Dog Shows, and Puppies, and Rain -- Oh My!

 

Greetings! Wow, a lot has happened around here since I posted in early May. Most of it has been good, but it seems like I have been on a wild rollercoaster ride for the last few weeks.

So, the title of this post should tell you a bit about what I have been up to. I don't even want to discuss the rain. So sick of it! It has not been helpful at the dog shows!

Puppies!

Yes! We have puppies. Four boys and three girls. I have been trying to contact people on my list to match people to puppies and am having some luck. Generally if I don't get a response within 3 days, I move to the next name on the list. I don't have time to mess around!!

We took some photos yesterday. They are not very good ones but we were in a hurry to get it done so I could post them. By the time we finished, I had to leave to go to a dog training class and I did not get home until 9:30. Class lasts and hour. The trip there and back is about 3.5 hours.

So here are the new kids, in this order: 2 males (one light gold, one dark gold); a gold female on the left, a gold male on the right; the black and tans - one of each sex; and the last is of the smallest of the crew, a gold female. They just started to open their eyes today.

Dog Shows

This has been a busy month for shows. We started on May 7 and 8 in Jefferson, WI. OMG...it was so cold there. The wind was blowing so hard, and I overheard a man telling his friend that he had checked the wind chill and it was 29 degrees! Brrr. We were not expecting the cold and hard wind, that is for sure, but worst of all, on the first day we had to show outside! You can imagine what the Lhasas' coats looked like in the strong wind.

Nevertheless, the dogs did well. Judge Joan Eversole awarded Millie Best of Breed over the two male specials. She also awarded Emmy her first point. Emmy thought the grass and wind were fun and showed very well. Millie went on to compete in the regular Non-Sporting Group and was awarded 4th Place. 

Here is her photo after the win. Thanks to judge Eversole and breeder-judge Dana Read for recognizing Millie's quality.

Three days at home (and at the office writing a grant proposal -- did I mention my life gets crazy?) and we were on the road to Davenport, IA for the 4 shows (May 13-16) put on by the Burlington Kennel Club and the Scott County Kennel Club. The Lhasa entry was supported by the American Lhasa Apso Club. The Burlington Kennel Club provided the rosettes, and I donated prizes for all the winners. We had a major entry in bitches and people came from WI, MN, MO, and IL to participate. What a grand time!

The points were passed around and almost everyone came away with something. Tami's older puppy was awarded Winners Bitch two days, while the puppy's mother took Winners Bitch one day and earned the rest of the points for her championship. The fourth day, Karen and Jan's bitch was awarded Winners Bitch. Sandy's male took Winners Dog twice and Jan's dog took Winners Dog the other two days. Adrian's male Special took Best of Breed all 4 days. Millie took Best Opposite Sex all 4 days and is now a Grand Champion! Hurray!! LaVonne's male Special earned points toward his grand championship by being awarded Select Dog all four days.

Millie took Best Owner Handled two out of the three days it was offered. The first day, she was award NOHS Non-Sporting Group 1. Thank you judge Dawn Hitchcock! The other day we did not receive a placement.

Emmy met my goal of getting her tail up and keeping it up in the show ring. She got better each day.

Rusty was not old enough to enter the regular shows, but each club held a Beginner Puppy Competition (for puppies ages 4-6 months). On the first day, Rusty was awarded Beginner Puppy Non-Sporting Group 1. On the second day, he was awarded Beginner Puppy Non-Sporting Group 1 and went on to win Best Beginner Puppy in Show! I was so proud of him! We had an official photo taken but it has not arrived in the mail yet. I'll post it when it comes. In the meantime here are some pictures and video taken at the show. Thanks to Jan, Jane, and Sandy!!

 

On Sunday, the Scott County Club held a veterans' competition, so we entered our almost-13 year old, Breaker. He loved being back in the ring. Lynn tried to get a couple of pictures of him in the ring, but his phone does not take good pictures. I am posting them anyway, along with a photo we took of Breaker with his ribbon after we got home.

While Breaker did not win, he is a winner in our hearts! In order to be considered a veteran and be eligible for the competition, a dog has to be 7 years old. The dog that won had turned 7 just the day before! When the owner told the judge, the judge responded, "I wish you hadn't told me that!"

Okay, that's it about the shows. On Monday, I went back to the office and worked some more on the grant proposal. Other staff worked on it while I was away. Today we all but finished it! 

A Gift Idea

Last Christmas my friend Marsha made some beautiful ornaments for me. Here are the ones she sent me.

The one on the left is has a picture of Breaker on it; on the right is a picture of Josh; in the middle is the logo of our national club (the American Lhasa Apso Club).

Marsha and another member of ALAC are making ornaments again this year. If you are interested in having one (or more) made with your dog's photo on it, these ornaments are great gifts for friends, family, or yourself!

Here is ordering information if you are interested.

Photos and Notes from Others

Jim wrote that "Daisy is enjoying life and adjusting to Florida. We take her on walks during the cooler parts of the days and she has started to notice the lizards." Later he commented that Daisy "got a litt Jim wrote that "Daisy is enjoying life and adjusting to Florida. We take her on walks during the cooler parts of the days and she has started to notice the lizards." Later he commented that Daisy "got a little nervous during a thunderstorm but it didn’t stop her from falling asleep later."

Mary wrote, "Hope all is well. I think spring is officially here... Three pics above;  this was a day we had been outside a lot; yard work; dogs running.I had to scold Belle as she put her nose into something I wanted her to avoid;  she had to come inside; be in the crate for a bit. When we all came in, into the tv room, she threw herself down and gave me a “stink eye”.   Eventually she warmed up.  She really can pout when scolded.  Moka could care less.  Rafe--very sensitive for a tough guy."

Kris sent this photo of Titan.

Kathleen sent a photo of Mel's first trim.

Paul sent this photo of Joey with the neighbor dog Daisy.

Michelle wrote about Sunny, "I just wanted to update you on Sunny. He’s got his Shiba Inu friend Kadan living with us for a few months while our daughter and her fiancé are building a new home. He absolutely loves having another dog here! He gets so excited to greet him every morning when Kadan wakes up. He’s also doing well with his training, we’ve had 2 private classes and now have him enrolled for the next group class which starts in June. He seems to be much more confident going on our walks and with all the noises that used to scare him and have him running for home...I feel very fortunate to have one of your dogs and really appreciate that you knew how much we needed him and that were able to get him from you! If I knew of anyone waiting for one of your dogs, I would tell them it’s worth the wait! Best of luck with all the dog shows coming up! I love reading about how all of your dogs are doing!"

Until Next Time...

Thanks to all who wrote and sent photos -- and to all of you who take time to read the blog. 

Life is better when you have a Lhasa to love you!

Joyce

Celebrate Spring!

 ...Then April cried and stepped aside, And along came pretty little May!

May was full of promises but she didn't keep 'em quick enough for some,

And the crowd of doubtin' Thomases was predictin' that the summer'd never come...

~ section from the lyrics to "June is Bustin' Out All Over" from the musical Carousel

*******************************

Emmy, Rusty, and I have spent the last month practicing at home and at various training classes to prepare them for some upcoming shows. Emmy will be in her first show this coming weekend and, in two weeks, Rusty will make his show debut in the Beginner Puppy competitions. I think he is more ready than she is. We'll soon find out.

As usual, I'll be sharing some notes and photos from people who own Joyslyn's Lhasas.

Ted and Ev, who live in Canada and 9 years ago had a long drive to Illinois to pick up their Lucky, wrote, "Attached is a photo of Lucky celebrating his 9^th Birthday at the day care centre. 

Lucky loves playing chase the toy and bringing it back--after all these years he brings it back but has a hard time giving it up. As mentioned b/4 his vocabulary improves a word at a time and now he is understanding the spelled word. A couple of them.  Always enthusiastic and loves attention. Have a Super Week

Shannon wrote, "Hi Joyce! I wanted to reach out and share some updated pics of Minnie as she is now 1 year old!! I can hardly believe it. Minnie is such a lover and showers my family and I with all the kisses! She loves ice cubes, going on walks, and her favorite toy “pumpkin”! She is not a fan of the school bus, vacuum cleaner, or riding in the car! 😂 She did however just take her first road trip to Gatlinburg last month! Once she fell asleep in the car, we were good to go. She loved the mountains and was a great traveler! She is the light of my life and my best friend! I can’t thank you enough for bringing us together. ❤️ Hope you are doing well and I love reading the blog!"

Shelly wrote, "Tucker is getting used to his top knot now and will leave it in most of the day.  Somehow he knows when night comes it gets taken out and he lets me know it's been in long enough! He is scheduled to be neutered on May 7th and Pearce asked what they do with his private parts afterwards.  I informed him I do not know but it is not something we are taking home!!  

Tucker seems to be going through his dominant phase and not allow either Stella (my Mom's 100lb rescue) or Rosie to come by whoever he happens to be next to.  We are trying to correct him of that, although Rosie and Stella are not helping because they seem to be very submissive around Tucker.  Our cat, Scout, who is 13.5 yrs old is the only one that stands up to Tucker and that is the 3rd picture of him hiding under the chair that Scout lays on.  It is sort of a hide and seek game the two play, but most of the time after Scout has hissed enough, Tucker will hide under the chair.  He is such a character.

He brings so much joy to our lives everyday and I cannot thank you enough for continuing to breed Lhasa Apsos!.  I haven't been able to bring myself to cut his hair although he gets a "sanitary groom" every other week.  He is in a very well air conditioned house and the weather has been pretty mild for April so I am trying to hold off as long as I can. I would love to be able to braid his hair like you had Josh's done when we picked T up."

Dawn wrote, "I was going through some photos on my phone and realized it has been a long time since I sent you a photo of Bailey. She turned seven years old in February.  She is still in charge and lets us know if anyone comes too close to the house.  When we had the warmer temps a couple of weeks ago, we had to shut the windows to keep her quiet!  She is doing well and has kept us entertained over the past year. I have worked from home most of that time and she lays right next to my desk in her bed the entire day."

From Janet: "Good morning Joyce, Just wanted to reach out and tell you how much we have enjoyed your blog. The video of Gigi’s tricks was absolutely adorable.  Also Pebbles wants to say Happy Birthday to Millie and tell her congratulations on all her hard work and winnings..  Rusty is absolutely the cutest. I also wanted to send you a couple pictures of Pebbles.... First one is of her all beautiful❤️❤️❤️second is of her helping me wash windows.. ❤️❤️❤️ She continues to be such a blessing and perfect puppers."

Debra sent a photo of her Seng Kye and wrote, "I never cut a Lhasa Apso's hair.  He is growing it long just for me.  Always to the ground in five years.  He is almost there."

Karen wrote, "Hi Joyce...  Kimmi has really come out of her shell.  She is so funny and fun.  John takes them on walks every day which seems to be helping her shyness a lot!  She also barks now.  You can tell she's a girl; her bark is "higher" than Huck's."  

Kathleen wrote, "Hi Joyce, I forgot to let you know that Beau was neutered two months ago. He is thriving and continues to be my most loving Lhasa. Everyone uses the same word to describe him, ADORABLE. Needless to say, I agree completely. He has remained small just 15 lbs., the perfect size for a dog who wants to be held and cuddled. We are a perfect pair.Thanks"

Kathy sent photos of Jampa and wrote, "Jampa is doing well. I was on leave for 6 months, so he had me around home all the time. But now I'm back to work.  He's started to wake us up at night with his barking. Sometimes he needs to go potty, other times he's just looking for company, I think. Our bedroom is upstairs and Jampa is downstairs at night.  (He never learned to climb our steep steps to go upstairs, but climbs "regular" steps just fine.)
I've been doing all his grooming by myself for two years, but recently he started shedding undercoat again and his leg hair was fluffy like cotton and difficult to groom. I just couldn't keep up with it.  So, I bit the bullet and took him to the groomer's for a haircut.  I imagine it was kind of like taking a child to kindergarten the first day. I had to leave him there and was anxious the whole time. I kept telling myself that he can fend for himself and he'd be just fine.  And, of course, he was just fine. The groomer said that he behaved very well and that I had done a good job training him.  Huh, you mean all that time on his grooming table at home for 2 years translated into behaving for perfect strangers while being bathed and groomed? Apparently the answer is yes!  I didn't want to give up on grooming his long hair, but I'm glad I finally did!  See photos before and after."

Kris and Fernanda took Titan to his first grooming appointment and wrote, "I forgot to tell you that the groomer said that he did super well and she complimented his temperament. Of course I can’t stand how deliciously handsome he is. The groomer also advised not to worry if he fell asleep right away after getting home since the whole grooming experience is a lot of mental stimulation. Welll... my little HIGHLANDER came home as happy as could be and played quite a lot before finally resting. Our hearts are full with so much love our family and home are ecstatically happy with this munchkin. For that we thank you. #forevergrateful"

Thank you all who took time to write and send photos. I enjoy them so much and also enjoy sharing them. Some of you have told me they really like seeing relatives of their own Lhasas.

Sharing Some Good AKC Resources

AKC is an excellent resource for all things doggy! If you have friends who are looking for a puppy, you might help them out by sharing the following resource about finding a reliable breeder. I know many people are looking for Lhasa puppies -- or even retired adults -- and having trouble finding one. I get phone calls and emails from people who are broken-hearted because an elderly Lhasa passed away and they are now ready for a puppy but cannot find one.

I wish I had a way to let owners of elderly Lhasas know that they should get on waiting lists now. If a breeder contacts them saying a puppy is available, all they have to do is ask to be moved down on the list.

It hurts my heart to know that people who have had Lhasas for so many years and want another one either have to wait and wait for months. That gets old when a person aching for a puppy. Too many times the decision is to buy another breed.

Sadly, there are so many scammers out there, taking deposit money for puppies but never sending the puppy.

Anyway, here is the link to the AKC resource about finding a good breeder. Please share with your friends who are looking for a dog.

Another AKC resource is the one about using Benadryl for your dog.

Thank you for reading. Be well and continue wearing your mask and being cautious about COVID.

I'll leave you with this in honor of May:

'Til next time,

Joyce