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.
New Year, New Snow.
Yep, winter's here again.
It’s been ages since we’ve updated the blog, largely because there’s not been a huge amount of activity or events to report. Phoenix’ season was on the long side, which put her and us out of action for more than a month, but was otherwise completely uneventful, with no real changes either physically or emotionally. She still seems a little hormonal (at least judging by the reactions of some other dogs) but is otherwise back to business…which lately has been the business of romping through the snow and wading through the icy river whilst balancing giant sticks/logs/entire-small-trees in her muzzle, (all clever stuff, and certainly good for building neck muscles) as the landscape is once again transformed into a winter wonderland.
Ever ambitious.
No log is too big for our gal!
Another new-ishly developed Phoenix hobby is taking the biggest & chunkiest of her beef knuckle bones with her on our hour-long morning walks. These often involve fording the river a few times and going in and out of various woods, but the bone is carried merrily along throughout, with occasional stop-offs for a good old gnaw.
Yummy.
But when the last log has been hauled out of the river, and the last vole has been fruitlessly chased down it’s burrow, there’s still nothing that Phoenix likes more than a good old snuggle on the sofa….
Cuddle.
It's a dog's life.
Seasons Greetings.
We went to the Bridgewater & District Canine Society show this last Sunday and, although Phoenix stacked nicely and moved like a dream, when the judge came to do his examination she decided she didn’t want to be handled at all, especially from behind, which lead us to think (and several onlookers to comment) that she was probably coming into season.
This was confirmed the next day she was noticeably swollen, and then yesterday, just 8 days short of her 1st birthday, she “officially” started her season, the first of her litter to do so. So far she’s completely unaffected, maybe a tad more clingy (even more clingy!) than usual, but she’s in no discomfort, is full of energy, and it’s just business as usual as far as she’s concerned, so hopefully all will pass smoothly!
Actually she’s managed to time it pretty much perfectly – the clever girl! – and we’ll only miss one last local show that’d she’d booked into as a puppy before taking a well-earned rest for most of the winter.
What's all the fuss?
Belatarr is born.
…and now the concluding part:
The exciting news that we *mysteriously* alluded to in our last post can now be revealed!
Having heard stories that applications for a Kennel Name can take many months and that applicants often need to submit 10 or more name options before one is accepted, it was with considerable surprise and delight that we received news that our 1st choice of Affix had been granted just 4 days after we applied!
So, Team Phoenix now becomes Team Belatarr…and as to why that name, well, Béla Tarr is one of our favourite film directors, his awesome Werckmeister Harmonies is certainly our favourite film, and, most importantly, like the Wirehaired Vizsla, he’s Hungarian. Phoenix came from Jane & David’s Tarndair kennel, and it also felt like we were paying homage to them with the echoed “Tar(r)”…all in all it always felt like the right name and we’re so very pleased that it was accepted.
Phoenix’ kennel name now becomes Tarndair Phoenix of Belatarr and her future little sisters, younglings and various scions will be little Belatarrs too.
So, to sum up… 🙂
Red Letter Day.
Two very happy events in the life of Team Phoenix occurred today…more details of the second, and most momentous, will be posted shortly, but for now it will suffice to say that we had a truly excellent show at the South Western Gundog Open where Phoenix again moved terrifically well, and achieved the following results:
- 1st Junior HWV
- Best Puppy in Breed (her 15th BP)
- Best of Breed (her second BOB)
- shortlisted/pulled out for Best in Show from a group of 25 Best of Breed winners, the rest of whom were all adults
- 3rd Best Puppy in Show (from a group of 14 breed winners)
Stacked in the huge line for Best in Show.
Oh, and along with 4 x soopa-doopa rosettes we even managed to bag a cash prize for 3rd Best Puppy in Show – an unexpected bonus!
The judges critique read:
“11 month old puppy with a well proportioned head and intelligent expression. Good depth of chest and correct angulation front and rear. Feminine but with a well proportioned body and well developed thigh. Level topline. Lovely coat. As her natural exuberance settled she moved very well maintaining a level topline. Best of Breed, Best Puppy and Puppy Group 3.”
In Motion.
Today was Phoenix’ 20th show…amazing to think how far we’ve all come since our debut back in Taunton on May 29th!
But much more importantly, today was also the day when everything came together perfectly, and for the first time in any show, anywhere, Phoenix really showed what she was capable of in the ring.
The scene of this happy occasion was a biggie, The South Wales Kennel Association Championship Show at the Royal Wales showground in Builth Wells. This was also the location of our first Champ Show Best Puppy award at the end of August, and today it certainly proved to be a lucky venue for us once again.
We arrived with about an hour to spare, and, both in practice and around the showground it was apparent that Phoenix was very excited and also very fluid in her movement, definitely “up for it”.
This was carried through into the ring in spades and she didn’t put a foot wrong at any stage, first becoming best puppy bitch and then, after going head to head with the winning puppy dog, Phoenix was named Best Puppy in Breed, her 3rd Champ Show Best Puppy award.
We had recently been given some detailed handling tips by a professional handler (thanks Emma!) who observed what Tim & Phoenix were doing together and made a few suggestions. The changes were seemingly small, but seem to have made a huge difference and Phoenix is finally demonstrating in the ring what we’ve been seeing in practice and at ringcraft, that she really can move very well!
After she emerged from the ring one seasoned HWV observer/exhibitor was heard to comment of Phoenix that she had “totally outmoved the rest of the class” – particularly pleasing after a number of shows where it was purely her movement that had held her back. Also, she’s always been a major attention seeker, but it was abundantly clear that she was really enjoying herself in the ring today – as was Eileen Hughes, the judge!
The judges critique read:
A well made puppy bitch, well up for size, although balanced, and with the correct length in body. Matching angles front and rear, moved truly. Best Puppy.
Just a few days before turning 11 months it feels like our gal has finally grown into her body and has, at the same time, figured out exactly what is required of her in the ring. Exciting times lie ahead!
Bird Dog.
Autumn brings lots of young game bird releases in the woodlands across the river from our garden, and a fair number of these inevitably take up residence amongst our trees and shrubs…or at least they have done in past years.
Prey.
Whilst the adult birds are quite capable of looking after themselves, and, in breeding season, regularly take on all-comers, with Phoenix on patrol the garden is now perhaps a rather less favourable place for a young and naive pheasant.
Predator.
This was borne out today when Phoenix stalked and then caught her first such game bird, delightedly retrieving the still perfectly intact poult back to Tim. Sadly a camera was not to hand to capture the occasion…Does this count as gundog work without a gun we wonder?
Best Puppy #12.
Sun Oct 4th saw us head into neighbouring Somerset for the 65th Anniversary West Country Dog Club Open Show, quite a large affair with a substantial entry of gundogs in particular.
Steely Focus.
Phoenix was awarded Best Puppy in breed, her 12th of the year. She was also following in the pawsteps of her half-brothers Leiborschy Ylai & Leiborschy Ekko who achieved the same Best Puppy result at the previous two West Country Dog Club shows. Although not a hugely memorable event in other respects we did meet up with some good HWV friends and much in-depth wire talk ensued.
Boh Selecta!
Yubaba kicks off.
We were all watching the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi) last night, which is a rather psychedelic Japanese animation epic much loved in the house. The main villain in the story is called Yubaba and she is a cross between the Wicked Witch of the North and a giant raven. Yubaba has a son, Boh who is a giant baby and when Boh made his appearance, Phoenix went barking bonkers. She had been paying close attention to the film anyway, and we assumed it was all the bright colours and possibly the Japanese language which (to her floppy ears at least) might sound a bit like barking.
This baby causes canine chaos.
Whatever it was about this giant baby, it did something to Phoenix which took a while to get over. We’re going to try her on some Kurosawa next, to see if it’s Japanese epics in particular that set her off, before moving on to Italian neo-realism and perhaps German expressionism…
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 