with the poor lighting and constant moving but I appreciate the pictures she took.

Savi

After class, we all went to a Long Island favorite, Maureen's Kitchen.  They have the most awesome menu, hard to decide between their yummy breakfast options or creative sandwiches.  Lots of comfort food and great company = a perfect day with friends!

AKC Meet the Breeds - Part 2

 I wanted to share more fun shots of Savi and Parker at the AKC Meet the Breeds on November 19th.  Here they are vying for a treat from both sides of the table at the Weimaraner booth.

 

Savi was just awesome dealing with all the people as there were literally thousands of people there.  She seemed to be a magnet and drew the crowds in to see the Weim booth.  

Parker greeted people and of course, expected Jo to share her snack with him...who could resist that sweet face!

 It was a long afternoon and we were all pooped...

 Savi found the table to be a comfy spot to hang out as we cleaned up for the day.

We were very proud of the great job Parker and Savi did representing our breed.  The only catch is that everyone assumed that all Weims are as laid back and well trained as our crew...unfortunately that isn't the case.  We spent a lot of time educating people on the characteristics of the breed (high energy, need for a tremendous amount of exercise, very intelligent) and what a huge commitment it is to own, train and socialize a Weim or else they can be destructive, skittish, wild and even aggressive.  Yes, they are a beautiful breed but much more and not the right dog for most people.

AKC Meet the Breeds - Part 1

Savi & Jo posing by a cool dog sculpture that was in the lobby on our way in - it was on sale for $3500!

 Yesterday was a super busy day as we had volunteered to man the Weimaraner booth in the afternoon, at the 3rd Annual AKC Meet the Breeds event held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City.  This is a huge event with over 200 breeds of dogs and cats plus demos and vendors.

 The ambassadogs for the WCA - were Parker, BISS GCH HiBourne's It's All About Me, BROM, with owner/breeder, Bonnie Lane and our Savi, Grayhart's Shear Genius,JH,NSD,NRD,CGC, with my daughter, who did an awesome job handling her all day.  My hubby was also there to help and spoke to many people, education them on the breed.  A real family day!

 The event was very crowded and everyone who walked by wanted a chance to pet, kiss and hug Savi.

 And it was nonstop flashbulbs as too many people to count, wanted a photo op with our supermodel, Savi.

Savi turned on the charm and was an awesome representative for our breed, impressing everyone she met with her sweet disposition, stable temperament and terrific training.

The Weimaraner booth, representing the Weimaraner Club of America, Garden State and Long Island Weimaraner Clubs, was decorated with photos of Weims doing everything from agility, obedience, swimming, hunting, showing, etc.  There were also informational handouts on the breed and books for people to peruse.

And the best part for Savi - all the yummy treats she got!

Gap: I Want Candy Holiday 2011 Collection with Savi!

 Savi, looking fabulous with all the adorable kids in the Gap's new "I Want Candy Holiday 2011 Collection".  This was shot in September on a hot day in Brooklyn, New York, with lots of fake snow!

 These shots are part of the Gap's ad campaign and used for mailers, Facebook, website and in-store displays.

More NRD photos

Setting up for the water retrieve, I'm telling Savi to watch the duck as the gunner is getting ready to throw it in the water...

A picture perfect water retrieve!  Savi, without hesitation, dove right into the water, swam directly to the duck and grabbed it!  She swam back to shore and here she is on her way to me in the circle.  She brought it right to me and that completed her new Novice Retrieving Dog (NRD) title!  Next up, training for her RD, Retrieving Dog title, where she'll have to stay without retraint until released and complete double land and water retrieves.

Intense Savi during her land retrieve

Thanks to GSWC club member Michelle Ostrander for taking these terrific pictures