Ebbtide Australian Shepherds

"FERN" ADDS ANOTHER CHAMPION TITLE TO HER NAME

2012-02-17T17:43:00.000-08:00

We are so pleased that AKC Champion Ebbtide Fern can now add ASCA Champion to her name. Here's the photo from her 5-point major win on January 14, 2012 at the NorCal ASC show, Dixon, CA with me handling and judge Linda Churchill.

Fern finished her ASCA Championship with three 5-point majors, all in California competition.

Next up for her: Finally, get going with Rally titles, and depending on my anxiety, Obedience.

Fern is from the "F" Litter, her dam is our very special Ebbtide Madam President CD "Maddie", and her sire is HOF CH McMatt's EZ Going NA NAJ "Cruiser".

A Day In The Life Of 7 week Old Puppies

2011-10-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

CH Fern plays nicely with Dolly's litter


Baby Chase

I am a Frog - Baby Chase

Chubby


Clark, top, Number One, bottom

Clark and Little Eddie

Clark


Clark and an expensive and much loved toy in the crate


Clark

Plain Jane


Dan...after LOTS of playing

Chase x Dolly Puppy video 7+ weeks

2011-10-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

Video of the pups playing at 7 weeks 5 days of age

Click on the sentence above ^ to view the video

6+ Weeks - Part 2

2011-10-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

"Little Eddie" and "Dan" males


Left "Little Eddie"; Right "Dan"


Left "Plain Jane"; right "Sweetie Bug"

Girls, bottom: "Sweetie Bug" top, "Plain Jane"

Blue Merle female "Number One"

Photos from 6+ weeks of age: Chase & Dolly Litter

2011-10-17T23:52:00.000-07:00


Blue Merle male "Clark"

Blue merle male "Dan"

Things are busy and active here! The puppies have learned to sit and be quiet when I bring their food. I said "learned": That doesn't mean it is 100% yet. But we work on it at each feeding. Another Ebbtide litter of food-motivated dogs...

Blue Merle male "Baby Chase"


Blue Merle female "Chubby"

Good News and Bad News on house-training this week: The Good News is he pups are doing a great job of going out of their puppy room, off the covered dog porch and out to the gravel and then beyond that to get to the shavings to go potty. Yay puppies! Very impressive! The Bad News is there was some actual eating of the house in the dog room. Just a little drywall... This seems to be remedied by actually installing the long-overdue trim boards. Just a suggestion, for the future puppy homes: Check for any missing trim at your place BEFORE the pup comes home.
I'm having problems loading more pics here...will do a "Black Tri" post tomorrow!

New Photos of Chase!

2011-10-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

Handsome new photos of the sire of Dolly's litter, "Chase" CH Hearthside's Ready Set Go! TD RN and his 2 big wins at the 2011 ASCA National Specialty in Wisconsin, September 17-24. At the two National Pre-Shows, Chase also won Best of Breed and Premier. What a week for Susan & Chase - we are proud!

Premier award in the Nationals Best of Breed competition.
Judge Carol Earnst, Owner/Handler Susan Winters


First Place in the 2011 Intact Conformation Finals

Chase X Dolly pups: 4 weeks

2011-09-28T22:45:00.001-07:00

Sire: CH Hearthsides Ready Set Go! TD RN "Chase"
Dam: CH Tri-Ivory Well Hello Dolly STD-s "Dolly"
Born August 24, 2011
*Reservations full at this time*

Left to Right: Blue Merle Female " #1 "(BMF)
"Baby Chase" (BMM)
" Dan " (BMM)

" # 1 " bmf

Males: "Dan" & "Clark"

#1 & Baby Chase

pile of puppies: "Chubby" bmf, left front, "Sweetie Bug" btf far right

Left: "Dan", Black tri male "Little Eddie" middle, "#1" right

"Clark"

Chase & Dolly Litter: 2 Weeks Old

2011-09-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

Sire: CH Hearthside Ready Set Go! TD RN
Dam: CH Tri-Ivory Well Hello Dolly STDs (Started Trial Dog Sheep)
Born: August 24, 2011
4 males (3 blue merles, 1 black tri)
4 females (2 blue merles, 2 black tris)

Blue merle boy 1^

At two weeks of age: Eyes open, and already toddler-ing around.
A little bit of playing beginning. Lots of sucking on our fingers...mush soon - ugh = messy

Blue merle boy 2^

Blue merle boy 2 ^

Lots of movement plus wrong setting on camera = fuzzy pups. But leaving this one in because it has 7 of the 8 pups.

Black tri boy rolling over - 2 black tri sisters on left.

Blue merle girl 2 (?)

Blue boy 3 ("Cryptic" merle)

Cryptic merle boy talking

2 Blue merle girls

3 girls tails closest to bottom of photo. Other 3 are the boys.

Blue merle 1 girl

2 girls on left, 2 boys on right

The 2011 Litter

2011-09-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

Newborn pups and mom, Dolly

The 2011 litter is here - born August 24, 2011

4 girls (2 black tris and 2 blue merles) and 4 boys (1 black tri and 3 blue merles).

The sire is CH Hearthside's Ready Set Go! TD RNOFA Hips: Good Elbows: Normal CERF: Clear HSF4: Negtive MDR-1 Mutant/Normal PHA: Positive

"Chase" who hails from Norton, MA

Here he is jumping for joy because he has new puppies...oh wait...maybe I'm confused....this is when he he was awarded Winners Dog at the USASA Nationals in May:

I LOVE Aussies with verticality! That's owner Susan Winters handling him - she's our hero for getting this litter here!

Here's Chase's official win photo from the 2011 USASA Nationals

The mother of the pups is not an Ebbtide dog, but our beginnings trace to her home: She is from Tri-Ivory, which is where my first show Aussie came from 41 years ago, as well as 2 others since then. Sheila Polk was so kind to lease me a wonderful black tri female, CH Tri-Ivory Well Hello Dolly STDs .

"Dolly" helping me in the garden this summer

Finally: A Lands' End catalog photo!

2011-09-07T22:05:00.001-07:00

See page 10-11 in the Plus Size catalog here http://s7.landsend.com/s7/brochure/flash_brochure.jsp?company=LandsEnd&sku=1811_eCatalog&config=LandsEnd/012611_V1_Core&locale=en

Yep: Those are two Ebbtide dogs: left: "Emmy" Ebbtide Wish Come True CGC owned by Pam and Harold Michalek and myself, and right, "Spencer" BBXBIS AKC/ASCA CH Ebtide Fine Fellow CD, working it for Lands' End last April. "Spencer" is owned by Judi Scherrer and myself and I was the lone dog wrangler for this gig. This vineyard was just a few miles from our house. The lovely human model was a charming woman, originally from Texas, now from NYC.

It was a hot, hot day that day and a couple rattlesnakes were seen up at the staging area. Not a single word of the 100 degree heat was heard from any models. Me, on the other hand...

We also worked two days doing more LE photo shoots out near Bodega Bay on a big ranch. "JJ" AKC/ASCA CH Ebbtide Careful What You Wish, was also an "accessory" model and had some beautiful shots taken out on the coast in a rock outcrop...I'd love to see those.

This is a shot taken by the ranch owner - Emmy and Spencer again.

It was an exciting experience and challenging work at times, doing some distance, off-leash walking with the models with 2 and 3 dogs. The sitting and cuddling shots were a piece of cake.

Hope to see more of the dogs in Lands' End fall catalogs soon! But, who knows..

Warm, warmer, HOT, rain and snow.

2011-02-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

January 25 : JJ soaking in the sun by the pool. That's Coleonema 'Sunset Gold' at his....feet

January 31: Daffodils and Euphorbia 'Blackbird'

Feb. 7: Kitties rejoicing for warm weather! (Bob)

Feb. 17 Malcomia maritima (Virginia stock) - a reseeder!!

Ed the cat admires 4 yards of new compost! Note to cats: NOT a kitty potty

We had over two weeks of warm (and dry!) weather in January/February. Sprinklers were going, daffodils blooming, trees budding and blooming. Temperatures in the 80s! I kept telling the garden "Go back to sleep. Mother Nature is messing with you."

yeah - I'm talking to you - go back to sleep

I won't waste my time to talking to you - you're always in bloom

Hollyhocks (single pink) starting under the pink chair

Grapefruit and....Tibouchina....whooaaaa nelly

Rosemary in bloom - it's on schedule for us

As we entered the third week of dry, balmy weather, I joined in the fray with a trip to the nursery to refresh a couple pots and bare spots in the garden.

JJ and flora: Showing the true versatility of (as my young friend, Chris called it) "The Popemobile".

And, yes, I did buy that fragrant yellow scotch broom *gasp* the one on the invasive plant lists. I haven't seen any of this growing invasively in my parts. Two hours west to the coast: yes - lots. It was a moment of fragrance-induced stupor that made me grab it and put it in my cart, all the while cussing the store for having it in stock...I'm planning on putting it in an urn next to the gravel path. It is heavenly fragrant right now. Maybe I'll kill it when it's not so nice smelling....bwaaaahhaahhaahhaa

The blue and white violas (pansies) will be nearby in the ground. As for the pink group, there was a planter that needed filling....

Pink ranunculas, paper whites and pink-with-white edge cyclamen.

Love Love Love this group and officially named it my "Valentines Bouquet" and promptly installed it on the front porch.

Feb. 15 : aahhhhhh

I heart cyclamen. I heart their heart-shaped leaves, too.

Things get kitschy....and then....

Two days later:

Mother Nature, you are so funny.

Ebbtide Wish On A Rainbeau "Beau"

2011-01-31T10:59:00.001-08:00

JJ's handsome big brother, Beau, is the current star!

He and owner/trainer/handler Cathy Baird hit the San Mateo KC Cluster for two days on Dec. 30 & 31, 2010 and competed in AKC Rally for the first time. As a first time dog show handler, Cathy made a common error and entered Beau in Rally Novice B (for experienced handlers), instead of Rally Novice A (first time competitors). Nonetheless, Beau and Cathy turned in 2 respectable performances which qualified for their first two legs for their title AND earned them a THIRD PLACE IN RALLY NOVICE B, with a score of 94!

I love Cathy's comment to me after her first day in Novice B: "With my score today, I would've been in First Place in Novice A." ouch. Live and learn, you know.

In the conformation ring, I manages to show Beau to 2nd place in Open Blue on Thursday before I headed home. Cathy showed Beau herself on Friday and won FIRST PLACE AND RESERVE WINNERS DOG! Who needs me?!?!!

Owner/trainer/handler Cathy Baird and Beau and their haul from the 2 days at San Mateo in December.

Beau, just 10 days short of his 3rd birthday

BIG congratulations to Cathy and Beau! We are proud of another great member of the WISH litter (BIS CH Tri-Ivory Make A Big Wish HOF x CH Ebbtide Fern)!

Trying Out The New Camera

2011-01-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

"Fern" CH Ebbtide Fern

"Maddie" Ebbtide Madam President CD

"JJ" Ebbtide Careful What You Wish

Three Generations: L to R Maddie, her daughter Fern, grandson JJ

Meyer Lemons - faithfully wrapped in blankets at night to stay warm

Coldest morning yet...

Euphorbia 'Blackbird'

Cold rose

The dogs don't care if it's cold..

Paperwhites yesterday

Foster - the old kitty - 19.5 years

Ebbtide Call Of The Wild "Piper" aka Peanut

2010-12-26T17:17:00.000-08:00

Peanut/Piper At 12 weeks of age, above and below

We are pleased to announce that Peanut - now known as "Piper" Ebbtide Call Of The Wild is happily ensconced in her new home in Castro Valley, CA with owners Lynn Ungar and Kelsey Hartman and their daughter, Mattea. "Piper" shares her home with two other dogs (with tails!): a 9-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, "Coretta" Sunshine's Freedom Rider CDX RE DD W-FDM/MF W-FDX/HTM) and a five-year-old Belgian Tervuren, "Taz", LandmarkMontage Puppetmaster CDX AX OAJ OF RE W-FCh./MF W-FDM/HTM. As you can see, we are thrilled that Piper will be the beneficiary of Lynn's skilled training and handling!

Piper loves her new mom, Lynn!

And Lynn loves Piper

Piper adjusted quickly to her long-tailed, pointy-eared brother, Taz, who played very kindly with her at their first meeting and continues to keep her engaged. In fact, she likes him so much, she wants to have ears like him, too.....hmmm....we're hoping that is just a teething thing.

Mattea and Taz the Terv play tug with Piper

Here is the official Christmas photo Lynn sent:

People, left to right: Lynn, Kelsey & Mattea. Dogs left to right: Coretta, Piper and Taz

Ebbtide Good Ol' Greetin' UD "Howdy"

2010-12-08T23:31:00.000-08:00

Those cute little pups have been hogging all the blog space here lately. So my apologies to Judie Howard and her dog, "Howdy", EBBTIDE GOOD OL' GREETIN' UD and their spectacular AKC obedience accomplishments in October and November! Howdy is from the "G" Litter - now 4 years old and Ebbtide Madam President CD, "Maddie"'s last litter by CH Rainedance Written In Stone CD AX AXJ.

Here's a summary of the awards and placements HOWDY and Judie garnered - there should have been at least THREE blog posts to report all this...again, my apologies. It sucks that cute trumped actual performance here ;-) curse you, puppies...

OCTOBER - Del Valle KC cluster shows:

4th Place UTILITY B, score 194 - Skyline KC , Livermore, CA, Judge Alvin Eng: 20 entries in this class (Utility B - the big guns) - Howdy's 2nd UD leg.

3rd Place Utility B, score 195.5 Del Valle DC, Livermore, CA, Judge Christopher Cornell

24 entries. HOWDY EARNS HIS UD AND picks up 3 pts toward his OTCH and 12 points towards hi OM1!

NOVEMBER

Nov. 6 2nd Place Open B score 196.5 Napa Valley DTC, Vallejo, CA, judge Beatrice Moore

Nov. 7 3rd Place Utility B score 191 Vallejo DTC, Vallejo, Ca, judge Carolyn Wray

1st PLACE OPEN B score 199 !! Vallejo DTC, Vallejo, CA, judge Kenneth Blanchard

***HIGHEST SCORING DOG IN TRIAL***

***HIGH COMBINED AWARD***

And his first UDX leg!

Nov. 28 2nd Place Utility B San Joaquin KC, Stockton, CA

1st Place OPEN B 198.5 judge Kent Delaney

***HIGHEST SCORING DOG IN TRIAL***

***HIGH COMBINED AWARD***

He now has 2 of the 3 first places he needs for his OTCh and is up to 21 points in just four shows!

CONGRATULATIONS TO JUDIE & HOWDY!

Ebbtide Trouble In Jellystone "Yogi" at 12 weeks

2010-12-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

Yogi works on his sit stay...

I just got these photos of Ebbtide Trouble In Jellystone "Yogi" (aka MuscleMan) from new owner Barbara Hasey, Concord, CA. She and Yogi are busy training towards Agility competitions. Barbara enjoys his high toy and food drive, energy, quickness to learn, athleticism and that his tail is always wagging. Sounds like it's a great match up! I'm happy Yogi has "big brother" Cody to set a good example, too.

Hope I get some more photos and updates SOON from more of the "Camping" litter! Yogi is sired by CH Calais Carolina Vintage T-Bird and out of Ebbtide As You Wish.

Yogi gets released from his sit stay...

aahhhh..that's what he was after: The tug!

Upsidedown tug with Cody

Yogi loves his grandbaby

Yogi loves his big brother, Cody, too.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

My son, Marshall, and "Eddie" Ebbtide Eddie Bauer right before I left to deliver him to the Kirkpatrick family in Longview, WA last week.

I'm thankful for my wonderful son and his love for all the dogs that have been in his life.

Ebbtide Campin' Out "Campi"

2010-11-14T09:05:00.000-08:00

aka "Almost"

"Campi" is at her new home in Dallas, Texas with Cathy Franklin and Mark Sutton and dog-sis, Flirt. We look forward to seeing her do wonderful things in performance events and...?

Auntie Ariela has a saying that fits this photo: "So cute it hurts"... I have to agree.

About her name: "Campi" is also a play on words for bicyclists Cathy & Mark. Arguably, one of the finest road bikes is made in Italy - Campagnolo...also known as Campy. I guess Cathy changed it to Campi to look Italian...

There may be some minor confusion between "Campi" and "Camper" Ebbtide One Happy Camper (now owned by Maureen McKee Eidson and myself, living in Ukiah, CA), but since they are separated by some 2000+ miles, I gave the ok. Time will tell.

Sire: CH Calais Carolina Vintage T-Bird "Vinnie"

Dam: Ebbtide As You Wish "Cali"

The Puppy Diaries...Day 42

2010-10-25T22:14:00.001-07:00

Ebbtide Campin' Out "Campi" AKA "Almost"

Ebbtide One Happy Camper "Camper"

Ebbtide Call Of The Wild "Piper" (AKA "Peanut" )

"Sky"

Ebbtide Trouble In Jellystone "Yogi" AKA"Muscleman"

"Heidi" AKA "Marshmallow"

"Eddie" Ebbtide Eddie Bauer (AKA "Bean")

Puppy Diaries...Day 41...Where Ann Says "Kennel ! "

2010-10-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

We found this new thing in our pen outside:

Muscleman went in first

It had our pillow in it.

We went inside to check it out.

L toR in crate: Camper, Muscleman, Almost. By bowl, Sky; Marshmallow hidden.

SURPRISE! Ann handed us bites of something REALLY REALLY tasty.

OMG! IT WAS GREAT!!!!!

We heard Ann say "Yum. Leg of Lamb." "Kennel."

Then she took our picture.

AGAIN.
L to R Camper, Muscleman, Sky, Peanut, Almost (asleep!?) Marshmallow at rear. Bean was asleep in the airline crate.

Ann made a movie of us in the crate, but Blogger wouldn't load it :-(

The Puppies Diaries....4 weeks and 6 days

2010-10-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

Even though we are incarcerated, we are keeping busy.

LL Bean racing off to...somewhere...

In fact, every day - sometimes 3 times a day - our jail changes.

We overheard Ann say it "stretches our brain".... but we never felt anything...

Sky holds her new toy firmly in place.

The biggest news today: Our food was served crunchy. We really like it crunchy. We liked it so much, we sent back our mushy stuff later. WE LIKE IT CRUNCHY!

Almost admiring the Crunchy Food

We got 2 new sleeping pillows today.

Peanut checking out the new pillow

And many new toys. That poor orange chicken. "Bean" snuck up on him and must have scared the chicken - because it made a horrible sound.

Peanut in the bowl again, Marshmallow eating again, LL Bean with the chicken again

And we still spend alot of time sleeping

Almost...sleeping

Almost and Bean sleeping

Our mom sleeps, too. Sometimes we stay awake while she's sleeping

Peanut and sleepy Cali

Most the time our mom is keeping a lookout for Things Up On The Hill...

Mom...looking

When we asked her what KINDS of Things On The Hill she is looking for, she said "Things That Might Hurt Little Nosey Puppies"

Marshmallow looks for Things On The Hill, too

The Puppy Diaries...Day 23..Where We Find Out We Are Carnivores

2010-10-07T13:56:00.001-07:00

We have examined every inch of our "box".

There is no way out.

But our mother manages to escape and return many times a day.

How does she do that?

And why?

While we were thinking about this, Ann said "Puppy puppy puppy".

Then a shiny, large, round thing was placed in our box.

Our Mother did not appear.

Ann pushed our noses into some warm, mushy stuff in the the round shiny thing.

We were as shocked as you that she would do such a thing to us.

Then...mmmmm

IT TASTED GREAT!!

REALLY GREAT!

She said it was Puppy Food.

And then she laughed "You are officially carnivores".

We have no idea what that means.

Us girls were serious about our eating...the boys started celebrating.

Burp.

Oh man...I ate too much

The Puppy Diaries: Day 19 ... Where We Go Camping ...

2010-10-07T13:09:00.001-07:00

Today we went Camping or To Camp.
We were confused about that - which is it?
Camp Camp Camp ... we're hearing alot of words about it.
Camp to us meant going outside - our first time.

It was okay. We were happy our cozy sleeping bag went with us Out There.
And, we wanna say this right now: Ann is nice, but we think she's a little over the top sometimes. If you know what we mean.

That's MuscleMan WITH HIS FRONT FEET ON THE GRASS! OMG! He does crazy scary things like that all the time. Some of us think that, anyways. Some of us are alot more safer and sensible. He doesn't think what could be Out There.

Ann put MuscleMan back where it was safe...but one of us wasn't so happy he was on top of her. About that time, Big Brother and Almost we're hatching a plan..

Almost left the pile and told us it was safe over there.

Big Brother and MuscleMan left the pile, too. Us sensible girls re-grouped and had a talk. We decided someone should go see what that green shiny thing was on our sleeping bag. Pretty Girl volunteered to hike over there.

Pretty Girl pushed the green thing off our sleeping bag!
Good. We didn't like it there anyway.
But we pretended we didn't see anything and had nothing to do with it. We're no dummies. And then we went back inside. Phew. We survived this day.

Cute Alert - 16 Days Old

2010-09-29T12:57:00.001-07:00

"MuscleMan" black tri male

L to R, front row: Pretty Girl, Legal, MuscleMan, Marshmallow
In the back row: "Almost" asleep on her unnamed sister's back, Plain Jane snoozing

Facing camera: L to R: Pretty Girl, Almost. "Legal" far right

"Legal" black tri male on his back looking at you. Plain Jane snuggled in behind him - I find her there alot - he's a good heat source. Walking behind them is Pretty Girl black tri . Big white collar in center is boy MuscleMan. Blue merle at bottom of photo is snoozing Marshmallow.

"Pretty Girl" at top left, "Legal" under her nose

Cali's pups are 16 days old today - and eyes are open and they are responding to sound. They also are trying to climb over the 6" board that confines them. In fact, there were a couple pups out this morning. The 12" board will be installed today. We've had a heat wave this week (109 Monday, 105 yesterday, today's forecast 100). The pups have moved into the kitchen/dining area in an ex-pen during the day, to take advantage of air conditioning. Then at night, back out to laundry room. A great socializing/new smells/sounds experience.

OK OK I know - less talk more photos:

"Almost" blue merle female trying to escape (she's been succesful). Standing at rear is boy "Legal" with his nose on "Plain Jane". "MusleMan" is curled up asleep - you can see the little stripe of white on his ear. His nose is near "Marshmallow" whose pretty black teardrop we see. She has her head on the other unnamed blue merle girl (who is very very cute).

Marshmallow waves goodbye - on her left Pretty Girl. On the right, blue sister Almost and black tri MuscleMan.

Here's half the reason these pups are so cute:

Sire of the litter, CH Calais Carolina Vintage T-Bird "Vinnie"

Here's the other half of the reason:

Ebbtide As You Wish "Cali" (mom)

Cali winning First in the Herding Group BBX Competition at Golden Gate KC, Jan. 2010.

Cali working with Judi on off leash heeling - about 4 weeks pregnant. She combines her intelligernce, enthusiasm, precision and athleticism in everything she does.

You're wondering what the theme will be for this litter? CAMPING ! Feel free to submit all ideas.

Heeeeeeeerrre's Puppies

2010-09-13T01:39:00.000-07:00

1 am Sept 13: The puppies are here...or some are here and more are on the way...
And Cali is being a good mom, despite the scare she gave me when the first pup yelped when I rubbed it vigorously, and Cali tried to leave the room. Really, I can see the value in that (I have a teenager, remember?)... so I could hardly hold it against her...joking, Marshall, joking.
I need to give Marshall credit right now for stepping in to help. He was a good midwife (?) while I was hustling up more blankets, towels, etc. I sent him off to bed after Puppy #3 and it was past midnight. So here I am in the laundry room with my laptop on the dryer, folding chair, lots of towels and yummy blueberry frozen yogurt (Thanks to Marshall for that, TOO! His new job at the Yogurt Shop..mmm).
We're up to 6 pups at 2am (pup #1 at 10:45 pm). The score at the 6th inning is Girls 4 Boys 2. A few too many mismarks for me to be jubilant...but these things happen sometimes. We'll see what the final score turns out to be...She seems to be taking a slow and easy approach to this job. Maybe I'll go sit in my folding chair now and snooze a bit.
NOT! #7 A Plain Jane black tri girl (no white collar, tiny blaze & a snip!) just arrived (2:15 am). I don't understand why we just can't have moderate white on ALL the pups, instead of LOTS of white of some and almost none on others...lol...Go figure...
New Score: Girls 5 Boys 2.

FINAL SCORE: 5 girls (3 blue merles, 2 black tris) and 2 boys (black tri males). And now I will FINALLY go to bed (it's 10:30 am): Back from the xray at the vets, Cali has eaten, pups are quiet.

The lovely sire of this litter? CH Calais Carolina Vintage T-Bird "Vinnie". Thanks, Vinnie, for the pretty puppies!

The Waiting Game...

2010-09-12T17:54:00.001-07:00

Which dog is pregnant below?

That's CH Fern on the left and her daughter, Cali (Ebbtide As You Wish) on the right. Cali is due to have a litter of pups very soon.

"Hi. I'm Cali. And I seem to be having some sort of hormonal/hot flash thing going on."
Pant. pant pant.
Or is it pre-labor? Stay tuned...

Still smiling?

Lost Coast Kennel Club Show, Ferndale, CA

2010-07-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

Three and a half hours north of our home is where you can "find" The Lost Coast

WHERE else would Fern go for the Fourth of July weekend, except Ferndale? She went to cheer on her son, JJ, at the Lost Coast Kennel Club shows: JJ (EBBTIDE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH) wins three Firsts, WINNERS DOG for 1 point and Reserve Winners Dog (bridesmaid - no points). That puts JJ at 13 points, 2 majors in AKC. He is in his "summer clothes" (read: shedding ALOT), so I'm not sure when his next outing will be...

I'm calling this JJ's Lost Coast KC win photo ...

In obedience, Fern's brother, ASCA A-CH EBBTIDE FENNEL HILL CD (ASCA CDX) "FENNEL" competes in Open A , winning SECOND PLACE and EARNS HIS AKC CDX TITLE! Sunday, he had a lovely work for FIRST PLACE with a 196! Congratulations to Fennel and owner/trainer/handler Laurie Rubin!

Fennel, Laurie & judge, 1st Place Open A

We watched and encouraged new Aussie exhibitor Teresa King & Rainedance Ticket To Mischief "Emmit" (he's related to the Ebbtide "G" Litter ;-) in Rally Novice A. They won a first place on Saturday and qualified both days. Yay Teresa, Emmit & RJ! Teresa has inspired me to get hoppin' with Fern in Rally.

We had an afternoon show-time on Sunday, so the dogs and I went exploring in the morning. Here's what we found:

An old barn in a beautiful spot...there are LOTS of beautiful spots

A beautiful Brown Swiss heifer in a field on the outskirts of Ferndale. This breed produces a high percentage of butterfat in their milk. In the 1800's, the prosperous dairy industry provided the economic base for Ferndale and cattle like this provided an abundance of milk: They can be thanked for their part in Ferndale's splendidly ornate buildings, known as 'Butterfat Palaces".

Ferndale Victorian homes

Back on the Lost Coast: Ranch AND Ocean view and cooling breezes...I could live there...

Fern and JJ pretend they are models

Fern: Working on her ASCA Championship

2010-06-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

AKC CH EBBTIDE FERN has been busy earning TWO 5-POINT MAJORS on her way to becoming an ASCA Champion. The first was at the PASA show in March.

She repeated the win in April at the big Delta ASF show in Turlock:

Way to go, Fern!

NEW ASCA CHAMPION! Miss Panda P.

2010-06-13T19:46:00.001-07:00

HUGE congratulations to Nancy Pantusa, Dallas, Texas, and that adorable "Panda", EBBTIDE YOUR WISH'S MY COMMAND on completing Panda's ASCA CHAMPIONSHIP! This outstanding team won FOUR MAJORS (2 Five-Point majors and 2 Three-Point majors) to finish! (In dog show speak - that's "really good" ;-)

photo by 2MC Design

Nancy very capably owner/handled Panda all the way through, with the able assistance (?!) of BFF Cathy Franklin. Thanks, Cathy! And Cathy's husband Mark, who sometimes drove them around Texas. It's a big state, y'all.

Panda and Nancy will be back in the conformation ring to work on her AKC Championship in July. We're hoping there are more judges like Becci Maloney, pictured, who said "She never put a foot down wrong".

And did I mention Panda has been showing some nice herding talent - something brand new for Nancy to spend her money on. This little black tri girl has talent, no doubt about it.
Just like her brother, JJ ;-)

GO BIG OR GO HOME

2010-06-04T09:54:00.001-07:00

Who else? A-CH EBBTIDE GONNA GETCHA CDX RA GSN JSN RSN "Gotcha"!
shown at the NorCal ASC/TRACS AKC Agility trial: 2nd PLACE NOVICE JUMPERS and 2nd PLACE OPEN B OBEDIENCE. Gotcha earned her first legs in each of these classes! Congrats to Owner/trainer/handler Susan Gore and co-owner Trish Maddan (and me!).
Love, love, love this photo!

It's April 15...this must be the blog post for...JANUARY 31st, 2010

2010-04-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

Raise your hand if you think I do all this dog stuff for the thrill of the big prizes, fame, glory, professional photographs and nice suits with pockets (stuffed with liver treats)?

Judge Klaus Anselm, and "Cali" Ebbtide As You Wish with me handling. Miss Cali won BEST OF BREED BRED BY EXHIBITOR, AND FIRST PLACE IN THE HERDING GROUP BRED BY EXHIBITOR COMPETITION at Golden Gate KC 2010 show.

Ooops - she also won WINNERS BITCH and 2 points toward her AKC championship that day! Cali is owned by Judi Scherrer and yours truly. We are a great team!

Back to my question: The answer - Hell NO!

I do it for FUN! And this was, quite possibly, the most fun I'd had EVER! You see, I never went to a summer camp as a kid...sniff...but I camped, alrighty! YOU bet - with my parents and 4 sisters and our little trailer all over the USA. It was great! But never a CAMP CAMP...you know: two weeks away from your parents, matching t shirts, and other stuff I'm not quite sure of...But I realized the people who've recently (past 5 years, I'd say) bought some Ebbtide dogs and go to dog shows with me, and all our shenanigans, could qualify as an All Year Long Summer Camp. So that was part of my inspiration. Then I saw THIS:

Michael Miller is an exciting fabric manufacturer - you can check them out here: http://www.michaelmillerfabrics.com/MMF/Swatch.cfm?&Kwds=flowers

They designed this display for a fabric show (FABRIC show?! who knew?). Of course, the teardrop trailer caught my eye, but it was the sign that set things in motion.

After about 10 hours working on my own Camp Ebbtide handmade sign (you think I'm kidding?!) , purchasing 6 Coleman doggie sleeping bags, bribing family members to take the kayaks to the lake (during one of the rainiest months on record),

sing around a campfire (between rain storms)

and make s'mores (during a clearing),

we were able to create our own CAMP EBBTIDE (in the dry indoors):

Yes, those ARE doggy-sized pillows and pillowcases with the doggy-sized sleeping bags! omg.

We need to add the stars of the show - on the right side:

Cali, Spencer, Beau and JJ (left to right, above)

Add 5 Aussies and one "honorary Aussie" and you get the totally completed Ebbtide bench:

Jack the Sheltie, Gotcha, Cali, Spencer and Beau (JJ didn't fit in this shot)

Yes, that IS log cabin wallpaper behind the dogs. No, smarty pants, I did NOT have to Overnight Shipping to get it here. Or anything else I ordered this year - THAT is a BIG WIN!

What did we win? Who cares! We looked AWESOME and we had a BLAST!! Isn't that what matters???

More results next post! But a clue: Gotcha and Fennel win in Obedience, Beau is undefeated, JJ learns humility and Spencer and Jack have fun, no matter what!

It Started Out Innocently Enough...

2010-03-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

Lots of rain and a couple of days of sunshine and POP: Spring has sprung!

A request from my partner-in-crafts-crime (AnnC) for a couple of vases of flowers for her school library, led to this:

The Crayon Vase - really easy! With flowers from my garden.

Then JJ and Fern came over to help with the photos - a nice addition to the arrangements, I'd say ;-)

Close up of the Marker Pen arrangement:

Then I took this lovely photo of JJ and the Marker Pen Vase. But I forgot I had found a dead hummingbird on the pool deck and set it on the chair...

Did I say dead? I mean sleeping hummmingbird... poor guy

I don't think it was Ed the Cat..found on the opposite side of the hummingbird..err pool.

He has himself a comfy bed of dead Pennisetum 'Red Bunny Tails'.

Note to self: PRUNE those NOW) . But I DO like the chair with the dead morning glory on it, too...this photo should be a sepia or black & white.

The Sheep aren't saying a word... They are just wondering when Ann will get back to the Round Pen building and JJ and Fern will be out to "take them for a spin". Sort of an Aussie joy ride.

Happy 2nd Birthday WISH Litter!

2010-02-05T09:27:00.000-08:00

They are officially Grown-Up Dogs now: JJ, Cali, Panda, Beau, Emmy, Capri, Dash, Dottie, Tim & Izzy! Please send some current photos to share here. This litter continues to impress me with their steady temperaments, desire to please, work ethic, athleticism and talent. Not to mention their good looks and soundness. There is no doubt his litter will put Fern in the ROMX records. Thanks to all the owners who are training and competing with their best friends. Age two brings another milestone: time to get those hips & elbows xrayed and submitted to OFA. About time for the yearly eye check, too. Send me all the results, please.

We wish one-half of the credit for this great litter was still here to enjoy: BIS CH Tri-Ivory Make A Big Wish. "Biggie" passed away in December. I enjoyed every minute of his stay here back in December 2007 when I brought him here for the breeding. The whole family fell in love with his easy going, calm and gentle manner. A perfect doggie house guest.

Here's a photo of Biggie I took during that stay:

We'll miss you, Biggie.

I guess we should give thanks to the mom, too ;-)

CH. Ebbtide Fern

Here's some fun photos of the litter at 6 weeks of age, their first time out in the big dog yard:

Poor Dash (L) worried about silly grandma Maddie. Fern standing over Beau (on his back) and JJ. Somebody blue sneaking a snack under Fern.

A game of tug: Capri (L) perhaps Dottie behind her, then Beau, Fern and JJ.

Above: Capri and Dottie

Cali

Panda with a leaf, Beau

A Great Way to Start 2010!

2010-01-19T23:25:00.000-08:00

OR..WHERE GOTCHA EARNS HER CDX!

Happy 2010! We are happy to report that
A-CH Ebbtide Gonna Getcha CDX RA GSN JSN RSN "Gotcha"
has earned her AKC Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) obedience title!

But, not so fast: Not just EARNED... she and her super-focused owner/handler, Susan Gore, blew the competition away with TWO FIRST PLACES and a Highest Scoring Herding Group award. The score? The scores for the first places were a 197 and a 198!! She finished with a 195+ (NICE! Won part of a run-off!) and a 4th place!

Which is okay: Ebbtide is all about not being greedy ;-). That 195+/ 4th place? That was in the same day she earned a 198! OH. And did I mention there were 26 dogs in her class! What's that sizzling sound I hear? Oh yeah: Smokin' Gotcha ;-)

Thanks also go to Gotcha's other co-owner, Trish Maddan, who always is there to help and support Team Gotcha. And videotape. You'll notice I don't have it here...yet. Stay tuned: Trish says she has a DVD of the winning performance for me. I'll add it here later.

Doggy mom, Maddie, is proud of her Obedience Star!

Since I don't have a new Obedience photo of Gotcha - how about an old one of her as a baby puppy trying to steal the ball from big sister Fern?

I didn't think you'd mind ...

Christmas, 2009

2009-12-19T16:54:00.000-08:00

Here's wishing a wonderful holiday season to all our friends, human and canine. I decided today's overcast weather was a sign that I needed to take the camera outside and take a Christmas photo. With a pocket of dog cookies, the trusty camera, and a cursory brushing of all four dogs, we took a little walk around the property to find a good background for the photos. I (and the robins) have been admiring the red berries on our native Toyon. Unlike the robins, I don't flutter around noisily and eat them. Actually, I don't generally flutter anywhere. But I'm glad the robins didn't eat all the berries:

Back row: JJ (Ebbtide Careful What You Wish) & CH Ebbtide Fern
Front row: Ebbtide Turbo & Maddie (Ebbtide Madam President CD)

We headed farther up the hill, into the sheep pen, where I set Turbo on a mossy rock I had admired earlier this week. I'm wondering if I can get the tractor to it and relocate it in to my garden. I love mossy rocks. Some of those bare branches may be poison oak, I realized AFTER I tried to move one out of the way. I have been known to develop a "skin allergy" to poison oak. WebMD reports "Serious symptoms may include: Swelling of the face, mouth, neck, genitals, or eyelids (which may prevent the eyes from opening). Widespread, large blisters that ooze large amounts of fluid." Hmm. Been there, done that as a child. I'm confident (overly?) I will enjoy an itch-free holiday season, and think the risk was well worth this engaging photo:

We'll see...Left to right: Maddie, Fern, Turbo and JJ.

And I'd be disappointing my one loyal reader if I left out yet another cute photo of the J Man:

"JJ" - Ebbtide Careful What You Wish

Or his very beautiful mom:

CH Ebbtide Fern

But all is not Sweetness and Light in the holiday season here. Once, last year, there was a vicious attack on an unsuspecting cowgirl ornament. Her boots, and sadly, her entire feet! were dismembered. I was too late to save them for surgical re-attachment. Save them: I couldn't even FIND them. I fear they were..gulp...eaten. Not too worry: Being the tough cowgirl she is, she hangs today on the Christmas tree, with nary a discouraging word:

Look Ma: No feet!!

Did I mention there was great sentimental value attached to this cowgirl ornament? But, I, too must suck it up and not be brought down by this seemingly completely unprovoked attack. The worst part: The suspect in this dismembering, was, shockingly, JJ!! Yes, reader, that same JJ whom I constantly shower with undying love and accolades. I had attributed this lone attack to media-induced, credit card holiday stress (that and the fact he was 10 months old). I could not, with all my heart, fairly judge JJ too harshly. Could you? Of course you could not.

Which is why it pains me to show you this photograph of The 2009 Attack of The Christmas Tree Ornament: Warning: Extremely Graphic! Due to extremely graphic nature of photo, only those 18+ years may view the following:

Oh no, Mr. Bill Soldier! One of Mr. Husband's Favorite Vintage Ornaments. From His Grandma. There was mention of "handmade". crap. And who were the only dogs in the house when this happened? Turbo and....gasp.... JJ.
I know. You are just as shocked and saddened as I am about this random act of violence by JJ. I told my husband: "I can fix that!" Hot glue the dismembered hand: Can do. Hot glue the Hat back to the head and attach the bill back on the hat: Can Do. Buy another 1" Styrofoam ball and paint brown hair and a face on Mr Soldier: Can do. Allow JJ access to the Christmas tree when un-chaperoned: No Can Do.
Will I ever be able to look at JJ the same after this second mauling. Yes (I never liked that soldier, anyway. I never liked the look on his face...well, I guess you can't tell any more..). Perhaps I'll grow to like Mr. Soldier after his face reconstruction :-)

What does Maddie think of JJ and his "transgressions":

One can hardly blame her.

One Point, One New Friend and One Pretty Day

2009-11-18T15:57:00.000-08:00

"JJ" (Ebbtide Careful What You Wish) and I supported our almost-local AKC show, Wine Country KC in Napa, CA. But I hate that it takes me an hour and a half to get to Napa...how can that be??? Answer: The Coast Range slithers in between Cloverdale and Napa... Good news: It was gorgeous weather both days and with fall colors in the vineyards and hills, one of the prettiest drives I've had recently. Take a look:

Saturday's show was attended without any Ebbtide groupies...which made JJ sad. Especially since we ended up grooming surrounded by Irish Setters and German Shepherds. Nice dogs, don't get me wrong: But have you noticed how Aussies LOVE being with their own? Saturday's show ended up with JJ 2nd out of 2. I always wonder in these situations: Were we Second Best or Last Place?? hmm. Sad to say: I think " last place"...

Sunday improved with the attendance of brother Beau (Ebbtide Wish On A Rainbeau) and a first time visit with the Stephens Family's new puppy, Luci, from our good friend Tina Beck. JJ was thrilled to meet Luci - his first red tri friend - I'm proud of JJ expanding his color palette of friends ;-) Here is photo of Luci with the toy JJ picked out and bought just for her:

Goldcrest "Luci Stephens" - honorary Ebbtide dog ;-)
Wow - those Goldcrest dogs are beauties! Thanks again to Tina for helping find a wonderful dog for Jim, Susie, Scott, Lindsey and Matt!

Back at the dog show...Jim, Susie and Cathy Baird and Beau fawned over JJ and made him much happier. Since we were one person short a handler (Judi was home with a sick kid), we abducted, I mean, borrowed a Jr Handler (Thanks, Alex the Corgi handler!) to help show Beau. Beau was a trooper and, true to Ebbtide form, went about his assigned tasks with aplomb and acceptance AND WON FIRST PLACE in OPEN BLUE MERLE dogs! JJ, being a happy camper, now that his admiring fans were in attendance (!), managed to place FIRST, and WINNERS DOG for one point! Don't poo-poo that One Point: Over the years I've been in a position of needing that dreaded One-Point-To-Finish-Your-Championship situation. Not a terribly fun place, for some reason.

So there it is: JJ has both his majors and 12 POINTS towards his AKC Championship. Brother Beau will be next in line to go forward and conquer. He's looking good and showing well.

Here is an action shot Jim took of JJ and I in the Best of Breed competition:

JJ and me in the center spot. Winners Dog, Wine Country KC, 11-8-09
He DOES have a neck!!

Happy Halloween photo

2009-11-02T09:42:00.001-08:00

I'm guessing my dogs are thankful I don't dress them up much. Not that I don't appreciate extremely cute dogs in clever outfits. I guess I use my talents elsewhere. Or maybe I don't have costume talents...
Be that as it may, I received these wonderful photos from Ariela Karasov (Ebbtide East ;-)) our good friend in Madison, Wisconsin. She owns two Ebbtide dogs: "Naya" Ebbtide Glamour Girl CD RA JS-N (Baron x Maddie - the "G" Litter) and, along with her mother, Corliss and myself, "Capri" Ebbtide Wish You Were Here (Biggie x Fern - the "Wish" Litter).
ENJOY!

"Naya" The Bee and "Capri" The Butterfly
I like how Naya is peaking through Capri's wings

And these would be the two young handlers of the dogs: Daniel and Ariela.

I'm hoping Ariela can squeeze some time in for dog shows from her busy medical school schedule. Oh. wait. Perhaps there are some better priorities there?!

Thanks for the great photos, Ariela!

CH. Ebbtide Fern

2009-10-29T22:23:00.001-07:00

Above, Fern winning BEST OPPOSITE SEX PUPPY

2004 ASCA NATIONAL SPECIALTY,

Paso Robles, CA

Photos above, were candid shots taken from outside the ring, when Fern was about 22 months old. Kenneth Reed gets the photo credit.

BEST OF WINNERS, a major, July 2006, 2 yrs old.

September 2009, 5 years of age

Winners Dog, Best of Winners AND 5 POINTS!!

2009-10-27T16:18:00.001-07:00

That would be for "JJ", EBBTIDE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH, Sacramento Valley DFA AKC show (47 class dogs & bitches entered). I entered him on Saturday only this past weekend at the Sierra View ASC Specialty and Supported Shows in Dixon, CA. Since I was the human in charge of "Specialty Arrangements" and Hospitality, it was prudent not to enter too many dogs.

Here's me and JJ, 2nd dog from the right, in the Best of Breed class on his way to BEST OF WINNERS - and 5 POINTS!. This photo taken by my sister, Nancy Moore. It was great fun to have her and niece Stephie come watch and help. And better yet that my dog actually won something nice when I had family members there. I don't know about you, but I can probably count on one hand all the times I've had family watch me at dog shows (no, that's not whining). So thanks, JJ, for coming through for me ;-)

WIN PHOTO ARRIVES! 2009 ASCA NATIONALS...

2009-10-18T01:54:00.000-07:00

EBBTIDE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH aka "JJ" wins the BRED BY EXHIBITOR DOG CLASS and RESERVE WINNERS DOG in Greeley, CO. Ann, of course, handling JJ. That's Senior Breeder Judge Laura Shivers on the left. Thanks to my #1 Assistant, Judi Scherrer, for helping me wash and groom JJ, and assisting ringside. Thanks, too, for buddies Nancy Pantusa, Cathy Franklin and her good-natured husband, Mark, for cheering us on in Winners Dog. We all know it takes a village ;-) Thanks, too, to all the Aussie people who appeciated JJ and were kind enough to tell me.

Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, England, September 2009

2009-10-14T23:02:00.000-07:00

Since none of my Nationals dog photos have arrived, I decided to treat you to some of the beauty of Sissinghurst Castle and Gardens, in Kent, England. I took these photos in mid-September 2009, the week before judging the ASCA show in Belgium. It was in the heat of the day with a high sun, so some detail and color contrast is lost in the bright conditions. But, off we go...

No, this is not the Castle, above. It's just "the Priest's House".

BELOW is part of the old castle ruins, originally built in the 1530s , which was restored by famed poet, writer and garden designer,(and interesting lifestyle trend-setter) Vita Sackville-West and her husband, writer and diplomat Harold Nicholson. The two famously collaborated to create the incredible gardens known throughout the gardening world, as Sissinghurst. This life-work began in 1930 and ended with Vita's death in 1962. Harold "survived her by six years, sad and lonely. Visitors would see him sitting in the garden with tears running down his cheeks." The estate was left to their son, Nigel, who couldn't afford the large death taxes nor upkeep of the huge grounds and buildings. In 1967 The National Trust (akin to our National Parks) received Sissinghurst from Nigel. There is much, more history to be learned by the curious.

A small garden by an entrance. Perhaps the Queen came through this very door in August 1573?

The climbing rose, 'Mermaid':

And perpendicular to the wall above, the lovely Purple Border:

A closeup in the Purple Border:

And then the Tower, built in the 1560s. It had 4 rooms on the left as you climbed the 78 stairs to the viewing roof. One of the rooms was Vita Sackville-West's workroom. Yes, I think I could design great gardens, too, in such inspiring digs...sigh...

The view from the Tower was invigorating. I can still remember the warm breeze that smelled of farmland, flowers, and, perhaps, the sea. These are the barns and oasthouses (funny funnel shaped guys). Oasthouses were used to store grain for ale. The long roof in the foreground is part the old castle, which became their library:

Moving to the right of the oasthouses, was this view over the Kent Weald (hills):

Below, the view of the potager (kitchen) garden. And behind it, some un-named, un-important accessory buildings (!). Servant's house, perhaps? Another wing of the castle in the foreground.

Below: The famous White Garden is adjacent to the Tower. I must return in Spring to see this in full bloom. Not much white to see in September. The small building in the upper right of the photo is the Boathouse. It straddles the moat there:

Down the Tower stairs and out into the White Garden. This is under a simple square tubing arbor. (Yes.Yes I did say "I could make that!!"). Nigel Nicholson designed the arbor using paperclips in his model. You can see their arched ends here:

Since Pam had the sense to buy us a picnic lunch earlier, we sat here at an old wooden picnic table in the Boathouse over the moat. We were refreshed by the cool air and relaxing view. Lunch grew a little long...

We ended up a bit later in the Sunken Garden - another cool spot. Originally the Lion Pond was here, but, in true gardener fashion, it was redesigned into a sunken garden by Vita:

Here's a close-up. Note the embossed detail on the ancient galvanized trough. And I love the Baby Tears creeping along the wall. The salmon Fuchsia really brightens this spot.

My last photo: The Red Summer Border that lines a long flagstone path back towards the "house". I must return to Sissinghurst again in Spring, to see these incredible gardens in their full glory. "I simply must!" she wailed, as she ran off into the Nuttery, with her ever-faithful and beautiful companion, JJ the Dog, following her... (from my novel).

2009 ASCA NATIONALS - Part 4 : CONFORMATION

2009-10-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

If you're getting tired reading about the 2009 ASCA Nationals, just think how it was to BE THERE!?!
Not that it wasn't enjoyable....
Which brings us to the actual Nationals Conformation competition. First shown was EBBTIDE FENNEL HILL CD in ALTERED OPEN BLACK DOGS - FIRST PLACE and WINNERS DOG!! Again. That's right - it's been almost a year since I had the pleasure of showing him at the Las Vegas ASCA Nationals (where he won the same award). It took us 3 tries in Greeley to get back on our game, but, happily, it came together on Wednesday ;-) By the way, he is now called ALTERED CHAMPION EBBTIDE FENNEL HILL CD ! Nice way to finish a championship!
Next up on Wednesday (after Spencer's awesome Novice B win), was the BROOD BITCH class. EBBTIDE MADAM PRESIDENT CD "Maddie" at 11 years young, WON THIRD PLACE with those over-achieving offspring of hers: CH. SPENCER CD, A-CH FENNEL CD and A-CH GOTCHA CD! It was icing on the cake to look down at those pretty faces and realize all 3 had made a significant win in the Obedience ring the past 2 days!
That was Wednesdays Nationals results...let me catch my breath....
Thursday, EBBTIDE AS YOU WISH "Cali" made a beautiful showing in the BRED BY EXHIBITOR BITCH class, but failed to make a placement. We're not calling it a failure, thanks to our many long-time breeder peers who complimented us on her showing that day. Thank very much to all of you for taking time to give us a thumbs up. It was appreciated.
Friday: EBBTIDE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH "JJ" and I got our game on and were thrilled to win the BRED BY EXHIBITOR DOG class! We missed some of our old cronies in there (but wait: maybe we wouldn't have won...!). What an honor to win that class at Nationals! Later that day we returned to the Winners Dog class and got sooo close, ahhh, oh well - we're happy, too, with RESERVE WINNERS DOG! Yes, the old handler, surrounded by the young, quick and wrinkle-free (I'm not talking dogs here) dug deep and trotted soundly (again: not talking dogs) with that amazingly huggable JJ to the bridesmaid (best man? I need oxygen to think) spot. Yes - oxygen: Did you know Greeley, CO elevation is 4, 860 feet? Did you know Cloverdale, CA is 800? Yes. Yes, I should win an award for not dying. Thank you. But, enough about me...
There was more Friday: JJ's cute cute CUTE (and sound) little sister, EBBTIDE YOUR WISH'S MY COMMAND "Panda" (you know: from Texas) made the final cut and unofficially won 6th place in OPEN BLACK BITCH. There were, like, 20 in that class. Nice job, Nancy & Panda! And just 20 months old and still growing hair ;-)
Which now brings us (thank God) to the very last day, Saturday, and Best of Breed. 193 Special Dogs?!?! We were pleased that CH EBBTIDE FINE FELLOW CD "Spencer"made the first cut. It was brutal out there ;-) Congrats to our fellow Northern California buddies, Maddie Ruble and her crew, AND longtime friends Cathy & Alan McCorkle for their BEST OF BREED win with CH Heatherhill Dazzle Park Laine.
Time to go home. Believe me, there are many more stories to tell...but I'm beat!

2009 ASCA NATIONALS - Part 3 Obedience at Nationals

2009-10-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

The ASCA National Finals Obedience Competition led off with A-CH EBBTIDE GONNA GETCHA CD "Gotcha" qualifying in the Novice Division. In the finals, dogs have two complete works under two diferent judges. Scores are added together for the final placements. GOTCHA scored a 197 and a 199 to earna 396 and THIRD PLACE in the Novice Finals!! First & second place were 397+ and 397. No pressure there, folks. Yikes. Two outstanding performances by owner/trainer/handler Susan Gore and Gotcha!! Gotcha came into the finals in 9th place. We are proud of this team!
In the Open Finals Division, EBBTIDE FENNEL HILL CDX "Fennel", won 6th PLACE after finding out the morning of the competition, as alternate, he would be able to compete. Congratulations to owner/trainer/handler Laurie Rubin and Fennel!
The next day, CH EBBTIDE FINE FELLOW (AKC CD) "Spencer" was handled by owner/trainer/handler Judi Scherrer to FIRST PLACE NOVICE B with a 197!! Out of 70 entries! Let it be known that his heeling brought tears to the eyes of a certain highly critical breeder. I'm not going to elaborate on the minus 2 points for the sagging Long Sit...I'm just happy I missed that.
OH! SPENCER also won HIGH SCORING CHAMPION OF RECORD !! How sweet is that?! Answer: Very sweet!
Thanks to Susan, Trish, Laurie & Judi for representing Ebbtide dogs in such a fantastic showing. All three were happy, attentive workers and a joy to watch. Carry on...

2009 ASCA NATIONALS, Part 2 - More Pre-Shows

2009-10-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday'a Pre-Show: Spencer & Fennel took the day off. Cali and JJ may have well taken the day off, too :-(. Gotcha made her debut in the Nationals Altered Best of Breed ring all three Pre-Show & Nationals days, but failed to knock off the Big Boys & Girls. Owner/handler Trish Maddan looked great out there and reported "she had fun". And, we have to remember, people, that's why we do this. Gotcha had much bigger plans in mind (see Part 3). Panda and Nancy nailed a nice 3rd Place in Open Black Bitches. That was nice!
Sunday's Pre-Show: JJ & Spencer took the day off. Fennel won 2nd Place Altered Open Black.
Monday's Pre-Show: Spencer was still waiting for Judi to arrive...EBBTIDE AS YOU WISH "Cali" won 2nd Place in BBX - that made me smile. As well as JJ's 2nd Place in BBX Dogs!! Things are looking up! EBBTIDE YOUR WISH'S MY COMMAND "Panda" 4th Place Open Black Bitch. EBBTIDE FENNEL HILL CD "Fennel" FIRST PLACE Altered Open Black dogs. Gotcha and Susan had an awesome individual work in Novice B obedience, but was felled by a little rest on the Long Sit :-(( Did she sneak out to the Texas Roadhouse the night before?

2009 ASCA Nationals Greeley, Colorado, Part 1

2009-10-05T21:06:00.000-07:00

Seven Ebbtide dogs made the trek to Greeley, Colorado for the ASCA National Specialty to compete in conformation and obedience. From Northern California came:

A-CH Ebbtide Gonna Getcha CD CD RN CD JSN GSN RSN "Gotcha"

CH Ebbtide Fine Fellow CD (AKC) "Spencer"

Ebbtide Fennel Hill CD "Fennel"

Ebbtide As You Wish "Cali"

Ebbtide Careful What You Wish "JJ"

Ebbtide Madam President CD "Maddie"

And our Dallas, Texas buddy drove up (with her crew, Nancy, Cathy & Flirt):

Ebbtide Your Wish's My Command "Panda"

We opened at the first Pre-Show (Saturday's ASC of Utah show) where Panda and her owner/handler, Nancy Pantusa, started things off with a really nice 3rd place win in Open Black Bitches (18 in this class). The "Wish" litter is 20 months old. A very nice win. At the 2nd Pre-Show, I suggested I show her (you know - the Expert helping the Non-expert). Panda & I got nothing. Ok. Next day Nancy shows Panda and gets 4th Place Open Black Bitches. So much for the so-called Expert... Way to go, Nancy and Panda!!! You two rock!

Congratulations to Altered Champion Gotcha!

2009-09-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

This just in: GOTCHA completed her Altered Champion title today at the NorCal ASC show in Dixon, CA. Thanks to Senior Breeder Judge Dorothy Montano for the Winners nod and 3 point major to make her A-CH EBBTIDE GONNA GETCHA CD RA GSN JSN RSN!!!!
Thanks to owners Susan Gore & Trish Maddan for their efforts. And thanks to Raine Lutz for handling. Gotcha is from the infamous G Litter, out of "Maddie", Ebbtide Madam President CD and by "Baron", CH Rainedance Written In Stone OA AXJ.

Congratulations! What next from the biggest Ebbtide overachiever?!?! I love this dog and her owners!

The un-official win photo

Puppies

2009-08-29T09:59:00.000-07:00

This post is for the people who may be trying to reach me regarding puppy availability. We do not have a litter planned in 2009. The next Ebbtide litter planned is Spring/Summer 2010. You can write me at ann.ebbtideATgmail.com if you have questions. You'll need to replace AT with @ (prevents spamming here) in the email address. These plans are tentative and could, realistically, mean puppies off to their new homes in Summer or even fall 2010.

Fun At The Santa Rosa AKC Cluster Shows

2009-08-24T12:49:00.001-07:00

Above: Judi and Beau in the Open Blue class on Friday

Five siblings from the "Wish" Litter (HOF CH Tri-Ivory Make A Big Wish x Ch Ebbtide Fern) congregated at last weekend's 4 days of AKC shows in Santa Rosa. Since this is our local show (hosted by Mensona KC and Lake County KC), we HAD to attend. I knew 3 of the group had been seriously out of coat this summer, so I informed the owners it was their call on how many days to enter: But that we should at least go one or two days to get them back in the swing of things...do a little training, support our local show, have an excuse to bathe and groom our dogs, kill some time, eat cake, etc.
In other words: No big expectations to win much. And, our motto, as always: Have a good time!
So here's what happened: (hmm, short version or long version??) I showed all classes, except those listed otherwise. And, yes, I can still run today...sorta

THURSDAY: Judge Daniel Fleitas - with Ann handling both dogs:
EBBTIDE AS YOU WISH, "Cali" Bred By Exhibitor 2nd Place (out of 2)...we had some training to do...we did it AFTER I showed her...slow down!
EBBTIDE HANDFUL OF WISHES "Emmy" American Bred First Place.

Above: Lesson # 1: Beau sees his mom taking his picture. Mom learns to leave the immediate area. He manages to get back on track and wins 2nd (out of 4) in Bred By Exhibitor (BBX) on Saturday. Yay!
And there is a reason I cropped my head off this pic.

Above: JJ is a good boy in BBX on Friday! And wins First Place !

FRIDAY: Conformation: Judge Connie Redhead
EBBTIDE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH "JJ"
Bred By Exhibitor First Place, Reserve Winners Dog
EBBTIDE WISH ON A RAINBEAU "Beau"
Open Blue Merle 2nd Place Judi Scherrer handling

Above: Judi and Beau trotting quite nicely

EBBTIDE HANDFUL OF WISHES "Emmy"
American Bred First Place, Reserve Winners Bitch Judi Scherrer handling
EBBTIDE AS YOU WISH "Cali"
Bred By Exhibitor First Place, Winners Bitch 2 points !!

Above: Cali, far right, in the Best of Breed class on Friday. Watching Ann ;-) Good girl, Cali. Thinking she will stay at my side as we trot this time.

EBBTIDE GOOGLE'S GAMBOL CD "Zayvee"
Novice A Obedience First Place

Saturday: Judge Edeltraud Laurin
EBBTIDE WISH ON A RAINBEAU "Beau"
Bred By Exhibibtor 2nd Place
EBBTIDE EXPRESS WISHES "Dash"
Open Blue Merle 2nd Place Suzanne Deghi handling
EBBTIDE AS YOU WISH "Cali"
Bred By Exhibitor First Place, Reserve Winners Bitch
** BEST OF BREED Bred By Exhibitor **
****HERDING GROUP Bred By Exhibitor FIRST PLACE ! ****

Above: Cali and Ann doing their thing in BBX on Friday: First Place

Sunday: Judge Patricia Gellerman
EBBTIDE EXPRESS WISHES "Dash"
Open Blue Merle First Place, Reserve Winner Dog

Our photographer liked this photo! Hmmm, a Reserve ribbon...

Photo credits: All by Cathy Baird, Beau's owner. Thanks, Cathy!

Above: Judi just wrote and said I was to add this photo - Me and Cali with our Best of Breed Bred By Exhibitor ribbon, just as we came out of the ring. Cathy loves to take her version of win photos as we leave the ring. Thank goodness we have an Official Ebbtide Photographer ;-))

Here's To An Old Dog, Eh?

2009-08-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

Congratulations are in order for a special senior dog-citizen:

CANADIAN CH SILVERWOOD'S VICTORY LANE, "Tory", age 12 (13 in October!), wins BIG in her home country, Canada! Shown above with owner-handler Ann McPhee of Salt Springs Island, BC, winning Best Veteran In Sweepstakes! AND she won the only Award of Merit! How cool is that?!?! Tory is bred and co-owned by Marge Stovall, Silverwoods Aussies, WA. Thanks to CKC judge Michael Hill for this sterling win.

Here's Tory loving every minute back in the ring:

You rock, Tory!

Tory is a daughter of our late, CH EBBTIDE I'LL REMAIN CD, "Remy", seen below winning an AWARD OF MERIT at the USASA NATIONAL SPECIALTY in Vallejo, CA in April 1995:

Remy still holds a very dear place in our hearts. This kind, charismatic, honest, elegant, biddable, sound, extremely handsome dog was thoroughly enjoyed and loved by all who knew him in his lifetime: March 1991-October 2005. Remy came by his attributes honestly: His mother was the incredibly talented, vivacious, multiple Premier CH Nationals bitch, High In Trial Obedience winner CH EBBTIDE A BEE IN YOUR BONNET CD, "Gatsbee". His sire, and Remy was from just his second litter, the legendary HOF CH MY MAIN MAN OF HEATHERHILL.

Where does the time go?

I Think It's Time For Some Flowers...LOTS OF FLOWERS

2009-07-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

Can we take a break from all those dog photos?!?!
Dogs are all well and wonderful, but you might be aware that my other great love is gardening. Let's get in the garden! Mother Nature has been extremely kind to all things vegetative here in the past 6 months. (Tho' by vegetative, I am leaving the teenager and his summer vacation out of this post...).

Below: OOohhh, I love this: Dark purple pansies behind Sedum 'Angelina'. 'Angelina' is one of my regulars throughout the garden.

In the interest of full disclosure: The above pansies are pretty much fried since this past week's 100+ degrees heat wave. So much for kind Mother Nature...taken in June.

Oenothera 'Siskiyou Pink' blooming her heart out behind Quail With Three Eggs :

At the entrance to the "Island Bed":

'Blue Celeste' Sweet Peas - I grew from seed - still blooming on July 19! That's a first! I love the rusted arbor with the pale blue. That's a tough, dependable HOT PINK (yeah!) common geranium in background. Common Geraniums: One of my current top five Tough, Low Water Plants For Ann's Garden.

In the "Island Bed":

Above: That's a white 'Iceberg' rose, with yellow Gaillardia 'Lemons & Oranges'.

Below: I love this combo! In the backyard, on the the hill - Geranium 'Rozanne', Euphorbia 'Tasmanium Tiger' and front, Heuchera 'Pewter Palace' :

Unexpectedly this year, this area became one of the prettiest spots in the garden. Bad photo, but beautiful results with wildflowers:

The wildflowers mix had some sort of white daisy (on left), tall red Shirley poppies on right, plus some reseeders from last year (California poppies). Sadly, I didn't get a photograph when it was in its prime.

Wildflower, Farewell To Spring Clarkia amoena:

More "Island Bed" - this was in June:

Behind the house, on the patio, some pots:

yuk - messy oak leaves! These pots look lots better now..stay tuned.

Below, Rose 'Barbra Streisand' or Babs, as I call her...

Taken in early morning shade. Same rose below taken in afternoon sun.

And, for the faithful dog followers, here's some canine action in the yard - black tri JJ (Ebbtide Careful What You Wish) and his mom, Fern, CH Ebbtide Fern. That mauve rose? The one I was trying to get rid of in the spring, Barbra Streisand. I decided I wanted to replace poor Babs with low-water Coleonema 'Sunset Gold'. Just across the path to the right (the entrance to the pool) there is a coleonema growing, and I thought it would be a nice formal (!!) element to the pool entry. So, I pruned Babs back hard after her spring flower flush, with the intent to dig her up and...relocate or sell...her. Well, she responded by quickly going right back into bloom and has not really stopped yet. So she has a reprieve until fall. I'm taking offers on her...

At her feet: dark blue Salvia 'May Night', Verbena "Homestead Purple ' (maybe) and that lime green foliage peeking out - Spirea 'Goldmound'. There is also a yellow rose behind her (she'll stay!):

The photos below are for Chuck, at My Back Forty (Feet), who writes one of my favorite blogs. He has a young wild grape 'Rogers Red', just like the one I have on the pool arbor:

Below: A closeup - before pruning on July 3rd:

The arbor is 10 feet above the deck. The top of the deck is 3 feet off the ground (where the little Vitis californica was planted 5 years ago). Chuck had a photo of his 'Roger's Red' on his blog and said he was "letting it go a little this summer". I recall saying the exact same sort of thing a couple of years ago ;-) It is growing in rocky, compacted, non-clay soil, with little water and lots of sun. LOL. Chuck, look out.

Zayvee, Warren and their new CD!

2009-07-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Not THAT kind of CD! In the dog show world I sometimes visit, "CD" has long stood for "Companion Dog" degree. It is the first title you can earn in obedience competitions. I always compared it to earning your high school diploma, because, as a younger woman, I felt EVERY dog should have a CD title. Actually, I still do. But, now, in my older, wiser years, I realize that was in my Perfect World.

So, thanks very much to Warren Teitelman and his lovely dog, "Zayvee", EBBTIDE GOOGLE'S GAMBOL CD, for keeping my little dream alive. AND they did it with style! Last weekend at Del Monte KC (very stylish place, by the way) Zayvee and Warren competed in Novice A Obedience and won a FIRST PLACE on Saturday, TIED FOR FIRST on Sunday, but, boohoo, lost the runoff , so came home with a respectable SECOND PLACE. A wonderful accomplishment for first time obedience competitors!! Zayvee had two consistent scores of 193 1/2. Well done, guys!

And Warren was brilliant enough to have this beautiful win photo taken with Saturday's judge, Ken Blanchard. That's Warren on the left and Zayvee in the middle ;-) Here's another dog show tip: The judge holds the prizes and the handler holds the dog leash. And the Breeder takes all the credit...
wait, WHAT?!!?! I'm joking! I will tip my hat to Zayvee's incredible little obedience machine mother, "Maddie" EBBTIDE MADAM PRESIDENT CD. She has produced some outstanding performers for Ebbtide. Of course, she had some help with the "G" Litter - our thanks to their handsome sire, CH RaineDance Written In Stone OA AXJ (THOSE are agility titles).

Gotcha Wins Three (Yes, 3 !!) Altered BEST OF BREEDS

2009-07-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

This Fourth of July was celebrated with our very own firecracker, "GOTCHA", EBBTIDE GONNA GETCHA CD RA GSN JSN RSN, along with owners Susan Gore and Trish Maddan, attending the ASCA show in hot, hot Gridley, CA on the 4th of July weekend. They were saddened when I informed them I "don't do" dog shows in weather over 100 degrees. Hey, I'm old and have been doing this for 40 years: I can be choosy. Anyways, they certainly don't need me around anyway: Gotcha competed in ALTERED CONFORMATION and came home with THREE WINNERS BITCH, THREE BEST OF WINNERS AND THREE BEST OF BREEDS and one RESERVE WINNERS BITCH (it's good not to be too greedy...). WOW!
Congrats and thanks to Gotcha's handler, Trish Maddan who did a fine job out there. Also thanks to Raine Lutz for showing Gotcha on Saturday morning, for one of the Alt WB, BOW, BOB. And don't forget Susan the groomer, photographer and assistant - Well Done, Team!

Gotcha now only needs a major win to earn her Altered CHAMPION title! Rumor has it Team Gotcha will wait until October for the ASCA Nationals in Greeley, Colorado, to find that major. I like that kind of thinking...

So, it appears Miss Gotcha is our newest over-achiever (since Spencer is "on vacation", Judi??). We found out earlier this week Gotcha also qualified for the ASCA Nationals Obedience Finals in Novice! And you knew that she does a nice job out there in Agility, too, right??!!
Team Gotcha: Just awesome.

Panda's Best of Winners Photo!

2009-07-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

Here's the as-promised photo of Panda (EBBTIDE YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND) as she won the 5 point major at the New Hope ASC ASCA show in Texas on June 13, 2009. Owner/handler Nancy Pantusa had remarked she was naked (errr, that's neked in Texas): The win photo seems to support this allegation...thanks to judge Anne Shope for seeing past the lack of hair. Lookout when she gets her hair back!
Congratulations again to Nancy & Panda! We are proud of you two!

Zayvee's First Agility Trial

2009-06-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

Zayvee (Ebbtide Google's Gambol) and owner/trainer/handler Warren Teitelman competed in their first agility trial this weekend. The CPE trial was held in Palo Alto.

Zayvee qualified in 4 of 6 runs and won two fourth places!

Congratulations Warren & Zayvee!

Zayvee is from the "G" Litter (Baron x Maddie).

photos by David Wong

YOU, TOO, CAN BE A CANINE GOOD CITIZEN!

2009-06-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

OK, MAYBE NOT YOU, BUT YOUR DOG CAN!

That's "Emmy" Ebbtide Handful Of Wishes, on the left, and her well-dressed brother, "JJ", Ebbtide Careful What You Wish, as they posed for their Ofiicial Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Photo:

Emmy and JJ just completed a 12 week obedience class with Trainer Lissa Wall at Tails-A-Waggin' Dog Obedience School in Santa Rosa, CA . (Thanks, Lissa - It was fun!) Emmy is owned and trained by Pam Michalek. (JJ is my dog...but you might have known that). This past Monday night they performed brilliantly on the 10 Test Items, which, in upholding The Ebbtide Golden Rule, they passed with ease.

You can read all about the 10 Test Items you must perform to earn a CGC Certificate right here: http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm

You can also find an evaluator and/or class to train and take the test, by scrolling down on that site.

Personally, I think every dog should be trained for at least their CGC - And I'll add Rally Novice to that! Besides, it's fun and your dog will love you MORE for taking him/her to class and training at home. Really.

The CGC Test stresses responsible pet ownership for owners and basic good manners for dogs.

AKC awards a certificate, NOT a title for this simple test (in other words, CGC is NOT part of their registered name). CGC is a great starting point towards earning Rally, Obedience, Agility and even Herding and Tracking titles. Your veterinarian will also appreciate a dog that has passed his CGC test.

I know there are lots of Ebbtide dogs out there who started with their CGC, and I applaud you! Get yourself and your dog to a class now and join our ranks!

It's A Bird. It's A Plane. No. It's DASH!

2009-06-17T01:04:00.001-07:00

I received this photo recently and would like to publicly thank "Dash", Ebbtide Express Wishes, for saving the inhabitants of Sonoma County ( and ALL the world!) from a small, but quite possibly, deadly, UFO.

Oh...

Wait...

Is that a frisbee?

Way up there? Whooshee Mama! That's Big Air!

And apparently his landing was fine. But I wouldn't be doing my job as An Ethical Breeder without saying: Kids, don't try this at home. Or perhaps my disclaimer is more appropriate: "Frisbee catching has inherent risks you should discuss with your veterinarian."

Har har. His owner IS a veterinarian. She says she saving up for the surgeon specialist fees...

(Those ears are only up because he was in flight)

Dash is from the celebrated WISH Litter (BIS CH. Tri-Ivory Make A Big Wish x CH Ebbtide Fern). He is competing in agility (no surprise) and has been seen occasionally in conformation. I expect some nice things from this dog and owner Joy Mueller.

ASCA OTCH EBBTIDE LUNA SEA UD

2009-06-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

Luna's owner/trainer/handler for the past 15 years, Laurie Rubin, sent me this. Luna passed away last Monday. Luna & Laurie achieved many goals and made many memorable performances in obedience, freestyle and, briefly, Junior Showmanship, with Laurie's daughter, Ariela. She will be missed.

Panda Does A Michael Phelps: Swims Great AND WINS BIG

2009-06-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

That little black bundle of energy, cuteness and correctness, "Panda" (Ebbtide Your Wish Is My Command) wowed them in College Station, Texas today! Team Ebbtide -Texas Coordinator, Cathy Franklin, called ASAP after the Winners Bitch class at the New Hope ASCA show : Ms. Panda did, indeed, win First Place in a stellar 12-18 Months class, and then waltzed out of Winners Bitch with either a 4 or 5 point Major! The Coordinator wasn't sure of the exact number of points -she has now been schooled on such important matters. Incredibly talented owner/trainer/Senior Handler Nancy Pantusa showed those Junior Handlers how it's done and trotted Miss P again to a BEST OF WINNERS award in the Best of Breed class. Yee haw! Panda is a member of the WISH Litter, by CH Tri-Ivory Make A Big Wish and out of CH. Ebbtide Fern. Again, we weren't sure how many points Panda earned today, but they assure me it was 4 or 5 points. I'm still waiting for the exact number, Cathy & Nancy... and the Win Photo!

Update: Nancy says it was a 5 Point Major !!!!

In lieu of that, I offer the most recent photos of Panda and her Team, that I have:

In this photo, above, left to right: Trish, Panda, Cathy, Flirt. Not sure what they did with Nancy - oh, I remember: Nancy and I were off on a plant hunt at this incredible nursery http://www.wildseedfarms.com/ on our first leg of the Awesome Texas Vacation. Trish, Cathy & Susan (the photographer) were a bit bored and took photos while the gardeners in the group ooohed and ahhhed at plants. Back to Panda: Isn't she just beautiful? And her BFF, Flirt, who is also an Honorary Ebbtide dog. We love you, Flirty.

Once we arrived at The Ranch (look for a future blog about this), Panda, Nancy and I strolled down to Ebbtide Creek:

Nancy snapping off the leash at the creek. FYI: It was soda in the cup.

First Panda got her feet wet...

Then, below, she's doing the famous Fern-Bubble-Blowing-In-Water Trick (I didn't know that was an inherited trait):

Then she just went for a swim. Nancy says this was the first time she'd ever been in water:

Below: Panda NOT drowning (relax, Nancy):

Then she went back up to the creekbed where she decided to submerge her head:

THEN she decided to submerge her entire BODY! That black spot in the water, lower right, just above the rock wall, is Panda:

Turns out, she was rolling under water, in algae. Nice, Panda.

When she came up, she looked like this:

Here's hoping Nancy and Cathy send today's win photo soon, so we can see a pretty Panda!

A HUGE congrats to Nancy, Panda and many thanks to Cathy, Team Ebbtide Assistant #5 !

What Is An ROM? Good Question...And What About HALL OF FAME?

2009-06-09T17:08:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Warren for actually asking, what many of you may have wondered:
"What is an ROM?"
It stands for Record of Merit. The United States Australian Shepherd Association (USASA) has a program to honor stud dogs, dams and breeders who have produced a certain amount of obedience, rally, agility, conformation champion, herding and tracking titled dogs.
Sound confusing? Don't worry, even us vintage ;-) breeders have difficulty with the program.
Here is a link to the ROM qualifications: http://australianshepherds.org/rom/romrules.htm

In my last post, I mentioned Maddie (EBBTIDE MADAM PRESIDENT CD) was near her ROM. Wrong. She has surpassed requirements. The catch: I have to mail in the form along with copies of her titled offspring's (1) AKC registration and (2) the actual titles earned from AKC.

Here's where you can help me: Send me copies of any AKC titles that are on the above linked list that any Ebbtide dogs have earned. Include a copy of said Ebbtide dog's AKC registration. Then I can start asemblying all this paperwork and submit it to USASA by Feb, 1 2010 to receive ROMs for Maddie, Rainy (CH Ebbtide Chateau Souverain), Gatsbee (CH Ebbtide A Bee In Your Bonnet CD), and maybe some other Ebbtide dogs.

I'd also like to offer incentive to any Ebbtide dogs to earn a HS (HERDING STARTED) degree .
I think all EBBTIDE needs are 2 AKC Herding Started (your choice - Cattle, sheep or ducks) titled dogs to qualify for Hall of Fame Kennel! We need to get back in the herding arena and get that done. Here's the link to the Hall Of Fame Kennel rules: http://www.australianshepherds.org/rom/hofrules.pdf
You will see Hall of Fame abbreviated as HOF on pedigrees.

You can mail all those copies to me at 1265 Wilson Road, Cloverdale, CA 95425. And thanks! I need to get this done so I can mark it off my Bucket List.

Lesson Over.

Where Warren and Zayvee Have Big Fun In The Obedience Ring

2009-06-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

We are very proud, excited and happy for Warren Teitelman and "Zayvee" EBBTIDE GOOGLE'S GAMBOL and their stellar performances in Novice A Obedience at the Woofstock 2009 AKC shows in Vallejo, CA this past weekend.

Here's what happened:

Thursday: Qualifying score of 193.5 and
FIRST PLACE NOVICE A OBEDIENCE!

Friday: Qualifying score of 195 and
FIRST PLACE NOVICE A OBEDIENCE!!

"Zayvee" Ebbtide Google's Gambol

WOW!! This is Warren's first dog he's trained for competition obedience. Nice work.

I was unable to be there to see his work, but reports say it was darn near perfect and awe-inspiring. I'm never in the right place at the right time...

Zayvee chose to liven things up on Saturday and Sunday when Warren found out the hard way how frustrating obedience can be when smart little dogs chose to "change things up" (Zayvee took a little spin on the long sits..). Hmmm, doesn't the breed standard say the aussie "goes about his work with great style and enthusiasm"?!? Zayvee, that doesn't count in obedience..

I know Zayvee will be back on track in a jiffy, and earning more class placements and high scores! Stay tuned...

Susan (The Official "G" Litter Scorekeeper, owned by Gotcha) informs me that when Zayvee earns his one more leg in Novice Obedience, that will bring the total to 4 of the littermates from the "G" Litter to have earned their CD! And all of them did it with similar scores and placements! (Susan - do you you have those stats?) Anyway - Wow, wow, wow! Thanks to owner/handlers Warren, Judie, Susan and Ariela for putting in such great training! Mom "Maddie" (EBBTIDE MADAM PRESIDENT CD) is on her way to ROM thanks to Zayvee, Howdy, Naya & Gotcha. And let's not forget dad, "Baron", CH Rainedance Written In Stone OA AXJ, for his contribution. Without him, none of this would've been possible ;-)

Memorial Day Weekend - 2009

2009-05-26T15:13:00.001-07:00

As I was dodging lightning (no - really - four people hospitalized just 20 miles away) and getting a bit wet during an ASCA judging assignment in Lafayette, New Jersey, two Ebbtide dogs were busy garnering titles, points, and wins at the NorCal ASC show in Dixon, CA.

That perennial over-achiever, "Gotcha" (Ebbtide Gonna Getcha CD RA GSN JSN RSN) apparently saved her best performance EVER in Novice B Obedience when I wasn't there: a smokin' 198 for FIRST PLACE under judge Stephanie Gomez. All reports say she was right on the money...and very cute, too. Owner/trainer/handler Susan Gore reports that was her last chance to qualify for ASCA Obedience Invitational...we're hoping that did it! Don't they all look happy? Nice photo.

Oh. Wait. She also then trotted on over to the Altered Conformation competition where she was also quite cute enough for WINNERS BITCH and 2 more points! Thanks, Raine, for stepping in to handle Gotcha. Sunday brought an ALTERED RESERVE WINNERS BITCH for Miss G. So close...! Note to Trish (her newly-trained and very competent conformation handler): You wimp. That's right: No breaks here... ;-)

Another amazing Ebbtide Brains + Beauty winner! Thanks, Susan & Trish, for working so hard to let everyone see what Gotcha can do!

Not to be outdone, Gotcha's half-brother, "Fennel", Ebbtide Fennel Hill CD, and owner/trainer/handler Laurie Rubin were also working hard in Open B Obedience, where Fennel finished his CDX and won SECOND PLACE IN OPEN B, with a very respectable 195.5 score! Laurie reports Fennel has qualified in 18 performances in a row...but as soon as she said that, he then NQ'd. Don't you just love those incredibly smart Ebbtide dogs!?!? ;-) I'm not worried - stay tuned for many more wonderful things from this talented dog! Sadly, since Fennel's conformation handler (me) was out of state, he didn't get a chance to strut his stuff in the conformation ring...Laurie says ASCA Nationals will be his next conformation stop?! hmmmm...

More dog shots...less flowers? And a rant...

2009-04-27T23:06:00.000-07:00

I never heard from Ryan Scherrer (age 10?) and his photos from Sacramento KC. Where HIS dog (ok - his mom's and mine ;-), Spencer, CH EBBTIDE FINE FELLOW CD won a nice Best of Breed . FYI - Ryan was sucked into the bowels of the devil: That's right - he was playing video games on his hand-held devil-toy.
In case you missed the memo: Personally, I hate video games. So, I give kids as much grief as possible when I see them playing them. Especially kids I like. Yes, it's true: You only hurt the ones you love.

Where was I?
Right. At the dog show in Sacramento - BELOW: Spencer with his Best of Breed ribbon (and me) (and Cathy's finger? Thumb?): That's him after winning, doing his sit up trick. This trick has back-fired on occasion. Mostly in obedience training. I think it's cute. But I think I've been instructed not to tell him to sit up anymore. I think. Oh well - I'm busted.

It's cute! JJ, Ebbtide Careful What You Wish, also won a first in Bred By Exhibitor (no photo - thank you, RYAN) and brother Beau, Ebbtide Wish Upon A Rainbeau, a 2nd in 12-18 months with Judi Scherrer handling:

Judi likes to watch the competition. Free tip of the day: Better to concentrate on your own dog.

These photos courtesy Team Ebbtide member Cathy Baird (Beau's owner).

She was NOT playing video games. Thank you, Cathy.

I'm Smiling...it's Spring!

2009-04-17T13:11:00.001-07:00

As promised: More photos from the garden! The labels are ABOVE each photo.

The wisteria outside my kitchen window - turn on your smell-a-vision...ahhhhh

A tall bearded iris - blue, light blue combo - name is in a file I'm too lazy to find:

Poppies! I love poppies... orange California and one purple Poppy of Troy (Papaver setigerum)

California poppy with borage buds - I love those borage buds! I will plant many more borage seeds - will I regret this???!! They re-seed shamelessly. Stay tuned...

Below: Inside the fenced garden: The yellow area - border iris, abutilon and 'Bronze baby' sedge (Carex comans)...uhh, that cool looking "variegated " leaf in the upper left of photo - most likely chlorosis, a nutrient deficiency. I recently added compost for a long-term solution. But, I kinda like that deficient look ...

Another view of the yellow garden

OMG - this frilly tangerine iris is stupendous and, snifff, ahhhhhhhh , smells so sweet...Must find name of this one, too. I want to be this flower...

A view in the fenced garden:

Baby Blue Eyes! I love this wildflower, too! That's Verbena 'Homestead Purple' and white alyssum over-planted with a wildflower mix.

Closeup of that Poppy of Troy (Papaver setigerum) - another reseeder! I love this guy, too. Crazy stamens.

Below: Back inside the fenced garden: A new rose introduction everyone must have: Ebb Tide - we prefer you spell it EBBTIDE, of course. Too bad those Cupani sweet peas are out of focus - neat combo with the Euphorbia (green, spotty little bell blooms to right of rose). The Cupanis re-seeded, too!

Every year I take a photo like this - Tough, hardy, drought tolerant rockrose (Cistus purpureus) - I can't get enough of these blooms:

Here they are with their just-as-durable buddies: silver 'Powis Castle" Artemisia, purple wallflower (Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve'), pink flowering rockrose (Cistus pupureus):

I'm not being arrogant when I use scientific (Latin/Greek) names for plants: There is a reason. And a story behind this (I knew you were waiting for a story... ). About 20 years ago, when I started this garden in Cloverdale, I brought home a lovely silver, fuzzy plant from the local Ace Hardware, that was labeled DUSTY MILLER. In my search (no internet then!!! Had to read lots of books!) to find out if it would withstand hot hot full sun and rocky dry soil (a large part of my 1 acre garden), I came across no less than 6 plants named "Dusty Miller". The problem? Some wanted shade. Some wanted moist soil. Some wanted full sun, poor soil, and heat. Bingo. But WHO was it??? Many weeks later and with the help of the wonderful garden lady at Ace Is The Place, I found out, it was Helichrysum petiolare: full sun, heat tolerant, drought tolerant. How's that plant doing, you ask? I killed it. I will share a secret with you: When you see a plant that says "Drought Tolerant" (here in California) - you MUST water it regularly through the first 2 or 3 summers before it can withstand some drought conditions (maybe water a few times in the summer - depending on your soil, conditions, etc). That doesn't mean: Put it in the ground and don't water it! There. I just saved you alot of money.

You're welcome.

I'm going back outside now. Let's go, dogs....

Thank you, dogs, for behaving in the garden...

2009-04-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard, I am equally enamored with gardening as Australian Shepherds. It's a dicey fit, in the best of times. Besides training dogs NOT to play, run, dig, WALK -ok - don't EVEN look, already! through my flower beds... we walk a fine line in the gardening/dog lover scene.

Some of my strategies to ensure plant survival: a FENCED special garden area; using tough dog-resisitant plants; knowing not to even TRY to plant in a known dog trail, and lots of dog training and, ok, it's true, a heavy dog-police presence ;-). All our work pays off about this time every year.

So feast your eyes on this stunning Tall Bearded Iris - 'Smiling Gold' in the garden today:

All you savvy gardeners out there probably noticed the irony in my "dog-resistant plants" remark: Iris generally bloom just once a year on a tall, single stem that carries 1 to 7 blooms, and can snap off from a single badly placed blow (or dog foot). But Iris love the rocky, fast draining soil I have in my garden, and grow beautifully here. I have had up to 43 different varieties here. Many iris also have a softly enticing fragrance. Just so you know: this iris is NOT in a fenced area. So I'd like to publicly thank Maddie, Fern, JJ, and Turbo, as well as many former Ebbtide inmates..er..dogs, for allowing it to flourish.

Cuddled up to the base of 'Viva Mexico' is this grouping I love: purple verbena, 'Worcester Gold' Caryopteris, white allysum and, almost everywhere in my garden in springtime, California poppies.

So what's so special in the fenced area? Mostly, I can fertilize with organic fertilizers (good for gardens) : bone meal, blood meal, alfalfa meal, etc - all things my dogs love to EAT! And since these fertilizers are gently worked into the soil around the plants...my dogs will UN-gently root around (and through) the plants to get every. last. piece. of. fertilizer. Not good for gardens. Hence the fence. So here's some pansies on a blood meal high. Pansies love blood meal.

So what are these so-called "dog-resistant plants"? Here's a trio of tough, low water, big impact plants: gray Artemisia 'Powis Castle', purple Erysimum "Bowles Mauve', and pink-spotted Cistus. Sadly, the bright sun washed out the color in this great combo. Maybe I'll get out there tomorrow, and get a better photo in better light. It's a beautiful group, and sturdy!

More photos to come!

Howdy & Tonic - Brothers On A Mission

2009-04-14T17:42:00.000-07:00

Judie Howard and her two dogs, Tonic & Howdy, were at Sacramento KC last weekend, too - while we were fooling around in the conformation ring, they were working hard in the Obedience building.
On Saturday, "Howdy" - Ebbtide Good Ol' Greetin' and owner Judie Howard scored ANOTHER 199 under judge Stephanie Gomez and ANOTHER First Place. No High In Trial this time - an Open B dog with a 200 took that home! Sunday was a tougher day for Howdy - he has us so spoiled! But a Third Place in northern California's highly competitive Novice B class is certainly respectable. His average score in Novice B is .... 198! I think that's out of 8 shows. WOW!

"Tonic" - Ebbtide Effervescent Elixir UDX earned a 198 1/2 in Open B for a Second Place, which gave him 2 more points toward his OTCh (Obedience Trial Champion). Go Tonic Go!

Howdy and Tonic share the same mother: "Maddie" - Ebbtide Madam President CD. It's all in the family...

We need new photos of Howdy & Tonic, Judie!

Looks like Spencer is hot, too!

2009-04-13T00:02:00.001-07:00

We took a drive up to Cal Expo for Sacramento Kennel Club's show on Saturday. Judi & I took JJ (Ebbtide Careful What You Wish, age 14 mos) and Spencer (CH Ebbtide Fine Fellow CD), and we met Cathy with Beau (Ebbtide Wish On A Rainbeau) there. Judi's & Spencer's 2 kids, Rachel & Ryan, also tagged along. Ryan was supposed to take some photos for us to post on this blog. However, the hand-held video game proved waaayy more interesting than JJ winning the Bred By class or Spencer winning BEST OF BREED and showing in the Herding Group competition. Perhaps I'm wrong, and Ryan will send me a photo to include here...??

Judi showed Beau to a 2nd place, and I got to show Spencer this time ;-) We had a great time despite the warm building. JJ is blowing coat right now and looks a little....sparse. He'll take a break from shows, but will continue his obedience/rally/agility/herding endeavors.

Enjoy this past photo of CH Spencer CD:

NOT!! That's JJ (Ebbtide Careful What You Wish age 14 months)!

See Ryan: You shoulda took a picture...!

Yee Haw - Howdy is Hot

2009-04-06T22:17:00.000-07:00

Ebbtide Good Ol' Greetin' "Howdy" Goes To The Gold Rush AKC Cluster, Merced, CA, last weekend:

Thursday
First Place, Novice B Obedience, score 198
Judge Bill Iwamoto

Friday
First Place, Novice B, score 199 1/2
Judge Susie Osborn
HIGHEST SCORING DOG IN TRIAL

Saturday,
First Place Novice B, score 199 1/2
Judge Dorin Ladd
HIGHEST SCORING DOG IN IN TRIAL

Sunday
First Place Novice B, perfect score 200
Judge Loretta Delinger and (are you seeing a pattern here?)
HIGHEST SCORING DOG IN TRIAL

Oh. And he has his CD now...sorta an afterthought, don't you think?

Someone told me owner/trainer/handler Judie Howard was there, too.... ;-)

Nice nice nice nice, Judie!!!! She reported that out of his 6 Novice B showings, his lowest High In Trial score was 199.5.

Judie also showed older half-brother, "Tonic, Ebbtide Effervescent Elixir UDX , too, and won some more points toward his UDX2.
Criminy - that's some serious obedience.

Sizzle sizzle sssss...

2008 Year End USASA RANKINGS - We've got plenty!

2009-03-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

Upper left: Gotcha. Upper right: Spencer.
Lower left: Naya. Lower right: Tonic

Four incredibly talented Ebbtide dogs and their equally talented and dedicated owners/trainers/handlers have made it into the top end of the United States Australian Shepherd Association 2008 Year End Standings in Obedience and Rally! Besides all of them having Ebbtide for a first name, they all share the same dam, Ebbtide Madam President CD "Maddie"! Maddie had three litters in her breeding lifetime (she's now 10.5 yrs old and spayed): One offspring from her first litter (the "E" litter) & second litter (the "F" litter) qualified and two from the last litter (the "G" litter). Maddie, you rock! Here they are:

Ebbtide Effervescent Elixir UDX "Tonic"
Judie Howard, Moraga, CA

3rd Open B Obedience

6th Utility B Obedience

3rd Blue & Gold Award (High Combined Open B & Utility B)

CH. Ebbtide Fine Fellow CD "Spencer" Judie Scherrer & Ann Atkinson, Sebastopol, CA

4th Novice B Obedience

Ebbtide Glamour Girl CD RA "Naya" Ariela Karasov & Ann Atkinson, Madison, WI

Currently in 3rd Place Rally Advanced A Results for Rally are to 10/31/08

Ebbtide Gonna Getcha CD RA "Gotcha" Susan Gore, Trish Maddan & Ann Atkinson, Concord, CA

1st Novice A Obedience

I am so proud of these four dogs and their handlers! Congratulations to Susan, Trish & Gotcha; Judie & Tonic; Ariela & Naya; and Judi & Spencer! I'd also like to thank 3 wonderful men who rightfully deserve a share of the spotlight with their spouses: Gary Howard, Fred Scherrer and Daniel Torres-Rangel.

Happy 3rd Birthday, G Litter!

2009-03-30T11:14:00.001-07:00

Wow. There is so much to report... I'm behind!

But I HAVE to send Blogging Wishes to that amazing group of dog owners and their dogs...(alphabetically) Athena, Bear, Gotcha, Howdy, Naya, Seele & Zayvee. Proud parents: Mom - Maddie (Ebbtide Madam President CD) and Dad - Baron (CH RaineDance Written In Stone OA AXJ).

Many thanks to Raine Lutz (Baron's owner) for her outstanding photos http://www.raineimages.com/index.html. She has a whole page dedicated to all their achievements http://www.raineimages.com/rainedance/06maddie.html check it out!

This is the most bonded, socializing, fun group of puppy owners EVER....as well as the pups themselves!

And what a bunch of OVER-ACHIEVERS, too. You guys make me look really good. Thanks to all their hard word, this litter probably gets Maddie a ROM...maybe 2.....perhaps I should check that out...

"Gotcha" Ebbtide Gonna Getcha CD RA JSN GSN RSN

I just read in the newest Australian Shepherd JOURNAL, that 2 of the G Litter kids are in the Year End 2008 standings! Gotcha - Ebbtide Gonna Getcha CD RA + all those agility titles - is #1 in their standings for NOVICE A OBEDIENCE!! Lovely blue merle sister Naya - Ebbtide Glamour Girl CD RA JSN is #3 RALLY ADVANCED A !!

"Naya" Ebbtide Glamour Girl CD RA JSN

I can barely keep up with all of Gotcha's titles! That's a little sad - my apologies to uber-owners Susan Gore and Trish Maddan.

Gotcha celebrated her birthday early this weekend by winning Altered Winners Bitch for a 3 point major, finishing her ASCA CD, winning Altered RWB and a 2nd place in Agility! It DID take a village to do all that: Susan handling in obedience and agility, Trish handling her in conformation (Wow!) and me, as ever, giving detailed instructions, grooming and technical support ;-)

But it's not all about dog shows, pretty dogs, national rankings and big awards here (whaatt?)...we are REAL DOGS with REAL DESIRES and WE HAVE FUN: Here is an amazing photo from owners Ken & Linda Brown of thier always-engaging and ultimate party animal, Ebbtide Goodness Gracious ("Seele" aka Zayla..not to confused with Zayvee..)

"Seele" - Ebbtide Goodness Gracious

Ken & Linda - you HAVE to send a pretty picture, in all fairness! But Seele is here to remind you TO HAVE FUN ON YOUR BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday, G Litter! Send me your photos to add to this post!

Ebbtide Careful What You Wish - wins again!

2009-03-26T00:29:00.000-07:00

That would be JJ - My People refer to him as "Prince JJ" (they whisper behind my back - "She thinks he's sooooo perfect". But I hear them)...

Regardless, you naysayers, The J-Man trotted into the AKC show at Vallejo and trotted right back out (3 times!) with a respectable first place in BBX, Winners Dog AND Best of Winners award and two more points. That makes six - only nine more to go ;-)

I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a good story behind this little win...

Shall we start with the Fastest Wardrobe Change Ever Seen At A Dog Show - and, scary, not in the ladies room? Somehow (somehow) , I had it in my head we were showing at 10:45 am after 6 collies. Since #1 assistant wasn't with me - she tends to obsess over dog show schedules - this was never double-checked that morning. My good pal, Pam (Emmi's mom), agreed to go and be my assistant. She assumed I was reliable (!). Note to my other assistants: Always assume Ann "is reliable" and knows what she's doing - but secretly double check all schedules, equipment and maps. Ok. Fine. So we get there at 10 am,our ring is the first one inside the gate - we have time for a leisurely prep on JJ and me to get on my pantyhose, skirt, jacket & show shoes. Possibly makeup. OK. Fine. At 10:34 am, on my way to the ladies room to change, I stop at the ring to pickup my armband. There are no collies in the ring. There are no collies ANYWHERE around. yikes. Red Flag. I look up at the schedule: "10:30am 2 Bouviers 23 Australian Shepherds". YIKES. The first Aussie is entering the ring. JJ is the 3rd dog into the ring - holy wardrobe change! I run back to JJ, hide behind Debbie Pollard (sorry, Deb - she's probably scarred for life). I have my grooming coat on, but no pantyhose. I rip off my jeans - Pam now jumps in front of me - luckily, there was a wall behind us - I somehow (somehow!!) pull on my pantyhose, skirt, shoes, jacket, grab JJ and run to the ring. Dog #2 is in the ring. I take a deep breath, shake my shoulders, smile and say to myself "No problem. Here I am. Cool as a cucumber and waiting for my turn. Like I've been standing ringside ready to go for 20 minutes. Sweet." In I go - then the ring steward realizes it's me and announces in a huge voice "OMIGOD!! THAT WAS THE FASTEST CLOTHES CHANGE THAT I'VE EVER SEEN!" The judge looks a little perplexed. I want to slap the woman upside the head. Really. I smile at the judge and say wistfully "I had my show times a little mixed up."

Happily, it all worked out and we came home with our 2 points. Thanks to Randy Roberts for this colorful photo that forever captures the result of the Fastest Wardrobe Change Ever and a pretty cute JJ at age 13.5 months:

The Adventure doesn't end there. Oh nononononono. On the way home, the happy dogs, handler and assistant are yakking it up and planning our Mr. Pickle sandwich, when the Driver (me) notices a funny (hahaha) sound from the front end of the van. ERrrrr we stop the van and I hop out. Flat tire. ok no problem. We have Pam's AAA card. Three tow trucks later, and loaded onto the big tilting wrecker-truck, we head to the tire shop. Happily, we found one of the best tire businesses ever --- here's a free plug & many thanks to Diane at The Petaluma Tire Source. Two new tires later we head home.

I love dog shows! And thanks, Pam.

Howdy's Obedience Debut

2009-03-26T00:02:00.000-07:00

The long-awaited debut of Ebbtide Good Ol' Greetin' - "Howdy" - in Novice B obedience was worth waiting for...congrats to owner-trainer-handler Judie Howard, Moraga, CA!

Day One: First place, score 196.5.

Day Two: First Place, score 199.5

AND HIGH IN TRIAL!!

People: THIS is how it's supposed to be done.

The Un-official win photo - Courtesy Trish Maddan:

Howdy is from the "G" Litter sired by CH RaineDance Written In Stone and out of our Ebbtide Madam President CD (Maddie).

Spencer's Novice B debut

2009-03-25T23:26:00.000-07:00

Here's Spencer (CH Ebbtide Fine Fellow) on his way to his CD in late December at San Mateo. He won the Novice B class with a score of 196.5. It was a nice work - thanks judge Alvin Eng.

That's NOT me in the photo (perhaps you noticed) - that's owner-trainer-handler extraordinaire, Judi Scherrer, Sebastopol, CA. Way to go, Judi!
This was NOT the day of my now-infamous video escapade (see previous post "How I Almost Got Myself Killed At A Dog Show" Jan. 16, 2009).

I like this photo. But I'm not sure what I like MOST about it: Judi's impish grin, Spencer's silly head tilt or the judge's awesome glowing Judge's Name Tag. wow.
Oh wait: I like it best because it's a First Place ;-)

That Lovely Herding Group 4 at Cow Palace

2009-03-25T23:23:00.001-07:00

Ch Ebbtide Fine Fellow CD, "Spencer" and judge Keke Kahn and Ann handling. Well done, people!

In which JJ goes herding...and brings home some sheep

2009-03-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

With the exit of the registered Montadale sheep (snif) last summer,

My son, Marshall, musician/ex-sheep breeder, and some of his Montadale sheep - last summer

the pasture has had quite a rest and has grown to heights unseen for many years here. See below:

Maddie helping me take photos of the soon-to-be-sold horse corral. March 2009.

The low grass places in the photo above, are the results of my Dryland Pasture Improvement Management program, initiated two winters ago. To make a short story long: I disced up my nice native clovers and grass, spent $140 on seed, risked my son's life as I told him to sit on the back of the disc and crank the hand seeder while I drive the tractor that is older than me, and seemed to be running on just 3 of it's 4 cylinders that day "bababa...BUM...bababa...BUM..babab...BUM", plus the little lurch on the last note -oh - it was safe, alrighty...). Dragging an old fence panel behind the disc covering the seed perfectly (I'm sure). Did I mention it was lightly raining thru all this? Yes - it was time to seed - Oct. 10. The rain stopped the next day and then the sun shone for 10 days straight, reaching 90+ degrees. Needless to say, the seed germinated quickly and then promptly burned up in the heat. I bought MORE seed, scattered it myself on foot. Raked it in by hand (it was just an acre..). Ouch. The Dryland Pasture Mix did not appear. Nor the native clover. Nor the native grass. No nothing. Oh wait - that nasty little sharp stickery weed grew. Basically, I spent lots of time, money (but, for the record, did NOT harm my child) and ruined my pasture.

Moral of story: Farming is one of the biggest gambles in life.

So this fall, I scattered some rye grass and fescue seed (as well as wildflowers). I found a couple varieties of native clovers had returned!

OK - we're back in business. We need sheep...

A call to friend Fiona Hibbard (her first Aussies 20 years ago came from me - and she was one of My People back then) (Oh. She was the ONLY People I had- except for oldest son Emmett, age about 5 ...now there's some stories...). But I digress (again). We bought 4 Katahdin x Dorper yearlings at Fiona's and had a nice herding lesson with JJ - who - of course - did nicely ;-)

And here are the four new sheep:

#4 is loooking over the back of Helga, on far right. They are watching Fern closely - she's with me. Fern is watching them closely, too.

Now, I must (1) remove a 21 foot tower, (2) an old engine, so I can (3) build a round pen. Update: Tower gone! Thanks Pam & Harold (of Emmy fame).

No photos of JJ herding yet...must get the round pen up...stay tuned.

Happy First Birthday, WISH Litter!

2009-02-05T12:03:00.001-08:00

OR : Curse You, Snapfish!! If you don't know Snapfish, they store your photos and make prints. That's good when your computer crashes, and you haven't put the photos on a CD (not sure why I don't do that...).

Anyway: Today's blog was going to have incredibly cute puppy photos of the WISH Litter (CH. Tri-Ivory Make A Big Wish x CH Ebbtide Fern), who were born one year ago.

So, here are the teeny tiny photos I'm able to "share" from Snapfish:

ok. I'm feeling really, really small here...

Well, live and learn: Who out there can help me with storing digital photos then using them on my blog? And it has to be simple. Really simple. Remember, I can't even do that Facebook thing well......(oh shut up.)

But, enough about me: The pups have all grown into lovely teenage Aussies with various skills, personalities, quirks and idiosyncrasies:

JJ (the best one ;-) thinks blowing air is weird, but is now over that, thanks to Ann's highly technical de-sensitivity training program (read: she gently blew on his head alot and praised him alot). But don't go blowing in his face every time you see him or I will smack you. Really. He can also leap small buildings in a single bound..must get a photo of that on the blog soon. But for now, enjoy this amazing display of JJ practicing for his Tracking Degree and an impressive recall. (You might want to turn down your volume.)

Yeah...amazing...I'm pretty blown away by all that, too....

Tim apparently (I haven't seen this) can catch a frisbee with one already in his mouth and have two, then, in his mouth at once. Wow. Karen: We definitely need video of THAT!

Dottie knows how to finish to heel position. nice. Thanks for that, #2 - Trish, her Guardian Angel and Trainer. Hmm. MY dogs never call me that...

Dottie (left) enjoying a kiss from Aunt Gotcha --- what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Emmy looks very cute riding in "her" blue (yes. as in merle) mustang. Actually, she looks pretty cute doing just about anything. Nothing wrong with looking cute - it earns high marks here ;-)

Cali - well, she's another one of those over-achievers that #1 has trained to do all kinds of things already: in fact, I was told she'd be in an obedience match this Sunday (ooohhhh). And yes, I WILL stand there and watch. With my camera. Time we train these dogs to work with me around. Are you listening, Spencer???

Beau remains one of the sweetest, calmest and kindest male dogs I've had the pleasure of producing - he reminds me of some of my old beloved stud dogs : Remy, Ebenezer and Blarney rolled into one. And he has, it appears, lived up to his puppy name of Andre the Giant.

Izzy has proved that his rapid assessments and natural doggy intelligence is quite useful in training certain beloved, unsuspecting people. A quick intro to the slip collar has made some nice changes there. A chain slip collar can be your new best friend, too ;-).

Capri (in snowy Wisconsin) is smokin' the agility class there as well as earning high, high cute marks in her outings to shows and training classes. Thanks to Ariela's brilliant training, many good things due from this one. And did I mention she's been herding sheep in her spare time? (ooohhh #1 has some serious competition, I'd say).

Panda and Nancy (Texas) made an impressive showing at Nationals and Panda keeps Nancy hopping, for sure. Nancy says Panda will be at the 2009 ASCA Nationals back in Greeley, CO in October. Roadtrip!!!!

Dash is Dr. Dash during the day at his owner's veterinary hospital in Santa Rosa and is also showing great promise on the agility course. He beat Mr JJ at the SVASC Specialty in Dixon last October. But we won't hold that against him ;-) JJ says "Bring it on" (You ARE an idiot sometimes, JJ ...)

So much for the Big Brag section I had planned for this post... N0 - we have real reports. Stay tuned. Send me your personal reports and I'll include update this post with them. And send big photos while you're at it...

Happy Birthday!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!!

2009-02-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

Click on the photo to see the details and read the caption.

Yeah. That's us - Big news in the SF Examiner! Me leading Cali (Ebbtide As You Wish) out of the 9-12 class 2nd place win, Judi and Emmy (Ebbtide Handful Of Wishes), 3rd. But really, reporter: "Owners and presenters " ? That would be HANDLERS, Ms. Reporter. sheesh. Uhmm, also check your facts: 1485 dogs entered. I guess that's nearly 2000...

And how fortuitous that my face has been cropped (thank you, very much!), Judi is BEHIND me and Sheila is in background....and, oh, dear, it looks like narcolepsy has claimed yet ANOTHER Ebbtide friend!

But what happened to those precious photos the reporter took of the incredibly photogenic Ebbtide pups and Mr. Spencer doing his famous "Pretty Please" sit up trick??? That, THAT, faithful reader, is front page stuff.

Thanks to My People #2 : Trish Maddan, and her mom & grandma, for finding, clipping and sending the pics. Yessirree: it takes a village.

Moving On - It's February! It's Citrus Fair Time!

2009-02-03T10:45:00.000-08:00

Myers Improved Lemons in my garden today...now serving: Lemon Drop Martinis...ok, not NOW, maybe tonight.

Our local Cloverdale Citrus Fair http://cloverdalecitrusfair.org/ starts next week ... I usually build a Display Flower Garden, enter photos, advise my 4-H Gardening project with their Junior Flower Garden entry, organize the Junior Dog Show and help the Harvest 4-H Club with their food booth. Did I say I love fairs?!?! Well, I do. Let's roll back the calendar to 1965-1971 (!!) and see Ann showing her market lambs, dairy goats and rabbits at the Santa Clara County Fair while loving being a member of Foothill 4-H Club, Saratoga, CA. She also helped build the club exhibit in the Big Building. Thanks, June Cadwalader, community leader, for being a great listener, patient adult and always willing to give me a ride and feed me! Hmmm. Too bad for MY 4-Hers I'm not that nice...food for thought, Ann...

Speaking of food (nice lead..) this flowering cherry is in full bloom at my house and smells like cinnamon candy: What ever happened to smellavision?

sniff....aahhhhh

Back to this year's fair: Theme is "Once Upon A Time". awww. The 4-Hers are making a Rapunzel tower and garden. We're excited. (Right?) The garden club (I'm the chair for this year's garden) is making up our own fairy tale - and why not??!! "Once Upon A Time there was lots of water to water your garden...but now we need to conserve water" (but much better written). Ever the teacher, I will strive for an educational AND beautiful garden display. This year I have opted out of having my own professional garden display. No crying please.

On the dog front..it's all about rears: good smelling rears....Fern is in heat (7 days). JJ is finding his squeeky voice.

Does he look a little rattled....? He is.

Thanks to Previously Mean Judi - now known as Generous Judi - he will lower his hormones with Uncle Spencer and sister Cali on a luxury vacation in Sebastopol. Note to Spencer: It's not OK to bite JJ hard when he tries to mount you - just a little nibble please (for education, you know). Note to Cali: Rotsa Ruck.... and thanks Judi. Payback is hell.

JJ's packed his suckie toy and food. I better deliver him now....he's eyeing Turbo and thinking he'd make a swell girlfriend (Oh puhleeze). I hear a toy-size grrrrrrr.

Turbo looking just mahvelous, darling.

Cow Palace : You Gotta Have Your People

2009-01-27T15:44:00.000-08:00

Since the yahoos - - - I mean the enthusiastic Ebbtide dog owners excluding Ann - - (referred hereafter as My People) -- were so adamant on participating at the 2009 Cow Palace show, they were summoned by the Queen -- I mean Ann -- to attend to Her Highness and the 5 Ebbtide dogs that were entered for the weekend. To keep Her People happy, Ann had specially designed grooming smocks for everyone to wear - thanks to our friends at Gaitway, Bonnie & Mo! With the snappy EBBTIDE emblazoned on the chest and individual names for the experienced grooming staff (keep working, Cathy B!), they were a picture of The Strong, The Proud, The Competent, The ....what the...?

Yeah, well, I was just hoping...Instead, left to right: Susan looking a little stressed; Trish, hmm - just there; Judi, wildly excited; and CathyB, who it looks like forgot her narcolepsy meds. PEOPLE! Can we just smile nicely for the camera??!!

Just like the dogs, it took my appearance to get things in order:

There. Maybe CathyB was too tired from all that ironing the day before? But...I'd say overall we look quite professional, don't you? Yeah, go ahead and hold that thought. Because this is the Real Team Ebbtide:

PEOPLE! Show some respect...(glad CathyB's meds kicked in)...I have to admit: I promised My People we would "go and have fun" at the Cow Palace. They like fun, My People. So do I. After almost 39 years showing dogs, I have to have fun when I go to shows...why go if you can't have fun??!! It certainly helped pass the time on the bench from 10 am to 5:30 pm on Saturday...especially since the colorful ribbons we won did not include those all important colors of blue or purple or purple/gold. But we happily applaud our more successful Aussie friends in their endeavors that day. We met lots of new people, including this young girl, who could easily qualify for membership on the Ebbtide team (see photo above for reference).

But look how nicely behaved those 4 eleven month old puppies are?!?! Good dogs. And of course, Mr. Spencer being an impeccable role model.

Interestingly, this weekend My People were heard grumbling that I "spoil Mr. Perfect JJ". Apparently, even though I am constantly picking up the pieces of Dog Owners With Good Intentions But Shoddy Disciplining Skills (ahem), I am not allowed even a little slack with JJ...here is incriminating evidence of #1 Assistant Judi caught in the act of taking JJ's toy away from him...

You are so busted, #1.

Later, My People were delirious with joy that JJ could show like the trooper I knew he was and come home with WINNERS DOG and that crazy 4-point major (read: Big Deal). Not to be outdone, CH Spencer CD, was then handed over to his owner, Mean Judi (above), to show in the Best of Breed class. With my impeccable instructions ("Just don't screw him up, Judi"), I sent them into the Best of Breed ring:

Judi: See how the person in front of you is SHOWING NECK??!!

I then continued to show JJ in Best of Breed. Things got a little blurry here...but check it out:

I'm thinking here "Wow - she's nice! How are we gonna beat HER??" (We didn't ;-) Congrats to Melissa and her Puppy Group 1 win, too! Yowza!

To our delight, Spencer & Judi were awarded the coveted purple & gold ribbon for BEST OF BREED ! Wow! My People were over the top!

Thanks to My People's great grooming skills, the balance of our dogs won :

Cali (Ebbtide As You Wish) was 2nd place both days;

Emmy (Ebbtide Handful of Wishes) was 3rd and 4th;

Beau (Ebbtide Wish On A Rainbeau) was 4th on Saturday

Way to go, puppies!!

Since Spencer was the Best of Breed winner, he advanced to the HERDING GROUP (with Ann handling) and showed beautifully to a 4th PLACE in the HERDING GROUP!! Thanks, GGKC, for the classy AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD sign in the group! Here's a fuzzy pic of Spencer & I out in the Group ring, free stacking to the judge, who is off to the left:

That nice silver bowl on the table? Not ours. It was won by the Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Which reminds me of a funny moment: Susan and I listening to a well dressed, elegant woman tell us a story about a "Gorki". I was very good and didn't laugh - mostly because I thought it sounded like a great breed of Russian dogs. After the second time she said it, I had to say "Corgi - I think you mean Corgi". I couldn't let her sound silly all day...

Anyway, I'm seriously considering retiring from dog shows this week: Sunday's wins are going to be a hard act to follow...!

And for the record: We DID have fun. And not just because we won - maybe later I'll write about all that.

Or not...But just so you know: (1) You Gotta Have Your People and (2) You Gotta Have Fun.

Extreme Makeover - The Dog Show Episode

2009-01-27T00:42:00.000-08:00

Imagine, if you will, a dog show person who is slightly addicted to HGTV. You know: Home and Garden TV channel? Although the lack of Garden is a crime and fodder for a future post.....but I digress...HGTV is home to endless home design, remodel, makeover and decorating shows. So it's not hard to imagine just what one slightly addicted frustrated home decorator dog show/gardener person might do in the slow gardening days of winter....

Here is the BEFORE shot of where we will display our dogs for the weekend of the Golden Gate Kennel Club (affectionately known as "The Cow Palace Show"):

What?!!?! Dark, dull AND dreary, you say??? hohohohoho - do not fear - Dog Show Bench Decorator is here!

All it takes is a little imagination and effort.

And a well-worn "Cow Palace" file, with detailed dimensions, calculations and secret website addresses. And about $400 (if my husband is reading this - $100). At least 5 shopping trips. At home. At least 1 more while I'm in San Francisco. Perhaps a shipment of fabric from Montana. Or two. And can you Rush that order? Frequent email exchanges between the Ebbtide Design Team. And design meetings. A sewing day . Photo shoots. Arriving one, maybe two days before the show starts. Did I say $400??? snort. Omigod. This woman is possessed.

Yes. Yes. Maybe I am...

And did I mention the generous folks of Golden Gate Kennel Club have now made the Bench Decorations a (shriek) Competition. One Hundred Dollars awarded to BEST DECORATED BENCH IN SHOW!!!!! ok - so maybe you're noticing the irony here, too...

Be that as it may, I have A Plan. And I will not be stopped. Even when Head Seamstress and Fabric Design Consultant Pam Michalek is sidelined due to a family emergency. nononono..... I will not be stopped. Even when #1 Assistant, Judi Scherrer, bails out of decorating day, citing some crazy-talk-thing : job-winery-website-deadline-its-our-paycheck-blahblahblah (sheesh - She needs to get her priorities straight!). I will not be deterred from creating the Benching Of My Dreams.

My Theme, you ask? Ah, thank you: Vintage Cowgirl. That's right CowGIRL. That's an important detail. But, wait, there's more. Old West Vintage Cowgirl. And it has to be comfy. "Comfy Old West Vintage Cowgirl"... yeah...yeah....

I arrive late Thursday with RV and a few materials (harhar). Slight glitch: where the bleep is my iron? ok - maybe we should just keep that our little secret.....but, to the rescue: Cathy Baird, owner of Ebbtide Wish On A Rainbeau "Beau" (and "Teka"). Armed with a cute dog, an iron, a bag of various cutting devices and her good humor, Cathy (hopefully not to her dismay) volunteers to "help" me on Friday set up the bench. And so we begin:

Cathy's skills at ironing press-on seam tape reach amazing heights. Ann performs magic with twine - yes, twine! Judi The Responsible Adult (zzzzzz) designs legendary posters. Even when the Evil Vendor tries to Thwart Our Plan by running over our ironing board, we persevere: We. Will. Not. Be. Stopped. We will give the Cow Palace the Mother Of All Dog Show Benches.

Yes we can.

A table for a photo album perhaps?

Just add 5 perfectly Western dogs to complete the room, err, I mean bench:

Left to right above: JJ, Emmy, Cali, Spencer and Beau.
Divine. Simply Divine.
Here's a closeup (below) of one of the Vintage Cowgirl Pillows. Oh yeah - and isn't that Emmy cute, too?

Big Beau gets the Big Pillow:

And this, faithful reader, is the last vignette of the Bench Of My Dreams, come true:

Cali, Emmy and JJ (age 11 months) are the perfect accessory to the Comfy Old West Vintage Cowgirl Bench.

Results? Results of the dog SHOW?? That's a whole 'nuther story.....stay tuned...

With apologies to Candace Olson, Karen McAloon and Barack Obama.

'til The Cows Come Home

2009-01-21T23:54:00.000-08:00

If you were expecting this post to be about herding cows....sorry to disappoint. If you knew I was talking about San Francisco's Golden Gate Kennel Club's annual benched AKC dog show, you qualify for the Einstein Award. Yes sirreee folks: it's Cow Palace time!

How to start the love/hate relationship with this show? Although many of us love the only benched show in California (one of 2 on the West Coast!), it doesn't come easy: Two days of sitting from 10 am to 5 pm with your dogs un-crated; meeting and greeting thousands of spectators attending one of San Francisco's most loved winter events; the answering for the 10, 761st time "It's an Australian Shepherd". Even though your sign says: Ebbtide AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERDS. sigh. And remember to do it with a smile every time.

Truly the ultimate test in patience and graciousness. How did I do with that? Mostly good...I think.

If only I was as affable and obliging as my dogs. Ebbtide dogs have always believed all those people come to the Cow Palace to see THEM - no - to PET them. And so we go.

This show has traditionally been an entries limited show. Entries close waaayyy back in October. Right AFTER we got back from the ASCA Nationals in Las Vegas. Since we had so much fun in Vegas, the Team insisted we "take the puppies". The puppies being from the Famous ;-) Ebbtide Wish Litter : CH Tri-Ivory Make A Big Wish x CH Ebbtide Fern. ok. great. Four eleven month-old pups on the bench. yahoo. (For the record: Yes. Yes I am nuts.) And, of course, Ch. Ebbtide Fine Fellow CD "Spencer" would go, too.

To be a role model to the youngsters.....
SO, what puppies are going?
1. Ebbtide Careful What You Wish "JJ" black tri male
2. Ebbtide As You Wish "Cali" blue merle female, owned by Judi Scherrer and Ann Atkinson
3. Ebbtide Wish On A Rainbeau "Beau" blue merle male, owned by Cathy & Dave Baird & Ann Atkinson
4. Ebbtide Handful Of Wishes "Emmy" blue merle female, owned by Pam Michalek and Ann Atkinson (below)

All the pups are entered in the 9-12 month puppy class, except Cali will be shown in Bred By Exhibitor class on Saturday.

But it's not quite that simple.....first, you must decorate...

How I Almost Got Myself Killed At A Dog Show

2009-01-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

OR: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, ANN???
OK, OK - I'll tell you what I was thinking: CH. Ebbtide Fine Fellow, aka "Spencer" is working so nice in Novice B obedience - I'll take a video for everyone to see!! Judi will be so proud! And all the world can see now, what a great dog he really is!!
Here's my story : It's Day 3 of Spencer's AKC obedience debut. He's already won a 1st place and a 3rd place, scores 196 1/2 and 197 (out of 200). Tough judges, nice works. Very impressive. I am proud of this team! I had actually left the showgrounds the night before (2 + hours from home), and drove back down again that morning, JUST to get this on video. OK, and see Judi & Spencer do well again. OK - you're right: I don't have much of a life beyond dog shows...Anyway - so there we are, new batteries in camera, a plan to keep Spencer from knowing I'm there (he loves me - I feed him cookies in the ring every time I show him - which is alot and how he got his CH. For the record: I love him, too). What was I saying? Oh. So, I'm outside the obedience building, so I won't distract him, and just as he goes in, I sneak in the building and duck into a far corner. I turn on the camera. This is where I find out my camera (which I normally use for still shots, but it takes little videos) will NOT zoom in while on "video". oh no. OH NO! You may notice in the first video, the ever so slight movement of me, tiptoeing closer to the ring (can you say "Bunny Cam"?). Then the ring steward decides to stand RIGHT IN FRONT of me. Tiptoe tiptoe. Now the table is in the way. I back into the narrow alcove of the doorway and make myself tiny - in my head, anyway. Through the On Leash Heeling, Spencer does great, even if my video doesn't catch his work - but, you be the judge:

Note how happy Judi looks at the end of this segment. She didn't notice that slight head turn of Spencer's, right towards me (gasp!).

But all is not lost (yet): Shall we proceed to the Heel On Leash, Figure 8? Smokin' work!! Spencer has perfect attention heeling, straight sits and Judi's footwork is smooth as silk! And I, yes, me: the humble, well-meaning, nicest breeder and mentor ANYONE could ask for - have immortalized it forever on video. Note how she confidently reaches down and unsnaps the leash, in preparation for the remaining three off-leash individual exercises. Watch again, and hear her lovely, lilting, soft voice calmly command Spencer through that mesmerizing work:

Ok - the leash has been removed. But we're confident in this dog. He has already won this class this weekend. The sky is the limit!

But wait! About this time, an unseen, familiar, yet, strangely, mind-altering, scent has wafted slowly, slowly, completely, into the vacuoles of Spencer's nostrils. First the left side....then the right side. He recognizes that smell: It's ANN!! Wonderful Ann. Happy Ann. Ann-who-loves-me-maybe-more-than-Judi-does-Ann! Ann who always feeds me nice cookies when I'm in the ring! Does she need to pet me now? Does she need to feed me COOKIES NOW?!

Watch it again and notice these little nuances: Judi man-handling Spencer's head so he WON'T look at me; Judi looking straight at ME - yes, yes, those ARE death rays she sent to me through her eyes (but I ducked and they missed); that not-so-lilting tone of her voice at "STAY"; AND, is it just me, or do her arms, when she turns to face Spencer, look like they want TO STRANGLE ME?? Yes. Yes. I. Think. They. Do.

You may notice there are no more video clips of the Heel Off Leash (very nice) or the Recall (also lovely). Or so I'm told. You see, after the Stand, I saw, yes I saw, how death could find me so fast, in the form of a handler who has seen her beloved mentor almost single-handedly destroy the obedience work of the dog they both love. Wisely, and as quiet as a mouse, I backed out the door and ducked under the window and sat on the ground, shaking my head and wondering "How could I be SO STUPID?" Fortuitously, at about that time, I nice lady also exited the building and stood there - looked down at me huddled behind the door. I whisper "Is the dog still in the ring?" pleezeohpleeze say YES, or I will die right here. Perkily (!!) she says "The Aussie? Yes." thankyouthankyouthankyou "How is he doing?" I manage to murmur. "Good" she responds. "Really good??" I dare to ask. "Yeah" she offers. Feeling confident, I ever so s-l-o-w-l-y rise up to the window, just to the bottom of eyes, and watch him zip across the ring on the recall. But my blood runs cold and I drop back to the ground, lest he recognize me one last time.

They say he did a brilliant job. They say his score was a brilliant 197. They say he won 2nd place. They say he qualifies for a Front and Finish Obedience Platinum Award. They say he might be up there in national rankings.

But all I know is this: Bless you Judi Scherrer, bless you. Bless you for not murdering me that fateful day. Bless you for not leaving my children orphans. Bless you for ensuring the world will not be Ebbtide-less. Bless you for only delivering a well deserved tongue-lashing. A lesser competitor would not have been so generous.

But, hey! Aren't these videos nice? Did I forget to tell you they are on YouTube, too?

What Dogs Like To Do

2009-01-15T00:56:00.000-08:00

Today was another warm day - 78 degrees! Since we are currently out of the market lamb business, I decided to transform a summer lamb pen into a nice winter dog pen/activity area:

I added some clean straw to cover the potentially muddy spots (when/if it rains). My dogs have always thought that new straw beds are better than people beds! Plus, you don't get kicked out of them. The beauty of this pen (besides the obvious snacking potential...) is that the dog's can't ruin anything. No rare plant casualties, no Bad Dog digging, no inadvertant trampling of a seedling as they race around a corner. No Ann yelling : "GET OUT OF MY FLOWERS!".
Life is good. Dogs can be dogs.

It also is a natural observing spot: it allows the dogs to watch me in the kitchen, see who comes out of the front door, back door or office, see who comes through the front gate, keep an eye on the pasture and a quick glance covers the entire yard (Where are those cats?). Watchdog heaven. Surprisingly - no barking. While I was here, anyway. Soft, black pungent earth full of all kinds of smells and tastes. Just asking to be excavated. And so they did. With no reprimand. Even encouraged.
Life is good on the hill. Unless your Maddie - who jumps out and hangs with mom "Finally, just you and I - alone."

So here's the view I get when I look out while washing dishes - yeah, you're right - while I'm daydreaming at the kitchen sink:

If you look very carefully, you can see JJ & Fern at the top center of the photo. Trust me. It was better full size. Actually, I was impressed at how clean my windows look ! All is not lost faithful reader: You can click on the photo and see the very large size photo: clearly showing Fern & JJ on lookout. I'm such a techno-wizard...scary, isn't it?

The Story About Ebbtide

2009-01-13T22:41:00.000-08:00

Three Generations, L to R: Maddie, age 11, Fern age 6, JJ age 2.5 yrs

There have been repeated whinings that I don't have a website. This is one woman's answer....
Ebbtide Australian Shepherds are located in Cloverdale, California in Sonoma County. I started showing Aussies in 1970: I started competing primarily in obedience and some conformation. I bred my first litter in 1973, and have continued to breed approximately one litter a year. I was 17 years old and lived in Saratoga, CA with my family when I started in Aussies. Over the years, I have put many Championship titles (ASCA & AKC), Obedience titles (CD, CDX, UD) and herding titles (STDd, OTDd, STDs) on my and other dogs I have trained and handled. Most of the obedience titles were earned by dogs that were also High In Trial winners, as well as a few High Score herding awards (in the 1980's). My conformation dogs have earned many Best of Breed, Group and National awards and continue to do so. I personally handle and show in conformation, obedience, and hope to be back in the herding arena in the unknown future and agility. I'll be in the Rally ring, soon, too. The dogs and I also enjoy: camping, traveling, hiking, swimming, snow play and hanging out with friends - dogs and people!

I also judge conformation dog shows for ASCA as a Senior (!!) Breeder Judge and am licensed to judge ASCA obedience. I am on the "slow track" for my AKC judges license..lol. I have been honored to judge at 2 ASCA National Specialties, all across the USA, many provinces in Canada and one judging trip to Europe, so far.

I am fortunate to have had and currently have quite a few Ebbtide dogs in wonderful competition homes that have accumulated many national rankings in Agility, Obedience, Rally and have also won High In Trial and other awards. Many, many thanks to all the Ebbtide owners who love and compete with these dogs, and make us look so good to the masses ;-) And to all the Ebbtide dogs "just" being wonderful family companions - I treasure these people and dogs no less. Because I believe: It's all about the dog, and what is best for them. I am not looking to produce X amount of Champions or X amount of High In Trial winners: I want to see great ambassadors for the breed I love so much and people enjoying their Aussies as much as I have, in a happy, well-matched home for each and every dog I produce. Those are pretty lofty goals right there.

Genetic health clearances, pedigree research and producing a dog with a high desire to please who lives easily in many situations is tops on my list. I don't "do" kennel dogs: we live on 3+ acres, all fenced, and the dogs live as part of our family, with house privileges and lots of exercise time as they meander and patrol the one acre area that is theirs to explore around the house. All dogs get time on sheep - some are more interested than others. I do not breed specifically for a super high drive/high energy dog - it's just not the kind of dog I personally want to live with 24/7. But I have produced dogs that could be considered high drive. What I enjoy most is an intelligent dog with a high desire to please AND is structurally correct and pretty to look at, hence: "Peforming ..... Beautifully since 1970".
Our current dogs are: Ebbtide Madam President CD "Maddie"; her daughter, CH Ebbtide Fern "Fern"; and her son, Ebbtide Careful What You Wish, "JJ". We are also owned by Ebbtide Turbo - my son, Marshall's neutered black & white Papillon. Other animals include: 3 cats, 1 guinea fowl, 3 Welsummer hens and 4 Katahdin x Dorper sheep for herding training. I am am married to Dave, and have two sons, Marshall, 17 and Emmett, 27. Though they don't share my enthusiasm for canine competition, they do love and appreciate the dogs that live here, and are an integral part of the socialization of the puppies.
We are also hoping all our wonderful Ebbtide puppy owners will return for a visit (real visit - not just virtual!). If you would have told me 40 years ago that showing dogs would lead to such amazing, kind, funny, generous, caring, and genuine friendships , I would never have believed you. But, hey, I was a teenager back then... ;-)

Photo above: "JJ" and "Capri", at age 5 months. Photo taken July 2008, just after a swim.