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!

Moka and Beca did it again!

At the tender age of seven months, Beca Zaun's Moka took her second major today at Western Reserve by going best of winners! We are so proud of both of them. Beca, it should be easy sailing now! Here's Moka's win picture from a month ago when she got her first major at six months old! Moka is from the Chippy/Blue Nautical litter and is Timbreblue Abraxas Mocha Martini.

Christmas card pictures with Kara

I think I finally got one -- cards will probably arrive after Christmas, but that seems to be the tradition around here. Below are some of the outtakes.

Whippet Lovin' the Snow!

We got five or six inches of snow here yesterday and Karen Beard, owner of Timbreblue Criminal Mind - Spencer - sent these pictures of her boy having fun in the white stuff. Spencer was Ensign in the Nautical litter born May 15, 2010. Most of our crew have been enjoying the snow too, except for Party, who came from Oklahoma and maybe saw enough of it there to last her for awhile.

Rini's puppies are four weeks old

From 2010-11-28

We're having so much fun! Rini & Henry's babies are four weeks old and SO much fun. They love to play, and terrorize their siblings, and give kisses and cuddles. They're very aware of our presence and they love to be picked up whenever they are awake. Everyone is healthy and gaining weight steadily. They're eating solid food (well, mush) now but Momma Rini still nurses them about once a day. We have a puppy or two still available from this litter, so if you're interested, please visit our website.

More puppy photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/johannah.gage/20101128#

Fathom: Looking for Love

Baby Fathom - photo by Holly Curran

Moka's brother Fathom is looking for someone to love him. Well, he has people who love him right here, but he wants his own home where he will get more attention and his sisters will not beat him up!

Fathom is six months old, a blue brindle over fawn, and about the sweetest boy you ever met. He loves to jump up in the air, will snuggle forever, and gets along with everyone he has ever met. He's crate trained, mostly housetrained, leash trained, and has had all his shots. Both parents are cardiac and CERF (eye) clear.

Photo by Kevin Harris

He needs either a home with other dogs or someone who will be home pretty much all day -- he's not used to being all alone. Fathom is a show prospect puppy, but no kennels, please. Our show puppies have to be pets first. Fill out our questionnaire and contact Sharyn if you're interested -- he is at Timbreblue in Virginia.

If you're looking for a younger puppy, Jo still has a couple of really cute babies available at Timbreblue South, ready to go home in January. See posts below for details.These puppies are in South Carolina, but will be in Virginia for a puppy party the week after Christmas!

Woo-Hoo Moka and Beca!

Moka, who is officially Timbreblue Abraxas Mocha Martini, and her owner Beca Zaun ventured out to the Columbus, Ohio, dog shows this weekend. Moka just turned six months old on the 15th, so she is 'barely legal" for these shows. None of us expected much except that she have a good time and get experience.

Baby Moka

Well, the first day, Moka won her class but she was the only one in it. But she had a good time and Beca had a good time. But on Friday, Team Moka took winner's bitch and best of winners for three points! This is highly unusual for a puppy. Usually the judge goes for a more mature dog. But lest we think it was a one-off or that the judge just liked Beca, today they won a reserve to a four-point major, which means that in the event that the winner is unable to fulfill her duties -- well, you know all that -- then Moka gets the points. (That hardly ever happens, but it has been known to, in the case of the dog having been entered in the wrong class or some such)

We're proud of you, Beca and Moka! Good luck tomorrow!

UPDATE: And on day four, Moka got another four-point reserve. Not bad for a baby! We're planning to repeat this breeding next summer!

Puppies' first playtime!

This is a video of Rini & Henry's three week old puppies having their first playtime. They are awfully cute! We have two puppies from this litter available, and they will be ready to go home in mid-January. Visit our website if you're interested.