Announcements! Updates! Big Question!

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.~Proverb from Guinea 

 Hi! It's been a while....

First, the Big Question: Where is Spring? It is so cold here, windy, rainy—even snow on Easter! Here in west central Illinios, we did not get hit with as much "weather" as people in other areas did, but what we got was bad enough! Spring needs to get here soon!!!


The big announcement is that we have puppies! They are now 2 weeks old and below are photos taken of them just this morning. Rafe (GCH CH Joyslyn's Inherit the Wind) and Kimmi (CH Joyslyn's Heart Song) are the parents. We have one male and two females. At this point, I am unsure if I want to keep a male or a female, so I am going to put off trying to match people to puppies until I have made a decision, which probably will not happen until early June. No matter what, there will be one girl available and then either the male or the other female, depending on my decisions once they are evaluated. For those of you still waiting for puppies, there is also news: Just this week, we bred Breaker to Greta, so if that breeding results in puppies, those puppies will be born in last week in May or first week in June. This will be Greta's first litter. We also have plans to breed Jenna, who should be in season in May. If you are on our list for a puppy, keep fingers crossed and say your prayers that the breedings are successful and produce some great puppies.

Female - 2 weeks

Male - 2 weeks

Female - 2 weeks

Onyx, Chance, Bekka, and I traveled to Manitowoc, WI, at the end of March to attend 3 of the 4 days of dog shows. We had a great time and thank Jan Graunke for her hospitality! It was a happy weekend for almost everyone who entered. There were majors in both dogs and bitches each day, something that rarely happens around here any more. 

The points were passed around, with a different result for WD and WB each day. On Thursday, Winners Dog belonged to Linda Richter. That win finished his championship. Winners Bitch belonged to Michael Yang. Best of Breed went to a CH bitch owned by Linda Richter. 

On Friday, Winners Dog went to LaVonne Bennett's Cooper (he is a Rafe son) and Winners Bitch went to Linda Richter's bitch. That bitch also took Best of Breed over her mother and went on to take first place in the Non-Sporting Group. That was an exciting day indeed for Linda!

On Saturday, Winners Dog went to Jan Graunke's and Karen Schlais' Dash. Winners Bitch went to my Onyx. (I was thoroughly excited. Onyx now needs only two single points to finish.)
Best of Breed went to the CH bitch owned by Linda Richter. 

On Sunday, we were not entered because I wanted to be home for Easter services. Winners Dog went to Michael Yang's dog. Winners Bitch went to Jan and Karens's bitch. Best of Breed again to Linda Richter's bitch. 

Those three shows were Chance's ring debut. He was alone in his class and the first day was very uncertain of what was expected of him. He had his tail down most of the time. However, when we went back into the ring for Winners Dog, and he saw the other dogs, a light bulb went off  in his brain, "Oh, this is all I need to do!" and he showed like a champ then and the rest of the weekend. Bekka won her Puppy class of three two out of the three days and took third in her class on Friday. (The judge on Friday freely admitted that she loved the red Lhasas, and indeed, all the winners that day were some shade of red.) Onyx won her Bred By Exhibitor class two of the three days and took Reserve Winners Bitch on Thursday and Winners Bitch on Saturday.

So here is a photo taken of Onyx at a previous show. The one from the Manitowoc shows was just ordered and won't be here for a couple weeks. I'll share it when it comes. In the meantime, here is Onyx - just to remind you what she looks like.

Joyslyn's Onyx (December 2017)

Speaking of Onyx...she gave me quite a scare a couple days before we left for the show. My plan was to groom her on Monday, bathe her on Tuesday, then leave on Wednesday for the show. That is what happened. However, let me back track a bit. Onyx was groomed and bathed the previous Friday, so when I put her on the grooming table two days later on Monday, I expected a quick touch-up grooming! Oh no! Sometime between Friday and Monday she evidently decided to go through a coat change. What a mess. When I finished grooming, this is what was on the floor!

Looking on the bright side, I was glad she decided to do that BEFORE the show so I did not have to wake up to a super long grooming session while we were gone.

While we were all at Jan's house, we began looking through old (from the 1970's)  issues of Lhasa Tales, a publication all about Lhasas - advertisements of dogs, articles, letters to the editor, lots of photos, etc. It was fun to reminisce and revisit photos of great Lhasas who have since passed away and to see photos of many people who are now also gone, either by passing away or by dropping out of the breed. We also had some good laughs seeing younger versions of many people who are still involved in showing the Lhasa. LaVonne happened upon an article written by my husband that was in the October 1976 issue. I scanned it so you all could read it.

Photos and Notes from Others

Lynn Adcock wrote: "Hi, Joyce, I just wanted to share this darling photo of our beloved little girl with her ball and give you the awesome news that she is doing fabulously!!!! …She is a joy each and every day with such a mischievous little personality. She adores Poppet, loves romps in the park, is addicted to playing ball, and still loves everybody she meets. She is the most precious little girl we have ever had!!!!!!"

I had to smile at the photo. Amie is a litter sister to our Kimmi. Kimmi has a mustache that that sticks up just like that!

Mickey wrote:"notice the white hair now sprouting from Biddy's hindquarters. Her colors are still changing. Her black is more of a black-brown now, you really see it when she is in the sun. She is still full of energy and is very demanding of attention."

Rafe seems to be doing well at Mary’s house. He is learning the routine and learning to get along with cats that are used to playing with dogs. (Our cat does not like the dogs.) Mary wrote, "Rafe and the girls continue to get along well. His appetite is great…He has grown to grovel for breakfast. I scramble an egg, split it 3 ways after they eat their dog food; sometimes this is the only way Belle will eat her breakfast. Rafe wasn't sure at first.......but now whines until he gets his tablespoon of egg." She went on to say, "Once he does his toy throwing play he lays down. He then comes over to me, puts his paw up on me, wanting some lap time. He snuggles, about 15 minutes. One of my pet sitters says she has noted quite a change in the last few weeks;  more comfortable with the yard, the routine; he will not go out without the girls leading; holds back." 

Rafe

Belle with her best friend Moka - Rafe's new 'sisters'

You might recall that Mary runs Moka and Belle in agility. She recently sent me this link to a video of Belle doing her agility thing. Here it is to copy and paste in case the link does not work.
https://youtu.be/4bgEP2sBYfA

Judy Laffoon and Raven were the winners of the Morongo Basin Humane Society Woof Walk. Last year Judy and Raven's litter sister, Whisper, won. Great repeat performance, Judy!

Marilyn Conrad challenged me to tell her two Joyslyn's Lhasas apart! (I guessed correctly!) That is Hunter in the back and Maci in the front.

Last time I posted, I introduced Phoebe, a puppy I got back in lieu of a stud fee. Phoebe went to live in WI when I was there for the show. Her new owner, Annie, sent an update on Phoebe and a couple of photos. Annie says little Phoebe has decided that Jacob Marley is her best buddy. Here is a picture of the two of them.  

Annie wrote, "She's sleeping in her soft crate at night with very little protest.  I wake up halfway through and take her out to paper-potty and then a cuddle while she chews on a rawhide for about an hour.  Then back in for the rest of the night…She loves following Jacob Marley around and, of the 3, I'm kinda surprised that he's the nursemaid.  Although if I were to select an omega of my pack it would be that old boy…Phoebe is just so much mellower than I was expecting.  When I sit to read or write, she settles right next to my chair.  She knows her name and loves to be picked up and cuddled."

 These photos are of Shadow, a litter brother to Bekka and Chance. They were taken after he had his hair clipped. His owners wrote that they took him in for grooming and were surprised when the groomer called to say she had to clip him down because he was matted. Hmmm...coat change causing problems? Groomer who believes coated dogs should all be clipped? I'm not sure, but there is one thing about hair: It grows (albeit sometimes slower than I want it to.)

 One thing I always include in the packet of information I send home with puppies is information about grooming and the necessity of really watching for the coat change. Take my recent experience with Onyx as an example. If I had not caught that coat at the right time, she would have been a matted mess, no matter that I had just groomed her two days earlier.

Anyway, I think Shadow looks super with his hair cut. What a sweet face. I know that his owners previously had a Lhasa from us and kept him clipped, as most pet owners do and most show dog owners also do once the dog's show career is over. Clipped or in coat, Lhasas are adorable. 


And another thing that I am sure of:

 

 Until next time,

Joyce