There's Siska News

It's day 1, she's gone 6.5 months since her last season, the shortest gap ever, but today there is blood. Now I'm excited. Lucca has gone off on his holidays today, but will be back next weekend. I doubt Siska will be ready till the last week of the month. Pretty good timing, eh! I said I wanted to get Beti to all her puppy classes, and now I will. 

On day 11 of her last season, well when we tried to mate her, Siska was on 6.6, on day 13 she was on 23.0 and when tested at the fertility clinic in Nantwich on the evening of day 15 she was on 50. So last time Siska ovulated on day 12. Unless Orin tells me differently, I'll do the test on day 11 again this time, if everything is the same then I think Siska and Lucca should spend some time together on day 12 .. and take it from there! 

I really need this to work this time I really need to continue my bitch-line through Siska, for me it's paramount not to lose Kaiah from this line.  If we don't get a mating within 36 - 48 hrs of ovulation then I'll be heading down south to use George. Lucca is my preferred stud for Siska but if needs must then so be it! 

Blanik Kanani

This has got to be one of my favourite photos of Zeus 

Wow Just WOW!

 

Pen Hafodlas

So yes, this was Sandra and Pete's cottage. She said we were all there for a party in May 2002, though Steve has no memory of being there. I wonder if he was working? Sandra said she had been back to visit during lockdown and was gutted to see it had been left like this. She said she and Pete had worked so hard on it. Pete died in February last year and Sandra lives in Groeslon, They were already in Groeslon by 2012 as I took Nico to hers for some fun training. Sandra says her heart has remained in this cottage though sadly she knows she can never go back .

I understand what it's like to love your home. This little cottage on the hill is so precious to me too. So much fun and laughter here over the years, every litter of Blanik puppies born here and every dog I've ever owned has spent part or all of their lives here, so much love and of course so much sadness and loss within these walls. Where else could I now live? I just can't imagine being anywhere else!

Zoom

Both these photos are taken from the same sport. The first was 6 weeks ago with my phone, the second today, with full zoom with the Samsung Galaxy Camera. On the top photo our cottage is to the right of the photo (as you look at it) just below the fluffy white clouds. As I said, if this camera works as it used to, nothing will be safe now! 

Three

Through the square window ... 

Lovely walk on Lon Eifion with Zeus, glad to be back on the flat, and Zeus over the moon to be somewhere new to him. As we got him out of the van he was buzzing with excitement, but didn't make a sound. Two ladies were walking their Cockerpoopdies (sorry) and one had a right go at him, Zeus said nothing. The other lady then said to her Cockerpoodie that they shouldn't look at the big dog in case it eats them. Well ... I couldn't keep my gob shut! My dog was not the one showing aggression, my dog was over the moon to be going for a walk and didn't say a bloody word. I know him well enough and I'm the first to admit he can be a twat ... but he's great with other dogs and this time he was the one wearing the halo! People with small dogs do get on my tits sometimes! I am glad they didn't meet the couple walking a Staffie, though he was impeccably behaved I'm sure they'd have had something to say about him too!

Two

My lovely Italians out and about, a super walk past Llyn Cop and down onto the "Slate Trail" path. I don't think it's a walk I'll do too regularly, unless Steve brings the van to the bottom! lol  As I said the other day, what does down, has to come back up again, and that was bloody steep! 

I still dislike the retractable leads, but as I said horses for courses and when faced with this we didn't have to turn back. I can't believe how well adjusted these two are to them already .. they are a couple of smashing dogs.

One

 

I'm just over the moon that after a hard slap my Samsung galaxy camera is working again. The photos I last took on it were of Orin, about 10 weeks old. After that the lens froze, and thought I've tried to get it to work, till last night it never did. On full zoom there is a slight dirt line in the top of the picture, but nothing like I remember. Sadly I must have binned the white one years ago, so I don't seem to have a spare battery .. Never mind if it continues to work I'll try and get one. It takes amazing photos, OK, no better than my phone close up, but with 21x zoom well, as you'll see in a bit .. nothing can hide from me now! 

The photos below are taken from a distance and really wouldn't be much good with the phone, I simply would not have got close enough. 

OMG - I LOVE this one

I Shouldn't Laugh

 .. and honestly I didn't at the time, but now I can't get the vision of Ross on his back with his legs in the air out of my mind. He looked just like a sheep who couldn't get up! I'd always thought that one day he'd break me, he just doesn't look where he's going, but today he got himself into trouble. He was running full pelt with Sammi and Beti and as they jumped the mound he missed it, he was going so fast that he went head over tails once then another half and ended up on his back on the floor. By the time he managed to get his slightly rotund self back up the girls were well gone, and of course then he had the dilemma of trying to catch up or find the kong that he'd lost in his tumble, no surprises, the kong took priority!  Of course my heart was in my mouth at the time, and I won't be surprised if he's a little stiff tomorrow, but the image in my head .. well it makes me chuckle!!! 

Day 11

Orin is getting interested in Beti. She is still with Loki but I think she's getting close to ovulation. I just have to take each day as it comes now. Hopefully she'll be Ok to take to Bath on the 24th.

Today's Adventures

Going Further

Siska's gone through the gate - just like her mother!

Talysarn lake in the valley 

Linda and I explored further on the walk from Clogwyn Melyn today. I think this cottage is where my friend Sandra lived many moons ago .. but I'm not sure so I'll ask. 

Going against everything I've ever preached about I've bought two Jenny Wren retractable leads for exploring with Orin and Siska, honestly I never expected it to go so well, they were so good on them. This has given me further free access to explore, we were walking safely through open spaces with free grazing sheep and ponies today. Obviously, there were places where we could let them off, but with these leads we could carry on and thy could still have freedom. I guess there is a place for different tools of the trade, though of course I'd never use these leads near a road. 

A comment that will remain in my thoughts regarding today ... what goes downhill has to come back up to get back! lol

Internet And Sunshine

Finally the internet is running at its normal speed. The engineer said .. "it was a simple fault in the box in the village, easy to fix?"  Then why the hell did it take 12 days???

Anyway, lots of photos have now been uploaded onto Facebook from over the last couple of weeks, and we also had fun out today.

Another New Walk

I'd passed the footpath sign several times a week for the last 30 years, but never been up it till last week. With Orin and Siska on the lead I went on an adventure, starting off from the top of Clogwyn Melyn I walked till I was looking down over Talysarn and towards the Nantlle Valley .. A nice walk with a lot of potential to go further, but with dogs on the lead I think! 

On my way back I came across a cottage, OMG in 1995 my X husband and I had looked for it when we were looking for somewhere to buy. No bloody wonder we didn't find it, but yeah, I think I'd have liked it here too. I wonder what it looked like then? 

Mark

We’ve woken up this morning to the devastating news that Mark has died. Sadly it wasn’t unexpected, but it was still heart breaking. It’s hard to know what to say to Linda, his wife, but I must try and get it right. It’s only been 11 weeks since they were informed that the cancer had returned, they really haven’t been given time to try accept the situation, let alone deal with it. Mind you is there ever enough time? 

 I first met Mark at a NWGSD Champ show, he was handling a couple of GSD bitches for Jo Douglas. I then remember standing next to him in a GSD puppy class, me with Louis and him with his Jasueter pup. We hit it off and the rest … well I guess you know! 

 Mark was a huge fan of Blanik and a wonderful friend. He gave his time, help, advice and handling without quibble or question and often beat me to BOB with one of my own. He loved the Blaniks but I guess Asha was his favourite and on a couple of occasions after the judging he “accidentally” put her back in his car instead of my van! 

 Mark enjoyed showing, handling and judging GSD but I guess his main passion in the dog world was his Rough Collies … and along with the love of his life, Linda, they shared a lot of success. Life can be so damn cruel, heartbreaking. Sending heartfelt love to my dear friend Linda and family, who are devastated at their loss. RIP dear Mark .

Seasons

Beti came in season last Monday, (6th of May) bless her she couldn’t have timed it much better as we now have no shows till the end of the month. So after a bath .. we’ll still hopefully be able to get her to Bath! Orin is still taking a lot of interest in Siska and her wee, I’m checking her everyday as Beti being in season may bring her in earlier or just confuse Orin! 

Siska always seems to take her time in the build up to it .. but with Beti hormones flying, who knows! Lucca goes on his holiday next Sunday, he is away for a week .. so as long as she hangs on a few days then we will be OK. As Lucca is a maiden dog, if we have no success with the mating within 36 hrs of ovulation, then we will be off to visit George. He is a proven sire and happy to help if need be!!!

The National

The National dog show was spent in sunshine with friends. I drove the first 90mins on my own before picking Linda up to make our way down to Stafford. It was an easy journey, with no hold ups, but it took a lot longer to get home, Friday traffic and OMG it was hot. With my CD player playing up I must admit I didn’t enjoy the drive home! 

 Orin managed a credible 3rd in limit, with the CC winner taking the first place. Yeah I was OK about that. Siska outshone the other Blaniks and was second out of 10 in limit bitch, I was over the moon with that. I guess her performance on a “loose lead” suited this judge, a judge who had years ago given her mother BOB. 

 Whilst I’m happy with Orin’s third, and more than happy with Siska’s second I was disappointed with Beti’s placing. She was 3rd out of 4 in puppy bitch. She gave a faultless performance, and yes I’ve double checked that on video, and to me she looked very much the part. To be honest, it was my opinion that only the second bitch in the class was close competition, but there you go, the game we play!

I Remember The Day Too Clearly

12 months without Kaiah, and the 11th of May went past without internet access, maybe it was for the best that I was not able to sink further into the pain of the day. I had no access to Facebook memories and I distracted myself with visiting mum and spending time with my lovely dogs. Hell, I didn't expect others to remember, but I’d been dreading the day so much, maybe also hoping that afterwards I’d be able to take a step forward to normality. Have I? We’ll see.

My Thoughts

So having read that article, we all agree that the strength of my stud dog comes from his mother? Sammi says "but of course!" I guess we've always known that to succeed we need a very strong female line, and we try and find a male bred on the same criteria, mated to quality bred bitches then quality progeny will be produced. But I have to admit I've concentrated more on the line of the stud dogs sire, to see what he has pruduced than that of the mother! 

Not all the females who have been to Orin have been showstoppers, but they have all been well-bred and there was no reason why they would not produce quality progeny. I do feel Orin has "improved" on some of the bitches in the progeny, but it's more likely that his bloodlines combined with her hers has produced the quality, it's not just down to him and his breeding. To date, in my opinion, Orin has produced better female pups than males, so does that mean he is a "dominant sire?" Maybe early days, but lets hope he's given the opportunity to prove his worth to the breed.  

So now as I consider and reconsider my breeding plans I will look far more at the mother line of my chosen stud dogs. Of course his sire and bloodlines are important to me but taking on board the information in this article, then it's best I concentrate on the combination of Siska and Zinderella (Lucca's mother) and then look at Grizzly, not as an after thought, but not as the priority. Being a Zitan daughter, Zinderella is very well bred ... but now I will study her mother line far more too. With Siska's seasonal timeline being unpredictable then hopefully I have time to look and study further. Being honest, and not mentioning names, there are other stud dogs that I've dismissed because I don't like a parent. Maybe I was wrong to dismiss the one with a plain looking sire and glamorous mother then? But to date he has not produced anything I like. There is no doubt we see grandparents in our youngsters, only last week the owner of Kaios messaged to say that Beti is so typical of her grandfather ... but I also see her mother and Orin in her and Abbie ... and Polly, well it's Nico again, or maybe now we should think that it's Kiara his mothers stamp coming through? 

When chosing a stud dog or buying a puppy I've always said look further than the animal it's self, look at the parents and beyond, look at the pedigree, do your bloody homework and then you'll have more idea what you're going to get. More often than not the pups don't really resemble the parents, though the female generations of Ziva, Sammi, Kaiah and Siska were pretty obviously related, as were Nikki, Seffe, Krizzie and Tali. Asha was different, and seem to take after Kai's mother Ginger, but mating her to Robbi did bring back a darker tan and saddle. So for me for going forward conformation that keeping my bitchline stong is paramount, but intoducing stud dogs who have also come through from strong bitchline breeding. The strength of the sire is the power of the dam. 

The strength of the sire is the power of the dam

How To Become A Top Breeder By Barbara Andrews 

The strength of a kennel is in its bitch line is absolutely true but that also applies to the bitch line behind any successful sire. I could use up 50,000 fancy words telling you how to become a top breeder but the whole truth is in that one simple sentence. If this were a textbook, it would lead you through step-by-step lessons designed to build layer upon layer of knowledge so that you would really understand the opening sentence. None of you are beginners so you need only to read that sentence and follow along here. 

You could buy dozens of dogs and try all the fancy methods but unless you understand and apply that maxim, you would surely go back to knitting or whatever creative thing you enjoyed before you decided to compete as a breeder. You could study genetics until you were so conversant with terms like genotype, phenotype, and homozygous until you became convinced that you knew all there is to know about how to breed great dogs. Having done all of that, your mind would be filled with so many details you just might overlook the most important one. While the males bring a breeder glory, it is the bitch that sustains a breeding program. The strength of the sire is the power of the dam. 

I said that on our Akita "demo tape" during the eighties and some people said that it helped them realize where those magnificent males came from. Once they had viewed legendary dogs like Sachmo, BigSon, and Widow-Maker, they replayed the tape and thought about the message. It was subsequently repeated in my books and has been widely quoted. The problem for some students was that the lesson was just too simple, for others it was a lack of scientific reference. For those who rely on statistical data; Bill and I are owner-handlers who don't "network", have no dogs at public stud and keep fewer than four breeding bitches, yet we've had over half of the Akita Hall Of Fame Producers including the #1 and #2 Sires and Dams. All of our Top Ten Producers broke existing show records and set new ones, most of which still stand today. The basic formula has also enabled us to breed top winners and/or producers in three other breeds so it is not just a trite saying; we know where the power is and how to use it. You can do likewise. Everyone wants a shortcut today. Here it is. In the sixties, we noticed that most "dominant sires" produced greater numbers of outstanding bitches than they did sons. My mentor, Dorothy Gooch of Skyraider Dobermans, had planted a seed that grew into a belief. The more I asked other breeders f these "genetic rules" applied in their breeds, the more convinced I became that it was indeed the dam of a great sire who passed through the most important breed characteristics. Taking it a step further, I observed that a stud was only as good as the bitches he served unless he was extremely dominant, in which case it was his daughters that would earn him a reputation as a great sire. Sachmo became the Top Sire of all Working Breeds having sired only 41 litters in his lifetime. All these many years later there are still those who correctly remember him for the long list of ROM bitches he sired rather than the 101 AKC Champions in the record books. It is flattering to be quoted but it is immensely gratifying to be proven right by measurable means. Now, through scientific advances of the nineties, aspiring breeders can really understand what "the strength of the sire" means. Now we may be able to prove much of what top breeders previously only "knew". Most people agree that the bitch has the greatest influence on a litter. The rationale has always been that it is she that nourishes and teaches the pups but we now have the technology to prove why she contributes so much to a breeding program. I’ve always been fascinated by differences between dog breeders and livestock producers. The latter have exhaustive data on hardiness, weight, and reproductive ability (qualities not to be overlooked!) because cattle, pigs, chickens, etc. are an economic crop. Dairy farmers pretty much know how many gallons a heifer will produce at maturity based more on the dam's record than on the herd sire. We who breed companion animals have had to muddle about without the economic incentives that spur great scientific advances. Now from the Thoroughbred Industry comes news of a genetic revelation. It is believed, and soon to be proven, that the female passes on intelligence and physical attributes through something called the "X Factor". I was surprised to learn that the X chromosome is actually much larger than the Y (male) chromosome. Perhaps that is why it carries such a heavy genetic load! The female, or X chromosome, is responsible for most of the highly desirable characteristics for which dog and horse people strive. If a mare gets the magic double X, she is even more empowered to reliably produce outstanding progeny, including great sires. What we dog breeders have learned from each other, geneticists are finally confirming. So knowing that, how does one reach the pinnacle of success in dogs? There are two roads. The shortest route is buying and campaigning a great male. The other is buying a great bitch and using her wisely. It depends on whether one wants instant or long term gratification. Both goals are equally important, especially today when it takes a sizeable budget to mount a successful campaign. A person may have to choose which goal is most satisfying because rarely is a person able to do both nowadays. The sport is healthy because there are dedicated fanciers who present outstanding breed specimens created by the most talented of breeders. It is a wonderful partnership. With all the gnashing of teeth about over-population, less is going to have to be more. If you have discovered that your forte' is study, nurturing, and creativity, then put your money and time into a great bitch that comes from a line of great bitches. She may become a ring star herself, maybe not. You will have to think carefully if she is of a late maturing breed. The question of whether to breed her first or show her first is always a tough one. But one thing is as certain as anything ever is when it comes to genetic formula, if she is from a line of powerful bitches, she'll surely give you males that not only win, but with a little luck and planning, they can pass her "x" gene on to your next generation of bitches. "The Strength Of The Sire Is The Power Of The Dam." Aw shucks, we always knew that, we just needed the geneticists to confirm it.

Beti On Holiday

A lovely night away with Beti. She was confident and happy in all situations. She slept till 3am when she jumped on the bed and we had a cuddle .. she then got off again but gave a single bark when someone left their room at 6am. I got up before 7am and took her for a walk around the acres of land surrounding the services which were 30 mins from the show ground, and 3 mins from the M74. I had been getting worried that she hadn't peed since mid-morning in Wales, but she finally went about 7.15 am the next morning. Why do bitches do this eh? Nowhere is clean enough to wee!!!   

Beti's lack of training and over enthusiasm, along with my poor double handling abilities lost her the class on the day.  I totally agree, the first female was far more mature for her age and gave a better performance. Beti seemed to be doing more of a training round to be honest, but we are not blessed with enthusiastic youngsters to help us with our training. I'm actually not in the least bit bothered that she was less mature, to be honest, I think she's at the right stage of development for her age, we don't need them "finished" at this age do we!

second bitch, again a bitch of ideal size and weight. Very good expression, very good body proportions.Not quiet as well-developed as the first bitch at the moment, not quite as tidy over the croup line standing. She is a very good mover with a lot of energy, probably too much energy which can be eased back ........ a very good female with a lot of quality.

No idea what he says after "Eased back," so stick your headphones on and figure it out for me please? 

Abbie

Beti's sister Abbie who is at home in "Pinchmill." Emma doesn't show and has no interest in showing but she has tried to let us see who Abbie is. If all is well, we may pop over to see Abbie and Zoe on our way home from Bath at the end of the month and get photos of both. From her description, Abbie is a much bigger bitch than Beti, and she does have better colour. My only criticism is that she needs to drop into her hindquarters a little more, as many of them do with maturity .. (i.e Loki here!) I have to say the females of this litter have really turned out well but baby B is still the one for me! 

Scotland And Welks

 We've packed our bags and Beti and I are heading off to Scotland later this morning. We are staying at Abingdon then tomorrow morning will take the 30 min journey to the venue at Strathaven. I last attended this show, Clyde Valley GSD Ch Show, with Dexi so yeah many moons ago. Over the years I've travelled a lot to the Scottish shows, SKC, WPBS, Breed Champs Shows, and Kelso for Border Union, now that one is a killer to do in a day. We did them all in a day, sharing costs and driving pretty much as we do now.

I just had to buy this photo of Beti in the ring at WELKS last week. Isn't it a cracker! Only one foot on the floor, and it is only the foot and not the rear pastern! This weekend will be a very different style of showing, maybe my last other than the Sieger. I think, certainly for now, I'll be sticking to general Champ shows with Beti and Orin. 

Going AWOL With Orin And Siska

I left a dry Fron and ended up getting a soaking walking on the Lon Goed. I didn't even have a coat but it was raining all the way from Penygroes to Porthmadog. Still it didn't matter, this was a lovely walk, a new one for us and less than 10 mins drive off the main road. Though soggy underfoot, the whole place was beautiful ... I will be going back!