Videos of Chase and puppies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySFNUf4kcpc

We'll see if this gets embedded from YouTube. If not, go to the above link or search for "Ebonwald" on Youtube.com and there are two videos of these two pups and Chase.

Crockett and Mitcham

I doubt Crockett will have any issues with Sharrie's rough collie when he meets him...... I'm just guessing..

GOING...........................

Going...........
GONE!!!!

Puppy Registered Names

My litter theme is "Blessed" and its my very first litter so wanted it to start with an A. I would like feedback on your favorites or any others you can think of. I'm not super creative so these were still a stretch for me :)

Examples:

Ebonwald All My Blessings

Ebonwald A Blessed Day

Ebonwald A Blessed Occassion

Ebonwald Any Blessing Will Do

Ebonwald Already Blessed

Ebonwald Acting on a Blessing

Ebonwald As Blessed As They Come

Ebonwald And Imma Bless You

Ebonwald Always Blessed

Ebonwald Always Blessed By You

Ebonwald Adorably Blessed

Ebonwald Actually Blessed

Ebonwald And I'm A Blessing

Some photos

Gosh two of the pups leave in less than a week! I need to catch up on the photo sharing! My apologies!

Here is Mitcham sitting and waiting patiently for the puppy 'waves' that kept coming at him to subside. Once it was over, he went about his business. He's so good with them!

Alamo and Ava running rampant. In all directions.
Janey popping her head out as another dog walked by the couch. She just about got him!
20 minutes into the new and improved puppy pen with litter box. I asked10 local stores about pine nuggets or alfalfa pellets and they all assured me that the pine shavings would be just fine and no mess. um......considering that I have to vacuum several times a day....and still find the shavings in every room on the main floor, including my BED, I will never use them again. Your suggestions on what to use are appreciated!
Pillow time. One of the favorite places for a puppy pile and chaos to ensue!

I couldn't have gotten this far ....

I had been gushing recently about the breed and how excited I am to be in it, with all the great Cardi people I've met and gotten to know. All the shows, the chats, the fun nights after showing.

However I couldn't have gotten this far with Cardigans if I hadn't had a great group of people locally that supported me and had my back when times were a lot rougher. These people have really been the base of why I like the breed so much. Sure its fun to see EVERYONE at the big shows a couple times a year, but the smaller shows that are in my area (upper Midwest) are the ones that I enjoy equally as much, with the 'local' group of people that I see much more often.

They make these times just as fun, with many stories, and laughter shared over adult beverages (and CAW) , shared grooming space, reservations at restaurants, prodding to enter another show so we can hang out more etc.

About 16 months ago I took lots of photos of friends at the Rochester, MN show. You'll have to check the archives for that. It was fun filled weekend with just about every 'local' person in attendance. I'm sorry to say I couldn't share the majors that weekend, but it WAS fun to get them >:)

So Wanda, thank you for taking a chance on me with Zoe. You've been there from the beginning and I thank you for your help and suggestions along the way, and for helping so much with the whelping and evaluation of my very first litter!

Rus and Sherilyn, us 'newbies' in the breed at the same time, its been a fun ride with you guys! Shows, grooming, those amazing bars (food not the liquor establishments!), grooming hints, saving space, etc. Special thanks to helping show my girls in the ring when I needed another handler!

Cindy for her help with just about everything I can think of! Grooming ideas for Mitcham, road trip to the National in '08, letting me crash at your place along the way, helpful hints for training, and the support I needed in the beginning!

Dawn for being my motivator for entering Oliver in Rally, and Sadie in Agility! Without your prodding and pushing, I probably still would not have titles on the dogs! You were a Godsend at those trials and making sure I knew what to do and where to go. I would still be wandering around lost if you hadn't been telling me what to do! She's also been great for dog sitting when I had to be away from my babes.

Lynn Stoltzman doesn't have a blog, but she was and is also a great local gal who has supported me and helped me along the way! It was great to catch up with her on Monday before I went to pick up Ell! Libby looks amazing for age 11 and Logan is a happy boy too. She and her daughter Rachel have been great friends outside of the dog world too, coming up to my place to hang out during Holiday parties and such!

Barb Peterson for showing Ell for me every time I had Zoe in the ring! She has put 8 of her points (or is it 10?) with her handling her in the ring for Winner's Bitch when I had Zoe and Ell both entered and they both won their classes! Also thanks to her for Mac, who although he didn't turn out like we hoped, she trusted me with him (and Maggie) and that is a wonderful thing. She and Steve open up their house to me every year for the Duluth show and share grooming space too.

These people above are wonderful people who I know have helped me along the way, and most importantly helped my love for showing and trialing grow. It would be a lot less fun in the breed if I didn't have these people! I"m really forever grateful.

Now.

When is the next show?! :)

For Sharrie (and weekly cutes!)

Crockett is going to live with Sharrie and Zippy at High Ridge Highlights! Here he is sporting his new Frodo ears.
Above playing in the snow. VERY BRIEFLY on the 40 degree day we had.
Above Crockett and Alamo giving their 'cousin' Chase some lovin'

Below Mitcham laying down so Crockett can play with him. He is SO gentle with the pups and always under constant supervision. The pups LOVE to follow Mitcham around. Its like he's their idol :)

contracts

I'm having a hard time wording my pet/show contracts and don't want to leave anything pertinent out, nor have unnecessary words or paragraphs in them.

If any of you have contracts you are willing to share with me, so I can read them and perhaps use some of the ideas it would be greatly appreciated!

you can email them to ebonwald@gmail.com

thanks!

Inspiration

A little history lesson on me :)

Its always a good idea to reassess what made you fall in love with the breed. About 6 years ago I started researching herding breeds of dogs. I wanted something ultimately for herding our cattle and we had had German Shepherds, mutts, Rough Collies, Australian Cattle Dogs, Border Collies and English Shepherds in the 100 years before I had dogs of my own on this farm. I remember only the last three, but there are many stories of the ones before hand that did such great work. Heck there was even an Airedale in the mix that did decently at herding cattle.

I had been looking at all of the herding breeds on the AKC website and did not want a breed with long hair. Our farm dogs had to be shaved every summer from the mats they got. Before purebred dogs (show dogs) I believed what every farmer believed. Dogs had a purpose, a job. They slept outside in a dog house, or in the dairy barn. They protected us at night from intruders (four legged or two) and were always at our side wherever on the farm we went. They didn't go in to town for shots, the large animal vet came and gave the shots on site.

Getting my own unique breed of dog was a huge undertaking. I had decided early on it would sleep in the kitchen of the house, but be outside like a real farm dog most of the time. I would of course take it in to town to get shots and it would like to ride in the cars unlike most of our farm dogs. I studied on breeds I liked. I really liked the Beauceron but was having a hard time finding any that were reasonably priced (under 1,000 dollars).

I went to our local rodeo and while I was watching bull riding, a couple of kids walked through the area with some Pembroke pups. I was immediately at their side asking questions. I went home and spent the next few days researching the breed and trying to find local breeders that I could go and visit. I was on the phone with several of them for many hours and thought this was the breed for me.

A short legged dog that couldn't destroy a house (at least not the top 3/4 of it) that had a short coat requiring little grooming (ahem) and was still ultimately a cattle dog and didn't act like a little yippee squirt.

Upon reading about them on the AKC website I found a cousin called the Cardigan Welsh Corgi. Immediately I was drawn to their look. And their uniqueness. Having vehicles, pigeons and other hobbies that were uncommon and unique I was really fascinated in this breed. I went to the CWCCA website and read everything I could. Google was my new best friend. I searched for breeders on the CWCCA website that I could visit or contact. At the time there were none in WI, ND, SD listed and only one in MN. I contacted her. She had told me she had just had a litter.

I really had wanted something originally to herd the cattle and as my interest keeping getting higher I thought 'heck I show pigeons, how hard can dog showing be?' and asked if she had any show potential pups available. Sadie came home with me a couple months later!

I learned quickly at the Fargo-Moorhead Kennel Club training classes all the errs of my ways in teaching dogs things. It was a complete 180 degrees on what I thought should happen with dogs. And my training excelled with the new direction with the help of Mary Morris, a great friend and mentor. Sadie also wormed her way into my heart and eventually the entire house was hers to claim. yes even the bed. Its amazing how different 'real' dog people think versus your average farmer or average person in the world. I digress...

I then was so excited about the herding prospect that I went and purchased ducks for her. Sadie was a natural. I started looking at small breeds of sheep as the one time Sadie DID herd the cattle, I was terrified as Sadie looked so tiny out there but she knew exactly what she was doing. That is how I got my Shetland Sheep. We all know that story, and if you don't, well I have about 85 of those sheep now :)

My very first B match show was in Mason City, Iowa. Dawn Fisher and Sadie's littermate Magic came down to play too. I was entering a world I had never really thought about, or seen. Especially not first hand. It was overwhelming. It was exciting.

Fast forward a few years. I've now done agility, rally , obedience, herding, CGC. I've gone to two nationals, and one Western Reserve, which we all know is the world's largest regional specialty. I've gleaned websites for information on the breed, always learning, always asking. I've scoured and researched pedigrees, asked for photos, asked for answers, begged to see dogs move.

While doing all of this research and question and answer time, I was always drawn to a certain 'look'. Its no secret that Cardigans, although an uncommon breed in the US, has MANY styles and looks. I collected as many old handbooks and bulletins that I could find. I read them over and over and over and over. There are not a ton of dogs that really float my boat. Before anything else I always have looked at what I feel is breed type and style. Outline. Silhouette. I was always getting drawn to the older Joseter, Kennebec, Pluperfect, Chandler lines. However this photo sealed the deal for me:

This is Pluperfect Pennyroyal aka "Clover". She is a linebreeding (mother/son) and her outline and construction here was just enough to take my breath away. This is my inspiration. I never was able to see her move, and I always feel that i got into the breed 'too late' as I wasn't able to see any of the 'greats' alive and in the fur.

Upon further research (I do a lot of it on the breed) I found this photo of Clover in the 1996 CWCCA handbook. Still breathtaking and still exactly what I think a Cardigan should look like.

Then this cardiped.net comes along and I find this STUNNING photo of Pluperfect Pennywise aka Labsheeda. Its one I hadn't seen before and wow another photo that took my breath away.
I could gush about him, but I'll let the photo speak for itself. He has so many merits I would run out of room or you would bore yourself reading it. Truly a remarkable dog.

Just over three years ago (or is it 4?) I contacted Barb Hoffman about a show potential female from one of their upcoming litters. I was really wanting a sable, but in the end, realized that construction is more important than color. I was offered Ell, and I took the opportunity. One to say I'm so glad I did! I am so thankful for that opportunity to own such a typey, lovely bitch that goes back to these two a fore mentioned red dogs.

Barb is always the one I go to for answers first, and she is a great mentor and role model and also a great friend. She's always making me look at things in a new light. When Ell's grandmother "Hannah" was awarded Best Veteran two days at the Western Reserve and one day awarded BOS under breeder judge Nancy Cunliffe, I could not be happier or more proud for such a great and wonderful breeder and friend. Her and Jon have done some wonderful breedings together and I think I'm more excited for their litters than they are, just so I can see what they have and watch them grow.

I really think watching pups grow and mature is key to understanding the breed and how they develop. Looking at old bulletins and handbooks when the now veterans were pups is really an eye opening experience.

I've got so much to learn yet, and many more questions to ask (just beware!) and I'm really excited about the breed. I hope that I can have a lasting affect on the improvement of the breed overall, even though I'm just getting started now.

Along the way I've met many other great wealth of knowledge people besides Barb and Jon. JoAnne Beashau is another mentor and one who tells me like it is. Sometimes it was an eye opener, other times it was exactly what I needed to hear and I knew it, but didn't want to accept it. Carolyn Cannon has been a great person to go to, to ask questions and pester :) Kim Shira, Denise Waiting, Paul Chen, Sarah Keth are also some of the folk not so lucky to get away from the question asking. But I think they enjoy it, or they wouldn't answer my emails and phone calls :)

Its all about learning and asking questions. I think when you stop asking, you stop learning. So in that case my questions will never cease! >:)

Thank you to ALL of you who have helped make this such a fun, exciting, friendly journey of growth for me. It really is appreciated!

Back in the saddle

Sadie and I FINALLY got back to agility training tonight in Fargo. Yes its 90 miles. One WAY. 180 round trip in the big Expedition (the focus wagon's motor blew on me last week and i'm not replacing it. the motor costs more than the car is worth).

I was pretty anxious going into the ring as I didn'tk now if Sadie would be terrible (we were bumped up three levels from our last training level) and not remember anything or go off course or something. It was actually me we had to worry about! My trainer looked at me and finally said' Garrett, gather yourself and start over' LOL. Ok note taken!

Sadie was looking really good. We did serpentine jumps, contacts (perfect on the teeter and tire finally!) and down on the table with little coaxing. We did front crosses, rear crosses, weaves, broad jumps, panel jumps, triples, doubles, singles. You name it we did it! Sadie was SUPER happy to be back to doing something.

The silliness was right before I got into the vehicle i tripped and sprained my RIGHT ankle. Remmeber I broke my LEFT foot last September? That's why I hadn't been back to class. Well that and Zoe being pregnant. I didn't want to leave her, or bring home terrible koodies or something.

I also took the pups up for socialization and evaluations by non corgi breeders. Hey they got the structure down! They all sat happily in a Cocker xpen (the ones with the grated floor) and I just put a plastic piece and blankets over the grates. They watched us and the other dogs do agility and obedience, cuddled the people and wormed their way into several hearts. One friend even asked if I had any females left available, which I sadly said no! She would have been a perfect home and does NOT want a boy. Even after all the puppy kisses!

I'm going to take Zoe and Daisy to Detroit Lakes (only 60 miles round trip) for obedience and hopefully get their CGC/TDI hopefully if nothing else.

I brought Daisy in for her OFA certifcation for her Thyroid. She was SO good in the clinic, giving hand and face licks to all the techs and happily standing amongst us while we waited for the blood to clot so they could spin it down and send it out. Now we just wait for the results!

a busy dog day. If i didn't have dogs, I wouldn't have a life :)

FINALLY! Stacked Photos (week 7)

First of all ONE HUNDRED THANK YOUS go out to Wanda Bendinelli (Zoe's breeder) and her family for coming up and having a play date with the pups. Up until now the puppies had only been fed on the table, two at a time and not worked very much with stacking. Wanda is a seasoned pro at getting pups to cooperate and I think they turned out rather well?

I'd appreciate any and all critiques on the pups. They are my first litter and I'm learning a lot as they grow on what grows at different times and such. Your opinions will help a lot!

Alamo's side (he's still looking for a perfect pet home!)
Alamo's front. Yes that's a blue eye :)
Crocket side
Crocket head
Crockett front
Janey head
Janey side
Janey front
Ava side
Ava front

All this stacking and playing with kids sure wears a pup out! Janey in the muffin tin. I guess its comfy?

Most recent Puppy Pics (Part 4)

Make sure you read ALL four parts I've blogged about tonight!

Don't the above 'big babies' look so adorable waiting at the gate? It WAS -20 when I took the photo. maybe they were just cold! This was the other day. today was nearly 20 above!

OK OK ! FOUR posts in ONE evening! Write it down! Sarah I hope this will get me forgiven for not posting in a week. Lo Siento! Below. Alamo. He is so cute. He is still looking for a forever home. So if you know of someone who wants Mr Adorable, let me know!
Below was a few days ago when I introduced a crate. I set it down and turned to get the camera and by the time I was able to take a picture (30 seconds later) they were ALL inside investigating!
First night Zoe-Momma and children were all packed in that crate. Today the whelping box got taken away. They weren't even using it anymore.

Crockett head shot. This new plastic tub was put in today. Within minutes they were all fighting for 'king of the mountain'. These were taken this afternoon.
Janey and Alamo fighting for top spot.
Janey only now half excited to get onto the tote. Ava and her posed so cute here. I wish I could get them all to sit still and look at the camera like this without rushing it!
Janey on the go....searching for mayhem.
Please.....don't.....go.....we were having so much fun.....PLEASE!....Please?

With older dogs Puppy Pics (part 3)

Mitcham and Justice. Still the best of buds....
Justice LOVES being an 'older brother' to the puppies, showing them how to play, and he is ever so gentle with them too, usually rolling over so they can chew on his face and legs and tail.
Alamo and Ava cut him off and he falls over defeated!
Mitcham trying to drink and then this 'thing' comes up to investigate. He is thinking 'if I don't move maybe she won't see me'. It didn't work!
Mitcham after several rounds around the coffee table and trying to use evasive maneuvers gives up and starts to lay down so Alamo can mouth play/ face play with him. Alamo was very persistent until he got his way and Mitcham was also much too gentle. He is only allowed with puppies under constant supervision. I think it took him awhile to realize that they are DOGS and not rabid hamsters or something. Not that Mitcham has SEEN a rabid hamster :)
I didn't get the photo of Janey on his tail and Ava and Crockett nibbling on his legs! Hey that coat took me 60 hours to groom in December! I'm not letting some PUPPIES chew it off in seconds! :)

Why I never get any new Puppy Pics (part 2)

This is why I never get any good photos......

They love socks..... and feet and toes.
Oh and pants too...

Sometimes its because they are sleeping AT my feet and not terrorizing them :) This is when they are the cutest....

Puppy Pics Part 1

Before I show you more puppy photos let's see a few of the less blogged about dogs. Here I give Penni so much grief and then I do the same thing :)

Below is Daisy one day after our one and only huge snow storm. She wouldn't stand still for me and was running around the dog pen like a crazed animal (hence Crazy Daisy). Here she is shown getting up out of a pouncing position and her tongue is hanging out to the side. I assure you she is not chubby or overweight. She is a lean 30.8 pounds and the way her coat and shadows are in the photo give her a deeper bodied illusion!
Justice today trying to be sneaky. what you don't see is a plate that has bits of cheese and tortilla chips left over from when I had Nachos at noon. He thought I wouldn't see him reaching with his giraffe tongue (that's long in case you hadn't seen one before) and I thought it was a great opportunity to take a photo. I just love his head and markings......grow mister grow! Wait..fill out mister fill out!
Alamo is the sleeper puppy of the litter. Meaning he steals your heart without knowing it. He's always cuddling and then he will take after his siblings or mother and terrorize them. Once its out of his system he goes back to cuddling. What a cute kid.
Waiting for me to play and he falls asleep waiting in the door of the whelping box....
Here is Ava chilling in the same doorway. One day there were three there, but by the time I went for my camera they were all out in the xpen screaming at me to come in and play!

More photos....SOON. My computer is dying but i might just make it!

Happy Dance!

After having to wait an additional 8 months or so due to financial reasons, I finally had Daisy's hips and elbows xrayed right around the first part of December.

I nearly had a heart attack when I got the envelope today and the GREEN certificate (for elbows) was in the window box of the envelope. In the past the blue certificate (for hips) was always shown in the window box if they passed. I swore and then, shaking, went to open the envelope. Hidden behind the green one was the blue one!! WOHOO!! :) :)

So Daisy, officially known as Merrymoon Pluperfect Panache (Merrymoon Firestorm x Pluperfect-Merrymoon Popover) is OFA Fair, Elbows Normal, Cardiac Normal, CERF Normal, PRA Line clear. (so far!! More testing to ensue) For those who wish to see the REAL certificates I've enclosed those in this entry as well :)