The Many Faces of Darby

All photos of the same Darby, all taken within 20 seconds of the first photo. What a nut. She loves the top of the A-frame, so I lied to her and asked if she wanted a COOKIE (all in the spirit of getting a cute photo or two).

She starts out sweet.

"Why yes, I'd love to have a cookie, I'm so cute, and so sweet."

Then she starts having trouble concentrating on "pretending" to be cute and sweet...
By now, she's nearly in a panick to maintain the facade of cute and sweet.

Uh-oh, she's beginning to lose it!

Wait for it, wait for it...

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And there it is.

GIMME the BLASTED COOKIE, and I. MEAN. NOW... That's my girl!

More Family Photos

We ventured west to Greeley, CO for shows last weekend, and lo and behold, we got to meet boy #4 of 5 from the Hawk x Mele litter, Mr. Rugby!















What a handsome fella! It was great to meet him and his family.

Left: Hawk waiting patiently for his ring time. Above: Rugby goofing off and being a hambone!

All three boys together, L-R, Rugby, Hawk, Jazz.

And Jazz waiting not so patiently for his ring time!

What is SHE doing here?

Look, it's Olive on the Vallhund blog! Hi Olive!!!

Olive gets to visit the Vallhund blog because she's now part of the Vallhund extended family. On Saturday, we drove to Indiana to meet with Loki and his mom and dad, Liz and Anthony. Olive decided she liked it there, and she's joined their family. Here she is, giving a guided tour of her new back yard to Hawk, Jazz, and Brecon, with Loki following up behind the tour. And here's a sweet photo Liz sent from yesterday, Loki and Olive spending some time together on the sofa.

I have lots of photos to share of the double event, the reunion of Hawk, Loki, and Jazz, and the transition for Olive to her new family. Stay tuned for the photos, I'll share them as soon as I get them uploaded.

I already miss Olive terribly, but somehow, I don't think that she misses me. :-)

Hawkdaddy-His Yearlings

I am so happy to be connected to many of the Hawk puppy families. Since I'm just the "sire owner" it has been lovely to get to know and meet so many of the people and their Vallhund kids.

Now that the Hawk x Mele pups are a year old, I thought I'd post the most recent photos I have to share.

First up is Acorn, Hawk's daughter. I haven't gotten lots of photos of her this year, but Linda was kind enough to share some from Acorn's first/second shows in late May. Hello, beautiful! I see Hawk in that sweet face and expression.
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Next, we had a reunion of sorts in Flagstaff, although Jazz and Kash are the only two of the bunch who have ever met each other before. :-P

I'm pretty sure the scene went something like, "Hi Doreen, lovely to meet you, can you please hold a dog, or two, or three?" Here is Doreen with (L-R) Kash, Hawk, and Jazz. I'm wondering if it would ever be possible that they all three look the same direction? Probably not! It was great to meet Kash in person. He was completely out of coat, but there was no mistaking his sound and pretty structure without hair to hide anything. :-)
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I really enjoyed meeting Stephanie and Doreen also (photos taken by Stephanie). It had nothing to do with Stephanie's opinion that Hawk was the most beautiful Vallhund. Really. I'm so glad Kash found a home with such capable ladies as Stephanie and Doreen to drive his RV around to the destinations of his choosing. Thanks ladies, I'm so glad you could motor up to Flagstaff so we could attempt the family portrait!.
Oh dear, snort alert! Kash (AKA Destroyer of Toys) was NOT happy about the whole birthday hat idea. And sadly, I totally see his daddy's eyes in this photo! Kash, you still look so handsome, even while you pout!

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Not to be outdone by his brother, here's Loki. What a happy (he's probably thankful nobody stuck a hat on him!), and handsome, boy he is too! I'm very excited that I get to meet Loki, his humans, his Pembroke, and his kitties this weekend! Can't wait, and will have much more to report about that later.. In this photo, Loki could nearly be a mirror image of Hawk.

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Oh, and then there's this squinty character, you might have heard a thing or two about Jasper, AKA Jazz. He and Syd are currently perfecting their Synchronized Aframe routine, soon to be seen on Syd's blog sometime this week ...

In the next post, I will have updates from the younger litter, the Hawk x Nikita puppies who are growing along nicely at just over 8 months old.

Overall, I'm so pleased with what Hawk is producing with puppies from three very different bitches (can't forget Frankie the singleton!). The pups appear to be very consistent, with beautiful fronts, lovely bone and substance, and IMO, lovely breed type. And of course, I love to see so much of Hawk in their heads and expressions. I can't wait to see how these kids continue to grow on and mature.

Birthday Wrestling

Jazz and Darby enjoying a wrestling match on Jazz's birthday. Except that Jazz forgot to get Darby's consent before the wrestling began. . .

Smile

Hawk has a great smile, and he has a lot to smile about!

Official Champion

It's official, Mr. Jazz is now a Champion. And I guess he earned a Gr CH major his first day as a move-up. Because as you all know, I refuse to learn the point system for Gr CH! haa.

CH Caval Outrun The Sun At Hurrikane - DN25330202

Conformation - Awards Processed Through 30-MAY-2010

CH
Number of Points 15
Number Major Wins 3
Number Major Judges 3
Total Number Judges 6

GCH
Number of Points 3
Number Major Wins 1
Number Major Judges 1
Total Number Judges 1

A Good Trip to Flagstaff!

We had a great (although very quick) trip to Flagstaff, AZ for the Swedish Vallhund Club of America National Specialty.

Because Jazz finished in Bloomington, IL a few weeks ago, I opted to move him up to BOB and not keep him in the classes for the specialty. I was torn about it, because at 11 months, I felt it wasn't exactly fair to ask him to compete with the specials. But I moved him up, and it turned out pretty well!

The results for Team Hurrikane were pretty good!

Hawk won BEST OF BREED, and BEST STUD DOG (thanks to son Jazz and daughter Fancy).

Jazz won SELECT DOG and he also won BEST PUPPY IN SWEEPS (under judge Earl Karas).

Our judge was breed specialist judge Mr. Christopher Millard from the UK. After the judging was over, and I was thanking Mr. Millard for the thousandth time, he said he had a hard time choosing between the two boys for Best of Breed. I told him they were father and son, and he said that was good, and made him feel better about his judging consistency!

I hope to have some pictures soon, and I hope above all hopes that Hawk *might* have taken his first good show photo ever for this big win. sigh.....

Darby was, um, let's see, how did Mr. Millard put it? "Totally devoid of coat" is how he put it, and he was absolutely right. Poor Darbs, not even an illusion of hair was possible, no fringe on her pants, no neck fur. The nice thing is that the judge said not to worry about it, he was so happy to see the dogs, and he understood about bitches being out of coat. She got an Excellent rating, just as the two boys did. He was very complimentary in his critique (will be able to post judge comments once they are transcribed), and explained to the judges ed gallery that the coat should not be penalized, but that the dog just doesn't have that same sparkle and polish without hair!

Missing from the photos is the big rosette for Best Stud Dog. I have no idea where that went, because it's not in my stack of rosettes, and it is not in the van anywhere. I'm hoping if I left it in the photo area or meeting room that someone picked it up for me.

And a special thanks to Jennifer Roberson for helping show Jazz, and showing him to Select Dog!

Stolen Vallhund Friends

I wish it weren't true, but five of our Vallhund friends are missing (and two of their beagle friends). The humans had them loaded in the van, ready to continue on their trip to the Swedish Vallhund national specialty in Flagstaff. Just a couple of minutes away from the van, Richard Hooper came back to find the van gone, with all the dogs inside.

Click HERE to read the news story.

I know many of you have already heard this story, and I'm really encouraged to see how many times this has been forwarded to me via different lists and friends who have other breeds, so people are definitely spreading the word around the dog community. Please share this with others, whether they are "dog people" or not, and we just hope for the safe return of the dogs.

And the winner is...

Generated via Random.org.......

#10 AMANDA!!!

1. Mami2jcn


2. Claudia


3. Janet


4. Red Dog Mom


5. Ashley


6. susitravl


7. SolDucky


8. coopercreek


9. Pixie


10. Amanda


11. Melisse


12. Lybertygirl


13. Lybertygirl


14. Jinnie


15. Liam’s Mommy


16. Debbie


17. Cindy

Thanks everyone for your comments, I will be getting some ideas together for some summer projects, since I am taking most of the summer off from all things dog show related.

And please keep an eye on the other Hurrikane blogs, as there will be additional giveaways there later today and tomorrow!!!!

Time's Up!-It's GIVEAWAY Time!!!!

Winner will be announced later today, and watch for two NEW giveaways to be posted to the Hurrikane Chronicles and Hurrikane Puppy blogs (links on the right sidebar).

It's not specifically Vallhund related (although you can buy something for your Vallhund if you win!), but here comes the first of the $40 CSN Stores giveaway blog posts.
You'll have to keep up with the other Hurrikane blogs, as two of our other blogs will feature giveaways as well. You can use your gift card at any of the over 200 CSN stores.

Since Janet did her blog giveaway, I have been poking around at all the CSN online stores, in hopes that maybe this year, I can get serious about giving my little house a makeover, one room at a time.

So, first things first, my living room has always bothered me, because there is NO lighting. It's a small room, it never gets much natural light, and there are no fixtures. I'm thinking that perhaps the way to go in my living room, to save space and create more uniform lighting, might be Track Lighting. What do you all think? Looking around at the website, I am leaning toward one of the Track Lighting Kits, so that I know I have all the pieces and parts that I need. I think the pendant globe lights above are ultra cool, but they probably wouldn't be right for my living room. It has low celings, and I'm a pretty tall person.
:-P


I should probably stick with something a bit more traditional, not too flashy, clean lines.

Now on to the important part: HOW TO WIN!!!

First, since I'm completely indecisive about important things like what to eat for lunch on any given day, I can't possibly be trusted to pick out something important like permanent lighting for my living room. So, you'll have to go to the CSN store for Track Lighting and leave me a comment telling me which Track Lighting KIT (there's a link specifically to narrow down to kits) I should consider for a small room, low ceilings.

Or, you can just leave me a comment telling me you don't care about track lighting, and put a link to this post on YOUR blog (you have to let me know you did it!).

Second, hold your tongue to the left, blink three times while hopping around on one foot, chanting, "I want to win the giveaway" 800 times.

See, it's pretty easy, and I'll leave the giveaway open through the weekend, and we'll close it out on Monday, at 10 PM CENTRAL time! The winner can use their gift certificate at any of the over 200 CSN stores, including pet supplies.

For Swedish Vallhund content, Darby would like to suggest that the winner use their gift card toward a purchase of this fit-for-a-princess chaise lounge, and have it shipped directly to her!

For those who liked the little white ex-pens I used for my puppy pens, well, those came from CSN.

Good luck, the winner will be chosen at random, and announced by Tuesday morning!

*Also, please remember you may have shipping charges, or if the winner is from Canada, international fees.

New CHampion, Hawklet

Jazz and I went to Bloomington, IL this weekend, and the little guy picked up his third major and his championship the first day of the cluster. He also picked up BOW over his baby 1/2 sister, Triskit, who was WB/BOS for her first major! It was a fun day for the Hawk kids. Saturday I moved Jazz up and he was Select Dog for his first Gr CH points. Saturday afternoon, we packed it up and drove home. It was a very good trip to Illinois. :-)

Jazz At The Show

Jazz baby showing in Perry, Georgia last weekend, shown by Cheryl Rolfe. He's a good boy. :-)

Vall Crowd

There were a bunch o' Vallhunds at the Perry, GA shows this past weekend (photo by Laura). I won't try to remember the names of all the dogs, but people (L to R), Kathie, Sarah, Louise, Cheryl, Rebekah, Debbie, Sharon. Four days of dog and bitch majors, so eight majors available. It was nice that of the eight majors, five different dogs all picked up a major. A couple of dogs picked up two majors, Jasper (The Hawklet) included.

We weren't there long, but it was fun to see everyone and all the Vallhunds. After a quick SV get-together lunch at Cheryl's RV on Saturday, Laura and I hit the road and headed back to the midwest. Much more about our adventures, and lots of pix in later posts!

Who's Your Daddy?

Hawk's their daddy, and he's quite proud. Here are some pupdate photos of a few of Hawk's puppies...

From the Hawk x Mele litter

Kash-AKA "Destroyer of Toys" (Arizona)Acorn (Canada)

Loki (Indiana)

the Hawklet, uh, Jasper (nomad)

Rugby (Colorado)

And from the younger litter of Hawk x Nikita,

Fancy (New Mexico)

Triskit (Wisconsin)

Ashley (Minnesota)

I'm hopeful to track down some pix of the rest of the puppies, but I'm so proud of these pups, I wanted to share.

Smug

Hawkadoodle. Love. Even dead out of coat nekkid.

Stay tuned, coming soon, some pupdates and pictures from Hawk babies and their families. The overwhelming report from families is that their puppies (Jazz included) are as sweet as can be, so above all else, I'm ecstatic to know that his sweet personality and special Vallhund smile are coming through in his progeny.

Four Against One

The puppies persuaded Darby to play a quick game of "Storm the Castle," which is basically a game where Darby is on the sofa, and the puppies all try to jump up on the sofa and overwhelmed Darby tries to keep them OFF her sofa. Oddly enough, they all really enjoy this, so who am I to ruin their fun? And even at four against one, Darby needs no assistance. She's quick, and she's coordinated!

I'm easily amused, and thankfully, so are the puppies!

2010 Auction, Spectacular Artwork of YOUR Dog!

This is an auction to help raise money for SVCA's 2010 Specialty. This is our first independent specialty, and the show committee is raising money to help make this a fantastic specialty for all who attend.
Take a peek at these sample sketches, Jette is very talented, and she can draw ANY breed. I love that she captures expression so well. :-) See below for details on bidding!

A drawing, donated by Jette Holmes, of the winning bidder's dog!

Drawing details:

1. Pencil sketch on good drawing paper.
2. Size will be 8 ½ x 11 inches.
3. The winner is sole owner of the sketch so they can copy it and do with the sketch as they see fit!
4. A disc with the sketch picture on it can also be included (the winner could make stationery, letterhead with matching envelopes, cards, or use the picture on their business cards and able to choose their own paper!! The winner could also make mugs and T-shirts)

From the time the artist receives the photo, two weeks are needed to complete the sketch. When sending the photo, please send on a CD (jpg) or a hard copy photo (3x5, 4x6 or 5x7). Contact details will be given to the winner privately.

Whole body pictures can be cropped with the head only sketched if wanted by the winner.

The bidding started at $100, contact Bonnie bkc1946@gmail.com to place your bid!

**At last check, the current bid is $245. ** Bidding ends Wednesday, March 24.

Jazz

First, my apologies for no Vallhund blogging recently. As you might know from Syd's Blog , we've been up to our eyeballs in puppy stuff for the last few months. And since the Princess Darby finished her championship so quickly as a baby, and Hawk enjoyed taking 2009 off from the dog shows, we didn't have much exciting Vallhund news. But that's about to change! Darby has just started her agility class, and I'm afraid, very afraid of her level of intelligence.

And, The Hawklet is back on the blog, and he's getting ready to hit the show scene... Here's our handsome boy. And guess what? He actually has a name. No longer "The Hawklet," although I still call him that all the time, baby boy is now known as

Caval Outrun the Sun at Hurrikane or he'll affectionately be known as Jasper or Jazz.

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Jasper is currently on "spring break" in Florida with our friend, and Darby's co-owner, Cheryl. It was a last minute change of plans literally less than 24 hours before his travel, but everything worked out, even though I'm missing seeing the little guy in person. Cheryl says he's really sweet, he's not barky, and he's still super smart. Of course, I have no doubt he is smart, after his early inclinations toward genius when he lived with me. :-) This photo was taken the first day after his arrival, and Cheryl said it took just a few minutes to teach Jasper to free stack like a real show dog.

The little man sure reminds me of his daddy, and I can't wait to see him again. . .

Diversity Training

Here at the Hurrikane Headquarters, we value diversity. We like to instill a strong sense of diversity in our children. We value multi-cultural interaction and sharing. We want our kids to grow up understanding and valuing those with a different heritage than their own...

All the youngsters gather around for their first Swedish lesson.

One on one tutoring in the fine art of Scandinavian face and ear cleaning is also very important...

I have, however, put a strict gag-order on any sharing from Team Sweden to Team Wales about tails. I have told Hawk that if I *ever* hear him trying to give the Cardigan puppies a lesson in how to hold your tail up and curl it, that'll be the end of diversity training, immediately. ;-P

Now that Darby is over a year old, she's certified as a diversity interaction associate. When all else fails, and you can't break the Welsh-Swedish language barrier...

just sit on the Welsh girl.

Hmm, this seems like the right thing to do.

YIPE! She just bit me!