Juliet's puppies at 2.5 weeks old

Juliet's "Paris Pups" are 2.5 weeks old now and boy are they growing fast! Their eyes are all open, ears are working, and they are growing like crazy. Two of the boys are over 2 lbs already, and the others are gaining on them. We only have two girls from this litter, who are both spoken for, but we should have a boy or two available to the right homes. Check out our questionnaire if you are interested in a puppy.

Juliet's puppies are here!

Juliet welcomed a litter of nine puppies on December 12th -- 7 boys and 2 girls. The labor was long and exhausting, but we all got through it and now we have these wonderful babies. All of the puppies are thriving and growing fast. You can read more about the puppies on Juliet blog at http://julietwhippet.wordpress.com We will probably have one or two boys available from this litter.

Juliet is expecting!

Juliet, expecting

We're happy to announce that Juliet is expecting a litter due in the first week of December. She was bred to our boy Blue, who is the father of her Gemstone and Blues litters. She is an amazing mother and we are so happy to look forward to her sweet babies. We have a waiting list for this litter but contact us if you are interested. You can keep up with Juliet through her blog at http://julietwhippet.wordpress.com

Our overachiever, Miss Ashley

You've probably seen us post about Ashley before -- she is the serious overachiever of the family, owned and trained by the amazingly talented and driven Bobbie and Fred Lutz of Winchester, VA. Ashley has titles in conformation, obedience, rally, agility and lure coursing. She is a Champion of Versatility (given by the American Whippet Club in 2010) and we are SO proud of her achievements! Ashley is also known as GCH, UGRCH, UAGII, UR03, UCD, Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl, CD, RE, MC, FCH, NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, CGC, TT, CAV (all of those letters are titles in various sports).

Ashley going Best of Breed at Warrenton Kennel Club

New Champion Moka!

Our wee baby Bonnie (Blue & Chippy's baby from the Nautical Litter of 2010) grew up to be a beautiful butterfly! Moka aka Ch Timbreblue Abraxas Mocha Martini just finished her AKC championship on Sunday 10/09 -- a couple of months after her first birthday.

She finished with four 3pt majors, three of those from the puppy classes, and was ENTIRELY OWNER HANDLED by Rebecca Zaun. This is really unusual in whippets because they are so competitive and there are so many extremely talented professional handlers. We are so proud of Moka and Beca and are looking forward to following their progress as they go for their Grand Championship.

Ch Timbreblue Abraxas Mocha Martini

Young male adult whippet available

NOTE: Thank you to all who were interested. This young boy is now spoken for, but let me know if you are looking for a young adult and I'll be happy to ask around in our breeders' network and find a whippet for you!
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One of our closest friends has a young boy (almost 3 years old) looking for a new home. His family had a change in circumstance and are unable to keep him, so they did the responsible thing and returned him to his breeder. Now we have the opportunity to help him find a wonderful new home.

He is neutered, brindle and white, 30 lbs, great with kids. He has a high prey drive so he would not be good in a household with cats or very small dogs. He is crate trained, a good car rider, up-to-date on all vaccines. He was raised as an only dog but has been socialized with other whippets so he would do well in a household with a doggy friend to keep him company. He is a happy and healthy young boy. 

Please let us know if you are interested in adding this sweet boy to your family.

Litter plans and a new home for Daisy

Hi guys, it's been a little while since we have updated you on our litter plans. We are planning to breed Juliet & Blue, hoping for an early December litter. We also have tentative plans for breeding Rini either this winter or next spring. Both litters should give us blue puppies, but of course we can't guarantee any specific colors in any litter. Juliet and Rini both have waiting lists, but let us know if you are interested and we can talk about whether a puppy from one of our litters would be a good choice for your family. Visit our website to inquire.

If you're looking for a puppy or adult sooner, let us know and we'll be happy to help you find one. The whippet community is very close and we always know of breeders with puppies or adults available.

In really good news, Daisy is at home with her new family in Arlington and settling in really well. We are thrilled for her and her family. All of our Flower Child puppies are settled in with their new families and we even got to see a few of them at the recent Timbreblue Reunion in Harrisonburg, Virginia along with their sister who stayed at Timbreblue, Tiger Lily.

Young puppy available

UPDATE: Daisy will be going home Thursday to her new home in Arlington, Virginia...welcome to the Timbreblue family, Elise and Aaron!
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Daisy is a female brindle whippet puppy from Chippy's latest litter, born June 4th. Her placement with her new family didn't work out (whippet puppies take a lot of supervision and one-on-one attention for the first few months) so she is available again. Daisy LOVES attention ... while the other dogs are playing and getting into trouble, Daisy wants lap time and cuddling.

We only place young puppies in homes where someone will be home all day for at least the first few months. Whippets are very social and they need lots of attention and socialization to grow into responsible adults. Please contact us if you are interested.

Pair of adult whippets available

NOTE 10/07/2011: Ilu and Levi have a home lined up and will be going for a trial visit soon. We hope for the best for these awesome sweet whippets. Thank you to all who inquired.
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Hi guys, a breeder friend of ours has two whippets available, she wants to keep them together in a new home. Here is what she said about them:

Illu and Levi

Due to a job and having to move across the country and not living in the proper accommodations for dogs, I have two wonderful Whippets available. If anyone knows of a home looking for two wonderful companions, I have a brother and sister pair available and I would very much like to keep them together if possible. Illu (boy) and Levi (girl) will be 5 years old in November, are spayed and neutered, up to date on everything, know basic obedience and even a few tricks (especially Levi), they are good with kids having lived with a baby/toddler.

Of course they are house broken, crate trained, leash trained, etc. I would really really like to keep these two together, they have been together their whole lives and I would hate to part them. No rush, they have been here for some time while their owners were figuring out if they would continue with the job out west or come back east and they are now staying on the other coast due to a job opportunity. Here is a picture of them together, playing outside :) Levi is on the right, Illu on the left. They love toys (Illu especially), treats and lots of love!

If you are interested, please contact me at inquiries@timbreblue.com for more info.

Bunnies

We've been having a discussion on the Timbreblue email list about whippets and pet bunnies. (Bottom line: Not a good mix.)

Pre-whippet, we had a big white rabbit named Lisa.

Lisa was a male, but that didn't bother Jo, who gave him his name. She was about nine, and she chose names she liked regardless of gender limitations. We also had a big yellow tomcat named Mandy. Lisa ran around in the backyard with the pony and the collies with no problems (the pony did step on one bunny with tragic results, but that was Spuds. I think Lisa would have broken the pony's leg if she had stepped on him.) I can't believe I can remember all these names. There must have been a hundred of them during the kid-years in South Carolina, if you include the possum, the raccoon, the squirrels, etc. I was a wildlife rehabilitator so we often had various critters living with us for a few months. My efforts to rehab injured and orphaned wildlife would have been doomed if I'd tried it once we got the first whippet. I remember a fledgling blue jay...but nevermind that. The jay was the last of the wildlife and he just underscored that I needed to be very, very careful with whippets and prey...um, wildlife.

Back to Lisa, though. He was (mostly) housetrained and oh did he love biting electrical cords in half. I worked from home in those days as a conference coordinator and was on a phone call one day with a keynote speaker...Big Deal Phone Call. I had carefully waited till the kids were in school, crated the collies so they would be quiet, and did my best to sound professional. I had the phone cord stretched across the room because I was looking up something in the file cabinet. I heard a noise and turned around to see Lisa sitting up on his hind legs reaching for that cord! I put my hand over the phone and whispered "NO LISA!" but alas rabbits are not especially responsive. The line went dead.

We live half an hour from town so I jumped in the car, raced to Radio Shack, bought a new cord, came home, hooked it up and called the fellow back. I think I made some excuse about a storm and living in the country.

Lisa was the last rabbit who ran around loose in the house. I had to have him neutered for humping my leg (we had a country vet who could not understand why I wanted to spend $50 on neutering a rabbit. "Why don't you just eat this one and get a female?")

During the Lisa years I found a little chihuahua-sized dog by the road. I tried hard to find her owner but no luck. We named her Gremlin and she stayed. Unfortunately she liked to chase Lisa. I kept them separated but didn't worry too much about it because Lisa could beat up the little dog easily.

Once I got home to discover a note from my neighbor Marsha. Lisa had gotten out of the yard and Marcia's dog had gone after him. Marsha screamed at the dog, who dropped the bunny, but Lisa was limp and hit the ground like a load of laundry. Marsha scooped him up and threw him in the car. By the time she got to the vet, he was hopping around the back of the car, so she just turned around and came home Apparently he had fainted.

Eventually though, Gremlin won a fight and that was the end of Lisa It took me two years to 'fess up to Jo what had happened. Since Lisa was living mostly in the yard by then, she didn't notice he was missing for a few days. She didn't much like Gremlin anyway though and that was the final straw. Gremlin went to live with some friends from work, where she spent the next ten years becoming atrociously spoiled.

I believe Lisa was the last bunny. He was enough.

Sharyn

Photos from Skyline Kennel Club

A couple of photos of our 2010 pups showing at Skyline Kennel Club in May 2011.

Siren, "Timbreblue Drives Too Fast" (Blue & Chippy's daughter from Chippy's first litter, at home at Timbreblue in Virginia):

Siren

Geisha, "Timbreblue's Lil Lightning Strikes" (Blue & Juliet's daughter from Juliet's Blues Singers litter, owned by Maria & Martin Fuchs):

Geisha

Chippy's puppies, ten days old

Hi guys, here are some more photos of Chippy's flower children at ten days old. We are hoping their eyes will open any day now! It can be anytime after 14 days, which is Saturday the 18th. We do have a puppy or two available from this litter, let us know if you're looking. They'll be ready to go home after August 13 when they are ten weeks old.

Chippy's Puppies!!

Chippy's litter with daddy Devon arrived starting at 2:50am Saturday June 4th. Chippy gave us nine puppies total, three boys and six girls. We chose a "flowers and trees" theme for the litter names, with flower names for the girls and tree names for the boys.

The girls are: Lilac, Buttercup, Daisy, Petunia, Tiger Lily, and Honesuckle. The boys are: Spruce, Birch, and Cypress.

Please enjoy the following photos with us. If you are interested in a puppy from this litter, please visit our website to learn more about us and our breeding program, and fill out our questionnaire.

Photos of all the puppies on day one.

Henry's son Woodstock in Germany

Here is Henry's son "Woodstock" or "Sporting Fields Here I Am" who lives in Germany.

Poppy has found a home

Hi guys, a happy ending! Poppy, the whippet we posted a few days ago, has a home now. A happy ending!!

Lovely young whippet looking for a home

Poppy

Hi guys, a breeder friend of ours in NC is looking for a home for her young brindle female whippet, Poppy. Today is Poppy's birthday, she is turning one year old, and maybe she can find a new home for her birthday. She is spayed, up-to-date on shots, crate trained, house trained, and rides well in the car.

She doesn't get along with one of the older whippet girls in her household, which is why she is looking for a home. She probably would not do well with very small children. Please let me know if you are interested in Poppy! Her breeder would prefer that she stay somewhere near NC. Thank you!

A Very Happy Birthday, part one

A year ago about this time, we were helping our sweet Chippy bring her first litter into the world. First to arrive was Photon (then named Sailor) and he was a big bruiser of a puppy at nearly a pound. Chippy had a lot of trouble delivering him, and after he was born, almost as an afterthought, came Kara. She was tiny compared to Photon -- just five or six ounces, if I recall. She was lifeless at first, but with a little rubbing and blowing ir into her mouth, she finally began crying and scrambling to get to her mama. Small as she was, she was a fighter, so we weren't too worried about her at first. She had a tiny heart on the back of her neck.

The next six puppies came along without incident, and what a rainbow Chippy and Daddy Blue had given us! A red brindle boy (Skiff), two black & seal girls (Siren nd Kara), two blue and white boys (Photon and Ensign, now Spencer), a blue brindle boy (Fathom, now Rocket), a fawn and white girl (Sparrow, now Shelby), and a lovely black and white girl, Tempest (now MooMoo). Then came the hours that every breeder dreads -- the minutes, then hours with no puppy arriving.

We began to realize we had a problem, The ninth puppy simply was not coming. We knew Chippy was carrying ten puppies (we'd done an xray the day before) and the "stuck" puppy was endangering itself, number ten, and mama, for that matter.

Of course it was after hours for our regular vet (isn't it always?) so we bundled up everyone and headed for the emergency vet in Lynchburg, about 45 minutes over the mountain. We put all the pups in an incubator at the clinic (the vet sort of shook her head over Kara) and settled in for a long, tense night in the waiting room.  Several other emergencies came in: a Border collie with heat stroke, another c-section (a Cocker spaniel), and a puppy who had eaten a bar of chocolate.

It seemed hours, but I'm sure it was not. Finally we got the word that Chippy was fine, the ninth baby had definitely been stuck and we'd lost her, and the tenth, a little brindle and white girl (Bonnie, now Moka) was just fine. I had the usual breeder's guilt; Did I wait too long to bring her in? Was there more I could have done at home.

We brought everyone home, including our little lost girl, who was buried next to our beloved Babs (We warned the new pup not to get on Babs' bad side, as she did have a temper!)

The next few days were stressful. Chippy was a great mom, but try as we might, we could not get little Kara to nurse. Chippy took care of her, she crawled around and climbed on top of the other puppies, behaving like a normal, if a bit weak, newborn. We began to tube feed her after it became obvious she was not going to nurse. Every three or four hours we'd pass a tube down her throat and syringe a little formula directly into her stomach.

Thank goodness daughter Johannah had arrived! We traded off the nighttime feedings, with Walt taking a few as well, I warned Jo not to get attached to this one. I didn't really hold out a lot of hope for her unless she would begin to nurse. But she was such a fighter we had to give her a chance. The fact that she had not gotten any colostrum was a problem. I ordered fresh frozen plasma to give her.

On Day Three, we took the litter in for removal of dewclaws. Dr. Missy thought Kara was too weak to tolerate even the little snip it involves, so we left hers alone. She got some fluids and some puppy vitamins.
Kara went downhill for the next few days, and on bout vet visit number three, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Our wonderful vets gave her some oxygen and prescribed a tank for me to pick up from their supplier and take home, We used the "blow by" method, and whenever she looked a little blue, we'd give her some oxygen. Jo actually made some videos of Kara's first few days and here's an oxygen treatment she loaded on Youtube...

A couple of our boys

Karen Beard is a dear friend of ours in Lexington, Virginia, and she is truly doing amazing work running the local shelter. She goes above and beyond to send dogs home with different rescue groups and find the best homes for everyone that she can.

We are lucky enough that she chose to bring two of our little guys home -- Spencer, formerly Ensign of Chippy's Nautical litter, and Finn, formerly Kent of Rini's Halloween litter. Here's a photo she shared with us of the two boys playing with their new brother, 3 month old greyhound puppy  Vyncent.

Spencer, Finn, and Vyncent

Lovely young adult male available in North Carolina

 Our good friend Yvonne Sovereign near Raleigh has a beautiful fawn and white male, elegant with big dark eyes and a super temperament looking for a loving home. Robbie is two years old and isn't going to work out as a show dog but will make a wonderful companion. 


He is sweet, loving, crate trained and completely housebroken. No bad habits and good eater. He is a great dog and she wants just the right home for him. Good with other dogs and children, don't know about cats. Contact Yvonne directly at 919-721-2384
or canineart@windstream.net

Anyone who is not familiar with Yvonne's work is missing a real treat. She is an artist with a special love for whippets...and that love shines through every painting and drawing she does. 


If you have not already, you should visit her art website at www.yvonnesovereign.com -- and I have to put in a little brag for our Timbreblue whippets who are featured there! The two whippets lying on the bed in front of the window (home page) are our boys Barnaby and Boo, owned by Danny S. and Jeanne & Alan A. respectively.


Sharyn

Bad genes

Last week I attended a seminar called "The Purebred Paradox." Deciding to go was difficult, not because of the subject matter (genetic defects in purebred dogs) but because it was being hosted by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a hardcore animal rights organization whose legislation I spend every winter fighting in Richmond.

Baby Jenny (Miranda) in 2008

But I'm legislative liaison for the Virginia Federation of Dog Clubs and Breeders (VFDCB) as well as being an AKC delegate for the Shenandoah Valley Kennel Club and I felt we needed to know what was said and done at this meeting. AKC did not participate, by choice, which was the right decision. But some of us needed to be there. The VFDCB paid registration fees for Alice Harrington (my co-legislative liaison) and me to go. I'm glad we went.

There are other places on the web where you can read more about the conference (Google Purebred Paradox and Pedigree Dogs Exposed) but I will say I came away from it awfully glad that whippets are my breed of choice (they are mostly healthy) and that Walt and I made the leap to outcrossing as opposed to linebreeding years ago.Linebreeding is the practice of breeding fairly close relatives to "set" the good genes. Trouble is, it often also "sets" the bad genes. 

Abita (Rosalind) in 2008

Many breeders are going to have a hard time with that recommendation, but it was made by every non-breeder scientist and veterinarian on the panel. We all learned at our mentors' knees that good breeders linebreed consistently and outcross only occasionally. Walt and I spent many hours studying and discussing this practice and about five years ago made the commitment to breed, as far as possible, to unrelated dogs. Of course, all whippets are related if you go far enough back, but we try not to have names repeated in five generations. We're not always successful, but we work at it and we do believe it's the right thing to do.

Another suggestion from the conference was not to use "popular sires," which are the top-winning dogs that "everyone" is breeding to. That's because if it is later determined that that dog is carrying a genetic disease, there will be nowhere to go to breed away from it if he is in all the pedigrees. That has already happened in whippets, with the mitral valve disease problem. Though I would be hesitant to blame one dog, it's true that nearly every dog with MVD traces his lineage back to the same bloodline.

Bacchus (Falstaff) in 2008

We were also warned against breeding for extremes when they affect health and soundness (the flat faces of the bulldog and Pekes, the sloping topline of the German shepherd dog, the heavily wrinkled faces of the Shar-pei and bloodhound). And there are many breeds that routinely die of cancer at a young age.

The AKC Canine Health Foundation and the parent clubs are working on these problems, or at least the health-related ones. I don't know whether there is a discussion to stop the German shepherd from moving like a Tennessee Walking Horse, but I hope there is.

The Whippet Health Foundation is conducting a years-long study of mitral valve disease in whippets. Whenever you feel inclined to give, consider donating to them.

Lots to think about!

Sharyn

Run, puppy, run!

One of Party's puppies is now named "Bones" and lives near DC with a doctor who is also a triathlete (down girls, he's taken). Charlie has been working with Bones to build up his stamina gradually since he is still growing. The following is a photo Charlie shared with us of himself and Bones resting after a run, taken by the aforementioned  lucky girlfriend.

Charlie and Bones

One year old female available

We have a breeder friend in North Carolina who has a young brindle whippet girl in need of a new home. Poppy will be one year old on May 16th, she is spayed and up-to-date on all of her vaccinations. She is healthy and has great house manners. She's crate trained and also loves to sleep in the bed. She gets along with male dogs better than females, and would probably not do well with really small children.

If you're interested in Poppy, please fill out our questionnaire and make sure you mention Poppy in the notes section. Just look at that face! Absolutely adorable.

Musings on nicknames

Rini

Siren

We have a pup named Siren. (Her registered name is Timbreblue Drives Too Fast)  Siren is not hard to say. So how come I find  myself calling her Si-renny or Si-Si or Rennie? "Sigh" seems sort of sad but I've used that too. For awhile I called her Ren, but then I realized that among our pups from about that same generation, we have a Rainey, a Rini, and a Riri (pronounced ree-ree). I guess I will have to break down and just stick with Siren. If I can.

What is it that makes us give dogs nicknames in addition to their call names? Walt calls most of our dogs by their real names, but I tend to use:

Ivy --- Ivy-Divy or Ivers or Ives
Blue -- Blue-boo
Party -- Party Girl
Juliet -- Ju-ju bean
Chippy -- Chipster
Devon -- Devvie
Dallas -- D-Dog or Big D
Kara -- Karoo
Katie -- Katydid

I don't really understand it since most of the nicknames are actually longer than the call names. Isn't it just as easy to say Dallas as Big D?

When my daughter was born, we (for some reason) decided we wanted her called Johannah instead of any of the usual nicknames. I carefully wrote out "Johannah" on everything that went to daycare with her, But since we didn't give them a nickname to call her, she became Jo-Jo, which I thought sounded a bit monkeyish. So we started calling her Joey to combat that. Of course once she started school, she decided that was a boy's name and informed her teachers she wanted to be called Margaret, which was her first name.  We still called her Joey at home. She settled on Jo eventually but her family was slower to catch on,.

One day when they were in high school, my son Travis (Trav or T) answered the phone. "You have the wrong number." When he hung up, he said, "Some guy wanted Joe." Johannah happened to be in the room and wailed, "Nooooo! He asked for Jo!" Fortunately for her, the boy did call back and thus began her longest high school romance. She is now Johannah or Jo.

I'd better get back to the girls -- the Chipmeister and Ivy-Divy-Dabber-Do need pedicures.

Sharyn

Rainey

All the Girls I've Loved Before

My sweet Diamond, at home with the Kyzers

(F)Annie loved now by the Lantzys

I've been feeling a little blue tonight, trying to organize photos on my computer and seeing again all the sweet whippet faces from our past. The hardest part of being a breeder is knowing you have to let go. You simply cannot keep all the dogs you want to unless you're willing to have a kennel (which I am not -- we are housedogs-only people). For one thing, if you have more than a certain number, they don't all get enough attention.

So the hard part: You keep a little girl puppy from a promising litter and you love her and put all your hopes in her. She grows up to be everything you wanted, so eventually you find Mr. Perfect for her and breed her. She has a beautiful litter and is a wonderful mother. You breed her maybe a couple more times, and then she's retired from the whelping box to the sofa. Meanwhile, of course, you've kept a pup from each litter, so there's four dogs right there. And then there's Grandma and Great-Grandma and....you see where I'm going with this. At some point you have to say, "What is best for the dog? Not for my heart, because I would keep every one if I asked my heart. But for the dog."

And naughty Candy, loved in spite of herself by the Verdus

We never look for homes for our older girls. I could never say, "Okay, we're going to let this one go." But someday a perfect home will show up. Often it's someone who already owns one of our pups and I know for sure the home will be perfect. And then it's time. And lord, does it hurt.

But you know what makes it okay? We have a reunion every year and most of my girls come to that. And I see them so happy with their new families, where each girl is one of two or three or maybe even an "only child."  They are always excited to see me and it means the world to me. But what makes me happiest is seeing them turn back to their new families as if to say, "Yeah, I remember you and we had some good times, but hey, these are my new folks!" 

Some, of course, will never leave. But the ones who do take a little piece of my heart with them. And I am so very grateful to the people who love them so well.

Someday in the not-too-distant future, Walt and I will give up breeding and I'll be able to keep all my dogs into their old age. But until then, thank you, Timbreblue family members, for giving your hearts to my girls.

Sharyn

Happy Easter everyone!

We'd like to wish you and yours a happy Easter!

Ivy makes her mark

Ivy has been sleeping in the laundry basket outside Sharyn & Walt's room for several years now. It's "her place" and it's sacred. She also insists (with a firm bark) that Sharyn cover her up with a blankie before bed.

Kevin Harris, owner of Tango, who is Juliet's litter sister from the Candy and Arthur phonetics litter, sent this today: "For the past couple of years now I have begun to notice certain things about Tango's behavior which seem to be very close or identical to some of the things her grandmother, Ivy, does. Well today she just took the cake and now I am 100% certain that Ivy has been coaching Tango whenever there's a reunion.

I came upstairs this afternoon and found Tango in the hall outside my bedroom...in the last place I thought I'd ever find Tango...see photo. (It's a bad photo - mainly because I rushed to take it with my iPhone and I was laughing)

The circle is complete!"

You can definitely see the Ivy in her kids and grandkids and great-grands!

What is fridge poetry?

Someone asked me what that means -- sorry, I didn't realize it wasn't a familiar term to everyone. Several years ago, some company came out with little boxes of random words printed on magnets. You put them on the fridge and arrange them into "poems" -- pretty limited poems since you have to work with the words you have! Anyway, a friend gave me the "dog poetry" box a few years ago and since then our fridge has become a repository for bad dog poetry, created mostly by me, though Walt moves a few pieces sometimes. All the poems have a story --- the one I posted yesterday was about the day Ivy finally got fed up with German Shepherd puppy Dallas and bit his leg. Following is our favorite.

Dogs poop and pee
Who did this?
Beg, smile, wag
No food for you
Dirty butt mutt.

Okay, like I said it is bad poetry  But it's fun.

Sharyn

Refrigerator Poetry

Morning run gambol
Chase tail
Happy play
Growl
Bite leg
Mean bitch.
Vet now.

Puppies available in Virginia

Mimi

These two lovely fawn girls were bred by Jo Pelton and have come to visit us in Lexington, Virginia, for awhile. They're 12 weeks old, up to date on shots and worming, and the sweetest little things I've seen in a long time. All I can say is, someone better come for them soon or I'm keeping them! Their daddy is Yvonne Sovereign's Myles Ch Sowagla Quick Silver To Taejaan and I'll post info about their mama tomorrow (it's in the car).

Elsa

They are, of course, AKC registered, and come with pedigree, health records, toys, chewies, and everything else they'll need to get started.

Puppies this age do best with someone home most of the day for the first few months, especially if there are no other dogs to keep them company.

Although these are not technically Timbreblue puppies, they are closely related to our lines and come with full Timbreblue family support!  (Jo Pelton is a dear friend, and as I mentioned, I have already gotten very attached to these little girls, so we'll want to keep up with them as if they were our own breeding)

 If you're interested in one of these girls, fill out our questionnaire and give me a call at 540-464-8046 or send us an email

Sharyn

Granny Ivy and Siren visit Timbreblue South

Granny Ivy and her great-great-granddaughter Siren visited Timbreblue South to see Rini, Fiona (Rini's daughter), Henry (Sporting Fields Move On) and Chase.

We celebrated Ivy's placements in Veterans and Veterans Sweeps at the American Whippet Club national specialty last week, and Henry's grandson's going WD/BOW over some amazing competition. The grass is turning green and the flowers are blooming here in South Carolina.

Puppies available in Virginia

Our good friend Jo Pelton, whose dogs are related to the Timbreblues via the Appraxin line, has three female puppies available in Virginia.

One puppy is fawn, one is fawn with a black mask, and one is blue fawn. They're lovely puppies and they are grandpups of our Blue. The puppies are now 11 weeks old. If you're interested, you can email us at inquiries@timbreblue.com

Congratulations to some Timbreblue Whippets!

I  have been so far out of the loop for the past couple of months that I  don't  know  if  I will ever catch up. I'm going to try in the next couple of days to at least hit the highlights of what's been going on in the Timbreblue family. I will never, never remember it all.

First, congratulations  to  Nance  Hamel  in Long Island and Lori and Richard Allinder  in  Boston for arranging a "re-home' made in heaven for  Lily  (fka Kitkat from the Candy Dish litter of 2008). Lily -- now Glory,  in  keeping  with  Nance's  southern theme -- was a little too wound  up for the Allinders' new baby girl, and Nance had been wanting a  Timbreblue whippet. They got together and Glory is now the happy roommate  of  Nance's  whippets Rebel (fka Red Dog from Cal Perry) and Dixie, as well  as Dago the German Shepherd and JLo the pit bull. We just  love  it  when a plan comes together (Who remembers what TV show that line comes from? Careful...it will give away your age!)

We're  awfully  happy  for  Jill  and  Mike Butler, who added a rescue whippet girl to their family last month. Little Brie came to keep Jace (2004 Candy Dish litter) company...I guess Jace finally convinced them to go for the second potato chip.

Another  big  congratulations to Bev Crawley and Whisper (fka Marilyn from the 2004 Movie Stars litter), who earned Whisper's novice  title  from the World Canine Freestyle Organization (WCFO)! They will be  doing  a  freestyle  demo  at  the  whippet  national specialty in Lexington KY next week too!

Our other dancing whippet, Jake, became the first whippet ever to pass his  proficiency  levels  for  the  WCFO, and just to put icing on the cake,  he  and  owner  Diana Cognigni earned his first leg in rally obedience!

No  congratulatory  post would  be complete without yet another Atta Girl for Ashley  and  Bobbie  Lutz. (So what have they done this week, you ask) Ashley  will  be  receiving  a  Champion  Award  of Versatility at the national   next  week  and is ranked in the top ten obedience whippets for 2010 as  well. Bobbie and Fred's dogs Shannon and Travis are also receiving awards  of  versatility.  I  don't  know  whether Bobbie makes the rest of us look like slackers or Ashley just makes Timbreblue look good, but I'm going for the latter...

Ashley picks up some more UKC agility points

Ashley (Ch Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl) and her owner/handler Bobbie Lutz picked up some more UKC agility points this past weekend (3/26-3/27) and had a blast!!

Ashley's FULL name is CH, UGRCH, URO2, UAGII, Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl, CD, SC, RA, NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, FCH, CGC, TT

Ashley's many versatile titles include an AKC Championship and UKC Grand Championship in conformation showing, ASFA Field Championship in lure coursing (a test of the whippet's ability to show the chase instinct), Rally, Obedience, and Agility.

She's entered in the versatility competition at the American Whippet Club National Specialty this April in Lexington, Kentucky and we'll be cheering for her!

Baby Fiona and her daddy

Just thought we would share a particularly sweet moment with baby Fiona (pictured at 16 weeks) and her daddy Henry. Fiona is our keeper from the "Halloween Litter" of Rini & Henry born October 28, 2010.

Rini is "Timbreblue Colors Outside the Lines" and Henry is "Sporting Fields Move On". All three dogs (mommy Rini, daddy Henry, and baby Fiona) are at home at Timbreblue in South Carolina.

It's unusual for a stud dog to be so patient and affectionate with puppies, but Henry is just a wonderful, laid-back kinda guy.

We were so happy to get him into our breeding program, because our line started with Grandma Ivy, who is half Sporting Fields -- she's a Luke daughter (Sporting Fields Kinsman). Henry and Grandma Ivy are directly related way back there in their pedigrees!

Rini was a great natural mother this first time, delivering all ten of her pups exactly on her due date, in seven hours with no problems or stillbirths. We are planning Rini's second litter for late fall or winter of 2011. She will be bred to a blue-factored male and should have some blue and blue fawn pups in addition to other colors. Please let us know if you are interested in a Rini puppy. Visit our website to learn more about Timbreblue Whippets.

Looking for an adult whippet? A puppy? Try WRAP!

Check out WRAP (Whippet Rescue and Placement) -- there are whippets available from puppies on up to seniors. The puppies are in Louisiana and North Carolina -- the ones in Lousiana are definitely mixes and the ones in North Carolina may or may not be purebred, but they sure look like whippets. WRAP does not ship, so you have to find one within driving distance. 


Senior whippets are a great opportunity to find out whether a sighthound is really your breed. You'll get a dog who's most likely housebroken, not too rambunctious, and it's not a 15-year commitment. Yes, you'll only have a few years with him, but think of the kindness you'll be doing for an old fellow who, through no fault of his own, has lost his home. We've always said that if people knew about the joys of old dogs, no one would be able to give away puppies! And every whippet deserves a sofa to call his own, 


There's a fee for the dogs (otherwise, how could they afford to take in the next whippet in need?) but it's very reasonable and varies with the age and condition of the dog. Go to http://www.whippet-rescue.com/available.html for more information.

Why would you compete in agility with a whippet??

A few of our owners have run into the question, "Why would you do agility (or obedience or rally or whatever) with a whippet? The whippet isn't the easiest dog to train, he's not always cooperative, and he's eager to please the owner only when the action also pleases himself. But whippets can do well in agility and obedience and rally. It just takes a little more time and patience to train them. 


I figured out a couple of years ago that there are two types of competitors in dog events: those for whom the competition is the Thing and those for whom the dogs are the Thing. 

For people who are devoted to the Competition, it makes sense for them to get the very best dogs they can for the specific competition. That's where most (not all) of the Border collie people come from in obedience, agility, etc. If one dog doesn't get him to the goal, this person is likely to replace the dog with a more competitive one. 


I used to think this was a bad thing to do, but I've changed my mind. As long as the first dog is going to a home where he'll be adored for what he CAN do or IS, then he's better off than he would be with someone who is disappointed in him. There's not really any difference between those folks and the ones who show/breed dogs and "grow out" a puppy -- if she doesn't turn out to be breeding or show quality, it makes sense to let her go to a great home where she will be the most beautiful, perfect dog in the world! (It's very hard on the first owner, by the way, but it's best for the dog)


Then there are the people who have a dog and are looking for something to do with him. These people may be serious competitors, but they're not really expecting to be number one in the country at the sport. They don't usually care if they don't place in the ribbons (okay, so they may be disappointed, but it's not the end of the world) For these people, the Dog is the Thing and they would no more consider replacing a whippet with a Border collie just to win any more than they'd consider standing on their heads naked on New Year's Day. In the middle of Times Square. When it's snowing. 


Someone who is dead set and determined to make it to the World Agility Open is not going to get a sighthound to begin with! That's not to say a sighthound couldn't do it, but it would sure be a lot easier with a Border collie, a Sheltie, or a Jack Russell. THESE are the people who say, "Why would you do agility with a sighthound?" They assume that the Competition is the Thing for everyone. They don't mean any harm. They just don't get it. 


I've also met people who actually choose their breeds because it's easier to win with one of them in conformation showing. Whippets are difficult to finish championships on -- which is why we make such a big deal about it when someone actually gets points on one! That's because as show dogs, they are fairly popular. 

As a matter of fact, in this part of the country, a whippet is the 11th hardest breed to get a major on. (Winning a major essentially means you've beaten a lot of other dogs, not just a few, in a specific show.) It takes 12 females for three points. That's more than all other breeds except Labs, Goldens, Danes, Boxers, Shelties, Welsh Corgis, Papillons, Rottweilers, Pugs, and Bulldogs. Whoda thunk? The point system is based on the number of dogs of a breed typically being shown in an area. So the breeds above, plus whippets, are the dogs shown by the most people around here. It's similar in most of the rest of the country. Which means the most popular show dogs are not necessarily the most popular pets. The top five pets include Labs and Goldens, but also German Shepherds, Yorkies, and Beagles, which are not among the most popular dogs to show. 


But back to the matter at hand. Most of us compete because we want something to do with the dogs we already have and love.  And win or lose, we go home with the dog we brought to the dance..


And by the way, another congratulations to our Ashley (above) owned by Bobbie and Fred Lutz. That would be CH, UGRCH, URO2, UAGII, Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl, CD, SC, RA, NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, FCH, CGC, TT. Obviously, it can be done!