Champion Wendt Worths Meadowlark Lyric “Lyra”

Lyra started her life here at WWC on Aug. 9th, 2010 sired By Ch Larklain Rogers Magic Marker.  At 8 weeks of age the whole litter was evaluated by Pat Hastings at a seminar doing the Puppy Puzzle she is well known for. Lyra was Pat Hastings #1 pick of being structurally sound.  And she was also our pick as well!!!

CH WENDT WORTHS MEADOWLARK LYRIC "LYRA" @ 8 wks old

Giving Lyra time to grow and continuing to evaluate  her through her growth stages she really never ever fell apart…topline was always level and strong, naturally stood square on her legs and strongly, her gait was correct but the mind was young.

CH WENDT WORTHS MEADOWLARK LYRIC "LYRA" @ 4.5 months old

Starting in Jan. 2011 I was taking Lyra to conformation classes to see how her mind would focus on what she knew with others in a strange place doing their own thing.  She handled it quite well and really did stay focused on what she was suppose to be doing.

Lyra in class Winter 2011

We continued to work with her lightly letting her mind mature and enjoying recess with all the other Low Riders Frapping in the back yard. Then I noticed a change in her mind…not that it was ever bad but more relaxed and ready for some serious work.  We began our training sessions again and noticed a huge change in expression and following my body ques and she was enjoying it staying completely focused on me even though we were doing our training in the middle of the WWC Pack Playing, weaving in and out of us! It was time to get in the show ring.

Final Picture of evaluation End of April 2011 to enter 1st Show

Final Picture of evaluation End of April 2011 to enter 1st Show

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lyra’s 1st time out the beginning of May under judge Marian Johnson Your won Reserve Winners Bitch!!! It didn’t take her long to earn her 1st AKC points by winning Winners Bitch and Best of Opposite at the end of May. By her 4th show the middle of June she won Winners Bitch and Best of Winners for a MAJOR!!!!

1st MAJOR WIN 10 months old

The beginning of August, Lyra won her 2nd MAJOR going Winners Bitch and Best of Winners the 1st day of a 4 day show!

WB BOS BOW MAJOR WIN

We were so exstatic we didn’t stop to make sure our calculations of points were correct with AKC and moved Lyra up as a SPECIAL the remaining 3 days. She had earned some pts. towards a Grand Championship that weekend winning Select. This is when you learn a lesson that you will never make again in your life because it costs your bank account and is a major let down but once this show was over still being on Cloud 9 you get a phone call from AKC stating we are 1 pt shy of a championship and our Select win for pts. towards a Grand Championship are no good.  I was so mad at myself I could of cut all of my hair off…all that money I wasted!!!!!

Once I was over my temper tantrum and some what  use to the feeling of wasting money and time,  we sent Lyra out one last time earning her final point for her well deserved CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! Lyra in 10 shows in 5 months earned a Championship!! My very 1st bred by along with 2 other siblings which is another story to be told at a later date.  😉

Lyra has passed her CERF, vWD clear, DM carrier, and prelim Hips GOOD…she is enjoying her time frapping and being a pet at the moment.  She is a very athletic girl who loves to cuddle and gives you the most pathetic look if you try to ignore her.  Her temperament is A1 being bold but gentle, assertive but not nasty and is game for just about anything if it entails FOOD!!!!!!

CH WENDT WORTHS MEADOWLARK LYRIC "LYRA"

Lyra and I would like to give out a special thank you to our CIA (Corgi Intelligence Agent): Deanna Rotkowski  from        www.snostormacres.com/deanna.htm   Without you,  this would of not been accomplished and most importantly, for making my Low Riders happy and well cared for.  Thank you D!!!! Aaaaarrrroooooo

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What I Learned at the Dog Show

UPDATE: This essay is now available as a two-page PDF handout for easy printing and distribution.

Note: HumaneWatch’s editor recently traveled down to the Palmetto State in order to attend his first dog show. Here’s his report:

I spent this weekend at the Myrtle Beach Kennel Club’s all-breed dog show in Florence, South Carolina. The club invited me down to talk about the threats its members are facing from the Humane Society of the United States and the rest of the animal rights movement. Since I had never been to a dog show, I said yes. (I grew up thinking that “fancy” was an adjective. Silly me.)

I’m not a big fan of people who pooh-pooh things they’ve never tried or seen up-close. If one of my children says she “doesn’t like” something on the dinner table before taking even a tiny bite—well, let’s just say that doesn’t wash in my house.

And I’ve always thought the whole “dog show” community was rather mysterious, a kind of benevolent secret society with its own rules, customs, and vocabulary. Sorta like Deadheads, but with a lot better grooming and a lot less fleas.

Truth be told, the dog breeders I met this weekend do have their own peculiar ways of saying and doing things. But they’re really just ordinary people with a shared hobby. They’re really into what they do. And they taught me a lot in just a Saturday. Here’s some of what I learned.

——-

1. When you go to a dog show, bring your own chair. But don’t be surprised if someone offers to lend you theirs. (I’m typing this in someone else’s customized, embroidered lawn chair.)
2. Dog shows are competitive, but the people involved are remarkably supportive of their human opponents. I heard a steady stream of “congratulations!” offered to blue-ribbon holders from handlers who were trotting away empty-handed.
3. If you’re a first-timer who asks “what kind of dog is that?” too loudly, somebody might look at you funny.
4. These people treat their dogs like royalty. It was 90 degrees in the shade on Saturday, and the dogs had shade, electric fans, and cold water—even if their owners didn’t.
5. Judging from this weekend, the typical show-dog handler isn’t a stuffy Brit wearing Saville Row tweed. She—yes, she—is an energetic 40-year-old married mom whose husband packs up the kids and brings them along on the trip.
6. Sometimes the kids strut the dogs around the ring. The under-18 handlers even have their own judging category in which their skills are being judged, not the qualities of their dogs.
7. The name of the game is “conformation” (not “confirmation,” as I used to think). Dog show breeders are trying to breed animals that “conform” to a set ideal of how a breed can look, “gait,” and behave if they do everything right. (I read an article in Wired this week about how Cheetos in the factory are checked every 30 minutes against a “reference sample” from Frito-Lay headquarters, just to make sure the ideal color, texture, and crispiness is being matched. It’s kinda like that, but it takes years for these folks to make a single Cheeto. And Cheetos don’t pee on you.)
8. Watch where you step in the parking lot.

If this particular dog show is any indication of what’s typical, the “dog fancy” is a lot of fun for a lot of people who contribute a lot of money to the economy—and aren’t hurting anyone. “If we’re not having fun here,” one judge told me, very much off-the-cuff, “we shouldn’t be doing this.”

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why the Humane Society of the United States has such a visceral hatred of everything they stand for.

I think what’s going on is that HSUS, PETA, and other animal rights groups are conflating breeders whose main goal is to sell puppies with those who just happen to really love Pomeranians, Pinschers, or Poodles. This latter clique of people (far larger than the former) shows their favorite animals because they’re proud of them, not because they believe it will make their next litter worth more money.

It’s not hard to understand HSUS’s stated motivation for attacking people who breed dogs. The group wants everyone to believe that rampant pet overpopulation in America is all their fault. But personally, I just don’t see it.

I didn’t meet “puppy millers” this weekend. I met hobbyists, just like if I were at a model railroad convention, an antique fair, or a swim meet. They ask after each others’ kids. They visit each other in the hospital. They have knitting circles where the dogs watch approvingly. They’re 50 percent garden club, 50 percent church pot-luck. Zero percent animal abusers.

I asked one breeder how much money she had spent raising her champion dog, a mammoth Anatolian shepherd. “Who knows?” she answered. “I never really added it up. If you’re pinching pennies you probably aren’t treating the dog right.” In addition to the two purebred dogs she was showing, she had “two rescue mutts at home, and they have the same food, supplements, and everything else my show dogs get.”

And when I asked one of the veteran breeders how many of her peers raise dogs so they can sell the litters commercially, she looked at me like I was from Mars. “We all sell dogs, son,” she told me. “But none of us make a cent doing it. And I know where all my dogs live. If anyone can’t provide for them, we take ‘em back.” And then, almost as an afterthought: “I sure don’t want any of mine going to the pound or a rescue.”

Everyone I asked about this had the same kind of answer. If they found out that any of their puppies wound up in a shelter, they’d sure do something about it.

So why all the hostility from the Humane Society of the United States? Why did I hear from North and South Carolinians who had beaten back attempt after attempt from HSUS to have them taxed, registered, regulated, raided, and otherwise priced out of their hobby? What is it about these men, women, and children, so passionate about running up and down a concrete floor with their pets, that demands intervention from activists who think they know better?

Maybe it’s that HSUS thinks the only way to shut down “puppy mills” is to paint every dog breeder with the same broad brush. Maybe. I haven’t yet really wrapped my mind around why HSUS is opposed to everything I saw this weekend. I just know that it is.

As with pretty much every group of ranchers, dairymen, biomedical research scientists, and chicken farmers I’ve met, the breeders I spoke with this weekend had varying levels of awareness about the looming political threat from HSUS. Some of them can’t be bothered to be bothered. Others are fired up at the mere mention of Wayne Pacelle’s name.

“Somebody has to take that guy on,” one 50-ish man barked when I brought up the name of HSUS’s CEO. “That whole movement is nuts. After I showed up to lobby against HSUS’s last North Carolina breeder tax, I started getting calls in the middle of the night, untraceable phone calls, from these people saying they were going to come on my property, take my dogs, and burn my house down. I told ‘em my new rifle has an awesome night scope. That pretty much ended it.”

I spoke to the crowd after the Best In Show was awarded, in this case to a fluffy pekingese named “Noelle.” I told them that their problem is the same as the one faced by pork producers, egg farmers, dairymen, and even cancer researchers. But it was up to them to reach beyond their circle of friends—outside their comfort zone—if their kids and grandkids were going to keep being Junior Handlers and continue to raise the dog breeds they’ve come to love.

At the end of the day, I have to be skeptical of HSUS’s blanket condemnation of pet breeders. I’m confident that there are some horrible ones out there, as there are with any group of people (including animal activists…), but any legislative or cultural movement that lumps the people I met this weekend in with the bad actors is just plain wrong-headed.

Because the dogs I met in South Carolina were among the best-cared-for animals I’ve ever seen. Anyone who’s truly interested in animal welfare would want to make sure more dogs—not fewer—are treated this way. So how ’bout it, Wayne? Why aren’t you promoting dog shows?

Probably because you’ve never been to one.

Posted on 05/24/2010 at 09:55 AM by the HumaneWatch Team

Gov’t, Lobbying, Politics • Pets • (153) Comments

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SOME CRUFTS WINNERS WILL NEED VET’S APPROVAL

Published on Sun Jan 09 08:49:26 GMT 2011

 

Crufts will be assessing the health of 15 high profile breeds of dogs at the Birmingham NEC in 2012 before handing out any awards, the Kennel Club announced.

The move aims to improve health in pedigree dogs and protect the sport of dog showing, which have both come under prolonged scrutiny in the wake of a BBC documentary which claimed dogs bred for shows were suffering a high degree of genetic illness.

The Kennel Club, which runs Crufts, said all Best in Breed winners at the world famous dog show in 2012 and at all the club’s championship shows after that will need a clean bill of health from the event’s vet before their award is confirmed and they are allowed to continue to compete in the final.

And any dog which becomes a champion – for which it needs three wins at championship shows – will also need to undergo a successful veterinary examination.

The 15 high profile breeds to which the rules will apply include basset hounds, bulldogs, German shepherds, mastiffs, pugs and Chinese crested dogs, which have been chosen because of concerns the breeds can suffer from health issues.

Vets will be looking for clinical signs of pain or discomfort such as breathing difficulties when taking moderate exercise, skin disorders, damage to the eyes and lameness.

To continue reading this article click here

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AKC Meet the Breeds…Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America WINS Grand Prize

Congratulations to the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America who took home the grand prize of $500 for winning the Best Booth in Show award. In addition to the Best Booth in show award, there were first place awards given to the best booth in each group. Click on any image below to launch a slideshow of the winning booths.

AKC Meet the Breeds with a slideshow

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Dog shows can give insight into breeds

Tony Barker Published Sunday, May 2, 2010

Have you ever watched a dog show and feel completely lost?

Well, you are not alone. Many people have trouble understanding all the terminology used during a televised dog show or other canine event.

The dog world, like any other specialized passion, has its own language and without some insight it can seem foreign.

During a dog show you will see several dogs led around a ring. Most of the time the person you see with the dog is not the owner; they are called a handler.

A handler may also be called an agent or exhibitor. It is the handler’s job to present a dog in such a way to compliment its features; they are paid to do this.

When it is their turn to be judged, you will see them get the dog’s attention. This is usually done with a small piece of their favorite treat or toy. This is called baiting.

Baiting to show expression and to hold stack

While they are baiting the dog, they are trying to pose the dog in a natural, standing position for the best evaluation. This is called stacking.

There are different types of dog shows. One type is called a bench show.

During a bench show dogs are kept on assigned benches when they are not being shown in the ring so that the folks attending the show can see them, meet the breeders, and learn more about the individual dogs.

Most dog shows you see on television are what are called conformation shows. A conformation show is a dog show where the dogs are judged on how closely they adhere to the breed standard set by the American Kennel Club (AKC).

A type of conformation show that is limited to a single group, such as the herding group, is called a group show. A specialty show is a type of conformation show in which only dogs of an individual breed or group of breeds, such as terriers, are eligible.

There is also an informal side to dog shows. A match show is just that.

This type of show, many times set up to show puppies (future show dogs), are basically just for fun and to gain experience. Dogs do not earn points toward titles in these shows.

In a normal show, dogs that place win points to earn a title or to become a champion. When a dog has earned enough points to become a champ that dog is considered finished, as in they finished their title.

Winners Bitch and Best of Opposite

Knowing how to talk the talk will give you a better appreciation for the time the breeders and handlers have put into their dogs.

The next time you come across a dog show on TV, set back and enjoy. Better yet, visit one in person. A dog show is a great way to see a lot of breeds in one place.

You can learn what they are bred for and what breed is a right fit for your family. The more research you do on a breed that you are interested in, the better.

That way you are sure to get the right pup for your family pack. Remember, every dog deserves to be treated like a show dog.

Tony Barker, The BARKer Shop

http://www.irontontribune.com/news/2010/may/02/dog-shows-can-give-insight-breeds/

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Crufts 2010: Has the pedigree dog breeding problem been sorted?

By Pete Wedderburn Last updated: March 15th, 2010

Yogi, the magnificent Hungarian Vizsla who won “Best in Show” at Crufts yesterday, had been recognised as a prize-winner since his arrival in the UK in the summer of 2005. During the following four years, he produced 827 descendants – 517 (1st generation), 299 (2nd generation) and 11 (3rd generation). In the same period a total of 4977 Vizsla puppies were registered. This means that Yogi sired more than 10 per cent of the newly registered Hungarian Vizslas in the country. His story provides a good example of the way that over-use of the “best dogs” in the pedigree world can end up contributing to a narrow genetic pool, with an increased potential for inherited disease.

In fact, the Hungarian Vizsla Club is deeply committed to tackling these types of problems. The club takes a serious and responsible stance, recently expelling a member for breaking their code of best practice and even writing to non-club members if they spot that someone has bred a dog under-age or bred from a bitch on consecutive seasons. Such dedication to the health of the breed is admirable, and if other breed societies had the same attitude, the health of the nation’s dogs would dramatically improve. The rapid turnover of generations in the dog world means that changes can happen surprisingly quickly.

The Crufts dog show is over for another year, but the heated debate about breeding pedigree dogs is showing no sign of going away. While I was attending Crufts myself on Saturday, I met both Jemima Harrison (the producer of Pedigree Dogs Exposed) and Jeff Sampson, the Kennel Clubs Senior Canine Geneticist, so I was able to hear both sides of the discussion for myself. In the April edition of Dogs Today magazine, Jemima has written an open letter to the Kennel Club, with nine specific questions. I put these questions to Jeff, and his answers are worth repeating:
Click here to read the Q & A

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Hype, Money and Cornstarch: What It Takes to Win at Westminster Dog Show

Published: February 13, 2010

Misty Ridges Wendtworth Honey Lark~Wendt Worth Corgis

“Do the magazines influence some judges? I’m sure they do,” she says. “Do they influence everybody? No. Do I see a dog who looks great in the magazines and think I’d love to judge that dog? Yes.”

Professional handlers and owners say they wouldn’t write the checks if the ads didn’t get results. There are thousands of specials in any given year, and in a realm this competitive, the ads elevate you above the pack, they say. Just by buying them, you announce that you’re playing to win.

WHAT do owners get back for their rather substantial investments in these dogs? Not money, and woe unto the foolish reporter who suggests that money might be a perfectly reasonable reward. (Only indie rockers and physicians are more sensitive to questions about profits.) By every account, a show dog is a sinkhole. Even for a Westminster champ, the stud fee is a few grand. Rufus will die before he makes a dent in the sum spent on him.

Pet food companies like to brag about the number of Westminster group winners who eat their product. But Nike they are not. The best handlers are courted, but with nothing more valuable than the occasional hat, tote bag and coupons for discounted chow. When Uno the beagle won best in show at Westminster two years ago, his owners weren’t paid even when Purina featured him in a full-page USA Today ad.

No, the strange and inescapable truth is that people drop hundreds of thousands of dollars in this realm for one reason: they love dogs. Or, rather, they love a specific breed or dog and they are willing to part with a small fortune proving that their breed or dog is better than yours.
Click here to continue reading

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WARNING: DOG SHOWS UNDER ATTACK!!!

From another list and permission to cross-post.

The link
<http://pets. groups.yahoo. com/group/ extreme-animal- rights/message/ 5949>
http://pets. groups.yahoo. com/group/ extreme-animal- rights/message/ 5949 is to
a Yahoo site (open entry so anyone can see it) with a request to “warm up”
the crowd for an AR protest at Dallas AKC shows on July 4, 5 & 6 (limited
specialties on the 3rd). Be aware they are attempting to mount a serious
effort to make a mess at these shows. Dallas is currently a major AR target
and apparently poised to fall to AR activity in the immediate future. This
might “inspire” dog show protest all the more with recent activity still
fanning the fires. The quote forwarded below is from the Yahoo AR site.

Conveniently, the message talks about July 5th and 6th. The show site is
active from July 3 through the 6th. This 5 & 6th focus may be to lull
people
to think the earlier days are “safer” than they really are. With July 4th a
holiday, attendance will be high and crowd control a factor in permitting
less obvious maneuvering than on a normal, slow Friday. July 4 appears to
be a critical mass date too. Any of the days could be actual target dates
for activists. Details on the shows are viewable from the events page for
AKC www.akc.org/ events/search/ ; select conformation, TX and July and check
by date. The AKC shows on the holiday weekend are for three DFW area KCs
at:

Dallas Market Hall
2200 Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX

Not just heads up, Dallas. Heads up, everyone, everywhere. Specialties
start on July 3, none for FTs, with KC all breed shows on the 4th through
the 6th. Please check with handlers also to determine status and whether
you
might want to pull and/or keep dogs from traveling to the site. Advise
handlers of need to keep help stationed with all dogs on site, at all times
– at set ups, at the ring and in motor homes and vans. Trust no one
unknown,
including ringside, since they use very insidious and often friendly
tactics
to approach and gain release of animals.

They even use children to lend an innocence to their presence sometimes. Be
wary, very. These people don’t hesitate to sacrifice animals to the cause,
though they try to keep their followers blissfully unaware and place the
blame on the sport or uncontrolled “reaction” on site, not their fault, and
not their doing. A dog reportedly recently died in KS after being released
into traffic at much smaller shows.

The “home page” for the Yahoo group includes the PeTA logo and a self
description. Again, be wary…

Description

The association for extreme measures to protect animal’s rights.

Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2008 1:17 PM

Subject: Fwd: [NAIAandNAIATrustMe mbers] HEADS UP!!!!! DALLAS

HEADS UP!!!!! DALLAS

http://pets. groups.yahoo. com/group/ extreme-animal- rights/message/ 5949

AR’s have a protest scheduled at an AKC show in DALLAS, July 5th and 6th

“It’s important that we don’t let these breeder/murderers of shelter dogs
have their fun at homeless dogs’ expense.” (Emphasis added.)

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