New Feature Added

To further enhance the "mood" of the Winjammin's Waves blog, we have added music. The player is at the bottom of the page, and yes, you can pause it or change songs if you so choose.

All of our dog show friends know that we are not only very big Jimmy Buffett fans, but we have a deep love of the tropics, warm breezes, sand, sun, and fun.

So, put on your flipflops (hopefully not broken on a pop top), don your shades, pour yourself a margarita (please drink responsibly), and sit back, relax and enjoy the sounds of Winjammin's Jams!

Postscript - Yes, the last song has no bearing on the tropics or Jimmy Buffett. It is Phantom's theme song, and since he started this whole wonderful dog show journey, he is entitled to add his own tune. :o)

All Dressed Up

Every winter, Ruby and Emmy lose pretty much all of their hair....well, ok, Ruby never has a lot of coat, but you get the idea. So, a couple of years ago, we got Ruby a fleece sweatshirt and a coat to wear outside and in the basement so she stays warm. We hadn't found much that worked with Emmy, so we tried again this year to see if we could find something. Sherilyn found a couple of auctions on ebay...one with a fleecy sweatshirt, and one with some t-shirts.

All of the kids were really interested in what mom got in the mail, so they had to help. And we let them! Here are the results:

Ruby, all snug as a bug in a rug with her fancy fleece sweatshirt.

Emmy, the Desperate Housedog (you pick which one!):

Duchess, the Queen of Too Many Treats:

And, finally, we have Ransom, who was such a pest during the whole thing that he was "rewarded" with a shirt of his own. Once we put it on him, he lay in one place for an hour and a half until we finally felt sorry for him and took it off. But, not without photo evidence first!!!

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Big Girls Barkday

It has been a week of barkdays for us. Yesterday was Duchess' 7th and tomorrow is Ruby's 5th. We lovingly call this pair the "challenge pair" as they each have their own challenges that we have had to work through.

Ruby was our first Cardigan. She came out right at 6 months and picked up points left and right. Then, she was jumped ringside by a Boxer at 9 months of age. She never came out of it, and she will never walk back into a show ring again. It took us years to get her to even be able to set foot inside a building where there is a dog show going on. With much work, however, she is now able to go into a show site, and walk straight as an arrow to her crate without freaking out. She pretty much ignores any other dog that is in her way. We were also fortunate enough get her International Conformation Championship and her Canine Good Citizen during her recovery process. She has had her one and only litter, the wine litter, and now spends her time exercising all of the show dogs. We take them for a walk and she sets the pace for them to follow....and MAN what a pace it is!!! She gets into her gate and goes solid for 3 miles without breaking stride. By the time they are done, the show dogs are pooped and Ruby is ready to go again. Too bad her humans aren't!! Happy 5th Ruby-Doo!!

Duchess is our rescue Pembroke and is Queen of all she surveys. We acquired her when she was 8 weeks old and has been our constant companion ever since. Ever one to tell you what she thinks and then reiterate the same opinion, just to make sure you got it the first time, she is loved by all who meet her. She also had a rough start, primarily due to her tendency for urinary tract infections. She has been on special food to combat this problem for years. Her weight ballooned up to around 30lbs. After years of hard work and cutting back her food intake, she is now down to a very svelte 24.5lbs, and looks better than she has since she was 2. Before, she would lay on the couch, grumble at the other dogs, but not do much of anything else. Although, if she got off her throne, the other dogs ran in the opposite direction, as no one wanted to feel her wrath!! Now, she is constantly on the go, playing fetch, wrestling with the younger dogs, playing chase, and generally being the wonderful Pembroke she is. None of the others still mess with her, except Ransom, but then again, we think he's either got a wire crossed upstairs or, as the saying goes, "he just ain't that bright". hehe Happy 7th Duchess!!! Long Live the Queen!!!!

By Popular Demand...

Here are the kids each at roughly a year old. Please stop back often, as we will be editing this post as we get updated photos of everyone.

Lucy (aka Shiraz):














Kiki (aka Chianti):













Cristal:












Merlot:

Wine Litter Turns One Year Old

That's right, the "Wine Litter" turns 1 today! Cristal and Merlot are "aging well" and coming right along in the show ring. Lucy (aka Shiraz), Zen (aka Zin), Porter (aka Port), and Kiki (aka Chianti) are currently charming the socks off their owners and owning the couches in their respective homes.

It's hard to believe that they are one year old already. It seems like just yesterday they looked like this:

Honor Roll and On A Roll

It's definitely been awhile since I posted, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy. Many shows (highlights to follow), picnics (fabulous IA corgi frap and picnic), and family events (Happy 80th Grandpa!) have come and gone. No excuses, I know, but it's all I have at the moment. ;o)

I do want to pass along that it has been a fabulous year for our furkids. We (collectively) have actually finished 4 Cardis that we either own outright, or co-own with our dear friends at Foggy Bottom/Summit. So, without further ado, here is the honor roll of the new champions of 2009:

CH Camelot's Maiden Voyage aka Emmy
CH Sumjammin Changes N L'Attitude FB aka Bear
CH Sumjammin Five O'Clock Somewhere FB aka Frank
CH Sumjammin Come Monday FB aka Dove

We want to send out a huge thank you to Alec, Bekka, and Kim for finishing Dove this past weekend in Gray Summit with a 4pt major on Saturday and earning that last single by going WB/BOS on Sunday. Way to go team!!! This is the same star team that also finished Frankie earlier this summer in WI, and have been kicking some tail with the litter's older half brother Russ. They have definitely been on a roll!!!

Phantom has also been on a roll of his own. He has won a few Bests of Breed this summer, and earned a Group 2 in Cedar Rapids at the end of last month. He was among some very stellar company, and was defeated by the #5 Herding Dog, a wonderful Old English Sheepdog named Mr. Winston, who went on to win Best in Show that day. We have been working hard to get Phantom into the Top 20 in the breed and earn him an invitation to Eukanuba. This would be a first for us and we are excited to be close.

As of August 31, he is #20 in Cardigans defeated, #16 in All Breed dogs defeated, and #18 in the Eukanuba standings, with the top 25 receiving invites.

As for the things to do:

Bear made his specials debut in Des Moines on Labor Day weekend, and handled all of the hubub really well. He hadn't been shown since he finished at the end of June, so he's still learning the ropes. He still has some growing up to do, both physically and mentally, but he's coming along just fine.

Cristal earned her first point in La Crosse in August, and is growing up so fast! Bekka has been at the helm from the start with her, so they are both learning the ropes together and doing a wonderful job.

We would like to have 5 champions this year, if we could ever get that last elusive major for Ransom, and not go Reserve...again...