Take The Lead ~ a great charity

These gorgeous whippets are from Denmark! Sabine Varming is their breeder. She is also the creator of Wicked Show Leads , modeled below (by a whippet, a basenji, a corgi and a shiba inu) . Check out her website for more information on this lively little breed or to order your very own Wicked Lead !
www.wildandwicked.dk

Up Coming Cambridge MN Show !

Anoka County  Kennel Club & Cambridge MN Kennel Club

All-Breed shows 

Isanti County Fairgrounds

3101 NE Hwy 95

Cambridge, MN 55008

 MY REVIEW   :) 

I have been to this show several times and have always enjoyed it. Grooming areas can be a little crowded in the main building, but there is a lot of outdoor space on the grounds . There is a good selection of vendors and  reasonably priced food on site from the 4-H clubs. The  camping area is very comfortable  (a little tight for the "Big Rigs"?) and the grounds include a playground & small pond. The only drawbacks I've noted here are that the handicapped parking areas are poorly marked and the bathrooms are small and a little dark.  If the weather is cooperative (this show used to be held closer to Mother's Day and it almost always rained!) it is an all around 3 star show site. They have  a funmatch, a B-Match, a CERF eye clinic, lure coursing , and indoor obedience  rings on the schedule of events this year with several breeds having supported specialties (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, Doberman Pinschers, Shar-Peis, Chow Chows, Poodles, Labrador Retievers , & Newfoundlands).

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Indian Hill Kennel will be well represented in the Lhasa Apso ring. My mom will also be showing in the cavalier ring and my daughter Ivy will be competing in Junior Showmanship for the first time!

 

Happy Memorial Day
Thank-you For My Freedom

Celebrity Paws

We started the 4-H dog obedience classes last night....not as good of a turnout as I was hoping for, but it's a start !  While looking for some fun material for next week's meeting, I found a list of canine celebrities...We all know Lassie, but how many of these other famous barkers have you enjoyed watching on screen ??? 

Air Bud...Lady & The Tramp....ToTo...who is your favorite Canine Star ???

This 2008 film was described as "life and love with the world's worst dog" . The uncredited lab that played the adult dog was named Jonah.

Tom Hanks teamed up with Beaseley, a Dogue de Bordeaux, for the canine cop comedy Turner & Hootch (1989). They were "the oddest couple ever unleashed"! 

Who could forget the slobbering mega-star Beethoven (1992), a Saint Bernard who's antics were said to "grow on you" !  

This is Fang, Hagrid's beloved giant  pet in the Harry Potter films.  Described as a boarhound in the movie, he is in fact played by 4 different Neapolitan Mastiffs.



Men In Black (1997) intoduced us to Mushu, a very well trained Pug that played alien in disguise Frank in this blockbuster film. 

2008 's I Am Legend paired Will Smith with a 3 year old German Shepherd named Abbey that played his best friend Sam in postapocalyptic New York City in this sci-fi epic. 

In the 1989 film K9, James Belushi plays detective Michael Dooley  Dooley is reluctantly partnered with  "Jerry Lee" , a dog trained to sniff drugs.  Many of the films gags revolve around Jerry Lees destructive and playful antics...but of course he is a Hero in the end! Jerry Lee was played by Koton, a canine officer with the Kansas City, MI police department. 

In the film 101 Dalmations, a total of 211 dalmation puppies were filmed ! WOW! 

 

In real life, Rin Tin Tin was a pup called Rinty found by American serviceman Lee Duncan a few months before the end of WW1. French children gave the American soldiers a puppet called rintintin for good luck. 

 Terry, a Cairn Terrier, played Dorothy's TOTO in the 1939 Wizard of Oz. His trainer/owner was paid $125 / week !

4-H Obedience Class Update....

Hi. Tomorrow night is the information and sign up meeting for dog classes -- I hope it's not raining again ! (I shouldn't complain, at least there isn't a hurricane, tornado or earthquake warning and it's not snowing !!!) We have a site for the future lessons.... they will be at the Mount Scenario College ball-fields (1500 College Avenue, near Wal-Mart).

Must be a nap time story ! 

I am both  excited and a little nervous about getting things underway. It will be the first classes I've taught in this community , so I am hoping for a good turnout and a good experience for everyone.

I've been crazy busy at work and with wrapping up the kids school year but will try to spend some more time learning about "blogland' and get some new stuff up here soon !

Another High Flyin' Lhasa !

Catch Me If You Can !!!

 This is Holly (Linda's Diamond in the Ruff BN RE AX AXJ NAP OJP). She is also a Canine Good Citizen and therapy dog. Her proud owner is Linda Harrington.

What is Agility?

• Agility is the fastest growing dog sport in the U.S. 
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• All AKC registered breeds may compete – whether a tiny Yorkshire Terrier or a giant Irish Wolfhound.
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• Dogs of all sizes run the same course with adjustments in the expected time and jump height.
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• Originating in England in 1978, agility was designed to be halftime entertainment at the Crufts Dog Show.
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• AKC held its first agility trials in 1994, staging 23 trials with 2,000 entries.
• In 2008, AKC sanctioned 2,147 agility trials  with approximately 839,000 entries.
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• The three types of AKC agility classes – The Standard Class and The Jumpers with Weaves Class and the Fifteen and Send Time (FAST) Class – offer increasing levels of difficulty to earn Novice, Open, Excellent and Master titles.
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• The Standard Class includes contact objects such as an A-frame and a seesaw. Each contact obstacle has a “safety zone” in which the dog must place at least one paw to complete the obstacle.
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• The Jumpers with Weaves Class has only jumps, tunnels and weave poles with no contact objects to slow the pace.
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• The FAST Class is a class of strategy and speed to beat the clock and gain as many points as possible over a variety of agility obstacles.
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• The highest honor an agility dog can receive is to achieve a Master Agility Championship title (MACH).
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• MACH titles are awarded based on achieving 750 speed points (by running faster than Standard Course Time) and 20 Double Qualifying Points (by qualifying in the Standard Class and the Jumpers with Weaves Class on the same day).
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• 
  
• In 2000, the first Junior Handler to obtain a MACH was Katie Moureaux and “Heisey,” a Shetland Sheepdog.
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Some of you may have seen the recent Today Show where the AKC spokeswoman truly had an epic fail and managed to put all purebred dog breeders in a less-than-favorable light. AKC wrote a response, but the damage was done on a national level, and no amount of letter writing is going to fix that! I mean, millions of people watched the Today Show. Only a small percentage, mostly AKC breeders, received AKC's letter. And who among the vast millions is going to stop to go to the AKC website to see what  that organization has to say? Here is the AKC rebuttal:

The AKC is extremely disappointed that The Today Show was given all of the information below but chose not to include any of it in their segment this morning. We met with the producers for an hour prior to the taped interview — which also lasted nearly an hour — and we provided them with supporting documentation, and they chose only to include less than 1 minute of airtime for AKC. They disregarded important facts that should have been told. In fact, we requested to receive a copy of the tape of the entire, unedited interview with Jeff Rossen so that we could show you all of the information we gave them, but their lawyers refused to provide the footage to us. 
Here are some important facts that The Today Show didn't tell you: 

• They didn't tell you that no other organization does more to protect dogs than the AKC and that "being the dog's champion" means, among other things, donating more than $24 million to canine health research, conducting kennel inspections, and offering more educational programs for responsible dog owners than any other organization.
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• They didn't tell you that when an AKC inspector finds substandard kennel conditions they must immediately report it to the appropriate federal, state and local authorities to take action.
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• They didn't tell you that, in many instances, the highly publicized raids for which animal rights groups take credit in the media have come about as a direct result of AKC's reporting to law enforcement.
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• They didn't tell you that, as we explained to Jeff Rossen and his producers numerous times, there are no "AKC Registered Operations" or "AKC Registered Breeders" and that breeders use AKC services voluntarily.
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• They didn’t tell you that less than 5% of AKC’s registration revenue comes from commercial breeders or that the AKC is a not-for-profit organization whose total revenues are less than the total marketing budget of the HSUS.
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• They didn't tell you that AKC saw substandard breeders leave the registry in droves in the mid-1990's when we instituted an inspections program. We did it anyway, even though it affected our bottom line negatively, because it was the right thing to do for dogs. And, more breeders left when we began DNA testing.
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• They didn't tell you that when AKC has concerns with legislation, it publicly puts legislative alerts on its website where anyone can learn about how a bill may potentially affect responsible breeders and dog owners' rights and not do anything to protect dogs.
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• They didn't tell you that AKC works to ensure the enforcement of cruelty and neglect laws, as well as the provisions of the federal Animal Welfare Act. As a result, AKC has a productive working relationship with local animal controls, state and local law enforcement, state departments of agriculture throughout the country, as well as the USDA.
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• They didn't tell you that AKC is well respected by lawmakers who consider us credible experts on dog issues, and rely on our thoughtful and considered advice when it comes to legislation that will impact dogs and their breeders and owners.
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• They didn’t tell you that the purebred rescue groups they referenced are actually AKC breed parent club groups and affiliates that make up the largest dog rescue group network in the country.
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• They didn't tell you that The Today Show's Natalie Morales made a TV public service announcement in conjunction with the Ad Council and the HSUS.

Please send your comments directly to the Producer of the Today Show Don Nash don.nash@nbcuni.com and the President of NBC News Phil Griffin phil.griffin@nbcuni.com.

A few pictures from the Eau Claire Show :)

The Indian Head Kennel Club held two shows on May 11th and 12th at the Eau Claire County Fairgrounds Exposition  Center. This is a smaller show, but very nicely organized with plenty of grooming space and room for spectators. 

 This is my  friend DeAnna Heller with her 7 month old lhasa puppy Roxi ( Kiki-Ari Ha-Lee Rock Star Diva ). This was her grand debut and she showed well . Her sire is Ch. Indian Hills Junk In The Trunk.

 

 This lovely Lhasa (Indian Hill's Dancing In The Rain)  is co-owned by our good friend Sue Stoddard , my mom Michele Bertram, and myself. Dancer took RWB to a major on Sunday. Her dam is Ch. Indian Hills Puddle Jumper. 

We enjoyed having Sue and  McKayla Smith  spend the weekend with us. Here is McKayla  and her Australian shepherd Cord (Waterfall's Play It !) . This up and coming team won the Open Sr Showmanship class on Saturday and BOB for 2 points on Sunday !

  

 It was a windy day on Sunday ! Here is GCH Ha-Lee Kiki- Ari Captain Morgan ( owned by Tami Bagley, Jeanne Sauve & DeAnna Heller) in the group ring .  

This impressive line up is for BOB in the Lhasa ring 

                                                               

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in the ring

 

This dynamic duo took Non-Sporting Group 1st on Sunday !

And A Few More Pics Just For Fun !....