A success story

 After last week I though a happy post would be in order. Some of you may recall me posting about one of my sisters who raises Rough Collies- she has been campaigning her male, Levi, and his daughter, Gemma this year, with great results. 

Levi, who is 2 years old, won 2 Best of Winners classes- he has matured into a lovely dog. Side note- that isn't my sister showing him, due to some health reasons she opted to hire professional handlers for the shows. 

Then Gemma, who is just 12 months old, has earned her Canadian Championship!

 So her registered name is now Ch. High Country Catch Your Breath. The Ch before the name denotes her status as a national champion. 

Congratulations, Sis, on your dedication to making these dogs the best they can be!

I have watched some of the shows, and the competition is tough! It's a lot of work preparing them for shows, not just daily but all the grooming right before the class. 

Well done!

Dogs 'n' horses

 It was rather a busy week! My sister was in town for another dog show, this time she got to show a pup she raised in the baby puppy class. I spent a day with her at the show- the conformation class in a dog show is very similar to a halter class for horses. The dogs are groomed to the nines, and shown in hand, just like horses and the other similarity is that  the presentation is all about what the judge sees. Is it groomed just so, is it up to breed standards, is it well behaved and professionally presented. 

Her pup, Gemma, did well for her very first show! She also showed her male dog, Levi, the sire of the pup. 

Such a handsome dog! I don't know the full show results yet, they were showing today too. 

I went to a horse sale yesterday, not to buy but to get a reading on what the market is like for Driftwood bred horses. A Canadian breeder was retiring and having a dispersal sale. The main buyer was the ranch he originally bought his horse from in Nevada; says a lot about the program when the breeders buy back their own stock at the expense of travelling up to Canada and dealing with all that international paperwork. There were a couple of weanlings there that I was drooling over.... this is the same bloodline as our Drifter horse we sold a few years ago who has gone on to be a good ranch horse and sire. 

Ted snuck out and got a buyer number for bidding, but we really didn't want to buy. We did one bid, just to get the ball rolling on a filly I liked but I wouldn't let him bid again. (Such restraint on my part!!!!)

It seems the market has dropped off a bit, especially for weanlings. We have sold them off the farm for more money than any of the colts and fillies sold for there, but in fairness most of the buyers were looking at the 3 stallions and the better mares and riding horses. 

Mama Belle in the morning light

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here;  happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers. I know I have a lot to be thankful for; I feel I have been truly blessed this year. 

A non horse weekend

 March went out as it came in, like a lamb. Sunny and clear! 

I spent the weekend at a Kennel Club dog show in Red Deer; one of my sisters had her 2 Rough Collies entered. One in Obedience and one in Conformation. It was quite amazing to see all those dogs of so many breeds, some of which I didn't even know existed. Did you know there is a herding breed called Berger Picard?  Apparently they are quite rare. There were 3 of them in the show. There were dogs from the tiniest Pomeranian to the big ole Mastiffs and Newfoundlands. And yes Linda, we saw quite a few Irish Wolfhounds too!

My sister's dog, High Country Levi's Promise, who was in the Conformation class. At 11 months old, he still has a lot of juvenile behavior, but she did a good job of showing him; it was her first show too. 

Her other dog is Indy, can't remember her registered name. She was in the obedience class. 

Sit stay off leash

Indy is pregnant to Levi, pups due in a month! It was great getting some visiting time with my sister and her husband; first family we have seen since we left Creston in June last year. 

We have mild weather on the way, so hopefully the snow will vamoose and I can start planning my gardens. 

Sunday Stills- Dogs

 I have to admit, my heart kind of sank when I saw that this week's challenge is dogs. We really miss Tess and Merle and I didn't think I was going to be able to do this challenge.

But then, I went to visit my sister, and she has three lovely dogs! They are all collies. 

This is Indi, the only female of the three. I was hoping that white rock wouldn't wash out her lovely white plume tail but it did.

This is Key, the younger of the two males and future mate for Indi.

This lovely fellow is Comanche, the first one of these dogs my sister bought. 

Indi always seems to be in the middle of all the play scuffles they have.

They are an energetic bunch, but are also well behaved.