It has been a long time since I've posted here and a lot has happened in the last few months.
Sinco has made the top 5 AKC Aussies in Agility and will be invited to the 2012 Invitational in Orlando FL in December. I'm very proud of this and worked hard to get there when I noticed that she was on the list as I was trying to get Feisty my Pyr Shep qualified to go. There are a lot of Aussies out there doing agility so this is really an accomplishment.
Carmine is now in Excellent B in Standard and JWW in AKC and has been trialing in NADAC and is in various levels in various classes there. She is training in obedience and herding as well. She is at her second herding "bootcamp" with our herding instructor while I recovery from my arthroscopic knee surgery to remove some torn meniscus. My herding instructor loves her personality - she says she is "very sweet" around the house (she is crated a lot there too due to her high energy levels) and she says she is making a lot of progress in herding. She is a lot of dog and I am definitely not skilled enough to bring the best out in her and I would like her to reach her full potential in herding.
Disney and I are enjoying our herding training together - once my knee is healed we can make faster progress. Our instructor things we may be ready for HT or PT in AKC by this Fall! Wow! Disney and Pam are in Open in agility in AKC and NADAC and Level 3 in CPE. They are working on Freestyle and hope to create some routines for that.
On July 9th both Sinco and Salsa were spayed. These were difficult decisions to make and Myra and I discussed it over the months. Salsa's structure is not as ideal as we thought it would be and to breed quality performance dogs I want to ensure we have the phenotype of good structure. It is true that dogs with poor structure can produce dogs with good structure but it is a risk because we don't really know what is there. With a good phenotype of good structure we can be sure there are some good genes in the genotype. What made it a harder decision is that Carmine has yet to come in heat and her structure is much nicer. Salsa has come in season every six months.
As for Sinco I really do want to breed only for when I want a puppy and others may benefit from the other puppies in the litter. I've been asked many times about doing a repeat breeding with Tag but personally that doesn't further my plans for keeping the line moving forward. It would be a lot of work for me to socialize and care for the puppies to not keep one for myself. It would be hard on Sinco and take time out of her trialing and training schedule. I have a lot more performance goals for her. I didn't want to have angst about her coming into heat for the national events we want to attend (she would probably come in heat in December around the Invitational and that would be a major bummer.)
So we have proceeded with having Checkers hips and elbows x-rayed and we are awaiting the OFA results. His eyes have CERF'd clear. Once we know his results we will then have Disney's hips and elbows x-rayed. The plan is if we like the results we will collect and store from either one or most likely both boys. I want to collect and store early because we all know that if we wait too long we may have serious regrets. The nice thing about the boys is that we can do that and we are not in a time crunch to breed them. It also frees them up to be neutered if that is desired. So far both boys have awesome temperaments, structure and aptitude for performance. They are very similar in temperaments and structure.
I am going to wait and see if Carmine comes into heat now that Sinco has been spayed. We are speculating that her dominant presence may be suppressing Carmine's hormones. It is much easier to have the female and find a male (albeit still hard!) than it is to find a female to lease to breed to a male. I would want to whelp the litter to raise it and socialize it the way I want. We have located a male we would breed Carmine to most likely if we decide to do it and the opportunity presents itself. I have not committed to doing it or pursued it very much since she has not come into heat. Both lines on Sinco's side have a tendency to produce girls who are "late bloomers" so I am trying not to get too concerned. I also have a lot of performance goals for Carmine so taking time out for puppies requires careful planning. I would like to get a Vizsla puppy to raise and train in the interim to expand my own training skills. So I'm in no hurry to make an Aussie puppy for myself. Pam would like a Sheltie again for her next dog. So it may be awhile and it will be good to have some sperm on ice for when we are ready...
So it has been a difficult decision to make but I feel it is in the best interests of the lines and of my life. I have my hands full and I'm in no need of a puppy myself anytime soon. I am so thrilled that all of Sinco's puppies are in homes where they are well loved for being who they are. I am thrilled that people are noticing and appreciating her puppies. Sinco has been an amazing dog for me. Sinco has taken me places that I never expected... 2nd place NADAC Champs Regular and 1st Place NADAC Extreme Games, AKC World Team Tryouts, AKC Agility Invitational, High in Trial Novice Obedience CDSP, working on AKC Novice and Open obedience titles, and working on herding titles on ducks and sheep.
Sinco has made the top 5 AKC Aussies in Agility and will be invited to the 2012 Invitational in Orlando FL in December. I'm very proud of this and worked hard to get there when I noticed that she was on the list as I was trying to get Feisty my Pyr Shep qualified to go. There are a lot of Aussies out there doing agility so this is really an accomplishment.
Carmine is now in Excellent B in Standard and JWW in AKC and has been trialing in NADAC and is in various levels in various classes there. She is training in obedience and herding as well. She is at her second herding "bootcamp" with our herding instructor while I recovery from my arthroscopic knee surgery to remove some torn meniscus. My herding instructor loves her personality - she says she is "very sweet" around the house (she is crated a lot there too due to her high energy levels) and she says she is making a lot of progress in herding. She is a lot of dog and I am definitely not skilled enough to bring the best out in her and I would like her to reach her full potential in herding.
Disney and I are enjoying our herding training together - once my knee is healed we can make faster progress. Our instructor things we may be ready for HT or PT in AKC by this Fall! Wow! Disney and Pam are in Open in agility in AKC and NADAC and Level 3 in CPE. They are working on Freestyle and hope to create some routines for that.
On July 9th both Sinco and Salsa were spayed. These were difficult decisions to make and Myra and I discussed it over the months. Salsa's structure is not as ideal as we thought it would be and to breed quality performance dogs I want to ensure we have the phenotype of good structure. It is true that dogs with poor structure can produce dogs with good structure but it is a risk because we don't really know what is there. With a good phenotype of good structure we can be sure there are some good genes in the genotype. What made it a harder decision is that Carmine has yet to come in heat and her structure is much nicer. Salsa has come in season every six months.
As for Sinco I really do want to breed only for when I want a puppy and others may benefit from the other puppies in the litter. I've been asked many times about doing a repeat breeding with Tag but personally that doesn't further my plans for keeping the line moving forward. It would be a lot of work for me to socialize and care for the puppies to not keep one for myself. It would be hard on Sinco and take time out of her trialing and training schedule. I have a lot more performance goals for her. I didn't want to have angst about her coming into heat for the national events we want to attend (she would probably come in heat in December around the Invitational and that would be a major bummer.)
So we have proceeded with having Checkers hips and elbows x-rayed and we are awaiting the OFA results. His eyes have CERF'd clear. Once we know his results we will then have Disney's hips and elbows x-rayed. The plan is if we like the results we will collect and store from either one or most likely both boys. I want to collect and store early because we all know that if we wait too long we may have serious regrets. The nice thing about the boys is that we can do that and we are not in a time crunch to breed them. It also frees them up to be neutered if that is desired. So far both boys have awesome temperaments, structure and aptitude for performance. They are very similar in temperaments and structure.
I am going to wait and see if Carmine comes into heat now that Sinco has been spayed. We are speculating that her dominant presence may be suppressing Carmine's hormones. It is much easier to have the female and find a male (albeit still hard!) than it is to find a female to lease to breed to a male. I would want to whelp the litter to raise it and socialize it the way I want. We have located a male we would breed Carmine to most likely if we decide to do it and the opportunity presents itself. I have not committed to doing it or pursued it very much since she has not come into heat. Both lines on Sinco's side have a tendency to produce girls who are "late bloomers" so I am trying not to get too concerned. I also have a lot of performance goals for Carmine so taking time out for puppies requires careful planning. I would like to get a Vizsla puppy to raise and train in the interim to expand my own training skills. So I'm in no hurry to make an Aussie puppy for myself. Pam would like a Sheltie again for her next dog. So it may be awhile and it will be good to have some sperm on ice for when we are ready...
So it has been a difficult decision to make but I feel it is in the best interests of the lines and of my life. I have my hands full and I'm in no need of a puppy myself anytime soon. I am so thrilled that all of Sinco's puppies are in homes where they are well loved for being who they are. I am thrilled that people are noticing and appreciating her puppies. Sinco has been an amazing dog for me. Sinco has taken me places that I never expected... 2nd place NADAC Champs Regular and 1st Place NADAC Extreme Games, AKC World Team Tryouts, AKC Agility Invitational, High in Trial Novice Obedience CDSP, working on AKC Novice and Open obedience titles, and working on herding titles on ducks and sheep.
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