Posts filed under ‘HWV Extended Family’
Belatarr Babies in the ring.
The Belatarr babies had another excellent show weekend, and all in blazing sunshine too…
First up on Saturday was Django who was awarded Best of Breed at the 3-day benched Royal Cornwall Show – another award previously bagged by his father 3 years earlier, and Django’s 6th consecutive Open Show BOB.
Following his win, and whilst seated on his bench, Django played host to a pretty much non-stop array of well-wishers (including brother Otis – Belatarr John Coltrane!) and fans, old and new, all of whom he was very happy to have provide their stroking/tickling and patting services…. although the continual attention, stifling heat and 4-hour wait combined to ensure that he was utterly exhausted by the time the Gundog group finally rolled around and he spent much of the time lying flat out on the grass in the Group ring whilst other Gundog BOB’s gamely trotted up and down.
One lovely show day was followed immediately by another and whilst Django snoozed his Sunday afternoon away siblings Billie, Gryphon & Charlie went into action at the Three Counties Championship.
Now 19 months of age the Belatarr youngsters are firmly up amongst the big boys and girls in Post Graduate. Charlie Parker & Gryphon went head to head, as usual, in a competitive Post Grad dog class and Gryphon (Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie) bagged 2nd place, with brother Charlie a solid 3rd. The judge was very keen to see Gryphon again to consider him for Reserve Best Dog, and waited for as long as she could, but to due *logistical complications* he was, unfortunately 5 mins away in the car park at by that time, and so sadly it was not to be…
The judges critique read:
“A soundly moving dog with many attractive attributes, excellent harsh coat, balanced front and rear angulations, deep and long ribs giving the correct body length, topline firm and held on the move.” Eileen Hughes
Sister Billie (Belatarr Mahalia Jackson) proved to be our biggest star of the day, though, and took an excellent 1st in a tough and large Post Graduate Bitch class.
Her critique read:
“It was difficult to separate the first two quality bitches. I preferred the firsts length of body and her coat; correct head and body proportions, good tight feet, very good topline and tail-set, she moved well.” Eileen Hughes
In the bitch line-up Billie then went head-to head with a previous Crufts Best of Breed winner (who had been called back after being placed 2nd in Open Bitch) and Billie emerged victorious to be awarded a terrific Reserve Best Bitch. An excellent day’s work, team!
Billies Three Counties wins.
Boston Championship Show Win.
Charlie in the ring at the Boston Championship Show.
Another great outing for young Belatarr Charlie Parker today, taking 1st Junior Dog & then Best Dog and Reserve Best of Breed at the Boston Championship Show under Stephen Hollings – excellent work, as ever!
Belatarr Year-End Round-Up.
2012 has been quite a landmark year for us here at Belatarr – Mingus gained his first CC in May and then managed to break his toe just hours before the Welsh Kennel Club Championship, resulting in a long and worry-some convalescence which was only completed at the end of October.
Django’s handsome brother Milo came back to stay with us for 4 weeks in Nov/Dec and proved to by an absolutely delightful boy who immediately fitted in to the pack as if he’d always been here, whilst he and Django had endless daily fun and games together:
The family together – Left to right – Milo, Django, Mingus & Phoenix.
Meanwhile our young pups have gone out and made their way in the world. Thanks to the sterling efforts of David & Jenny (with Charlie Parker) and Irene (with double-funster twins Billie & Gryphon) all four of the Belatarr show-pups qualified for Crufts, and all had significant wins at both Open and Champ Show level through the year.
The Midland Counties Championship was our last big get-together where a very substantial entry of Wires was present for breed expert Rachel Thompson to judge. We had a lovely, and highly successful show, with the Belatarr clan eventually achieving 1 x 3rd place, 3 x 2nd places and 1 x 1st place. This was Mingus’ comeback show, following his broken toe (and a definitely-not-yet-ready-for-the-ring-again effort at Darlington!) and he took a highly respectable 2nd in Open Dog, beaten only by this years Crufts Best of Breed, whilst Charlie won his large (8 entries) and highly competitive Junior Dog Class. Charlie’s excellent critique was a further source of pride for all concerned:
“Pleasing well balanced yearling. Lovely head and expression with good furnishings. Clean neck into well assembled front. Lovely proportions in profile with strong rear. Topped off with a coat of good colour and texture. Covered his ground with ease.”
Charlie & Jenny in action.
This great result proved to be just the start of a roll for Charlie, however. Just a few weeks later, at the Huntingdonshire Canine Society Open, he won 1st Junior AVNSC and then took best AVNSC, beating several top adult HWV’s, including one recent HWVA Best in Show winner along the way…not content with that victory he then went on to take Gundog Group 1, a phenomenal day, especially given that 12-month-old Charlie & his handler Jenny had never even been to a dog show just a few months earlier!
The show year finished on another high as Billie (Belatarr Mahalia Jackson) took 1st Open & Best of Breed under Gavin Robertson at Yeovil & District Open on 3oth Dec. On the very same day Charlie was back in action too, this time at the two-day Luton Canine Association Premier Show, where he was 1st Junior HWV and went on to take another Best of Breed, beating a large entry including the years’ top-scoring HWV puppy (now also in Junior) as well as the Open & Post-Grad HWV winners along the way. Fabulous work!
In Mid-November Django and sister Ruby (Belatarr Nina Simone) trekked over to Hampshire in order to be hip-scored. Their results came back a few weeks later and exactly matched each of their parents – 5/5 for Django, the same as Phoenix, and 4/3 for Ruby, the same as Mingus. Django has had a pretty full-on and energetic puppyhood, which has perhaps resulted in a little additional wear & tear, but both scores are pleasingly under the breed average and represent the final test for the success of this litter.
A quick mention too of the Hungarian Wirehaired Viszla Club of Great Britain Breed Specific Seminar that Tim attended. Scheduled for the day after the Midland Counties Champ Show, and presided over by Crufts judge Lindsey Townsend, this proved to be a really excellent, well-organised and highly enjoyable day which attracted a very large attendance. The afternoon was dedicated to an exam and the writing of a highly detailed set of 5 (full-A4 page) critiques, and, a week later, Tim was delighted to learn that he had successfully passed the Seminar, nicely in time for his first confirmed HWV judging appointment.
Belatarr Litter Reunion Mega-Post!
A few weekends ago we had a very exciting not-quite-Birthday-Party day for the Belatarr babies, and 9 of the 12 pups (all minus Charlie, who was on hols in France, Ella, who was in season & Otis, who was working) returned back here to their birthplace for a wonderful reunion afternoon.
The Wire Gods were definitely smiling on us all that day since we somehow managed to stage it on what was the only sunny & dry day that we’d had for weeks, and, indeed it feels like it’s been raining non-stop ever since then too…
Cakes & snacks were eaten (by humans… and very probably by puppies too), everybody had a good chance to compare puppy notes and catch up on wire-chat, and, most importantly, much highly excited puppy play was undertaken (on land and in water) as a whirlwind of bouncing, swimming, chewing and hurtling was unleashed!
For us it was also quite wonderful and a source a great pride to see the boys & girls back together and all now grown-up into such beautiful, confident and happy young dogs. We were struck by how lucky we were to have found such lovely and loving homes for this first Belatarr generation – and huge thanks, once again, to everyone for bringing their pups to the reunion.
Tim’s camera unfortunately managed to conk out early on in the proceedings, so we are extremely grateful to Marcus & to Emma (thanks guys!) for kindly both sending on their many pics of the day, some of which are included here.
Belatarr Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker will always be a very special boy to us – he very nearly stayed on as part of our pack, and it was a considerable wrench to part with him, and a very emotional time when he left us for pastures new.
He now has a wonderful life with his new family of David, Jenny and (very importantly!) big brother Oz the Lab, who definitely takes a leading role in teaching young Charlie the ropes. This extremely handsome boy now looks uncannily like his dad, Mingus, and will also be the first of the Belatarr Babies to hit the show ring – very exciting for all concerned! Many thanks to David and Jenny for allowing us to share these fabulous pics of their boys:
Charlie & Oz hit the beach.
Aged 5 months.
The team!
Rewind back to 3 and a half months old, and Charlie meets snow for the first time.
Finley – Belatarr Art Tatum
We’re extremely lucky to have the very handsome Finley living approx. 2 miles from us here at Belatarr HQ. This means that, right from the get-go, we’ve been able to see lots of him. He and his brother Django (along with their parents) have enjoyed many romps together as well as both having been obedience trained by Tracey and her team over at Puppy Gurus, just like their parents before them:
Finley arrives home.
...and re-arranges his furniture.
Settled into his new bed.
Christmas!
It's a tiring life...Finley takes to the new sofa - the one that he wasn't going to be allowed onto 🙂
Another favourite snoozing spot.
Growing up.
Finley, now 5 months old, takes a seat at the kitchen table.
Who can resist!
Belatarr Babies update Pt1.
Since the Belatarr dozen will be 6 months old this coming weekend now seems like a good (and extremely overdue!) occasion to post some of the wonderful shots that pup owners have very kindly shared with us over the past few months:
Otis – Belatarr John Coltrane
Otis (in the foreground) out with his new Cornish Vizsla family.
Otto – Belatarr Dave Brubeck
Otto at 6 months.
Digby – Belatarr Oscar Peterson
Billie – Belatarr Mahalia Jackson
Billie at 5 months.
and at 6 months of age.
…and back at 10 weeks.
Gryphon – Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie
Gryphon (left) looking very Mingus-y, with sister Billie
Gryphon at 10 weeks.
Billie and Gryphon aged 5 months.
Brother & sister settled into their new home together.
Milo – Belatarr Thelonius Monk
Milo back at 3 months of age.
Django update.
It’s been ages since we’ve had a chance to update the blog and a mountain of pup images have accumulated over the last month or so, so this update is definitely long overdue.
At the ripe old age of 4 months Django is now very thoroughly integrated into the pack and into our daily routines. Like his parents he’s incredibly affectionate and, if anything, even smarter and quicker to learn than they were. Ringcraft and Obedience training both started a few weeks back and, as with everything else, he’s taken them in his stride. Confident, calm & ever-curious would probably be his key adjectives right now, as he explores his world and we take him on his little daily adventures in the garden & river and, just occasionally, the beach too:
Django, hunter-of-voles, stalking his prey.
After a few tentative first introductions to water (not helped by him plunging into an icy pool one freezing day at the beach) Django now shares his parents love of water and excitedly heads for (and into) the river on his short morning walks. He also regularly demonstrates his HPR qualities and likes to Hunt, Point & Retrieve whenever the opportunity presents itself:
On point.
...and again - no vole is safe!
At the riverside.
Managing to keep dry-ish at the beach.
A rare trip out into the garden with mum - who's usually too fast for Django's young joints.
Ever attentive!
Retrieving a gull wing at Crow Point.
...and retrieving a stick from the river.
In profile.
Unlike the rest of the UK we've only had a light dusting of snow, but it was still something new for Django to experience.
Django & Mingus absolutely adore one another and when all the fun, games and training are over they often snuggle up together on the sofa.
Puppy Portraits: Week 5
THE BOYS
Mr. Grey.
Mr. Indigo.
Mr. Green.
Mr. Red & White.
Mr. Red & Blue.
Mr. Blue.
Mr. Brown.
Mr. Red.
Mr. Black.
THE GIRLS
Miss Orange.
Miss White.
Miss Yellow.
SHOTS FROM THE WEEK
Miss Yellow at large.
Mr. Black snoozing.
Mr Grey, with his voluminous ears.
First taste of chicken wings.
The ever-popular hide-away den.
Overspill.
Father & Son.
The aftermath.
Mr Grey snoozing (again) this time upside-down.
Puppy cuddling.
Chew-Chew.
Week 2: Pup-update.
An eventful week for the Belatarr Babies:
Day 10: They doubled their birth weight.
Day 12: They started to walk, like wobbly spiders.
Day 13: Mr. Blue & Mr. Red were the first to open their eyes, everyone else more-or-less followed over the next 24 hrs, although they certainly can’t yet see and so tend to keep their eyes closed almost all the time.
Day 13: They hit 1KG each with only 50/60 grams difference between the heaviest and the lightest – so, all 12 are now pretty much identical in weight for all practical purposes.
Day 14: They all had their claws cut for the first time (that’s a total 216 claws!)
Day 14: Ears opened.
Also, due to some difficulties with instantly recognising which colour was which, (something that became increasingly important as the pups started trotting around much more speedily!) three puppies have been re-branded, so Miss Pink will, from now on, be know as Miss Yellow; Mr. Magenta becomes Mr. Green; Mr Purple morphs into Mr. Red & White (or candy-stripe, if you prefer) – we promise we won’t have to do that again! so without further ado….
THE BOYS
Mr. Grey.
Mr. Indigo.
Mr. Green.
Mr. Red & White.
Mr. Red & Blue.
Mr. Blue (with tongue just peeking out).
Mr. Brown.
Mr. Red.
Mr. Black.
THE GIRLS
Miss Orange.
Miss White.
Miss Yellow - waving.
SHOTS FROM THE WEEK
Pile o' Pups.
Peaceful Mr. Green.
Mr. Blue shows off his handsome ears.
Snuggled.
Brother & Sister.
Miss Orange flumps out.
Team A hard at work.
Everyone with Mum.
All very organised.
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 