The boys are in synch - both got Group 2nds today - woo hoo!

Both Joe and Parker got Group 3s yesterday (Joe in California with Wood Wornall - above, and Parker in Nanaimo with Aaron Andriash) ... today both got GROUP 2nds!  And, I heard that Joe looked FABULOUS - and I know he does ... just look at the photo above from yesterday ... it says it all!

Being so busy at home, I wasn't able to make it over to the Nanaimo shows - but I got some great personal messages about just how beautiful Parker looked!  Aaron also told me that while they were eating dinner last night, they happended to see a Welsh Terrier walking to a wharf and then got into a kayak with her owner and started kayaking away ... it turns out that this was BECKY - a girl I retired and placed just over 5 years ago (now 11). 
What a small world :-)

OH - I also spent some time talking with Jerry in OK about Charlies puppies (sired by Parker) ... a couple of them are being tube fed (Jerry now knows how and has the confidence to do it) and all are doing well ... gaining healthy, Charlie is doing well, and by the sounds of it, a little bit of sleep is finally happening in their household!  They survived some tremendous flooding (10 inches of rain over night) and now are dealing with very high heat (110F day / 78F night) .... and with all of that recent water - HIGH humidity!  Thank goodness their A/C got fixed!  Big hugs and kisses to the puppies!

3 different Darwyn Welsh Terriers got a group placement today!

JOE got a group 3 in California today!  This is his 10th weekend out and he has gotten a group placement every weekend (including WINNING THE GROUP last weekend at California's famous "Woofstock" show - Contra Costa KC and group placements from the classes!).

ATHENA got a group 4 in Ontario!  This is her 4th weekend in the ring in Canada and the final points she needed to now officially be a Canadian Champion!  She's currenlty the #1 Welsh Terrier in Canada, but Parker (#2) is not that far behind!  Given that Doug Belter is getting ready to leave for the world show, she may or may not show the rest of the weekend - we'll see ... we are looking forward to her coming home - especially since we are hoping to breed her in the near future!  See the blog post from earlier today to get a few more details...

PARKER got a group 3 in British Columbia.  After winning the breed at Montgomery, Eukanuba, US terrier groups and an AOM at Westminster, he came home a couple of months ago and finished his Canadian Championship in a couple of weekends.  I have been keeping him in show trim and condition.  Aaron Andriash is caring for him for the next few weeks, showing him, and clearly they have connected!

And, here they are as puppies playing tug-of-war!  Athena (9 months old, on the right); Joe (9wks) is right beside her, Parker (10 weeks old) is the 2nd from the left (with the blue collar on) and Parker's brother is on the far left.
What fun!

Athena is coming home! Another new champion for Darwyn Welsh Terriers!

I just got a call from Athena's hander, Mr. Doug Belter, that Athena (now - American & Canadian Champion Darwyn's Heroic Endeavour) went to her 4th Canadian Show weekend today, finished her championship and will now be coming home after another group placment!

Athena is currently the #1 Welsh Terrier in Canada (her half-brother Parker is #2 - but quickly catching up!). After she finished her American Championship (and going Winners Bitch at the Welsh Terrier Club of America National Specialty at Montgomery last year), she came back to Canada and has been shown here a few times.

We are very excited about her coming home and hope to breed her this summer!

She started her show career in the US with a Breed Specialty win and she finished her show career in Canada with a Group Placement every weekend she was shown! 

Knowing just how fantastic she was, playing, with her 1/2 brothers when they were just puppies, I KNOW that she is going to make a fantastic mother!

Woo hoo!

We can't wait to see our newest Canadian & American Champion (and specialty winner!) again!  At home though, I bet that she will take her top spot as "chief jumper" again!  She doesn't climb, but she sure can jump up and down! 
Welcome home Athena!

Puppies - yeah! But, as they say, when it rains it pours (literally and in so many ways) ...

... but things seem to be getting better now.  WHEW!

I've been on pins and needles for the last few weeks about Charlie and her pending birth.  While I have wanted to post, I was anxious about what was happening and did not want to add to an already stressful situation.  But, things seem to be turning around now, so I am feeling a bit better about writing.

Charlie (Am. Ch. Sanherpinc Nora Charles) had 5 healthy puppies born last Wed - 3 girls and 2 boys!  Woo hoo!  This is my boy, Parker's, first litter that he has sired and I am very excited about it ... Charlie is a beautiful Welsh Terrier with a terrific personality.  She is 4 years old, finished her Am. Championship quickly (which is very difficult to do in general, let alone where she lives in the US - in Oklahoma), she is Paisa's sister (Am/Can Ch. Sanherpinc Paisa), and she has one of the most sweet personalities that you'll find in a dog (everyone that meets her almost immediately falls in love with her - and she is a favorite at her local kids reading group and hospital visits as one of the favorite local therapy dogs which is part of H.A.L.O. in Oklahoma).  It turns out that Jerry and Ann almost chose Paisa as a puppy, but in the end of the day, chose Charlie.  When they learned that Paisa now lives with Michael and I, and that our focus is on good looking Welsh Terriers that have good personalities and are healthy, we started discussing the potential of breeding to one of our dogs.

She and her owner Jerry spent almost a week here a couple of months ago and we had a great time!  Come back soon as I will write a blog post all about it.  We explored a number of places in Vancouver, took a different dog (or 2) each day, and met up with a local puppy owner of mine that has a puppy related to Charlie (Grover, a nephew of Charlie, I guess since Charlie's sister - Paisa, is his mother) ... I wrote a blog post on Apr 9, 2010 about that day with lot's of great photos!
So - a few cool stories and pictures to come from that wonderful visit a couple of months ago that produced these 5 puppies!

So - that's the good stuff.  Now the stressful stuff.  This was Charlie's first litter, and while Jerry and Ann have been around dogs all of their lives, grew up in a family that bred dogs, have terrific vets and EXCELLENT relationships with their vet (and close by), this is actually their first litter they have personally experienced.  I was a bit nervous about this, but armed with a great background, many instructions (and books and videos), excellent and experienced vet resources close by, good common sense, a very strong relationship with Charlie (and the dog community - especially since Jerry is the president of the 70+ person therapy dog group) - they were up to the challenge.  If they weren't 2200 miles away from me, I would have been over there in a heartbeat at the first signs of impending delivery!

Then 2 weeks ago a tornado came through their city - and their home.  With part of the roof gone, windows smashed and front yard demolished ... their focus still was Charlie and getting ready.  We connected every so often and when it was time and Charlie started labour, clearly something was wrong.  The first puppy was really big (he's lucky - he survived!).  If this had been the 4th or 5th puppy, everything likely would have been fine, but he was the 1st!  Off to the emergency vet they went.  Hours later and things seemed to be OK.  Charlie and her new family came home.  The pictures here of her with puppies were taken when they are still only a few hours old.  Clearly she took to being a mother just fine ... and things were going well.

Then a couple of days later one of the girls started to not do very well.  Not gaining, limp, not feeding and starting to get cool.  Not good.  Off to the local vet again to get help (this is where I really wish I was closer as I could help with the fluids and feeding) - but they have great people close by (clearly!). 

When Jerry got home late that night (why does it always seem to happen at night?) the Air Conditioner exploded !! ?? !!  Did I mention that this is Oklahama City in June?  It get's hot there - you need A/C!

NOW I am sure that things are getting just a bit stressful!  First the tornado, then the c-section, then the potentially fading puppy (which is doing fine - from tonights report), then the A/C explodes and the heat index is above 104F!

And, it doesn't stop there!

They pack up themselves, Charlie, her puppies and head to a hotel - hoping to get even a few hours of sleep.  I don't know how much sleep they actually got, because in the early hours of last night, the rains came - and came - and came!  Over 10 inches in just a few hours. 

CNN has some really eye-opening coverage on just what they experienced there - click here to check it out!

Well, I talked with Jerry tonight and they are back in their home.  The A/C guy came today and it seems like thier home is livable - while their rain gauge shows over 10 inches of rain - it hasn't leaked.  All of the puppies are plump and warm and feeding.  Charlie is doing her best to be a mom and Jerry and Ann are pulling out all stops to put Charlie and her pups first and just trying to keep their house and lives as sane as they possibly can - in the chaos that is going on around them.  I didn't even ask how they are coping with being able to get Charlie out and pottied in all of this chaos and mud and heat and rain (these things that one doesn't think about unless you are living it).  I contemplated getting on a flight to go down and help, but didn't since I know that they have expert resources that are working with them.

So - come back soon so that you can see the pictures and stories of the adventures that we had a couple of months ago exploring Vancouver and Jerry meeting Grover and her 3 year old owner - Tyler!  And, for now, keep Charlie and her pups in your thoughts - and let's hope that the weather stabilizes in their part of the coutnry ... no more surprises please!

Remember - I love you guys - I love Charlie and please stay warm (but not too warm!) safe and dry.  I'm just a phone call away.  The fun part of having puppies will come soon -- I promise!  I can't wait to see you all in August!  Big hugs! :-)

OMG - Joe won the Group yesterday in California at the "Woofstock Cluster"

Michael and I are THRILLED!  Wood and Jenny Wornall and Andrew Peel - thank you for doing such a terrific job in caring for and presenting our boy!  Here is the AKC Weekly Win details ... scroll down until the Contra Costa County (CA) show results.

Appreciation to the group judge, Mr. Ron Besoff (pictured) from Australia (thank you!).  And, to all of the people that contacted us last night and today with your congratulations .... it is very much appreciated! :-)

If you want more information about this past weekend - check out my blog post below ...

GROOVY! :-)

Joe's page will definitely be done really soon now!  Am/Can Ch Darwyn's I'm Not Arguing That

Remember - you don't just show to the judge in the middle of the ring...

While the person in the middle of the ring is important (hey, they have the power to point to your dog - or not), I always keep in mind that they are not the ONLY important people at a dog show!

At specialties, there are other breeders who may be interested in what dogs are 'out there', the quality of other dogs being produced in the breed, or what certain sires (or dams) are producing.  At any show, you also have people that are just interested in dogs in general (sometimes specific breeds) and possibly people that may judge your breed someday in the future (soon - or years from now).  So, while the judge in the middle of the ring is important (heck, I like them to point at my dog just as much as the other people involved in dog showing!), I always try to keep it in perspective and want my dogs to represent the breed - and my breeding (or ownership) well with quality dogs, presented well.  Wood and Jenny Wornall and Andrew Peel who are currently showing my dog, Joe (Am/Can Ch. Darwyn's I'm Not Arguing That) mostly in California, feel the same way.  And, they do such a great job!

Today was a perfect example of this...

I opened up my facebook and saw that a friend showing cocker spaniels had a couple of pictures posted from the show that Joe is at this weekend (Woofstock! in Northern California).  I knew that so far Joe was having a really terrific weekend (3 Group 2nds so far, in a very competitive Terrier Group ... only being beaten by a Smooth Fox Terrier that has been on a roll this year and won many (!!!) Group 1st and Best in Shows, as well as being the #2 Terrier in all of the US!), but I had not seen any other details. 

I browsed the facebok pictures of the Cocker Spaniels (some very nice ones indeed) and then saw some pictures of my boy Joe!  Some very nice photos of Joe, and handler Wood Wornall!  Jackie Curry, the amateur photographer who took the photos was kind and sent them to me with permission to post them.  So ... here are a couple of pictures of Joe taken today at Woofstock! (the California dog show) by the wonderful Jackie Curry!

It really seems like it is a very small world these days ... in a good way. 

We are crossing our fingers for Joe tomorrow .... good luck and have fun!