Lost Coast Kennel Club Show, Ferndale, CA

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

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

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!

2009 ASCA NATIONALS - Part 3 Obedience at Nationals

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...

Memorial Day Weekend - 2009

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...