Puppies

I appreciate that most of can't read this, but this lovely little pup is missing, presumed stolen from Rhosgadfan. The how it happened is not for me to question or judge, the fact is the pup has been removed from her home. How heartbreaking.

Rhosgadfan is the next village across from us, so yes, I'm pretty scared about it all. I know Zavi is never out on his own, and if Beti's overprotective nature of him at the last show is anything to go by, well, no one will get near him, but the ifs and buts continue to float around my mind. I can't think of much worse to be honest!

Anyway, what do you think of this chap? No, he's not anyone I know. If I had a 6-month-old puppy that looked like this now, I'd be devastated, but my purpose of this post is not to belittle anyone's dog. When I look at this dog, I see exactly what Blade looked like at this age, just legs and head, actually his head is very similar to Blades ... I know this chap is sable, but honestly I just see a young Blade, and at the time I thought he was perfect. The guy who owns the dog has shared the post as he hopes to show him. (He lives in America I think) What can you say? Well I just said, I look forward to seeing him when he fills his frame. I really hope he does exactly what Blade did and becomes a strong, unexaggerated, beautiful male. Buying a dog knowing what I know now, would I go to Blade's breeder? Hell no, but I'm glad that at the time I did! 

I suppose we all start somewhere. Blade was a little older here, maybe going on for 18 months, just starting to fill out, but as I said, all head and legs. I guess he had a little more length in his loin as he got older, he certainly wasn't short-coupled. A GSD needs a little bit of length; a short loin can restrict the reach of the hindquarters, meaning the dog cannot extend properly at a trot. To compensate for this lack of reach, the dog will often resort to pacing as a more energy-efficient gait. Dexi was just a little short in the loin and would pace at times too, and because his underline was short, he had a tendency to raise his overline. Not pulling my dog to bits, he was one of the best, better constructed than Blade, but there is no perfect dog out there! (Well, Louis was perfect in my eye... LOL)

Fencing

I'm glad to say the sheep haven't been back since they were chased, but of course they probably will be back! Ian helped me untangle the mesh on Saturday, I could never have done it alone, and Steve and I put the mesh up yesterday. It's only one wall, and we were short of about about 8 ft at the top of the field near the boncan. I feel we have done a pretty decent job, but there are still places to strengthen along this wall. I've ordered more of the metal bars, they are only £16 for 10 and they really do a great job. Whilst the sheep will never get over this fencing, strengthening it to stop twat sheep and her lamb breaking through it will be imperative. Then we start on wall two! 

A freshly brushed Orin now watching sheep in the photo, something he never did! Honestly I've had buckets of hair from him - but he still looks fab. 

Appointment Made

I've bit the bullet and done it - Meerah is booked in next month to have her hips x-rayed. If they are good, then she'll be scored; if they are not, she'll be spayed on the day! Please don't ask me the date; for my own sanity, I won't tell you ... but I'll write about it later! 

Whilst I'm writing about Meerah, I'd just like to say she has a lot of faults, the obvious being unmissable, but she is not unsound "going away". Actually, though she is leggy, she is very sound! Moan over. 

NWGSD Critiques

I'll let you decide for yourself if you think I'm happy with everything said. 

Oh hell, I guess mixed feelings

A Few More Pics Of Zavi In The Field

With Uncle Ross

Whilst We Were Fencing.

Steve and I have been fencing again today; one side of the bottom field is now done, but there is an awful lot to do. The dogs have been mooching about whilst we were out there, it would have been a great day to walk, but it was still a great morning for everyone to be out and about! 

Zavi has read the book, but he missed the page where it says, "Male German Shepherds typically start lifting or cocking their leg to urinate between 6 and 12 months of age, coinciding with puberty and rising testosterone levels." The photo just for a bit of fun!

Standing watching Sammi initially, but I just managed to get him to look my way for a split second. Isn't he looking great! 

Wait for me granny Sammi!

A Week On

                                  

The lights are different, but  you can see how much the tan and silver stripe have crept through the black. His coat is thickening daily. A few more days before he's 4 months. 

Playing And Training

Ian managed to fight his way through the New Zealand chain gate fastener and came to visit the Blanik. His help today was fantastic; hopefully tomorrow I can put the fencing up along the rest of the wall. I had hoped to do it this afternoon, but it took me a long time to straighten it and drag it along the length of the wall.

After running the adults and getting to see Kasey and Kiaan, we did 10 mins with Zavi. Just once around the ring, some hide-and-seek games with me hiding and Zavi seeking and then some standing practice. These are screenshots from a video, and without a third person, he's twisting towards me, so not perfect, but still fab for our memories! 

Walking Words

I loaded the first four into the van and came back for my keys and phone. Steve was carrying wood in, so I left the gate into the yard open for him. What I hadn't realised was that Steve had finished carrying wood in, and what he didn't realise was that I'd left the gate open. As soon as the van went down the track, Steve let Ross and Beti out; of course, they saw the open gate and charged down the fields. Oops, yes, they chased the sheep that were in our fields. Human error let the dogs down, and I'm disappointed my dogs were put in a position of danger, but I'm not disappointed that the sheep got chased out of the fields!

On this footpath where we don't see anyone, we saw a man and a dog today. Though his dog was on a lead, the sheep were running in front of him. I opted to branch off and walk towards the quarry, only for him to circle round and come towards me again, with Sammi air-scenting, I turned back and did a short walk along the main path. I felt the walk was enough for Zavi, but I did feel our very fit older lady was not amused!

As soon as I got Meerah and Zeus out of the van, a woman came towards me. We exchanged pleasantries about the strong breeze, and she said rain was forecast. Was it? Hell, though I'm now in my expensive £3.00 charity shop coat I didn't have waterproof legs! LOL 

I love this photo of Zeus of Meerah. 

In fields that I shouldn't be in with Orin and Siska, a few spots of rain, but we plod on. This little cottage has collapsed so much over the years, to think when I first moved here that one of the farmers kept his dogs in it! 

Orin and I had words over his explosion out from the van. He seems to have forgotten the meaning of "Wait," so today we had a little training! Bless him; he's like a bull in a china shop in all his life!

Walk 4 with Ross and Beti, I forgot the kong – Oops, but we found a stick for mega gob! It pissed it down on us, but we didn't care! 

As we went back towards the van we saw Ian's van coming down the hill and parking next to us. He came out of the van and called out to me. Beti heard him, she started to run off , I called her she stopped. She looked at Ian, looked at me .. OMG dilema .. but off she went, leapt over him and then came back to me! Naughty Beti, but she loves Uncle Ian!  

You're Entered!

I've entered Zavi at his first show, it's a baby puppy S/C class at a Regional. As I've said before, they are really not my scene; they are like the RKC Breed Champ Shows that I started to attend in the 90ies. Following the implementation of RKC rules, the RKC shows are calmer now, though sadly with not even half the entries of 20 years ago. It's not just GSD shows that are suffering; dog shows in general are now very low in entries. 

I much prefer the calmer, but quicker judging of general champ shows. Depending on the judge of course. I sometimes think regionals are like watching paint dry. Mind you, it took one judge 7 hrs to judge 52 dogs at a breed champ show last month, I think I'd have given up the ghost. I'd expect 52 dogs to be judged in about 3 hrs.

I've basically entered Zavi at this show just for the experience; it will be loud and hopefully busy there. I would never discount showing him at Regionals, I'll have to see where he fits in best. My hope would be that I could do a bit of everything with him, but my preference is to spend time with my bunch of friends at my kind of shows. We are a close-knit group who support each other and just have the best time. A couple of my "champ show" buddies are going to join us at the regional; just a shame it's so far or we could all have gone! 

As you can see, Zavi's head is looking better again, but now we have a severe left ear malfunction 😁 ... seriously no, I'm not worried! His coat is coming through beautifully, and I'm sure by the time of the regional that he'll look pretty decent! (No, I won't be going with expectations, especially knowing which litter will be just a week short of 6 months and who will probably be handling them.)