October 2015

Friday, October 16, 2015

The third quarter of 2015 was AMAZING.

We took our first vacation without dogs or work to Breckenridge, Colorado and enjoyed every single minute of it. We went hiking, zip lining, fly fishing, and enjoyed time with the Texas Kuhns and the Kuhn Parentals. Rod went fishing for the very first time and caught more fish than anyone. Actually, he's the only one who caught any fish and, no pun intended, we were hooked on fly fishing. Returning from vacation, the 8 "Munchpots" (Bomond x Lara Scottie puppies) turned 8 weeks old and we could have never taken vacation if it weren't for the amazing generosity of Brenna and Lenore Mooney for house and dog sitting while we were gone.

As puppies started going to their new homes, we ultimately decided to hold on to two of the boys for show homes or to stay in our home and finish their championships in the future. The only girl of the litter (we are calling her Dee Dee) may have seemed like a natural given for sticking around the Ottcienda, but she is a lovely example of a Scottie along with extra doses of spunk, verve, tenacity, and sweetness. We adore her. In the photo of all 8 puppies, she is the only one looking up.

August brought mayhem times three to the Ottcienda. Danica the Bouvier came in season and much to Rod's chagrin, I chose to breed her for an 8th attempted time. It was a mutual decision to breed her to Garrison's son Mal due to the previous two unsuccessful attempts with yet a different stud dog. And in typical pack fashion, Danica brought Misty into season who then, in turn, brought Nita into season. When deciding whether we would breed the other two younger girls or not, we decided to throw medical science out the window and use pack mentality and hormones in an attempt to get Danica pregnant and hopefully stay pregnant. We ultimately chose to breed all three of the Bouvier girls.

So thanks to "The Sisters" (Brenna and Lenore), we had four breedings between Mal and Danica. Brenna has continued to threaten Danica with strong words to get, and stay, pregnant. And then, thanks to Judith Abramsohn of de la Salsa Bouviers and handler Carlos Carrizo, we bred Misty to Judith's boy Katcher (GCH Raylind Katcher de la Salsa). And thanks to another attempted collaboration with the Johnsons and Rocheuses Bouviers in Colorado, we flew Nita out a week prior to our Big Fall Trip 2015 to her co-owners (my parents) and threw them into the world of breeding Bouviers. I had a job working as an emcee in San Francisco and did my best to manage and coordinate vet visits, progesterone tests, breedings, and all other aspects of Life with Nita in Colorado until we would arrive a week or so later for national specialty mayhem.

Prior to leaving California, we attended the Scottish Terrier Club of California's Fall Puppy Match and took our four youngsters to represent. We were elated when the match judge Robert Inman chose our young boy Turner (Bravo The Tide Has Turned) as his Best Junior and Best In Match! That same weekend, we also got word that our Digger x Lara boy Louie (Bravo Striking Performance) had a fantastic time in Showlow winning Best of Breed, two Group 2 placements, AND an Owner-Handler Group 1 win! We are so proud of our young Scotties and all they are doing for their owners in and out of the ring.

For over a year, the logistics of this year's national specialties remained daunting. Ultimately, we managed to drive half-way across the country to Colorado with 8 dogs, fly on to Philadelphia with 2 Scotties, return to Colorado where my parents managed to keep the young Bouvs, and safely returned to California. There is no way we could have executed these trips without our house/dog sitter Miguel Casillas, the mid-day dog sitters Kelly Bolin and Jimmy Miller, the Johnsons and their kennels (Woodman and Sunrise), our friend and colleague Michelle Jacobson for hauling some equipment back for us, and Pilar's parents (aka the La Chanson Satellite Location in Colorado Springs).

Representing Bravo Scotties at this year's STCA National Awards Dinner, our darling Lara - GCH Bravo Fortune Seeker - was in a 6-way tie for Brood Bitch of the Year. We were thrilled to accept this trophy and shared the news with her new primary owner Charles Weir in Long Beach and her half-brother Nickel (CH Bravo Silver Lining). Lara's daughter Bijou - GCH Bravo Woburn Bijouterie - was the recipient of the American-Bred award. We can't thank her owners Steve and Debi Russell enough for all they have done with Bijou. Taking a short break from serious dog show performances, we took part in the Barn Hunt Demonstration at our host hotel. Gabby and Bomond seemed to enjoy their time sniffing out the live rats and Rod and I enjoyed a new activity with our Scotties.

At the actual shows and national specialty, Gabby, Chicory's daughter, represented well. She won her 6-9 month class at Hatboro under judge Dr. Tom Hossfeld and placed second in her 6-9 month class under judge Mr. Gerry Penta at our national specialty. This was a huge trip for our young Chiclet and she did amazingly well and made us proud every step of the way. Her father Bomond represented and, as a young male, we were thrilled with how he showed and we are more than thrilled with what he has produced at Bravo Scotties in two separate litters.

Upon returning to Colorado, we rejoined with the Scottie puppies Dee Dee, Turner, and Noble, and our three Bouviers Jack, Misty, and Nita. The first day of the Bouvier national weekend in the ring, Jack placed 2nd in his Futurity class and we were thrilled. With a "day off" from showing, I sang "America the Beautiful" at the Top 20 event after spending most of the day grooming and attending a very informative reproductive seminar. When the national specialty classes started up on Thursday, River was progressing along in her season, but she still won her Bred By Exhibitor class (entry of 6), but in true River fashion, she got distracted about where her "aunties" were and couldn't hold herself together during Winners competition.

The next day, however, was a day to remember forever. Neither one of our boys (Mal and Jack) made it past the first cut, but they both showed extremely well for youngsters. However, Misty made it past the first cut in bitches in her group, and then Nita did, too. Since Rod was holding on to Misty while I was showing Nita, we made the decision to keep Misty with Rod and Nita with me. Rod did all he could to entice Misty to stand still with bait in her mouth and Nita showed her little heart out. Both bitches kept making the cuts until the final pull. When judge Mr. Stephen Gladstone pointed and announced the placements, our entire team was elated. Our fawn princess had just gone Select Bitch at our national specialty!!!! And then Miss River went back in the ring and walked away with the Best Bred By Exhibitor award from the national specialty. What a fantastic day!!!!

The following day at the Rocky Mountain Bouvier club's regional specialty, River once again won her Bred By Class, but being further along in season, she was too worried about anyone or anything sneaking up behind her and wrecked herself during the Winners Competition again. However, she also was awarded Best Bred By Exhibitor again, which made us proud.

And perhaps the biggest highlight and most fun of the Bouvier specialty were the three "Munchpot" Scottie puppies. The Johnson's grandkids Taylor, Riley, and Cameron had fallen in love with the puppies while they stayed at their kennel during our trip to Philadelphia. When the puppies heard the girls' voices at the Bouvier national, their tails couldn't stop wagging. We let the girls play and entertain the puppies for the entire week and the puppies came back leash broken and half-show trained! We were also thrilled with how well these three (now four-month-old babies) handled driving so many miles and spending multiple nights in crates or ex-pens, even though we could tell they were longing for a romp in their own familiar back yard. Thankfully, they had a chance to burn off extra energy at my parent's house prior to starting the long trek back to California.

The afternoon we returned to the Ottcienca, we could tell that Danica had uddered down, so later that afternoon, we then confirmed via ultrasound that she was actually pregnant with a few viable puppies. During our trip, we noticed Misty's belly getting a little more round, and by the end of the week of our return, her belly ballooned. Nita is still too early on post-breeding to detect if she may be pregnant or not, but we're hoping for an insane November.

During this entire trip, we were elated to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary with so many of our dear friends. And at the Regional Bouvier specialty (on our actual anniversary) Rod had flowers delivered ringside while we watched class dogs exhibit. It's hard to believe five years have passed when it seems like just yesterday we were preparing for our wedding at The Walton Farm. Time flies when you're having fun!

And we're sure the fourth quarter of 2015 will fly by as we tend to new Bouvier puppies!!!! Hooray for baby Bouviers!!!!