Grunfeld German Shepherds

Ok. I have a rant and since this is my blog then here it comes. I shall not rant again because it will be out of my system and I will push on doing the best I can do. Gossip and rumour are so dangerous and insidious. By the time it gets back to the person involved heavens only knows how much damage can and was done to a person’s reputation. People seem to love to share negative comments even if they have no basis in fact.Personally, I don’t gossip. If I hear something directly regarding another fellow human then I will tell the person that I’m going to check the facts and relay who told me this bit of unsolicited information. If I hear something indirectly then I will tell the person being talked about what is being said but that it as far as it goes.

So, it has come to my attention that my dogs and my kennel are being gossiped about . Let me make it perfectly clear to anyone reading this rant that the only person in the world who knows exactly what is going on in my kennel is me. The second person would be Gary but since he is hardly ever here he might have missed being kept up to date.

My dogs are healthy and well balanced. I do not have health issues in my kennel nor do I have temperament problems. The best european bloodlines in the world are represented here. We have sieger sons and daughters. We have a V male that is second to none in the stud dog world. Grunfeld has a clean health record at my clinic that I have been with for over 30 years.

You will not get better breeder support anywhere else in the world than you will from Grunfeld. We offer a lifetime guarantee , not because we have sick animals, but because genetics often play terrible tricks on us and we can’t control for that. I have been training dogs since 1985 and I offer 4 free puppy classes and also 24/7 support for all my clients. If clients don’t take advantage of that then there is nothing I can do about it. All my dogs have to return here if you can no longer keep them for any reason or at any age. Your dogs can be boarded here with me at a special rate where they get wonderful care and seem to enjoy returning.

 I treat my clients the way that I would like to be treated. I’m honest and don’t snow people nor do I push my puppies on people. If some people choose to malign my kennel or myself then that is their choice and it must do something for their egos or whatever but let me assure everyone that my facility is not off limits. You may come for a visit whenever you wish. Also, I’m very approachable so if you wish to call me directly and ask about any rumours then you are free to do that as well. Remember that when people discuss others behind their backs ………….they will be doing the same to you when you are not around.

 Are there some clients that I will NEVER deal with again? You betcha!!! But , I always think that if you can get me so upset that I blacklist you then it is you that has the problem because I’m one of the easiet people in the world to get along with.

 There. Now I feel so much better! And I promise that I will never rant about myself and/or Grunfeld ever again.

Thanks for listening!!!!!

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Yesterday was our first official open training day here at Grunfeld. We would like to get a schutzhund club started but we will also keep training Rally, CKC obedience etc.  I’m thinking that we need a social place to train and have fun with our dogs and help people whatever they may wish to achieve. These open training Sundays will continue every week rain or shine. We are training with motivation to develop a happy dog and handler team. Yesterday we had 8 people here and I thought it went very well.Karen March came down from Halifax to help us out and she also gave a little demo of the protection aspect to Schutzhund sport.

We started at 1:00 o’clock and went to a field up the road a bit to do tracking. We are all at the same point with developing scent pads and then learning how to proceed from there. Karen gave a some useful hints and agreed that all the dogs were getting the idea. We had 2 new dogs that had not trained here before and both they and their handlers caught on very quickly. It was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon with sunshine and heat. That made our couple of hours in the field very enjoyable. Everyone has homework to do and that includes me.

Then we returned to the training building where we all had time for 1 obedience lesson each. Some are just learing how to develop ball drive while a couple of others are already fusing with attention. Again we were given some direction on where to preceed. I hope to have a training area outdoors prepared before too long so that we can get more distance into our training.

When the RV comes back then we will have a place with heat and coffee and be able to develop the social aspect of Schutzhund which is so important.

 We do charge a $ 5.00 sleeve fee per handler but I feel it is money well spent. So, if you think this might appeal to you and your dog then just arrive next Sunday and who knows…………………you might catch the training bug.

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The big, beautiful , black and red dog passed over the Rainbow Bridge sometime over night. I found him this morning stretched out sleeping but it took me a few seconds to realize that it was his final sleep. I don’t know what happened but he looked very peaceful and was not ill at all so it was a great shock. Vanto was Gary’s dog. He loved his mom but when Dad was around it was very obvious where his loyalities lay. Vanto was a dog in a million. He loved life and people and the cats and the other dogs and strangers and yet……if you put on the Schutzhund sleeve he was all business. Everyone who came here to buy puppies were more than willing to take Vanto home with them. He was a great traveller because when Gary was on the road they went everywhere together. He made fans all over the Maritimes. What a wonderful dog! My big regret was that we didn’t get to say good bye to him. He left on his own terms and I like to think that he has met up with Falcor and they are both waiting for their humans to arrive one day.

 I’ll miss my bed dog and I’ll miss the cuddles. They don’t live long enough and each time you lose one a piece of your heart is gone forever. Vanto knew he was loved and cherished. He has some puppies out there in the world and that is a consolation .

 Rest easy Van-Man. You will live forever in our hearts.

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My beloved Falcor is gone. He crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on Monday, November 3rd. He was a dog of my heart. Not only did I love him dearly but he thought I was the greatest person on earth. We had such plans for the future and that all changed in a heartbeat when he was diagnosed with an inoperable tumour. His passing has left a huge emptyness in my heart. I purchased Falcor from a wonderful family in Germany who feel as badly as I do. Falcor was a dream come true. He had the most wonderful temperament and achieved a VP 8 at NASS in ST. Louis last year. We had such fun travelling with him and several other shepherds both down and back.  He loved to play and talk and had a real joie de vivre that was contagious. My shock was coming home from St. John and finding him in intensive care at my clinic.He was in the outside pen on Wednesday and Thursday barking at my clients who came for lessons. How could this happen so fast? Guess I’m still in shock and my last moments with him seem like a dream. The last two mornings I woke up and  hoped that he was still with me. I feel so cheated that he left me so soon but I wouldn’t have ever traded the time that we did spend together.

Sleep easy my big, goofy guy and know that you will be in my heart until we meet again.

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I’ve been busy and preoccupied lately and haven’t been able to find the time to write a daily blog but, I’m going to try harder to keep these updates. I’ve called this one friends because I’ve been blessed with the best friends that a person could ever have. For the most part my friends have come to me through the dog world. They have becaome a second family andf are aways there to celebrate the good times and mourn the sad times. They are there for support and consul and I know that I can count on them just as they can count on me. These friends range all over the world from Germany to Hawaii to my group here in Nova Scotia.

Several weeks ago, a bunch of my close friends got together to surprise me with a birthday cake and the most beautiful statue from Daniquest and I never even had an inkling that they were up to this. I was judging a Fun Match for the local SPCA and all all of the group that were able to showed up to watch and offer moral support for my first Rally Fun Match. This didn’t cause me any suspicion because it seemed like something they would do. Afterwards , we went to ” Timmy’s” for coffee and a chat and that was where they brought in a carrot cake , made by Jackie and then this magnificant gift that was purchased by all of them. I was shocked beyond words and just speechless. There are no words to thank everybody but know that my life would be very empty without all of you in it. The statue is one of a beautiful male German Shepherd sitting down on a hill with a lovely female shepherd lying on a ledge below him. I’ll get a picture and have a link to it inserted into this blog so that you can look at it. It is now one of my treasured possessions. You can meet most of these awesome people at any CKC show as we often hang out together to cheer each other on and just have lots of fun.

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Well, back from Kentucky and the World Schutzhund Championships and what a time it was.It always amazes me to see how many people are in love with this breed. It gives me a chill to look around the stands and know that German Shepherd Dogs have brought all these people from all these different countries together.

 Myself and two friends flew off on Wednesday morning and returned yesterday. The weather was fantastic. 90 degrees and sunny and most resort like. For us from the far north it was like walking back into July. The flights down were fine and we arrived on time after 12 hours of travelling time.  We had a room in the host hotel and the draws for the times were about to take place upstairs and off we went. The place was full and there were so many people there that I knew from previous trips. Off course there were the members of the Fundy Regional Schutzhund Club and then Jim and Robert from Hawaii. Jack Parsons and his wife were there from Newfoundland and Koos Hassing from Tiekerhook kennels was there. It was nice to see him again as I had been to his home when I was in Germany in 2006. We spoke to T Floyd whom we had met at NASS last year and the famous Helmut Riser was there. He has written the most informative book on schutzhund protection called Das Schutzhund.

The mornings came early as the competitions started at 7:00am but the shuttle from the hotel did not leave until 8am so some of the early competitors we were unable to see.But that was OK as we sat through all day until 4:00 ish when the events ended. We were unable to buy a WUSV T shirt as a souvenir because by the time we got there each morning they were all sold out except for 3xxx………bummer. Even the hats were gone. Guess someone must have underestimated the numbers of spectators that would want to purchase one.

 It was easy to get good seats as the stands were never even close to being filled. Also some spectators went out to the tracking fields to watch that phase of the competition. We chose to stay at the stadium and wait for the scores from the tracking to come in. Everyone was quite excited when Ralph Gilby made a 97 in tracking for Canada. Yahoo! My Gretta came from Ralph several years ago.

The competitors worked in groupings called flights. There was a portion of obedience and then the field was changed for protection. This gave a break to the judges and the helpers.I was pleasantly surprised to see all the female participants. As a matter of fact the number three high scoring individual was a female from Germany. Way to go girls!!!!!! I believe that 4 of the top 10 finishers with the high scores were female.

The food and beer was great and with the temp in the high 80’s a cold beer really hit the spot. The vendors had lots of equipement for sale and we spent a good share of time and money in that area. The dog trailers really caught my eye again and I do believe that one may be in the future for Grunfeld. Time will tell. The metal crates are awesome and can be locked which is a great idea in this time of fanatics like PETA roaming around. I don’t know why it is so easy to spend money on the dogs while I buy my clothes at Second Hand Stores because “new ‘ clothes are too expensive. There is something wrong with this picture.

Most of the dogs were sables with a few blacks and black/tan scattered through. T Floyd has a B/T from his own kennel. Several of the dogs on the Japanese team were black and their heeling and obedience routine was almost unbelieveable!! Wow!!!!. I don’t think that I captured any of that work on tape but if you can find something on the internet then go have a look-see. There was a “show dog” entered and he did very well. His colouring was that striking black and red.

The Banquet was interesting as people who had bought their tickets in advance had their actual chairs reserved while the teams also had tables reserved……….so……..we plebians were told to only sit at places that did not have a name tag or a flag in the middle of the table. Good luck with that!!!! Finally, people realized that this was crazy and we just sat where we wished. We ended up sitting with Pedro Jeminez….I believe…………………. who has had the Universal Sieger twice. He and his wife were very nice and he was an interesting conversationalist.( I’m sure that someone will correct me on that name if it is wrong!) The food was fabulous and we met up with Jim and Robert after the meal was over for a few minutes of conversation.

The time passed so fast and we made so many new friends. I want to mention Nancy from Boston. She was a real doll and as a canine police officer had a couple of funny stories that she shared with us. She is welcome to come and visit anytime. There were so many laughs and so many stories that we will share with each other for weeks to come. Maybe they were only funny when you were there but we laughed until we cried many times.

The people were so helpful and friendly that we felt right at home. When the closing ceremonies finally arrived there was a bit of sadness that it was over. The top team was Germany with the United States a close second. Finland was third and Netherlands was fourth. Canada finished in 8th place I believe and did a great job. I have some of the team competitors on tape and hopefully that will get on the website.

Can’t wait for the next big trip to watch German Shepherd Dogs………………….

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Last week-end was the Dartmouth Dog Show in Cole Harbour Place. The club used to hold two shows a year but are now down to one week-end of two shows per day. It is fun to go to that show but I wish that the canteen would open earlier than 10:oo o’clock for all of us 8:00 am exhibitors. The shows started early and I had to leave home both mornings at 6:00 am so that meant a 4:40-5:00 am wake -up time. Crazy or what!!!!

Lisa had entered Freddi from my U litter and I had agreed to show for her. My friend Linda also asked me to show her little Dachshund as well. So, it was two long days but there were lots of laughs and successes.

Freddi was entered in all 4 shows and needed two points to finish her championship. The judge that looked at her first missed her completely in the breed. We came out of the ring with nothing, not even Reserve. But ……we knew she was a really nice female so kept our hopes up for the following shows. We were not disappointed. Freddi took Winners Female in the next two shows and then took the Breed over Specials in the last show to finish her title. Thank-you to Fred Gordon. Freddi is now a new Canadian champion. I think she is going into her next show as a Special.

I won’t be showing at all in Halifax as I’m Ring Stewarding for the three days. Hopefully I can get a gander at what is going on. Even though you are in the ring you tend to be so busy that you honestly don’t remember what has happened.

Congratulations also go to Marie Cook who finished her Gerrman Short Pointer just in time for her to go home and wait for her litter to arrive. We were crossing our fingers for that one because these were her last shows until after the litter is weaned.

Yahoo. As usual we met many old friends and had a ton of laughs. The next show for us to participate in will be the one in Trenton.

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We were not off to a good start. As a matter of fact, I was so angry that I was ready to ship him back from whence he came!

 It had begun a few months earlier. We were made aware of a dog that had been returned to a breeder friend of ours out west. He was a beautiful, large male with certified hips and elbows, 1and 1/2 years old and the clincher was that he was a son of our stud dog Lasso. You could not have found a nicer dog than Lasso and here was a chance to get one of his sons.  This dog was named Uran and he had been returned due to behaviour problems. We expressed interest and it was decided to bring him out east and see how things would work out. Behaviour problems had never bothered me and I felt that I had enough knowledge to deal with any problem that wasn’t genetic. With Lasso as part of the genetic make-up of this boy I was willing to give it a try.

He arrived late one night on a flight and my husband who had picked him up at the airport had put him into one of the kennels and I waited to let him settle in before I went out to greet him the next morning. Off I went with some dog cookies to treat him and welcome him to the Grunfeld family. What greeted me was a dog hell bent on biting through the chain link to tear me to pieces. He was all teeth and growls.There was no calming him down and all I could do was beat a hasty retreat and go into the house and tell my husband that …that dog will be on the first flight out of here today.

 Then…I calmed down. He had really scared me earlier because I had never seen a dog in that state before and I knew that had he been able to get out of that run I might have been killed. So, I decided to go back in and check this out again as I don’t tend to give up on things without a fair try. Uran was still in the  same state as before but I stood well back from the run and watched him. His eye was very hard and I felt that he was afraid and was going to get me before I would get him. Uran was a gorgeous dog and my heart went out to him. How could a dog this young be so dangerous? What or who made him this way?What would become of him if I didn’t keep him? What should I do?

The decision was made to try and rehab him and if I couldn’t make any progress then he would be euthanized. I also wanted to see if this behaviour was genetic or learned . So, the process began. I had to feed and water him every day and I had to do that safely. It was easy to put him in the outside run and drop the door while I did what needed to be done inside. Then he would be allowed back into the run. He would run in with that hard eye and growl at me as I stood outside the run. I would turn away from him and leave saying nothing.This went on week after week. One day when he came inside to eat he didn’t growl. Progress!!This continued for several more weeks. Then one day he didn’t scoot out the door when I came to feed. He stood at the back of the kennel and I had to open the door and place his food inside the run. It worked. He didn’t charge the door and he came over to eat. I was able to fill his water dish through the chain link so that was never a problem. I could see that although he was beginning to let me be around his kennel his body language still said to stay away and his eye was not softened yet. So, I followed his lead but now I was talking to him every time I came into the kennel building. Uran seemed fine with other dogs but not with people. He hated my husband and made that very clear any chance he got. Due to this I became the sole provider for Uran.

The weeks went by and there was an improvement in Uran’s attitude and willingness to let me inside the kennel with him to feed. I certainly didn’t push my luck and I sure didn’t try to force myself on him. I would watch for any attempt he made to be a little more trusting and would try to reward that with a kind word. I was still nervous because I had seen how quickly he could turn and I sure didn’t want to cause that to happen.

 Gradually Uran became friendlier and I was able to touch him. Again, this was done in small increments so that he never felt threatened at anytime. He was the one who would come closer to me so that I was able to pat him and then one day he wagged his tail. I felt like a million dollars. He was on the mend from whatever had happened to him. Once the tail was wagging , the eye softened and I felt pretty sure that he was not going to hurt me. So, I did start to clean his run with him in it and he was fine with that . He would trot outside with me and hang around as I scraped and washed the run. No problems with that. Here it is important to stress that this took months of work as I didn’t know anything about clicker training at that time. I feel that my progress would have been faster had I been able to tell him what behaviour I was happy with.

There was a eureka moment when I knew that I had passed my trial period with Uran and that I was his buddy or friend or whatever you wish to call it. He knew that I could be trusted.Uran’s toenails were getting long and I wouldn’t dare try to cut them for several reasons. The main reason was that I’m not stupid. I won’t pick a fight that I feel I can’t win and I knew that I couldn’t ever hurt this dog or he would lose trust in me. So, what to do about those toenails. Well, I remember the day clearly. It was a hot summer afternoon and I had to clean his run. I took my toenail clippers with me on the off chance that I might be able to reach over and snip off a point. Believe it or not I was able to snip off two toenails as I kept cleaning the outside run. Then, I reached over to snip off the third nail when I did the unforgivable….I closed on the nail too close to the quick and I heard a yelp. Quicker than I can ever tell you Uran growled and swung around and grabbed my arm in his mouth.

There was absolutely no pressure. He just told me very politely that I had come too close for comfort with my trimming and he would appreciate more consideration in the future. Well, I was ecstatic. He trusted me. He could have bitten but he didn’t. He just warned me about the hurt I had inflicted. From that day forward I knew that I had won over his heart and his respect.

 We were able to go for short walks together. I was always wary of meeting any people or any other dogs. I knew that my promise was to keep him safe and part of that promise meant not putting him in any position where he might misread the circumstances and revert to his other behaviour. I warned everyone that came on the property not to go near his kennel. He could be frightening to clients and friends. He just couldn’t allow himself to trust people again.

 I found out as best I could that he may have been abused in the name of training. As dogs can only fight or flee, Uran was a dog that chose to fight. The more you tried to hurt him, the more he would fight. The average person cannot deal with this issue and so most of these dogs get euthanized as they flunk out of training class. Uran was very lucky that he ended up here.

I would show people how sweet he could be. They would remain a distance away and could watch me go in with him and he would lie on his back with his legs in the air and I would rub his belly and tell him that he was such a good boy. I even got to the point where I was able to verbally get after him to settle down or get out of my way. But …only I could do that. He became slightly better with my husband but he still would never go in the kennel with him.It wasn’t worth it and I didn’t want Uran to rehearse that old behaviour when there was no need to do so.

In the end we became the best of friends.We shared six and one half years together. I know that Uran trusted me 100% but I could only trust him about 80%. I never pushed him but I did ask him to listen to me and he complied. In the end he was taken from me by a tumour. When I went in to see him that last morning after he had been on IV fluids for almost two days, he raised his head at my voice and placed it in my lap. We spent some quality time together while I told him how special he was and how much he was loved. When we were ready, because he already had an IV in place the end came quickly and peacefully. The last words he heard from me were…Uri, you are such a good boy. Mom loves you sweetie. 

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This has been a very rough month for me as a breeder, boarder of dogs and owner. Several of my dog friends have passed away and are now on the other side of the rainbow bridge.We dog lovers get attached to all the dogs that cross our paths and when they leave it is just like loosing one of our own.

Valor was a son of our stud dog Lasso. He was just the best puppy that I had ever purchased. Unfortunately when he was x-rayed he had severe hip dyaplasia in both hind legs. He would not be a working dog nor a show dog. So, he was placed in a lovely home and had several great years as a house dog and a good friend. He always remembered me when I came to visit and I loved him dearly. Rest in Peace my dark faced friend.

Gimli was one of my boarders. She was a 13 year old Wheaton that came to one of my puppy classes . She was a hoot and gave her mother lots of headaches. In later years she was a regular boarder with me along with her buddy Arwin, a standard poodle. Sadly, Gimmi had to be euthanized this month. I will miss the little girl. Rest in Peace Gimmi.

 Gorbi was the largest german shepherd that I have ever seen. And he was just as good natured as he was large. He was purchased by a friend of mine and stayed with me. Due to his large size he was not bred. I placed him in one of the best homes I know of where he was loved and treated with the best of care. He was so very special and loved by all even though he was guite imposing with his size. Sadly, last week Gorbi was euthanized due to a large tumour on his spleen. What devestating news for all of us. A kinder heart you could not find. Rest in Peace Gorbster. You were loved.

 Yara was a sable female shepherd that I rescued many long years ago. She was a lovely female and I found her an awesome home. She ended up boarding with me along with her buddy Akim. I knew that she was going down hill and I also knew that the end was not far off. Sadly Yara crossed the bridge this month . It was a difficult decision for her owners but there was no other choice left for them. She had a wonderful life and she will also be missed. Rest in Peace  Yara, sweetie.

Uran….last but not the least. His story deserves a full blog and that will be forth coming. Uri was my dog. We went through a lot together. I will never learn as much from any other dog. I loved him. Rest in Peace Uri.

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Within the last two months I’ve been observing at a couple of dog shows in the area. While I was showing a few different breeds for some people my interest is always in the German Shepherd ring. It’s puzzling to me why judges have lost their eye for my chosen breed. Back in the 70’s and 80’s the CKC ring was the salvation for the German Shepherd Dog as the Specialty rings went off on an extreme tangent that we are still seeing remnants of today. CKC judges knew what a good , sound , specimen of the breed should look like and they put them up. Dogs that won at Specialties could never win at CKC shows and vice versa .But………..alas…..in many cases ……..the judging that I observe today is a mish mash of guess work or so it seems. Certainly German Shepherds are stacked differently from other breeds but soundness and structure are still common to all breeds. I watch judges do a superb job with the other breeds but completely fall apart when they come to judge the shepherds. Why??????? I honestly don’t know. These are some of the faults that I see being missed in the breed ring. Straight fronts,long necks, weak pasterns, long through the loin, extreme length of stifle, nervous, anxious temperaments, narrow chests, flipping hind feet, paddling on the front end, males that look like females. The worst of these problems are character faults and the loss of fronts. All these judges had to be breeders first and we breeders know that if you lose your fronts then you are in big trouble . Hind ends can be fixed in one good breeding but not the fronts. These shepherds with the straight fronts look like scalene triangles. What’s with that? I know that judges can see this. Why do they insist on putting these dogs up ???? Shepherds should have a short back and be balanced. They should cover the most ground with the best efficiency. That means that when they are doing funny things coming and going on the diagonal you are looking at wasted movement. While the side gait looks good…..the body has to compensate for the incorrect structure by putting the legs somewhere else. I also see shepherds going up that trot with their heads high in the air. This is wrong and while they can be trained to do this it is wrong. That would not be efficient movement. These dogs are meant to trot all day long as they herd sheep as a moving fence. Therefore you should be looking for balance, no back movement and heads carried more parallel to the floor. Now, I have another question..why are judges asking to see shepherds WALK up and down the diagonal? This is a trotting breed. I really don’t care how they look at a walk, I want to see how efficient they are at the trot.Do they track in towards a center line? Or are they quite dirty behind. If they are dirty behind then how does that problem measure up to the other parts of the dog. Keep in mind that hind ends are easy to correct in a breeding program. Are you a fault judge or can you overlook a fault because there are so many other good qualities in the animal? What if you are judging a dog that has an excellent front, excellent character, very good pasterns, short back, correct length of loin, very good breath of chest and strong secondary sex characteristics?The dog is balanced and moves very nicely as you observe the side gait. The dog has two faults; a steep croup and is cowhocked. The east-west of the hind legs is visible at the walk but not so dirty at the trot. One judge I observed excused the dog for ” lack of merit.” Are you kidding me?????????

It was a real eye opener to attend the German Shepherd Specialty this year. At the Specialty the judges are required to make comments on the dogs that they place to indicate to the gallery what the judge sees as strength and weaknesses. I tend not to show at specialties with American/Canadian judges because they don’t give the German dogs a second glance. It is much easier and less work to just make a donation to the club rather than enter a show where you know you don’t even have a morsel of a chance of placing. Well, this year I can’t say enough good things about Susan Godex. Wow!!!!!!!! I would show all my German dogs to her. She was confident, in charge of her ring and she didn’t miss the dogs that should have gone up both days. While the judge on Saturday gave generic comments about the dogs…..i.e. typy bitch, good expression, etc., Susan was very clear in her choices and her reasons relating to chest, length of loin, upper arms , etc. She even compared her placings at times so that the gallery could see why she did what she did. You didn’t have to second guess her choices and whether you agreed or not you had to admit that she knew what she was talking about.

In one class there was a lovely bitch. She had so many things going for her that it looked like she would win that class. Then she went up and down the diagonal………….you guessed it …….she was really dirty behind. When the class was judged, Susan gave the first place to this same bitch. When she came to speak to the gallery she said that she knew that we had all seen the problem this bitch had. But , she went on to say that the bitch had so many other good things going for her that she had to give her first place in the class.

 Spoken like a true breeder and not as a fault judge. I tip my hat to you Susan. That took the courage of your convictions and I agree with you 100%.

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