Saturn and Carina in the Snow

End of Year Wrap-Up

Well, we certainly have had a good year!

At the Blackthorn side:

CT CH PatchMtn C Pepper N Paisley RE OA OAJ NF OAP OJP RD
Open Standard Preferred Agility
Open Jumpers With Weaves Preferred Agility

CT GCH CH Blackthorn Coreopis of PatchMt RN NA NAJ
Variable Surface Tracker
Champion Tracker
Grand Championship

CH PatchMt Spring Thyme at Blackthorn TD
Tracking Dog
Championship

As breeder:

GCh CH Blackthorn’s Flower Power - Grand Championship, #1 Dalmatian in the country

CH Dapper Dan’s Dancing at Blackthorn RE - Rally Advanced, Rally Excellent

CH Black Thorn’s Lucas Legend RE NA - Rally Excellent, Novice Standard Agility

CH Blackthorn Violet of PatchMt OA NAJ - Open Standard Agility

Springfield Photos

Here are the pictures from Springfield Mass shows in November. Spring - me showing - was Best of Breed on Saturday, Corey was Best of Opposite Sex. On Sunday Corey was Best of Breed and a Group 4, Spring was Select Bitch. Corey is shown by his best friend, Linda McCartney-Roy, professional handler.

Springfield Shows

Pictures are pending, but we had great fun at the recent shows in Springfield Mass. In addition to breed and obedience, this show is billed at the largest indoor agility trial in the US. While I did manage to run Corey in 3 classes, alas, no qualifying scores. Poor boy just can't multitask like his mother could. Guess we'll concentrate on agility only trials in the future.

On Friday, Daisy was BOB and Group 4, and Spring was Select Bitch for her first Grand Champion points. Half sister Lucy was Winner's Bitch, Best of Winners for her first major. Corey was not entered.

On Saturday, Spring was BOB - what a thrill! Daisy was Select Bitch and Corey was BOS. Corey's puppy Derry was Winner's Dog for his first 2 points, handled by Ann Smith.

On Sunday, Corey was BOB and a Group 4, while Spring was again Select Bitch. Daisy wasn't shown on Sunday.

What a fun time. I'm was so pleased with how well Spring show and behaved. I showed her in the classes and Linda McCartney-Roy took her in for group. What a big thrill for Spring - lots of noise and plenty of other dogs to be fascinated with. Let's hope for more experiences like that in the future!

Grand Champion

WOW - at the shows in Pennsylvania and New Jersey this last weekend Corey was awarded Select Dog at all 3 shows he was shown in. He is now an AKC Grand Champion. AND the only dog of any breed to also be a Champion Tracker. I couldn't be prouder of this boy. And huge thanks to Linda McCartney-Roy - his awesome handler who made this happen in 3 weekend of shows together! What team they have been.

He is now:

CT GCH Blackthorn Coreopis of PatchMt RN NA NAJ Canadian CH TDX

Finger Lakes Show

While this photo was not taken at the Finger Lakes show, I wanted to post it. Corey and Spring sitting at the Cape Cod Shows.

Sure had mixed results at the shows on the Finger Lakes in beautiful central New York. COLD and WET = MUD and miserable conditions.

I showed my sister's Cardigan Welsh Corgi - Arthur. What a nice puppy. She has done a really great job starting her first show dog. He was solid and confident on the grooming table and happy to let the judge exam him. Still needs some polish to be real competitive, but very nice start. Now to let him mature so when we do show him some more he can win! Arthur sure was friendly, happy and out-going even under noisy tents and around more dogs than he has ever seen in one place. Love his temperament.

Dal judging was a very mixed bag. Thanks again to my sister for helping me keep things in perspective. Only a dog show, and only that one judge's opinion on that one day. Corey did end up with 1 Select Dog award - for another major and 4 points towards his Grand Champion title. Up to a total of 18, all 4 awards have been majors.

And Spring was very competitive on Sunday shown at the last minute by my friend Stephanie. Maybe we'll keep her out and about some just so I have something to show to keep myself busy.

Cape Cod Shows

What a good time we had on Cape Cod!

On Friday, the Dalmatian Club of Southern New England had their first of two regional specialties. There were about 50 Dalmatians entered each day. Spring was awarded Best Senior in Sweepstakes, and then was Winners Bitch/Best of Winners for 4 points. Dad Corey was awarded Select Dog – kind of like First Runner Up in the beauty contest. That gave him 5 points towards his Grand Championship title.

Then on Saturday, Spring was Best Senior and BEST in SWEEPSTAKES. She was, also, again, Winners Bitch/Best of Winners for 4 more points. That was enough points to complete the requirements for her AKC Championship. Dad Corey was awarded Best of Opposite Sex, again for 5 points.

On Sunday Spring was shown as a Champion. She is just a little too young yet to compete at that level of competition. Corey was again Best of Opposite Sex, another 5 points.

Spring showed wonderfully. She was so calm and steady throughout the 3 long days of shows. Wagged her tail and trotted around the ring happy and confident. What a fun dog she has been. She is now:

Am/Can CH PatchMt Spring Thyme at Blackthorn TD

Super Weekend

Wow, what a great weekend!

At the big circuit in New Jersey Daisy WON the Non-Sporting Group show, and picked up 2 more Best of Breed wins over big entries.

Saturday at the shows in North Conway NH Corey was BOB, Group 2 with his new handler Linda McCartney-Roy.

Sunday Morning at the University of New Hampshire campus Spring PASSED her Tracking Dog test - on her first attempt!

And then, Sunday Afternoon Corey was again in the Group ring with his new best friend Linda and WON the Non-Sporting group. His second group 1 - YEA!!

Spring in August

Spring has been having a fun month. First at the shows in Fitchburg on Sunday she was WB/BOW for her first major. That gives her a total of 8 points so far. Then, we have been to the tracking fields. With the very HOT weather she wasn't at her best, let's hope for cooler weather for the upcoming tests.

New Champion Tracker!

On August 1st the Dog Tracking Club of Maine held its second Variable Surface Tracking Test at Colby College in Waterville Maine. To PASS and add to his name, Corey is now CT CH Blackthorn Coreopis of PatchMt RN NA NAJ. It is one year to the day that his mother, Carina, passed her test at this same site. Both had drawn Track 1 – now I will always be happy to be the first to go!

To show how difficult this test is, the pass rate is about 5 percent. In the 15 years the test has been around, only about 248 dogs have passed. There now 6 Champion Tracker Dalmatians, quite an accomplishment for our breed.

Corey is the ONLY Dalmatian who is also an American/Canadian Champion, not to mention those agility titles he shares with his mother Carina.

To become a Champion Tracker a dog has to earn their Tracking Dog, Tracking Dog Excellent and Variable Surface Tracking Dog titles.
To add to Corey’s credits, he has passed all three tests on his first attempts, and has also passed his Canadian Tracking Dog and Tracking Dog Excellent test on his first attempts. Maybe we will now try for their Urban Tracking Dog titles. (Karen Hopmans – want to offer that one in conjunction with a Canadian National?)

Corey wowed the gallery with his near flawless performance, pulling me down the line like he was on a mission. At each of his articles, cloth, plastic, metal and that final wonderful leather, he threw himself to the ground, so proud of what he had found! We have worked hard to accomplish those “indications” and I was so pleased when I saw how excited he was to show me his finds. He did 648 yards of grass, dirt, asphalt and mulch in 14 minutes. A record for the 2 judges, Mary Thompson and Ed Presnell.

I love all the compliments I receive at these events. Things like “Boy, are all Dalmatians such great trackers”, how wonderful his temperament is and what a great working dog he is. He was so focused to the task at hand. Who says you can’t work intact boys in performance events?!? One visiting judge said she had heard great things about my Dals before the test and was so pleased to see all those nice things were true.

And, a very, very special Thank You to my very best friend, Linda McSherry. Corey was first alternate, and Linda withdrew Maeve so Corey could have his chance to shine. I owe her big time – and now it is Maeve’s turn to add CT to her name!

Weekend Brag

What a great weekend we had!

First, at the Vermont circuit shows, Daisy - GCH Blackthorn's Flower Power continued her winning ways, picked up 3 more BOB wins, with a Group 4 on Sunday. VERY small entry of specials only. Daisy is owned by Bertha Little and Joan Eversole and expertly presented by Jeff Langevin.

And at an agility trial in New Hampshire her siblings:

Am/Can CH Blackthorn Violet of Patchmt Am/Can TD NA OAJ qualified in both her Open Standard and Open Jumpers courses on Saturday to finish her Open Jumpers titleand get a second leg on her Standard title. Violet was run by Linda McSherry.

Am/Can CH Blackthorn Coreopis of PatchMt Am/Can TDX RN NA NAJ qualified in Open Standard to pick up his second leg. Corey would have qualified on all his runs if his inept handler would quit sending him over the wrong obstacles and through the wrong tunnel entrances! I had such great attention and he was so tuned into me. What a good boy he was all weekend.

AND, most importantly, not to be left out, their mother:

CH CT PatchMt C Pepper N Paisley (with her many titles) qualifed in her Open Jumpers Preferred run to finish that title. That gives Carina a total of about 23 titles in AKC and CKC events! Now she can just relax and enjoy trail rides for a while.

And, never ones to be bored, Linda McSherry and I got to meet and evaluate the puppies for the Corey and Holly litter. Their pictures can be seen at: http://blackthorndalmatians.com/HollyCoreyPups.html.

We couldn't be happier with this litter. Complete trim, dark, dark brown eyes, good hearing numbers, pretty puppies. Thanks Ann for bringing them all the way to New Hampshire and special thanks to Karen Rochin for flying in to see the litter. It was a great visit.

And, anyone interested in doing agility in New Hampshire in the summer this is a great site - at least in my opinion. Indoor sports complex, huge creating area, rings on padded artificial turf and most important Air Conditioned! Thank you Yankee Golden Retriever Club.


http://blackthorndalmatians.com/HollyCoreyPups.html

New Puppy Blog Site

Follow the Holly & Corey puppies at Ann's blog site:

http://mapleleafdals.wordpress.com/

Thetford Mines Canada Shows

Thetford Mines Canada

May 29 & 30th

Patch Mt's Springthyme at Blackthorn, "Spring" an 11 month old puppy bitch owned by Sara Pruyne and bred by myself and Sara earned her Canadian championship title in 3 shows. She went BOB, Group 2, Puppy Group 1 twice on Saturday and once on Sunday to finish her title in two days! Spring's sire is "Corey", Am/Can Ch Blackthorn Coreopisis of Patch MT TDX, RN, NA, NAJ x "Maeve", Am/Can Ch Patch Mt's About Time Am/Can CD, RE, TDX, OA, NAJ, CGC. Spring finished her Canadian championship under Canadian judges Sandy Gelinas, Alan Bennett and Michael Gelinas.

Meanwhile at the same shows her mother "Maeve" earned her Canadian CD title in 3 shows with a two 1st placements and one 2nd place.

Maeve also finished her Canadian championship title on the Sunday afternoon show by going WB and then BOB over a special under judge John Rowton. She had only needed a single point to finish.

We love going to these shows because although they are nearly 5 hours away you can do 4 shows in 2 days and the trip takes you through some of the most beautiful parts of Maine. Unfortunately it required driving home after dark in a very remote mountainous area where there is no cell phone reception and you can regularly count on seeing wildlife. We saw a moose, a bear and a porcupine but arrived home safely.

We couldn't be more proud of this lovely puppy bitch that Corey and Maeve produced. Like her sire she shows at the end of the leash for the exam and never flinches. A real show girl!

Litter Announcement

Mapleleaf Dalmatians (Ann and Mac Smith) and Blackthorn Dalmatians are pleased to announce the arrival of 8 puppies. 6 boys, 2 girls, no patches, all black spotted. This litter is futurity nominated and should have some very nice pups with great working potential. Mom and pups all doing great.

Parents are:

Sire: Am/Can CH Blackthorn Corepois of Patch MT TDX RN NA NAJ CGC CAN TDX, ( CH Ozzie x CH CT Carina ...) CHIC 40120

Dam: CH Sunrunner Mapleleaf Ode to Joy RN CGC (CH Andy x CH Joy) CHIC 62099


Ann's website is: mapleleafdals.com

Hopefully pictures soon.

Holly is Expecting!

Holly is most definitely "in a family way". Puppies due about May 28th. Because Corey does not carry the liver gene all puppies will be black spotted. All puppy inquiries should go directly to Anne.

Tracking Successes

Wow - what a great weekend. Linda and I made the trip to Danby Vermont for the Tracking Club of Vermont's combined TD/TDX test. Here's Linda's write-up.

Today at Tracking Club of Vermont in Danby Vermont

Judges were Ilene Morgan and Doris Viguers

TD results 4 passses out of 7 tracks

Dalmatian, "Lucy" Patch Mt's Legend In Time (Ch Blackthorn Lucas' Legend RE, CGC, TDI x Ch Patch Mt's About Time CD, RE, OA, NAJ, CGC, VCD1, CPC, TDX) earned her Tracking Dog Title on her first try. Lucy had to run her track last because she came into heat two days before the trial. She worked her track perfectly and took just 5 minutes to finish her track and did a wonderful article indication at the end of her track. This was her first attempt. An Australian Shepard, a Golden Retriever and an Englis Cocker also passed the TD test.

TDX results: judges Ray Desmaris & Stephanie Crawford

Entry of 6 with 2 passes

Dalmatian, "Maeve" Ch Patch Mt's About Time CD, RE, OA, NAJ, CGC, VCD1, CPC (Ch Aberdeen's Sawyer Brown x Ch Paisley Patch Mt's Amazing Grace Am/Can CD, NA, RD, CGC)earned her TDX. Maeve did an awesome job. She gave perfect article indciations and had to cross a ditch full of rocks and brambles, 3 hedgerows and a road before finishing her 865 yard track in 13 minutes. A Labrador Retriever was the only other dog to pass the TDX test.

I felt very fortuante to get into both the TD and the TDX test and even more fortunate that my mother/daughter team both pulled it off and we came home happy with two new titles. I think everyone was impressed to see how well Dalmatians can track.

We're Expecting!

We are pleased to announce that Miss Holly, Ch. SunRunner Mapleaf Ode to Joy CGC RN, has been bred to Corey and is expecting puppies. The litter is due the end of May. All puppies will be Black spotted. Both parents have had all their health clearances - CHIC numbers available at our websites.

www.mapleleaddals.com

or

www.blackthorndalmatians.com

Stay tuned for more information

NY Shows and NH Agility Trial

We have had some good dog show and agility happenings in the last couple of weeks.

At the dog shows in Syracuse New York:

On Friday Lucy, owned and shown by Linda, was Winners Bitch, unfortunately there was no cross-0ver major.

On Friday and Saturday Spring, shown by Sara, was Reserve Winners Bitch. And on Sunday pulled it off for Winner's Bitch, for 2 points. Again, no cross-over for the major, but those will come in good time.

Then this past weekend at an agility trial in New Hampshire Ghost, owned and run by Dawn, QUALIFIED in both Novice Standard and Novice Jumpers with Weaves. Boy, have they both come a long ways. All that therapy dog work has helped Ghost learn to pay close attention to Dawn and follow commands from some distance. Way to go team! Those titles are within site now!

Spring Weather and Web Page News

Well, warm weather is on the way and we have been pretty busy practicing in the tracking fields. Linda and I are hoping to get Lucy and Spring in a tracking test in April or May, but because so many dogs enter and there are a limited number of tracks one must hope to "make the draw". If not, we will at least have all summer and fall to continue practicing and to start to introduce the more advanced obstacles for their eventual Tracking Dog Excellent tests.

And, I have taken the plunge and starting working on a web site. Still very much a work in progress, needing to add more pictures of past dogs and pedigree links. Take a peek at:

www.blackthorndalmatians.com

And, the good news is that Carina is doing just fine. Treatment could be long term, but I have high hopes for a very positive outcome.

Looking for a new home

A friend contacted me today about a Dalmatian looking for a new home. He is black spotted, 14 months old, neutered, super friendly, and very well trained. This young guy has had lots of obedience training and comes with great house manners. Unknown how he would be with cats. Because of his friendly nature he should be good with kids, but might need to learn how to not play too hard with them. If you know of anyone who might be interested please feel free to drop me an email and I will forward the information along.

Amber's First show

Here is a picture of Amber - PatchMt's & Blackthorn's Atlantic Time at 8 months old. Amber is owned by Linda McSherry and Janice Dorey from Nova Scotia and went to her first dog show last weekend. Shown by Janice, Amber was Winner's Bitch and Best of Opposite Sex on Saturday. On Sunday they were again WB/BOS PLUS Best Puppy and a Puppy Group 1! 2 shows = 2 points. What a great way to start!

We couldn't be prouder and I think it's fairly safe to say Janice and Dean couldn't be happier.

Spring Massage

Because a friend asked for some picture of dogs being massaged, Spring got a special treat. Here she is laying in front of the wood stove having a massage on her front shoulders.

Her grandmother Carina always gets one before and after every agility run. It helps loosen her muscles, and then relaxes them again after all that jumping and twisting. Carina will even spread here back legs out - frog-dog style - so I can run her thigh muscles. Since she closes her eyes and falls asleep it must feel good.

And a massage is the BEST way to calm Corey during thunder storms and high winds. He particularly likes his head, neck and ears rubbed.

Why not take a Tellington Touch seminar and find out what YOUR dog enjoys best?

Agility Trial

Last weekend was a fun agility trial weekend in the Northeast.

While the local Gordon Setter club was the host, everyone commented that maybe it should have said a Dalmatian club instead. Only 2 lone Gordons, but 6 Dalmatains.

First, Elaine Hamill was there with Alvin and Linus. We got to Alvin do a great Excellent Jumpers run on Saturday. One would never guess his real age. Still sound, healthy and happy at eleven. One can only hope their own dogs hold up so well. And I believe Linus qualified in both his runs on Saturday. Sunday I wasn’t in the building as much and missed some of her runs.

Carina got to add ANOTHER title to her name by qualifying in Open Standard Preferred on both Saturday and Sunday, with a first and a second. She also qualified in her Jumpers run on Saturday but knocked a rail on her Sunday run. Its hard to jump and sneeze at the same time!

Linda McSherry and Maeve also had success on Sunday, qualifying in Excellent Standard for Maeve’s second leg. Maeve has only run Excellent Standard courses 3 times and has 2 legs – way to go Brown Girl! Maeve is also known as CH PatchMt’s About Time VCD1 OA

Dawn Eliot-Johnson’s hard work paid off with Ghost qualifying in his Novice Jumpers class for a first place. That is their first agility leg and was very exciting to see such a good run. Ghost is also a wonderful therapy dog – doing visits to the local hospital and nursing homes, not to mention the elementary school Title 1 reading program. Ghost is aka CH Blackthorn’s Lucas’s Legend RA CGC TDI

And finally Corey had really good runs on Sunday, smooth, focused, perfect weave poles, – but his incompetent handler caused NQ’s on both courses. I could hear my instructor telling me how I goofed up – and she wasn’t even at the trial! Point here – don’t point there. And poor Corey did just what I told him to do. Good dog – bad handler.

And it is so much fun to take our Dals and continue to have active fulfilling lives after they have finish their Championships. Wonderful compliments about our handsome and stable temperaments dogs. What a fun weekend all around.

First Dog Shows

Well, Spring went to her first dog shows this past weekend. 3 days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Fitchburg Mass. The first time in the building was a little overwhelming, but with treats and an upbeat attitude she was soon her happy, confident self.

Day 1 was Dr. DiNardo who gave her Winners Bitch for her first breed points. She stood her her exam like a champ, but trotting with another dog in front was WAY exciting. When it came time for Best of Breed with several dogs in the ring I don't think she had all 4 feet on the ground but about half the time. Guess we need to work on that! At least she was happy and just wanted to run and play!

Saturday we lost of our wonderful sisters Lucy and Jenna.

Sunday we were second in our class and then went back in for Reserve Winners - kind of like being First Runner Up at the beauty pagent.

The other great news is that half-sister Jenna finished her AKC Championship title in great style on Saturday and then was Best of Opposite Sex on Sunday. Wonderful weekend for her owner and handler Dawn!