Successful Dog Show Weekend

We had a great dog show weekend in Belton, TX.  Vegas went Best of Winners on Saturday and Sunday and picked up 2 points, making 8 points for her.  Victory got Select Dog both days with Don Boyd showing him, since I knew Vegas would be going into the winners/best of breed class and I was showing her.  We took our toy hauler and stayed at a neat RV park a few miles outside of Salado, TX called Tranquil Gardens.  It was in the country and was quiet, clean, and pretty.  We took in the art show in Salado, which wasn’t nearly as big as I remember it being when I went to it several years ago.  We also checked out the Salado Creek Winery, sampled some of their wines, and brought home a bottle of Lone Star Lime wine, which tastes like a mojito.  It was a fun weekend.

A couple of weeks ago, Rog’s sister, Mary and her husband, Gary came to visit us.  We took them to the state fair in Dallas, and to the Canton flea market where they found many treasures to take back to Iowa.  The Canton flea market is the most awesome place to find unique gifts, clothing, furniture, animals, and any kind of thing you can imagine.  It is huge, you could spend 2 full days walking and not see everything.  We have many unique pieces of handmade furniture and art from Canton.  Mary loves horses, and she rode Rog’s horse, Junior (also known as June or June Bug) while she was here.  Attached is a picture of Mary and Junior.  We really enjoy it when they come to visit.

We took a motorcycle ride last weekend to Lindale, TX and visisted the Miranda Lambert Red 55 wine store and sampled some of their wine.  The labels on the bottles are beautifully done, created by Miranda’s brother.  We brought home two bottles of wine, Electric Pink and Belle.   

Financial Tip:

Buy a new car and keep it 10 years.  Used cars from dealers are very expensive and you can get much better interest rates on new cars.  If you really want a used car, buy it from a private individual.  If you keep a car 10 years, you will get good use of your money for a longer period, and American made cars will last a long time.  My Dodge pickup is 11 years old, has 215,000 miles on it, and has only needed normal maintenance during the 11 years I’ve had it.  It is a diesel, so the motor is made to last a long time.

The Road to a Champion Dalmatian

I got my first Dalmatian 30 years ago from a farmer in Iowa.  Her name was Pepper and she was a beloved family pet, so smart and sweet.  She was such an obedient and wonderful dog.  She was a hunter, a watchdog, a dog who learned many tricks, and was so loved by our entire family.  When we moved to Texas, Rog’s parents were devastated more that we were taking Pepper with us, than us moving, I think!  Pepper lived to be 14 years old.

Our second Dalmatian was purchased from Bobby and Beth Hallman in 1992 and his name was Alex (Tattersall Alexander Bud) and he was out of CH Tattersall Night Moves and Tattersall Wabbit Twacks.    He was a gorgeous liver and white male, a great watchdog who loved children and other dogs.  When we had our son Luke, Alex was never far from Luke, and was in nearly every baby and toddler picture we took of Luke.  We lost Alex to bone cancer in 2001, but before we lost him, we purchased another beautiful Dalmatian from Bobby and Beth in 1997.  Her name was Shelby, and she was out of CH Tattersall Hights Jericho and Tattersall High Tone Glossy.  Shelby was awesome.  She smiled on command and learned all kinds of fun tricks and was a fabulous coach dog.  We took her on horse rides all the time and she just loved it.  She loved playing tricks on Rog and Luke.  She really picked on Luke, always parading around with his toys.  He was always so fussy about his toys, and would never break them, but she would chew them up just to aggravate him.  Her smile greeted me every morning and every night when I got home from work, and I miss her to this day.  She died at age 12.

Our 4^th Dalmatian came from Dalmatian Rescue of North Texas in 2001.  He was 2 years old when we got him and was named Wishbone.  He is my best buddy, a lovely boy who loves people and other animals and is an awesome coach dog.  He goes horse riding with me, and to the barn to feed the horses twice a day, rain or shine, hot or cold.  He doesn’t like me to ever leave him behind, and is a great friend.  He is 12 years old, and has been such a blessing to us.

Our 5^th Dalmatian was purchased from Atlantis Dalmatians in 2009.  He is out of GCH Paisley Nspird By Broadway (Argus) and CH Atlantis’ and Read All Over (Read.)  We named him Atlantis Wildcat Victory (Victory.)  He has a big V on his hip and a wildcat pawprint made out of spots on his back.  And, Rog loves Victory motorcycles and Luke plays for the Wildcats, so we thought we gave him a great name.  And, a great dog he is.   He is beautiful, smart and very friendly.  He loves other dogs and people, a bit exuberantly, as he will jump up and give lots of hugs and kisses, and wants to jump and play with any dog he sees, but mostly he likes the other Dalmatians that he sees.  I thought he was championship material, so when he was about 7 months old, I took him to Beth Hallman to see what she thought, and she really liked him and encouraged me to show him.  Well, that was scary, because I knew nothing about showing, having only gone to dog shows as a spectator.  So I started conformation classes at Top Dog under Verjean Lunenschloss in April, 2010 and went to my very first dog show in Denton, TX in May, 2010.  No points there, but learned a lot, and learned I had a lot of work to do.  Kept going to classes weekly until the next show in Dallas, TX in July.  Didn’t get any points in Dallas, but got a first and second place there, and was encouraged.  I met Lori Finlayson and Deby Harber at the Dallas show, and Lori really liked Victory and encouraged me that he was a really nice dog.  She also mentioned she was going to have puppies soon, and so I started thinking about getting another Dalmatian…  Then Victory went to Canton, TX in October, and there he got his first winners dog and a best of breed win!  And, from then  until now we won some points at most of the shows we went to, picking up our first major in San Marcos, Texas and finishing his championship today with a major in Canton, TX.  Many people have helped me along the way with tips, training, wisdom, and encouragement.  Thank you to all of you who have helped me, especially Rog and Luke, Sue and Jess MacMillan, Suzy Casey, Judy Guimont, Lori Finlayson, members of Dalmatian Club of North Texas, Don and Sharon Boyd, Verjean Lunenschloss, Strawberry Long with obedience training, Sharon Peters, Lesley Box, and Cesley Box.   Thank you all so much!    

In October, 2010 we got a liver and white girl from Lori Finlayson of Dalmino Dalmatians, out of CH Tuckaway Winged Foot and CH Dalmino’s Whoopdedo.  Lori had named her Gaga, but Rog did not care for Lady Gaga, and he is crazy about Victory motorcycles, so we decided to name her Dalmino’s Victory Vegas (Vegas.)  She is a very cute girl, very smart, beautifully spotted, and much loved by all of us.  She is Rog’s lapdog.  We started her conformation training in March of this year, and she picked up her first point in Beaumont, TX, two more in Dallas, and a major in Canton today, so we are feeling like she may be our next champion.

We had fun doing a Dalmatian meet the breed in Canton with some other members of Dalmatian Club of North Texas, and have attached some pictures of that event and some pictures taken at the Canton show.

Victory

Echo, Victory, and Taco

Vegas at the back

Meet the Breed

Judy and Echo

Meet the Breed

Meet the breed

Victory and Taco

Victory

Vegas

Vegas

The Versatility of Dalmatians

Dalmatians can do many things very well.  Their enthusiasm is a huge part of their charm.  They love to play fetch, be watch dogs (but mainly to bark and sound the alarm when someone comes, or something is amiss), go on horse rides and bike rides, learn tricks, go hunting, and be your best friend.  Our neighbor had some pet bunnies for his grandchildren, which the grandchildren were supposed to take care of, but they did not, so our neighbor turned the bunnies loose.  One of the bunnies decided to hang out at our horse barn.  He has been living free in our barnyard with the horses for several months.  I named him Mr. B Bunny.  The Dalmatians cannot wait to go see him every day.  Wishbone, my 12 year old, has learned the “leave it alone” command very well.  Mr. B Bunny comes running up to poor Wishbone every day like Wishy is his long last pal.  Wishbone will stand there and try not to look at B Bunny.  Victory is a true hunting dog, and will point at Mr. B Bunny.  I am trying to teach Victory and Vegas the leave it alone command, so that eventually we can go horse riding and pass distractions like cats, squirrels, rabbits, skunks, and other dogs without the dogs taking a detour and getting into trouble.  Wishbone is a very well trained coaching Dalmatian, and will follow the horses and stay out of trouble.  Wishy’s biggest thrill is staying with me and not letting me out of his sight.  He is a fabulous buddy.  Several of our Dalmatians have pointed when they see a bird or other wildlife.  Our first Dalmatian, Pepper, who we got 30 years ago, would point and flush birds, and loved to go hunting.  Attached is a picture of Victory pointing at Mr. B Bunny, and a separate picture of Mr. B Bunny.

Dalmatians as Fire Dogs

Many people think of Dalmatians as fire dogs, and can easily picture them riding in a fire truck.  Many fire stations have them as mascots and companions to the firefighters.  Dalmatians love adventures, and are ready to go at a moment’s notice.  They love to go for rides, and be a part of any activity that their family is involved in.  Pictured are Victory, Wishbone, and Vegas at the fire station with our volunteer firefighters, getting to be honorary fire dogs for an evening.  Thank you very much to the fire department and volunteer firefighters who were kind enough to let us take some pictures for Dalmatian Rescue of North Texas’ 2012 calendar fundraiser.  If you would like to purchase a 2012 calendar full of beautiful Dalmatians, you can contact Dalmatian Rescue at 972-250-Dals, www.dalpal.com, or by email at adoptme@dalpal.com.  In addition, they usually have some wonderful purebred Dalmatians for adoption to good homes.