Favorite things

Jam - pure enjoyment!

 The dogs have many favorite things but raw and smoked bones top the list.  I call them doggie pacifiers or babysitters, especially when earlier in the week, we had torrential rainstorms and tornado warnings so taking the dogs for a run was out of the question.  The bones also have the benefit of keeping their teeth clean.  We love the smoked bones from Paws Up On Health , who we see frequently at dog shows and agility trials, and raw bones from Wholistic Paws. , which has two stores in our area.

 Trixie in a chewing trance...find a comfortable dog bed and chew to your hearts desire or until Mom takes it away.  Sometimes the dogs play musical bones, since your bone must taste better than mine.  Fortunately, they are pretty good but we always keep a close eye as we do not want any fights or choking incidents.

Savi tries to fit the whole thing in her mouth...notice she picked the most comfy spot in the house, the king size bed!

A Special Debut for Bravo

Bravo and handler, Deb Hopkins, with Judge Christine Hubble

Bravo, CH Grayhart Crescent's Bravo, (Clay x Trixie) made his debut as a "special" in the breed ring and won back to back Best of Breed honors.  These shows were majors in Weimaraners so he won two of the three required majors towards his Grand Championship title.  Bravo is only 15 months old, still a youngster, so he will be selectively specialed in California while he matures.

Congratulations to Bravo's owners, Jay and Ron, on these exciting wins!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from Jersey, Grayhart's Goin Someplace Special,JH (Zeke x Trixie) and baby brother Bryce!

Debbie and Sky's Trip East - Part 2 - Downtown and The Beach

Of course, Debbie and Sky's visit included a trip (or 2) to the beach.  The girls (Sky & Mia-belle) had a blast running around.

Mia

Mia

Sky on the letf, Mia on the right

Mia in the front, Sky in the rear

We also got to take the girls downtown for a nice walk...and a few pictures:)

Mia

Sky

Two tired puppies!  Sky on the left, Mia on the right

Debbie & Sky visit Jessica & Mia-belle

This is a guest (pirated) post from Jessica's blog. I love how many of our Grayhart puppy people are truly a family and have forged lasting friendships.

Debbie and Sky's Trip East - Part 1 - Tracking

We were thrilled to have Debbie and Sky (Grayhart Lightfoot Early Morning Rain RN, TD, JH, NSD, V) come to Wilmington to visit for a few days.  Of course, the majority of our time was spent doing all kinds of fun dog stuff including....tracking.

Mia and me getting ready to start our track

Article indication - Mia has been taught to lay down when she finds articles.  She then gets rewarded from me.

On the scent

Debbie and Sky are working on TDX so Sky's tracks were aged 2 hours.

After the girls tracked, we let them romp around in the field.  Mia especially enjoyed playing with the soccer ball she found.

Our second day tracking

Good girl Mia

Debbie laid a track for Sky that went into some woods making it a little more complex.  Sky did great!

We also got to spend some time in historic downtown Wilmington and the beach, of course.  Pictures from those adventures will be posted later.

Beach Bum

 Bravo, CH Grayhart Crescent's Bravo, (Clay x Trixie) keeps in fabulous shape by playing on his private beach in Northern California.

 A different kind of reach and drive or should we say, reach and dive!

 Ready....

 Set....

 Go!!!

 Back for more fun...

 All that running around on the beach makes for a happy, tired puppy.

Beautiful Bliss

Bliss at 15 months

Our Alaskan Princess, Bliss, Grayhart's Launch My Line, is growing up to be quite a beauty and we look forward to seeing her and owner, Jen Boyd, in person at the WCA Nationals in Ohio next month.

Breakfast at Tiffany's or Diamonds & Dog Treats

Savi on location getting ready for her closeup

Savi, the new face of Tiffany's!!! Savi & Trixie did an awesome job modeling...the perfect combination, grey dogs and a little blue box.

 Waiting for the shoot to start, we hung out by the famous backdrop of the Flatiron Building.

 Savi and Trixie, the ultimate professionals, hit their marks and waited patiently without complaining.  Many tourists stopped us, asking for cuddles and kisses and the girls were happy to oblige.

 Supermodels and superweims!

Safely across 5th Avenue in their 6 inch heels...beauty and grace...Trixie is an old pro and showed Savi the ropes of hanging out in NYC and working with the models, crew and photographer.  I was proud of how well Savi held up for the long day of filming video and then staying focused for still shots with the many distractions of city life going on around us.

Trudy's offical win photo - NBKC show

Trudy, Grayhart's Special Reserve, Winner's Bitch, handled by her co-owner/breeder, for her 7th point at the New Brunswick Kennel Club Show.  Her littermate, Mason, Grayhart's Daily Special was Winner's Dog and Best of Winner's, a winning day for Grayhart.

GSWC Hunt Test Weekend

Hanging out with Junior test judges, Frank Luksa & Lou Manipelli.  Savi was along for the ride.

We were away this past weekend for hunt tests at Freeland Kennels in Weatherly, PA.  These are terrific grounds with wooded pine areas which open onto large fields.  Lots of great cover for bird planting and excellent grounds for the dogs to run and hunt on.  One of my favorite things about these grounds is that the clubhouse sits on a hill overlooking the Senior and Master birdfield and is the perfect vantage point for viewing all the action.

Saturday's test was hosted by the Pointer Club of Central New Jersey and Sunday's test was hosted by my club, the Garden State Weimaraner Club (GSWC). The Pointer Club hosted a delicious judges dinner on Saturday night.  As the Hunt Test Chair for the GSWC and that means that I was in charge of everything related to the test which started many months ago: from hiring the judges and gunners, securing the grounds, applying to the AKC to get approval for the test, preparing the premium, buying the birds, managing the helpers and hospitality....plus a zillion other small details.  My hubby was the Hunt Test Secretary and all the entries went to him and he took care of all the paperwork the AKC requires for the test.  All in all, a very big job and I'm happy to say, we had a successful event, with forty entries, lots of qualifiers and everyone had a great time.  I was lucky to have wonderful club members who came out and helped plant birds (Peter, Mary & Peter), got handlers to the line (Michelle and Lilly) and sold a delicious breakfast and lunch (Jack, Marilyn, Lilly, Joline) plus our talented club photographer Michelle who photographed all the qualifiers. We also had a special treat for everyone who entered - a one pound bag of Natural Balance dog treats - thanks to Natural Balance and Kellyann for this greatly appreciated donation.  A heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped!

At the GSWC test, we had a good number of Weims entered in the Junior Hunter level and Jam was in Senior.  People commented how nice it was to see more Weims getting back to field work and I agree.  Lots of talented dogs from many of the pointing breeds were represented and our gray ghosts held their own.  It was a jovial crowd and very welcoming for all the novices, who felt comfortable asking questions and learning from more experienced folks. 

Jam was entered in Senior Hunter both days but did not qualify.  Her and her bracemates had great honors in the back course and made it to the birdfield.  Unfortunately, those darn Chukkar just wouldn't stay put and challenged us.  Jam received high scores of 9 out of 10 in hunting and trainability and compliments from the judges so I was pleased with her runs.  She is soooo close to qualifying and we just hope it all comes together at the next hunt tests.  

An exhausting weekend of travel, working and running dogs but well worth it.  It's also important to note that without the help of active volunteers, none of the dog clubs could put on successful events like this.  Yes, it's hard work but it is important to give back, especially when we enjoy and enter tests/shows/trials put on by other clubs.  If you haven't volunteered or stepped up, it's time to pay it forward...

Jam's Open Debut is a Double Q!!!

Jam, aka CH Grayhart's Purple Haze, JH, NA,NAJ,NSD,V, (Parker x Trixe) had an awesome debut in Open agility with double the fun with her qualifying in both 24" Open Standard and Open Jumpers With Weaves!  She got what we agility folks call a "double Q" and is pretty cool.  She also earned 2nd place in each class with her terrific runs, earning a leg in each and getting some new toys to take home.  Next agility trial will be at the Weimaraner Club of America Nationals, where we hope she runs just as well and possibly finishes her Open Agility titles.  Trixie will also be running at the WCA Nationals in agility. 

We look forward to seeing all our Weim Agility friends from near and far at the WCA Nationals in Ohio!

Gorgeous Custom Braided Leather Leashes

Trixie modeling a show lead of black/taupe braided onto a black nylon show collar.

 We have a new business and will be selling these gorgeous, custom made, twisted leather leashes.  Samples of the numerous leathers available for these twisted leather leads. Choose any color combination or solid. The most popular lengths are 3 ft ($25) & 5 ft ($40), 1/2 inch width, but others lengths and widths as well as matching collars and show leads are available.

These are high quality leads that wear beautifully and soften with age. You will get compliments on them wherever you go.  You can see a whole album with these leads here: Leather Leads Album

 We be selling these leads at the Weimaraner Club of America Nationals next month in Ohio but are happy to take special orders and ship in the US.  Feel free to email me with questions.

The black/pink with white edging lead matches Trixie's Mod dog collar perfectly

Jam wore her black/pink lead for the Delta Therapy dog test

Memphis in his chocolate/orange lead

CH Marshall

Marshall, CH Grayhart's In From the Storm, pictured with Susan Line.  Owner Laura had Marshall out for fun at her club's Specialty show and wanted us to see how handsome her boy is looking and we like what we see!.  Marshall is now working on obedience and training for hunt tests.  Keep up the great work!

Follow the leader

Savi and Jam on the teeter

Not your typical agility training session...practicing the teeter with Savi and Jam did not want to be left out.  Competition in training can be a good thing, especially for Jam, who did have some teeter issues but you would never know it now, as she confidently follows Savi up the teeter.  This also helps Savi run to the end, past the tipping point for her reward.  Trixie is always at the ready to clean up any dropped treats.


My daughter just happened to be there to snap this shot.  We do not want to encourage this behavior from the dogs on a regular basis, first for safety purposes but also, they should only go on the equipment when we give them permission.  In Jam's case, we've worked so hard to get her over her teeter issues, which is a common agility issue, that now we've created a teeter monster!

Sleeping Beauties