Happy 2nd Birthday WISH Litter!

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!

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

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

"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

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

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!!

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 ;-)