Catching Up!!

"When the Man waked up he said, 'What is Wild Dog doing here?' And the Woman said, 'His name is not Wild Dog any more, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always.'"~ Rudyard Kipling


Where do I begin? So much has happened in the two weeks since I last posted. The biggest and best news is that our Josh is now CHAMPION Joyslyn's MLS Dakota Wind Breaker. He finished on Sunday, March 15, in Louisville, KY under judge Lisa Warren, just one day shy of being 14 months old. This was our first show of 2015.

Here are a couple photos I took of Josh in the grooming area as we were waiting to go to ringside.

 Josh went to the four Kentucky shows needing just a major to finish. The major was in bitches so he needed to take Best of Winners to get the major. We started out great on Thursday with a win over the competition for Winners Dog. However, the disappointment came when the dogs were in for Best of Breed and the judge awarded the bitch Best of Winners. We had three more chances to get the points.

On Friday, our competition went in with a professional handler instead of his owner. We lost. Josh blew it! Josh behaved terribly on the table. He did not see the judge approach and she spooked him when she put her hands on him. He did not want her to touch him after that scare and refused to let her see his bite or go over him. We lost it on the table! He showed well on the floor but on the down and back, he made darn sure he stayed well away from that judge! Frustrating! We had two more chances for the win, but I was worried that his bad experience on the table might jinx us for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday a male who had not been to the show the previous days joined the competition. Josh showed well. I could not fault a single thing he did, but the other dog won. Another day, another dog show. But now the pressure was really on!

Added to the pressure was the timing. I was supposed to give a Judges Education Seminar at 10:45 on Sunday morning. The Lhasa ringtime was at 10:00 and there were 14 dogs ahead of us plus 12 Lhasas. That meant that the timing would be tight. There was no way unless the judging was quick and a bunch of dogs were absent that I could show Josh and still make it to the seminar room in time to set up and begin the seminar at 10:45. The seminar coordinator had previously said we could move the start time to 11:00. So I was initially taken aback when on Saturday the seminar coordinator approached me at ringside to ask if I would change the seminar time to 8:00. All I could think of was how early we'd have to get up the next morning! But I agreed to change the time and was glad of it because our Sunday judge was behind schedule and the Lhasas did not get out of the ring until 11:30.

So, it all worked out well. The 8:00 seminar was a success; I was able to show Josh without the stress of worrying about being late for the seminar; and Josh earned his championship.

I'll post his winning photo when it arrives.

The second half of the judges seminar involved a hands-on workshop, sort of a pretend dog show where the judges watched the dogs move and had a chance to examine them on the table. I want to thank the following people who allowed me to use their dogs in the seminar and workshop: Jan Graunke, Marilyn Lucas, Polly Naumann, Sami Payne, Linda Richter, Karen Schlais, Carla Varney, and Pat Weir. Another big thanks to Jan who helped me during the seminar.

Congratulations also to those who finished their dogs and/or earned majors during the four days: Marilyn Lucas, Karen Schlais, Carla Varney, and Pat Weir.

If you want to read the seminar material, go to lhasaapso.org, highlight "Judges Corner" in the left menu and then choose "Study Guide" in either magazine or pdf format. You may also be interested in "Learn About the Lhasa Apso," a presentation under "Breed Information." The two are somewhat similar but aimed at different audiences.

Jan, Karen, and I had a great experience at the show with Jan's dog, Flash. Jan bought raffle tickets for a Take the Lead raffle and won a 30 minute session with an animal communicator. Karen and I wanted to hear what Flash had to say so we tagged along. That communicator was amazing! And Flash was quite "talkative" too. We laughed a lot at the things Flash had to tell Jan. One of them was that she thought her name was "stupid" and wanted it to be changed to "Sassy, Sissy, or Sandy." Jan wondered about "Lily" but Flash preferred "Lillian," based on a past life. There was a lot more that cracked us up and that without a doubt was coming from Flash herself. We always knew she was a character, but this experience proved it.

You may be wondering what is going on with the Duncan and Windy puppies. All but one are now with their new owners. The last one, Mysti, leaves tomorrow for a show home in Texas.

Here is Mysti. Her new people are keeping her name. The others have changed theirs.

Mysti

Mysti, practicing to be a show dog!

 Marilyn, who owns Cora, now called Maci, recently wrote, "Maci has been a real ray of sunshine…She is such a ball of fire. We have 15 dogs on our street, and she has met them all! She is fearless, and is not afraid even if they are barking. She barks right back! Potty training is going ok. She has us trained. She sleeps in her crate, and I still get up to take her out once. The second time is usually her time to get up and play. We are absolutely in love with her."

Maci

Mary did not send a photo of Abby, who is now Riley, but wrote, "Things are going really well here. We have definitely settled into a call name for our puppy. She is Riley. She is doing great. I am setting her up on my new grooming table each day and rolling on her side to groom her. She doesn't really like it as she tries to squirm but she is learning to settle down. Our older Lhasa is still really patient with her and she has her own gumption trying to pull toys right out of the older dog's mouth. She draws the line with her food."
Mary will be showing Riley here in the midwest.


Little Coco is now called Sugar. Tammy and Chelsea wrote, "…her name is Sugar we like to call her Princess Sugar Butt. She is doing so good we are making every good progress on potty training and kennel training. She loves her older brother Duke (especially his fluffy tail that she loves to play with) & he is learning to love her too. She took to the house and her new home right away and thinks she runs the show already. She loves to chase leaves and sticks outside also has a strange liking for rocks... The vet says she is growing up very nicely. We will keep you posted on all her new adventures! Thanks again for all your great info and the wonderful addition to our family."

Sugar

About Lacy, now called Lillea, her owner wrote, "Just updating, Ms. Lillea is wonderful.  We just love, love, love her.  She hates to be alone and cries nonstop until I return….Again, thank you for your hospitality and for the precious gift of our little girl Lhasa puppy.  She will have a great life with us.  Oh... Lillea has told Rosie (Joyce's note: Vivian's mom's Lhasa puppy) off several times and let her know that Rosie absolutely can not sit on my lap or give me kisses.  I apparently belong to Lillea exclusively."

Lillea

Lillea

Priscilla has two older male Joyslyn's Lhasas, ages 10 and 6. They recently welcomed Noah (now Ozzie) into their home. Priscilla did not send photos but wrote, "Teddy and Rocky are co-existing with Ozzy in what I'm calling armed neutrality. Rocky is trying to establish dominance and Teddy mainly watches the goings-on."



Liam's new owner does not have internet access so it is not as easy to communicate with him or for him to send pictures. He told me he was probably going to rename the puppy "Lucky," because all his friends told him that any dog would be lucky to have him as an owner. John had a Joyslyn's Lhasa, Sparky, that lived to be just a couple months shy of 20 years.


Carol sent a picture of her Sadie, taken on her birthday. She wrote, "Beautiful Sadie Belle's "Happy 1st Birthday"! Sadie's a happy, lovable, full of spirit & spunky little girl."

Sadie

Miranda posted this photo of her Brigsley, who is Josh's litter brother, on my Facebook  page.

Brigsley

People have been asking when our next puppies are due. We did two breedings toward the end of February and are eager to learn whether or not the breedings produced puppies. If the girls are pregnant, puppies will be due the end of April. Sire of one litter is Duncan, Ch. Joyslyn's Highly Classified, who was the sire of Cora, Abby, etc.  Sire of the other is Breaker, Ch. Joyslyn's Heartbreaker, who is Josh's sire. Dams are Charli, Ch. MLS Desiderata Flight O' Fancy, a bitch co-owned by Marsha Susag and me; and Maggie, Ch. Joyslyn's Moonlight Magic. You can find photos and pedigrees for the Joyslyn dogs at http://www.joyslynslhasaapsos.com/ped.html
Here is a photo of Charli.

Ch. MLS Desiderata Flight O' Fancy

We we expect dark colors - blacks, black & tans - from the Duncan x Charli breeding and golds/creams from the Breaker x Maggie breeding.
 
And now, some general dog news that may (or may not) be of interest to you.

First, here is a link to an article focusing on what most of us already knew about the Humane Society of the United States. Share it with anyone you know who falls for this group's advertising and encourage them to support their local shelter instead.  http://www.awesomeocean.com/2014/07/31/breaking-hsus-loses-charity-rating/

Here is an excerpt from the article: “The HSUS has historically bragged about their 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, one of the most trust-worthy charity evaluators in the game. Recently, they were downgraded to a 3-star rating and now their rating has been completely revoked, a “Donor Advisory” warning taking its place.”

The next article provides information about Colorado's successful effort to recognize May 1 as National Purebred Dog Day. It would be great if all states would do the same!
http://dogknobit.com/2015/03/16/national-purebred-dog-days-toolbox/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dogknobit+%28DogKnobIt%29
 
This article includes reminiscing about war dogs that might have you teary-eyed by the end of it. I can't stand the thought of these brave, loyal dogs being abandoned by our armed forces. I enjoyed the article though. http://www.bestinshowdaily.com/blog/brownies/

This is a bit scary, given the recent APHIS rule changes. On Monday, March 9, the U. S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association that administrative agencies do not need to post public notice or solicit comment when they revise interpretive rules. AKC thinks APHIS rulemaking will be included also. https://www.akc.org/news/supreme-court-public-notice-not-required-for-revising-interpretive-rules/

Finally, some good news for people who would like to travel by train with their dogs. The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a comprehensive passenger train bill that requires Amtrak to develop a pilot program that would, when feasible, designate at least one car where passengers may transport a dog or cat if the pet is in a kennel that can be stowed according to Amtrak’s requirements for carry-on baggage. http://www.akc.org/government-relations/legislative-alerts/house-representatives-approves-amtrak-pilot-program/

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

Joyce