Acadia Cierra Like A Rock, OAJ, NA, HT, RN


Merrylee Malanowski took Nicholas to a match to get him ready for the show season and he was BOB under sheltie breeder Linda Kunicki. He went on to win the herding group. It would be SO EXCITING if both Nicky and Chip finished this year as they are both son's of Ch. Sunburst Acadia Here I Come (Carrie). If you really think Chip and Nicky have a close family resemblance, their fathers are litter brothers. Chip is sired by Ch. Acadia's Bright Idea, NA, NAJ, RA, and Nicky is sired by Ch. Acadia Rock Solid.

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Sheltie Nation

I think it is so great that the love of wonderful shelties has lead Kelly to develop the website http://www.sheltienation.com/ This great website really accomplishes her goal to "foster a sense of community, make visitors smile, as well as educate & inform about the breed known as the Shetland Sheepdog". Visitors to the site can submit cute pictures of their shelties for all to see. All sheltie loves are welcome!
I am SO PROUD to have bred two of the dogs at Sheltie Nation. Toby is a Ch. Carrie son and her newest, Tyler, is a Ch. Genna son. Thanks Kelly for your loyalty to Acadia! You can check out Toby, Tyler and Treavor at "Adventures of Treavor and Toby"

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Acadia's Bright New Day wins his first point!







Acadia's Bright New Day, or "Chip" was Winners dog and Best of Winners at the Baltimore County Kennel Club show 4/20/08. The judge was Mr. Lester Mapes. Chip is sired by Ch. Acadia's Bright Idea, RA, NA, NAJ out of Ch. Sunburst Acadia Here I Come. He lives with my sister's family and was shown by me.



Unfortunately I did not get a win picture taken. I look forward to winning with him again, and I will be sure to get a picture at that time. In the meantime, I took these candid pictures of Chip with Jordan Sugg. Jordan shows shelties in Jr. Showmanship and is quite a good handler.

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Proposed changes to Dog Laws- a nationwide problem

As a "hobby" breeder, I am becoming increasingly concerned about what is occurring Nationwide to laws that apply to dogs. Many organizations (HSUS, PETA to name just two) want the public to believe that anyone who breeds dogs is contributing to an overpopulation problem. The fact is, there are never enough "WELL-BRED" dogs to meet the demand. Since you are reading my blog- I will make the assumption that you too what a dog that came from a breeder who is genuinely concerned about the individual dogs as well as the health of the breed as a whole.

Dogs Laws At Large http://www.doglawsatlarge.blogspot.com/ not only shows the direction some of these proposed laws are going, it will give links to other sites that will also give you an insight to how the breeding of dogs is being treated. Many of these laws are NOT based on what is healthy for the DOGS. For example- The CA law that PASSED requiring dogs to be spayed/neutered at 4 months of age is NOT HEALTHY for the dog and NOT based on the reproductive cycle of dogs.

4 months (16 weeks) is WAY TO EARLY to spay or neuter. Hormones are important to development! Dogs are not reproductively viable until 6 months of age and it has been shown that growth begins to slow down at 5 months of age- so where did 4 months of age come into the picture? This is one example.

Another example is housing conditions. The first draft of the proposed changes to Dog Law in PA stated that not only were dogs NOT ALLOWED on grass (remember- this is for licenced kennels only) but you were not allowed to have grass within 5 FEET of the exercise area! Presumably this was to eliminate fleas & ticks. I have been told that this has been taken out of the 2nd draft- BUT - the second draft has not be published yet.

Since you are reading my blog- I think that you are the type of dog owner who wants your dog to be a part of your life and cares deeply how dogs are cared for. I know I do. I don't want to own a "kennel building" where my dogs are housed. I want them living with me- that is way I have them. I also want to be successful in the show ring. I know that I live with more dogs than most- but I want to make that choice. My dogs are happy, people who buy my dogs are happy- and I am happy.

I have included a letter I wrote to my Rep. over a year ago. I didn't feel it necessary to post it until now. Too many new laws are popping up around the country. I HOPE that you will see that the issue is MUCH LARGER than "puppy mills". This affects EVERYONE who breeds dogs.

Thank you for reading all of this.

Senator Jake Corman January 3, 200731
West Third Street Lewistown, PA 17044

Dear Senator Corman,

Re. Doc. No. 06-2452

I spoke with you in person at the banquet for the Mifflin County Conservation District back in October 2006 about the impending changes to the Pennsylvania dog law, but at the time they had not been published. The proposed changes were listed in the December 16, 2006 PA Bulletin and I have now had the opportunity to review these proposed changes.

As I mentioned to you in person, I do agree that “commercial” dog kennels, i.e. kennels producing dogs for profit and the purpose of resale only do not currently keep the health and welfare of the dog first and should be subject to regulation changes that improve the living conditions of those dogs. However, I feel that these proposed changes will not in fact accomplish the stated goal.

The first paragraph contains the following statement, “The Department proposes to amend numerous sections of the current regulations to address changes in the industry…..” Upon reading these proposed changes it has become quite apparent to me that this administration does not understand that clearly there are two separate “industries” being affected by these regulations. The first “industry” is that of the commercial, for-profit, puppy producer. These producers produce large volumes of puppies to supply pet shops and other commercial uses. Typically they hold class Class II-Class V Kennel licenses. The second “industry” is that of the “hobby” show breeder. Typically these breeders hold Class I kennel licenses and many raise their dogs in their homes with their families.

As a participant in the second type of “industry” I am very concerned by the proposed comments. I do agree that dogs/puppies living in conditions typical of commercial, for-profit, operations need additional regulations to insure their health, safety and welfare. I do not agree that all licensed kennels be treated the same way.
The proposed changes to these regulations would impose undo hardship to most Class I kennel owners (“It is estimated that the costs will range from $5,000 to $20,000 per existing kennel for compliance with the new standards”), and actually lessen the standard of living of the dogs in their care.
I have included a copy of the document with the addition of highlighted areas. I would like the opportunity to meet with you again in person to discuss my concerns and the reasons that these areas are highlighted.

Senator Corman, I do not derive any significant portion of my income from the sale of dogs and these proposed changes would not impact my livelihood, but they would impact the quality of my life.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,
Sincerely,

Cadie Pruss

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Acadia One No Trump, NA,NAJ




Bonnie Frank, Mike's owner and trainer reports: "Acadia One No Trump "Mike" is in training for agility. He has all his AKC Novice titles in both standard and jumpers, and he is currently working in the Open class. Mike has an extremely loving and sensitive nature. He's happy being on the couch with his pack close by or out practicing agility and flying around the back yard courses.

We had a minor set back in our training about a year ago, but Mike and I worked through it. He's back on track now and showing at local trials in central Pennsylvania and Maryland. On the down side, I think I overdid the positive reinformcement for greeting friendly strangers. I now have a professional begger on my hands! He's so cute that everyone in my agility class always has a pat, a treat, and a smile for Mike. He has such heart that he's won over everyone he's met.

Thank you, Cadie, for such a wonderful companion. My husband, Jack, is fond of saying, "I'm so glad we have him!" I just look at Mike and smile. He's special."

The pictures were taken by RoxAnne Franklin, Pix Of The Litter photography, and copyrighted to her. They are NOT for reprint without her permission. I just Loved these pictures of "Mike" and I am thankful to Bonnie for sharing them with me. Mike will get his own webpage when I have my website updated.


THANK YOU BONNIE.




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Judging Sweepstakes


I am still waiting for the win pictures from this weekend back at the end of February, but here is a candid picture of me examining my eventual Best In Sweepstakes winner. This puppy was also Best of Winners that day and has since finished her championship. I was glad to have had the opportunity to have judged her.

Thank you Three Rivers Shetland Sheepdog Club of Greater Pittsburgh for inviting me to judge the sweepstakes. I had a wonderful time.

This October I will be going to northern California to judge sweepstakes out there. How fun!

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2 year old Briar is now looking for her very own home


Briar will be two years old this month and she is ready to find her very own home. Briar is too shy for the show ring. She is a great dog at home, but finds travel to be too stressful. Briar can only go to a home with a fully fenced yard. She would prefer a quite home with adults, or older children. She is affectionate and likes to sit and be pet. Briar is only about 14 inches and weighs less than 20 lbs. She is housebroken (lives full time in the house). Although she had puppy training classes when she was young, she has decided walking on a leash is not for her. If you are interested, please email me and put "Briar" in the email subject line.
This is Briar as a puppy taken during the puppy training class.

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April Fools' Day


Happy Birthday to Jewel's puppies, Chase and Toby.

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