Presley earns her Junior Hunter title and CeCe get her 1st JH leg!

Presley, with Qualifying Ribbon #4 for her JH title!

 We are thrilled to announce that Presley has earned her AKC Junior Hunter (JH) title and is now, Grayhart's Another Star, JH.  Presley completed her JH, handled by her breeder/co-owner,  by qualifying in four straight tests with terrific scores and at only one year of age!

Presley earned her first two legs at the Nutmeg Weimaraner Club Hunt Test in Simsbury, CT at the beginning of November under very difficult conditions.  The first day brought torrential rain but that did not deter Presley as she made her hunt test debut in style by finding and retrieving four birds to hand!

Extreme conditions call for the right attire & it worked for Presley's 1st JH leg

The next day, the weather was cold with swirling winds, which can be very challenging especially for novice dogs.  Presley hunted well and found her first bird, although did not point it and after the bird flushed, searched in thick cover and retrieved the bird to hand.  There is a rule that the dog must point 50% of the birds they encounter so we needed to find another bird and have a solid point.  She did not disappoint and with only minutes left, she made game, then a solid point before she went in on the bird.  She also caught that bird and retrieved it back. Chasing and busting the bird is allowed in the Junior level but not in Senior and Master so we will have to work on her training. Two tests, two qualifications on her debut weekend.

CeCe and Presley

I also ran CeCe, Grayhart's Almost Famous, co-owned with KellyAnn, in the Sunday test and this birdy girl qualified for her 1st Junior Hunter leg.  Tough conditions with few qualifiers but our girls made us proud by bringing home those orange ribbons. Guess we could call it a double Q!

After the test was over on Saturday, we took Savi, and her daughter, CeCe, out for a run and some training on the leftover birds in the fields.  What a beautiful sight to see CeCe back her momma!  Savi has her Senior Hunter and hunting is her favorite thing in the world.

CeCe honoring her mother, Savi

Savi on point

Presley with JH ribbon #2

The weekend after Thanksgiving brought the final hunt test of the season in the Northeast with the Nutmeg German Shorthaired Pointer Club Hunt Test at Flaherty Field Trial Grounds in CT.  Things did not look promising as we had a major snowstorm on Thanksgiving eve and the ground was covered with snow and ice.  Arriving at the test, those coming off the Junior course reported poor scenting conditions and the birds, Quail, were not staying planted.  Challenging conditions to say the least.  Plus it was cold!  

We met Presley's bracemate, a handsome, 22 month old male GSP, who turned out to be a hunting machine.  They took off from the start and after playing a few minutes started to hunt.  The GSP found a bird right away and hearing the shot of the blank gun, Presley upped her game and was trying really hard tracking and hunting to find a bird.  She found a quail under a log and pointed before flushing the bird.  She did not catch it.  She continued to hunt until the judges told us time was up and leash the dogs.  Presley qualified for JH leg #3.

On Sunday, we returned to Flaherty and fortunately, warmer weather.  Presley immediately knew why we were there and once we entered the bird field, boom, went on a gorgeous point.  The bird flushed and flew away.  Presley continued to hunt and the judge complimented her on how methodically she hunted.  We then saw her make game, showing the signs she was on a bird and boom, another beautiful, staunch point and to my surprise, she was pointing a walking bird!  Presley was easily 20 yards away so I couldn't get to her in time before she broke her point to flush the bird.  Very impressive for an untrained dog to point a walking bird and hold for a good 10 seconds!  It was exciting to see her perform so well and this was reflected in her scores of 9, 10, 10, 9,

Presley will now begin training for Senior Hunter and will return to the show ring in 2015. Her owners, Bob, Meridith and I are thrilled with how well she is doing and just adore this girl.

Happy 1st Birthday to the Wonder pups!

Happy Birthday to the Wonder litter!

We can't believe these pups are one year old - the year has flown by! They are all doing well and loved beyond belief by their families.  The Wonder litter is out of Fala, GCH A GraytSky A La Fala Love'A and Jam, GCH Grayhart's Purple Haze, CD,JH,AX,AXJ,SD,VX.

A few of them have even started showing and earned titles.  The seven Wonder pups are: 

• Quest, Canadian CH Grayhart's Travelin' Man
• Presley, Grayhart's Another Star, JH (pointed)
• Siri, Grayhart's Conversation with GraytSky (major pointed)
• Zoe, Grayhart's Pretty Little Angel, CGC
• Blaze, Grayhart's Beach Stomp
• Brody, Grayhart's Master Blaster
• Ensign, Grayhart's Ebb Tide (hunting dog)

Quest is a Canadian Champion!!!

Exciting News from up North!  Quest, at only 10 months of age, is now 

Canadian CH Grayhart's Travelin' Man!  

Quest completed his Canadian championship in only three weekends of showing, handled expertly by Hailey Griffith, winning multiple Best of Breeds over specials and also multiple Best Puppy in Group wins.  Quest, is out of our Wonder litter (Fala x Jam), and is the first to title in this litter.  His littermates, Siri and Presley, have been shown in the US and both are pointed, with Siri, major pointed.  

Quest is owned by Heather Fyfe and Linda Hartheimer.  He will be shown in the US and will be training for obedience, tracking, agility and field work.

Major win for Siri!!!!

Exciting news from the Penn Ridge Kennel Club show. On Saturday, 8 month old Siri, Grayhart's Conversation with GraytSky, went Winners Bitch and Best of Winners for a 4-point major handled by Melissa Hungerford, under judge Vicki Abbott!

Siri is from our Wonder litter (Fala x Jam) and owned by Kristen Bardell and Amy Anderson (Fala's owner).  Huge congratulations!

Siri, 8 weeks

Presley wins her 1st show point!

 After a fabulous two-week vacation on Cape Cod, we returned home Thursday night, unpacked and got ready for a show the next day.  On Friday, Presley was a winner!  Presley, Grayhart's Another Star, from our Wonder litter (Fala x Jam) was Winner's Bitch, Best of Opposite and Best Bred-by-Exhibitor (BBE) at the Putnam Kennel Club under Judge Robert Robinson for her 1st point towards her AKC Championship.  This was owner/breeder handled from the Bred-by-Exhibitor class.  Presley is only 7 1/2 months old and we are thrilled with how she is maturing. She is also the first pointed pup from her litter.  I am so blessed to co-own this lovely girl with friends Bob and Meridith Voltaggio.  They also own our Savi's littermate, Memphis.

We could not stay for an official win photo or for the BBE Groups as we had to leave the show as soon as we were done to drive an hour and a half to New York City for a fashion shoot with Savi.  We did return to the show on Saturday to show, no wins that day, but we did get a win photo with the judge.  That first point is always special.  Below is a shot of Presley taken last week on Ryder Beach in Truro, MA, on Cape Cod.

Wonder litter - Six months already?

Quest, Grayhart's Travelin' Man, our Canadian pup

Hard to believe that our Wonder litter pups (Fala x Jam) are six months old already!  Actually, we are behind a few weeks as they turned six months on May 29th.  All the owners report how fabulous their pups are and absolutely adore them.

Turning six months is a big deal in our world, as six months is the official age when dogs can be entered and shown in AKC conformation shows to compete towards earning a show championship. They can also compete in hunt tests, obedience and rally trials.  Agility will have to wait as the pups need to be at least 15 months to compete in AKC Agility but for safety sake, I personally prefer to wait until a pup is closer to two years old to make sure their growth plates have closed before competing.  In class, the pups can practice and learn many agility foundation skills jumping at a lower height.

Presley

Presley, Grayhart's Another Star, made her show debut last weekend.  We've been working on getting her to stand still and stay in stack (show) position and stay for exam.  At this age, pups have the attention span of a nat so it can be a challenge to get them to stand still.  I was proud of how Presley showed, solid for the judges exam and moved beautifully on the show lead.  We had serious competition, with the bitch that beat her for the points, going Best of Breed over specials.  A great way for Presley to kick off her show career.

Siri

Siri, Grayhart's Conversation with GraytSky, owned by Kristen and Amy, will be making her show debut mid-June, handled by Michael, the owner of daddy Fala.  Both Siri and Presley are growing up to be lovely girls and we are excited to get them out into the show ring.  Quest is in training for show and other venues and will be competing in both Canada and the U.S.

Presley at 11 weeks!

Presley, formerly Miss Teal, is Grayhart's Another Star, from our Wonder litter (Fala x Jam)

The Wonder litter - 8 weeks stacks, Puppy Party & so much more!

Wonder litter 8 week stacks

The last few weeks were a whirlwind as the Wonder Pups had their Avidog Temperament Testing, Breeder Evaluation and after the Grayhart Puppy Party, have all gone to their new homes.  We will catch up on all the exciting events but just wanted to post our last stack shots.  These pups tested well as performance prospects and many of them have gone to show and performance homes as well as to Wonder-ful families as great companions.

Lucy Wainwright Roche & the Wonder Pups

What an exciting day for the 7 week old Wonder pups when our friend and amazingly talented singer/songwriter, Lucy Wainwright Roche came to visit and put on an impromptu performance!

J-F Pups Day 42: The Wonder Litter 6 week stacks

 We continue to take our weekly stack shots of the Wonder litter to see how they are developing.  It is hard to believe that they will be going to their new homes in two weeks, although our puppy families will not find out who their special pups will be until right before the puppy party.  We are very happy with how promising this litter looks.  The pups have lovely breed type, nice bone, angles and balance.  

 Cream cheese is the best!

J-F pups Day 35: Wonder litter 5 week stacks!

We began stacking the Wonder pups on Friday when they turned five weeks old. The purpose of stacking or making the dog stand in a specific stance, it to to see all parts of the dog's structure to determine if he follows the standard of his breed. When a dog is shown in conformation shows, the dog is stacked so that the judge can lay "hands on" the dog and examine him to feel his bone structure and muscular condition. We stack the dogs to get an idea of their conformation each week with the final evaluation at eight weeks. 

Conformation also impacts how the dog functions in any performance sports they may do and as we say, form equals function. A dog that may not be build correctly, could be prone to injury.  

We are very excited at how great these pups look at only 5 weeks and look forward to seeing how they develop.

J-F Pups Day 35: The Wonder Pups are 5 Weeks Old!

The Wonder pups are growing likes weeds and spend their days eating, sleeping and playing. They are weaned from Momma Jam and eat kibble three times a day and have to say, they literally dive into their food, no table manners for these pups! They now engage with each other as well as play with a variety of toys including a tippy board which didn't faze them a bit and some of them think it is a spring board to jump off of onto the pups in the dog bed!

 

The pups have been using the litter box 90% of the time, making cleanup much easier. They adore the dog beds and sometimes they nap in the crate. It has been a busy few weeks for the humans with a trip to California, where we saw Bravo, from our 2010 Clay x Trixie litter, so not much time to update the blog but as you can see, lots going on with the Wonder pups.

 The Wonder pups had a busy social schedule on New Year's Day, with old and new puppy people visiting. The Voltaggio family, who owns Savi's littermate, Memphis, (Clay x Trixie) and will be getting a girl pup from this litter, came in the morning to return Savi, who had been staying with them for 3 weeks. The pups were amazing with their small children who were very upset they could not take a pup home that day. Our good friend, KellyAnn made her weekly visit and brought CeCe, 7 1/2 months old, (Parker x Savi) to see the pups. CeCe was mesmerized and the pups were adorable reaching through the expen to engage her in play. The Hochberg family joined in on the fun in the afternoon with their three older kids, trying to guess which adorable pup will end up as part of their family.

CeCe was mesmerized by the puppies and kept play bowing and trying to engage them.

 The pups have become expert kissers and lap dogs!

 The pups now have sharp little needle-like teeth and no body part, especially toes are safe!

 How many pups will fit on a lap?

J–F Pups 4 weeks: Wonder Pups Weimaraner Wrestling

J-F Pups Day 23: Potty Box Training

The Wonder pups had a big weekend.  They moved up, literally to our upstairs living room to the big puppy pen which will be their home until they leave to go to their new families.  They had more firsts, at three weeks we began feeding them weaning formula, they experienced their new pen which has rubber flooring and xpen (metal) sides and their first crate!  The pups are learning to use the litter box that is filled with wood pellets.  The wood pellets act as kitty litter, absorbing urine and attracts the pups to do their business on it, is easy to clean and safe if the pups decide to sample the pellets.  We use a cement mixing box to keep the mess to a minimum.  The size of the box is great as it makes the pups use their problem solving skills to figure out how to get in and out as well as lots of muscle movement.  The pups also have a big TV overhead and get to hear all kinds of noises from Saturday Night Live,  to various music and TV shows plus being upstairs, close to the front door where the big dogs bark at passersby and the kitchen.

J-F Pups 3 weeks old: First photo shoot!

 Always a challenge working with dogs but three week old pups are something else.  I have to say, I was quite happy that I managed, working alone, to get some super shots of our Wonder pups - many are truly Wonder-ful!

Mr. Orange

Mr. Orange

Miss Purple

Miss Pink

Mr. Blue