- 25 Dec
- Some Christmas photos:
- Doug and Joan sent me this picture
of Watson ("Shaksper Peter Quince") with Santa.
- Chris holding Portia
("Shaksper Porcia Catonis"), Victoria, and their Border
Collies.
- 16-18 Dec
- Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried") and I competed at
the AKC Agility Invitational. At the Invitational, the top
five agility dogs of each breed are invited to compete.
(Actually six, as the top preferred dog of each breed
is also invited. In the preferred class, a dog is allowd
to compete at the next lowest jump height. Norwich jump
8 inches, so a Norwich only has to jump 4 inches in the
preferred class.) Mandy's son, Boo ("Shaksper Guiderius")
handled by Jennifer and Keith, also was among the top five
Norwich who were invited and competed. When the dust
settled, Mandy placed third among the Norwich (missing
second place by one second), and Boo placed fifth.
- 13 Dec, 15 Dec
- Ophelia ("Shaksper Ophelia") was bred to Carson
("Verdant's Mister Carson") by transcervical insemination
using chilled shipped semen. (Carson lives in California.)
We will not know if Ophelia is pregnant until early January
when an ultrasound can detect pregnancy.
- 9 Dec
- Bobbi sent me this picture of Bernard
("Shaksper Henry Pole") and says "Merry Christmas!"
- 5 Dec
- Sally and Sal were watching Doug and Joan's new puppy Watson
("Shaksper Peter Quince") for a few hours. Sally got
this nice picture
of her dog Wilson ("Shaksper Geoffrey Pole") on the left,
and Watson on the right.
- 4 Dec
- Amy sent me this picture of Marian ("Shaksper Frances Flute")
in her new home.
- 3 Dec
- Sally sent me these pictures of Wilson ("Shaksper Geoffrey Pole"):
- 28 Nov
- Siri ("Shaksper Serena Mckellen") had two male puppies today
by c-section. Mom and puppies are all doing well. Details are
on Siri's puppy diary.
- 25 Nov
- Manny sent me this picture of Yoshi ("Shaksper Tom Snout")
helping to wash the dishes.
- 24 Nov
- Kristy sent me this picture of Valor ("Shaksper
Rosencrantz") helping
with Christmas decorations.
- 18 Nov
- Happy birthday to Siri ("Shaksper Serena Mckellen") who
is four years old today.
- 8 Nov
- Happy birthday to Bear ("Shaksper Guildenstern"),
Ophelia ("Shaksper Ophelia"), and Valor ("Shaksper Rosencrantz")
who are three years old today.
Kristy sent me this birthday
picture of Valor.
- 4 Nov
- Congratulations to Polly ("Shaksper
Hippolyta") and Lynn S. for earning Polly's Excellent FAST
Preferred title. FAST is an agility game where the
dog at a particular point in the course has to work (go
over obstacles) at a distance from the dog's handler.
At the Excellent level the distance is often 15 feet!
- 3 Nov
- The vets at NC State confirmed that Siri ("Shaksper
Serena Mckellen") is pregnant! Time to start another puppy diary!
- 31 Oct
- Elvis ("Shaksper Edmund Mortimer") in his
Halloween costume.
- 27 Oct
- Happy Birthday to Boo ("Shaksper Guiderius") and
Argus ("Shaksper Arvirargus") who are six years old today!
- 3-9 Oct
- Montgomery Week! This is the annual week-long
gathering of terriers in eastern Pennsylvania. There are
terrier activities for everyone - agility, obedience,
rally, Fast CAT, barn hunt, and scent work
in the early part of the week; then towards the end of the
week all-breed conformation shows, culminating on Sunday
with the terrier-only conformation show ("Montgomery")
put on by the Montgomery County Kennel Club, around which
all the other activities have grown. For many terrier
clubs - including the Norwich Terrier Club of America
(NTCA) - Montgomery is where they (usually) have their
national specialty. The NTCA club events - board meetings,
health seminar, banquet, and business meeting take place in
the evenings towards the end of the week. And for those
with more stamina, there is an Earthdog test for terriers
on Monday in New Jersey.
I have attended Montgomery every year since 1997. As there
is too much during Montgomery week for any one person
to do, one has to pick and choose. This year I started
out by attending the four days of terrier-only agility.
(This is my favorite agility trial of the year. I am one
of the organizers.) Of the 24 Norwich who competed, five
were bred by me. I competed with Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda
Seyfried"), Lynn Stonesifer brought Polly ("Shaksper
Hippolyta"), and Jennifer and Keith competed with Boo
("Shaksper Guiderius") - this is the male Boo, not the
female Boo who recently had puppies - Bear ("Shaksper
Guildenstern"), and Madeline ("Shaksper Lady Elizabeth
Percy").
Boo earned two of those difficult to get double-Qs
(qualifying in both Standard and Jumpers on the same day)
and Mandy earned one double-Q. Madeline earned her Open
Standard Preferred and Excellent Jumpers Preferred titles.
(In Preferred, dogs run the courses one jump height lower
than their natural jump height. Normally Norwich Terriers
jump in the 8 inch height division, so Polly ran in the
4 inch height division.) Plus Polly earned a double-Q in the
Preferred division. So Shaksper dogs did very well!
During the second half of the week, I attended the
board meetings, health seminar, banquet, and business
meeting of the NTCA. (I am currently the NTCA Treasurer.)
And of course I attended Montgomery, where I watched all
the pretty dogs and kept an eye out for possible future
stud dogs.
Some pictures from the Montgomery Terrier Agility Cluster:
From left to right Grandmother Mandy, daughter
Polly, and grand-daughter Madeline held by myself,
Lynn S., and Jennifer, respectively.
The reason for my pirate hat is because of the annual competition
to decorate the "villages" - the crating areas for each breed. This
year the theme was "Pirates".
Several people - including Jennifer and Keith - decorated
their crates to look
like ships. Here is Madeline on top of her ship.
Because we used to be one breed, Norfolks (drop ear)
and Norwich (prick ear) crate together in one village
("Norville"). In
their costumes are (from left to right), Polly, Boo,
Bear, and Madeline.
- 28, 29 Sep
- Siri ("Shaksper Serena Mckellen") was bred to Ariat
("Camio's Walking On Air For Half A Bob) by side-by-side
AI (artificial insemination). It will not be till the end
of October when an ultrasound will let us know if Siri
is pregnant. Here is Siri on the left and Ariat on the
right while Ariat was
being collected.
- 19 Sep
- Happy birthday to Ben ("Shaksper Soren Ben Miller"),
Paige ("Shaksper Paige Morgan"), and Bentley ("Shaksper
Prince Edvard Williams") who are all twelve years old today.
- 12 Sep
- New STAR puppy
Artie ("Shaksper Arthur Pole") with Baxter at the
other end of the leash and Baxter's wife Li holding Artie's
STAR certificate.
- 3 Sep
- Boo ("Shaksper Lady Catrin Mortimer") had three puppies, two
boys and a girl, by c-section today. All are doing well.
Pictures and more details are available on Boo's
puppy diary.
- 31 Aug
- Happy Birthday to Portia ("Shaksper Porcia Catonis"),
Sayer ("Shaksper Porcia Catonis"), and Tavi ("Shaksper
Octavia Minor") who are seven years old today.
- 29 Aug
- Watching the world
go by, from left to right: Ophelia ("Shaksper Ophelia"),
Boo ("Shaksper Lady Catrin Mortimer"), Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda
Seyfried"), and Siri ("Shaksper Serena Mckellen").
- 27 Aug
- The mid-year agility statistics have come out and Polly
("Shaksper Hippolyta") is the #1 Norwich Terrier in the preferred rankings.
Congratulations Lynn S. and Polly!
- 26 Aug
- Sally sent me
this picture of
Wilson ("Shaksper Geoffrey Pole") with the mountains
of South Carolina in the background.
- 16 Aug
- Happy birthday to HP ("Shaksper Harry Percy"), Elvis
("Shaksper Edmund Mortimer"), Boo ("Shaksper Lady Catrin
Mortimer"), and Madeline ("Shaksper Lady Elizabeth Percy")
who are all two years old today.
- 14 Aug
- Jennifer and Keith had a great agility weekend in
Concord NC with their dogs Boo ("Shaksper Guiderius"),
Bear ("Shaksper Guildenstern"), and Madeline
("Shaksper Lady Elizabeth Percy"). Boo earned two of
those difficult to get double-Qs (qualifying in both
Master Standard and Master Jumpers on the same day).
Madeline earned her Open
Jumpers title and also qualified in her first Excellent
Jumpers run. Madeline runs in the 4 inch height division.
(I missed all the excitment as I was judging in Maryland.)
- 8 Aug
- Kristy sent me this picture of Valor ("Shaksper Rosencrantz")
in the desert outside of Abu Dabi.
- 4 Aug
- The vets at NC State tell me that Boo ("Shaksper Lady
Catrin Mortimer") is pregnant! Time to start another puppy diary!
- 3 Aug
- Baxter sent me this picture of Artie ("Shaksper Arthur Pole")
resting on the grass.
-
- 28 Jul
- Today is the birthday of Gwynie
("Shaksper Gwyneth De Lesseps") who is two years old.
- 27 Jul
- While staying in a hotel in Dubai earlier this month,
Kristy took this picture of Valor ("Shaksper Rosencrantz")
"waiting to be served".
(Kristy says that Valor jumped up on the chair and waited while
Kristy took the picture. Valor did not get fed from the table but
did get some scrambled egg sprinkled on his kibble. I am not sure
that my dogs would have had such self-control with food right in
front of them!)
- 26 Jul
- Today is the birthday of Peanut ("Shaksper Victor
Garcia"), Sophie ("Shaksper Sophie Hall"), and Mandy
("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried"). They are all ten years old today.
Sandy send me this
picture of Peanut,
Page sent me this
picture
of Sophie, and I took this picture of Mandy.
- 15 Jul
- The AKC has a nice
article on their website about Jennifer and Boo
("Shaksper Guiderius"). This is the male "Boo", not the
female "Boo" ("Shaksper Lady Catrin Mortimer") who was
recently bred. Having two dogs named "Boo" is confusing
... but people can call their dog whatever they want.
A nice picture of
Elvis ("Shaksper Edmund Mortimer") sent to me by his
owner, Anne.
- 10 Jul
- A picture from
the past. This is a picture of Dr. Pullen who sold
me my first Norwich. This picture was taken probably
in 2017 when several of us with dogs descended from
Dr. Pullen's dogs were visiting Dr. Pullen. Several of
the dogs in the picture are mine; I believe they on
the top row. Dr. Pullen died in 2018 and you can read the obituary that I
wrote. (My thanks to Ellen for sharing this picture
with me.)
- 7 Jul
- Victoria sent me this picture
of Portia ("Shaksper Porcia Catonis") searching for rodents
among bay hales.
- 30 Jun
- Boo ("Shaksper Lady Catrin Mortimer") and Lori at the Raleigh airport
waiting on their flight. Boo is off to be bred to
a stud owned by Lori in Chicago. Lori was kind enough to
fly down from Chicago to pick up Boo.
- 27 Jun
- In the summer it is sometimes too hot to take my
dogs for a walk. I am fortunate to live in the country
and to be able to let my dogs outside my fenced yard for
a quick run in the neighboring field. This evening I let
everyone out, keeping a close eye on the visiting dogs.
Some of my dogs went into the nearby woods, which is not
a concern as they know the area well and the way back to
my house. All of a sudden one of my dogs started barking
furiously - the bark that says "something strange is here,
alert, alert". All the dogs immediately took off into the
forest and all started barking furiously. Of course, I
followed to investigate and found that the dogs had surrounded a big black snake.
The snake was not happy, coiling up and trying to strike
at the dogs who were smart enough to stay out of range.
There was no calling the dogs off; they were too intent
on keeping the intruder captured. I had to scoop a dog
up, carry it back to my fenced yard, and then return
for another dog until I had everyone safely back home.
I checked everyone over. Fortunately no one had gotten
bitten. But I had tired dogs who were very satisfied
with protecting my homestead. I wonder if this is the
same black snake that showed up on my porch (scaring me
half to death) about the same time last year?
- 21 Jun
- Ten Shaksper
Norwich!!! When Shaksper people go on vacation,
they are welcome to leave their dogs with me. This year
it seems like everyone decided to go on vacation at
the same time. From left to right, Gwynie ("Shaksper
Gwyneth De Lesseps"), Izzy ("Shaksper Iras"), Ophelia
("Shaksper Ophelia"), Siri ("Shaksper Serena Mckellen"),
Obie ("Shaksper Arthur Pole"), Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda
Seyfried"), Winnie ("Shaksper Tamora Queen Of The Goths"),
Boo ("Shaksper Lady Catrin Mortimer"), Madeline ("Shaksper
Lady Elizabeth Percy"), and Bear ("Shaksper Guildenstern").
- 19 Jun
- Sal and Sally sent me this
picture of their
hike with Wilson ("Shaksper Geoffrey Pole").
- 18 Jun
- Team Shaksper made up two of the three Norwich
competing at this year's Westminster Kennel Club's agility
trial; Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried") and I, plus
Mandy's son, Little Boo ("Shaksper Guiderius"), handled
by Jennifer and Keith. This was the ninth year that the
Westminster Kennel Club has had agility at its annual
dog show. This 146th annual Westminster Kennel Club (WKC)
Dog Show is second only to the Kentucky Derby, in terms of
continuously held sporting events in the United States.
The Westminster Kennel Club predates the American Kennel
Club. I have tried for years to enter Mandy in the WKC
agility trial, but this was the first year that we were
able to get in.
Here are Mandy and I
right before we entered the Standard ring. Yes, I am
wearing a kilt (American tartan). Mandy is staring at the
cheese in my hand that I feed her before we go in the ring.
I am looking at the course watching the team running ahead
of us. Notice the purple decorations; purple being the theme
color for the Westminster Kennel Club. Mandy and I were able
to successfully qualify (run clean) on the Standard course; sadly
Boo and Jennifer had a fault.
Our second run of the day was on a Jumpers course.
Sadly Mandy and I had a dropped bar (a fault). But
Boo and
Keith were able to run clean and qualify. So no double-Q
(qualifying in both Standard and Jumpers on the same day)
for either Mandy or Little Boo, and thus no chance of
making the televised finals.
This year the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was held on
the grounds of the Lyndhurst mansion in Tarrytown, just north
of midtown Manhattan. I got this picture of
Mandy in front of the mansion.
- 17 Jun
- On our way to the Westminster Kennel Club's dog show, Mandy
("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried") and I stopped off to see Mandy's brother, Peanut
("Shaksper Victor Garcia") who lives in Manhattan. It was
also nice to visit and catch up with Peanut's owners - Smedes, Carrie,
Max, and Sandy.
- 12 Jun
- At an agility trial in Sanford North Carolina,
Bear ("Shaksper Guildenstern") handled by Jennifer
and Keith earned his Open Standard title. Here is Jennifer and Bear
in a picture with the judge.
At the same agility trial, Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda
Seyfried") and I earned two more of those difficult to
get double-Qs. To earn a double-Q requires running perfect
on both the Master Standard course and the Master Jumpers
course on the same day.
- 6 Jun
- Griffin sent me this picture of
Estelle ("Shaksper Charmian") doing her garden gnome
impression.
And Victoria sent me another cute picture
of her granddaughter playing with Portia ("Shaksper Porcia
Catonis").
- 2 Jun
- Another cute picture
of Portia ("Shaksper Porcia Catonis") with
Victoria's granddaughter.
- 29 May
- Gwynie ("Shaksper Gwyneth De Lesseps") earned
first place in her height division at today's agility
trial in Richmond Virginia. This was Gwynie's third
qualifying score in Novice Standard, so she earned her Novice Standard title
and is now eligible to compete in the next higher (harder)
level.
- 26 May
- Happy birthday to Winnie ("Shaksper Tamora Queen Of The Goths")
who is eight years old today. Karissa sent me this
birthday picture of Winnie.
- 22 May
- Claudia, Robin
("Shaksper Robin Goodfellow") and Herb, whom Ophelia
("Shaksper Ophelia") and I had the pleasure of visiting.
- 18 May
- Victoria sent me this
picture of Portia ("Shaksper Porcia Catonis") with
Victoria's granddaughter.
- 17 May
- Happy Birthday to Estelle ("Shaksper Charmian") and
Izzy ("Shaksper Iras") who are both one-year old today. Griffin
sent me this birthday
picture of Estelle. I took this birthday picture of
Izzy.
- 30 Apr
- Valor ("Shaksper Rosencrantz")
visiting the formula one racetrack
where the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is held.
- 25 Apr
- Happy Birthday to Robin ("Shaksper Robin Goodfellow") and
Polly ("Shaksper Hippolyta") who are five years old today. Claudia
sent me the following birthday pictures of Robin:
Lynn S. sent me this photo of Polly with her new
bed.
- 17 Apr
- Much congratulations to Lynn S. and Polly ("Shaksper
Hippolyta") for earning
the PACH title!!!! PACH stands for "Preferred Agility
Champion" and is the agility championship earned out of
the Preferred program. The preferred program allows a
dog to jump one jump height lower than its "normal" jump
height. A dog's jump height is based on a measurement of
the distance from the top of a dog's withers (shoulder
blades) to the floor. Most Norwich jump in the 8 inch
jump height division. Lynn decided to run Polly in the
4 inch jump height division. But the requirements to
earn an agility championship are the same - 20 double-Qs
(qualifying in both standard and jumpers on the same day,
twenty times) and 750 speed points (running faster than
the judge determines that the average dog of the same
height would run the course, for a cumulative total of
750 seconds). An agility championship shows that a dog
is both fast and consistent. Not every dog is able to
earn an agility championship, so congratulations to Lynn
S. and Polly for doing so!
- 10 Apr
- Jennifer and Keith tell me that Madeline ("Shaksper
Lady Elizabeth Percy") today earned her Novice Jumpers
agility title. This makes Madeline a fourth-generation
agility star, taking after her mother, grandmother, and
great-grandmother, all of whom have done very well in
agility.
Plus their dog Bear ("Shaksper Guildenstern")
earned his Open Jumpers title. Congratulations on a
great weekend!
- 3 Apr
- Congratulations to Lynn S. and Polly ("Shaksper
Hippolyta") for their showing at the AKC Agility
Nationals! Polly, competing in the 4 inch division,
had two clean runs at
the Nationals and also qualified on a Premier Standard
Standard course during the Friday warm-up. Just qualifying
for the Nationals is an honor, as only the top agility
dogs make it.
Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried") and I also qualified for the
Nationals, but we unfortunately could not attend. (I had to
stay home with puppies.)
- 29 Mar
- Kristy sent me this picture of Valor ("Shaksper Rosencrantz")
with his current favorite toy.
- 24 Mar
- Claudia sent me
this picture of
Robin ("Shaksper Robin Goodfellow").
And Griffin sent this
picture of Estelle ("Shaksper Charmian") and writes
"Estelle is a big believer in shrimp during the cocktail
hour. Hence the expectation on her face."
- 10 Mar
- Gail sent me this
picture of Percy ("Shaksper Thane of Lennox").
- 8 Mar
- Today is the birthday of the "three amigos"
- Duffy ("Shaksper Thane Of Fife", Percy ("Shaksper
Thane Of Lennox"), and Rocco ("Shaksper Thane Of Ross").
They are three-years old today. Lynn T. sent me this picture of Duffy.
- 6 Mar
- Anne sent me these grooming before and after pictures of Elvis
("Shaksper Edmund Mortimer").
- 26 Feb
- Anne sent me a picture of Elvis
("Shaksper Edmund Mortimer").
- 23 Feb
- Ophelia ("Shaksper Ophelia") had four red male puppies
delivered today by c-section. Mother and puppies are doing
well. You can follow Ophelia's litter on
Ophelia's puppy
blog.
Chris and Valor doing
a run on a beach of the Persian Gulf.
- 20 Feb
- Lynn S. sends news that Polly ("Shaksper Hippolyta")
earned her Rally
Intermediate (RI) title. Rally is a cross between
obedience and agility, with more emphasis on the obedience.
One moves from station to station on a "course" and does
the obedience exercise on the station card. Way to go
Polly and Lynn!!!
- 17 Feb
- Kristy sent me this picture of Valor ("Shaksper
Rosencrantz") in a
hotel in Dubai looking out at the Persian Gulf.
- 14 Feb
- Izzy ("Shaksper Iras") earned her Canine Good Citizen (CGC)
title today.
- 13 Feb
- Carolyn sent me this picture of Sayer
("Shaksper Soothsayer Of The Ides").
- 11 Feb
- Kristy sent me these pictures of
- 10 Feb
- Griffin writes that Estelle ("Shaksper Charmian") is
their favorite garden gnome.
Kristy sent me these pictures of Valor ("Shaksper Rosencrantz")
at the airport and after
getting his boarding pass.
Valor will be on a long flight (over ten hours).
- 8 Feb
- Karissa sent me this picture of Winnie
("Shaksper Tamora Queen Of The Goths").
- 6 Feb
- Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried"), Gwynie ("Shaksper
Gwyneth De Lesseps") and I went to an agility trial
today in Richmond Virginia. (We only got in for the
one day.) Gwynie earned her Novice Jumpers title (picture with the judge)
and two blue ribbons!
- 1 Feb
- The movers came today and took away the furniture,
much to the
concern of Valor ("Shaksper Rosencrantz").
I knew when Valor went to live with Kristy and Chris
that there was a high likelihood that they would be
transferred. I just did not expect it to be so soon
or so far away!
They fly out in about a week. Instead of having to fly
cargo, Valor will have his own seat on the plane!
- 31 Jan
- I heard from Lynn S. today that Polly earned her MJP2 title
(Master Jumpers Preferred). The Preferred program allows a dog
to jump one jump height lower than they normally would be required
to jump. The "2" indicates that Polly has statisfied the requirements
twice over - which means that Polly has had 20 qualifying jumpers runs
at the Master level. Way to go Polly!
- 28-30 Jan
- Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried") and I competed at
an agility trial in Richmond Virginia. Unfortuneately
we were unable to earn any of those difficult to get
"double-Qs" (qualifying in both Master Standard and Master
Jumpers on the same day). Each day just one mistake cost
us a double-Q. But the big news of the weekend is that
Gwynie ("Shaksper Gwyneth De Lesseps") had her agility
debut and earned three blue ribbons!
- 27 Jan
- Ultrasound day today. Sadly Siri ("Shaksper Serena Mckellen")
is not pregnant. But Ophelia ("Shaksper Ophelia") is.
- 22 Jan
- Izzy ("Shaksper Iras")
enjoyed the snow that
we had in North Carolina.
- 8-9 Jan
- Mandy ("Shaksper Amanda Seyfried") earned another
double-Q at a Raleigh agility trial. But the big news is
that Bear ("Shaksper Guildenstern"), owned by Jennifer
and Keith, earned his Novice Jumpers agility title at
the trial. See Jennifer and Keith's Instagram account,
#norwichagility, for more details.
