CaseyKay

Can vouch for this :laugh: Lovely pups, hope the time goes fast for you :)

Rottweiler when I still want to do dog sports but too old n decrepid for agility. A boofy boy one. Just love them. Saluki (or long-haired Whippet) to lie around looking gorgeous and to buy pretty sighthound collars for. Various obscure HPR gundog breeds not available in Australasia. Either of the breeds we have (Border Collie and French Brittany) in black tri-colour. We have 4 dogs and the oldest is only 7. Four is a hard limit for me as they all compete in various things. Future dogs are a long, long way off.

We have two Brittanys. They are the smaller more spanielly looking French type, which is the much more common type in New Zealand. We use them for hunting, field trials, agility and rally obedience. They are great house pets as they are really happy to hang out with you at home, doesn't matter if you aren't doing much. Having said that ours, and others we know, don't like being left alone. If the weather is bad or you don't feel like a walk today, they don't mind as long as they get to be with you. But when you take them out they have PLENTY of go. They are a nice sized breed. Mine are both girls (mother and daughter) and weigh about 14kg. They make great snuggly lap dogs. They like their creature comforts and appreciate sharing the couch with you. They are very loyal and devoted to their family and friends but the ones I know are reserved around strangers. Not unfriendly and will happily be patted and made a fuss of by new people, but they aren't your typical "everyone is my bestest buddy" gundog. I also have 2 border collies. They are both VERY bright breeds but the Border Collies are better at being told what to do and the Brittanys are better at problem solving. I say to people that the main difference between my 2 breeds is "because I told you so" is a perfectly acceptable answer to a Border Collie :laugh: They have a nice short soft coat. Possibly they shed but nothing like my collies do.

We don't have an epileptic dog now, she died aged 11.5 years (from cancer not epilepsy) in 2013. She started seizing at 20 months, we owned her from a puppy. She used to cluster seize and went through a very bad time around 4-5 years old, so she was put on Potassium Bromide as well as Phenobarb which she started at 20 months. KBr can make them ataxic and prone to pancreatitis but the clusters were life threatening so we had no choice. Our girl had 2 bouts of pancreatitis, the 2nd time very severe aged 9 years and thought we would lose her. But she never clustered again after starting Kbr, instead having one grand mal seizure every 3 weeks no matter how we tweaked the 2 meds. The second time she got pancreatitis she was put on a very low fat kibble for recovery and that is all she ate (previously on a raw diet as I had read that helps). After starting this diet her ataxia became better, she stopped seizing and we reduced her meds. She did not seize at all the last two years of her life and I never dared feed her anything but this kibble...which she ate grudgingly. She died of pancreatic cancer so I often wonder now if her seizures were related to some medical issue and were not idiopathic (diagnosis) after all.

We have had: Gus Coby Maddie KC Now have: Gael Kepler (I think my favourite dog name I have had, usually called Keppy) Scout Camo Future Brittany names: Pilot Recon Future BC name: Fen

Nova is very handsome. Congrats on his RN! Here are my current 4 dogs on the couch, showing there is probably no room for a saluki :D Gael is 7 year old border collie, she's my BFF. She is an awesome dog to live with and I'd keep her with me 24/7 if I could but for some reason she's the hardest dog I've done sports with. She is very handler focused and very reactive to tiny movements. Next to Gael is Camo, who is a 12 month old Brittany and I just love her to bits, she is the only dog I have had since their birth and she is the sweetest thing, who can do no wrong in my eyes. I wasn't much of a puppy person until Cam Camo also got her RN recently. Scout is a 4 year old Brittany and Camo's Mum. She is far more my husbands dog and I find her a little difficult in many ways. She is very bright but doesn't use her brain only for good. Kep (2 year old border collie, Gael's nephew) is the only boy dog I have had for a long time (my two previous BCs were also girls). He is a big squishy doofus. Total mummy's boy and would love to be a lap dog. Unfortunately he is extremely licky. According to the general public he does a decent impression of a husky...

Scout probably runs off chasing stuff more than a sighthound does I'm sure there's room on your sofa for a hound There's likely room on my sofa for YOUR hound :laugh:

Lookswise Saluki's are my favourite breed (sighthound + long-haired = ), but they would probably not fit into my pack of usually exercised offlead dogs that I like to do sports with

I have 2 black roan French Brittanys. It is very rare if someone knows what they are, but I had a couple come over to me in the park last week because HE reckoned they were Brittanys but his wife was SURE they couldn't be as Brittanys didn't come in black. He was well chuffed to be right :laugh:

Do you need to worry about play styles etc with an Iggie in the house? How about a whippet? They seem a bit more robust but similar and there is an awesome one doing agility in Timaru :)

I find it quite difficult mentally to know you can't lose ANY marks in Excellent. It makes it a bit more stressful but also an interesting goal to work towards. Scout never got 100 in Advanced so I decided to leave rally at RA with her. I know it is possible with both my current BC and Camo has a lot better focus and precision than Scout so I will try Excellent with her one day. Novice is achievable for most people who try it I think, you only need 90/100 to qual in that.

Ohutu Gaelic Blues ADX JDX CDX UDX WDX RE aka Gael -Try and get more clear rounds than we did in Agility in 2015 (only 10% of runs were clear). Do less Jumpers A in 2016, as it is too much tricky handling for me and I don't enjoy it. No clears yet for 2016... -Keep working towards RAE title, hard when in NZ you need to get 95 in Advanced B and 100 in Excellent B, plus we don't get to a lot of rally shows. Added one more recently bring us to 4/10...slow process hampered by silly handler errors Eclaireur du Montier JD RA QC aka Scout -Finish JD title (on 23/25, so only needs 2) -Start working on JDX title (will need another 25 CRC as she is unlikely to get it by winning Jumpers B 3 times)long term goal. Scout was spayed in April so hasn't done any agility while recovering -Try and add some more Field Trial CC (with my husband). Added her 3rd CC in April, 3 to go Ohutu Kepler's Mission JD RA aka Kep -RE title Had his first two attempts at Excellent in May and both were 100 so just one to go! -Enter Novice obedience? (not sure) Have decided to be realistic it's just not my thing -CDX title -Start competing in Jumpers early in year Kep won out of Jumpers C at his 3rd show of the year and has started in Jumpers B -Start competing in Agility mid year Had his first starters run in April, weaves are good! Holmbrook Counting Stars aka Camo -I have done Rally with my last 5 dogs so hope to do Novice with Camo in 2016. Camo entered her first Rally Novice in May aged 9 months and got 2 qualifying certificates (98/4th place and a 100/1st place!), one to go for her RN -Natural ability test via New Zealand Versatile Hunting Dog Test Association, next one is in April Passed all sections except the water section, has another go in November!

I like competing with my dogs, I think we both enjoy it. I'm guessing people who trial are all competitive (or goal-orientated) to some extent or you could just train your dog in your park or at club training. So I will say I like doing well with them, that is not necessarily winning although it can be depending on the sport and the dog. I have different goals I want to achieve for different dogs and sports. To me having goals is part of the enjoyment I get out of it. I love running Scout the Brittany in agility but she is not fast enough to win against all the border collies in her height category so getting clear rounds is my goal with her. Same with Rally, my goals with Gael and Kep are to get 100 and preferably the fastest time, but with Scout it was to qualify. I like going to competitions and hanging out with other doggy people. I mainly compete these days in Agility and Rally and I like both of them equally. I like competing in obedience type stuff with the right dog and am not currently competing in obedience but may with one of the dogs I have now. I spectate and steward at field trials that my husband runs in but I don't run a dog in them. I have been known to not enter an agility trial to go watch Scout blaze up a hill at a field trial. I do have to wonder why some of the VERY VERY nervous people you see put themselves through the stress. I enjoy dog sports as my hobby away from my full time day job, but I hate competing in the rain, so I'm not going to give up my weekends being miserable in the rain, I will scratch and stay home instead :laugh:

I have that book, it is good on the basics and would highly recommend her book "Total Recall" as well.

We were at the same agility show last weekend as Podengo and knocked off a couple of goals:

We have 2 Brittanys (French type rather than American type). They are small females, Scout weighs around 14kg and really only needs brushing on her ears, she is quite smooth with a bit of feathering. I presume the pup will weigh about the same since it is her pup :) I have seen Brits a lot bigger (and hairier) than my two. You are correct that they like to hunt at a distance on walks and for that reason I can think of nicer dogs to have as a pet. There are a lot of places I wouldn't walk Scout. We recently bought GPS collars for hunting trips although she is very good at keeping an eye on her owners and has an excellent recall. The only whippet Scout has met she liked a lot and they chased each other at high speeds! Scout likes that sort of game much more than wrestling type games. All the springers I know are working type ones and they seem similar but stay a bit closer. A friend we walk with has a welsh springer (show lines) and he is a lovely pet dog but quite hairy. Not sure if it is because he was neutered young but his bushy coat catches everything so his owner gave up and keeps him shaved shorter. If I wanted a dog with gundog attributes but didn't want a hunting dog I would rate Welshies quite highly. Both our Brittanys (and the one I look after when her owners are away) are very lazy, comfort seeking, couch potatoes in the house. Very loyal and cuddly breed. Camo the 4 month old pup seems to stay a lot closer so she only gets walked with my 2 Border collies who orbit pretty close.

We had a pretty quiet year in 2015 due to Scout having pups in the middle of the year. Gael got her ADX title and I retired her from working trials (tracking) as it is too time consuming a hobby to do with a dog that is blah about tracking and really hates stays even though it was my favorite sport with my previous dog. I will try again with Kep but not next year. Kep got his RN and RA titles and is a joy to work with. He loves obedience type stuff which is nice as none of the others do. He did very well in the National Champs in Rally last month. Scout had pups and added one more Field trial challenge and added nearly enough clear rounds in jumpers for her JD. She doesn't like agility as much, weaves demotivate her, so she only does jumpers now. As you can see, 2015 has been a year of simplification into what the individual dogs enjoy :) Ohutu Gaelic Blues ADX JDX CDX UDX WDX RE aka Gael -Try and get more clear rounds than we did in Agility in 2015 (only 10% of runs were clear). Do less Jumpers A in 2016, as it is too much tricky handling for me and I don't enjoy it. -Keep working towards RAE title, hard when in NZ you need to get 95 in Advanced B and 100 in Excellent B, plus we don't get to a lot of rally shows. Eclaireur du Montier RA QC aka Scout -Finish JD title (on 23/25, so only needs 2) -Start working on JDX title (will need another 25 CRC as she is unlikely to get it by winning Jumpers B 3 times)long term goal. -Try and add some more Field Trial CC (with my husband). Ohutu Kepler's Mission RA aka Kep -RE title -Enter Novice obedience? (not sure) -CDX title -Start competing in Jumpers early in year -Start competing in Agility mid year Holmbrook Counting Stars aka Camo -I have done Rally with my last 5 dogs so hope to do Novice with Camo in 2016. -Natural ability test via New Zealand Versatile Hunting Dog Test Association, next one is in April

I am for one of the 2 breeds we have: Brittanys (NZ). Great club, has an interesting newsletter, is inclusive for everyone who has the breed, of whatever type, NZKC reg or not, and whatever they do with them. Very fast to help any Brits in need of rehoming. My primary breed: Border Collies, no. The only breed clubs I know of in NZ are for breed showing only and that is of no interest to me (I have the wrong sort of BC for that anyway). I think one of them runs obedience at some of its shows. Also belong to an obedience club, an agility one, a tracking one and 2 gundog trials clubs!

It is always very, very hard for me and haunts me for ages afterwards. But I have never left one, although the second I know they are gone I need to leave the room. KC my 11 year old BC was very very unwell suddenly in 2013 and had exploratory surgery, and they rang me (I was at home) during it to say there was no hope, a tumour had burst. They asked if I wanted them to close her up and for me to go in to say goodbye, but I said to let her go while she was still under. I was already a basketcase as I had had my old BC girl Maddie euthanized in my arms the previous morning after seizures due to a brain tumour. I had left KC 2 hours prior and she was very weak but lifted her head and wagged her tail at me as I patted her. I have a better memory of the last time I saw her, so I understood then why some people can't stay. Worst two days of my life

Gael is Blue Kep is Purple Scout is Orange Camo is...not surprisingly...Camo

I generally only go first thing in the morning in summer for daily walk. The place we walk has part by a shallow river and the paddocks all have troughs, so the dogs can get in and out of they like. So if I feel like a walk after work in summer we just walk by the river and they splash around. Or take them to the forest where it is shady and cool. On quite hot days (30+) rather than keep them inside all day we will drive them to somewhere they can have a good swim. I would not walk them on the pavement at all in the summer during the day, just on grass.

I have done two of Kamal's online courses this year and have a handling spot with my young BC boy Kepler at his New Zealand seminar. Very excited :) Our obedience instructor did the seminar last time she was here.

Have replied, thanks :) Yeah but the puppies I have had access to are not gundogs :p I had all the dogs at the oval the other week and the two dogs that came immediately to the whistle were actually the schnauzers Pippa would probably make a pretty good gundog, she retrieves the smaller dummies, the birds just wouldn't fit in her mouth The next dog will most likely be another labrador. I do have my eye on a couple of other breeds for "one day", but what can I say? I'm a lab girl!! Maybe it is easier to stick to one breed too. We did seriously consider springers as there are some nice working ones about. But since we had actual puppies born at our place, resisting keeping one proved too hard!

Border collies- there are definitely many things that would annoy other people. I think they are perfect :) Brittanys- not a normal dog you can take for a "nice walk". They go hunting. Always. Prone to separation anxiety, which is pretty funny considering how fast and how far they go on a "walk".

Scout (our French Brittany) has had a break from trials over the winter to have her one litter of (2) pups. The pups are now 7 weeks and my husband has entered her in her first trial back, mid October. We are keeping a pup from her, a wee girl named Camo, looks just like her Mum. We never did minor all breed retrieving trials with Scout. In NZ you have Puppy (under 12 months), Novice (until you win it twice) and Limit (until you win it three times). Unfortunately you are ineligible for minor trials one you win a CC in a champ trial which Scout did in Pointer/Setter just after she turned 2. The all breed champ retrieving trials which she is eligible for, I think would be too hard for Scout...she's a ummm...running sort of dog. But my husband is going to train Camo up to do the minor retrieving trials first :) There are few HPR pups around with currently trialling owners, including her sister, so also hoping there will be some Novice pointer trials run next year which there hasn't been for a while due to lack of numbers. And one of the senior judges is looking into starting up HPR trials here separate from Pointer/Setter and including a water retrieve element, so we are hopeful that goes somewhere as well.