Super Star Savi earns her 2nd Open Jumpers leg with a 2nd place!

Only one week ago, Savi finished her NAJ (Novice Agility Jumpers with Weaves title) with a 1st place, and was bumped up the next day to compete in Open and won the class.  Well this past weekend at the Scottish Terrier Club of New England trial, Savi did it again and qualified in Open Jumpers for her 2nd OAJ (Open Agility Jumpers) leg with a 2nd place!  It takes three qualifying legs to earn the title.

On Saturday, it took Savi time to acclimate to the new venue and she just got better and better with each run. On Sunday, Savi had a terrific Open Standard run but her handler, me, accidentally sent her to an off course jump, and since we are working on keeping her attitude up and trying to build speed, I just went on, not letting her know a mistake was made, and she did a super job which is more important than qualifying and possibly taking a backward step in our training.  Her Open Jumpers run, shown below, was smooth and she handled beautifully.  She isn't running as fast as I would like but she is not experienced and the confidence and speed will come.  Very proud of how well she did and look forward to our next trial in a few weeks.

Awesome Agility Weekend at HVGR trial!

Savi earned two 1st places & a new title, NAJ!

 Spring finally arrived and we had a fantastic weekend at the Hudson Valley Golden Retriever agility trial in beautiful Goshen, NY. Savi earned her NAJ (Novice Agility Jumpers) title with a 1st place! This makes Savi, CH Grayhart's Shear Genius, CD, SH, NA, NAJ, NSD, NRD, VX! She then made her debut in Open JWW and won the class for her 2nd 1st place of the weekend!!!

Sister Jam ran well  but with some handler errors (oops) but managed to Q (qualify) in Masters Jumpers for her 2nd MXJ leg with a 4th place!  It takes ten qualifying runs to earn the AKC MX (Master Standard) or MXJ (Master Jumpers) title. Masters is the highest level of AKC agility and the course are the most complex and to earn a Q, you must have a perfect run (no faults) with a score of 100.

Jam & Savi with their ribbons!

In Perfect Balance

 Savi, during her 1st place Novice Standard run where she finished her NA title! This was taken at Dream Park in NJ, under Judge Howard Etzel, a fellow Weimaraner owner. Our favorite shot of the weekend!

I just love the look of concentration as Savi navigates the teeter.

Savi's agility weekend was full of firsts & a New NA title!

 Last weekend, Savi made us super proud at the SOJAC Agility Trial at Dream Park in New Jersey.  Savi had not been in the agility ring in two years, as she made her agility debut in North Carolina in 2012, earning two 1st places and NA and NAJ legs, but then we focused on other pursuits like hunting, obedience and motherhood.  Her return to the ring, really only her second time trialing, was a solid one with Savi qualifying 3 out of 4 runs, all with 1st places and she earned her NA or Novice Agility title.  She only needs one more qualifying leg to finish her NAJ or Novice Agility Jumpers with Weaves title.  She was close to qualifying day one in JWW but for some odd reason she kept missing the same weave pole.  In her three other runs, she nailed her weaves and did them independently, something we've been training.  Savi has solid, running contacts and a nice jumping style.  She is a thoughtful dog, so not super speedy at this point but with more experience, the confidence and speed will come.  

Savi is now CH Grayhart's Shear Genius, CD, SH, NA, NSD, NRD, VX!!!

We were fortunate to the Yay Good Dog was at the trials videotaping all the runs.

Here is Savi's first run of the weekend in Novice Standard where she won the class.  Notice the blind cross at the bottom of the Aframe.


This is her 1st place Novice JWW run:

And the last run of the weekend, her Novice Standard run and new title with a 1st place!


Savi earned her 3rd Novice Standard leg to finish her title under Judge Howard Etzel, who is also a Weimaraner person.  She also earned her 2nd Novice JWW leg under him  Both Q's were with 1st places!

New CD and VX titles for Savi!

Happy to announce that Savi finished her AKC CD (Companion Dog) obedience title yesterday with a 3rd place at the Gordon Setter Club of America All-Breed Obedience trial. The earn a CD, a dog must get three qualifying legs and a minimum score of 50% in the exercises, which are on lead heeling, off lead heeling, figure eight, stand for exam, recall and group sit and down stays. Getting this title also gives Savi the points needed to earn her WCA Versatile Excellent or VX title! To earn versatility titles, dogs must title in multiple venues. Savi is a talented girl and now we will concentrate on agility and she will also take time off to have pups this year.


Savi is now....CH Grayhart's Shear Genius, CD, SH, NSD, NRD, VX!!!

2013 Year in Review for Savi

Savi's 7 pups born 5-9-2013

Although we haven't updated Savi's blog in what seems like forever, she is regularly featured on our main blog, Grayhart Weimaraners and was super busy in 2013 and continues to compete, keep us amused and will be getting ready to be bred in the Spring of 2014.

Here are the highlights of Savi's 2013!

January 2013: Savi is now a Pet Partners Therapy Dog!



Last Sunday,Savi, CH Grayhart's Shear Genius, SH, NSD, NRD,V, and I underwent and passed with flying colors, the evaluation for the Pet Partners, formerly Delta Society, Therapy Dog Program. The test was given in New York City by Anita Sacks, a certified Pet Partner Evaluator.

What is unique about this program is that both the dog and handler are tested on their skills and aptitude as relating to what it takes to being a successful and safe team able to visit various environments. I was so proud of Savi, who did an awesome job, and received wonderful feedback from our evaluator on her terrific, outgoing temperament.

From the Pet Partners Website:

Pet Partners® program trains volunteers and screens volunteers and their pets for visiting animal programs in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, schools and other facilities.
The Pet Partners program was established in 1990 to ensure that "both ends of the leash," people as well as animals, were well-prepared to participate in animal-assisted activity and animal-assisted therapy programs. Pet Partners is the only national registry that requires volunteer training and screening of animal-handler teams.

Pet Partners national network links volunteers with facilities in their own communities that request visiting pets and helps Pet Partners contact facilities to begin visits in new locations.


The evaluation consists of two parts, Skills and Aptitude. Above shows the dog at the beginning of an overall exam and then the tester will move on to clumsy petting and a restraining hug. Savi gave Anita lots of kisses whenever she could and was allowed.


The dog must have basic obedience skills and do these with distractions, ranging from yelling, staggering individuals, getting bumped from behind and being crowded and petted by a group of people. Above, shows a stay. The dog is kept on a long lead for safety purposes.

The last exercise was accepting a treat. The dog must do this in a polite manner and the evaluator must not feel teeth. It is also important that the handler show or tell the person how they are to give the dog a treat.

And we have a new Therapy Team!!!

Thanks to my good friend, Kellyann for the terrific photos and our puppy people, Aimee, Michael Rosalie and Danielle for helping make the entire test day a success!

March 2013: Dual Weimaraner Award for Savi!

Hot off the presses, in the March issue of The Weimaraner Magazine, is Savi's Dual Weimaraner Award page. To earn this award, a dog must have both a show championship and a Senior Hunter title.

Thanks to the Dual Weimaraner Program for this award sponsored by Debbie Moody & photo design by KellyAnn Kwiatek.

We cannot thank Denny Keeton enough for his expert training, handling and care of Savi to earn her Senior Hunter title! Savi was owner/breeder handled to her Junior Hunter title in 4 straight tests, along with her NSD and NRD. In the show ring, Savi finished her championship easily with a 5-pt major from the Bred-By-Exhibitor class earned during the Southern Futurity/Maturity weekend.

Savi is CH Grayhart's Shear Genius, SH, NSD, NRD, V CGC

She has two legs towards her CD (Companion Dog) title and one Novice Agility leg and one Novice Jumpers with Weaves leg. We hope to complete these titles after Savi takes time off for motherhood.

April 2013: Exciting litter due: Savi and Parker

Confirmed via ultrasound, Savi is expecting puppies in May!

Savi,CH Grayhart's Shear Genius, SH, NSD, NRD, V, PetPartners Therapy Dog was bred to
Parker, BISS GCH HiBourne's It's All About Me, BROM.


Parker is a gorgeous male, with elegant type, correct movement and a stable, friendly temperament. In addition to being a top winning show dog, Parker is a proven producer of multiple champions and versatile excellent offspring, with correct conformation and good health and temperaments. Our Trixie x Parker breeding produced champions, performance dogs and therapy dogs.


Parker attained 3 majors from the puppy classes and finished his Championship at 15 months of age with a 5-pt major Specialty win at the Yankee Weimaraner Club in conjunction with the WCA National Specialty where he also won an Award of Merit. Parker was Top Ten for two years, a Specialty and multiple Breed and Group winner.


This breeding should produce exceptional show and performance prospects and will be futurity/maturity nominated.

May 2013: Announcing the Fast Times Litter!

What a fabulous birthday present - Savi whelped 7 beautiful healthy pups, 4 girls and 3 boys! Savi was amazing, especially for a first time mother, whelping all seven in three hours and remained calm and relaxed throughout the entire process. The litter theme is based on Cameron Crowe movies and Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a classic.

The proud papa is Parker, Multiple Group Winning, Best in Specialty Show, GCH HiBourne's It's All About Me, BROM and the mother, Savi is officially known as CH Grayhart's Shear Genius, SH, NSD, NRD, CGC, V.

July 2013:  Savi's Puppies at 8 weeks!

The final stacks of the Fast Times litter (Parker x Savi), done at 8 weeks of age, the day before we are to evaluate the pups on their conformation and movement. A very consistent litter with good breed type...we are extremely happy with how our pups are developing. A big weekend of parties to post about!

August 2013: Savi rocks the Rally-O ring

Thirteen weeks after whelping a litter of seven pups, Savi was back in action, making her debut in the Rally ring. Honestly, we have never trained for rally and even though I winged it over 5 years ago and put a Rally Novice title on Trixie, in a weekend with 3 2nd placements, Rally is alien to me and a lot has changed since we last did it. I've been practicing obedience with Savi, hoping to finish her CD title and thought the since we were going to the Harrisburg cluster of shows, entering her in rally would be a fun way to get her back into a show ring. The other competitors and the judge were terrific and very helpful in explaining the meaning of some of the signs that I had questions about. I knew she would qualify as she has the skills to do well in Rally Novice (the lowest level) but what a pleasant surprise to hear that she was in 2nd place with a terrific score of 98 (out of 100). Very proud of my girl! She just needs two more qualifying legs to earn her Rally Novice (RN) title.

Savi spent the fall training in obedience and agility to get ready for competitions in 2014.

New Senior Hunter title for Savi!!!

Proud to announce that Savi earned her 4th SH leg on Saturday to finish her Senior Hunter title handled/trained by Denny Keeton! This also gives Savi the required points to receive a WCA VX or Versatile Excellent award.

Savi is now CH Grayhart's Shear Genius, SH, NSD, NRD, CGC, VX

Denny coming off the bird field with a fist pump telling us Savi did it!

It was a gray-t day celebrating with a number of our Ohio friends, who came to the hunt test to cheer Savi on. And best of all, KellyAnn was along for this Grayhart Adventure and loves seeing her PBP work in the field and get her final leg,

He may raise Vizlas but has a fondness for our gray girl,

 

We are beyond excited that not only did Savi start and finish her Senior Hunter this fall, under the expert training and handling by Denny, but she is our first Senior Hunter. Savi is now home and next on her agenda is to finish her CD or Companion Dog obedience title and possibly her novice agility titles before she is bred in the Spring to Parker, GCH HiBourne's It's All About Me, BROM.