Lhasa Apso Blog

Most Recent Puppy Pictures

2012-01-21T16:49:00.000-08:00

Hi! The puppy's pictures will speak for themselves I suppose. I don't have much to say this week, except it has been a week of firsts for the little guys. Their mom has been separated from them for most of the day and she seems happy with brief visits. I would be too if puppies with sharp teeth descended upon me in a horde looking for a quick meal! Dancer is so sweet and tolerant. She lets them maul her and when she's had enough, she looks at me with soft, expressive eyes that basically say, "Please, get me the heck out of here! Now."

The other firsts involved the first car ride, the first visit to the vet clinic, the first check up, and the first vaccinations. Everyone did well except Griffin, who was the only one to squawk when he got his shot. The puppies were a big hit with the staff at the clinic. It was good for them to be passed around and socialized.

They are now nearly 8 weeks old. Time has flown. As Dancer's work decreases, it seems that mine has increased. The little rascals can get into the strangest places and predicaments! The potty training is coming along. They seem to be getting the hang of it -- more or less! LOL Their personalities are emerging. Gracie is the more outgoing of the two girls. Olivia is spoiled by our granddaughter, who claimed her when she was only a few days old. (Guess which girl I'm keeping?) Sebastian has appointed himself CEO. Griffin is second in command. He is the scout and the explorer. Gabe is the quiet one who sits back and takes it all in. Rafe is a cuddle bug and likes nothing better than to be held in the crook of my arm on his back. A couple tummy rubs and he is in dreamland.

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

More later.

Joyce

Gabe and Rafe

Sebastian and Griffin


Olivia and Gracie

The Latest Puppy Pictures

2012-01-09T18:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, so where is winter? Not that I love cold weather, ice, and snow. Not that I enjoy scraping car windows and scooping the driveway, Not that I appreciate icy winds and below zero temperatures, but this is really weird weather for Illinois in January! It makes me wonder what big, nasty surprise Mother Nature has in store for us in the coming months.

How well I remember last year at this time. Our October puppies were old enough to leave home and their new owners had difficulties getting to Macomb because of the snow and extreme cold. We stayed home from the usual winter dog shows because we were fearful of late night travel in the cold and thought the trips just were not worth the hassle of loading and unloading dogs and equipment in the freezing temps or the risks of the bad roads and blowing snow.

Olivia and Gracie, 6 weeks

About the puppies -- they are growing and becoming more rowdy. They love to explore and manage to get into places I never imagined. You would think that after all the puppies we've raised in this house that I would have a better idea of how to puppy-proof things, but the problem-solving ingenuity of these puppies is hard at work! Their personalities are emerging, and getting to know them is interesting. We have a couple of rabble-rousers and a couple of "I'll hang back and watch and see what happens" types, and a couple that are in-between, depending on the circumstances. Their attitudes adjust quickly from day to day. They move fast and more than once I've nearly tripped on, stepped on, or shut the door on one of them. They've discovered the thrill of chewing on shoe laces and tugging on pant legs. They've met the cat, who was not happy to be approached by a horde of curious puppies. You would think he'd be used to puppies after living here for 4 years. He just leaps onto the highest perch he can find and watches them, sometimes with an evil look in his eye, crouching in attack position as if he were some kind of cougar ready to spring.

Gabe and Rafe, 6 weeks

We've begun to wean them, although Dancer is none too keen about being away from them very long. She is a good mom! They like the mush that the puppy food becomes when mixed with hot water, but they still mob their poor mother every chance they get. She is calm, tolerant, and easy going in her approach to mothering. She loves them, and it is so sweet to see her curled up napping with the puppies cuddled against her.

Our granddaughter loves the puppies and I appreciate her interest. It is great to have puppies around young children again. Klara is 5 now and is doing a nice job to help us socialize the puppies. I did not let her help me name them. Her choices were by far as odd as my own children's choices used to be!

Sebastian and Griffin, 6 weeks

We're working (it's going slow) on paper/piddle pad training. It's hit or miss, but a couple of the puppies are making really good progress and manage to get in the general vicinity of the piddle pads the majority of the time! Unfortunately, it is not the same two each day! One step forward, two steps back -- never a dull moment.

The coming weeks will bring more "firsts" as we begin to extend Dancer's time away from them by a few hours each day and introduce them to more new things. The next planned 'first' comes at the end of next week when they get their first car ride -- to the vet's clinic for their first shots.

I hope you enjoy the photos. More later!

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

Joyce

Puppy Pictures - 4 Weeks

2011-12-29T16:54:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! I hope each of you had a lovely Christmas. I was bemoaning the fact that Erikka would not be home for Christmas, but technology in the form of a laptop and Skype brought us together and was the next best thing to being here in person. We put Erikka (on the laptop) under the tree so she could take her turn as we unwrapped gifts. God bless the person(s) who invented Skype! We still missed her actual presence but Skyping made Christmas Day less lonely.

Thanks to all of you who sent pictures of your Joyslyn's Lhasas, either in your Christmas cards or as email attachments. I enjoy seeing how the dogs have grown and appreciate that you took time to send a card or email and a photo update.

Western Illinois University closes between Christmas and New Year so Lynn and I have had time off of work. I've read, groomed dogs, checked email occasionally, and accomplished the daily tasks I've set for myself. I've eaten too much and will be glad to get back to the regular routine before my jeans get too tight!

As I was grooming and bathing Walker today I thought again about making some grooming videos, something I always wanted to do but I've never been quite motivated enough to get a plan made. Someday…

Sebastian and Griffin

The puppies are growing and getting cuter every day, as you will note when you see the attached photos. They have names now. If you recall my last posting, I was laboring over names related to Dancer and Walker, but then gave up. I'll save that kind of brainstorming when it comes time for the more formal AKC registrations. Meanwhile, each puppy now has a call name to distinguish him/her from littermates. The call names are posted by their photos.

I plan to keep a girl. I have no idea which one at this time. The other girl has been spoken for. Of course, I am falling in love with the boys. Why does that always happen? But I do not intend to keep one so I hope people come along who want males so my temptation can be removed!

Gabe and Rafe

Olivia and Gracie

Their personalities are blossoming. The most inquisitive one is the light gold and white parti-color male, Sebastian, followed closely by Griffin, the other parti. The fastest one is little Gabe, who got "lost" last night when my back was turned for 30 seconds and was discovered under the recliner trying to figure out how to get out! The one who is the least ambitious is Rafe, the red male. He just wants to sleep, thank you very much! The girls are both very sweet, and our granddaughter is spoiling them and ignoring the boys.

Enjoy the pictures. I'll post more in 2012!

Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you! May you be blessed with Lhasa love in the coming year.

Joyce

Merry Christmas! (and Puppy Pictures)

2011-12-21T06:48:00.000-08:00

God bless us, every one. ~ Tiny Tim, from Dicken's A Christmas Carol

Christmas Greetings to All. May you have exactly the kind of Christmas that is, in your opinion, "perfect." (I just hope that people who live in my town do not think a white Christmas would make things "perfect!" I'm all for no snow!)

I do not know where 2011 went, but it sure went quickly. The months seemed to roll into each other faster as the year went by. No matter how it happened, 2011 is nearly gone. As we head into 2012, my wish for all of you is for peace, prosperity, happiness, and success in whatever form you define it.

On to things "Lhasa:"

The puppies are now three weeks old, exploring their environment, trying to get up on wobbly legs, and totally enchanting our 5-year-old granddaughter who loves to hold them and pet them. She is trying to name them too. Why do kids come up with the weirdest names for puppies? My own did it and now she is doing it too! I keep saying, "Nope, not that name. I'll think of something and let you know." Inspiration has not yet struck. Perhaps over the Christmas break my mind will be more focused on "What to Name the Puppies." I keep lists of possible names and have two lists for names related to the parents' names. For this litter, I'm using the lists related to "dance" and "wind" in honor of the dam, Joyslyn's Dance Sensation, and the sire, "GCh. Joyslyn Mi Toya Wind Walker." Perhaps by the next time I post photos, the puppies will have names instead of "the girl with the white feet" and "the chubby red boy," etc.!

Here are the most recent pictures. Enjoy!

The parti-color boys:

The gold/red gold boys:

The girls:

Merry Christmas!

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

Oh…and God Bless Us, Every One!

Joyce

Puppy Photos - Age 2 Weeks

2011-12-15T08:12:00.000-08:00

So...unless you want to hear my frustrations about Christmas shopping and a son who has not yet sent me a Christmas list (which I am going to assume is not on your list of things you want to read about today), my only news is that the puppies are doing just great, eating a lot, sleeping a lot, and growing! They complained this AM when I roused them and tried to get them to pose for pictures. Some just decided to go back to sleep, which is too bad because their eyes are open now.

Here are the two parti-color boys:

Here are their brothers, neither of whom wanted to wake up to have their picture taken. Please note that the guy on the right never misses a meal!

Finally, the girls, awake but not thrilled about it.

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

Joyce

Puppy Pictures - 1 Week Old

2011-12-08T07:57:00.000-08:00

It's time again for puppy pictures. The puppies are a little over a week old, eating well and growing. Dancer is a great mom and takes good care of her babies.

This first picture is of the two parti-color boys.

This photo is of the other two boys. One looks as if he might have more red in his coat, like his sire.

Finally, the two girls.

Enjoy the photos! Good luck with the rest of your Christmas shopping! More photos next week...

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you.

Joyce

Show Results

2011-12-05T09:54:00.000-08:00

Maggie, Raven, and I returned from the 3-day show in Belleville, IL, last evening about 6:30. We had a fun weekend. The Friday show was hosted by the Gateway Non-Sporting Dog Club, and the Saturday and Sunday shows by the Edwardsville Illinois Kennel Club. For some reason, a few years ago Lhasa people from multiple states started gathering at this show for an end-of-the-year, last-chance-at-majors event. This year people came from IL, MO, TN, WI, OH, and ND. We had large class entries with 5-point majors in dogs and 4-point majors in bitches. There were 6 specials entered also.

Summary: Great people. Great food. Great friends. Laughs. Excitement. Some disappointment. Fun. Beautiful Lhasas! Good vendors at the show site. Great variety of stores for Christmas shopping. Nice hotel with patio door in the room making easy parking lot access for loading and unloading. Decent weather until Saturday night when rain began and continued for most of Sunday.

Maggie was the big winner for us. On Saturday under Michelle Billings, Maggie took Winners Bitch and Best of Winners for a 5-point major. It was a welcome ‑ but unexpected - win, so I was thrilled. Once again, a big thanks to Jane, who took Maggie back into the ring for Breed so I could show Raven, and who showed Maggie to that Best of Winners award that resulted in a 5-point rather than a 4-point major.

This show weekend is our last of 2011. Maggie is entered in the Skokie Valley show and Sweepstakes next weekend, but since she is the only class Lhasa entered and there are no points, it seems senseless to go. I think I'll go Christmas shopping instead!

I tried to get some candid photos of the girls as we were waiting for it to be time to go to ringside. The effort was semi-successful. I was using an older digital camera that had a horribly long delay time between the time I pressed the button and the time the photo was actually taken. The results were a lot of terrible shots of heads moving. However, a few of the photos were not too bad so I am sharing. Click the photo if you want a larger view.

Just think, it was this time last year when I was posting baby pictures of Raven and Maggie.

And…speaking of baby pictures, we'll be taking new pictures of Dancer's puppies tomorrow or Wednesday. I'll post them as soon as I can.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you.

Joyce

Puppies Have Arrived

2011-11-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

Born Nov. 29, 2011, between the hours of 4:30 and 9:45 AM
Proud parents are GCh. Joyslyn Mi Toya Wind Walker and Joyslyn's Dance Sensation (Walker and Dancer) (Well, Dancer is proud. Walker couldn't care less! LOL!)
4 boys (2 gold, 2 parti-color)
2 girls (gold)

I'll try to post pictures each week, as usual.

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

Joyce

Your Laugh For the Day

2011-11-28T08:01:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this picture of Maggie with her favorite toy. We call this little green alien her "baby" because she carries it all the time. Seeing her with it in the upright position cracks me up! We were finally able to get a picture. Usually she drops it when she sees the camera.

I hope it makes you laugh too!

If I thought I could get her to carry it in the ring, I'd give it to her. We all need a good chuckle and this would do it for sure!

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

Joyce

Pictures from the Past

2011-11-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

As I look back at old photos, I think how remarkably fortunate I have been to have known so many beautiful Lhasas, beautiful inside and out. So today I decided to share some pictures and little stories about three of our Lhasas from the mid-to-late 1970's.

Ch. Joyslyn's Raggedy Rebel, shown by Bev Thompson

Our first champion was Joyslyn's Piece of the Rock. I have described him in previous posts. His litter brother, Ch. Joyslyn's Raggedy Rebel, was also a beautiful Lhasa, as you can see from his photo. Rebbie was owned by my friend Beth James who lived in Omaha. He was handled for a while by a mutual friend, Bev Thompson, and later by Dorothy Kendell. Rebbie had a pretty head and bite. He was well balanced and a good mover. What attracted most people to him was his color. As you see, it was not really white, nor was it cream. It had a natural sheen to it that highlighted the light color.

Joyslyn's Well I Can Do That! ("Socks")

A disappointment (and there have been many over the years, my most recent being Belle!) was Joyslyn's Well I Can Do That. We'd named him "Socks" because as a young puppy the white socks on his legs were quite apparent. When it came time to register him, I tried to think of something that went with his call name and chose the title from "I Can Do That," a song from A Chorus Line. Why was Socks a disappointment? He never finished his championship, or I should say that the person who bought him intending to show him, never saw it through. That, of course, is the chance a breeder takes when she sells a show prospect to a novice. It takes a great leap of faith because, no matter how intent and fired up a novice to dog showing is, the fact is that showing is not as easy as it might look at first glance. It takes time, effort, and persistence that often discourage newcomers. That is what happened to Socks. His new owner just couldn't quite manage all that preparing him for the ring and showing him required. However, she loved him, and that was the important thing. In the photo, Socks is pictured with handler Marge Lewis.

Ch. Lutzmor's Ja-Ma Janie ("Fancy") was quite a character. She was also a challenge for a couple of reasons. First though, here is the story of how we came to have her. Our third Lhasa was Lutzmor's Dolsa Bo Jangles. I've written about Bo in previous posts. I bought him from Pat Lutz. In 1976, Lynn and I drove to the east coast so he could visit graduate schools he was considering. As part of that trip, we took Bo to a dog show and then visited Pat Lutz so she could meet him. She introduced us to Janet Whitman, who was to become a great friend and mentor. Pat and Janet had a litter and agreed that we could take a puppy home with us. At that time, when a person registered a dog with AKC, the registration paperwork required two names be listed as choices for the dog. Pat had written "Lutzmor's Ja-Ma Fantasia" as the first choice and "Lutzmor's Ja-Ma Janie" as the second choice. I disliked the second choice, but Pat assured me that AKC always gave the first choice so I should not worry. Well, that did not work out! We'd been calling the puppy "Fancy" since we took her from Pat, so Fancy she stayed, in spite of her official name.

Ch. Lutzmor's Ja-Ma Janie ("Fancy')

Fancy had fantastic movement and a lively disposition. She was eye-catching in all ways, except her head. She had a "down face," which greatly detracted from her appearance and earned her many side-long glances from competitors at ringside. In the beginning, she disliked the ring and lost at quite a few shows. I recall one in particular when Fancy was one of two in her class and the other bitch was rather long and caterpillar looking. The judge obviously preferred Fancy, but she was not putting her tail up, even though the judge gave her multiple chances. So, we took second and received a "too bad" from the judge. Competing for Winners were a puppy and the adult from Fancy's class. The adult won because the puppy was not behaving. Meanwhile, outside the ring another exhibitor took the wrapping off a cigarette package. (Yes, that was in the dark ages when people could smoke whenever and wherever they wanted.) Fancy perked up and got all excited, so I took the wrapping back in the ring as "bait." She showed like a dream. The judge said, "Now why couldn't she have done that in the first place?" as she handed me the Reserve ribbon.

Ch. Lutzmor's Ja-Ma Janie ("Fancy")

Fancy continued to show hot and cold, never quite sure if she liked it or not. The day I knew she'd be just fine was at an outdoor show in Paducha, KY. We were waiting at ringside and across the ring was a Doberman, just standing there minding his business. Fancy caught sight of him and started barking and barking! She was totally "on" in the ring that day and never turned off again.

I've posted two pictures of Fancy. I am with her in the show picture. And yes, those of you who know me, you are right. My hairstyle has not changed much over the last 30+ years!

In the spirit of the season, tomorrow being Thanksgiving, I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you who take time to read this blog. I wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you spend the holiday as you want to spend it—enjoying family and friends or just chilling out or maybe shopping 'til you drop at all the early Christmas sales.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you! I am thankful for each one of mine through the years, for their love and admiration, for the lessons they've taught me, and for the friends and acquaintances I've made because of them.

Joyce

Just Some Photos

2011-11-18T14:20:00.000-08:00

I have had a busy November and remarked to a co-worker today that I have not been in the office a full week yet this month! I left on the 4th to go to Florida. I was back for one day on the 11th. This week I was in Chicago for meetings Tuesday - Thursday. Next week, we are open only 3 days. And Christmas is getting closer and closer...

Here are the promised photos from the National Specialty. I am missing the photo of Walker, taken after the Top 20 competition. I received a photo of another person's dog so imagine someone else received mine. If I ever get it, I'll post it also.

Enjoy the photos and enjoy Thanksgiving. I hope you each have long, long lists of blessings to count. And I hope at least one of those blessings is a Lhasa Apso.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you.

Joyce

Walker, Award of Merit

Walker, Select Dog

Raven, Select Bitch

A Vacation and Puppy News

2011-11-12T06:15:00.000-08:00

A rainy, overcast Miami day

Sunny, with strong waves and wind

The morning of November 4 found me driving to Bloomington to catch a plane to Chicago and from there another to Miami to visit our daughter. The Miami weather was much nicer than the Macomb weather, that is for sure! However, it did rain a couple of the days but that did not dampen my vacation spirits. The trip was fun and restful and, of course, it was delightful to be with my daughter again. I'm posting a couple of pictures just to prove I was there!

I was fascinated by the Banyon trees.

The trip home was "something else!" It began routinely, but perhaps 15 minutes into the flight, the captain told us we'd have to go back to Miami because there was a mechanical problem. One of the cargo doors had not sealed properly. But first, we had to fly around for a while to get rid of fuel since we were too heavy to land. Long story short: I missed my connecting flight and had to spend Wednesday night in Chicago. The airline (American) was very gracious. By the time we landed (from boarding to landing, I was on that plane 6 hours and 50 minutes), the staff at the gate had us all re-ticketed for Thursday flights and gave us vouchers for hotel rooms, dinner, and breakfast the next morning. I'd packed my coat in the luggage I'd checked, which turned out not to be such a great idea! Fortunately, I was wearing a sweatshirt, which helped a little, but not much, as I waited outside for the hotel shuttle Wednesday night. Thursday's flight was uneventful, as was the drive home.

A co-worker & I at the "O'hare Hotel"

That "delayed flight" experience was a far cry from a previous overnight in Chicago when a flight was canceled and a couple of my co-workers and I were stranded at the airport on cots! It was an adventure we laugh about now. It wasn't much fun at the time.

While I was away, Belle had a vet visit to determine if she was carrying puppies or not. The disappointing answer was "not." I suspected as much, but held out hope that perhaps she was carrying one or two. No such luck. As those of you who read this blog regularly know, Belle does things her own way and in her own time! I suspected she was not pregnant and since this is the second time she "missed," we've decided that motherhood is not for her. She is still in full coat and beautiful, and one of these days I'll get a call from the right family who wants Belle to live with them. She is beautiful inside and out.

Belle. Disappointing news.

Other news, although not "officially" confirmed as yet by ultrasound or x-ray, is that Dancer is pregnant. Her puppies are due around Thanksgiving. I'll keep you posted.

The pictures have arrived from the specialty. I just need some time to scan them and post them. That won't be today. As you all know, the problem with taking a vacation is the work that awaits you when you come home! I have dogs to groom, bills to pay, groceries to buy, laundry to do, etc., etc... you all know what it's like! It's a good thing I took pictures or I'd be wondering, "what vacation?"

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

Joyce

National Specialty: Part VI - The Results

2011-10-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

I was finally able to find a reliable source from which to mark my Specialty catalog. What follows are the results of the various confirmation shows held during ALAC's National Specialty Week. The names in parentheses are the names of the owners.

I recall that years ago AKC considered and then rejected allowing the Reserve Winners (Dog and Bitch) to earn a 3-point major as a result of taking Reserve at a National Specialty. Each year when I think of the number of dogs defeated by the Reserve Winners at the National Specialty and compare that number to what it takes to earn a 3-point major at a "regular show" (e.g., in Illinois it takes only 4 dogs to make a 3-point major), well at that point I really wish AKC would have voted to allow those majors for Reserve National Specialty wins!

Lhasa Apso Club of Central Colorado, October 11, 2011

Judge- Mr. Bill Lee

Winners Dog: APSOLUTELY KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ (DeCleir & Clark)

Reserve Winners Dog: RUFKINS MONARCH JUST BECAUSE I AM (Lombardi & Harrison)

Winners Bitch: PRK'S DEFYING GRAVITY (DeMers)

Reserve Winners Bitch: ELMINJA'S SNYIN-NYE (Strayer, Byrne, & LaSart)

Best of Breed : CH RUSHMAR’S CHARMER (McCutcheon)
Best of Winners : APSOLUTELY KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ (DeCleir & Clark)
Best of Opposite Sex: GCH CH SUNDANCER ALEKSANDRA (Hamilton & Johnson)
Select Dog : GCH CH TA SEN BOND JAMES BOND (Giles & Vaden)
Select Bitch : GCH CH MONARCH RUFKJNS TANGO IN PARIS (Harrison, Stafford, & Lombardi)
Best Puppy in Puppy Classes : RUFKINS MONARCH JUST BECAUSE I AM (Lombardi & Harrison)
Bred-By-Exhibitor: PRK’S DEFYING GRAVITY (DeMers)

Lhasa Apso Club of Central Colorado, October 11, 2011

SWEEPSTAKES CLASSES

Judge-Mr. Larry Bruton

Best in Sweepstakes: SUNDANCER SASHELLIE MARTA HARI (Hamilton, Holibaugh, Worlton, & Johnson)

Best of Opposite Sex to Best in Sweepstakes: SUNDANCER SASHELLIE RHAPSODY (Hamilton, Holibaugh, Worlton, & Johnson)

Best in Veteran Sweepstakes: GCH CH JOYSLYN MITOYA WIND WALKER (Johanson & Hays)

American Lhasa Apso Club, October 12, 2011

CUT DOWN SWEEPSTAKES

Judge-Ms. Annette Rathbun

Best Cut Down in Sweepstakes: CH FFT KISSES OF FIRE (Kuhlman, Timbers, & Rothman)

Best of Opposite Sex to Best Cut Down in Sweepstakes: CH TIMBERS CONFIDENTAILLY YOURS (Timbers & Timbers)

American Lhasa Apso Club Central Regional Specialty, October 13, 2011

Judge-Ms. Barbara J Wood

Winners Dog: WESTGATE MONOGRAM BOB HOPE (Sehnert & Williams)

Reserve Winners Dog: SERA MAR KHASA ZUNI SUNSHINE (Schwartz & Schwartz)

Winners Bitch: RUFKINS SUMMERHILL WORD OF MOUTH (Lombardi & Bjornsson)

Reserve Winners Bitch: SUNDANCER SASHELLIE MARTA HARI (Hamilton, Holibaugh, Worlton, & Johnson)

Best Lhasa Apso: CH RUSHMAR’S CHARMER (McCutcheon)
Best of Winners: RUFKINS SUMMERHILL WORD OF MOUTH (Lombardi & Bjornsson)
Best of Opposite Sex : CH FFT TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN (Timber, Timbers, & Rothman)
Select Dog: GCH CH JOYSLYN MITOYA WIND WALKER (Johanson & Hays)
Select Bitch: Ch. JOYSLYN’S MIDNIGHT ENCHANTMENT (Johanson)

Best Puppy in Puppy Classes: RUFKINS SUMMERHILL WORD OF MOUTH (Lombardi & Bjornsson)
Bred-By-Exhibitor: DESIDERATA MLS DAKOTA MAGIC O’FLIGHT (Susag & Miller)
Award of Merit: GCH CH TA SEN BOND JAMES BOND (Giles & Vaden)
Award of Merit: GCH SUNDANCER’S REBEL SHADOW TRYST (Worlton & Johnson)
Award of Merit: GCH CH SUNDANCER ALEKSANDRA (Hamilton & Johnson)
Award of Merit: GR CH MONARCH RUFKJNS TANGO IN PARIS (Harrison, Stafford, & Lombardi)
Award of Merit: CH MACH2 INDIAN HILL MELOU’S JOSIE RA OF (Torgerson)

American Lhasa Apso Club National Specialty, October 14, 2011

Judge-Ms. Betty Regina Leininger

Winners Dog: ODIE'S I HAVE A DREAM (Fluhart)

Reserve Winners Dog: APSOLUTELY KEEP ON TRUCKIN' (DeCleir & Clark)

Winners Bitch: REDFOX'S WOODEN Y'LIKE TO BE AN ANGEL (Cannimore & Winslow)

Reserve Winners Bitch: PRK'S DEFYING GRAVITY (DeMers)

Best Lhasa Apso: GCH CH TA SEN BOND JAMES BOND (Giles & Vaden)
Best of Winners: REDFOX’S WOODEN Y’ LIKE TO BE AN ANGEL (Cannimore & Winslow)

Best of Opposite Sex: GCH CH MONARCH RUFKJNS TANGO IN PARIS (Harrison, Stafford, & Lombardi)
Select Dog: GCH RED FOX’S ONE WING IN THE FIRE (Cannimore & Cannimore)
Select Bitch: CH NUSENG’S OH WHAT A GAL SINGDU (Adams)
Best Puppy in Puppy Classes: SUNDANCERS HYLAN SHOTRU BRANDY MINE (Worlton, Worlton, & Worlton)
Bred-By-Exhibitor: REDFOX’S WOODEN Y’ LIKE TO BE AN ANGEL (Cannimore & Winslow)
Award of Merit: GCH CH JOYSLYN MITOYA WIND WALKER (Johanson & Hays)
Award of Merit: GCH CH RUFKINS SQUEEZIN INTO A SPEEDO (Bernards)
Award of Merit: CH RUSHMAR’S CHARMER (McCutcheon)
Award of Merit: GCH CH EDREY TAM HUFF ANGEI.S ARE WITH ME (Hoskins & Hoskins)

Award of Merit: CH FFT TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN (Timbers, Timbers, & Rothman)
Award of Merit: CH TARA HUFF EDREY MISS RUBY ROUGE (Huffman & Valle)

And as always, in case you need reminding...

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

Joyce

National Specialty: Part V - The Trip Home

2011-10-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday and Sunday, October 15-16

By 7:30 Saturday morning, the four of us had our dogs, our ex-pens, and our overnight bags at the van for the final packing. Oh my…things were tight. We, the dogs, the microwave, the cooler, all the suitcases, suitcase crates, ex-pens, boxes, totes, food, pillows, blankets, water jugs…. well, it all finally fit. By 9:00 we'd stopped at a McDonald's for Egg McMuffins, and we on our way east, heading for home.

The road ahead was a long one. Gone was the anticipation of what the specialty week would bring. In its place was the longing in each of us for the trip to be over so we could be home in our own beds.

As a result of being worn out from the week's activities, we stopped more frequently and played "tourist." For example, we stopped outside of Amarillo to walk into the field to see the Cadillac Ranch, where 10 Cadillacs are buried, nose down. People stop, walk through a turnstile entrance onto a rutted dirt road, and walk what might amount to a couple of blocks to see the Cadillacs. Most (not us because we did not know we were going to stop there) bring along cans of spray paint to add a bit of self-expression to the cars. I imagine someone stops by daily to pick up the empty spray cans strewn about or the pile would get deep. It seems that most of the "artists" do not know how to find the dumpster located at the entrance.

Read more about the Cadillac Ranch here http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2220

We took a picture of a huge cross located outside of Groom, Texas. I guess it depends on where you are from because when we first about the cross, we heard it was the largest in the western hemisphere. Another person told us it was the third largest. Anyway, it is huge and hard to miss. We did not stop, but Jan managed to take a picture of it. You can get an idea of how large it is compared to the building it stands near. This website has some interesting pictures and information about its construction http://www.crossministries.net/.

Another interesting attraction in Groom is the leaning water tower. Here's a picture of it too, along with a website in case you want to read more http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/1266.

We drove by the Bug Ranch in Conway, Texas, where someone copied the Cadillac Ranch idea by planting some old VWs. We went by too fast to get a picture, but here is a link to a website about the Bug Ranch.

http://www.captiveimage.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95:the-bug-ranch-in-conway-texas&catid=47:did-you-know-this&Itemid=28

The last tourist-y thing we did was to stop somewhere in Texas or Oklahoma at a gift shop selling southwestern-type wares, from cacti (LaVonne bought one), to pottery, jewelry, clothing, toys, etc…Outside the shop we found a mural depicting a Native American scene painted on the side of a building, a sculpture of a Native American astride his horse, a tepee, and a couple of painted buffalo. Photo ops!! Here are the results.

We made it as far as Lebenon, Missouri, where we stopped just after midnight to get a few hours of sleep. (When I say "few" that's what I mean!). From there, it was 7 hours to Macomb. We made it by 3:00 Sunday afternoon! What a relief for me. However, from my house, Jan, Karen, and LaVonne still had quite a long trek. It was 5 hours to LaVonne's, then another 3 hours to Jan's, where Karen spent the night.

We are all thankful for a safe trip to and from our destination and for our friendship and memories of the journey. We have a lot to laugh and reminisce about.

It's been fun re-living the experience by writing about it. Thanks to everyone who's taken time to read about our 2011 trip to the ALAC National Specialty!

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

Joyce

National Specialty: Part IV - Thursday and Friday

2011-10-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

ALAC Specialty Week

Thursday and Friday, October 13-14

Thursday and Friday were great days for us. I don't mean to indicate that we walked away with lots of points and huge prizes, but the judges appreciated my dogs and that made me feel great. Many other spectators and exhibitors positively commented on them also—always an ego boost!

Early Thursday morning I spent money at ALAC's Ways and Means table buying a logo sweatshirt and a set of pewter Lhasa wind chimes. I was pretty sure I had room in the suitcase for both.

Other vendors included one who sold lovely Tibetan jewelry (I apologize for not recalling her name); Fran Strayer, who was selling beautiful Lhasa Apso note cards (I have so many of them mounted and framed and hanging on my walls or sitting on end tables. They are almost too cute to write on! If any of you are interested in the note cards, let me know, and I'll send you Fran's contact information); and Susan Giles with her array of Pawmarks items—brushes, combs, bands, water bottle holders, decorative items, crate pads and more! http://www.pawmarks.com/ is the website.

When the judging began, I enjoyed mentoring a judge who had come to the specialty to watch the Lhasas and to participate in Friday's Judges Education Seminar. She was knowledgeable, perceptive, and inquisitive about the Lhasa. She asked very good questions and kept me on my toes throughout the morning.

Diane stopped by again to chat and say good-bye before she and Leanne left for home. Her visit was short but very much appreciated as she has a great sense of humor and a joy of life that makes being with her fun.

Ms. Barbara Wood was the judge for Thursday's ALAC Midwest Regional Specialty. Walker was my first dog to be shown. He "won" the Veteran's class easily! (I say "won" and "easily" because once again he was the only veteran dog there.) Anyway, that win meant that he was eligible to participate in the Best of Breed competition. I had a dilemma…Raven had been moved up to Best of Breed, but unlike Tuesday, that meant I had two of them in the Breed competition. Unable to clone myself, I called on Karen for help.

All the Breed competitors had to go into the ring together for armband checks. Karen took Raven in and I took Walker. Then the bitch specials, the veteran (Walker), and Winners Dog and Winners Bitch were dismissed while the dog specials were judged. (Note to non-dog show readers: A "special" is a champion who is competing for Best of Breed.) After the dogs were judged and Ms. Wood made her cut, it was the bitch specials' turn to be judged. I took Raven in and was pleased when she made the cut. But now we had a problem! Which dog, Walker or Raven, should I show? I made a snap decision not to change armbands and gave Karen the nod to show Walker. I was nervous because never in his 9 years had anyone but me shown him. Well, you would not know that because he showed like a dream for Karen. We were both surprised and relieved. I thought there would be problems because in the line up Walker was at the end of the male specials and Raven was at the beginning of the bitch specials, meaning that she and I were in line right behind Walker and Karen. Neither dog seemed to care. They both showed their hearts out and I was so very pleased when Walker, the oldest champion in the ring, was singled out for the Select Dog Award and Raven, the youngest champion in the ring, was chosen for the Select Bitch Award! There were 25 champions entered that day. Raven's placement gave her 5 more points toward her Grand Championship. She now has 7 and needs 25, so I imagine I'll be showing her next year, trying to earn those other grand champion points.

Following the judging and the photos, which I will share with you once I get them, we all rushed to get our dogs' headfalls put up and then hurried back to our rooms to potty and feed the dogs so we could get to the annual meeting on time. Many important issues were slated for discussion. It was a bittersweet meeting for me because it was my last as the club's Vice President, a position I've held since 2004. However, I was nominated for a Board of Directors position and was elected to that position, so I'm happy to serve ALAC for another 3 years.

After the meeting, we again rushed to change clothes and don attire that had a southwestern flare so we could attend the annual awards banquet. I chose an outfit of brown and turquoise. The banquet food was expensive and rather blah, as food at these kinds of banquets tends to be. (Dessert was cheesecake and it was delicious!) But food is not the main reason we attend! The highlight of the banquet for me is always the Awards Slide Show. However, before the slide show began, our President Barbara Schwartz announced the winner of ALAC's first Member of the Year Award. She called my name! I was proud and humbled to receive such an honor. In addition to the plaque, I received an AKC medallion that was presented to me on a very special set of Mardi Gras beads chosen by LaVonne, Karen, and Jan. The plaque sits in a place of honor in my office. The beads hang from my rearview mirror, a reminder at least four times daily of the honor given me and of my friends' crazy sense of humor!

Now hanging from my mirror

Back to the Award Slide Show: Phyllis Misite once again outdid herself by compiling photos members sent to her of their 2010 champions and setting the slide show to music. My 2010 champions featured in the show were Zach, Ch. Joyslyn MLS Dakota Playboy at Heart, and Mira, Ch. Karlyn Joyslyn Who's the Fairest. Ch. Joyslyn Miss Cheevy-us, owned by Karen Schlais, was featured for earning her Register of Merit (Dam) Award.

The Awards Banquet ended with an auction unsurpassed in its hilarity as auctioneer Marsha Susag attempted to cajole members into bidding higher and higher on many beautiful items. She was successful! Everyone had a great time and a lot of laughs, and money was raised for the club. I basically sat on my hands the entire time, afraid that any movement would result in Marsha telling me I'd just bid $100 on something! LOL!!!

I honestly do not remember anything else about Thursday night except getting back to our room and changing into comfortable clothes. I was so tired that I fell asleep in the middle of a conversation with Marsha – and I only know that because she teased me about it the next day. Other evidence that I was wiped out: Marsha made caramel popcorn in the microwave and I slept through the popping, the aroma, and the eating! Unheard of!!!

Friday morning involved more rushing. The Judges Education Seminar and the ALAC Mentor training began at 7:30. I was involved with both. Members of ALAC who were interested in finding out more about our mentor program were invited to listen to the seminar presentation with the three judges who attended. When the PowerPoint presentation ended, and the judges were involved in the hands-on portion of the seminar, I went over the mentor guidelines with the interested members.

Suddenly, we all realized it was after 9:30 and that the judging started at 10:00! I sped down the hall to potty Raven and Walker and get them loaded on the cart to take to the ballroom. I spent the rest of the morning in the grooming area of the ballroom getting them groomed and ready to show while watching the judging. Friday's judge was Ms. Betty Leininger. I happened to glance at the judging schedule at one point and my heart leaped. I assumed (you know what they say about assuming…) that the veteran class would be judged at 1:00 as it had been on Thursday. Oh no…it was on the morning schedule following the Winners Bitch judging! Fortunately, Walker was close enough to being ready that the timing was not an issue for us; however, the owners of the other male veteran were under the same assumption as I and were in a panic since they bathed and had just begun to dry their dog! Some quick rescheduling was done, and we were able to show the veterans after lunch.

Walker had competition in the Veteran's class for the first time that week, and I was so excited when he won! Once again he and Raven would compete with 31 others entered in the Best of Breed competition. Although Karen and I had a strategy worked out, we did not need it since Raven did not make the cut. Walker showed his heart out though and was awarded one of the coveted Awards of Merit. When Walker's photo was being taken, the judge commented to me that she liked my bitch (Raven) but that she (Raven) was too small for her (the judge).

I'm including this photo of our rosettes for my friend Rebecca, who loves rosettes! The two light blue and white ones on the left are the Select Dog and Select Bitch rosettes. The small pink and green one and the two larger pink ones are the Veteran's class rosettes. The picture does not do justice to the beautiful black and turquoise rosette Walker received for being in the Top 20 competition. What you cannot see well is his name on it. The large turquoise rosette was Friday's Award of Merit rosette.

Now, back to the saga: Photos taken, it was time to pack up our grooming area, get back to the room and start packing clothing, dog supplies, and all the other "stuff" we'd gathered during the week, in preparation for leaving Saturday morning. I hung the rosettes from hangers in the garment bag to keep them from getting too wrinkled and then started sorting things that went in the suitcase, overnight bag, grooming tote, etc. I reluctantly turned down an invitation to dinner, thinking that if I took time to relax I'd never get the packing done. Later, LaVonne convinced me to take a break and to go to dinner with her, Jan, and Karen. As I looked at the piles and piles of things to be packed I wondered if I should go, but I finally decided some food, good conversation, and laughter was what I needed.

Evidently I was starving because when the waitress returned to our table to refill drinks, she looked at my empty plate and the nearly-full plates of my friends and commented, "Wow, you ate fast!"

After dinner, we arranged a time to meet by the van in the parking lot to begin the ordeal of packing the van for the trip home. We managed to get everything packed on Friday night except the dogs, their ex-pens, ourselves, and our overnight bags. Everything fit even more tightly because we were all taking home extra items, especially Jan! She'd been very lucky at Friday's raffle and won three huge baskets of goodies, including two lovely pieces of large pottery and an array of #1 All Systems grooming products. LaVonne took home some Green Bay Packers items from the raffle and won wine in the silent auction. Jan's winning streak continued as she came away with some lovely jewelry from the silent auction. Jan's an excellent packer and evidently good at jigsaw puzzles because somehow on Saturday morning her van-loading plan came together and all our things fit—barely!

Kudos to all who played a part in making the 2011 Specialty such a success. If I start a list, I am sure to omit someone, so I hesitate to do it. However, I want to mention Linda Jarrett, Show Chair; Sandy Devlin, Hospitality and Trophy Chair; Fran Kanipe, Obedience and Rally Chair; and Mary Jane Orrie, Advertising Chair. They, their friends in the area from other breed clubs, and a multitude of ALAC member volunteers all pitched in as needed and worked hard to make the 2011 National Specialty week fun and successful.

By the way, if you could not be there and want some idea of what happened, do not despair! Larry Bruton filmed Wednesday's ALAC Futurity and Friday's ALAC National Specialty. DVD's are available for $20 (Futurity) and $35 (Specialty) or both for $50. Prices include shipping. Larry is donating 10% to ALAC. To order contact Larry Bruton, 5406 SW Woods Court, Portland, OR 97221.

The story and photos from the trip home are yet to come.

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

Joyce

National Specialty: Part III - Wednesday

2011-10-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

ALAC Specialty Week

Wednesday, October 12:

Up at 5:20, Marsha and I exercised and fed the dogs, got ourselves ready, jumped in the van, and headed to Los Lunas for the agility trial. Marsha had Twist (Zach's sire) entered in the trial. I, being incapable of training an agility dog – not that I have tried, but I know myself) did not have a dog entered but went along for moral support, as well as to help with the set-up and do whatever else anyone needed me to do at the trial. I really enjoy watching the agility trials so it was a pleasure to go for that reason alone.

The morning was brisk. Nope, it was darn cold. And the grass (nice green grass) was wet from dew. Nevertheless, the intrepid early morning bunch that showed up to build the course got to work quickly and with few comments. (It was too cold to talk.) Debby and I learned that if you have to move a tunnel, it is easier to do if you scrunch it up and put a pole in it, then carry it using the pole. We only had to move two tunnels, both of which turned out to be too short for the course layout, before someone took pity on us and gave us that hint. We were able to move the third one with less effort. (It was still darn heavy!)

I then got lucky (or perhaps someone else took pity on my lack of knowledge). I was assigned to follow Melissa around carrying an armful of poles and to place the poles where she told me to place them. This I could easily handle!

Later, courses built, gloves and shoes/socks soaked with dew, we were all grateful to see Barbara and Bobbie show up with coffee, hot chocolate, and donuts!

I'm always amazed by agility Lhasas and the partnership that exists between them and their owners. Many dogs had beautiful and fast runs. Others goofed off a little, some a lot!! All owners took the disappointments in stride and all the dogs left the course happy.

I was fortunate again to get a job I could handle during the trial. I was assigned to be the leash runner, which involved picking up the dog's leash at the entrance to the course and taking it to the exit so it could be put back on the dog before he/she exited the course. Mind you, some of the dogs ran the course so fast that I often had to hustle between entrance and exit just to get there on time!

Just as the morning was warming up, it was time for me to head back to Albuquerque to begin the next phase of my day. I caught a ride with Barbara and Bobbie as they left.

The message light was blinking on the phone in the hotel room. Checking it, I learned that my good friend, Diane, formerly from Bloomington, Illinois, and now living in Las Cruses, was on her way to Albuquerque to see me! She'd read my blog and various Facebook postings about the specialty and decided to surprise me. That made my day!

As past Chairperson of the Breeder Education Committee, I was asked by the current Chair if I would host the Breeder Education Seminar since she was unable to attend the specialty. I agreed. Since I had a couple of hours before the seminar started, I decided I should bathe Raven again so she'd look decent for Thursday's show. Having complained about the lack of water pressure from the showerhead, I was rescued by a friend who said I could use her shower which had a hand-held sprayer attached. I eagerly accepted the offer! Raven was bathed, dried, and I was dressed up and ready a half hour before the seminar was scheduled to begin.

Afraid that we were not going to get much of a crowd at the seminar, I rounded up some people who were hanging around the ballroom and grooming area and encouraged them to attend and to spread the word. By 2:30, when the seminar was to begin, the presenter arrived and the room began to fill with people. The presenter was Dr. Donny MacDougall, a veterinarian from Albuquerque who has many dog show people as clients. His topic was anatomy, and his focus for the hour presentation was common skeletal defects. He specifically addressed Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease, Patellar Luxation, and Hip Dysplasia. He offered his audience an option to OFA by introducing us to the PennHip screening procedure for hip dysplasia. I've attached scanned copies of the brochure he gave us so you can read about the process. Click each photo to enlarge it so the print is readable.

Seminar over, I presented Dr. MacDougall his check and made it outside to the patio area just in time for the beginning of ALAC's first Cut Down Sweepstakes. Fourteen Lhasas were entered. They were all in various stages of "clipped down," some clipped quite closely, others with cute little hair cuts and leg fringes. It was great to see structure and movement without all the coat normally seen in the show ring. Everyone had a good time and it seems likely this sweepstakes will become a part of our specialty week. There were murmurings about how close the coat needs to be cut, so I anticipate some rules might be forthcoming regarding that issue. The photo shows Ron Crowder with Zorro (Ch. Takashi's Codename Zebra), Raven's grandsire, during the Cut Down Sweepstakes. In the meantime, in the ballroom the obedience and rally events were about to begin, so after the winners were chosen for the Cut Down Sweepstakes, I wandered into the ballroom to sit, relax a while, and watch rally. That is where Diane found me when she arrived. We spent a pleasant time chatting and catching up on each other's lives until she and her friend decided it was time for them to find a restaurant.

Wednesday evening's event was the Futurity, judged by Ms. Debbie Burke. The Futurity provides a showcase for Lhasas between 6 – 18 months. Only those dogs that are nominated for the Futurity within 90 days of birth are allowed to participate in the event. This year's participants were born between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011. I had nothing entered in the Futurity and was happy to be able to sit and watch the judging. Best Puppy and Grand Futurity Winner was Westgate Monogram Bob Hope, from the 9-12 Puppy Dog Class. The Best Adult was awarded to Ch. Hi Tide Sea Shell-y.

Was that the end? By no means! I still had to bathe and dry Walker! Again, the use of my friend's hand-held showerhead came in quite handy, and I was grateful for her offer to use it. A couple hours later, Walker was bathed, dried and ready for Thursday's show. I was ready for a drink and had a margarita-flavored wine cooler. We popped popcorn in the microwave, relaxed, and chatted about the events of the day.

Relaxation…what a concept!

Two days remained of Specialty Week. ALAC's Midwestern Regional Specialty was held on Thursday, and the ALAC National Specialty was held on Friday. Both days held some exciting and surprising events for me!

More to come…

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you.

Joyce

National Specialty: Part II - Monday and Tuesday

2011-10-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

ALAC Specialty Week

Monday, October 10:

After a trip with Marsha to the nearby WalMart where we purchased water, snacks, and other necessities for the week that we'd either forgotten to pack or had to leave behind for lack of space, I spent the morning grooming and bathing Walker and Raven. I was relieved that the trip had not been too bad on their coats. The first time I took Walker to a National Specialty his coat did not do well. Marsha, JoAnne (Walker's co-owner and co-breeder), and I traveled to California in 2003 when Walker was just a year old. He somehow became totally matted between the time I groomed him when we overnighted in Colorado and when we stopped the next night somewhere just east of Las Vegas. While JoAnne and Marsha slept, I sat on the not-so-clean carpet of the motel room grooming Walker for hours, and watching re-run after re-run after re-run of Mr. Ed. The TV had no remote control so I could not change the channel without getting up from my grooming spot on the floor! I have not watched a Mr. Ed episode since then either!

Fortunately neither Walker's nor Raven's coats had more than a few easy-to-remove tangles on this trip.

Bathing the dogs was not fun. I managed to get as wet as the dogs. The showerhead in the tub was one of those rain showers that was "green" and water saving, but had barely enough water pressure to get shampoo out of my short hair, let alone a Lhasa's coat. So the bathing took longer because I had to use a dip and pour method, which did not work well either. Finally, I resorted to turning on the faucet and holding the dogs under it. They were looking at me like, "What the heck are you doing?" Neither had ever been bathed like that before!

Once the dogs were groomed, bathed, and dried, we explored the hotel, took our grooming tables to the ballroom to reserve our grooming spaces for the show, and helped Sandy Devlin and her Tibetan Spaniel friend, Ruth (whose last name I forgot), put the various goodies into the hospitality bags.

That night was ALAC's first-ever Top Twenty Competition. Breed points were totaled from wins from July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011. The top 20 dogs were invited to participate in this competition. Those who entered included
GCh. Ch. Alasara Northwind Anbara Maestsro,
GCh. Ch. Apsolutely Desiderata Partygal,
GCh. Ch. Edrey Tara Huff Angels Are With Me,
GCh. Ch. FFT Take the Money and Run,
GCh. Ch. Joyslyn Mi Toya Wind Walker,
GCh. Ch. Mokiema's I Believe In Angels,
GCh. Ch. Monarch Rufkins Tango In Paris,
GCh. Ch. Red Fox's One Wing in the Fire,
GCh. Ch. Rufkins Squeezin Into a Speedo KH,
GCh. Ch. Sundancer Aleksandra,
GCh. Ch. Suntory Beastie Boy,
GCh. Ch. Sutra's Affair to Remember,
GCh. Ch. Ta Sen Bond James Bond, and
GCh. Ch. Ta Sen Samara I Want It All.

Some of the entries were absent but I did not get the catalog marked so can't tell you which were not competing. I think that only 10 or 11 of those listed actually competed.

The three judges, whose identities were kept secret until just before the competition began, were the Group Judge, Mrs. Patricia S. McLeod, from Queensland, Australia; the Breeder Judge, Ms. Wendy Harper, from Granite Bay, CA; and the Handler Judge, Lois DeMers, from Conroe, TX. They each scored each dog from 0 - 5 on a variety of attributes. Scores were then tabulated and the Lhasa with the highest total score was the winner.

GCh. Ch. Sundancer Aleksandra, owned by Kathy Hamilton, Lori Johnson, and Marsha and Tom Worlton, won the competition and also won the People's Choice Award. Congratulations again to Lexi and her people!!

Walker was the oldest Lhasa in the Top 20 Competition, and he showed very well. I think he was glad to be moving again after being crated for the long journey to New Mexico. Everyone found it hard to believe that he was 9 years old. Walker's co-owner/co-breeder and my dear friend, JoAnne Hayes, died in 2008. I know she would have been very proud of him that night.

Here's the write-up about Walker that was in the Top 20 catalog. If it is too small for you to read, just click the picture and it will get larger.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011:

The day began with the ALAC Board meeting at 7:30 AM. Marsha, Jan, and I are among ALAC's officers and board members, so we had to rise early and get moving! Since most officers and board members were showing dogs in the Lhasa Apso Club of Central Colorado's Specialty Show and Sweepstakes that afternoon, the business meeting moved along quickly and ended with enough time for us to grab a quick lunch and get dogs groomed before the show started.

Walker was entered in the sweepstakes and was the only veteran there, so he naturally won. The Sweepstakes judge was Larry Bruton. Raven had been entered in the 6-9 Puppy class under Specialty judge Bill Lee, but since she finished on October 1, I moved her up to Best of Breed Competition. The Best of Breed entries numbered 27. I was delighted that Raven, the youngest champion in the ring, showed well, and I was so proud when she actually made the cut.

(For those of you readers who do not show, "the cut" refers to the judge pulling out from a large group of entries, a smaller group that he wishes to consider for the awards. The ones who do not "make the cut" are then dismissed from the ring. Not all who make the cut are given awards, but by making the cut, the handler knows the dog she is showing was considered worthy of further consideration.)

Other winners were:
Best in Specialty: Ch. Rushmar's Charmer;
Best Opposite Sex: GCh. Sundance Aleksandra;
Select Dog: GCh. Ta Sen Bond James Bond;
Select Bitch: Ch. Monarch Rufkins Tango In Paris;
Winners Dog & Best of Winners, Apsolutely Keep On Truckin';
Reserve Winners Dog & Best Puppy: Rufkins Monarch Just Because I Am;
Winners Bitch & Best Bred By Exhibitor: PRK's Defying Gravity;
Reserve Winners Bitch: Elminja's Snyin-Nye;

After the judging, Karen was the lucky winner of a beautiful sterling silver Lhasa pendant that the Colorado club featured for its raffle.

Tuesday night, thanks to the sweepstakes money Walker won, I enjoyed a delicious Mexican meal with the Companion Events (i.e., agility, rally, obedience) participants. Later, back at the hotel, I participated in the Lhasa bingo games, sponsored by our Rescue Network. I had a lucky bingo card that I kept using for each new game. I won five times on it! Karen, LaVonne, and Jan also won numerous games and prizes and, remembering how tightly the van was packed on the trip to Albuquerque, we were starting to wonder how we were going to fit our winnings in our suitcases! We'd only just begun!

Helen Zeppenfeld Brown, our Rescue Network Chairperson, shared with me the following recipe that she says works great for ear problems:

4 oz. sterile water

4 oz. peroxide

Mix with 2-3 drops of Tea Tree Oil

There is more to come, but this is enough for now.

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

Joyce

National Specialty: Part I - Getting There!

2011-10-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

This year's American Lhasa Apso Club's National Specialty is over. The week was a whirlwind of activities and very little rest. This is Part I. More will come later when I have more time to write! I have so much to report!!

Jan's photo of loaded van

The planning and preparation for the journey to Albuquerque began long before my Wisconsin friends (Jan, Karen, and LaVonne) pulled into the driveway at 2:30 PM on the 8th to load my piles of stuff into the van we'd rented for the trip. Their journey began at 6:30 AM with Jan and Karen leaving Manitowoc, driving to Madison to pick up a dog from a friend who was ill and unable to make the trip, then driving to LaVonne's to load her stuff and her dogs. When they opened the doors to the van in my driveway, my heart sank. It was loaded floor to ceiling and I could see no way my dogs, suitcases, and equipment would fit. Jan was more optimistic than I, and, sure enough, all the essentials fit (barely!). I had to leave behind a couple pieces of equipment and the larger items I planned to donate to the auction and raffle. Because we could not fit his crate into the van, Karen left Danny's crate at my house and held him on her lap for about 5 hours until we arrived at his new home in Missouri. Both he and she were glad that leg of the journey was over!


LaVonne's photo of the van's interior

LaVonne's photo as we unloaded

The journey from my house included the stop in Missouri to drop Danny off, a stop somewhere in Kansas at 3:00 AM to catch a few hours of sleep, and stops along the way to potty the dogs, a feat which involved unloading part of the van and rotating dogs into the various exercise pens.

Rain slowed us down on Saturday night and made stopping to potty the dogs a problem until we found a truck stop with a covered sidewalk area. Since it was after midnight, we were able to set up exercise pens and keep the dogs' coats and feet dry.

This photo was taken at a lovely rest area in Oklahoma during Sunday morning's potty stop. That's me in the blue sweatshirt, refilling a water bottle. Raven is in the pen on the right. Her grandpa, Zorro, is the black and white clipped-down Lhasa in the pen in front of me. The other person in the picture is LaVonne.

The concrete was still wet from the rain, but we used vinyl-backed tablecloths, newspapers, and piddle pads to keep the dogs from getting too wet. Traveling another 12 hours with wet dogs would have resulted in horrible mats!

That particular rest stop in Oklahoma had a unique (to us anyway) feature: a fenced in, concrete area for dogs! We did not use it, preferring to set up and use our own pens but, being used to rest stops where dogs were allowed only in the most weedy and unattractive-looking areas, this rest area seemed quite dog friendly. Below are some photos of the dog runs, concrete and fenced areas with separate runs for large and small dogs.

We ran into huge traffic congestion on the interstate about halfway between the Oklahoma border and Amarillo, TX. Fortunately, as we approached the line of cars and semis, we were at an exit ramp. We took it, pulled into a nearby gas station, learned the back up was the result of an 8-vehicle pile-up that occurred miles ahead, and were given an alternate route to take (which happened to be part of the historic Route 66!) and were thus able to continue our journey.

Ironically, we found out upon arrival in Albuquerque that Miki and Sue, two Lhasa exhibitors from Minnesota had been involved in the wreck. The accident happened as the road narrowed from two lanes to one due to construction. A semi slowed or stopped abruptly and the cars and semis behind it piled up. Sue's car was totaled, and Sue's arm was broken. Miki and the dogs were not injured. After a trip to the emergency room, they rented a car and made their way to Albuquerque. Sue showed her dog in spite of her broken arm. What a trooper!

I was told that a wonderful Good Samaritan, in the guise of a tow truck driver, watched over the ladies' Lhasas and equipment and was of great help in finding a car rental agency and getting them loaded and back on the road. What a blessing such people are! It is nice to know that kind people are still willing to help strangers, especially strangers with dogs.

Landscape in TX or NM

Our van full of weary women and Lhasas made it to the Crown Plaza in Albuquerque sometime between 8:00 and 9:00 Sunday evening. The unloading took a long time as we sorted equipment, suitcases, and dogs and determined the items belonging to each of us. I found the room Marsha (my friend from North Dakota) and I were sharing and moved in, exhausted but happy to be there at last! Walker and Raven were glad for the opportunity to stretch their legs.

Jan and Karen (who is not really a ghost!) unloading at the hotel!

An exciting week of showing, seminars, and fun lay ahead.

More later….

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you…and good friends with whom to share good times!

Joyce

One load ready to move in!

My New Champion!

2011-10-05T07:03:00.000-07:00

I realize I said I would not post anything until after the specialty, but I have to share my exciting news from Saturday's dog show. In August my friend Jane, who shows Shibas, and I decided that we would enter the Saturday show in Freeport, IL. We both had dogs we wanted to show to give them ring experience before our respective national specialties, but since I had a church obligation on Sunday, we decided one day would have to suffice.

It was a great day for both of us! Jane's dogs each won a point. I showed Maggie in 9-12 puppy and Raven in Bred-by Exhibitor. There was also an Open Bitch. Raven won! The one point she earned gave her the last point she needed for her championship. Maggie took Reserve. She was adorable in the ring, happy and tail-wagging. She really loved it. Then Raven had to compete in the Best of Breed class against a special—and Raven won! It was a totally unexpected (yet very welcome) win since the specials bitch she competed against is a Group winner. It was certainly a nice win and I was grateful for it. I decided to give Raven more practice and took her into the group ring. She needed to learn to stand for a long period as that is something she'll have to do at our national specialty. For never having been in the ring for such a long time and with so many "strange-looking" dogs, she did just fine.

Maggie, as the only Lhasa puppy entered, was awarded the "Best Puppy" ribbon which entitled her to participate in the Non-Sporting Puppy Group. She showed well and took a Group 2. The judge had a difficult time choosing between her and the Boston Terrier puppy. He kept going back and forth between the two of them. I don't know what the deciding factor was but we took 2nd. After he handed me the ribbon, he told me she was a very nice puppy. I knew that!

The photo of Raven accompanying this post was taken in August when she took Winners Bitch at the Twin City Lhasa Apso Club specialty.

People have asked what I plan to do about showing her at the national. Since I paid a bunch of entry money already, she'll still be shown. I will move her up from the 9-12 Puppy class to the Best of Breed class. She will look totally out of place in the ring with the other dogs whose coats are dripping on the floor, but that's okay. It'll be fun to show off my newest champion!

Saturday is only a few days away. My house is strewn with clothes, equipment, auction items, food, and other sundry items that seem like "must haves" for the trip and the week in Albuquerque. I have multiple checklists lying around also. I keep making new ones…

I'll let you know how it goes.

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

Joyce

Miscellaneous

2011-09-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow the countdown begins as the passing days take me ever closer to October 7 when three friends from Wisconsin and I head for New Mexico and the American Lhasa Apso Club (ALAC) National Specialty. Three of us are taking two dogs each. The other has three. (We are renting a BIG van for our trip.) Walker and Raven are going with me. Walker is entered in the Top 20 Competition, a Veterans Sweepstakes, and the Veteran's classes at the two ALAC specialty shows. Raven is being shown in the 9-12 puppy class in three shows.

To be honest, I have not packed a single item yet. However, I have multiple to-do and to-take lists lying around. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

Speaking of Walker. His 9^th birthday was September 22. He is doing just great and looking as beautiful as ever.

Walker, May 2011

I appreciated the September 25 blog entry at this address: http://time4dogs.blogspot.com/2011/09/huffington-post-puppet-for-animal.html

The post was written in response to an article that described various celebrities jumping on the "mandatory" spay/neuter bandwagon and calling for federal regulation supporting it. I also found some interesting information not only in the article but also in the comments that followed that gave me food for thought on the spay/neuter issue. The ALAC Code of Ethics states, "ALAC strongly supports the practice of accompanying the sale of all puppies or adults sold as pet quality with a 'spay/neuter contract' stating that no AKC registration papers will be transferred to the buyer until the seller has received veterinary certification that surgery has been performed." So for years and years, that has been my practice and, frankly, the vast majority of puppy buyers expect it. Most comment, "Oh sure, we planned to do that anyway." But new data about health issues is giving many breeders pause for thought about what is best for our puppies. Like so many health-related issues in our lives, the key is obtaining good information through research and reading and honest discussions with your dog's veterinarian. Read the blog post and comment with your thoughts if you desire to do so.

At the beginning of the week, I attended Illinois' Sharing a Vision Conference. What a great three days of listening to early childhood professionals discuss issues related to children. I came away excited, educated, and revived! I was especially fortunate to once again meet Hedda Sharapan, a woman who worked with Mr. Rogers from the time he began the Mr. Roger's Neighborhood program. I was glad to learn that various episodes are available online at pbskids.org/rogers and at fredrogers.org and look forward to sharing them with our granddaughter. If you have young children or grandchildren and have fond memories of Mr. Rogers, then visit the websites with them. Mr. Rogers is timeless!

Great news awaited me at home when I looked at Facebook and discovered our son's metal band, Black Fast, had been named "Best Metal Band 2011" in the St. Louis area. The four band members are working hard practicing and writing music, making occasional appearances, and trying to promote themselves while at the same time holding down a couple of jobs and/or attending classes to finish degree work. An article in the St. Louis River Front Times said, "Black Fast's take on the genre is authentic but not elitist, referencing Iron Maiden's endless sweeps, Megadeth's hook-laden riffs and Mastodon's stoner-friendly structures. We'd be hard pressed to find a more purified source of metal in St. Louis, even if we melted down the Arch and sold it for scrap." Yep, I'm a proud mom!

Belle

Finally, Belle has been bred and we await the results, keeping fingers crossed that puppies will be born in mid-November.

I doubt I'll be posting again until after the specialty, so wish us safety as we drive to and from Albuquerque, as well as lots of fun, good times, and good fortune in the show ring that week!

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

Joyce

2011 American Lhasa Apso Club National Specialty

2011-09-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, the majority of us Lhasa people will be in an uproar for the next few weeks as we make travel plans and write list after list of items we simply must pack for the week-long events that constitute the American Lhasa Apso Club's National Specialty week.

This year's ALAC Specialty is being held at the Albuquerque Hilton in Albuquerque, NM. Events run from Monday, October 10 through Friday, October 14. The five days are packed with things to do. Here's a look at the schedule:

Monday evening is ALAC's first Top Twenty Competition. The twenty Lhasas with breed points earning them rankings from #1-#20 as of June 30, 2011, were invited to enter the competition. Each dog will be scored by three judges, yet to be named. One is an AKC judge, another a handler, and another a Lhasa breeder. The event includes a cocktail party and requires semi-formal attire (although I, for one, will be wearing practical shoes in the ring!). Spectators will also be voting for their favorites, with the winner of that ballot receiving the "People's Choice" award. I was thrilled when Walker received his invitation to attend. It sounds like fun!

On Tuesday, the Lhasa Apso Club of Central Colorado is hosting its specialty. Larry Bruton will judge the Puppy Sweepstakes and the Veteran Sweepstakes. I entered Walker in the Veteran Sweeps in the 7-10 year class. (His birthday is September 22nd. He'll be 9 years old!) Mr. Bill Lee will judge the LACCC Specialty. Raven is entered in the regular classes (Puppy Bitch 9-12). She will be not quite a year old at specialty time. Following the Junior Showmanship judging by Mary Schroeder, evening events begin. These include a reception, the rescue parade, and the Lhasa games, which are always good for fun, relaxation, and lots of laughs.

Wednesday may be a "day-off" for the ALAC's confirmation members, but it will start early in the morning for those involved in companion events. The day for Agility participants begins with an early morning drive to Los Lunas, NM, where the Agility Trial will be held, judged by Rene Fitch. That afternoon, Janice Anthes will be scoring the performances of the Obedience and Rally participants back in the hotel's ballroom. Later that afternoon, Dr. Donny McGougal, will present the Anatomy seminar sponsored by the Breeder Education Committee.

Another new event for Wednesday of specialty week is ALAC's "Cut Down Sweepstakes." As the title implies, dogs entered in this sweeps must be clipped down, giving judge and spectators alike a look at the dogs' structures without the "interference" of the usual heavy show coat. Annette Rathbun will judge.

Wednesday's finale will be the much-anticipated Futurity, judged by Debbie Burke. The Futurity showcases recently whelped Lhasas (ages 6 – 18 months). The road to the Futurity begins shortly following the birth of a litter when the breeder nominates the litter for the Futurity within 90 days of birth. This year's participants were born between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011. The judge will award a Best Puppy in Futurity, chosen from the winners of four classes: Puppy Dog 6-9 months, Puppy Dog 9-12 months, Puppy Bitch 6-9 months, and Puppy Bitch 9-12 months. Best Adult in Futurity is chosen from among the winners of four classes: Adult Dog 12-15 months, Adult Dog 15-18 months, Adult Bitch 12-15 months, Adult Bitch 15-18 months. Once the two "Bests" are chosen, those two compete against each other for the title "Best in Futurity."

On Thursday, Barbara (Bobbie) Wood judges the ALAC Midwestern Regional Specialty. Again, I have Raven entered in the 9-12 puppy class and Walker entered as a Veteran. Following judging, ALAC will hold its annual business meeting. The Awards Banquet follows. A highlight of the banquet is the video showing the Lhasas who have earned titles in 2010. I sent in photos of both Mira and Zach. Mira finished in March 2010 and Zach in December. After the banquet, ALAC will hold an auction of donated items.

Friday! (Are we tired yet?? – remember that somehow amidst all these meetings and events, dogs must be fed, pottied, groomed, bathed, dried, and prepared for the ring – oh and so do the people!!). Friday begins with the Judges Education Committee presenting the Judges' Seminar as well as the educational seminar for ALAC members who wish to be on the list of approved mentors for judges. Prior to the National Specialty judging, which begins later that morning, there will be a Parade of Titleholders. Betty Leininger will judge the National Specialty. Raven and Walker are entered. The conclusion of the judging marks the official end of specialty week, but much work is left for the (I'm sure by now) exhausted show committee members, other ALAC volunteers, as well as attendees—and their dogs!

Friday night is for relaxing, packing, loading the car, biding good-bye to people we get to see only once a year, and getting some sleep before dawn breaks on Saturday when we'll be loading the dogs and the last of the "stuff" into the van and heading back to the midwest for the 2-day trip home!

It'll be a great time. If you love Lhasas and need a vacation in the southwest, you should pack a bag and join us. Only at the National Specialty will you get to see so many Lhasas from all over the country gathered in one place. You can meet breeders, attend the events, and join the fun. It's always a great time. All Lhasa lovers are welcome!

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

Joyce

At Last...

2011-09-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

‎"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."— Marilyn Monroe

First, I owe all you regular readers an apology for such a belated post. So much has happened! Those of you who are FB friends already know most of what I'll be writing about today, so you can probably skip reading this post.

The past two weeks have been a combination of highs and lows. In the last post, I told you about the dog's hair dryer's heating element going bad and the water heater leaking. I was able to order a new part for the dryer and we coaxed the old one through drying the three dogs for the weekend shows by using only the medium and cool settings and letting it rest quite a while between each dog's bath. The water heater did not get replaced until Friday so we had 4 days of water covering the utility room floor. I have mixed feeling about the way Sears handled the replacement, mostly because "we'll get someone right out there" doesn't mean "four days later" to me!

Early in the AM on August 24, Raven, Maggie, Breaker, and I escaped to Lake Elmo, MN, to attend the Twin Cities Lhasa Apso Club specialties, leaving Lynn behind to deal with the water problem. I entered Raven the first two days, Maggie on Saturday, and Breaker all three days. The weekend was fun and successful for us.

Raven took Reserve Winners Bitch to the 4-point major under judge Chris Levy on Thursday. Breaker took Select Dog for 4 points, just what he needed to earn his Grand Championship title. The TCLAC hospitality was great, and I enjoyed seeing everyone again, as last year I did not attend the specialties, opting instead for the shows in St. Charles, IL, that are much closer than the 8-hour trip to MN.

The following day, judge Donald Schwartz awarded Raven Winners Bitch for a 3-point major and Breaker Best Opposite Sex. On Saturday Maggie won Reserve Winners Bitch under judge Debbie Campbell. Breaker was Best Opposite Sex again. I was happy with Maggie's performance. She had not been in the ring for almost 2 months and did a great job of showing.

I stayed over Saturday night, wanting to enjoy a relaxing evening with friends, then took off for home Sunday morning. The ride home was pleasant, fast, and uneventful until I was just north of Cedar Rapids, IA, when the "low tire pressure" message appeared. I found a filling station, paid my 50¢, and filled the left front tire. I knew I was in trouble when I had to stop again an hour later. I had a goal in mind about where I could pull over next for more air to hobble home. I had a can of Fix A Flat in the trunk, as well as one of those air pumps to plug into the car's cigarette lighter, so I was not worried.

About 40 minutes from home I had to pull over again with no filling station in sight. I knew I was in trouble when the Fix A Flat liquid came out of the tire as fast as it was going in! Long story short…I called Lynn who drove to my location, changed the flat tire for the spare, and we were soon home again. The bad tire was repaired on Monday. I was cautioned that I would need new tires before winter and sent on my way. However, the next day's pouring rain found me in the parking lot after work with a tire so flat it had come off the rim. Hundreds of dollars later, I have four new tires and less money in my bank account, but I certainly feel more secure about driving again!

The hardest part of the past two weeks has been getting through the turmoil of my daughter's Affenpinscher (Penny) being dropped and breaking both front legs. Penny recently turned a year old and, while playing in the exercise area of Erikka's apartment building, ran toward the entrance to the building. A guy coming out of the building to exercise his dog scooped her up. His dog lunged, and the guy lost his grip on Penny and dropped her. Fortunately, both breaks were clean ones, so Erikka worked with her vet to plan Penny's recovery, deciding to have the legs set, splinted, and wrapped. All was well until Penny's breeder started putting pressure on Erikka to have surgery done on both Penny's legs and accusing her of not caring for her dog's health, being selfish, and killing her dog if surgery was not done immediately. The breeder even went to far as to make a surgical appointment for the dog in a city 5 hours from Erikka, telling her she expected her to be there the next day.

Erikka was beside herself, second-guessing her decisions, and believing she was a bad pet owner, despite my advice, the okay from her vet, and the messages from many, many of my FB friends regarding the situation. Emails such as the following were what she received from her breeder:

"Erikka - you were not at fault for breaking every bone in Penny's leg Someone else is responsible for that. You have loved her trained her and protected her for quite a while.
Please continue to do so.
If you don't allow us to take Penny back and give her the correct, necessary health care then you will become much much worse than the person who accidentally harmed her.
You will be deliberately harming her - or causing her to die.
How can you justify this? Is this how your mother deals with her dogs? Where did you learn that your selfishness coupled with your admitted inability to properly care for another living thing makes it okay for that little life to suffer because you'd rather see her maimed, mutilated or dead than , god forbid, you have to have "feel sad".
Incredible.
I never thought you were this kind of person. I am offering to come to you and pick her up. She will be well taken care of and will live a long healthy happy life - wanting for nothing. Erikka -the depth and width of your selfishness astounds me. How do you think we feel? We created that little Penny. We are directly responsible for bringing her into the world. We helped to whelp, nurture and train her for the very first months of her life here on Earth. In spite of numerous offers we thought we had correctly chosen the perfect save haven for her.
I cannot let this little dog suffer and simply stand by. As you seem to be able to do so quite easily. It only makes me wonder seriously about Henri also. You can't seem to afford any dogs at this time.
Just think long and hard about the one who is in trouble here and seriously ask yourself if you want to continue to deprive her of what we can give her - a life! Stop taking a chance on her rate of success because you "feel guilty". Feeling guilty has nothing to do with saving her life - just your own feelings.
Please please please let me come and get her.
I look forward to hearing from you today.
jude"

Penny's breeder, Jude, was kind, so very, very kind to Erikka when my daughter was looking for a puppy and a big sale was on the horizon. She even sought her out to let her know a puppy was available. Being raised in a dog showing family as she was, Erikka maintained a relationship with her dogs' breeders. All was friendly until Jude found out Erikka opted against surgery for the two clean breaks in Penny's legs. Following Penny's injury the tide turned. This is only one example indicative of the kinds of pressure and vitriol Jude subjected my daughter to, both by phone and by email. In the end Erikka was beaten down and gave up. At Jude's insistence, Penny is now back with Jude. You and I might disagree with her decision but you have to understand that she is alone in FL and despite the support and advice I gave her via phone, no one was there to help her stand up to the venomous treatment she received. Hindsight is 20/20. I should have been there.

Labor Day weekend was uneventful. Yesterday, I had oral surgery. Today I am resting, hurting, and taking pain meds that I wish had more codine in them!

Dog-wise, we have a girl in season, and we are planning a breeding. If all goes well, we will have puppies again in mid-November.

So that is the news from here.

Joyce

Memory Lane...

2011-08-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

August 23^rd is a memorable day — 28 years ago my daughter was born! I love her to pieces!

Last week a number of Facebook friends' postings read something like this: "FREE TO A GOOD HOME: 3 year old child. I've just got a new puppy so no longer have the time for the child. Also worried that the child may bite the puppy. Child is currently crate-trained and has his first shots. Not completely housetrained, but is working on it. Will get along with other children or pets. YOU WOULDN'T DO THIS TO A CHILD SO WHY WOULD IT BE ACCEPTABLE TO DO IT TO AN ANIMAL? If you can't dedicate at least 10 yrs. to YOUR PET, don't get one!! Copy and paste if you agree."

In some postings the child's age changed but the gist of the posting was the same—a well-deserved jab at those pet owners who give up their pets for often frivolous reasons. For example, one of my Lhasa friends who lived in New York once told me a story about a call she received from a Lhasa owner who wanted to "get rid" of her 2-year old light gold Lhasa because (and I am not joking) she was redecorating and the dog no longer matched her furniture. Can you believe that! I'm sure that people involved in rescue have additional ridiculous and horrible stories to tell.

Anyway, reading the sentence, "Child is currently crate-trained…" gave me a mental image of a child in a crate, which in turn led me down memory lane to a dog show in Omaha in November 1982. My son Aaron was 4 years old and, for some insane reason now forgotten, he came to the dog show. I remember Lynn being there also, so we must have been trying to make it a family affair! I was showing two dogs: Elf (Joyslyn's Elfin Magic of Jokang) and Toby (Joyslyn's To Be or Not To Be). Like most children at dog shows whose parents are busy grooming and fussing with the dogs, Aaron became bored, then restless, then whiny. So, while I was grooming Toby, Aaron crawled into Toby's crate and pulled the door shut. I recall saying, "Good place for you!" Along came a photographer and snapped a picture that appeared the following day in the Omaha World Herald.

Oh my goodness, did I hear it from my non-dog show friends in David City all the next week! They were teasing of course about child abuse, mostly because just a week or so prior to Aaron's picture appearing in the paper there had been a huge scandal about a day care provider in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area who did indeed keep children in dog crates. What an awful time for a child attending a dog show to appear in the newspaper in a crate! I guess I'm lucky no investigators came to my door! In this day and age, they probably would!

I found the newspaper clipping last night in one of Aaron's photo albums. It's faded and yellowed but clear enough to bring back some vivid memories!

The Twin Cities Lhasa Apso Club has two specialties this weekend in Lake Elmo, MN. Raven, Maggie, Breaker, and I are headed there early Thursday morning. My biggest worry involves preparing for the show. The heating element in my stand dryer is acting up. I ordered a new one on the 15^th that has not yet arrived, and even if it comes today, I'll never get a repairman to fix the dryer so I can use it tomorrow night. Drying dogs (or maybe that should be "trying to dry dogs") tomorrow night might not be one of the best experiences I've had! I'm attempting to mentally prepare myself.

Oh did I also mention that this morning I found water all over the utility room floor from the hot water heater? What a mess! A wonderful customer service woman (Laura) in the Warranty Department at Sears has been very helpful and perhaps we'll have a new water heater by the end of today.

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

Joyce

Sharing Photos

2011-08-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

We've had a hiatus from dog shows and I'm really looking forward to the next ones the last weekend in August. Breaker, Raven, Maggie and I are headed to Lake Elmo for the Twin Cities Lhasa Apso Club's two specialties and one of the two all-breed shows. It's almost an 8 hour drive so I decided to head home early Sunday morning rather than stay for Sunday's show and then have to drive well into the night to get home.

I'm sharing pictures of Raven's win at the Waukesha show in July. She looks so pretty.

Here's a picture of Breaker taken on the previous day. I cropped myself out because the photographer caught me as I was bending over. I remarked that at least the picture of the top of my head indicated I had a full head of hair, no scalp showing! One of friends commented that I could also be glad no cleavage was showing. (Ha...now you wish I'd post the whole picture, right?)

Today is my birthday so it was a nice 'present' that these photos arrived in the mail. I was looking forward to seeing how they turned out!

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

Joyce

What Color Is that Puppy?

2011-08-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

The question of Lhasa Apso color often arises when a person is filling out the AKC registration paperwork and suddenly stops, considers the color codes, and asks, "Hmm…I wonder what color she will be?"

Lhasa puppies tend to change color as they grow, and often it is difficult to predict just what is going to happen to the color. For example, a red-gold puppy with some dark overlay might, as she grows up, lose the red and the dark overlay, and simply be gold with black tips on her ears and face (or not!). Knowing that, an owner has to be cautious when registering and think ahead to what might be rather than looking at what is. The general rule I follow is that because the coat color tends to lighten with age, I chose what experience and educated guessing has shown to happen. One way to get a better handle on coat color for a gold puppy is to push the hair the "wrong" way and to check color at the roots. Gold puppies tend to be born a dark gold or brown color and lighten as they grow. Checking color near the skin will give you a better idea of what the coat is doing as it grows.

The colors and codes AKC accepts for Lhasa registration follow. The codes are in parentheses.

The standard Lhasa colors are Black (007), Black and Tan (018), Cream (076), Golden (093), Grizzle (109), Red (140) Red Gold (152), and White (199).

Alternate colors are Blue (037) (Note: we are not talking Smurf Blue here!), Charcoal (331), Gray (100), Liver (123), and Silver (176).

The standard markings are Black Mask With Tips (054), Black Tips (053), Brindle (051), Parti-Color (038), Sable (026), and White Markings (014).

Sable, White Markings (067) is an alternate marking.

A little confusing, isn't it?

I have never seen a blue Lhasa. The blue that is referred to is like the color of a Kerry Blue Terrier (ranging from a blue-black slate to a light blue-gray). I have only seen photos of a liver Lhasa. The problem with the liver color for people who show is that the Lhasa standard calls for black pigment, and the liver Lhasas have liver pigment so they cannot be shown. Way back in 1973, I saw a Lhasa male whose color could be described as silver. He was a young dog and the color was beautiful but I have not seen one that color since. I've often wondered what happened to that coat color as he matured.

If you are looking for Lhasa resources: (1) The AKC Lhasa pages have some information for people wanting to know more about our breed. A brief "Meet the Breed" description is given, followed by the Standard and then links to the following: Information about colors and markings, a few trivia bits about the breed, a brief history, a few photos of Lhasas (all with long coats), a link to help people find a puppy (but the link only brings up names of people who have listed litters on AKC's classified advertising page), a link to a page for supply shopping, and then one to a few-second video showing some adult coated Lhasas and a cute puppy romping through the grass.

(2) Check out the American Lhasa Apso Club's website where you will find more information about the breed, articles of interest, more photos, and other helpful resources. A map of the U.S. offers help to someone looking for a breeder. Click a state and a box comes up listing ALAC members who live in that state.

(3) Also, don't forget my website with all of its great articles, helpful grooming tips, photos, resources, and links!

Finally, congratulations go to Stacey and Lisa who drove to Macomb last weekend for Dreamer. I'm posting a video of Dreamer as she meets another of their family pets! I'm proud of Dreamer for being so polite in her play as she meets a new friend.

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

Joyce

Show Results and Some Photos

2011-08-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Walker on the move. I love this picture!

Early, early (like 3:30) Friday morning, Raven, Breaker, and I pulled out of the driveway and began our nearly 5-hour trip to Waukesha, WI, for 3 days of dog shows. The Waukesha show site is outdoors, under tents, which makes it the only outdoor show we go to. Each year I ask myself why! Don't they know it's darn hot at the end of July? Don't I know it's hot at the end of July? Yet I keep returning.

This year the heat was exceptional. OMG…I thought I was going to keel over. Friday was not so bad as we showed at 10:00 AM. Saturday and Sunday, however, we did not get into the ring until 2:00 or so. The tent provided about 4 feet of shade, and the judges tried to keep us in the shade as much as possible but dogs and people were crowded in those instances, bumping against each other, tripping over the gate (yes, that would be me), and stepping on each other (or each other's dogs—I'm not naming any names here!)

One reason I return each year is that the Greater Milwaukee Lhasa Apso Club hosts an annual specialty at the Waukesha show. It is not so much the specialty itself as it is the enjoyment at seeing the club members and other Lhasa exhibitors who attend from other states. A nice surprise on Saturday was a visit from Barbara, Tom, and their Lhasa Daisy. Daisy (the Lhasa formerly known at our house as Desi) went to Barbara and Tom when she was 9 months old. They live nearby and drove to Waukesha to watch us show. I was so glad to see Daisy. She could not have cared less about me though. She loves being spoiled by Barbara and Tom! Tom calls her the "PP" – Perfect Puppy.

Breaker was shown all three days, taking Best Opposite Sex each day and earning more points toward his Grand Champion title. If I have added correctly, he needs only 4 more. Each time I show him I get more disappointed because he is not showing to his potential. He likes being at the shows. He likes being outside the ring waiting to go in. It seems he has a problem with the ring itself and I'm starting to think he wants only female judges! I keep telling myself he has to learn all over again because it's been nearly 2 years since he has been in the ring. I thought some maturity would get him past his antsy and sometimes skittish behavior. I guess I need more patience.

Raven was shown on Saturday and Sunday. I did not show her Friday because I was trying an experiment to see if part of Breaker's problem was me leaving him at ringside, often with a total stranger, to take Raven in the ring, and then running back in a hurry to quickly switch armbands and grab him to get back in the ring for the Best of Breed judging. I think that may be part of the problem because he showed his best on Friday and by Sunday he was awful.

Anyway, experiment aside, Raven did an excellent job both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday she not only won a 4-point major by taking Winners Bitch but she also took the Best of Winners ribbon! On Sunday, she again won her class and got a really close look for winners. The ribbon and the major went to the Open Bitch. Raven took Reserve. (Like the Miss America runner-up, Reserve is a good thing when, for some reason, the winner is disqualified.)

Now, just a paragraph to brag about Raven: First, she is a very lovely black. Second, she has a gorgeous outline, a pretty face, a tight reverse scissors bite, and eye-catching movement. Third, she is chalking up wins quickly. She won her first two points from the 6-9 month old class in Iowa City when she and Maggie were the only two females entered. (Okay, no big deal there!) We then went to the West Bend, WI, specialty on July 2nd. She was shown in the 6-9 month class and won the 5-point major. The two shows in Waukesha were her fourth and fifth shows, this time in the 9-12 months class. By the end of the weekend she had 11 points total, including both of her majors. For those readers who do not show their dogs, you need to understand what a huge relief it is for an owner when a dog gets both majors out of the way early. Majors can sometimes be hard to come by, not only to win but also to find!

Also, for those of you who do not show, I apologize for using dog show jargon. If you don't understand what I mean, let me know so I can explain. I'll start with what I mean when I talk about a "major."

Points at a dog show are determined by AKC based on the number of entries in a breed for each sex. The United States is divided into regions and each year in April or early May, AKC publishes the new points scale for each breed in each region. The most points a dog can win at a show are 5. It takes 15 points for a dog to earn his/her championship; however, within those 15 points two of the wins have to be "Major Wins," wins of three, four, or five points. In other words, a dog cannot go to 15 shows, win a point at each show and become a champion!

Here is an example of a point scale for Lhasas in Region 5 (Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana):

Dogs (Males) - two must be entered for there to be 1 point awarded; three must be entered for 2 points; four for 3 points (a major); five for 4 points (a major), and seven for five points (a major).

Bitches (Females) – two must be entered for there to be 1 point; four for 2 points; six for 3 points (a major); seven for 4 points (a major), and ten for 5 points (a major).

The Lhasa's point scale in the other regions will be different.

By the way, the 1- and 2-point wins are referred to as "singles." Thus, you might hear someone tell a friend, "Fluffy just needs 3 singles to finish." Translated, that means that Fluffy has at least two majors and needs three 1-point wins or a 1-point and 2-point win to earn her championship. That owner is breathing easy. Another might say, "Bubba still needs both majors to finish," meaning that Bubba has accumulated 9 single points (1- and 2-point wins) and now needs two 3-point majors to earn his championship. That owner is wondering how many shows he'll have to enter and not be able to show in because too few dogs were entered for there to be a major.

Okay, enough of that!

Dreamer leaves us this weekend. She's been waiting a few weeks while her new owners go on vacation. That leaves Raven and Maggie as our only puppies – and they are growing up fast, already 9 months old. Some have inquired about our next litters. We have plans for two litters, but Dancer and Belle probably will not be bred until September or October, so puppies will not be ready until after the first of the year.

Zach. Such a pretty face!

We've decided to offer Zach for sale. He is a young male, not quite 2 years old yet. He still has his pretty coat and he is a sweet as can be. One reason we are offering him for sale is that he longs to be an only dog. He loves being with people and is one of the few Lhasas we've had in all these years that is a lap sitter. He sits in the recliner with Lynn and watches TV. He has a great sense of humor and can be active but is mostly content just to be with his people. Although he is a champion, we are selling him at pet price on a neuter contract, just as we do with the puppies. Such decisions are always difficult but we have to do what we think is best for our dogs.

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

Joyce

Some History

2011-07-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

Today, I decided to go back in time and give you a peek at some photos from the album of our first champion and first Special, Ch. Joyslyn's Piece of the Rock. At the back of his album is a one-page clipping from Dog World's June 1978 issue. This issue was an annual issue published by Dog World which featured the "Ideal" of each breed. The offer was extended to us for Rocky to appear as the "Ideal" and we were thrilled to accept. (However, I must admit that we had to pay a hefty advertising fee for the privilege!)

First note that the issue includes the old standard which lists color preferences. It says, "Golden, sandy, honey, dark grizzle, slate, smoke, parti-color, black, white, or brown. This being the true Tibetan Lion-dog, golden or lion-like colors are preferred. Other colors in order as above. Dark tips to ears and beard are an asset."

Now, of course, under our current Standard, all colors are equally accepted with or without the dark tippings.

The picture is of our multiple-Group-winning American Canadian Champion Joyslyn's Piece of the Rock. Rocky's photo was taken by Steve Newell for that issue.

I doubt if you can read the copy, so here is what it says, "With great pride we accepted the offer for our multiple-Group-winning Ch. Joyslyn's Piece of the Rock to represent the Lhasa Apso in this issue. Rocky is a young dog who is upholding the fine traditions of winning and producing for which his line is noted. Rocky's great-grandsire is top producing BIS Ch. Everglo's Spark of Gold ROM; his grandsire is multiple-BIS Ch. Arborhill's Rapso-Dieh (ROM pending ALAC approval), and his sire is BIS Ch. Arborhill's Rah-Kieh ROM.

Rocky is a light golden, well-balanced compact dog. He is 10 ½" tall and weighs approximately 18 lbs. His outline—level topline, long arched neck, and tail perched atop his back—is impressive, as is his smooth effortless movement.

Used at stud on only a limited basis, Rocky has clearly indicated his potential as a great producer. He passes on his elegant outline, straight front legs, tight reverse scissors bite, lovely expression, and easy-going, lovable temperament.

Pointed at 7 months, Rocky went to handler Marjorie Lewis at 13 months and finished in 5 straight shows with three majors. He began his specials career two months later with Marge. Together they have become the top winning Lhasa team in our area of the Midwest. Our ultimate goal is, of course, a Best in Show, for it is our dream that Rocky be the fourth consecutive dog in his line to win the top award.

Rocky's breeders are Lynn and Joyce Johanson, JOYSLYN'S LHASA APSOS, and he is owned by Joyce Johanson and Ethel Hines.

At Joyslyn's we breed with the Standard as our guide and strive for high quality in confirmation and temperament. We proudly offer Rocky at stud. His fee is $150."

Unfortunately, Rocky never achieved the BIS goal we set for him, but he was our first champion and his show career plus the careful mentoring given me by his handler Marge Lewis, set Joyslyn's on a course I would never have imagined when we first decided to show our dogs. Now, almost 36 ½ years after Rocky's birth, I look back at his photo album and relive a lot of memories.

Thanks for letting me share them with you.

Pictures from Rocky's album include the one of his first point, taken in September 1975 when he was 7 months old (and I was a young 24)! Note the scruffy tail! The next is of Rocky and Marge after his first major win in March 1976, age 13 months. Notice if you will how much his coat grew in those months. The third is of Rocky and Marge, taken after a group win in September 1977, age 2 years, 7 months.

Rocky & Joyce, Sept. 1975

Rocky & Marge, March 1976

Rocky & Marge, Sept. 1977

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

Joyce

P.S. In case you did not know, if you click on a photo you can enlarge it. If you want to read the entire page from Dog World, just click on it and you can magnify it from there.

Sharing A Picture

2011-07-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.

~from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's A Psalm of Life

I don't know if teachers make children memorize classic poems any more, but "back in the day," we had to. The quotation above comes from one whose lines have stayed with me many years. Too many times we "wish" we had this or that or we "want" this or that to change. How many times do we act by setting goals and telling ourselves not "I wish" or "I want" but "I will" and then "I can do this!"?

Ch. Joyslyn's Heartbreaker

In my last post, I said I would share the picture of Breaker taken when he won the Group 4 placement at the Iowa City show. So…here is the picture. Note that I cropped it to show only Breaker because, as usual, the picture of me was not-so-good. In this case, eyebrows up in a questioning fashion, I was looking at the photographer, asking, "How's this?" However, given a choice, I'd rather the dog looked great. The photo is about the dog, not about me.

When I posted the picture on Facebook, someone sent me a private message asking about the products I use on his coat. I have to confess that there is nothing special or no single product/brand to which I have sworn allegiance.

One belief I have is that if you want to grow coat, you have to keep the coat clean. Brushing a dirty coat causes damage. While I do not bathe the dogs weekly, I do make sure to wash their feet, skirts, bellies, ear fringes, and faces before they are groomed. I fill the utility sink with about 4" of warm water to which I add about ½ cup of rinseless shampoo. The dog stands in the sink, and I work the soapy mixture into the coat. No rinsing is necessary. I squeeze as much moisture from the coat as possible, then let the dog air dry for about a half hour or so then groom him/her. If I'm in a rush, I'll use the hair dryer.

Regarding rinseless shampoos: numerous brands are on the market. My favorite is Kenic's product, but all the major dog product brands carry a rinseless shampoo (also known as a dry shampoo): Bio-Groom, Kote-Glo, Chris Christensen, PurePet, Nature's Miracle, to name a few.

So, Kenic's Dry Shampoo is a favorite, as is the Kenic Grooming Spray. However, I also like Nature's Specialties' Quicker Slicker grooming spray. Nature's Specialties also carries a re-moisture product that can be diluted to be a light conditioner, used full strength with dog wrapped in a warm towel as a deep conditioning "hot oil-type" treatment, or anything in between.

Right now I use the JB Golden Almond Mat and Tangle Removing Spray, but it is no longer available so it's treated as a valued resource at our house! So far, I haven't found a replacement, but I have a half-gallon left so it is not time to panic yet. It gets pulled out only in cases of severe mats and, fortunately, those are few. JB Golden Almond Shampoo and JB Golden Almond Conditioner have also been favorite products for bath time. I found a Tea Tree Oil Shampoo at Sally's Beauty Supply that I tried on my hair and then decided to try on the dog's coats. It and the Tea Tree Oil Conditioner have been giving good results too.

At the shows and for grooming after a full bath, I use the Crown Royale grooming spray. It smells great, goes on light, and makes the dogs look great too!

On another topic: Puppy update…everyone from the February litter has a new home or has been spoken for. The next litter is in the planning stage. We'll be breeding Belle to a friend's champion. She was due to come in season in June but, being Belle, is doing things in her own sweet time, so we're just waiting…

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you.

Joyce

A Great Day!

2011-07-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

It was a long day but a great day! I'm talking about Saturday, July 2nd, which began when I got up at 4:30 and left home at 6:30 for a 5 hour trip to West Bend, WI, with Breaker, Raven, Maggie, and Dreamer in the back seat of the Impala.

One of the first people to greet me upon arrival was Karen's granddaughter Emma, who is one of my favorite people. She helped me unload the car and laid claim to Dreamer. Dreamer thought it was a good plan!

The exciting thing about the show was that it has been a long, long time since 22 Lhasa have been assembled for competition in this area. Lhasa exhibitors were there from IL, MN, MI, and WI. It was so nice to see some people I had not seen for a year or two—Melissa, Val, Mary, Taiya, Jeanne, Stacey, Lisa, and Joyce, to name a few—and so nice to be with the usual group of friends again. We get to see each other only once a month on average. We compete against each other but are also supportive of each others' efforts. It is nice to have such friends.

The count was 6-12-1D-3B, and all of us were excited that there were majors at last. In addition, the Greater Milwaukee Lhasa Apso Club (GMLAC) hosted its specialty that evening, so we had the opportunity to show the dogs twice that day.

I showed Maggie in the first show. She moved nicely and took first place in the 6-9 month puppy class. There were two entries in that class. It's the first time she has had competition. The other few times she's been entered, she's been the only puppy. Breaker took Select Dog and earned a major toward his Grand Championship. I was not happy with his showing. We showed in mid-afternoon while the group judging was taking place. He was uncomfortable with the roaring and applause and became very skittish. (Sigh) His days as a special may be numbered if he keeps that up. It's so hard not to compare him to Walker, yet I know that is not fair to him. I guess I've had it easy too long and God decided I needed a challenge.

I'm one of those people who seldom win at raffles or Bingo. That's one reason I never buy lottery tickets. However, fortune smiled on me yesterday when my $20 worth of raffle tickets yielded four nice prizes! (Given a choice I would rather have had Breaker show well!)

(And yes, I do know if you keep saying, "I never win" that you never will.)

I showed Raven in the 6-9 class that evening. She took first place out of two. Then the little darling went on to take Winners Bitch over the 9-12 Month Puppy, the Bred By Exhibitor, and the Open Bitch winners. What a wonderful surprise! She won 5 points toward her Championship with that win, so now she has 7. That win also earned her the title of "Best Puppy" in the specialty. It was only her third "real" show. She'd been at a match in late May and took best Lhasa puppy then Non-sporting group 1.

Although Breaker was calmer when he was shown in the evening, he was still not sure he wanted to be in the ring and was very antsy. He took Best Opposite Sex to the female who won Best of Breed, so he earned another major toward his Grand Championship. If anyone has a suggestion about calming capsules that actually work instead of simply claiming they do, let me know. Do they make a doggie version valium?? Maybe I'm the one who needs it! LOL!

Of course, we had pictures taken to commemorate the event, so I will post them in a few weeks when the photographer sends them.

Dreamer had a great time being passed from person to person. It was good for her to meet new people, and her tail never stopped wagging as people held her.

By 8:30 I had all the dogs and equipment packed in the car and was on the road for home. Arriving at 1;30, I was grateful to have had a good day at the show and a safe journey home.

Once again, I have to thank the many friends who stepped up to help me, starting with Emma who helped me unload the car and who took charge of Dreamer whenever someone else was not holding her. Thanks to Stacey and Lisa who watched one dog for me while I was in the ring with the other and to Melissa and Joyce who did the same that evening. Thanks to Jan for taking Raven back in the ring while I was in with Breaker. Thanks to the GMLAC members for being so hospitable and putting on a great specialty show. Finally, thanks to Jane who called me while I was driving home to chat for a while and keep me awake.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you -- and good friends to support you!

Joyce

Show Results

2011-06-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Happily, Breaker proved my predictions wrong. He was fun to show and behaved himself. In the group ring, he was bothered only by the loud cheering and applause that some of the crowd's favorite dogs received. That made him a little skittish, but it is something he has to get used to if he is going to be specialed. Someday people will be cheering for him as well.

It was difficult not to miss Walker, who knows the show routine so well. He and I were a team and we had our system down pat. He loved the cheering. He knew to "turn it on" when I said, "Let's go!" But he wasn't that way in the beginning either, so I know that Breaker and I will fall into a routine too and come up with our own rituals and expectations of each other.

According to the two group judges, competition in the Non-sporting group was fierce for such a small show. Having heard that from both judges on Saturday, I was thrilled when Breaker got the nod for the Group 4 spot on Sunday! It was a nice way to finish the weekend and a nice start for his career.

This coming weekend we will be at the West Bend, WI, show on Saturday, staying that evening for the Greater Milwaukee Lhasa Apso Club's specialty show. Twenty-two Lhasas are entered, which is quite a large entry for this area. It should be a good time.

Raven and Maggie are going to the shows too. They both showed very well last weekend. Raven won the point each day. They were the only ones entered so one of them had to win! Once again, a big thanks to friends Jane and Rebecca, who helped by holding dogs at ringside and taking the girls back in the ring for the Winners and Breed classes.

If you're ever in the mood to look at some great candid photos taken at dog shows, two websites I can recommend are Canine Candids by Lynda lyndabeam.zenfolio.com and DDL Dog Show Photography ddldogshowphotography.com. Both photographers have some beautiful pictures on their sites. I've found some on Lynda's site taken of Walker at the Bloomington shows and have ordered prints. Diane has not yet posted the photos she took at the Iowa City show. She had one of Breaker in the group ring that I really liked so I am looking forward to its being posted.

If you need a nice spray bottle to use while you are grooming, I found an inexpensive one that works great! Just go to WalMart's laundry aisle, where the ironing board covers, dryer balls, etc., are sold. There you will also find spray bottles to use when ironing. The bottles cost only 97 cents (!) and are a clear plastic. They have two spray settings, and you will want to use the one that sprays a light mist. I actually used some red nail polish to mark that setting so I would be sure to get a mist and not a stream of grooming spray.

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

Joyce

Headed into the Weekend...

2011-06-23T06:10:00.000-07:00

Yippee! A dog show at last! This weekend we are headed to Iowa City to the Johnson County Fairgrounds.

Four weekends ago, Walker, Raven, Maggie, and I went to the Bloomington, IL shows. Time has flown by, as it is wont to do when I'm busy, taken up by preparing for and recovering from trips to Nebraska and Rhode Island this month. Last weekend was a catch-up weekend of cleaning, and laundry, and grooming but not a lot of rest.

We had a bit of excitement Saturday when Lynn cut his thumb on the table saw, requiring a trip to the emergency room and eight stitches! Ironically, it was the same table saw that kicked back a few months ago and ground up the pad of his thumb so badly that it could not even be stitched! Ironic, too, that he was in the process of making a push tool that would prevent such injury when the accident happened.

Having already begun one of my famous "to-do" lists, show preparations are well underway. The dogs will be groomed tonight and bathed Friday evening. Packing is sometimes the worst part of the preparation. Fearful of forgetting something important (thus the lists), I recall one show when a friend left her garment bag full of 3 days worth of clothes home. At least she remembered the dog and all the necessary dog items, like the lead, the food, and the grooming supplies. Fortunately, she had time to shop for new clothes! As for forgetting the dog, back in the 1980's another friend once loaded a crate in the car and left for the airport to ship one of her girls to be bred. Not until she arrived at the airport did she realize she'd left the dog at home in the backyard where she'd put her out to potty before the long trip.

As for forgetting clothing, so far I haven't done that, but once I packed a pair of shoes, one navy blue and one black (hey the closet was dark – and in my defense, they were the same shoe style, just different colors). I did not discover the error until I was in the ring and happened to look at my feet. I went shoe shopping that night! When I got home, I put a drop of red nail polish on the inside of each of the blue shoes so I could distinguish them from the black ones.

It takes a concerted effort from all of us Lhasa exhibitors in Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin to ensure we have enough entries at a show to make it worth our while to enter. Entry fees add up fast, and there is no sense entering if there will be no points. When some indicated they were skipping the Iowa City show and others told me they were not sure about entering, I decided that I should enter both puppies, not only to give them some practice but also to make sure that there would at least be a point available. So Maggie is entered in the 6-9 Puppy class and Raven in the Bred-By Exhibitor class. It is good I did that because they are the only two girls entered in the classes. If they behave, perhaps each will come home with a point. My prediction is that Raven will beat Maggie. She is more elegant at this age than Maggie is. Maggie has lots of coat and it makes her look wider and more awkward than Raven looks.

Breaker, 2 years, 9 months

Breaker is making his debut in the Best of Breed ring at the Iowa City shows. Everyone please send positive thoughts our way. Winning would be nice but mostly I am praying for good behavior! He is a pretty dog but such a dork. He has a short attention span and so much energy that he can hardly contain himself. He is a happy guy too! When he is on the move, all is well. It's the standing still part that presents a problem on the floor and on the table. He'll learn what to do eventually, and I'll learn some lessons in laughing through the embarrassment. Really, he means well. LOL

Breaker, 7 months

I'll let you know how it goes.

Breaker, profile 7 months

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

Joyce

Home At Last

2011-06-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I am home and more or less settled back in after returning from a five-day trip to Providence, Rhode Island, to attend the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Annual Professional Development Institute. I have only positive things to say about the conference. I'll keep them to myself because I doubt that you are reading this blog to find out about digital technology in the early childhood classroom, the levels and definitions of the various aspects of technical assistance, the amazing gift to the early childhood field named Lilian Katz, the latest and greatest in new children's literature, or how you can use music and dance to teach young children math concepts (to list only a few of the sessions I attended).

Leaving early Saturday morning was difficult, not only because I had to leave the house at 2:30 AM to get to the airport in time for the flight, but also because of Clown's death the day before. It was difficult to focus on a work-related conference when we'd just lost a dog who'd been part of our family for 14 and a half years. We've had many dogs over the 38 years and suffered through many losses. It is never easy, no matter how many times a person deals with the death of a pet. All are individuals. All bring a unique gift of themselves. All are mourned.

Clown was named after our Ch. Joyslyn's Clown Prince who was an old guy when we moved to Illinois in 1989. Although they were related only distantly, as a puppy, Clown resembled his namesake so much in appearance and behavior that it seemed only natural to give him the "Clown" appellation. They were both characters, that is for sure!

Thanks to all of you who called, emailed, or posted comments about Clown's death. I appreciated your support.

The visit to Rhode Island was great. Honestly, it was never a destination I dreamed I'd ever visit, and we were too busy at the office for me to do any online exploring about the city, so I had no idea what was in store. Once we arrived on Saturday, we walked through the downtown area of Providence and ventured up the hills (really, really steep hills) and then back down them, asking ourselves how in the world residents managed to survive those inclines in the winter time. We saw amazing architecture, lovely churches, homes dating back to the late 1700's, and many huge old mansions, beautifully restored. We managed a couple hour walk each evening after the conference.(Yes, I was challenged by those steep hills!)

Oh, I have to tell you about checking into (and out of) the hotel, the Hilton Providence. The hotel was lovely and the staff extremely welcoming, but I was not impressed with the registration and check out. When I checked in, I was asked if I wanted to keep the payment on the card used to reserve the room, the Mastercard ending in 7034 (or some such number). I said I did not have a credit card ending in that number and showed the man my reservation confirmation email that indicated the card I had used to confirm the reservation. He did not seem to believe his eyes, so he asked, "So you don't want to keep the charges on the card that ends in 7034?" Duh. "No," I replied, "I told you that is not my card. It needs to be changed." Confused, he had to go to get his manager. Now, mind you, it was he who asked me in the first place if I wanted to change the card! Perhaps he is used to being told "no" so did not know what to do when someone said "yes." Eventually, it was all worked out, taking much longer than it needed to take.

So…checkout morning arrives. A blue statement under the room's door awaited me. It was two pages long, indicating charges for Room 1105, giving my name at the top of each page. One page showed charges for check-in on 6/11 and checkout on 6/15, room charge, tax, etc. At the bottom were the last four digits of my credit card. The second page showed arrival of 6/10 and check out on 6/15. It was full of room service, movie, and internet charges. It showed the last four digits of an American Express card! Long story short…it all got straightened out, for now. I am fearful of what might show up on my credit card statement. Heaven only knows if my card number showed up on someone else's bill who answered, "Sure" when the guy asked if he wanted to keep the room expenses on card ending in my card's numbers!

Back home to happy greetings from the Lhasas and a husband worn out from his five days of work on our hallway, where he'd torn out the carpeting then sanded and stained the hardwood flooring that has been covered by carpet since the house was built back in the 60's. It looks great and was a nice surprise to come home to. I love the renovations—but only after the fact! I can't deal with the mess as the renovations take place. Lynn has decided to do them while I am away from home.

Whisper is headed to CA next month. Here is her most recent photo. She is growing up to be a beauty!

Joyslyn's Midnight Confessions (Whisper)

I have this weekend "off"—if that is a good way to refer to having nowhere to go and nothing to do but laundry, housecleaning, dog grooming, and (much needed) grocery shopping. Next week, I'll be preparing for the Hawkeye Kennel Club show in Iowa City. Breaker is making his debut in the Best of Breed class. Raven and Maggie are both entered also. I'll let you know how that goes!

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

Joyce

Good-bye Old Friend

2011-06-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

Joyslyn's Clown Jewel
November 16, 1996 - June 10, 2011

See you at the Rainbow Bridge, buddy.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you, and oh so sad when you have to say good-bye.

Joyce

My Weekend

2011-06-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

Ch. Joyslyn's Paisley, 2005

Lynn and I had an unusual experience this past weekend—we actually went together on a trip that involved three overnight stays! Now, those of you who lead normal, married lives might find that statement odd but, trust me on this, we very seldom go away together because of the dogs. It is difficult to find someone to take care of them for an extended time, and when we do find someone, I get so worried about what's happening at home with both of us gone, that Lynn prefers to stay home rather than to go with me and listen to me fret constantly!

We manage to take turns getting away, me to dog shows and work-related conferences and Lynn to car shows with his street rod.

At any rate, our son Aaron and his wife Amanda, agreed to take care of the dogs while Lynn and I took a short trip to Nebraska. First, we visited my mom, my sister, and brother-in-law and had a wonderful time with them, eating Mom's great meals, digging through a huge box of old family pictures and reminiscing, and just plain hanging out and enjoying each other's company. I had not been "home" for over a year so it was good to be back and see what changes had happened to my hometown. One thing that impressed me was that the old movie theatre had been renovated and re-opened, run by an entrepreneur class at the high school and supported by parent and community volunteers. We went to a movie there, for old times sake, paying just $4 for a ticket to see Thor!

The latter part of our journey took us to David City, NE, where we lived for 16 years until we moved to Illinois in 1989. In the spring of 1973 both of us were hired to teach, starting that fall, at Aquinas High School. Lynn was hired to teach speech and drama and direct the school's plays. I was hired to teach English. Lynn left after 4 years to go back to school for his Masters Degree, while I stayed for 16 years, teaching Freshman and Sophomore English. It was so hard to leave that school when the time came for us to move to Illinois because Lynn accepted a teaching position at Western Illinois University. The Aquinas faculty and students were part of my family. As a matter of fact, on our moving day, the seniors were excused from classes in the morning so all could come to our house to help us load the U-haul, to clean the house after everything was removed, and to say good-bye.

Aquinas High School was celebrating its 50^th anniversary so we went to David City to attend the banquet, hoping to see former colleagues and former students. We were not disappointed. We had a wonderful time, once again reminiscing and seeing pictures through the years. I left with a "big head" after hearing everyone tell me, "You haven't changed a bit." (Somehow they missed the extra wrinkles and white hairs. It must have been the lighting in the gym!)

Another great thing about visiting David City is that it is the home of KV Vet Supply! Of course we had to stop there to do some shopping! I had my list all made out and—a lot of money later—we loaded the boxes in the car. (Hey…I saved a ton of shipping costs!)

On the home front: Little Dreamer is not a happy girl at present. All her siblings recently left for their new homes and she is lonely. The three girls are 4 months older than Dreamer so they are a little too rough in their play with her. She is managing to deal with it, as long as I supervise and don't let the play go on too long.

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

Joyce

The Weekend

2011-05-30T22:42:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, here it is Monday night and I have to go to work in the AM, after a 4-day show weekend that was at the same time both very tiring and lot of fun!

By the way, thanks to all who sent me email and wished me luck at the shows.

The pictures you'll see throughout this post are of Walker, Multiple Group Winning Grand Champion, Champion Joyslyn Mi Toya Wind Walker.

Baby Walker, Dec. 2002

The shows were in Bloomington, Illinois, just a couple hours from here. I drove over Thursday afternoon to reserve grooming space for myself, my three friends who were coming from WI, and for my Shiba friends. Then back home I went, where I spent the rest of the night bathing and drying the 3 dogs I was taking with me and packing for myself and the dogs. Friday AM I left for Bloomington and returned home this evening about 6:30. Since then I've been doing laundry, unpacking, grocery shopping, and bathing 2 puppies so they are cute and fluffy for someone who is coming to see them tomorrow night! Oh…and answering email, talking on the phone, and writing this blog entry. It's nearly midnight now and the alarm rings at 5:20!

(An aside: We stayed at the Ramada Inn, which was a great place to stay. The only odd thing about the place was that in the bathroom, the toilet paper holder was clear across the room (about 2 arm lengths) from the toilet! Whoever designed that room needs a salary reduction. So that will become part of the "remember when" travel stories about weird places we've stayed and odd things that have happened on our many dog show journeys.)

Walker's first point, May 2003

The show…well it had its ups and downs. On Friday Mr. Booth awarded Walker Best of Breed. We did not place in the Group. Friday afternoon, I and other American Lhasa Apso Club members conducted a workshop and seminar about the Lhasa for judges who were interested in adding the breed to their list of approved breeds to judge. We had a great time and we taught them a lot about the breed.

Saturday was Maggie's first show. I was apprehensive about her being in the ring, certain she would put on the breaks and not walk at all. I even cautioned my friends, "Don't you laugh at me!" before I took Maggie into the ring. She surprised us all. When I said, "Let's go Maggie!" she did just that and went around the ring like a pro. She got her first blue ribbon (she was the only one in her class!)

Walker's first major, Sept. 2003

Saturday night, we stayed late so our puppies could take part in the fun match the club was sponsoring. Like all fun matches, this one took forever, but the judges were really good with the puppies and gave us lots of practice with them. Raven made her ring debut at the match and won not only best Lhasa puppy in match but also placed first in the Non-sporting Puppy Group.

Saturday and Sunday under judges Sturm and Holloway, Walker took Best Opposite Sex. (That means that a female took the Breed both of those days.)

Winner's Dog, Nat'l Specialty 2003

Sunday and Monday, Maggie repeated her Saturday performance. (Hurray!) Monday Walker again won the Breed under Mr. Miller. (Big Cheer!) As I took Walker out of the ring and placed him on the ringside table, I looked at the purple and gold Best of Breed ribbon, looked at my friend, and teared up – that was Walker's last show and his last Best of Breed ribbon. He is now officially retired as a special. We did not place in the group competition, but we were one of the six dogs who "made the cut." Again, I got teary-eyed when it was all over and it hit me again how much I loved showing Walker and how, even if we go out again a few times in the fall to practice before the national specialty, I will miss specialing him. I am so proud of him. Right now the plan is to show him in the veteran's competition at the national specialty. He'll be 9 years old by then.

Walker in 2010

A lady at ringside was taking photos of him but I forgot to look her up after the group to give her my email address. I sure wish I could see the photos!

There is never an end without a beginning. In June, I will begin showing Breaker (Ch. Joyslyn's Heartbreaker) in Best of Breed competition. After Walker, I will be facing a challenge. Breaker is a beautiful Lhasa, but he definitely has an attention problem. Keeping him still in the Group ring will require patience. Walker is an old hand at it and knows what to expect in the group ring and what I expect from him. Breaker will learn and I'm sure we will eventually "gel" as a team.

Everybody with a Lhasa, give your dog a big hug and kiss! In our hearts they are all Best in Show dogs!

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

Joyce

It's been fun! Thanks Walker!

Off to the Show

2011-05-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

It's pouring rain here today (again!) so keeping the freshly bathed Lhasas dry and "show ready" was a problem this morning. Tomorrow I leave for the 4-day show weekend in Bloomington, IL. If you are nearby, stop at the show to watch the Lhasas. The show is being held at the Interstate Center. This will probably be Walker's final shows until September, when I'll take him out to a few before we go to Albuquerque and the national specialty. Maggie is making her debut in the ring on Saturday. I decided to give her Friday to get used to the sights, sounds, and smells and relax a bit. Raven is going along for the ride.

Tonight will be busy…packing, packing, packing…more bathing, drying, and general fussing with the coats…loading the car (I hope the rain stops by then)...and I think we are supposed to have our granddaughter overnight also.

Here are the pictures of Connor and Secret's girls that I mentioned yesterday. We had cuter ones of Tempe but the flash made her eyes green and alien looking! Ugh.

Callie

Dreamer

Penny

Tempe

I'm off to the show tomorrow AM, hoping I don't have to swim to get there!

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you.

Joyce

The Myth of Sisyphus

2011-05-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

The struggle itself..is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy. ~ Albert Camus

Sisyphus as painted by Titian

Ah..the ancient Greeks. Their myths bespoke all aspects of people's lives and natures. They had a myth for everything.

Take, for example Sisyphus.

Do you remember the myth about Sisyphus, the guy in the underworld whom the gods punished by making him roll a huge boulder up a steep hill and then, when he just about had it to the top, sent it rolling back to the bottom of the hill, where Sisyphus had to start all over again? For eternity!

In spite of so many things to be thankful for, I've been feeling a lot like Sisyphus like lately—especially when it comes to achieving my goals concerning the puppies.

I'm usually an "every cloud has a silver lining" and "the glass is half-full" and "I get knocked down and I get up again" kind of person.

Yet that boulder keeps tumbling down. It's darn irritating!

On a lighter note, I should have puppy pictures posted later today or tomorrow.

Repeat after me, "Life is good…life is good…life is good…." (especially when you have a Lhasa to love you!)

Cheers!

Joyce

Some Updates and Photos

2011-05-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

“To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.” ~ Leonard Bernstein

Once again I ask, "Where does time go?" Here it is Wednesday already; the week is half gone; the month is more than half gone, and I don't seem to have accomplished much. Granted, being away at a dog show on a weekend always puts me behind. Chores like dirty dishes, dirty laundry, dog grooming, etc. do not magically get done just because I don't want to do them.

Anyway, the chores are done, the grooming back on schedule.

Last weekend Walker and I went to the show in Rock Island, Illinois. I paid $10 for a reserved grooming space (well worth the cost!) so getting in the building, finding my spot (a nice one close to the door leading out to where the exercise pens were set up), and setting up was a snap. There were three Lhasa entries, one a class dog whose owner decided that since there were no points, she would save her gas money for another show. The other two of us were specials entered in the Best of Breed competition. Walker won Best of Breed both days, with both judges commenting on his color and his lovely coat and its texture. Sadly, we did not place in the Group competition, but he showed really well. He turns it on when people applaud and cheer for him!

On Sunday the club also held veteran's competitions for dogs at least 7 years old. I entered Walker. He had no competition in Lhasas so we automatically went to the Non-Sporting Veteran Group, which I am pleased to say that we won. The long-coated standard Dachshund won Best Veteran in Show.

Ch. Joyslyn's Heartbreaker

Oh…speaking of Best in Show, the Shiba friends with whom I generally travel were in Ohio last weekend at the Nippo Classic. My friend Jane's Shiba (Waka) took Best in Show there. I was so excited and happy for her when she called with the news!

When I returned home on Sunday evening, Lynn was just finishing drying Breaker so we took a few pictures of him. His first shows as a special will be in Iowa City at the end of June. He is a pretty dog but will be a challenge for me after showing Walker for so long. Breaker does NOT like to stand still. I'm sure his antics and my attempts not to show exasperation will be cause for laughter among friends watching outside the ring!

Dreamer

I don't know about the rest of you, but the floods in the south along the Mississippi have certainly been giving me nightmares for the past three nights. I keep dreaming that we live near a river that is flooding and have to evacuate suddenly and leave the dogs behind. No matter how I replay it, the ending is always tragic. I wake up absolutely horrified and feeling ill. Many dog breeders and pet owners live in the flooded areas. I imagine they all have horror stories about the flood and what happened to their animals. My heart and prayers go out to all pet owners and farmers in those areas who have been forced by nature into abandoning animals dear to them.

Callie

Tempe

The puppies are doing well. I'm posting recent pictures of three of the four. Penny's pictures looked horrible (she was not cooperating!) so we need to retake some and just have not had time. Penny, who started out such a little thing, has grown so that now she and Dreamer are hard to tell apart at first glance. Dreamer's new owners are coming to get her over Memorial weekend. The other three are still waiting for homes.

Our son Trevor graduated this month (yippee) with his Bachelors of Music Degree in Jazz Performance. We are very proud of him. He is a fine guitarist. He and three friends have formed a metal band (Black Fast) that has just released their demo CD. Their playing is amazing, and I have come to appreciate a music genre that heretofore I did not want to listen to. (I still only listen to Black Fast so don't think I have totally changed my mind and entire personality and started buying heavy metal CDs! I take it in small doses!)

Speaking of music, I am back to my question about American Idol. Who will it be? I was sad to see James leave the show. I liked his style and energy. I really cannot take Haley's screechy voice and hope she leaves on Thursday. While I am not much of a country music fan, I would much rather listen to either one of the other two sing than have to continue to listen to Haley! Tonight I will be grooming a dog or two while I watch American Idol.

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

Joyce

Catching Up After A Week of Not Blogging!

2011-05-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

All you moms reading this…I hope you had a great Mother's Day! I would have missed knowing Mother's Day was on the 8th had I not been bathing dogs on Friday and listening to the radio while doing so. The announcer kept talking about a contest with prizes for Mother's Day. It finally got through to me that he was talking about THAT Sunday, not the 15th, which was the date I thought was Mother's Day. For those of you who think I am nuts (okay, I'll grant you that), I can explain by saying that generally we are at a dog show in Rock Island on Mother's Day. At least I always equate that show with Mother's Day, and that show is THIS coming weekend. Anyway, the result was that the gift I had purchased for my mom way back in mid April was mailed Friday afternoon and I don't know if she has it yet or not. I did, however, call and explain. She got a kick out of it because normally she is the one who forgets!

Lucky me, my own children knew the correct date for Mother's Day!

We were indeed at dog shows last weekend in Jefferson, WI. I entered Belle and Walker. Walker won the breed on Saturday but did not place in the Group. Belle took second (out of two) in her class. She was so unremarkable that the judge (Ann Hearn) did not even call her back in the ring to try for Reserve. How sad is that?

Belle: Joyslyn's Beauty Secret

Saturday Belle took second again (but this time out of three) and then took Reserve. Walker did not win the breed but did take a Select over one other male special.

Regarding Belle, people at ringside told me she actually showed well and looked good in the ring. I don't enjoy showing her because if she feels the slightest tug on the lead, she stops dead in her tracks. It is really hard to remember to let her lead hang loose and at the side of her neck rather than at the top. It goes against my habits of 38 years of showing! She did okay in the ring but the experience only underscored what I already knew: Belle doesn't really like showing or want to be a show dog. She is an adorable, small Lhasa, who wants to be a lap dog. So now I have decided that if the right home comes along for her, she can have her wish. (Realize please that I have known since she was 6 months old that she hated the lead and disliked the show ring. It has taken this long – two years later – to convince myself it is a lost cause and that, love her as I do, she needs to be someone's lap dog.)

The excitement over the weekend was because my friend Jane's Shiba Inu puppy won a 4-point major on Saturday and a 3-point major on Sunday, taking the breed both days and placing 4th in the Group on Saturday. We were thrilled about that.

It was nice to get home Sunday night to Mother's Day calls and cards. The puppies were happy to see me. Jake left for his new home on Saturday, and I got an email today from his new owners who are absolutely in love with him. That made my day. He is such a people-loving puppy. His sisters seem to have grown in the short two days I was gone. I'll post some pictures.

Callie and Temp, 11 weeks

Penny and Dreamer, 11 weeks

A good thing that happened yesterday is that the contractor finally sent his crew to repair the damage to our roof and front porch ceiling caused by a determined raccoon who wanted to nest in our attic. I think falling through the porch ceiling must have scared her off because she hasn't been back (thank the Lord) since she created all the havoc.

I've been thinking a lot lately about all the people I have met because of the Lhasas. It has been such a blessing, whether they be puppy buyers, fellow Lhasa Apso club members and exhibitors, or exhibitors of other breeds. Good people, giving people, grouchy people, downright nasty or unprincipled people – they have all shaped my thinking and served as examples of how to (and not to!) behave.

We'll soon be preparing for the Rock Island show. Lhasa entries are way down…only two specials this year. One class dog is entered but is not going to be shown since there are no points. Walker and I are going. He is entered for Best of Breed both days and for the veteran's event on Sunday. For you non-dog show readers, the veteran's competition is for dogs that are 7 or more years old. After the Memorial Day weekend shows in Bloomington, Walker will probably not be shown again until the national specialty, except for perhaps a weekend just to remind him what shows are all about. It is time for Breaker to hit the ring again and see what he can do. We'll show him a bit this summer and go from there.

Is anyone watching American Idol? Whom are you cheering for? I'm sort of thinking James or Scotty will win. We'll see…

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

Joyce

A Monday in May

2011-05-02T04:28:00.000-07:00

"The world's favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May."
- Edwin Way Teale

Our May began in a great way. We are blessed to have one of our sons and his family living in Macomb. The other two of our three children live some distance away and came home over the weekend to spend a few days. One of them we have not seen for a year, so it has been great to have her here again. She lives in FL, so the chilly, windy, overcast, and cold rain that has been Macomb's weather has not been pleasant for her.

They are enjoying the puppies and the puppies are enjoying new people and extra attention. We took some video of the puppies over the weekend so I am going to try to share with you -- just a couple short clips. No need to bore you with "home movies." (They are really brief videos.)

I am making my first attempt at uploading videos to the blog. We'll see how successful it is!

These two videos are both of Penny playing with a ball. She's small but mighty!

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you (and when all your family is once again together at the dinner table!)

Joyce

Most of This is Someone Else's Article!

2011-04-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

A tired D.J (Ch. JaMa Joyslyn Deja Vu)

I hope everyone had a pleasant Easter weekend. We certainly had a relaxing Sunday. I seemed to spend a great deal of it hiding or hunting Easter eggs with our granddaughter! I also tried to capture video of the young puppies playing and finally did get a few clips to send to people who have made inquiries about buying a puppy.

Rather than continue to bore you with information about a weekend where nothing really exciting happened, today I want to share an article with you written by Diane Klumb quite a few years ago that is making the rounds again on dog-related listservs and blogs. I'll add my blog to that list.

Diane Klumb is a monthly columnist for ShowSight magazine, an award-winning dog author, a dog breeder, and author The Havanese and Everything You Need To Know About Men...You Can Learn From Dogs (hmmm…that sounds interesting! Has anyone read it??) In the article that follows Klumb discusses the ensuing "war" on dog breeders and makes some logical arguments.

With so many economic problems, natural disasters, uprisings and wars across the globe vying for our attention, it's easy to gloss over the difficulties animal rights activists are creating nationwide in all areas related to animals. For dog breeders and dog owners, as city after city and state after state are besieged by anti-dog legislation under the guise of protecting animals, and as animal rights activists strive to make anyone who breeds dogs a criminal or an object of disdain, the worry is that our own rights as citizens will be compromised in the process. Legislators fall victim to smooth talking lobbyists and big contributions, and many choose to support legislation that will negatively impact who can breed and own dogs. Some dog breeders are giving up or laying low, hoping the endless battle is all a bad dream. Others are standing proud and fighting back. In such an environment, it is refreshing to hear a voice such as Diane's lay it all out.

Joyce

---------------------------------

Hi. My name is Diane, and I am a Breeder. I am good at it, and I am damned proud of it. I bought my first show dog in 1969 and whelped my first litter in April, 1975.

I have, since that inauspicious beginning, in partnership with my long suffering husband and a few good friends produced a few dozen champions, some top producers, a handful of Specials, and a lot of superb close-working grouse dogs and well loved companions. We kept a fair number over the years and sold the rest. (NOTE: I said sold, not 'placed'...we'll address that particular idiocy later.) We owned a kennel for many years, and trained gun dogs. This involved the killing of untold numbers of game birds, all of which we ate. I have more recipes for pheasant, grouse and woodcock than you can shake a stick at. We showed our hunting dogs and hunted over our show dogs.

I do not believe for a minute that the whelping or sale of a single one of those purebred dogs is in any way responsible for the euthanasia of a million unwanted dogs a year at shelters around the country, any more than I believed that cleaning my plate when I was a kid could in any way benefit all the poor starving children in Africa, no matter how much the nuns or my mother tried to make me feel guilty about it.

I couldn't see the logic then and I can't see it now (although today I would maybe refrain from suggesting that we bundle up Sister Edlita's meatloaf and actually send it to the poor starving children in Africa.)

Look at it this way: If I go to a bookstore specifically to buy Matt Ridley's The Human Genome (which, as it happens, I recently did) and that bookstore does not have it, I will do one of two things - I will order it, or I will go to another bookstore that does carry it and purchase it there. What I will NOT do is take the same money and buy Martha Stewart's latest cookbook instead, because this is not what I want.

Guilt without logic is dangerous.

Show breeders are simply not responsible for the millions of unplanned and unwanted mongrels produced in this country. Period. So don't let anyone make you feel guilty about it.

I do not understand why the top horse farms in this country are not in the least embarrassed by the fact they make a lot of money doing it, yet in the world of dogs if one is to be respected, one is to lose one's ass financially. That is a load of horse shit, pure and simple, yet we accept it meekly and without question.

Why is that?

Basic economic theory suggests that if we are not turning a profit, one of two things is wrong - we suffer from poor management, or we are not asking enough for our product to cover our production costs.

What are our costs? Well, if we are breeding good dogs, besides basic food and veterinary costs we ought to be adding in the costs of showing these animals, and advertising, and health testing, which are not expenses incurred by the high volume breeders (puppy mills).

OK, so we have much higher costs involved in producing our healthier, sounder animals. Yet the average pet shop puppy sells for about the same as the average well bred pet from show stock, and often they sell for much more. What's wrong with this picture? We're stupid that's what's wrong.

Q. Why does a Jaguar sell for ten times more than a Hundai?

A. Because it's worth more and everyone knows it. "And everyone knows it" is the key phrase here, folks. But somehow no one knows our puppies are worth more and we're embarrassed to tell them. Why is that?

The difference between the sale price of a multi million dollar stallion and what he's worth as horsemeat on any given day at a livestock auction is quality. Yet we cannot address this issue in dogs because we are embarrassed to talk about money and dogs in the same breath.

Why is that?

OK, I'll tell you, because someone has to come out and say this sooner or later. There is a war going on. Unlike most wars, however, this one actually has three sides rather than two.

1. We have Show breeders, who are producing a small number of purebred dogs.

2. We have High-Volume breeders who are producing a large number of purebred dogs.

3. We have Animal Rights Activists, who believe that neither group has the right to breed or even own purebred dogs, much less make a profit at it.

While the first group is busy trying to get rid of the second group because they don't like the way they breed dogs (which by the way ain't gonna happen as long as the American public wants purebred dogs and the first group won't produce them) the third group is winning the war.

You think I'm making this up?

Then how come we've started saying we "placed" our puppies instead of sold them? We talk about the new "adoptive homes" instead of their new owners. What's next? Instead of price of a puppy, we'll charge an "adoption fee?" What's wrong with this new language? I'll tell you.

We didn't come up with it, the Animal Rights Activists did - we are just stupid enough to use it. We are stupid because it's based on the premise that we have no right to own dogs. It is based on the premise that dog ownership is the moral equivalent of human slavery, and that the species Homo sapiens has no right to use any other species for any purpose whatsoever, be it food, clothing, medical research, recreation or involuntary companionship.

Now, I don't know about you, but my politically incorrect opinion is: Our species did not spend the last million years clawing our way to the top of the food chain to eat tofu. The stuff tastes like shit no matter how you cook it, and there is absolutely no sense pretending otherwise.

Zoology 101: Animals who kill other animals for their primary food source are called predators. Their eyes are generally on the front of their skulls, they have teeth designed to tear flesh from bone, and a digestive system designed to digest meat (like us). Animals that live primarily off vegetation are called herbivores. They have better peripheral vision, flat teeth for grinding, and the most efficient of them have multiple stomachs, which we do not (like cows). And lastly, Animals who live primarily off what other have killed (carrion) are called scavengers (think about that one long and hard.)

Man like the canis, is a pack-hunting predator, which is probably why we get along so well. (If that fact bothers you, get over it.) How did we get to the top of the food chain? We are the most intelligent and efficient pack-hunters ever to suck oxygen from the atmosphere, that's how. We are certainly intelligent enough to understand that maintaining that position on this small planet depends on responsible stewardship, not guilt. And we are so damned efficient that we can support a tremendous number of scavengers in our midst -- Like the Animal Rights Activists, for instance. (Me, I think we should dump the whole lot of them buck naked in the Boundary Waters and see how well this egalitarian philosophy of theirs plays out, but that's probably too politically incorrect for anybody else to consider )

So what do we do?

Well, to begin with we need to regain control. The first way we do this is with language, which is the tool they have been using on us. These people who don't want us to "own" dogs are likening themselves to Abolitionists. That's a fallacy, unless you accept the premise that dogs are really little humans in fur coats, which frankly is an insult to a species that has never waged war on the basis of religious differences.

No, the group they really resemble is the Prohibitionists - remember them? A particularly annoying bunch of zealots who firmly believed and somehow managed to convince our duly elected representatives that alcohol was a bad

thing, and any beverage containing it should be illegal in these United States of America. Very few Americans actually agreed with this, by the way, but by the time Congress got its head out of its collective you-know-what, a whole new industry had developed - Organized Crime.

We look back at that whole debacle now and wonder how anything that stupid and wrongheaded ever happened. Well, boys and girls, in the inimitable words of the great Yogi Berra: "It's deja vu all over again." The Prohibitionists are back.

And once again, we are buying it.....amazing

--published in ShowSight Magazine September 2002

New Pictures and Not Much Else

2011-04-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

There is no news around here. We're tired of the chilly weather and rain and hoping for an Easter weekend that is so warm and spring-like that being outside for an Easter egg hunt will be appealing. I admit to being a wuss when it comes to being outside in chilly weather.

The puppies had their first car ride and vet visit on Monday. Everyone was declared "healthy" and "cute" and "sweet." All were troopers when it came to the shots.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you.

Joyce

Here are the most recent photos:

Callie

Dreamer

Jake

Penny

Tempe

Zach and Latest Puppy Pictures

2011-04-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who sent email and Facebook wishes for a happy anniversary. We appreciated it.

I'm posting some pictures of Zach. I was talking to someone about him and referred the person to the blog to see Zach pictures. Later I realized that I had not posted pictures of him. He finished his championship in December and I had intended to post his finishing picture but never did! I think I posted pictures of him on my Facebook page instead! Anyway, here are two pictures of our boy Zach. He is so handsome! He finished with back-to-back majors and looked great in the ring -- the best he's ever shown. It was a thrill to watch him and, again, I thank my friend Jane who did a great job showing him for me that weekend.

Ch. Joyslyn MLS Dakota Playboy at Heart

The latest puppy pictures, taken about a week ago, are also included in this post. Everyone is doing well, even the little squirt who toddles around like she owns the place! She's a little tyke but not a "runt," a word I always associate with a puppy that is sickly and not thriving. That is definitely not Miss Penny. She's small but mighty! First vet check and shots are scheduled for Monday afternoon. I apologize for being so far behind with pictures. Last week was a busy one, and the schedule for this one looks just as busy.

Enjoy the pictures and remember...Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you!

Joyce

Callie

Dreamer

Jake

Penny

Tempe

A Little More History

2011-04-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

On April 15 Lynn and I will celebrate our 39^th anniversary! I'm posting two pictures taken on the big day. Memorable events of the evening include an excruciating headache from all the bobby pins holding the veil headpiece in place, my Chi Omega sorority sisters serenading us, our theatre friends singing "You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You" to us on the church steps, the cake cutters slicing our wedding cake into pie-shaped pieces (???), the minister handing two of our guests brooms to sweep up the rice on the church steps, and (because I'd told Lynn days before the ceremony to "kiss me like he meant it") the "you may kiss the bride" kiss going on and on and on … until everyone in the church was laughing.

Actually, our Lhasa anniversary passed without me remarking on it. Last month marked our 38^th year of owning Lhasa Apsos. Here is an excerpt from my April 2009 blog post that tells the story:

…it all started with an encyclopedia salesman! Shortly after our marriage, Lynn and I were besieged by door-to-door salesmen who tried to sell us all kinds of things we couldn't afford. (We were in our last year of college.) One of those salesmen succeeded in selling us a set of encyclopedias. We both had grown up with dogs as part of our families and knew we wanted to have a dog. The "Dogs" section of that encyclopedia happened to have a very nice picture of a Lhasa Apso in it. Now, if you have ever looked at some of the older Lhasa Apso resources, you would know that some of the pictures of the dogs were not very attractive. So, I suppose if I'd seen one of those photos first I wouldn't be where I am today in the Lhasa world.

After we graduated from college, I landed my first teaching job at a high school in Iowa. With my first paycheck, we bought a refrigerator (Harvest Gold, all the rage in 1970's appliance colors!). When the second paycheck arrived, we bought a dog, our first Lhasa Apso, whom we named Joyslyn's Pheebe. We'd seen an ad for Lhasa Apsos at a nearby kennel. Of course, other than the picture in the encyclopedia, we knew nothing about the breed. We did, however, know how to pronounce its name correctly from the start!

Joyslyn's Miss Buffy Jo and Joyslyn's Pheebe

Unfortunately, as evidenced by the photo of Pheebe and Buffy, our first two Lhasas, we did not have a clue about how to groom. As happens with so many first time Lhasa owners, we ended up having to have both girls shaved. We kept Pheebe's coat short but tried to get Buffy's grown out again to show her. She was not having anything to do with being in the ring so, of course, we soon had to get another to show! (That's how it all begins -- just so ya know!). Our third Lhasa was Lutzmor's Dolsa Bo Jangles, but his story is for another day.

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

Joyce

Some History

2011-04-07T06:48:00.000-07:00

Going through some old photos and newspaper clippings recently, I came across an article from 1985 which was written about us and one of our Lhasas, Joyslyn's Riunite. The headline reads, "David City Native Joins Hollywood Cast of Dynasty." The accompanying photo shows a much younger Joyce and Lynn with Rio, as we called him.

Jim Reisdorff of the Columbus (Nebraska) Telegram wrote:

A canine star is born. Well, maybe not exactly, but even Lassie and Benji had to start someplace.

For Rio, the Lhasa Apso, the road to animal stardom will presumably start with occasional appearances on the television series "Dynasty." He will play the role of pet to Alexis Carington, the character played by actress Joan Collins. Rio's Hollywood connections are courtesy of his former owners, Joyce and Lynn Johanson of David City. The Johansons, who raise the Lhasa Apso dog breed, recently sold the year-old Rio to a California woman whose firm specializes in providing animals for use in movies and television productions…

…There is already a Lhasa Apso appearing in the series, the Johansons noted. Rio will apparently stand in for, and eventually replace, the other dog in future episodes to be filmed next television season.

The Johansons said they do not watch "Dynasty" so they're not familiar with the role of the Carrington dog. From others, Mrs. Johanson said they learned the dog is used mostly to reflect the elegance of Ms. Collins' character. "All he does is lay on Alexis' bed and look pretty. So I don't know for sure what Rio will have to do," Mrs. Johanson said…

(Then the article provides a brief description of the Lhasa Apso and history of the breed, as well as a brief history of Joyslyn's Lhasa Apsos.)

…Mrs. Johanson is an English teacher at Aquinas High School while Mr. Johanson is a drama teacher at Concordia Teacher's College in Seward. "Lynn made the comment that he's been working in theatre all this time and it's his dog that makes it to the big time," Mrs. Johanson quipped.

I recall that for a while we kept in touch with Rio's trainer, who kept us updated on Rio's appearances, but the only one I remember is that, in addition to "Dynasty," Rio also appeared in a "Highway to Heaven" episode. Then we just lost touch. It'd be nice to know what other television credits Rio had before his career ended.

Other news…we went to our first show of the year (DeWitt, IA), and it was good to be back in the ring. Walker did "okay," losing on Saturday and winning on Sunday. I took Whisper and Raven along for the ride on Saturday. Maggie got her turn on Sunday. They all seemed to enjoy the trip and the extra attention. Maggie was thrilled when a family came by with a young girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old, who held her and made a big deal over her.

Walker and I are headed to Dekalb, Illinois, early Saturday morning for a show. A Sunday conflict limited us to just the one day but, except for having to be on the road by 3:30 AM, I'm looking forward to it!

The puppies are doing well. The schedule looks busy, so I probably will not get pictures posted until later next week.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you.

Joyce

Latest Puppy Pictures

2011-04-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

What a week! Tuesday night Whisper, Breaker, and I went to class in Peoria. Whisper got car sick and drooled all over herself so I dried her off as best I could and let her sit in the crate for a half hour while I worked with Breaker. He is such a happy up-beat dog. I wonder sometimes if he is all beauty and no brain! In spite of not being shown since he finished in October 2009, he was comfortable and confident in class and interested in all the other dogs. He performed well! One owner brought her rather large Chinese Shar Pei to class and the darn thing kept shaking, flopping its big jowls, and splattering everyone around with slober. Gross! We stayed a couple dogs behind it and missed most of the mess.

Callie

Dreamer

When it was Whisper's turn, she acted as if she were born to it (which, if you look closely at her pedigree, she probably was.) Her tail was up, her head was up and she walked around the room like she'd been doing it all her life. Now THAT is what I like to see! Interestingly, we passed the little test I'd concocted in my head. Our trainer does a good job of examining the dogs and I was curious to see if he would discover that she had only 1/2 an ear on one side. He did not, even after 2 examinations. What that means is that it is highly unlikely any other judge will notice either. Later, when I told him about her mom nipping off her ear shortly after birth, he said maybe it was a lucky omen and went on to tell me about two top winning dogs of prick ear breeds that had had similar accidents and gone on to win Best in Show. Not that I have those high aspirations for Whisper, but I would like to be able to show and finish her!

In addition to the usual weekly grooming, I took a vacation day on Thursday and groomed and bathed Walker in preparation for tomorrow's show. Then I came into the office because our Dean was giving sort of a "State of the College" presentation to the Provost and I needed to be here for that. Then I went to the bank, library, post office, and a Weight Watchers meeting. Then I bought groceries.

Jake

Tempe

Once back home, I decided I would take Maggie, Raven, and Whisper girls to the show to give them some show experience and to let my friends see them, so I groomed and bathed all three of them. Then I decided we needed to take pictures of the puppies, but they were all gooey from wading in their food bowl so they got their first baths and first experiences under the big dryer.

I worked hard on my "day off."

Penny

On top of all that, our four-year-old granddaughter came over to spend the night.

Tomorrow will be our first show of the year. It's about time! I've been having dog show withdrawal! Wish us luck!

The puppies will be 6 weeks old on Sunday. Enjoy the pictures.

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

Joyce

Monday Musings

2011-03-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

Lucy waiting at ringside, May 2004.

Here are just some random thoughts I've been pondering today.

The declining interest in Lhasa Apsos is troubling.

I was looking through AKC's website, trying to find some information that I absolutely could not find. Frustrated, I emailed someone at the address given on the AKC website. I received a quick reply that contained not the information I requested but the following statistics about AKC breed rankings that really are quite alarming as far as Lhasas are concerned. In 2000, Lhasas ranked 33rd, a ranking which declined to 39 in 2005, 54 in 2009, and 62 in 2010.

Often people looking for AKC Lhasa Apso puppies will contact me and wonder why they cannot easily find puppies. "There just do not seem to be any available in our area," is a common complaint.

Why? Well, because (for whatever reason) demand for puppies is down, Lhasa breeders are not breeding as many litters as they did in the past. Fewer litters means fewer puppies. Many of us who have been involved in breeding and showing for 30 years or longer are getting to the point where we have to start thinking about how many dogs we currently have, their ages and life expectancy, as well as our own ages, health, and expectations for the next 10-15 years of our lives.

Being a reputable breeder means you take care of the puppies you cannot sell. That is why I have "the three girls!" It's definitely not because I needed or wanted to raise three puppies from the same litter. I love them all to pieces—they are all so cute and have great personalities—but I really just planned to keep one. When a breeder finds herself in that situation, it becomes necessary to put some future breeding plans on hold. I've said many times "you can't keep them all" – and now I can add "unless you have to!" Raven and Whisper are still available should the right home come along.

What is this world coming to?

Unless you have had your head in the sand, you know that more than a few things about life in the U.S. lately are raising eyebrows and causing a lot of us to wonder how the lack of civility and common sense has achieved the levels it has nowadays. You know organizations like PETA and HSUS are promoting anti-breeding, breed specific, and other legislation that makes purebred dog ownership difficult. And while the lack of civility problem is pervasive in our society and certainly not just related to dogs, this is my dog blog, so my focus is dogs.

A recent example: Cafepress, an online company that sells clothing and other items—including some Lhasa Apso items that at one time were sold to support the efforts of our ALAC Rescue Network (and may still be for all I know)—was selling items with the slogan "Save A Pit Bull – Euthanize A Breeder." As I did some online research about the subject, I found out that the slogan originally said, "Save a Dog – Euthanize A Breeder." To me, the breed or even the species (dog, cat, whatever) makes no difference. "Euthanize" is a euphemism for "kill." The companies that produce and sell the items, as well as the people who purchase them, are advocating "death to breeders." I don't think it is funny, nor do I think its promoters intended it as a joke.

Cafepress was asked to stop selling items with the "Euthanize A Breeder" slogan and originally refused. Finally, bowing to pressure from many dog breeders who took issue with the slogan and bombarded the company with letters, the slogan was removed.

Even so, I continue to wonder, "Why have those of us who retain a sense of right, of civility, and of common sense in this crazy world of ours allowed the nut jobs to take over?"

I love my Lhasas!

I have to end on a more positive note. My dogs are an important part of my life. They love me and I love them. Showing them is fun. Well, okay, it is also hard work, expensive, and aggravating at times too, but I would not do it if I did not enjoy it. Breeding dogs—and doing it right—is rewarding, but it also is expensive, difficult, and at times frustrating and heartbreaking.

Our little ones are now five weeks old. They are growing, getting cuter everyday, and learning something new each day. They engage in short-lived puppy battles, think the piddle pad is a toy to shake and drag around the family room, investigate places where I never dreamed they'd go, then suddenly decide they are tired and end up in a big puppy nap pile. We've come up with temporary call names so we are able to distinguish them from each other. The girls are Tempe, Callie, Dreamer, and Penny. The boy is Jake. Of course, new owners will give them their own names but for now, that's how we'll distinguish them. We'll get new pictures posted soon, hopefully by the end of this week or early next week.

Breaker and Whisper are headed for class tomorrow night unless I decide to take Walker instead. Walker has a show this coming weekend and has not been in the ring since October. He's an old pro at it though so I am not too concerned with him needing a lot of practice. I know he'll love being back in the ring. I'm sure people wonder why I keep showing him and are thinking, "Why doesn't she just retire that dog already!?"

It's because he loves the ring (especially that big Group ring) and I love showing him.

The photo on this page is of one of our girls named Lucy (Joyslyn's Lucy in the Sky). Isn't she a beauty? She now lives in CA. I ran across the photo when I was going through some files and thought I'd share it with you. Lucy was so funny. She wasn't fond of showing and in the show ring would jump the tape holding down the corners of the mat. She was a little bit of a dog. A judge told me I needed to get some weight on her so a friend shared a recipe called the "Fat Diet," which was supposed to put weight on a dog quickly. The only problem was that Lucy was allergic to the wheat germ in the mixture (I did not find that out until after the catastrophe!) and she scratched out her coat on one side of her head. Such a mess!

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

Joyce

Sharing Pictures: "The Three Girls"

2011-03-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

The news is slim around here, so without further adieu, here are the latest pictures of Mira's puppies. They are now 5 months old. All are beautiful and have sweet personalities to match.

One of them (I have not yet decided which one) will soon be entered in a dog show, so I had to register them with AKC last week to ensure that they would be registered by the time I filled out the entry forms. What delayed the process was the fact that I couldn't decide on their names! Now, I realize that I have had 5 months to make the decisions; nevertheless, my list was a full page, two columns of possible names for girls.

Here are my final choices and the names by which AKC will know the girls: Maggie is Joyslyn's Moonlight Magic; Raven is Joyslyn's Midnight Enchantment; Whisper is Joyslyn's Midnight Confessions.

The girls send their greetings and hope you all like the names I chose. If not, oh well. It's done.

Maggie

Raven

Whisper

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

Joyce

The Promised Pictures

2011-03-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody!

These pictures of the puppies were taken yesterday. I guess they speak for themselves. The puppies are playing and growling at each other. So cute! They are interested in exploring the family room. Of course, in the midst of their meanderings, they often stop to take a little nap. To their mom's dismay, each day they become more curious about her food. (She does not want to share it.)

This little girl is the lead explorer.

This group seems most anxious to eat "real" food, so my intent is to wean them earlier than usual. Their mom will appreciate that for sure.

Enjoy!

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you! ~ Joyce

Little miss curious!

Yes, she's a "punk!"

The boy. "Help, I'm outnumbered!"

The tiny girl. Small but mighty!

Is It Spring Yet?

2011-03-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain

As I look at today's calendar, I realize that I had originally planned to take the day off, and yet I went to work, which perhaps explains why I so so badly wanted to leave as soon as I unlocked my office door!

I've received some great emails this month from people I have not heard from in a while, all of them writing about the Lhasas they got from us. Kathy wrote to say that Casey had recently turned 16 and to give me an update on his health. Cheryl did the same about Libby, who had her 15th birthday. Kristi wrote to me on Facebook about Autumn who had her 4^th birthday. It is so great to hear from people about their Lhasas. Notes and pictures are always appreciated.


Connor jumping for joy! It's spring!

I also heard from Judy, Ty's new owner, saying he is full of energy and that one of her dogs tolerates him, another ignores him, and the third has adopted him and mothers him. Raquel wrote that the puppy formerly known on this blog as Socks is dealing her fits because he hates to have his eyes cleaned or his face combed.

I also received a nice email message from a man in Australia who wrote that they were buying their first Lhasa. He told me how much the information on my website had helped them. What a nice note! I always wonder if anyone reads the information on the website.

The new puppies are doing just fine. No pictures yet, but they are coming I promise. I don't know where the time goes, but each morning I remind Lynn, "We need to take pictures of the puppies tonight" and somehow we never get to it. The female puppies are all petite. The male evidently eats more than his share! I keep calling him Bruiser and need to stop before it sticks! I'll try to get pictures posted over the weekend.

The "three girls" have been officially named. Their AKC papers indicate that Maggie is officially "Joyslyn's Moonlight Magic." Whisper is "Joyslyn's Midnight Confessions." Raven is "Joyslyn's Midnight Enchantment." Maggie seems to be the 3^rd wheel in this trio and gets picked on by the other two. She's learning to hold her own, and the others get to hear me say "knock it off" quite often! They always look at me like "what?" — pretending they have no clue why I would chastise them.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to get to class this month as planned. So far we've had to miss two classes, and next week there is another conflict. I'm really hoping March 29 is a "go!" In the meantime, we have been practicing at home. All three of the girls are doing well with the lead training and walking down the street with ease. Last night they met their first bicycle riders pedaling by and that caused a bit of trauma for a few seconds. Maggie is the most stubborn about being on a lead (shades of Belle I fear!). I plan to enter them in shows in May. They'll have to take turns because there is no way I can afford to enter all three in every upcoming show. Raven is by far the most showy of the three.

Walker had his teeth cleaned yesterday and while he was "under," I asked our vet to flush his tear ducts. As a puppy (he is now 8), Walker had terrible problems with a wet face. I'd wash him, dry him, get him ready for a show and, the next thing you know, his face would be all wet and stinky. Come to find out, his tear ducts were so clogged that to clear them took six consecutive days of flushing. After that, he had no more wet face problems, but I still ask to have the tear ducts flushed every time he goes in for a teeth cleaning, just to make sure the ducts stay clear.

Speaking of clean teeth: another Lhasa breeder recently recommended to me a product called Tropiclean Clean Teeth Gel that is supposed to work great for getting rid of plaque without brushing. PetEdge and KV Vet Supply carry it, as do other online pet supply companies. I ordered some but have not tried it yet. I noticed Tropiclean also carries a teeth cleaning product that can be added to the dog's drinking water.

News that recently came from the American Lhasa Apso Club (ALAC) was that the petition submitted by ALAC's Native Stock Committee (NSC) to open AKC's stud book for Lhasa Apsos was approved by 2/3^rdsof the ALAC membership. The petition encompassed two issues: (1) To allow the current breeding stock within the Gompa Lhasa Apso Preservation Program with intact United Kennel Club pedigrees full AKC registration and (2) To allow use of the AKC Foundation Stock Service ® (FSS) to record region-of-origin Lhasa Apsos. My February 1^st blog goes into more detail about the two issues.

Finally, something to add to your calendar in case you don't have vacation plans and would like to spend a week with Lhasa Apsos: ALAC's 2011 National Specialty week is October 10-14. This year we will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the Albuquerque Hilton. Monday is judging for the Top 20 Lhasas. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday are confirmation judging days. Wednesday is the agility, obedience, and rally day.

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

Joyce