Friday, November 28, 2025

November (Finally!)

 

"November is a fickle month. Cold mornings, warm afternoons. Leaves of oranges, yellows, and reds decorating lawns, turning brown and dancing and crackling in the crisp November winds. Frost on windshields. A skiff of snow. A day to honor war heroes. A time to give thanks for the year's blessings. A time of transition. Winter awaits." ~ J.K. Johanson

What's Going On??
I suppose a better question is "why is this blog so late?" So here goes: As you know Haven and I went to the American Lhasa Apso Club's National Specialty in Ohio at the end of October. You also are aware that for 4 months before that our house has been under some construction/renovation.

When I returned from Ohio, the renovated room for the dogs was done (hurray!) as was their new outdoor fence and their exercise area (hurray again). Lynn did a great job with the dog room renovation.He has saved us so much money by being a multi-talented guy when it comes to building things (and writing novels).

The next big chores were to touch up some painted areas, move the dogs and unpack many many boxes, make some "do we really need that" decisions, and put the house back together. That took days. I still cannot find a clock that I evidently put in a "safe place."

I wanted to share the results of the National but had to wait until the photographer sent the pictures.

You know from this year's blogs that we have been plagued with all sorts of problems, big and small. Most of them I have not written about because everybody has their own troubles. Our most recent ones are a dripping faucet that ended up costing nearly $400, making me wish Lynn was as capable of a plumber as he is a carpenter! Then on Thanksgiving morning we woke up to find a row of non-working electrical outlets in our kitchen. One of those outlets was for the refrigerator! We pulled it away from the wall and used an extension cord to pug it into another outlet. I am writing this on the day after Thanksgiving as I wait for 8:00 AM so I can call an electrician! (Lynn doesn't do electrical work either. 😀)

Puppy News
😞
Just one more thing gone wrong this year.

ALAC National Specialty
I am happy to report that the Joyslyn's dogs did quite well at this year's National. Here is the line up of friends with Joyslyn's Lhasas.


From the left: LaVonne with Misti, Karen with Floyd, me with Haven, Jan with Aasha, and Courtney with Amelia

And here are official photos of their various wins.

First, Jan went home with a Champion, Aasha (Haven's litter sister) won twice, earned 2 majors, and finished her championship! Jan owns Aasha and Haven's sire.




Another major win was Amelia, owned by Courtney. Amelia's parents are my Pearl and Chance. This was Courtney and Amelia's first National. They did very well.


 Here are pictures of Karen and Floyd. Floyd is the son of Millie and Chance. He was Reserve Winners at one show and earned Best Opposite Sex for the National Maturity competition. Karen kindly asked me, his breeder, to join them for the Maturity photo.



LaVonne and I co-own Misti, but 10 year-old Misti loves only LaVonne and merely likes me! Misti was shown in and won Veteran competitions. She is only a few points away from earning her AKC Grand Champion Silver status. 




You have heard the phrase "always the bridesmaid..." I am sure. Well, that was Haven at the National, always high in the ribbons, needing to win just once, taking first place, then reserve. I will say though that when she lost, it was usually to Aasha or Amelia, so I still was proud. 
Haven won Best Bred By Exhibitor twice -- and she may have taken that honor more times had I been paying attention. I missed 3 of those competitions. Duh!

Here are photos of Haven.

Waiting to go into the ring.




Back home:

Someone needs a bath!

Much better!!

We are done showing for the year. If the weather is decent, we hope to show in WI in February.




Notes and Photos From Readers
From Lynn K about Autumn:
I couldn’t resist sending you a couple of pics following our bath and grooming yesterday. She looks so pretty and proud!  ….and is so good and patient!
I give her intermittent kisses on the top of her head and she gives me lovies on my hand or cheek.



Sally sent pictures of Ginger and Jaxon



Lisa sent this photo and wrote, "Duncan continues to be the most affectionate dog I have ever had. He has influenced Dresden to climb up on my lap for some attention."


Judy L. posted this picture of Gus with his groomer.


Tom and Penny sent news of Griffin: "Griffin celebrates his birthday today.  Other than loss of most of his hearing, he is in good health, never going to the vet except for yearly checkup and teeth cleanings.  He is still handsome, turning heads and generating smiles while on walks,  especially when the sun shines brightly.  Griffin has been a great gift to us; he is a large part of our lives and brings us much joy.    We hope you and family are well."


And Mary R sent this photo of Rafe in honor of his 14th birthday. Rafe and Griffin are brothers.



Stories
From Elizabeth about Mabel:
"Mabel is busy! She's curious, into everything, and always has at least 10 toys out. She's my constant shadow. When she's not playing, she likes to curl up on my chest and my head. Late night cuddles quickly turned into Mabel sleeping in my bed. She's still quite small but manages to take up the entire bed!
Mabel is the most popular resident in our neighborhood. People see us on their cameras and come out to pet her. Our house is now known as “Mable’s house.” Mabel is the darling of my friend group. She is affectionally known among them as, "The Mayor."
Mabel comes to work with me two to three days a week. Here she is, on her favorite spot in the office, my desk!"
"Mabel brings me joy everyday. I always kiss her head and tell her that I waited for her. Somehow, I think she knows. Needless to say, Mabel is very loved. Thank you for all the care that went to bringing her into being. She's wonderful."

And here is a story I found among the items that were packed in our many boxes! Click it to enlarge for easier reading.


We all enjoy a good dog story. If you have something to share about your Joyslyn's Lhasa, please send it to me. 

From the Archives
 The first photo is of Ahna (CH Mi Toya Joyslyn Whirlwind), whom I co-owned with my friend JoAnn. When JoAnn became ill and passed, Ahna came to live with us.
Here is Ahna at a show with JoAnn and noted Lhasa breeder and judge Keke Khan.


This is Conner (CH San-Dhi Joyslyn Icon), a male I bought from Sandra Devlin. Sandy tried and tried to find a way to get Conner to me from where she lived in NM. He was supposed to hitch a ride with some folks from the mid-west as they came this way for a show, but a couple of their dogs got sick and we certainly did not want to expose Conner. So she ended up having to send him on a plane. The poor guy! When I got him and took him out of the crate, he latched on to me like I was his lord and savior. Since that day, he loved me so much and he produced some lovely puppies. Here are some pictures of him.

This one was taken on the day he became a Champion.



This one is a head study taken at a show in Louisville.




And this one shows him jumping up and down in a pen.  The camera caught him at a great time! He loved to jump but never wanted to jump out.


This is Davey (CH Joyslyn's Heartthrob). He and I were like water and oil. Our personalities just did not mesh! I showed him a few times and gave up and passed him to my friend Jane. He much preferred her! She showed him to his championship. Afterwards he went to a retired professor. Their admiration for each other was mutual and Davey lived a life where he was much loved and very very spoiled! Davey ended up in just the right home for him!



This next dog is Duncan, CH Joyslyn's Highly Classified. I would put him on the table for the judges to examine and they would always--every one of them--ask, "What do you call that color?" and I would always answer, "Beautiful and unique!" They would agree.
Duncan was with us for a few years and sired some nice puppies, but none inherited his unusual coat color. One day, a woman came to get a puppy and fell in love with Duncan and convinced me to part with him.






Next up is Flame (CH Joyslyn's Winds of Fire). She and Davey were littermates, but unlike him, she liked to show and she loved me! After having a litter, Flame went to live with my friends Shari and Courtney, who now owns Amelia.
Flame was a gorgeous red color, thus her name!




And, yes I am fully aware that I have been blessed with wonderful Lhasas!


An article from the archives:

Lhasa Apso Color Choices

by Joyce Johanson
In his column in the American Lhasa Apso Club's April/May 1993 The Lhasa Bulletin, the following explanations of the new color choices were given by Mr. Norman Herbel, who was at that time the Chair of the ALAC Breed Standard Committee:

Standard Colors
Black (Solid Black),
Golden (Pale gold to wheaten),
Grizzle (Bluish-gray or iron gray color due to an admixture of black and white hairs. Red grizzle is an admixture of black and red hairs),
Red Gold (Dark apricot to light red),
White (Solid White),
Black & Tan (Typical black & tan markings; i.e. black body color with tan spots above eyes, on cheeks, on muzzle, chest, legs, and vent),
Cream (Almost white to darker shades of cream),
Red (Solid red with shades of Viszla red to Irish Setter red).

Alternate Colors
Gray (Light charcoal or blue or grizzle),
Silver (Admixture of cream and black, charcoal or gray; i.e. cream sable or cream grizzle),
Liver (or brown or chocolate--deep reddish brown with self-colored liver skin pigment),
Charcoal (Dark slate gray; i.e. faded black),
Blue (A dilution of black, either light of dark blue gray with self-colored blue skin pigment).

Markings
Brindle (A color pattern produced by the presence of darker hairs forming bands and giving a striped effect on a background of cream, gold, or red),
Sable (A color pattern produced by black tipped hairs overlaid upon a background of gold, cream, red or red gold),
Parti-color (a color pattern broken up into two or more colors, one of which is white, in more or less equal proportions),
White markings (White on colored background usually on one or a combination: chest collar, blaze, muzzle, or tail tip),
Black tips (black tipped hairs; i.e. sable),
Black mask with tips (Dark shading of varying degrees about the head, ears, and tail; i.e. dark points).

Caution: Before you register your puppy, REMEMBER that most Lhasa puppies do tend to change color as they go through that first year. Typically, colors will lighten; a puppy that looks "Brown" at ten weeks may be "Gold" at ten months, or one that looks "Gold" at an early age may prove later to be a "Cream." Sometimes you can get a good idea of the puppy's "real" color by checking the hair color close to the roots. If it seems quite a bit lighter, choose the lighter color choice. 

Please note: Permission to reproduce and/or circulate information in this article is granted. However, the article must be disseminated in its entirety and credit must be given to Joyce Johanson, Joyslyn's Lhasa Apsos. Thanks!

=======================

Thanks for reading and special thanks to those who sent stories, photos, and notes to make this post special.


In this season of Thanksgiving let's remember to count our Lhasas among our many blessings. 

Joyce







Tuesday, October 21, 2025

October Leaves

 

"In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October, when the trees are bare to the mild heavens, and the red leaves bestrew the road, and you can feel the breath of winter morning and evening—no days so calm, so tenderly solemn, and with such a reverent meekness in the air. ~Alexander Smith (1829–1867), "An Essay on an Old Subject"


Apologies for what is to come in the following paragraphs. This has been a crazy month -- with more disruptions ahead as the work on our house comes to an end (soon I pray). I am also working with Haven to get her ready for the ALAC National and trying to pack for the both of us as well as prepare for the Judges' seminar.

Haven heard me complaining so immediately volunteered her "help" with the blog. "After all," she told me, "people said they liked my last post."

So here you go...Haven my rescue.

Hi again everyone. My mom complains a lot lately about our messy house. She has trouble finding things in all the boxes that are piled up. And she says she is so tired of having all of us dogs in her living room. And tired of telling us dog to quit barking every time we hear a strange noise! (Mostly we ignore the "no bark" commands. Hey, it's fun!!)

Dad is more chill about it all. Mom just wants the mess and turmoil to end. Personally, I like turmoil! (I like to cause it. Zoomies are the best!!!)

So now all the workers have left. They took all the loud and weird noises with them. Good! But now we have to make up reasons to bark. 

Now Dad is working on finishing the room for us dogs. Evidently he is not working fast enough for Mom. She is grouchy a lot because she hates messes and not being able to find things in all the storage boxes. She said it better be done by the end of the month. I am not sure Dad agrees.

I heard her talking about going to something called "National." I'm pretty smart so I finally realized that it is just a dog show. But I guess it is a special one. She is grooming me every night and complaining because I have started to "blow coat" and get mats. I will tell you right now that I have not blown on my coat and that I am the one who should be complaining about nightly groomings! "Lay down, Haven." "Put your head down Haven!" "Lay still Haven!" But afterwards, I get hugs and treats and "good girls". So that's okay. 

I love Mom. I get to sleep with her. She says, "Haven, why is it that you take up two thirds of the bed?" There she goes complaining again. I need all that space to stretch out.

Mom says when we go to that National show I will get to see my friends LaVonne and Misti. Mom and I got to stay at their house twice and I made myself at home and had fun there. (Well, I peed on the rug but LaVonne did not yell at me.) Mom told me I will get to meet Jan (who evidently owns my sire) and also my sister, Aasha. I have not seen her since we were babies. I hope they like me. (Mom says she just hopes the judges like me.)I am a wild thing sometimes. I will get to meet Sandy and her special girl Blackberry. I will get to see Karen and her dogs, Hazel, Kenzie, and Floyd again too.

I will be glad to go somewhere again! Shows have been fun!!

Mom says to remind you of this:


P.S. Did you get the play on words that Mom did with this month's blog title? If not, that's okay. I did not either. Mom is weird sometimes.




Saturday, September 13, 2025

September: Haven Takes Over

 


"That old September feeling, left over from school days, of summer passing, vacation nearly done, obligations gathering, books and football in the air...Another fall, another turned page: there was something of jubilee in that annual autumnal beginning, as if last year's mistakes had been wiped clean by summer."
~ Wallace Stegner



    Hi, this is Haven! Mom said I could write this blog if I wanted to, and I did, so here I am. If you are new and have never heard of me, I am a Lhasa Apso puppy and a show dog. Also, People say I am pretty! They call me Haven but my AKC name is Joyslyn's Miss B. Haven.

So here is what happened. Mom went away for 6 days to a place called Florida. She was excited to visit the grandkids. I wished I could go because they came at Christmas time and played with me.

Anyway, before she left she had strong words with the contractor's project manager, but it did not help because nothing had changed by the time she got home. I do not know what a month is but I heard her say, "Three months! This is ridiculous!"

Then they "got in gear" and then the foundation company came back and repaired a six foot section of concrete that they had botched up. Even that took two weeks from mom calling them to come to fix it. It took only one hour. Mom said, "Hurray." The drywall guy is coming on Friday.

I heard her say she is leaving to visit her mom on her birthday. I met her at Christmas too. She is nice and held me. I don't know what 93 is in dog years but I think it is a lot.

We all miss Mom when she is on a trip. Dad takes care of us though. And he brushes me and Josh and Deacon. The other dogs don't have long hair anymore.

What?? Oh, Mom says, "Haven, get to the point." I am supposed to be telling you about me. So here is what I have been up to lately. So here goes...Two days after she got home from that Florida place, I had to have a bath and that usually means we are going to a show. Yep, we got up very very early and drove to a place called Lake Elmo which is in Minnesota. I know that because I listen when Mom talks. (OK sometimes I listen. You know, this would all be easier to tell if she was not standing over me!)

Anyway, I heard lots of bad words from Mom because the GPS did not want to take us to the Lake Elmo fairgrounds and got us lost and finally Mom found a gas station and a man gave her directions. We were going there because it was the Twin Cities Lhasa Apso Club's 50th Anniversary. That means nothing to me but oh well...Mom and her friends were excited about it.

TA-DA!!! I won a 5 point major from the Bred By Exhibitor Puppy Class. Boy was Mom happy. Me too because I got extra treats and new toys!

Here is my pretty purple ribbon!



Now, if you don't know about majors, I can tell you. Mom says I need two. Now I have one. I also have single points but I cannot be a champion until I get 15 points. Two of my wins must be majors (Mom is helping me here. A major is a win of 3, 4, or 5 points and points are decided by how many dogs or bitches are being shown in that competition.)

I still don't get it. I'd rather let Mom figure it out. I just like to show and play and get treats.

At the next show I took Reserve. That means second place. And then we went to a hotel and stayed with our friend Karen and her three dogs. We heard fire alarms but there was no fire in the hotel. But Mom and Karen were not happy the next morning when there was no elevator working and they had to make a lot of trips from the second floor to get us dogs, crates, and luggage to the cars.

Mom said, "Thank goodness we weren't on the top floor!"

We drove back to Illinois and I guess that GPS thing must have worked because we got here okay. I hardly had time to rest before I was given another bath and had to spend time under hair dryer. I mean, the baths are one thing but that time under the dryer is just plain boring.

Then we went to a place called Amana and stayed in our friend Jane's RV. If you don't know, it's kinda a house on wheels. Jane had two Shibas and a Norbottenspets with her. Also her mom. Her mom was nice but she told on me when I knocked over the exercise pen and started to search for Mom. Turned out she was just inside the RV but I needed to see her and was worried.

We were in the Amana place for four darks. There were 4 shows but Mom showed me in only three since I won those 3 days, she told me I had to give the other 2 girls a chance at single points.

Okay, this is bragging but at Amana, I took second place in the Non-Sporting Group Best Bred By Exhibitor competition and also won first place in the Non-Sporting Group Best Puppy competition. Then I was chosen as Best Puppy in Show. Mom was thrilled. I like it when she gives me hugs and kisses--and treats.

Are we done yet? Oh, no...the very next weekend, after yet another bath, we were in Des Moines for 2 more shows. I was the only Lhasa there and got lots of ribbons but no points. Mom called it an expensive training class. Ha, we had a hard time finding the hotel. This time it was Jane's GPS that was goofy. It kept taking us to a residential area and changing the address. But we finally got there after Jane used her phone and not the GPS.

I guess I was bad again at the show site. One day, Mom and Jane took Rita--she is Jane's dog--away and I could not see where they went. I barked and they did not come back. I decided I would look for them. How could they just forget me? What if that GPS thing was wrong and they could not find the way back? So I figured out how to flip the latch on the crate and went looking for them. People chased me and I weaved and ran and no one caught me. Then I saw Jane and Rita and Mom walking back from the ring and was so relieved. Mom said, "Step back." to a lady trying to catch me and "Haven come here." to me and I was safe again. Next time I was in the crate, they put a clip by the latch. 

A good thing was we got to see Michelle and Mark. They came to see Mom show me. They liked me and held and petted me. They own Sunny and he is Josh's half brother. 

Just one more thing--about a bath. I do not get it. I am dry, she gets me wet, puts on stuff that makes suds, then washes the suds off. Why put it on just to take it off? Then the darn dryer. Why? I was dry in the first place!!

Now we are home and ...oops, Mom just said, "That's quite enough Haven." Must go now.

Oh, one more thing, wish me luck. We have another show at the end of the month. Probably means another bath!

Haven signing off...

Joyce's comments
That puppy is sure long-winded!! I am so proud of her and her accomplishments at her young age. She needs only a 3-point major to finish.

Puppy News
If you are on the list, keep your fingers crossed. One of the girls is in season and will be bred. The timing has to be right because of my trip to NE for Mom's birthday.

Photos and Notes

Raquel sent this photo of Minnie looking longly at Raquel's breakfast.



Here are pictures of Amie, whose picture I forgot to post last month




Nanda sent this photo of Ty and Gigi and wrote, "The world’s prettiest teddy bears. Sitting politely and waiting for the mobile groomer to arrive ."




Angela sent this photo of Louisa



Betsy posted this of Willow.


Doreen sent this of Henry.




Lori wrote, "Finn woke up to wish you Happy Birthday."



Lisa sent this photo of her Duncan (right) with his buddy Dresden. Duncan and his sister Ebony will soon be 3 years old.




Judy G wrote about her girls: "The pups are weathering the hot summer because "Who wants to go for a walk? Raise your paw."  No takers except Winter who wants to do everything. She is quite the girl. In excellent, we are working on her staying 6 feet away from me and then listening to commands. She can do it while in a sit or a down, but standing still is not in her vocabulary.

Nyx will finish her Intermediate title this fall, and then we start working off leash."

Later she wrote, "We attended a rally trial in Lowell, In yesterday. It was a small trial, but  Onyx received a third place in Intermediate. She has her title, but I decided not to move her up to Advanced. She would be off leash and she still tends to lag behind. We had this judge in March and she follows the dogs really close. So you know Winter. She started off with 8 perfect signs and then she noticed the judge behind her. Instead of walking between signs she twirled...not a good look. I pulled her off the course. We trial again in mid October in LaPorte."


Mary R sent this photo of Rafe and Mocha and she wrote, "Picture attached...Rafe, 13 yrs...Moka 16 yrs.  Hard to believe.  You can probably guess who's the Lhasa in charge--Moka. Even with minimal eyesight, poor hearing, a little unsteady, she forges on as the boss. She seeks out Rafe. He is very soft with her."




Renee sent an update on Rio. "Saw your July blog post. You talked about Judy O’Dell and her female.  I guess that’s where I got Namri - the best dog ever.  Never did get papers for him though from her.  He had such an amazing temperament and was off the charts smart.  I recently told my friend, Jan (who met Namri when he was two) that Rio is so much more work than Namri was and she said “Oh, Renee, Namri was a one in a million”. ...[Rio] does love to snuggle tho - he’ll lean his head on my shoulder while I hold him — and I hope that doesn’t change as he gets older.  He’s good at fetching both toys and balls, but finds doing his business in the area between the garage and the townhome “optional”...it took him awhile to get used to sleeping in with me, but now he’s done it.  He was afraid of cars at first but now has gotten used to them (we took him down the street and sat on the lawn next to a road that’s not that busy.  Now we’re working on golf carts and I need to start taking him for rides in our new cart.
He really is adorable...We’ve finally found a really good groomer and someone who is fabulous and boards mostly small dogs close by.  Does training too."

Nanda wrote, "We have 7 dog beds throughout the house. Plus, we allow our dogs on  all the furniture (yes they sleep in bed with us) but Ty likes to rest inside the toy basket. He’s always been a character."



Sally wrote, "Tried to get a good picture since today was grooming day but I wasn't very successful.... my typical luck. I hope all is well with you!!!
Can't wait to hear about dog shows!"





Stories

Special thanks to Judy G and Renee M for sharing stories about their Lhasas. The first is from Judy.

THE GINGERBREAD LHASA

Winter is a high energy Lhasa. She is busy all the time, and she loves to run. She and her best friend Onyx can open the glass front door. Jump high enough to hit the handle and we are free! Now the front door stays locked.

I was teaching a beginning stained glass class at the local Art Center and introducing the tools of trade. I received a panicked call from my husband yelling, “Winter got loose and she’s running around the neighborhood.” We live on a dead-end street, and he kept yelling on the phone that all the neighbors are chasing her because she runs in and out of garages and on and off porches. 

I raced back home and left the class astounded that their instructor ran out the door. I pulled onto our street to see people running around chasing the happy Lhasa. It was a scene right out of the beloved children’s book, The Gingerbread Man. I stopped the car and called her, and she raced right into my arms. She walked politely back into the house and waited for a treat. She did not get one."

Renee sent a story about Rio: "He loves tearing up paper and when we have guests tries to steal their paper napkins from beneath the table.  Likes to try to steal the airpods out of my ears (gives him access to clean my ears)."

Come on Readers. Haven, Rio, and Winter are not the only Lhasas who get into mischief or do something funny, sad, heartwarming, brave, or naughty. We all have stories about our dogs and their antics and adventures. Please share. joyslynslhasas73@gmail.com

From The Archives

I finally found an album I had been looking for. 

This first photo is of Joyslyn MLS Dakota Testin' The Limits, call names Tess, Tessa, and Tessy.

Tessa was a beautiful disappointment. She showed well but she ruined her coat by chewing off her rear skirts. I used Bitter Apple to discourage the chewing. I guess she came to like the taste! I'd get that hair grown back to an acceptable length and the next thing you know, she'd have chewed it off again. We finally gave up on her and she was sold to a pet home that kept her coat clipped down.
Here is a picture of Tessa. A lovely girl!



Not all dogs can be show dogs and that was certainly the case with Izzy, the beauty pictured below. Izzy was known bo AKC as Joyslyn's Is It The Wind. She was lucky enough to find a home with Judy G, who now owns Onyx and Winter. I imagine Judy has some Izzy stories to tell!


Next up for this month is CH Joyslyn's Miss Cheevy Us. Oh my goodness did I groan when I saw that name. Totally mispronounced!!. The word is pronounced like "mis chiv us." Don't believe me? Grab a dictionary. Anyway, I sold Missy as a puppy to a show home in Texas. They tried to show her but her heart was not in it and at the time the family was suffering the loss of their daughter who had been murdered. So Missy came back to me and I tried to show her. Again, no luck. 
So when my friend Karen called to ask if I had a female she could use for breeding, I sold her Missy.

Missy fell in love with Karen. Kared kept her in coat and when a show came up and Lhasa folks wanted to build a major, Karen said she would enter Missy as a "filler," which means a dog entered to build points and is not expected to win.

Karen showed the bitch she wanted to win and had a friend of hers show Missy. Well, Missy saw her beloved Karen in front of her and showed her heart out. She won! After that, Karen continued to show her to her championship.

Here are Missy and Karen with noted Lhasa Breeder/Judge Keke Khan on the day Missy earned her championship.





Finally for this month, out of the archives comes CH MLS Dakota Dancing in the Wind At Joyslyn. She was the only puppy in the litter born at Marsha's and bless my dear friend Marsha, she let me take Windy and co-own her. Here is a first photo of the 3 of us on the day Marsha brought her to me at a show in West Bend, WI.


Windy grew and was shown and soon finished her championship.


Windy was eventually bred to GCH CH Joyslyn's Heartbreaker ("Breaker") and they produced our Josh. Josh started his career as Joyslyn MLS Dakota Wind Breaker. Josh has since added the following to his name:
CH - (Champion)
GCH - (Grand Champion)
GCHB - (Grand Champion Bronze)
NOHS-BIS (National Owner Handled Series Best in Show)
NOHS-S (National Owner Handled Series, Silver)
BVISS - (Best Veteran in Specialty Show)
He is also a ROM (Register Of Merit) Stud Dog

Thanks Breaker and Windy! You did well! 
Windy is now in her forever retirement home with a lovely older couple who have a beautiful garden for her enjoyment.
  

Other Stuff



=================
Here is an interesting article if you have a dog that thinks he/she is the Alpha in your pack/family.



Thanks for reading and special thanks to those who sent stories, photos, and notes to make this post special.

Joyce