Top Dog Weekly by TopDogWeekly

TopDogWeekly’s Cover Dog... Multi BIS Multi BISS Am GCh & Can Ch. Ahmahr Nahr’s Lost Angel Gabriel

Full Name : Multi BIS Multi BISS Am GCh & Can Ch. Ahmahr Nahr’s Lost Angel Gabriel Call name: Gabe Owner: JennieD Behles R.J Walley Breeder: Jennie D Behles, Flo Havens Handler: Edgar Rojas Gabe had come to Canada as a puppy in 2011 and finished his Canadian Championship in one weekend. In 2012 Gabe was shown selectively in the U.S. while maturing where he finished the year as the #2 Basenji, having held the #1 position for most of the year. In the U.S. Gabe was awarded multi Group wins, an All Breed Best in Show, Gabe also won the Regional Dallas Ft Worth Basenji Fanciers Specialty, the Indian Nations Basenji Fanciers Specialty and the Williamette Valley Basenji Fanciers Specialty. He was the only Basenji to be awarded that many Specialty Best in Shows in 2012 in the U.S. While Gabe was being shown in the U.S. in 2012, We showed Gabe’s sister BIS & BISS GCh Ahmahr Nahr’s Halleleujah Makes A Joyful Noise “Halle” in Canada and she was the #1 Basenji, the National Specialty Winner and a Top Ten Hound. In 2012 in Canada “Gabe” has been awarded 10 Best in Show awards, 2 Reserve Best in Show Awards, 34 Hound Group Firsts, he is Canada’s #1 Basenji, #2 Hound and one of Canada’s Top Ten All Breed Dogs. Gabe and Edgar have developed an incredible relationship, it is a pleasure to watch the two of them in the ring. We would like to Thank all of the Judges who have awarded Gabe and Edgar in 2012. Thank You Edgar for your care and presentation of Gabe.

BEST IN SHOWS week ending August 11th, 2013

Glacier View Kennel Club – British Columbia Tuesday West Highland White Terrier Ch. Whitebriar Jaw Dropper Judge: Pamela Bruce Wednesday West Highland White Terrier Ch. Whitebriar Jaw Dropper Judge: Grant Townsend Thursday West Highand White Terrier Ch. Whitebriar Jaw Dropper Judge: Mary White Victoria Kennel Club – British Columbia Friday Afghan Hound GCh Polo’s Air Force One Judge: Joy McFarlane Saturday Newfoundland GCh You Make My Dreams Del Basaburua Judge: Elrena Stadler Sunday West Highland White Terrier Ch. Whitebriar Jaw Dropper Judge: Janet Lobb Edmonton Kennel Club – Alberta Thursday Yorkshire Terrier Ch. NicNak’s Second To None Judge: Honey Glendinning Friday Dachshund (Miniature Long-Haired) GCh Akadan’s Risky Business Judge: Larry Kereluke Saturday Samoyed GCh Vanderbilt’s Let The Games Begin Judge: Bart Miller Sunday Yorkshire Terrier Ch. NicNak’s Second to None Judge: LeeAnne Bateman Grey Bruce Kennel Club – Ontario Tuesday Show 1 Pug Ch. Meadwood Charlie Ruckus Judge Deborah Graffmann Tuesday Show 2 Border Terrier Ch. Roschel’s Firefly Judge: Fred Dewsbury Wednesday Show 3 Borzoi Ch. Docteur Jivago Du Grand Fresnoy Judge: Phyllis Wolfish Wednesday Show 4 Chihuahua SC Ch. Tegs Too Bad She’s Bad Judge: Melvin Beech Thursday Chihuahua SC Ch. Tegs To Bad She’s Bad Judge: Joan Beech Kilbride Kennel Club – Ontario Friday Affenpinscher Ch Champagne Charly V. Tani Kazari Judge: Guy Spagnolo Saturday Giant Schnauzer Ch.Lindsayleigh’s Star’s of Orion Judge: Carlos Quinones Sunday Standard Poodle GChEx. VetSet Kate Winsit Judge: Pedro Armando Ramoslang

UPCOMING SHOWS this weekend

New Brunswick Kennel Club – New Brunswick St. Catharines Kennel Club – Ontario Thousand Island Kennel Club – Ontario

Manitoba Canine Association – Manitoba West Kootenay Kennel Club – British Columbia

TOP TEN ALL BREEDS Courtesy of CanuckDogs.com

Rank

Dog Name

Points

Ch Whitebriar Jaw Dropper - West Highland White Terrier

12869

GChEx NicNak's Second To None - Yorkshire Terrier

5020

GCh Polo's Air Force One - Afghan Hound

4815

GChEx Vetset Kate Winsit - Standard Poodle

4700

Ch Champagne Charly V. Tani Kazari - Affenpinscher

4666

GCh Roaneden's Int'l Harvester - Nova Scotia Duck Toller

3823

Ch Ahmahr Nahr's The Lost Angel Gabriel - Basenji

3543

GChEx Goldgrove High Intensity - Doberman Pinscher

3451

Ch Hearthside Riveredge Sure Is Summum - Australian Shepherd

3168

Ch Flacon d'Paris of Neigenuveaux - Barbet

2578

(TopDogWeekly does not verify these stats. They are supplied as a courtesy to our readers)

MEET OUR JUDGE OF THE WEEK SUSAN BADICK Calgary, AB.

1) Home city? Calgary, AB. 2) Breed or Breed’s you have bred? I have bred Miniature Wire-Haired Dachshunds and Whippets under the Nasusa prefix for more than 35 years. I have also owned Scottish Terriers, Boston Terriers, Labrador Retriever, Saluki, Siberian Husky. Currently, I share my home with two Mini Wires. 3) Years you have been Judging? 23 years 4) Licensed for or, on Permit for? I am approved by the CKC to judge all Breeds and I am a lifetime member of the CKC 5) Judged in what Countries? Canada, U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Finland, New Zealand, Australia, & Japan. 6) All time favourite assignment? 7) Favourite dog or dogs Judged from the past? Again, I don’t really have ‘favourites’, but finding any dog that matches closely to the ideal in their standard is always exciting and rewarding. 8) Pet Peeve’s in your ring? Exhibitor’s who constantly feed their dogs while I am trying to examine them. 9) Favourite way to relax? Reading, visits with family and friends. 10) How do you occupy your time in travel? Usually, I try to review the breed standards, personal reading – or sleep! 11) What do you think is the biggest problem facing our Sport? I think the rising cost of practically everything is making it very difficult for clubs, breeders and exhibitors. 12) What are your thoughts on Limit shows? As a judge, they can be hard work. However, inisolated areas it is the only way that small clubs can survive.

MEET OUR JUDGE OF THE WEEK SUSAN BADICK Calgary, AB.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

This past week a number of the Alberta K.C. club members, having volunteered and worked 4 long full days for their shows had to spend hours cleaning up exhibitor’s set up areas at Spruce Meadow’s which had been left in a horrible mess. What steps can or should Clubs take to insure that their venue is left clean? Bob Rowbotham Club Member/Judge/CKC Director If the exhibitors can be identified it is within the clubs prerogative to refuse entries to that individual in coming years. Possibly drastic action such as this might create the desired effect of making exhibitors more responsible for their actions. Kim McIntyre Club Member/ Ring Steward I feel for The Alberta Kennel Club having gone through the same thing with a small club that I belong to. We did not at the time take any recourse but I feel monitoring of the Exhibitor areas would be a way to police this issue. I would first speak to the guilty parties and in future possibly withhold entries from those that cannot respect the venues and the clubs that work so hard to allow people to show their dogs at them. Kim Campbell Show Secretary In my opinion there are several answers that could be applied to this question, for instance, 1) Publish right in the premium list any handler/exhibitor’s area left in a mess the club may refuse entries in future. 2) Publish that the club will provide volunteer clean up crews to monitor grooming areas - By Donation. 3) Clubs that offer pre-assigned grooming areas - charge a damage/clean up deposit - to be refunded once the site has been inspected. These are just a few, I am quire sure we could come up with many more and am sure you will receive others. Sheila Verhulst Club Member/Judge If this is the case, I would say charge them $100.00 per set up which is refundable when inspected when leaving. If the set up is not clean the club keeps the $100.00, a form filled out on arrival with car, trailer, motorhome License Plate number might also help. Sandra Lex Club Member/Judge It is unfortunate that the club is necessitated to clean up after exhibitors. To find a solution, to this problem the club will have to make some decisions that I am sure may not sit well with some exhibitors. I would suggest that a notice be put in the premium list that every setup must be left in the condition they were given it. There will be a team of club officials who will monitor all set ups twice a day and if they find it lacking a red sign will be posted in the set up notifying whoever that they have two hours to get it cleaned up or they risk a fine of so many dollars. It is hoped that the posting of the sign in a prominent place will force the exhibitors to be clean in

their setups, be it in a building or at their own RV spot. I’ve seen this work at shows in the U.S very successfully. Barbara Heal Club Member/Judge I had the pleasure of judging at Spruce Meadows this year, words that immediately came to mind when describing this venue are beautiful, stunning, pristine, breathtaking! Words that come to mind when I learned of the mess that was left were; disgusting, slobs, ingrates, morons, just to name a few! The Alberta KC truly has something to be proud of and those attending it need to be mindful of that. With the ever- declining entries and lack of decent venues, exhibitors should be very appreciative of this venue and do all they can to maintain a solid relationship with Spruce Meadows. But turning those grounds into anything less than what is was when the weekend first began is a sure way to sever their ties. I would suspect that that the Committee or at least some of the exhibitors do know the identity of those who left their set-up area without cleaning. If that is the case then the Alberta Kennel Club should send these individuals a strongly worded letter (with pictures) informing them that their entries will not be welcomed the following year, in addition to a fine. I would also suggest that a notice to this affect should be included throughout the Premium list and also included on the entry forms in...........BIG BOLD PRINT. There is no reason for the Show Committee Members to be responsible for cleaning up someone else’s garbage. They have worked extremely hard to put on a first class show and it is very disheartening to see their efforts go unrewarded by those selfish individuals who just walk away without a care in the world. Shame on you people! Heather Brennan Club Member/Judge There is nothing worse than staring at a hall or field full of fur and debris that needs to be cleaned up after all the hard work you’ve put in during the show weekend. It is frustrating and upsetting. Shows cannot afford to lose venues and so the volunteers clean up the mess left behind by exhibitors because there is no other choice. It is rude and inconsiderate on the part of exhibitors. At the Oakville show, we have long debated what we can do to encourage exhibitors to clean up after themselves and I’m hoping to get some good answers from your question this week. We are currently considering handing out brooms, dustpans, and garbage bags for clean up this year. We don’t know if it will help. Verbal reminders in previous years have not been effective. In reality, it is a question of how do we make exhibitors more courteous and responsible and I don’t have an answer for that. Some are excellent and always leave a pristine location, while others leave a pigsty. It is discouraging for volunteers. They work hard to put on a show for the exhibitors. The least exhibitors could do is clean up after themselves. In some ways, it is actually a reflection of the biggest problem our sport faces. Too many are only interested in their small corner of the world and unwilling to do their part to make the whole better. If we ever intend to beat the animal rights activists and keep dog shows alive, we need to start changing our tune. On a smaller scale, if we cannot learn to take care of our set ups than how can we expect volunteers to continue to put on shows for us? Sooner or later, they will get fed up and another show will fold. Thank you to this week’s responders!

BREEDER PROFILE Marlene DePalma & Thomas Oelschlager of Kontoki Siberian Huskies

This week TDW had the chance to “sit down’ with Marlene & Tommy of the world renowned Kontoki Siberian Huskies. Here is what they had to share with us... What attracted you to your breed? A Chicken!! Let me explain...I have always felt that the Siberian chose me. As a child growing up, I had a menegarie of pets including a crow, raccoon and various other creatures. The last year that baby chicks were sold in the five and ten stores at Easter time is how I would meet the Siberian Husky. Some who read this will remember these times. These chicks were dyed many different colors to add to the sales appeal. I cringe now when I think how at the time, this procedure was a standard business practise. In today’s world, I believe that this whole scenario would constitute animal abuse and the PETA would be rallying around the flag! My parents would buy 10-12 of them and I raised them throughout the spring and fall. These chicks were sexed at a very young age before they were sold to the store chains as only the male chicks were sold. They dye used to color them would wear off in about a month. The breed or variety of chicken were called White Leghorns. During the last year that this practice of seling the chicks were permitted, someone obviously for whatever reason decided to dispose of one. My cousins were traveling to their home and saw a baby chick that had been thrown out of a car and left to fend for itself. I was 17 years old and no longer ‘raising’ chickens (chuckle) but I certainly had no problem rehabilitating this chick back to good health, as you might imagine the condition he was in when he arrived at my home. There was still a little of the dye on this fowl, so it was still very young. I had this chick back on its feet and it became my latest ‘friend’ I took this chick with me most everywhere I went. I had recently obtained my drivers license, I taught the chick to sit on my shoulder when I drove. It also rode on the back of my large yellow labrador Shepherd cross whose name was Elmer, a dog who was a replica of old yeller. I ADORED this dog. Elmer also had a female acquaintance a black and white blue eyed Siberian, who I would later find out went by the name of Tonya, Dovercrest’s Tonya of Trotwood. Tonya belonged to a dentist and his family that lived on the other side of the woods from our family home. One day I could not find the chicken, searching to no avail. Tonya was on one of her ‘non allowed’ visits and as usual I took her home. I asked her owner as I returned her, if

the lady had seen a chicken in the past 24 hours. The woman burst into tears and said that TONYA had brought it home the previous afternoon She told me to wait a minute as she disappeared into her home and within a few minutes came out the front door and handed me $1.75. I politely thanked her but told her ‘you could not buy back your friends with money’. The lady told me that Tonya was becoming too much of a burden as they had 5 children and a very busy household, people coming and going, NOT paying attention to what door was left open or forgetting that Siberians have an insatiable desire to roam. The next day, I became Tonya’s owner. THAT was 40 odd years ago. An interesting start for a young man who had envisioned owning Afghans. There have been several ironies to this story. First is that the breeder that bred Tonya was also the breeder Jean Fournier bought her first Siberian Husky from. Adding more irony, since 1980, I have lived directly across the street from where this breeder lived, who bred under the name of Dovercrest. Jean’s bitch and my bitch were half sisters. The mason fence panels that I bought from that kennel where they disbanded are still part of my kennel and are now over 45 years old! In Marlene’s case, her ex husband very much wanted a Siberian Husky as a pet. She contacted me in 1974.......the rest is history! How many years breeding exhibiting? 43 years Accomplishments in your breed? Ten different Best of Breed Winners at Westminster Kennel Club 280 Best In Shows with 12 dogs bred/owned by Kontoki. Including several owned and bred by others. Best of Breeds at Six National Specialties Retired the Siberian Husky Club of America Best of Breed Challenge Trophy Retired the Siberian Husky Club of America Best of Winners Challenge Trophy Retired the Siberian Husky Club of America, Best Bred by Exhibitor Challenge Trophy 1987 Quaker Oats Winner #1 Working Dog and #5 All Breed Dog in the USA 1995 Quaker Oats Winner #1 Working Dog and #3 All Breed Dog in the USA Bred over 150 Siberian champions, finished over 300 dogs. Did you have a mentor in your breed? Jean Fournier, Kathleen Kanzler, J. Robert Page and Lorna Demidoff Do you believe judges have a good understanding of your breed? It’s sporadic; many have not had the opportunity to see great ones. In a few words as possible describe the essence of your breed? SLIGHTLY off square, close set ears, slightly oblique eyes, MODERATION!!!

What are the medical problems in your breed? While we see Juvenile Cataracts in our breed, we are still a relatively healthy breed. There are some afflictions that appear in small occurrences. Fault wise, currently what needs the most improvement in your breed? BODY LENGTH TOO LONG. Too many incorrect ear-sets, too many large, round protruding eyes, which strongly defines the essence of the breed. Young deep chested animals with briskets below the elbow. Too many “MALBERIAN-like” animals. These faults are of epidemic proportion in the breed. What do you believe to be the best dog you have bred? Honestly, there have been several, each with virtues that made them great ones. What dog of your breed would you have loved to own? Ch. Innisfree’s Pegasus How many dogs do you normally have in your kennel? Currently 13. 15 years ago 40. How many litters do you have in a year and what is the aver size of your litters? MAYBE 1. Litter size 3-5. Are you having trouble selling or placing your puppies? No. How many Canadian Shows do you attend in a year? 0 How many American Shows do you attend in a year? Over 70 Do you attend your Canadian or American National Specialty Shows? YES!