Posts tagged ‘Wirehaired Vizsla’
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!!
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.
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.
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 