Flashback Friday

So anyone want to guess who this is?  We'll give you a hint - Jay took the picture...

The Tall and the Short of it

I am not going to go into all the nuances of the AKC Standard - to see the in full go here.  Remember to come back {wink}

The opening remarks in the Standard are on general appearance.  It addresses that the GSP is a versatile hunter and all-purpose gun dog who has keen scenting and that are highly intelligent. The GSP was developed to hunt fur and feather over land and water - he should be able to point, trail, and retrieve any game his person chooses.

A GSP is a medium sized dog - boys 23-25 inches at the withers (shoulders) and girls 21-23 inches.  Now I'm going to state my opinion on the next section and I know it will not be popular with some...  The next part of the standard states 'Deviations of one inch above or below the described heights are to be severely penalized.'  This does NOT mean a 26 inch boy is fine nor that a 24 inch girl is - it says they are to be severely penalized!  

Now before some of you call for my lynching I will state here and now, as I have numerous times before, my foundation is based on Malhaven Sage Grouse who was 24 inches.  She was a multiple Group winning/placing Special in Canada (#5 the one year she was campaigned), she finished quickly on both sides of the border and she produced pups that fit the height requirements and some who didn't.  That said according to the AKC standard she was outside of the ideal height.

When the proportions of a dog are correct and in balance those who are outside of the ideal range are not so noticable.  And I am not suggesting that we should be throughing the baby out with the bath water and not using a dog in our breeding programs that may fall outside the ideal range in the standard.  I do believe that we need to be mindful of that and trying our best to move forward with ones that do fall inside that range in the next generation.

I remember well showing my 22 inch girl and having one judge dismiss her from consideration for being 'too small'.  The next day the judge, from a breed who was also dealing with bigger is better at the time, praised her for being correct.  Both judges are entitled to their opinions however the first judges assertion that this girl was too small when she stood at the middle of the ideal is a little scary to me and speaks to the trend at the time and in that area of girls that were at the top of the standard and over being more promenient in the ring.

The Sage's

Finally got the photos up!!!

I never imagined it would be so hard to pick just one dog to highlight in this the first post of the new schedule. But what better place to start then at the beginning? But there are 2 beginnings - mine with Am Can Ch Malhaven Sage Grouse and Jay's with Am Can Ch NMK's Bruneau River Sage JH...

Betty's turn - The very first photos I saw of Sage (AKA The Grumpy Granny for her iron paw in raising pups) were of her being stacked by her breeder, Karen Ibbitson - Malhaven, at 10 weeks and I knew she had to come home to me. She stole my heart in that photo and kept it safe for all her short time with me. She was 10 1/2 when we made the painful decision to let her go with dignity.

During her time with me Sage had Rodney Remin, her co-owner, on the end of her lead for most of her career. 16 weeks after her first litter she went Group 3 in tough competition with the judge stating 'she is a little soft in the loin for me'. I wish someone had gotten the look on her face when she was told she was 16 weeks out of the whelping box. She was shown just a few times after her second litter. Her first time back in the ring was with an entry of 35 GSP for a supported entry weekend. She picked up a Group 1 and Group 2 losing only to her son Andy.

More important than any of that was her love of hunting... She had a drive that was unbelievable. At her first hunt test at 9 she was taken out of the bird field by her handler, Jay, so the bracemate had a chance at finding birds. Funny thing was the bracemates handler had scoffed at the line when he saw the 'showdog' heeling calmly to the line. She blew off that line before his dog had gotten started and never let up. That was just how she did things 110% all the time right up until the end.

She leaves a legacy of sound, birdy dogs who are devoted companions that do whatever is asked of them giving 110% just like her.

Jay's turn - Sage came into my life as a small puppy and from that day on she changed my life in so many ways. She was officially known as Am Can CH NMK’s Bruneau River Sage JH or to those who knew her well Sadikis. She was my first champion and junior hunter and also produced my first homebred Champions Coke, Cupid (Names) and Am Can CH Bruneau Rvr Dnt Ms A Thing JH Missy. She always loved the field and birds and one could never ask for a more intense point or heart in the field. She was my first dog I trained to be completely broke and we had too many wonderful days in the field to name one.

 

As for the show ring she put up with my inexperienced attempts stacking her and gaiting her up and down the curb, way more than she needed but did love to pull me on the bicycle for miles! On the road to her American championship she was shown mostly by Bob Perry with her friend Carol Chadwick showing her when she could. She finished with a 5 point major at Brush Prairie and a win over a top 5 GSP. In Canada my awesome wife showed her and always got more out of her than I in the ring. She finished in 2 weekends in Canada with her going WB at the first Canadian Nationals 9 weeks after her first litter - this is the win I will always be most proud of.

But of all the things Sage accomplished the most important was the making of all the friends over the years. Especially because of her I met my wife Betty and future mother of the best little boy in the world Reece. For that I will ever be grateful to Sage and her little smile (Betty knows exactly which one that is) Sage made an impact on many lives and will always be in our hearts.

Check out our still under construction website to learn more about the Sage's and others who share/shared our lives.

Structure...no seriously

Yesterday I was chatting with some friends and had an epithany (I've always wanted to say that) I thrive on structure. When I was single I always thought that I was a spontaneous type but looking back I realize that I would plan even my *spontaneous* trips etc to the last minute. So in an effort to get on track with having regular blog updates I given myself some structure and have set up a schedule both here and on my scrapping blog (you'll need to look there for that one).

So starting next week you will find the following:

Mon - I will highlight one dog or event

Wed - will have some GSP FAQs

Fri - will be flashback day where you will see photos from the past that we have accumulated over the years.