Taken from the Doberman Digest magazine.
My first experience with a Doberman was not a pleasant one. My brother had been given an older female named Lady. This girl took guarding her property very seriously. She would never show herself when you drive into his yard, waiting until you were out of your vehicle and halfway up the walk to announce her presence. Hackles up, making a lot of noise, I was intimidated into running for the house. After all she was a Doberman. Having owned sporting dogs I was used to dogs that greeted you with a smile and a wagging tail. .
Shortly after I was introduced to Anne Koots of Veriann Kennels. She held training classes for all levels of obedience and show. She used her male Doberman for demonstration in her classes. Over time I realized not all Dobes are cut from the same cloth. Her male was intimidating in size but his mannerism friendly and affectionate. He was a proud and athletic looking but still a very elegant animal.
My boyfriend who became my husband of 31 years, co-owned Irish Setters with me. Mike was no novice to the show scene. His parents bred English Springer Spaniels under the kennel name of Ringspur for 20 years. Cliff and Jaye Biglow were committed members of the Northern Alberta Kennel Club out of Edmonton. They showed in both obedience and confirmation. They were the first to breed a tri-colored Springer in Canada. There foundation lines came from the famous “Elmer Brown” of Waitrock kennels in California.
Our first Irish was purchased in 1974 . Although I had showed horses for years the dog shows were all new to me. Brandy was a great obedience dog. She was easy to train, willing to please. I obtained her utility dog title in 1978 with multiple High in Trails along the way. An unusual accomplishment for an Irish or so I have been told, but then she was no usual dog. During this time we were members of an all Setter scent hurtle racing team. This team consisted of two Irish, one English and one Gordon Setter. We ran as a relay team where one dog was released simultaneously with another team. The dogs would run a series of hurtles. Each dog retrieved a scented numbered dumbbell from a platform. Returning over hurtles back to his handler. It was great fun for the dogs as well as the owners. We were a competitive team winning the provincial championship.
In l975 Mike and I were married. Parenting came early as we adopted Mike’s niece Bobbi-Jo at 4 years old. Also that year we purchased our first confirmation Irish MBIS/BISS Ch. Conifers Shawanaga. He was a beautiful dog primarily from U.S. lines bred by Bev Rivett. She walked into South Side Animal Hospital where I had been employed for several years. I fell in love with her dogs and had to have one. I was expecting our first baby in fall of ’79. As I was unable to continue showing Sunny, we hired a young handler named Doug Belter. He did a fabulous job! Sunny was #2 Irish and #2 Sporting Dog that year. His obtained multiple BIS and group placements. Doug went on to become one of Canada top handlers.
After Chad was born we left the competitive dog world and concentrated on raising a family. I also sold my dog grooming business I had started out of the animal hospital. Our third child Cole was born in ’83. The kids were involved in soccer, figure skating and most of all hockey. I was kept very busy as Mike worked in the N.W.T.. We were never without a dog in our home while the kids were growing up. Soon the kids were finishing school and busy with there own interests. I wanted to get back into dogs. I wanted a short hair breed the required less coat care. I looked at the sporting group to which I was familiar but my eyes always wondered back towards the Doberman ring. I really admired those dogs!
After looking at several kennels I was put on the waiting list for a bitch puppy at Veriann kennels. Ann Koots had bred her Array Point Blank daughter “Ashley” to Legends Extravaganza. We waited a year for that puppy. Our current dog had passed unexpentantly and it was a very lonely time without a dog in our home.
Sevan came to us in ’96. She is still with us to this day and will be turning 13 in April/09. She was a very outgoing puppy with a wonderful temperament. Everyone who met her loved her. She is famous for picking up shoes when people come to visit. We got so tired of looking for shoes we taught her find them and retrieve. She was a great training dog for the introduction into the Doberman ring. Having shown sporting dogs I realized showing dobes was not as easy as it looked. There was a lot of work to be done if I was to be taken seriously in that ring, a hard assignment for a shy girl.
We went down with Ann to our first American nationals in Texas in l997. I was so excited to see all the big name dogs and there handlers. Sevan came away with a third in the 12-18 class. I came away with more experience and new handling skills. I started working with Ann as her back up. She showed all breed but her primary breed was the Doberman. I needed the experience. I purchased my second dob from her the following year. She took Ashley to Soquel Distant Thunder. Ch. Veriann’s The Tazman C.D., TT, ROMC was a great friend to our family. He was pointed in the states and achieved his ROMC. I put C.D.’s on all my dogs. I feel titles at end of the name are just as valuable as ones in the front. I gained further experience from showing Taz but knew he would take me only so far.
I stepped out showing dogs for other people as well as my own. Dyanne and Jerry Laplante of Moonspier kennels were wonderful mentors. Dyanne was a whiz with the pedigrees unfamiliar to me. I learned a lot from these good people. They are now out of the competitive end of dogs, spending winter in Arizona.
Wendy Rossler mentioned to me that she was getting a bitch puppy from Pennylane kennels in LasVegas. She also mentioned they had a show male that was available. They had bred Am.Ch. Pennylane’s Amazing Winmar to MBIS/BISS Maxidobes Dream Maker. My answer to that was “Why the heck would I want another male in my house” Famous last words!! After speaking to Holly we planned to fly down for the Las Vegas specialty and view the puppies. I instantly feel in love with the burgundy collar male who later became MBISS Am.Ch./MBIS,BISS Can.Ch. Pennylane’s Saturday Nite Live C.D. WAC ROMC.
Vegas was a great showman, We had much fun him and I. He took 3 back to back BIS at 9 months of age. He followed that by winning the 9-12 class at both the American regional and national specialties in 2001. Veg finished his Am. Ch in four majors. He has been one of Canada’s top competitive Dobermans since winning the DPCC best puppy for 2001. He has multiple BIS and specialty wins to his credit. He passed his WAC, first time for both of us in that competition. He requires one more leg on his C.D. towards his ROM. He is my constant companion and will always have a special place in my heart. Vegas has sired two litters. He has multiple Can. Champions and Am pointed kids. We have acquired a Rat Terrier named Minnie the past year. She weighs about 12 lbs. Vegas and Minnie are the best of friends and a pretty good team when it comes to keeping the squirrels out of the yard.
I also showed Vegas’s littermate Am/Can Ch. Pennylane’s Petticoat Junction C.D. for owner Wendy Rossler. Asia is a very standard bitch with good substance and an elegant outline. In the short time she was with us she obtained multiple group placements as well as an all breed BIS. She finished her am. Ch. with 3 back to back 5 point majors. After She got the hang of things she became quite the little show dog. Wendy called Asia “Her LasVegas Show Girl.” I remember Asia winning the group with me and running from that ring into the obedience ring coming away with a High in Trail with Wendy. She looked very much the princess she is in her fuchsia collar and lead. My job has kept me from seriously campaigning a dog to the fullest. I am employed at a Long Term/Palliative Care facility for the past 10 years.
Since Sevan developed a serious case of pyometria, she was spayed without ever having a litter. Asia would be the foundation bitch for Sevens. We bred her to Hunter, Cha-Rish StarQuest v Blu J,. They gave us a litter of 4 puppies in June of 2005. We also had some hard ships in 2005, I lost my mother in January and our Tazman in April.
We were very pleased with the quality in that litter. They had wonderful bone/substance with great temperaments. I kept the only bitch in the litter. Jorja, Am/Can Ch Seven’s She’s All That, had a great puppy career. At seven months, her first time in the ring, she came away with a BPIS. We finished her am. Ch. on her first birthday in four majors She went BOW under Pat Hastings at the LVDPC for her first major at 9 months of age. In Denver 2006 she won Best 15 plus in Futurity in under Sharon Pflueger. We have always done well under breeder judges. I am very honoured with breeder judge wins. During the time I was showing Jorja I also showing Am/Can Ch. Torkelle’s Stand by One for his owner Karen Lejuene. He is a very standard dog with substance. He was such a joy to work with, very kind personality with a solid, sensible temperament. He won his first specialty under Mary Rogers and finished his am. Ch. in nine shows. Of all the dogs I have shown for others Mason was one of my favourites.
We took a puppy from Asia’s first litter out of Am.Ch. Cambria’s Highly Regarded. Finesse, Can. Ch. Pennylane’s High Fashion C.D. WAC ROMC is a lovely elegant bitch that loves to show. She has multiple BPIS and group placements. We have not specialed her much. Her C.D. title was trained and trailed by Tamara Champagne. She is close to finishing her am. Ch. We took her to the am. nationals in Denver ‘06 where she received a first and fourth in the completive Am. Bred class. I was not able to show her myself due to health reasons. It was very hard to sit ring side and just watch. I think I was more nervous as a spectator than a competitor. Certainly more bossy! Or so they told me. The handlers who stepped in for me did a wonderful job. Tamara also kept the girls in condition and training for me. Thanks you guys!
We have been blessed by having wonderful, caring homes for our puppies. Can.Ch Sevens Rain Man is owned by Judy & Rob Steels of Calgary. Dustin is very typy to his littermates and mother. What a great personality! He finished his Can.Ch in one weekend again by breeder judges, going wd under Darlene Young at our Alberta Specialty. He is half way to his am. Championship with one major and 7 points. Sevens National Treasure “Nick” is owned by Sharon Asbell in California. He is a big boy at 90lbs with a kind and loving temperament. Brawn, Sevens Cinderella Man is co-owned by Eva Taylor in Red Deer. He is more angled than his littermates with the same great temperament.
In the10 years of owning and showing Dobes, my passion has been the show ring. I don’t believe in breeding just to provide for the pet market. I want to breed quality dogs that do well in the show ring with the great temperaments that we were blessed with in our litters. My goal is to pay close attention to the standard. I want bone and substance, elegance and love a beautiful head. I also hope to continue seeing more of the move to rewarding dogs that are closer examples of the standard. It takes guts for judges to do this sometimes as many top Dobermans do not fall into this category.
All our dogs have the run of the house living as members of our family, including the ones that stay for training. We live on 10 acres of property twenty minutes out of Edmonton, Alberta. We have 10 acres that are fenced and cross-fenced for the dogs to free run. The dogs are exercised by running down paths we have made through the trees. The ones being shown are road worked by bike.
We are lucky to have had many good dogs in our home. Each has taught us something different about the Doberman. I am so impressed with their intelligence and ability to tap into our feelings and moods. They are so aware of changes in there surroundings. Tazman once stopped dead when entering a room that we had taken the pictures away. He knew something was different. Now that’s amazing. You wouldn’t find an Irish doing that. They are beautiful elegant, strong animals that are exceptional companions. I am concerned about the health issues. I look forward to the finding of a DNA maker for cardio. At least that will give us the opportunity to make clearer choices in our breeding programs. Breeders who are not honest about their dogs health history are not doing the breed any favours. I would like to say shame on you.
Dobermans have lead us to many friendships that I value very much. Experienced breeders that have spent the time to teach and mentor. We have met people from both sides of the border and from various parts of the world. With even the failed friendships we have learned something about ourselves. The dogs bring great joy in our lives. We hope the furture brings us further success in the ring and litterbox. We will continue to try to improve on confirmation, longevity while keeping the temperaments we received last litter. I really enjoy the show ring and may become interested in judging down the road.
Although we have not been in the breed for a long time I am proud in what we have accomplished thus far. Thanks to all the people who have shared their wisdom and knowledge. Just maybe we will be lucky enough to bred that once in a lifetime dog and if not, I cant say I would change a thing.
Asia x Hunter
Finesse x Yuri
Jorja x Jet
Breedings planned for 2010 and 2011! Detials will be posted once the breedings are finalized.
If you'd like a quick run down on what we've been upto lately. Please feel free to check out our News page and Read More...