Jet as a Puppy

Back in January of 2009 I was looking for a Farmdog to buy. The first place I found on Google was the DSFCA. However, only one member of the DSFCA would even talk to me. And she told me that she would never sell me a Farmdog. I won’t name names, how’s that for polite? The rest of the club was completely closed and was a like a brick wall. Needless to say, I was frustrated. Fortunately I found an awesome breeder (Stolta Ebbas) and imported Jet from Sweden in July 2009.

The day after I brought Jet home I was invited to join the DSFCA and the corresponding Yahoo Group. Now I don’t know about everyone, but it would seem to me that the only breed club that exists at the time would actually be willing to communicate with people interested in buying a puppy. However, that’s not the case with the DSFCA.

So time goes on and I start to talk about things like AKC-FSS and I get slammed down pretty hard. The people on the Board of Directors was not only totally against the idea, they were rudely opposed, and they let me know in no uncertain terms. No matter that the US Born Farmdogs were an isolated breed and not on par with the rest of the world. This worried me, mostly for any puppies Jet may have, as I felt that all US Born Farmdogs should be able to breed and show in in all FCI member countries.

Fortunately my words got the attention of some amazingly fabulous women, and I was able to connect with them! Finally, some people who understood what I was talking about!

Back to the DSFCA… I pretty much stopped posting on the boards and yahoo group because I was tired of being criticized, ridiculed, and pretty much flamed.

I was able to attend the DSFCA National Specialty in November of 2010. The show isn’t thrown by DSFCA, instead it’s put on by ARBA, and the DSFCA encourages people to attend. The DSFCA does fly in a judge from either Denmark or Sweden, which is nice. However, last November, the judge they had planned on bringing in became sick and couldn’t make it. So instead they got another judge. She was afraid of flying, and so she had to be accompanied by her husband. So without asking the membership, the DSFCA spent the money to fly in two people from Denmark for the specialty. Needless to say, that’s darn expensive.

The DSFCA hosts the judges in the homes of people who are showing in the specialty. So, the dogs who are showing are dogs that the judge has not only seen before the show, but the judge and the handlers have spoken at length and shared a residence, dinner, and sight-seeing before the actual show. That is a terrible breach of any code of ethics with any reputable dog show club. It can make the judge biased and should never be done.

During that show a couple of people entered spayed bitches into the Open Bitches Class. Hrm. These people have been showing for years, and it’s clearly stated on the ARBA website that Open Bitches is only for Intact Bitches, not spayed. The DSFCA BOD encouraged and supported this blatant breaking of the rules.

The DSFCA claims that they are too small to adopt a Code of Ethics for dog shows. (I won’t be pasting copies of any emails here, you’ll have to take my word for it, sorry.)

I think that any club that says they are too small for a Code of Ethics for dog shows has something seriously wrong with them. All clubs should have a Code of Ethics for shows! They should not be allowing conflicts of interest!

While all this is going on, myself and the other wonderful women I met have decided to form a new club. The DSFCA doesn’t promote education. They don’t hold seminars. They don’t put on shows. They don’t even talk to anyone interested in purchasing a Farmdog puppy, nor do they promote education about the breed. Actually, I’m not really sure what exactly it is they do but encourage people to enter an ARBA show every year and fly in a Danish judge. Don’t get me wrong, I think the idea of bringing in a Danish or Swedish judge is great. But a breed club, in my opinion, should do a lot more than encourage people to enter one show a year.

Thus was born Danish-Swedish Farmdogs USA. So far it’s doing so many things! We hope to have webinars, seminars, education, sporting events, dog shows, etc! I’m really excited about it!

So anyway back to the DSFCA. We, the creators of DSFUSA, decided to invite the BOD of the DSFCA so that we could let them know what we were planning. We didn’t want to compete with DSFCA, instead it was our goal to compliment them. However, we were only met with criticism and anger and accusations of trying to ‘steal’ members from the DSFCA. But we don’t want to steal anyone. We don’t care if people are members of both clubs! None of the BOD of the DSFCA bothered to come to any of our webinars. We were just met with hostility and anger and pettiness.

Recently I discovered that I have been removed from the Farmdogs Yahoo Group that was run by the DSFCA. I was given no notice. I’m still a member of the DSFCA, and it was the primary form of communication by members, and the BOD, of the club. Hrmm interesting. I also found that my posting privileges to the DSFCA online forums has been revoked. I wasn’t told why, or that it would even happen. It’s all just gone.

I wonder if I’m being kicked out of the DSFCA? I guess it’s possible. But it would be nice to know why. The DSFCA does have a very small Code of Ethics on their website as of this writing, but nothing I’ve done has violated any of the points in the document. It doesn’t contain much about dog shows, and nothing about judging and interacting with the judge before the show. So I really don’t know why I’m being pushed out of the communication avenues.

I am most likely not even going to try to renew my membership with the DSFCA when the time rolls around again. It’s an opened and closed chapter of my life. Very short lived, really. And very unpleasant.

So, from the very beginning of my trying to deal with the DSFCA, to the very end (since this just may be the end of my relationship with them), they have been unfriendly, unsupportive, and downright rude. I can’t say I’ve had much good come from my relationship with the DSFCA. The only thing I’ve found were some like-minded people who have supported me with the AKC-FSS application. And, the best thing about these women, is the formation of the new club, Danish-Swedish Farmdogs USA!

So if you want to talk about Farmdogs, if you are interested in getting a Farmdog, if you like sports or showing or just having a Farmdog for a pet, please comment here or check out Danish-Swedish Farmdogs USA. We have an active Yahoo Group for people interested in getting a puppy (you don’t have to have a Farmdog yet!). We have regular webinars and meetings. We have a great club, and you don’t even have to own a Farmdog to join the club! You will find open and friendly people here.

So between January 2009 and now (February 2011) I’ve seen a lot of changes in the Danish-Swedish Farmdog programs in the USA. And I’m really excited to say that they are good changes, and I’m also proud to say I’ve been a big part of them! We’ve really opened up the community for the better!

Jet and Layla

Jet has found a new tugging friend. This is Layla and Jet.. Layla belongs to my friend Marie. She’s almost a year old and she’s a great tugger!

I love to see Jet playing tug with another dog. Actually, Chase has played a little bit of tug with him too! But Chase isn’t too sure about it yet. Hopefully none of them will need a Plano dentist for their teeth after tugging! Jet’s puppy teeth will be coming out pretty soon, too.

Jet is doing really well with training.  I’m even starting to get him walking through 2 upright weave polls. Why not… it is not going to stress his little body at all to get him walking through 2 upright polls.   He love it, too!  He is such a good boy and so amazingly smart!

He’s been getting to go out to lots of places, too. I need to post up the video of him playing with kids at Idaho Falls. I love that he loves to play with kids! Since we don’t have any kids I like to borrow all the kids I can!

Jet

So I’ve been Googling and reading the ARBA website to try to understand how it works. AKC is pretty straight forward… you need 15 points to get your championship. And you have to have 2 major wins. A Major is.. errr.. I think 3 or 4 points in the show. I forget, it’s been a while. Levi got all his points by the time he was 18 months old. Including the majors. He is a good lookin’ boy.

So instead of Green shopping I’m looking for ARBA CH information. From what the ARBA website says, the dog needs to accumulate CAC-US Certificates.  The dog can get one by being awarded an ‘Excellent’  rating at an ARBA show. I wonder if more than one dog can get this rating at the same show… or if only one can win like in AKC?  Anyway, so it seems like if your dog gets 9 CAC-US certificates from 6 different judges, you can apply for, and get, the ARBA CH. Which is the American Rare Breed Association Championship.
From the ARBA Website:

To become an ARBA Champion, the following is required:

1. As of 1/1/98, Nine(9) CAC-US (Certificate of Aptitude for Championship in the United States) must be given from 6 different Judges to a dog whose breed is fully recognized by ARBA.

2. Classes that are divided by sex which a dog may be eligible to compete for CAC-US: 6-9 Months, 9-15 Months, Bred by Exhibitor, American Bred & Open.

3. Effectively July 1, 1999, the American Rare Breed Association will no longer offer the Breed Club Class as one of its classes for its shows.

4. Only ARBA Champions will be eligible for Best of Breed Class ARBA Jr. Champions are not eligible for the Best of Breed Class.

5. The first, second, third and fourth place dog in each class will receive a Rating. The dogs/bitches will be rated as one of the following: Excellent, Very Good, Satisfactory or Good. A first place dog or bitch must receive a rating of excellent to be eligible for a CAC-US and to compete in the winners class. In other words, if the first place dog is not rated by the Judge as excellent, it will not be able to compete in the winners class and won’t be eligible to receive a CAC-US. The CAC-US will be indicated on the judges sheet and accounted for by ARBA.

6. ARBA will notify you when you have attained all the requirements which qualifies your dog as an American Rare Breed Champion. You must then follow all the rules and regulations to receive your championship certificate. No dog will be officially an American Rare Breed Champion until the certificate of championship is issued.

I have heard it said that the ARBA DSF judges don’t really know the Danish Swedish Farmdog breed standard very well… so I don’t know how many Excellent they give out. If any. Unless they bring in a judge from over seas. So… as I live, I will learn, and find out how it all works! Took me a long time to understand AKC CH… and I still don’t really understand what goes beyond Winners Dog and Winners Bitch.

Jet

So I’m glad to say I’ve been accepted to the Danish Swedish Farmdog Club of America! The people are really nice and helpful. I hope I can show Jet in conformation. Apparently the only club that does DSF conformation is ARBA.. the American Rare Breed Association. From their calendar, I’ve seen some shows listed in California and Colorado. I can do those… the drives would be long, but maybe I can fly. I really want Jet to be comfortable flying. Especially since it’s my hope to take him back to Sweden in a couple of years to show him in conformation there, and to meet his breeder and all his relatives!

I am hoping he will be a good kong chewer. I’ve been giving him kongs when I go off to work in the mornings so he has to work at getting the treats out. He still gets his regular food in a bowl, he’s young and he needs good nutrition for sure.  He does like that freeze dried liver in the kong toys too.  And I’m sure as he gets older he’ll get better at getting it out.

Once in a while he’ll chew on the corner of a pillow or something, but I trade him the pillow for a yummy bone and he is much happier.

It’s so wonderful having a puppy… a well bred well behaved well socialized puppy for a change!  Every day I’m impressed at what a good boy he is.   He’s even learning to sit before I pick him up.

I’m not going to start jump training or anything like that, any time soon. I might make some hoops, though, to get him going through hoops.  Or just maybe the jump uprights too, so he’ll be loving agility by the time we can start the real fun training!

Puppy Jet

Yup, it’s true, Jet is an amazingly wonderful boy. He zooms from room to room in the mornings after I get up… a bundle of energy. My other dogs have learned that mornings are not Mom’s favorite, so they kinda sleep and take a while to get going. Just like me. But Jet gets us up and about quickly and early! And, of course, I can’t resist how cute he is, so I have to play tug with him a bit, after I take him out to go potty.

He is completely house trained. I am so impressed. That’s what you get from a good breeder… instead of Tatum who lived in a yard with 50 other dogs and pooped and peed where she lived. And still now, after having her for two years almost, she will poop inside the house right next to the open dog door. Ugh! Oh well, that’s what tile is for.

I got a kiddie pool yesterday and took Jet out in it, I hope he will like the water! I think so. I am getting him used to the clicker. He came already knowing how to sit, too! So I’m doing basic sits, stands and downs with him with a click and a treat, he thinks that’s great fun.

And since he’s not a human kid, he doesn’t need acne treatment for his teenage years… boy I needed it when I was a teenager!

I’m also throwing a mat out and clicking him for stepping on it… I think he’s starting to get that, too. He is an amazingly smart boy. Before him, Chase was our smartest dog… but Jet might give Chase a run for his money in the brains department.

Jet was 9 pounds 11 ounces at the vet on Monday. And we measured the squiggly guy last night, and estimated he’s about 12″ at the shoulder. I’m thinking he’ll probably grow enough to jump 16″ in agility… but we’ll see!

Is he a doll or what?! I adore him! He is an amazing little boy and he is fitting into our pack just perfectly. Chase and Levi get to stay separate from him for a little while. But so far, so good. Levi walks around grumping and growly but leaves Jet alone, and Chase is leaving Jet alone too. Jet wants to say hi to them but I don’t trust Levi or Chase yet so we are going to be safe and careful.

Lucy, Angel, Tatum and Muffit are great with Jet, as we expected. This video is of Muffit and Jet playing this morning. They are having a great time! So far Muffit is his best buddy. Tatum wants to play but hasn’t quite been playing with him yet. I want to have Jet play with only one dog at a time for a while so he doesn’t get hurt (he’s so little!) and so they learn to play nicely together.

I’m sure I’ll have lots more videos and pictures to share!

Marie and I were up for 22 hours yesterday… we got up at 2:30 am eastern time to get to our 6am flight… which we made perfectly. And we got home at 9pm and I didn’t get to bed until about 11 pm… so that was a long day. And I am done with flying for a while!

Marie also brought a wonderful little sheltie girl home! She’s from Tampa, the Himark sheltie kennel, and we got to play with her and have her wonderful company too!

Chasing Jet around will make it so that I won’t need any best weight loss supplements for a while! He sure is a chewer, and very active! I love him! He’s absolutely perfect, he has no flaws.. he is the perfect puppy. Today and tomorrow he gets to stay home, then he gets to start going out and experiencing the US!

Tug!

I haven’t been thinking about it too much because I’m just too excited to be going to pick up my new puppy! We leave on Sunday and head to Tampa as our first stop. We’ll be checking out some Sheltie Puppies there and see if any are cute enough to take home too (lol okay we know they will be cute enough!). But it may not work out for my friend Marie but we’ll see how it goes.

Then we go and get Jet! I’m still leaning toward the name Jet and I’ve been calling him that even though he’s not around us yet. I am so excited to get a small dog, a dog with an excellent start, and a Danish Swedish Farmdog! He is going to love all the things we’ll do together! This picture is of him playing tug with another dog of the breeder’s pack. I love that he’s playing tug and I hope he will like to play with me so I can use it as a reward for training. It’s so nice when you can use tug as a reward!

So anyway, I don’t know if I’ll blog again before I go or not… but I’ll be posting to Facebook while I’m gone from my phone, so if you know me there you can follow me!

So hopefully I won’t need any cheap life insurance for this trip…. and it’ll all go well and the flights will be safe and secure and it’ll be a quick jaunt from here to there and back again. I will be back by next Tuesday evening, the 14th, with my new pup!

Socializing!

I love all my dogs. I have two purebred collies I bought from breeders, Lucy and Levi, and I have four rescue dogs, Angel, Chase, Tatum and Muffit. Of all my dogs Chase has the most potential to go far in the dog sports I love. I am certain he can get a UD in obedience as soon as I start training him up. But none of my other dogs would be capable of it. Levi maybe would have been, if he’d had the right training as a puppy. Lucy had too many physical problems, though fortunately not mesothelioma. Tatum, Angel and Muffit are wonderful dogs but I don’t think will be able to really go far in dog sports.

Even getting a pet dog that is well socialized is very important. The first weeks of their lives puppies need to experience lots of people and things. If they miss out on this, they will have harder times when they are older.

So three weeks from today I’ll be on a plane to pick up my new puppy! Isn’t he sporting a gorgeous blue collar! And he is getting an amazing, wonderful, perfect start, thanks to his breeder.  I don’t think even Lucy or Levi had great starts from their breeders.  So I am going to love having a well bred and well socialized puppy to work with and love!

Because although I love doing the dog sports, the dogs are more my kids and my family and I love them to peices. That’s why the dogs that don’t do dog sports… I don’t love them any less.