Jam got into the Westminster Kennel Club Masters Agility Trial!!!!

I am beyond excited that Jam and I will be competing at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Agility Trial on February 13, 2016! 

This trial is limited to dogs that have their Masters level titles, both MX and MXJ, and only the first 330 dog's entries were accepted.  As far as I know, Jam is the only Weimaraner that will be competing there.

Jam competed in the Westminster Kennel Club Show in 2013 and strutted her stuff in the conformation ring.

Jam is GCH Grayhart's Purple Haze, CD, JH, MX, MXJ, CGCA, SD, VX, Pet Partners Therapy Dog.

Flashback Black Friday 2009: Trixie for Banana Republic

In honor of Black Friday, here is Trixie's Black Friday ad for Banana Republic in 2009. Her image was on the Banana Republic website and in all their stores, from giant posters to POS displays, for just one day, that big shopping day after Thanksgiving, promoting cashmere sweaters. Probably my favorite pic of my girl and taken by noted photographer Richard Phibbs. Trixie is CH GraytSky's I'm Not Really A Waitress, CD,RN,AX,OAJ, V, BROM.

Jam at the Keystone ESS Agility Trial

Jam, GCH Grayhart's Purple Haze, CD, JH,MZ,MXJ,CGCA,SD,VX, competing at the Keystone English Springer Spaniel Agility trial in Master Standard. These awesome photos are by Rich Knecht.

Jam stars in Lane Crawford department store Christmas video

Jam, GCH Grayhart's Purple Haze, CD,JH,MX,MXJ,CGCA,SD,VX, starring in international department store, Lane Crawford's Christmas video appearing on their website.

Jam new MXJ Title!

Jam earns her 10th MXJ leg at the American Chesapeake Club agility trial at Paws N Effect in Hamden, CT, to finish her MXJ, Master Jumpers with Weaves title!!!!

She is now Jam, GCH Grayhart's Purple Haze, CD, JH, MX, MXJ, CGCA, SD, VX!!!

New MX title for Jam!!!!

I am so proud to announce that Jam earned her MX, Master Standard title on November 6, 2015, at the Irish Setter Club of America Agility trial held at Gloucester County Dream Park!  It takes 10 perfect runs to earn this title.

Jam is now GCH Grayhart's Purple Haze, CD, JH, MX, AXJ, CGCA, SD, VX, Pet Partners Therapy Dog.

Jam has been rocking the agility ring!

Jam has been busy this fall competing at the Masters level in AKC agility.

We have gotten much more consistent as a team and our "Q" rate has risen tremendously.  She finished her MX, Master Standard title last weekend at Dream Park and the same weekend, earned MXJ, Master Jumpers with Weaves legs #8 and #9! It takes 10 qualifying runs to earn each Master title. She now only needs one Jumpers leg to complete her MXJ title.

She also qualified in both Master Standard and Jumpers on Sunday, giving her a Double Q! This is her first Double Q and counts towards a MACH, Master Agility Champion title, which takes 20 double Qs plus 750 points, which are seconds under the standard course time. 

New CGCA titles for Jam, Savi and CeCe! Plus other big show news

Me with Savi and Jam who were melting from the heat.

It's been awhile since we've updated the blog and have so much news to share but that will come in time.  Last weekend, the Grayhart crew was in Bridgewater, NJ for a 4-day show circuit.  Sunday was the prestigious Westchester Kennel Club show with all-breed judging and announcing by the famous David Frei. One of the wonderful things they offered was free CGC (Canine Good Citizen) and CGCA (Canine Good Citizen Advanced) testing.  

We were so proud of our three Grayhart girls, my girls, Jam, Savi and her daughter CeCe (owned by KellyAnn and Chris Kwiatek and co-owned by me), who passed this real-life AKC Community Canine test with flying colors! The test was conducted under the busy show tent with lots of dogs, people and distractions and the dogs have to work without treats or toys.  Now we can add the CGCA title after their names!  We did have a group photo taken and cannot wait to see how that turns out.  

KellyAnn and the beautiful CeCe

Jam is GCH Grayhart's Purple Haze, CD, JH, AX, AXJ, SD, VX, CGCA

Savi is CH Grayhart's Shear Genius, CD, SH, OA, OAJ, NSD, NRD, VX, CGCA

CeCe is CH Grayhart's Almost Famous, BN, RN, RL-1, CGCA

From the AKC website, here is information about the CGCA test:

To earn the CGCA title, the dog must:

1. be registered or listed with AKC (AKC number, PAL, or AKC Canine Partners number) and,
2. already have a Canine Good Citizen award/title on record.

Dogs must pass all 10 items of the test to receive the CGCA title.

1. Dog stands, sits or lies down and waits under control while the owner:
   • sits at the registration table and fills out paperwork, or,
   • if the test is done in the community, dog waits while the owner sits and has a snack or visits with another person (e.g., at a park)
2. Walks on a loose leash in a natural situation (not in a ring) -- does not pull.
   • left turn
   • right turn
   • stop
   • fast and slow pace
3. Walks on loose leash through a crowd:
   • at a show or in class, this item is tested in a real crowd, not in a ring
   • in the community, dog walks on sidewalk, through a crowd at a community fair, park, on a trail, through a busy hallway, etc.
4. Dog walks past distraction dogs present; does not pull.
   This item may be tested along with #3 if there are dogs in the crowd, etc.
   • at a show or class, dog walks by dogs waiting in the crowd--dogs 2 ft. apart
   • in the community, dog walks by other dogs on a trail, sidewalk, in a hallway, etc.
5. Sit -- stay in small group (3 other people with dogs).
   Owners and dogs are in an informal circle/square while owners have a conversation.
   Dogs are all on the owner's left side, on leash; 3 ft. apart. (At least 30 seconds)
6. Dog allows person who is carrying something (backpack, computer bag, etc.) to approach and pet it.
   "May I pet your dog?" (Item is placed on floor/ground before the person pets the dog)
7. "Leave it." Dog walks by food and follows owner instructions, "Leave it."
   This can be food placed by the evaluator on the floor or ground in a food dish with a wire cover as in Rally.
8. Down or sit stay -- distance (owner's choice).
   Dog is on 20--ft line, owner walks away with back to dog, picks up an item (e.g., backpack, training bag, clipboard, folder etc.) placed on the floor/chair/ground by the evaluator and returns to the dog.
9. Recall with distractions present (coming when called). Handler goes out 20--ft. **(off center) and calls dog.
   Dog is on the 20--ft. line from #8 above.
   
10. Dog will sit or stand stay (owner's choice) while owner enters/exits a doorway or narrow passageway. Owner calls dog through door when ready.
    Owner may also choose to:
    1. send the dog through first and have the dog wait for the owner, or
    2. the owner may choose to have the dog go through the doorway at the owner's side.
    Whichever method is used, the dog must not pull the owner and must be under good control. Think of the handler having the leash in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.
    Doorway or gate can be real or simulated with ring gates, two chairs, or a natural passageway (e.g., entrance to trail) in the community.

Savi in the New Nationally Airing Chase Banking Commercial!!!!

Savi was one of eight dogs hired to co-star with master trainer, Joel Silverman, in a commercial for Chase Banking.  We worked with Joel years ago when he hired Trixie to star in an IAMS commercial and he loved our Weimaraners. Owned, trained and bred by me, Savi, CH Grayhart's Shear Genius, CD,SH,OA,OAJ,NSD,NRD,VX, has star power!

A behind the scenes video was created as we were filming the main commercial and shows more of Savi doing her thing.

Jam earns her 5th MX leg with a 4th place!

After a long time without qualifying in agility, I was thrilled to have Jam not only qualify but do it with a placement on a very challenging course.  In a large 24" class at the Schooley's Mountain Kennel Club Agility trial, only four dogs qualified in Master Standsard and Jam was one of them. She ran the course in 59 seconds and the Standard Course Time was 70 seconds. In general, she has been running well however, her handler has been a member of the one-little-thing club.  We've been working hard on perfecting our runs and it is finally paying off.  Jam is run with speed and enthusiasm and we are having a ton of fun - Q or no Q!

To earn the AKC Master Standard or MX title, a dog needs to have 10 qualifying runs.  At the master level, a run must be perfect to qualify so no refusals, wrong courses or time faults are allowed. Jam is halfway to her MX title.

J-C Pups: 8 week and final stacks!

With the conformation evaluation and temperament testing completed, we have matched all these lovely pups to their new homes.  We could not have been happier with this litter, one of the most consistent and typey litters we have produced.  

Miss Purple will be our keeper and she not only a beautiful package but full of sass.  

J-C Pups: 7 week stacks

Our Holiday litter out of Chaz and Jam are maturing beautifully.  At 8 weeks, we will do the final conformation evaluations by respected Weimaraner breeders along with the Avidog Puppy Evaluation Test (temperament test) and use this information to decide which home each puppy will go to.

J-C Pups: The Holiday Litter Six Week Stacks

We began stacking the Holiday pups 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 continue to take our weekly stack shots of the Holiday 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 thrilled with how promising this litter looks and amazed at the consistency. The pups have lovely breed type, nice bone, angles and balance.

J-C pups day 25 - Puppy Training

The Holiday litter continues to thrive.  They all weigh around 5 lbs which is amazingly consistent, a rare thing to have them all the same size. The pup love to play and as seen above, already have terrific focus and held their positions while I took photos.  We've started litter box training by adding wood pellets (safe, non treated) to the whelping box to encourage them to do their business on the wood pellets instead of the fleece pad.  Starting in the whelping box will make their transition to the litter box in the puppy pen easier.  They will move to their new digs in a few days and have luxury accommodations right in our living room.

The pups have spent almost a month in our family room where they have been exposed to all kinds of sounds, a number of different surfaces and toys.  We completed the BioSensor Early Neurological Stimulation exercises last week which we did along with Early Scent Introduction.

Once the pups turn 4 weeks and make their move to the new pen, we will continue to introduce all kinds of new things and many visitors to help create sound, healthy puppies.

J-C Pups Day 23: Weimaraner Wrestling Fun!

The Holiday pups have grown by leaps and bounds since our last post.  They see, hear and are interacting with each other as well as their human family.

Savi's Pheasant Hunt

On Monday, we were thrilled to be invited on our first pheasant hunt at a picturesque, private farm in Dutchess County, NY. The weather was unseasonably warm, around 40 degrees and partly sunny. Savi, who has never been on pheasant and also hasn't had any formal training since she completed her Senior Hunter title two years ago, was just beyond amazing in the field.  From the start, she immediately went into full hunting mode, searching for the pheasants and strategically covering ground by quartering, working the wind and picking up scent. 

 Pheasants can be very challenging for the dogs as they are fidgety, tend not to hold in position and  run.  Savi had a fantastic day, found nine birds, although our group had only bought six.  Unfortunately,  my hunting partners were off their game and missed all but two of the birds.  Savi was rewarded for her work and had two lovely retrieves.  My friends, who had never hunted with her before, were quite impressed with her awesome nose and how well she listened.  Savi had solid points, even on walking birds and was tenacious in her tracking them down.  A few times, she went on point and we couldn't locate the bird.  I would release her to relocate and she would only move a few feet before going on a staunch point.  The old saying, "Always trust your dog" was the theme of the day and after scrutinizing the area where Savi was looking, we always found the bird, sometimes 20-30 feet in front of us! She hunted with style and enthusiasm, which we all marveled at, for three hours before we called it a day and a fantastic day at that.

 Savi showing off her agility skills!

 Savi going to retrieve her first rooster - it was a big one!

 Savi, beautiful on point!

 Savi was on an intense point and we finally found the hen about 20 feet ahead in the pine trees!

 The corn fields made good cover for the pheasants.

Savi on point

A truly fun and productive day in the great outsdoors!