Monday 28 February 2011

Fighting wet beard

Anyone that owns a Schnauzer knows the trouble with that beard and the drinking bowl, yuk! Nature of the beast is that every drink of water means dunking that glorious beard into the water bowl. My current dogs are pretty good about not drenching the area the bowl is in. However, some dogs are just plain messy....cue Trinny. Oh my goodness that girl is a walking water bowl sponge. I noticed it last year when she was staying with us to raise her pups, well Trinny is back visiting us and it didn't take long for the bowl area to turn into a puddle. I dropped in at the local Farm Supply store today and while their I spotted this water dish on the shelf, we are giving it a try. This is the website link for Contech the company that distributes the water bowl The light coloured insert floats on the top of the water with a small recess to pool the water, as the dog drinks, water replenishes itself in the recess which is about 1/8"deep. The concept should work, however Olive may be the fly in the ointment of what is potentially a great idea. She is obsessed with the opening in the middle and has been drinking an unnatural amount of water while trying to figure the hole out. I wonder how long before she gets her paws in there to flip the insert out.

Sunday 27 February 2011

The Devilishly Handsome Noah

Noah is the much loved companion of Heather and her family. Heather waited a long time to finally add a Standard Schnauzer to her home. I was very flattered to have her choose one of our pups to be that dog. Noah will be two this year and I think he is maturing into the companion she was hoping for. He is certainly a handsome devil. His sire is our Finn and mom is Abby. Below are some words from Heather about her boy Noah. He is doing very well this winter. He makes us laugh at least daily. We have not been as active with him this winter due to the cold and wind but he has adjusted to the quieter lifestyle quite well, considering. When it is nice out, he just loves the snow as you will see in the photos I have included. Noah is growing up to be such a wonderful young man. He is suspicious of strangers at our door and puts on quite a show but once they come in, he cannot get enough of the attention. He seems a bit more nervous about men in dark clothing for some reason. Outside of our house he is extremely outgoing and energetic. He loves the boys and cannot get enough of them either. He is not an overly snugly boy but prefers to be near you, rather than on top of you. He never tires of playing or running and has been a great companion as I have been training to run 3km this winter. Noah is more then just a pretty face, he composed his own email to me :-)) Hey they do call Standard Schnauzers the dog with the human brain.

Dear Lori

My mom said I could use the computer to send you a note.

I am having a great time this winter. I alternate between playing in the snow outside and lying on the couch beside the fireplace. I love to watch the cats outside and came close to catching a sleepy possum once. As I sit here writing this to you now, I can look out the window and keep an eye on things. My mom says that someday maybe I will have a schnauzer brother or sister to play with but I have a good time with my two human brothers. They have balls of all sizes and those are my favourite. I hope to be able to see you again someday but wanted to send you this note and photo to let you know I am doing great. Say hi to my Dad Finn and Mom Abbie when you see them. My mom says I look like both of them. Enjoy the photos and I will follow your news on the internet.

Love,

Noah

Saturday 26 February 2011

Like walking on the moon

Friday 25 February 2011

Hexe in Sepia tones

Hopefully the biting cold weather is on the move and I can start pulling out the rather shaggy winter coats the dogs have been sporting. Hexe is at the top of the list to have her coat stripped out.

Thursday 24 February 2011

Big boys and little ones

Cutter appears to be snoozing but in reality he is setting poor Hickstead up for correction. Note enticingly set up toys to draw the little man in for the.....kill. Not being the sharpest knife in the drawer Hickstead sadly falls for this everytime. sigh what's a little guy to do??

Tuesday 22 February 2011

Winter at the beach

Who would of thought that February would be such a fantastic time to go to the beach. I wish I had made the effort a couple weeks ago before we had a couple days of mild weather, bet it was even more stunning.

Canis film festival

Check out the finalist for the Canis Film Festival. Videos are all on shaping a behavior by clicker training. My personal favorites are the Basketball Playing Beagle and the What is This? Poodle. Click on the photo to link to the videos

Monday 21 February 2011

Family Day

Beginning in 2008 the Canadian Province of Ontario was granted a new holiday which arrives the third Monday in February, it is called Family Day. Mostly it is a day off to let the cold and weary folks regroup and relax, maybe dream a little of Spring. This winter has been crazy cold and very WHITE! It's around this time in winter that snow really does lose it's appeal. Our family will try to 'chill' out today, hope you have a good day too.

Saturday 19 February 2011

Dinsdale Owners

Meet puppy Poppy who's mom is Trinny and dad is Finn, for those that follow the blog she is sister to the wonderful Chase whom I intended to keep...until she kept growing. Sad for Lori :-( great for her new owner Glenda :-) Poppy lives on the West Coast of Canada with owner Ann and her older Aussie brother Pecos. I just loved these photos and had intended to make one a Feature Photo on my website, but couldn't decide which I liked more and so I decided to place them both, here on my blog. I get so many wonderful photos and updates from some really great owners that I will try to run some photos every week, so check in for future 'Dinsdale Owner' photo updates. AND if you own a pup from us, why not drop me an update and some photos and I will make your schnauzer a star on the Blog :-)) Below is some text from Ann's email telling me what Poppy (and that handsome man Pecos) have been up to.

Just thought I would send you a quick message to let you know how Poppy is doing. She is a super sweet girl and is doing really well here. She now weighs about 33 pounds and has been holding there since December. She has been out in the field with me now on several occasions and does pretty well. She hasn’t quite figured out the concept of stick around but does come back immediately when called. She really looks to Pecos and he has been a great teacher! She knows the basic commands and a ton of tricks. She really is super smart and picks up stuff almost immediately! I can’t wait to start her in agility as I think she is going to be a jumpers queen!!! She gets out every weekend with our trail walking group and has made lots of doggie friends! We often take walks along the beach where they have a total blast. She has been swimming a couple of times (not intentionally really) and does well. We have a canine pool in town and I think I am going to take her there so she can learn in a nice warm and safe environment. That way she will be confident enough to jump in the lake or ocean with the other dogs! I am thinking of getting her certified as a therapy dog because she is so good with people. Pecos was too wild when he was younger but I think Poppy would be great!

Thanks Anne for keeping in touch....

Friday 18 February 2011

Manly stuff

"Hey watcha doing Beamish?" Have I mentioned that Hickstead has a huge boy crush on Beamish? Well he does and lately the two 'guys' have been spending lots of time together. Beamish tolerates the adoration, Hickstead following him around, worship in his eyes. Beamish has always been a very masculine fellow, he was cocking his leg to pee before he was 12 weeks old. Hickstead on the other hand is a big soft lug, however, I noticed him the other day attempting to pee like a big boy, I am guessing it may have been influenced by Beamish.

Thursday 17 February 2011

Twisted Sisters

That was the heading of the email that this wonderful picture arrived in my mailbox attached too. Meet Tally & Chaos, half sisters, their mom is Fiddle. Another insane couple raising two Fiddle pups, I bet you thought I was the only one crazy enough to attempt to do that. Below are my very twisted sisters Olive and Clover. Tally & Chaos's owners drop me notes and photos fairly often allowing me to compared the sisters in the different households. Tally, who they have nicknamed 'The Kraken' has been their challenging pup, while Chaos has been the easier one. For me Clover, other then a couple of growing pains has been a no brain'er, while little sister Olive has been a real handful. Perhaps we should start a Twisted Owner club for folks raising a Standard Schnauzer pup...or two...or three....

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Westminster Winners

GCH Foxcliffe Hickory Wind Breed: Scottish Deerhound Sex: Bitch AKC: HP 20581907 Date of Birth: December 20, 2005 Breeder: Cecilia L Dove & Dr R Scott Dove Sire: Thistleglen Newell Dam: Foxcliffe Summoning Charms Owner: Sally Sweatt & Cecilia L Dove & Dr R Scott Dove Best in Show was awarded to this gorgeous Deerhound bitch. We love to see the girls win and this gal was my favorite going into BIS competition. I did love the Smooth Coated Fox Terrier, such striking markings, but couldn't out do this Deerhound! Here is a video of the Standard Schnauzer breed competition. The winner was a five year old male called Charlie, below is his winning photo and details. Congrats to the breeder and owner of Charlie, must of been thrilling to see their boy on TV last night. GCH Shalimars Golden Ticket Sex: Dog AKC: WS 16640301 Date of Birth: January 28, 2006 Breeder: Nonie Lomando Sire: Shalimar's Blockade Runner Dam: Shalimar's Victoria Owner: Julie Trombley & Nonie Lomando

Tuesday 15 February 2011

Death defying

I received so many comments when I posted photos of Cody and his buddy on my blog that I could not resist posting this video that I found this morning. A hamster and a Schnauzer seems rather risky, but a mouse and a Jack Russell, death defying!

Monday 14 February 2011

Westminster Reminder

Westminster will televise it's Group competition starting tonight (Feb.14th). In Canada on Bell Express Vu you can find it on TSN Station # 400 on the menu. Standard Schnauzer judging is tomorrow (Feb.15th) and the Breed winner will be in the Working Group competition tomorrow night. The coverage ends tomorrow night with Best In Show. Visit the Westminster Kennel Club website for more details CLICK HERE

Sunday 13 February 2011

Fun Valentine Day Videos

The love story continues.....

Saturday 12 February 2011

Schnauzer Valentine

Our resident schnauzer cupid

Wednesday 9 February 2011

Monday 7 February 2011

Snow dancing

Sunday 6 February 2011

That's my boy

Beamish explodes out of the almost 2 foot of snow Caught in graceful mid-air flight And the inevitable plummet to earth. Poor Beamish, almost grown up too bad those big adolescent feet don't always land the way he hopes they will.

Saturday 5 February 2011

Mr.Popularity

Beamish proves to be the 'IN' guy with all the young schnauzers. Hickstead has a serious Bromance for Beamish, it's very funny to watch Beamish on the other hand is in love with Clover Clover is not too sure she feels the same way Actually she finds his advances a little overwhelming. Doesn't take her long to conjure up her Momma Fiddle's attitude telling Beamish to take a hike! And don't come calling again.

Friday 4 February 2011

We Lost a Good One

In 2006 Cathy emailed an inquiry to me about our Standard Schnauzers, immediately I felt this was going to be a great home for one of my pups. We discussed the breed, her past dog experience and a little about her life and how she saw a Schnauzer would fit into it. Although I didn't have pups at the time I was a co-breeder on a litter in the US and connected Cathy with the owner of the pups. When it came time for the pups to leave for their homes I traveled to the States to pick out one for myself and one that could share it's life with Cathy. There was a handsome, outgoing, very naughty energetic male that stood out, I took him back to Canada and placed him on a plane to join his new owners on the East coast of Canada. In Cathy's own words she writes; "Eli arrived on PEI after quite a journey for a such a little man. At 7.5 weeks old he drove with Lori from Milwaukee, then flew from Toronto to Halifax where Kiri met him and drove home to Charlottetown. Then he proceeded to the easiest part of his journey, the part where he ran around the room and stole our hearts!" I loved receiving updates and photos from Cathy about their adventures, I would even occasionally receive emails and blogs from Eli, Cathy had a sense of humour. She trained and worked hard, learning about the breed, learning to groom him and eventually gaining a Canadian championship on Eli. Cathy loved the training but decided to hand Eli off to husband Allan for the show ring, they completed his championship with a Group 4th placement. Cathy decided the highly social Eli would be a great therapy dog, she started by taking him to kindergarten classes, below is one of my favorite photos sent to me by Cathy. Eventually he would visit with special needs adults, or as Cathy would call them, Eli's Special Friends. She taught him manners and tricks and Eli and Cathy were a big hit. Cathy and Eli were great ambassadors for the Standard Schnauzer breed and I knew that I could send new Dinsdale puppy owners her way and she would happily befriend them and offer advice. Along with a good romp on one of the beautiful east coast beaches. I loved her photos of Eli just being a dog best, this one that I posted on the Blog last summer was one of my favorites. I worked a little Photoshop magic on it and sent a copy to Cathy. I didn't hear back from her about that photo for a couple of weeks, when I did it was then that Cathy informed me about her cancer diagnosis. The last several months I have been kept up to date on Cathy's battle with the disease via emails from Cathy and her family. Updates on her extended trips to Toronto for treatment and the painful recovery from them. My last email from Cathy was a month ago, she sounded exhausted but still hopeful about beating it. It was with great sadness that I received the news about her passing on February 2nd. My heart goes out to Cathy's family. I know Cathy touched the lives of many other owners of Standard Schnauzers, if you would like to pay your respect and send condolences to her family a memorial has been set up here, just click and you will be taken to the tribute page.

Thursday 3 February 2011

Snowy faces

I took hundreds of photos today while out enjoying the new snow with the dogs, it will have me editing and resizing for days! Here are a couple of quick portraits from my first edit. Above is the dashing Beamish, just shy of 2 years Beamish is maturing into a striking male standard schnauzers. More then just a pretty face Beamish has such a super temperament all the other dogs have a blast with Beamish. Ahhhh....how cute is Olive? Clover looking all grown up and serious about herself.
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