Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Trick is happy and settled in his new home

Thank you to all who replied to the blog post about Trick needing a home. Trick now has a wonderful new family, and he is living in New Jersey with a new "brother", a red brindle whippet named Chili.

Trick has been renamed "Enzo" and is able to accompany his owner and Chili to work every day. As you can see from the photo of the boys hanging out in their owner's office, Enzo and Chili are very lucky dogs!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

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...

Sunday, December 19, 2010

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.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

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!



Thursday, November 4, 2010

Congratulations, Ashley!

The cake says it all: From three Best of Breed wins one weekend to a CD (Companion Dog obedience title) the next! 

Ashley belongs to Bobbie and Fred Lutz, Winchester, VA, who also owned her father Calvin, known formally as DC, UGRCH Appraxin Callaban Kristobel UAGII, UCD, CD, MC, NA, NAJ, NAP, OJP, LCM3, CGC, V-FCH. As you can see, overachieving runs in the family! (By the way, all those titles mean Calvin was a dual champion, he competed in both AKC, UKC (United Kennel Club), and ASFA (American Sighthound Field Association) events, and he won in conformation, obedience, lure coursing, and agility. He also achieved his Total Dog title from UKC, won Best in Field in AKC & ASFA, and was first place in the American Whippet Club's (AWC) Triathlon 2004and received the AWC Versatility Excellent award. 

Ashley has a little ways to go to reach her father's record, but we are pretty impressed with her titles now! She is CH UGRCH Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl CD, RN, SC, NAJ, FCh, UAG1, CGC, having made her marks in conformation, agility, rally, obedience, and lure coursing, as well as earning her Canine Good Citizen title. 

Ashley was born here at Timbreblue on February 24, 2005. She was the most active, mischievous puppy in Diamond's litter, and when Bobbie told me she wanted one with "drive," I said, "Do I have the puppy for you!"

We are so proud of Ashley and are grateful that she ended up with Bobbie and Fred, who realized her potential and have given the time, energy and money to allow her to "chase the dream." Here are a few of our favorite photos of her.








Thursday, October 14, 2010

AKC Breeder of Merit!

My mama taught me that it is always best to let other people do your bragging for you, but since no one else much knows about this, I guess I will just have to let my mama down this time. I'm too excited about it not to brag just a little.

Siren
We were named AKC breeders of merit today -- this is a new program designed to help people choose "good" breeders. For a number of years now, a big problem has been breeders who advertise on the web and ship dogs out with no one ever having been to the house/kennel. They put pictures of beautiful dogs and kennels on the site and people placing an order for a puppy have no way of knowing whether the pictures are actually what they purport to be or even whether they're dealing with a substandard breeder or a good one.

To become a breeder of merit, you have to have been involved in the AKC world for five years or more, be a member of an AKC approved club, do all the health testing on breeding stock recommended by your parent club (the American Whippet Club in our case), attempt to achieve 100% registration by your puppy owners, and have AKC titles on at least four dogs you've bred.

Apparently our registration papers will now have a gold border around them. Thanks, AKC -- it truly is nice to be recognized for trying to do it right! (Even if I can hear Mama turning in her grave...)

Sharyn
AKC Breeder of Merit (!!!)

Friday, August 13, 2010

Oops - we have a puppy available after all!

Tempest
Tempest left for her new home last week, but we just heard that she's coming back. After a few days here to settle down, she will be available again.Her new owners just underestimated how much time a new puppy takes and are unable to devote the attention to her that she needs.

Tempest is, in spite of her name, a fairly laid-back pup for a whippet.She's a snuggler, but like all whippet pups, does have her wild side and needs someone who has time to devote to her. She's a flashy black and white girl with a full collar and white boots. She will be 13 weeks old tomorrow.

Remember: When you get a whippet puppy, you're getting two dogs: a little hellion (at times) when it's a baby, and after about two years, a perfect dog!

Fathom
We do require a home in which someone is there for most of the day until the puppy is seven or eight months old. To grow up to be good citizens, whippet puppies really need attention on and off during the day, so if your whippet will routinely be alone for more than two or three hours at a stretch, we suggest an older puppy or adult dog. Just like a human toddler, a whippet pup left to his own devices all day is lonely and become destructive or neurotic. Dogs are pack animals and are not happy alone for long periods. Puppies especially need company and supervision. They simply have too much energy to leave crated or penned all day.Yes, puppies do nap a lot, but like babies, when they wake up, they need human interaction. And remember, an unhappy, neurotic dog or puppy is no fun to live with either!

We feel badly sometimes when we turn down a wonderful home just because everyone in the family is gone all day.I do understand that people have to work for a living! But nearly every puppy we have had returned -- there have not been many -- has been because the new owners didn't have enough time for it.

We never have hard feelings when puppies or even adult dogs are returned. Life is not perfect and you never know what's going to happen or how things will work out. The puppies don't mind either. They view their short-term home as a cool vacation and we look at it as excellent socialization experience. But it's hard on the owners and we hate to see them go through the heartache of getting attached and then having to send back the pup.

Fathom is also still available to an active home where he can channel his energy into agility, coursing, flyball, or something like that. 

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Be Careful What You Wish For

I think what we have here is a case of "Be careful what you wish for" all done up like one of those Russian babushka dolls -- a wish within a wish within a wish. We wanted puppies. Okay, we got 21 puppies (two litters, quite unintended -- see previous post). Wanted blues and blacks. Got three blacks, a blue brindle and two blue and white partis in the first litter, and the second litter looks like a black and white TV program on the webcam. Three solid blacks, a black and white parti, three solid blues, a blue fawn, a blue fawn parti, three blue and white partis. (Also in the first litter are a gorgeous fawn brindle and white, fawn and white and a red brindle -- bonuses, for sure even though I didn't ask for them) And finally, I wanted girls. Out of 21 puppies (good grief!) we have only eight males.

We're very fortunate that these puppies already have homes. Well, there may be one or two not spoken for, but I don't know for sure till the deposits come in or don't come in this week. People's plans change and sometimes they forget to let us know until we actually ask for money!

Above is the "set-up" -- mamas have gotten along great. That's Party inspecting. She is like the old maid aunt who has a ton of advice on how to raise your kids. Meanwhile, here's how the day goes.

6:00 am -- I'm up to feed Kara, pictured below, who has a cleft palate (more on her later) and has to be tube fed. Feed Chippy's litter -- they are on pureed Purina ONE. Clean both boxes (change pads, dump litter from the litter box trained ones -- the second litter is too young -- wash out litter box and put in fresh litter, which is actually, by the way, pelleted rabbit food)  feed both moms, let all dogs out and back in, change moms' water and puppies' water bowls. Feed all the dogs. Then I usually go back to bed for a couple of hours.

9:00 am -- Walt is up, starts laundry, moderates email lists, general housework.

10:00 -- Walt feeds Kara and I get up again. Both of us check email, answer as much as we can. Clean puppy boxes several more times throughout the day as they need it. If there's a vet trip to be made, this is when I usually do it --there have been several a week with these litters. Chippy had some mastitis with a ruptured cyst, xray for Kara's leg and general check up once a week, there was the Juliet debacle wherein I thought thunderphobia was eclampsia, pick up feeding tubes for Kara, that kind of thing. Weigh Kara every day and the rest of the pups every week..

12:00 -- Puppy pictures, snuggling, getting them out of the box for stimulation, catch up on phone calls,  More laundry for Walt. I fold and put away as it comes off the line. The puppies are still responsible for about four loads a day. We have hospital pads in the bottom of the boxes, and though the older ones are pooping in the litter box, they're still peeing on the pads, so that means changing them three or four times a day. The younger litter is still mostly being cleaned by Juliet, but their pads get wet too -- we change them about twice a day. Take all dogs out again. Feed mama dogs. Feed older pups. Grind puppy nails every three days to keep them from scratching up mama.

2:00 - Feed Kara, and I usually get a nap while Walt babysits, doing dishes and laundry in short bursts..

4:00 -- I'm back up to clean boxes, work on some email, maybe file a puppy report to the email lists (Timbreblue Pups is for our current owners and Timbreblue Pupwatch for anyone who is interested in keeping up with the litters)  Straighten puppy room -- it is small with two big whelping boxes in it and everything has to be in the proper place or it gets crazy. Take mommies outside. (A whole lot of food is going through them!)  Walt gets outside work done -- gardening, mowing grass, etc. This weekend he built the two litter boxes. If he has errands to run (he does the grocery shopping), now's the time.

6:00 One of us asks for ideas for dinner and eventually someone gets around to fixing it. Sometimes we grill out, more commonly we eat something from a can. No time for major cooking these days! Time to feed Kara again and clean boxes. Take dogs out again.  Feed all dogs and change water.

8:00 Usually we are settled back into the puppy room for the evening and turn on the webcam. When I have time, I try to join in the chat -- this is all at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/timbreblue-whippets and the password is whippets. Often though, I am busy with email (lots of puppy buyers with 21 puppies!), doing the usual puppy chores -- cleaning, changing water, feeding, etc. Walt often does puppy updates now and I update the record books. Each litter has one, with a page for each puppy and an overall litter page, as well as details on the breedings and whelpings. It's very useful to go back to these when I'm panicking about something with a litter in the future!

10:00 pm Walt feeds Kara and heads for bed and I finish up with cleaning, feed the older pups and mommies one last time, take my shower and settle into my bedroll on the floor. We  discussed my actually going back to the bedroom now -- the puppies do not need 24/7 supervision -- but since I have to get up at two and six to feed Kara, we decided it was best if one of us got to sleep through the night uninterrupted by an alarm clock. Somehow getting to bed takes me till midnight and a couple of times I have been stupid enough to stay up till two so I can get Kara's feeding done before I lie down.

2:00 am Feed Kara, take mommies out.

4:00 am - Walt gets up for an hour or so, checks on us (on a good night we are all asleep!), moderates the email lists and does some correspondence. He has always done this -- goes to bed early, gets up at three or four, goes back to bed around five, and sleeps till nine. So this is not really part of the puppy schedule unless he sees something that needs tending -- water bowl empty, puppy distressed about something (though that usually wakes me up immediately!)

6:00 am -- And it starts all over.

Have I mentioned how much I love breeding? I really do, and even with a schedule like the above, there is nothing as much fun as sitting in the middle of the floor with a lap full of whiplets! (Remind me of that in four weeks when they are all out of the box and finding new and creative places to use the bathroom)

And please forgive me for being a little sentimental, but the best days of all are the ones when these puppies go home with their new best friends. For someone to choose us as a breeder is the highest compliment we're paid, and we take our responsibility very seriously. The goal is to create happy, healthy pets, dogs that look and act like whippets, and for every litter to be a bit better than the one before. We don't presume to say we are breeding to "improve the breed" -- I believe it is close to perfect as it is! -- but we do strive to improve the health of the breed and preserve the type, and above all, do no harm.

Monday, May 24, 2010

All those puppies! Or A Tail of Two Mamas

This post is from Walt, the other half of Timbreblue Virginia.

I'd like to explain how we wound up with the prospect of 22 whippet puppies. It's not routine for us -- our puppies are raised inside and underfoot, so that number is a daunting prospect!

A little bit about breeding:  You can breed dogs by having one each, male and female. However if you have a breeding program -- a plan, goals, a standard for success, and so on -- you'll probably need six to ten. A small-scale breeder might typically have:

1) Two females that are expected to be bred in the next year or in alternate years. Preferably not at the same time!

Katie growing up --->
2) Two more females that are too young -- we don't breed them before age two because kids having kids is bad for dogs too! These females are generally your own breeding and you want to live with them during their puppyhood and adolescence so you can see who and what they really are. Temperament? Health? Structure? Behavior around other dogs? Around younger puppies? Around people? Even when another breeder (selling you a dog) is absolutely honest, you cannot get equally detailed information. Mom is considered to be 60-75% of what you get
in a puppy, so choosing the right females is critical to success. 

3) Many breeders keep at least one male. You can (and we often do) pay a 'stud fee' to another breeder for use of a male you don't own, but owning them is the best way to get acquainted. And Dad does matter. We don't like to use males younger than six  because we want them to have a health track record.

Generally one should not, today, do breedings that would be illegal as human marriages, so breeding your own to your own is unwise unless you're able to maintain two or more distinct families ('lines'). Our two males came from Appraxin Kennels, and are only fairly distantly related to our girls. Genetic diversity is now critical to the survival of most breeds.

4) An older puppy or two that is being evaluated.

5) A rehome (from another breeder) awaiting placement, perhaps a puppy returned from your own program -- about one in twenty of ours comes back. Some of these dogs must wait for a specific sort of home, meaning they're here for several months. And like many other breeders, we do some rescue when needed, so there's usually an "extra mouth to feed" even if we didn't breed it!

6) Old folks who have retired but earned a permanent home with the breeder.
<----  Ivy
at 14 1/2  

We often place our adults (at great emotional expense) after their breeding days are done. Since they're among six, seven, or eight here, we feel our mamas deserve their own private sofas and to be one of just two or three in homes where they will be cherished as much as they are here. We do what's best for the dog, even though it hurts to let go. But there are some we cannot part with. They remain here to help bring up puppies and snuggle on the couch with us.  Ivy is the Queen Mother here. Party will also not be leaving,

So at a minimum, a hobby breeder with an ongoing program has six to feed, house, and pay vet bills for, year-round. Plus when you have a litter there'll be some number of puppies awaiting homes: We keep them to ten weeks minimum and it usually takes 12-15 weeks for all to leave.

<--- Our boy Blue

An average pet dog costs $500-1000/year to maintain, but breeding dogs require more of everything, including more vet care. Immediately before every breeding, a test of both animals for brucellosis -- the doggy STD, which, unfortunately can be caught from a toilet seat, or at least from non-sexual contact with other dogs. (It kills whole litters, sterilizes both adults, and can spread through all your dogs.) Also a 'breeding soundness' evaluation of the bitch. A c-section now and then -- average price $1000. Removal of dewclaws, and a pre-sale vet check for every puppy. Health screenings for whatever are the testable issues in the breed -- at least eyes and hearts for whippets. Plus whatever bad veterinary incidents happen in a year: There are always one or two.

Nearly all dogs do well on any major brand of food but most hobby breeders feed a grade or so above the middle of the range, if only because the stools are smaller. In a year's time, we pick up a lot of stools.

Rini waiting her turn --->

There are constant seemingly one-time expenses: We didn't plan to have any use for a tank of oxygen, but we have it: Rental $35. Usually we tube feed one or two for a few days: More #8 French feeding tubes, syringes, etc., needed this time, $20. Miscellaneous whelping supplies -- a couple hundred dollars per litter. We had a perfectly good whelping box from previous litters: Dissassembly, pressure wash, and fresh coat of shellac: $8 New whelping box for the second litter, $300 in materials. We had plenty of hospital pads for the one whelping box for a single litter: More hospital pads $120. New shower curtain (we use the old one to cover the whelping box floor) $10. Improvements to puppy room floor: $100+ in materials.

Prior to WW II middle class folks owned mixed breeds whelped under the neighbor's porch. The breeding of purebred dogs (the only intentional breeding -- there were no 'designer' dogs) was mostly by wealthy people who owned large kennels. These individuals could afford substantial ongoing costs. After the war, however, both breeding and ownership of purebreds moved into the middle class. Although a very few of the early large hobby kennels did return a significant income to the owners, today's smaller home kennels, do not. Having looked at the numbers for more than ten years now, I can tell you that even if you ignore the value of your time, it is impossible to break even over any several-year period.

Sharyn tells me that we made $346 last year. However, that's a before-tax number and because we have to treat our hobby as a hobby for tax purposes -- the legal status of a breeding business in Virginia is intolerable -- the taxes were much more than that. We paid $1373 in additional taxes because we had income from a hobby, even though nearly all of it was offset by expense.

A realistic goal for hobby breeding is that outgo doesn't much exceed income over any period of a year or more. When a year starts as this one did, with a litter of four (a very expensive four -- about $500 in extra registration fees!) coming right after a year when our investment-based retirement income was way down, the future of our program is in doubt. We had planned another litter now anyway, but now, not having one wasn't a realistic option if we wanted to be able to keep breeding at all.

Chippy -->

This was to be Chippy's first litter so we had no track record to go on. Then she refused mating (when the physical signs said she was ready) until a progesterone test said "It is already too late." We got her bred, but the vet said there was no way she'd be pregnant.
                                                          
Then Juliet came in season a bit earlier than expected, a few weeks before we would be able to tell if Chippy was even pregnant.

&$*%*$&! Hobby breeding is always a little like bungee-jumping with Mother Nature tying your bungee, but this was really exciting. Based on our estimate that the most likely scenario was just one litter and two medium or small litters was much less likely, but possible. So we did the Juliet breeding.

<---- Little mamas

And what did we get? We had sent Chippy back to South Carolina, where she lives most of the time with daughter Jo and SIL Derek. Then we got that call from Jo telling us Chippy definitely had a "baby bump."Chippy was not only pregnant but had a litter of nine. And Juliet is carrying 13.

Yes, we should be able to pay expenses this year -- but we have to get through the whelping and care of twice as many as ever before. The two of us are doing nothing else right now and it'll be several weeks before that changes. And when it developed that Kara required tube feeding every two hours, and Chippy's milk didn't come in as quickly as usual so all the pups needed supplementing for a few days, we were darn glad to have Jo come up to help for the first few days post-whelp.

Nature expects to throw a few away in these large litters but in fact if they get enough to eat, they nearly always all become healthy adults. So we'll probably be supplementing some of Juliet's puppies as well. It's going to get busier before it gets easier.
But -- It's a hobby. We do it because we love the dogs, we enjoy the challenge, and of course there's the wonderful (and growing) Timbreblue family, the people who really do make it all worthwhile.

Walt

P.S. We're not worried about homes for the puppies, fortunately. We will keep one or two for breeding and show prospects and we have an extensive waiting list for the others. We are lucky to have simply incredible people applying for these pups, so they'll all be going to great homes. I think Sharyn told me we have 15 on the list already, so before Juliet's litter is even born, most are tentatively placed. We keep in touch with all our owners through an email list and occasional phone calls, as well an an annual reunion. So though our family will be growing quickly in the next month or so, we know these puppies will be safe and well-loved!


Juliet -->

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Our celebrity whippets!

It was an exciting weekend for some of our family. Lucia and Conner (from Marnay -- great daughter and grandson of Ivy) won a place in the Smiling Dogs slideshow for The Bark magazine. They're the last photo in the slide show and are pictured with owner Vanessa and her friend Susan. Watch the whole slideshow -- it will definitely give you a lift!

And some of our New York contingent, Rebel, Simone, and Henry did a photo shoot for the Houndz in the Hood whippet clothing line. Really. Here is the Scintillating Simone, who belongs to our dear young friend Rachel of Brooklyn.


The Handsome Henry, owned by Rachel's mom Joy, apparently has become a real New Yorker. Here's a photo of him after he shopped till he dropped. The whippets were paid for their services in merchandise and are definitely going to be the best-dressed dogs on the streets of New York.











People who have managed to stick with this sometimes-blog may remember Rebel as Red, the shy boy who came to us from a breeder who was retiring. He had never been away from home in his eight years, and there were times I despaired of ever finding him just the right home. But Walt and I believe that with only a few exceptions, there is a home for every dog, so we just kept waiting and watching and working with Red here to develop his confidence.

Well, out of the clear blue came an email from Nance in Long Island who just loves working with dogs with problems! Boy, did I have a dog for her. The only trouble was getting him to her. And again Fate was kind. It happened that Joy and Rachel had brought Simone and Henry down to stay with us for awhile when they went to England. They agreed to take Red (now Rebel) back to New York with them when they picked up their crew. And you would never know Rebel as that same shy boy we had here. As Nance says, "Forget Fabian...there's a new stud in town!"















Congratulations to all our stars and an extra hug for Rebel. I always knew he had it in him to be a great dog!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Congratulations to Ashley!!

Our Ashley, daughter of Diamond and Calvin and owned by Bobbie and Fred Lutz, finished her championship Sunday at the Asheville shows. She is now CH UGRCH UAG1 Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl, FCH, SC, RN, CGC!

For Boldthose not familiar with the dog fancy's alphabet soup, here's the translation:
CH = AKC Championship
UGRCH = UKC Grand championship
UAG1 = UKC Agility 1
FCH = AKC Field Champion
SC = Senior Courser
RN = Rally Novice
CGC = Canine Good Citizen

In other words, Ashley has been a busy little girl since she left here! Finishing a whippet's championship these days is much, much more difficult than it used to be -- Bobbie and Fred put an awful lot of time and money into getting those titles, and we are ever grateful.

Ashley was a handful as a puppy. I remember telling her when she was five weeks old, "You're not staying here, honey!" And when Bobbie said she wanted a puppy with a lot of drive, I knew just which one to steer her towards.

We are so proud of our little girl and sincerely appreciate all the Lutzes have done with her!


Saturday, January 17, 2009

Ashley wins a major!

We are so proud to report that the very versatile "Ashley" (UGRCH, UAGI, Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl, SC, FCH, RN, NAJ, CGC) has won her first major (3 points) at the Clearwater Kennel Club show in Florida today under judge Mrs. Anne Savory Bolus, handled by Aaron Wilkerson. Ashley was bred by Timbreblue and is owned by Bobbie and Fred Lutz of Winchester, Virginia.

A key to Ashley's titles:

UGRCH = UKC Grand Champion

UAGI = UKC Agility Title

SC = AKC Senior Courser (lure coursing)

FCH = ASFA Field Champion (lure coursing)

RN = AKC Rally Novice

NAJ = AKC Novice Agility Jumpers

CGC = AKC Canine Good Citizen