Freedom!
Now that Mingus is getting on for 5 months old we are finally able to start taking him out for slightly longer walks, and this week – for pretty much the first time – we took Phoenix and Mingus for a few trips out together, resulting in much jollity and frolicking all round (a week of non stop sunshine certainly didn’t hurt either!)
Yippee!!
Huzzah!!
The pack also expanded this week with the arrival of Tim’s son Fred who was down for the Easter Hols., and who, as ever, was seamlessly integrated into the wolf/human hierarchy as we all hit the beaches and the moors.
Mingus, Phoenix & Fred in action - skimming stones at Lyme Bay, Dorset.
Mingus at Scorhill, Dartmoor.
Mingus, trying out the "stately whilst chewing an old bone" look.
With Adam at the Scorhill stone circle.
A big pile of snooze at the end of the day.
Home Show.
Rather belated this, but back on Saturday Feb 20th Tim and Phoenix went along to the Ilfracombe & District Canine Society Open Show in Exeter. This was significant because the Ilfracombe & District Canine Society is our own society, where we go for ringcraft, and where we’ve made many doggy friends (of the four and two-legged varieties).
The graduate class being judged - Phoenix is on the far left.
The show was also significant for a couple of other reasons – it was Tim & Phoenix’ one and only chance to “warm-up” for Crufts, and it was also the first time that the show had put on classes for HWV’s.
Phoenix being placed 1st, still on the far left.
A very successful and enjoyable day was had, Phoenix showed really well, and was awarded 1st Graduate and Reserve Best of Breed. Several seasoned observers commented that it was the best they had ever seen her show and singled out her movement as being particularly good, which it certainly was….ironically though it was her poor movement that was to let us down a few weeks later at Crufts, so much for warming up!
These pictures were taken by and are used with the kind permission of Denise Stanton from the Society. Many thanks Denise!
Stacked for the judges critique.
The Graduate, redux.
A big week for little Mingus as he graduated from his Puppy Gurus course with flying colours and managed to complete all of his obedience and command tasks to complete perfection, receiving his first rosette to mark the occasion.
Steely focus.
He had (rather unkindly!) earned the nickname of “class swat”, with all the envious/seething/delighted (delete as appropriate) puppy owners willing him to mess up and miss a command, to make their own dogs look better…but they went home disappointed (all saying that they “wanted a Mingus” too!) and our lad was, as ever, a complete joy, ending the session with a not-half-bad show stack – his optional extra exercise.
Mingus having a paddle at the rivers edge.
The assumption was that we’d been training 24/7 with him, but actually 5 mins a day was all it took, so keen is he to be trained (well, to be trained and to earn chicken chunks.)
One of the great things about positive training is how much the dogs absolutely love and look forward to be asked to do something (anything!) – they’re always completely eager and totally up-for-it.
Rhododendron barbatum - all a-glow.
In completely unrelated news…the utter devastation to many of the evergreen trees and shrubs in our garden, (wrought by the official coldest-Devon-day-ever-recorded) has been tempered by the re-appearance of the earliest species Rhododendrons, which are now merrily flowering along with the primroses, hellebores, daffodils etc.
And another gratuitous Rhododendron-in-the-rain shot.
Meanwhile, Phoenix has her own projects to be getting on with.
Crufts + Puppy Progress.
Time for another long overdue update…
First up, last weekend saw our very first trip to Crufts! We’ve never previously attended as spectators, let alone exhibitors, so it was with much excitement and some trepidation that we ventured with Phoenix to the show-of-shows to take our place in the big ring alongside 74 other HWV’s.
Phoenix stacked for judging at Crufts.
In the end Crufts proved to be pretty much like any other Champ Show (albeit with adjoining vast arenas stuffed full of every conceivable canine related product and thronging with punters.) The actual dog show element of Crufts seemed to pass by most of the general public, which resulted in lots of space and a remarkably relaxed atmosphere.
Phoenix was in Special Junior Bitch class and despite our concerns about her slightly jumpy, hormonal, post-season demeanour (which has seen her pull away from the last few judges who examined her rear end) she stood beautifully. Sadly her movement was not so hot (blame operator error…) and we were awarded 2nd Place, which does mean, though, that she’s automatically qualified for Crufts 2011.
Unfortunately our in-house photographer failed to produce much that was usable to document the day.
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Mingus - 16 weeks Head Shot.
Meanwhile, back at HQ, young Mingus has come on in leaps and bounds – often quite literally so. Advice from Tracey at Puppy Gurus saw us relocating his cage to be right beside Phoenix overnight and an immediate good-nights-sleep for all was the result. In fact he’s never failed to sleep right through the night ever since – yippee!
At the grand-old-age of 16 weeks Mingus has now perfected all his Puppy Gurus obedience training moves and will be tested this coming week. He’s also picked up all the basics of ringcraft incredibly well and just loves being taken along for training where he struts his stuff with the big dogs – leading one very experienced Champ show judge to comment this week that Mingus was: “Just amazingly good!” He has proven to be vastly easier and quicker to train than Phoenix, although a large part of that must surely be down to us knowing roughly what we’re doing this time around!
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Mingus - Called to attention on the common.
Mingus’ utterly delightful, affectionate, calm and polite nature never fails to charm everyone who he meets. Today on a socialisation trip around Torrington Common he hooked up with a wide assortment of walkers and their dogs, from Labs to Cockapoos to Spaniels to Scotties, all with great waggy success.
As was the case with Phoenix’ puppyhood we’re also now back in the land of “he’s got big paws – he’s going to be a big dog,” together with the usual (sometimes rather surreal) attempts at playing Guess The Breed – today’s examples being:
1) Labrador
2) That Dog With The Ridgeback (that would a Ridgeback Madam)
3) Newfoundland (see below)??!!
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err....Mingus? (apparently!)
So that’s where the last month has gone…
Shockingly it’s been over a month since our last update…slapped wrists all round…we blame pressure of work and puppy juggling… so we’ll now attempt a potted history of the last month-in-the-lives-of Mingus & Phoenix.
Twin engine.
Firstly, like Phoenix before him, Mingus has been busy at his Puppy Guru’s training classes, the third of which is coming up in a few days. His initial foray into the class was undertaken with some trepidation (but then he was only 11 weeks old at the time and hadn’t yet started getting out and about to meet and greet) but since then he’s really got into the swing of things and is incredibly quick to learn and easy to train. We’ve mastered come, watch, sit, up, down, (plus the infamous sit-up-down sandwich) heel and wait. This week should be “stay”.
Mingus at large.
Meantime Tim took our little lad along to his first ringcraft class last week, mainly to introduce him to the cut-and-thrust of the training environment. Luckily he loved the whole experience and, of course, received LOTS of attention from humans and canines alike as well as some extremely favourable comments from several of the Champ show gundog judges who were present. He also did several pretty presentable laps of the hall in fine style,so, all in all, a very pleasing start.
Having an explore on the Common.
Back at base Tim is slowly attempting to shape Mingus’ stacking technique using the same positive training methods that (eventually!) worked for Phoenix. This time round at least one of the two parties knows roughly what they’re doing, so hopefully by the time he’s 6 months Mingus should have a pretty decent stack to show the world.
Watching the action at the Wadebridge show.
We all went to visit a dog show at Wadebridge in Cornwall last weekend in order to give Mingus more full-on socialization opportunities. Despite the cavernous venue and the many, many dogs of all shapes and sizes, he took it all firmly in his stride and trotted round with great enthusiasm and curiosity – again, receiving much attention and many oohs, aahs and coos along the way.
Ready to roll at Rough Tor.
Soggy-bearded Phoenix en route to the top of Rough Tor.
At only 12 weeks old Mingus is limited to walks of 10 to 15 minutes at the moment (so as to protect his developing joints) so he still gets to be carried once his allotted walk time is up…we did manage a quick trip to the beautiful moorland of Rough Tor on the way back from Wadebridge though, and this allowed Mingus the opportunity to splash around in the shallow river and see some horses close up. Phoenix and Tim then went for a great romp up to the top of the tor itself whilst Mingus and Adam want for a snooze in the sun back at the car….
It's all go on the dog-sofa.
Phoenix & Mingus are still very much besotted with one another, but (again, with joints and hip-scores in our minds) we’re now very wary of allowing them to play together for more than a few minutes. We currently running an alternating-dog schedule of play, walks, training and confinement which, although very time consuming, seems to be working fairly well, but can’t wait for the time that they can both hit the moors and beaches together.
Throwing a semi-point on Torrington Common.
Mingus’ big-boy cage arrived last week, so he’s now upgraded to a full-on adult-sized den, which he clearly loves, and voluntarily hops into when he wants some quiet time. He’s been completely toilet trained for a few weeks now, but still wakes up a couple of times each night, so the 3AM toilet run has yet to fade into memory (unfortunately…) That’s pretty much the only area that needs work though, in all other respects he’s a total delight to live with, incredibly affectionate and responsive and such a cutie!!
Sling Shots.
Riding in the sling on the Tarka Trail.
Mingus reached the grand old age of 9 weeks yesterday, and has been with us for 1 of those weeks, so it seems like a good time for an update. He’s settled in incredibly quickly and remarkably easily, is very eager to learn and be trained – again, the miracle of clicker/treat training works every time, in every situation – and he and Phoenix are now inseparable…
What's that about letting sleeping dogs lie?
More sofa action.
He’s almost toilet trained, and today, for the first time, he trotted to the front door to ask to be taken to the toilet – where he gets a click and training treat. After some “howl” issues on nights 2 and 3, he’s slept well for the last 4 nights in a row, and, with two night time trips out to the toilet area, he doesn’t wake ’til after 7:00AM, which is fine with us!
Sling ride.
Mindful of that vital 8 weeks to 12 weeks socialization window we’ve been taking Mingus out and about as much as possible so he can get used to all the wonders of his world. Because he’s not fully vaccinated for another 3 weeks he travels in the same baby sling that we used for Phoenix, which works fine for a while, but he’s already getting increasingly frustrated that he can’t zoom around like his big sister, and after 20 mins or so starts to get very wriggly.
Taking in the world.
"But Dad, I wanna get down and run around!"
Ultra-confident, so far he’s been unfazed by all manner of people, dogs, prams, cycles etc. etc. and travels without any concern in the cars, but was a little spooked by the traffic when we went out and about in Torrington town yesterday, so that seems like the one area to focus on.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Mingus Touchdown.
Home!
So yesterday we journeyed far (well, to Southampton) to collect our new little lad. We packed the car for every eventuality, fully expecting howling, vomiting and other bodily expulsions en route home. In the event though Mingus took it all completely in his stride and slept silently for most of the journey, with occasional moments of rousing to check out the passing scenery – a stark contrast to Phoenix who howled and screamed like she was having root canal work for the entire of her 7 hour trip home!
With Adam.
As soon as he touched down in the kitchen Mingus burst to life, brimming with excitement and joy at all the new things to explore. After wolfing down his first home meal, wagging furiously throughout, he raced around like an energizer bunny on overload…so wonderfully confident despite his all-new environment and leaving his siblings behind, a really great testament to how well raised and socialised he has been. Eventually he crashed and burned and snuggled straight into his new cage for a good long snooze – perfect!
Favourite new toy....
....definitely.
Phoenix was beside herself with excitement, but was just too boisterous to play with her new brother just yet. Mingus seems perfectly happy to sleep on his own and settles down without fuss, so the first night went pretty well, punctuated with various trips out to the toilet, but with no screaming, howling or signs of any distress…all quite remarkable!
"Yes?"
So now, after about 24 hours at Wolf Valley, Mingus definitely knows his name, and comes scampering every time you call him. He’s also mastered “sit” pretty quickly, thanks to trusty clicker and reward system. He starts his formal Puppy Gurus obedience training in just over 2 weeks, so we’ve practised a few “down” commands to get the ball rolling. Luckily Mingus seems to have an insatiable appetite, which certainly makes training much easier. He was also weaned straight onto on raw food by Mum Jacqui, which fits perfectly with Phoenix’ all raw diet too.
Sofa snuggle.
Phoenix has become less hyper around Mingus as the day has gone on, which has allowed them to interact properly, albeit under strict supervision, and even enjoy a 3-way-snoozy-snuggle together with Tim on the “dog” sofa this afternoon…
Sofasnooze
"You displease me Human..."
"Sit!"
New Kid on the Block!!
So here’s where we finally get to officially spill our very-exciting-and-not-very-well-kept secret news….
In just under 48 hrs our pack will be expanding with the arrival of….
Mingus.
His official name is Morehay Lars of Belatarr, but at home he’ll be Mingus, after the jazz legend Charles Mingus.
Mingus is one of eight puppies born to gorgeous mum Anora (Starshot English Miss for Morehay). With a Zöldmáli sire and a Ragnolds Dam, supremely elegant, wonderfully fluid in movement and with the kindest of temperaments, Anora is also highly successful in the ring – where we’ve been watching her all through last year. She is without doubt one of our very favourite HWV bitches in the country, and so we were thrilled to be offered the option of pick of her first litter.
Mum - Anora.
The Judges Critique after awarding Anora Best of Breed at Bournemouth Championship Show 2009:
“where has this beautiful bitch been hiding, has elegance in spades, very feminine in outlook, lean head, good ratio between skull & muzzle to give that all important elegance & dignity, kind eye of good colour complemented by a super coat in both colour & texture, enough bone for a bitch & neatly constructed to stand easily over her ground on catlike feet, very well handled, elegant on the move, moving on a long, even stride that was deceptively ground covering.” – Chris Guest
Although we were initially looking for a second bitch to accompany Phoenix, when we first visited this litter at 4 weeks of age, we were overwhelmingly drawn to Mingus.
First meeting with a snoozy, 4-week-old Mingus.
A second visit at 6 weeks confirmed that he combined pretty much everything we were looking for in a pup….a perfect coat, lovely head and very promising shape – he even seemed to quite like being show-stacked for examination, quite a miracle in one so young!
Mingus at 6 weeks.
The gang - in "off" mode.
Mingus and his sister Love - both destined for the show ring...but not right now!
So, not long to go now until our worlds are turned upside-down with a whirlwind of training, chewing, yowling, sleep-loss and general cuteness overload all over again – hurrah!
All new arrivals come with stamp of Phoenix approval.
Antarctica.
Last night, or so we’re reliably informed, was the equal coldest night ever recorded in the UK, with temps dipping to minus 22C or thereabouts, the same as at the South Pole. Here in “balmy” Devon we dropped to minus 14C, easily cold enough to have potentially devastating consequences for some of the rare trees, shrubs and bamboos that inhabit our garden….we won’t know what damage has occurred until Spring, but in the meantime our bore-hole fed water supply has frozen and pipes burst, flooding the kitchen. The river has also frozen over (for only the third time in the last 25 years), we’ve had no post delivery for days and none of our cars can make it out of our entrance drive….so clearly the only thing left to do right now is go and play in the snow:
Our Valley.
Gotta Have A Stick.
Then Have a Stick Wrestle.
At the bottom of the garden.
Snow hoover.
Helping Adam to make a Snow bunny.
Finished!
1 flattened Giant Bamboo (foreground) & 12 snowy Redwoods (background)
Hock-deep in the snow.
There’s No Business Like Snow Business.
Phoenix sure does like snuffling, running, chasing and bouncing in the snow. We had the heaviest falls here for decades back in Jan & Feb 09, when she first arrived, so these recent falls must remind her of all the fun and games of her puppydom. These were a few shots taken today, before the heavy falls this of evening that have (surprise, surprise) closed all the roads hereabouts and left a lovely 3 to 4 inch fluffy white blanket over the landscape.
Snow Whiskers.
Point.
Profile.
Bounce - on the path to the woods.
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 