Herding Group 1 and new *GCh.* Acadia Essential

This weekend Warren Won the Herding Group!  It is so much fun to show a dog that enjoys the show and is a good partner.  I love showing Warren and every time we win Best of Breed and get to show in the Herding Group I always feel he could win it.  This weekend he proved me right.   The towel  I had on my grooming table that day was the Group 1 towel Warren's grandmother, Liza, had won at the Mid-Susquehanna Valley Kennel Club show many years ago.  

Tri-factored sables

 My childhood dog and my first champion, Ch. Parker of Mirluc, CD was a tri-factored sable male.   He was the love of my life and obviously had a huge influence on how I saw shelties.  His father was the tri-color, Ch. Rockwoods Nite Enchantment, CD and his mother was a sable Misty's Lucky Cricket, CDX.  Betty Ieronimo of Mirluc shelties, the breeder of Parker, owned Cricket and she can be found in all of my pedigrees today through her stunning great-granddaughter, Ch. Zion's Bright Signature.  

Ch. Acadia's Crown Prince

If you read my blog, you know it's the female line that I base most of my breedings on, but I sure do love my tri-factored boys. 

Pictured is Luke and Warren.  Not pictured is Parker, Manny and Aiden. 

 

Ch. Acadia Essential

New Champion *Ch* Acadia Essential

 Warren finished his championship this weekend.  He needed 2 points and Friday was 2 points.  There was a major on Saturday, but only if Warren was shown to hold the points.  

The number of points depends on the number of dogs of a particular breed entered.  The point scale changes each year in May.  Currently, to earn 2 points in male shelties, there need to be between 6-8 males entered in the classes competing for championship points.  To earn a major (3-5 points) there needs to be between 9-14 male shelties entered.   Saturday the entry for males, including Warren, was 9. 

Once a dog is a champion, they compete in a different class against other champions.  Champions, and the class they compete in is often referred to as "Specials".   If Warren had been moved to the Specials class, the entry for the dogs competing for championship points would have been 8, or 2 points.   To earn a championship, a dog must win 2 majors under 2 different judges.  

He was entered in the Bred-by-Exhibitor class which I feel is a class in which the exhibitor proudly puts their best dogs, and shows to win.  Other exhibitors asked that Warren not be moved to the specials class so that the major "would hold"- the term we use when enough dogs are competing- the opposite thing we say is "the major broke"- meaning that enough dogs were absent the number competing went below the thresh hold for 3 points.   I didn't want to not show to him to his best advantage so I moved him to the Open sable & White class and asked someone else to show him.  They did a good job, but he was not as in-sync with them and it worked- a different dog won the major- which finished that dog's championship requirements.   They told me they were not coming back on Sunday so I moved Warren to the Specials Class to be shown as a Champion.   Sunday we won Best of Breed.  

12 year old Mason Cleans Up at the Rally Trails

 Ch. Acadia Independence Day, CD, PCD, BN, RM3, RAE, RC, TKI  "Mason"  Cleaned up at the PWCCP Rally Trials on September 6 and September 7.  He earned several placements and both days he earned Highest Combined score for Excellent B & Advanced B and Highest Combined Triple in Master, Excellent B, and Advanced B.  This is a huge accomplishment!  Anita said she has never experienced that before. The coolest part of this big accomplishment is that Mason turned 12 years old this month.  

In honor of his accomplishments, the Corgi Club made Mason an Honorary Fluffy Corgi. 

New *Ch* Acadia Laureate Red Sensation

 Zachary completed the requirements for the championship last weekend.  He finished with 4 majors and a 1st place in his class at the National.  I am very pleased.  He is the 2nd champion for his mother, Laureate Zinfandoll, this year and the 2nd champion for his father, GChB Acadia Gregarious,  DCAT

Wolves in Yellowstone

 I am so lucky.  This year, my best friend Sharon, stayed at our house while we went on a Pruss family vacation.  I had been very stressed because the dog sitter I had lined up for the week backed out and I was afraid I would not be able to go.  Mike's mother is in her mid-80's and she had planned a family trip to Yellowstone.  Oddly, I have never been to Yellowstone.  I was really looking forward to this trip because Yellowstone is a wolf watching mecca - and I love wolves.  I was telling Sharon my woes and she said, "I can come take care of the dogs"- WOW!!  It is a lot to ask someone and Sharon volunteered.  What a Great Friend!.  

  We did see wolves.  We were looking through our binoculars and spotting scopes and we saw a whole pack- way in the distance.  We could see adults and puppies (they looked like miniature adults).  There were bison in the foreground and a nice stream.  It was a very pretty area known as Slough Creek.  As we were watching, one black wolf started trotting down a path in our direction and we were all pleased that it was getting easier to see this individual as it was getting closer- but it was still fairly far away.   

July in Yellowstone is full of tourists and many people are there to see the wolves.  There are a few areas that are fairly reliable for sighting wolves, Slough Creek area and Lamar Valley.  "Wolf watchers" are a group of people who spend their days looking for the wolves, most of whom are people who spend their vacations going to the prime watching spots just to enjoy watching pack interactions.   As such, there are people who are at these prime watching spots looking. They have formed  a network and they keep in contact via radio and keep each other updated on the sightings.  Other tourists stop to ask if there are any wolves to be seen.  If yes, crowds gather along the road, if no, they ask if anyone in the network is seeing wolves, and where.   This location had a small crowd of people and vehicles along the road watching the wolves in the distance, and the one wolf that was trotting on a path towards the road.  

It was fun watching the pack with puppies in the distance, but after a while it became clear that the most exciting thing was the wolf that just kept coming closer, and closer, and closer to the road.  

For some unexplained reason Mike and I don't have a very good camera.  We both have really good quality binoculars, but our camera leaves a lot to be desired.  If these pictures are what we took with a bad camera, just think what our pictures could have looked like with a great camera!  The black wolf chose a path that took him directly to the roadside pull-off and the crowd of people.  The crowd parted and the wolf crossed the road.  The picture that looks a little "frosty" is the other side of the road and a different sun angle.  

  After the wolf was out of sight, we headed over to Lamar Valley.   It was early morning, and the road was full of tourists.  We could tell by the crowd that there was something interesting going on.   I wanted to jump out of the van, but had to wait until we could find a place to pull off the road.  I was afraid we were going to miss a wolf, but when we did stop and were able to get out, we found out that that while we had missed a chase, we didn't miss a wolf killing a bison calf.   I don't have any pictures because our camera was not good enough, but we were able to watch the wolf, a coyote, ravens, an immature bald eagle, and a few adult bull bison all interact out in a wide open space with perfect viewing.   I am so thankful. I could have stayed and watched all day- or at least until the wolf left, but we left before the wolf did. 

New *Ch* Acadia Director's Cut "Vernon"

 Vernon finished in a few short weekends with handler, Zana Friend.  I love this puppy.  He is sired by GCh. Acadia's Stage Director and his mother is Laureate Zinfandoll.   

GCh. Acadia's Stage Director and sons

Aiden is now a Grand Champion!  He is now GCH. Acadia's Stage Director.   He had a wonderful weekend of shows.  He was pulled for consideration in one group, and placed 3rd in the group on a different day.    A women came up to me when I was walking out of the ring, touched my arm, and said, Love, Love LOVE your sheltie!  That was really nice.  I walked back to my set up and another person said to me, I have been watching you this weekend and you two are a really lovely team.   It's true that showing dogs is a team sport.  It is what I love the most about showing dogs.  I love the connection with the dog. I love the time spent focused on the dog.  I love being a part of the team.  

    One day Aiden's son, Acadia's Film Director "Windsor", won Best of Breed- defeating Aiden and the other entered champions.  I was very proud of him.  Windsor earned 5 more points that weekend bringing his total to 9 points, 1 major.  

Acadia's Film Director   "Windsor"

    Brother Vernon, Acadia Director's Cut, was at dog shows in Virginia with handler Zana Friend.  He was winning too and now has a major.  

Acadia Director's Cut   "Vernon"

 

Acadia's Film Director, "Windsor" wins a Major

 YAY!!  My friend Eileen Seirup told me she was going to shows in New Castle, PA and asked, did I have anyone she could take and show.  Yes, Windsor was looking good, but he had never been to a show, and he had also never been to a handling class.   He "looked" the part, but I didn't think he would "act" the part.  I told Eileen that I would love it if she took him along and trained him.  No pressure- just make it Fun.   WELL!!  He was Winners Dog 2 days- and the 2nd day was for a Major!!   WOW!!   No pressure, but now he has 4 points- with a Major!!!  

The first day, Eileen said he really didn't know what he was doing and he wasn't moving well.   Yesterday she told me he seems to have figured this out and he moved So much better- I guess the judge agreed!.  The weather has been horrible.  It has been raining and Eileen took her camper and is staying on the show grounds.  She said the site is muddy and that is making it more of a challenge.   In his win photo- I was expecting him to look muddy- she is going a good job.  

Eileen is showing 2 of her own girls and she is going well and winning with them also.  Eileen as been having a very good weekend.  She has never been to these shows before and I would be willing to bet that the competition is looking forward to her going home :-)

Acadia's Film Director  (Ch. Acadia's Stage Director x Laureate Zinfandoll)

Acadia Trust Me "Nora"

Acadia Trust Me  (Ch. Acadia Trusted Opinion x Ch. Laureate Meiomi)

 Mike and I are by no means professional photographers, but today we took a few pictures of Nora and then played around with some of the simple "edit" tools my computer has to offer.  I wanted to blur the background.   I liked it, but often, in our pictures, the background is too close and too in focus.  After several attempts, I decided that I liked this well enough.  It still looks like an amateur did it, but I think it is better than many of the pictures we have taken where we didn't do anything to the pictures.

Over the years we have gotten lucky with some of the pictures we have taken and when that happens, I am over joyed.  Who knows, maybe I will learn new skills and improve the images I post on the blog- or perhaps I will just end up with a few lucky good ones as before.

GChS Acadia Stage Presence, CC (7/27/2010- 2/2/2025)

Westminster- Select

National Dog Show- Group 3

ASSA National

Ch.Chica, ROM, Ch,.Aiden, ChS Liza, CC

Techla, Ch.Chica, ROM, ChS Liza, CC

11.5 years old- Group 1

 

Happy New Year- Welcome 2025

Happy New Year to All

2024 was a good year. I am thankful that I was able to successfully accomplish two bucket list items and a dreams come true item.  Bucket list item #1. get to see wild polar bears.   The Pruss family took a trip to Churchill, Manitoba Canada in July.  We did see beluga whales, but no polar bears.  The best time to see polar bears is late October, early November as they congregate in Churchill for "ice up" on the Hudson Bay.  As soon as I got home in July, I immediately started looking for an opportunity to go back in November.  My good friend, Katrina Steward, was also very interested, so the two of us booked a quick trip which was successful. I saw 12 different bears.   Katrina is a birder and she saw 3 "lifers" on the trip.  

Bucket List item #2 - ROM (Register of Merit) - Chica achieved that this year for which I am very thankful.  

Dream Come True- Breeder of Best In Futurity and Reserve Winners Dog, plus an additional class winner at the ASSA National.  

Many Acadia bred shelties were successful in competition events - a personal highlight was Warren winning Best of Breed at a Specialty under respected judge Rodrick Thompson.  

All-in-all it was a year to be proud of and one for good memories.  

I am thankful to all of the people who helped make this year a success- there certainly were many!