A higher calling

Love is creation raised to a higher degree

- Toyohiko Kagawa

I often hear people say "oh him? he's just a pet" or describe a puppy a simply "pet quality". So what does that really mean? Well to me it means an individual who has a unique set of characteristics that give it such strength of inner character it can accept anything life can bring it's way. It is a dog capable of loving unconditionally, without reservation or hesitation, and accepting that same kind of love in return. It is a dog who's temperament is stable enough to forgive the "mistakes" of their owners and who's eyes are so soulful and charming they can convince anyone to forgive them theirs. These "pets" are the weekend warriors who keep their families safe from invading squirrels and mice with the same gusto their working ancestors kept their owners sheep safe from foxes. They can wake you in the morning with a kiss, swim in the lake and run in the grass all day long, fall asleep at your feet on your lap in the evening, and protect you from the creatures that lurk in the dark as you sleep. They do all this with such joie de vivre one can not help but be energized. They carry the unique ability to captivate a heart and enchant a soul. They will be remember long after they are gone and spoke of with such fondness that anyone listening would think they were hearing the memoirs of the greatest dog to ever live. These dogs may never set foot in a competition ring but they will be unreserved champions from the day they set foot in their homes.  They will hold more secrets and comfort more tears and will always know just when and where they are needed. They will bring such joy and lead their families into such great adventures. They are the embodiment of love and what it is to live. Yes being "just a pet" is by far the highest of callings and an accomplishment of very special individuals. Any dog can win a ribbon but it takes a truly unique individual to win a heart. We are lucky, and proud, to say that many of our terriers have gone on to be "just" somebody's pet and watching them and the life they share with their new families brings me no greater joy. Whether your terrier competes in national agility, wins championships at dog shows, or is the king of the couch it is the bond you share with them that makes me proud and the love you share is one of the greatest rewards of being a breeder.

Time flies when you are having fun

 

"A breeders lap is a marvelous space where proud and noble champions once snoozed"
                                              - P. Adamson

Wow it has been such a busy few months I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted anything. SO much has happened around here since our last post I don't even know where to begin. Kiwi welcomed her first, and much anticipated, litter on February 3rd of 4 sweet little girls and then her niece Loki whelped a litter of 5 robust boys 4 days later on February 7th. Both litters were sired by our stud dog Woofgang Stash and I am so beyond impressed by his first efforts for us. We kept one little girl from Kiwi's litter, a female we have name Covet or Coy for short, who we are pretty excited about and we have retained a co-ownership on her littermate Promise ("Mia") who has gone to live with a good friend in Colorado.

Inseguire Covet ("Coy")

Inseguire Promise ("Mia")

Several of the puppies from both litters have gone to sporting homes and we often get to see them at flyball tournaments and follow their progress on facebook.

Inseguire Fleetwood "Flea"
Kiwi x Stash

 

Inseguire Bazinga with his sire Stash and dam Loki

Inseguire Corsair "Cory"
Loki x Stash

In other news we traveled all the way to Virginia in April to escape the cold and kick off our trial season. All the dogs did very well with Cali and her daughter Snookie (owned by Denise DeCosta) taking first and second in the ultra-competitive rough/broken under girls class. Warden won his class both days to close out his puppy year and Stash was right on winning Reserve Working Dog to National Champion Little Eden Dempsey on Saturday and then turning the tables on Sunday and beating him to take the title of Best Working Dog.

Inseguire Calliope "Cali"

Woofgang Stash

As you can see it has been a busy spring and I haven't even gotten to our recent trip to Colorado and our little May "surprise" but best to leave me some incentive to write again soon!

Waiting



 

It is can be paralysing to realize how much you love something that has not yet even taken it's first breath in this world. The fear of uncertainly catches your breath in your throat and momentarily stops your heart. The people that know me would say I am your typical "A"type personality. I like to be in control; of my environment, my emotions, and just about everything else that is really important to me. In contrast whelping is something you have so little control over it can be emotionally overwhelming for the average person and down right terrifying for a conductive personality like me. Add to this mix that my heart is so wholly engaged in this process that it is one of the few times in my life where I am left completely open, raw, and vulnerable to the whims of outside forces far beyond my jurisdiction. This realization always hits me a few days before my girls are due to give birth, usually while they are sitting on my lap and I can feel the new lives inside them maneuvering themselves around in the rapidly diminishing free space. I do everything I can to stack the deck in my favour but I know all too well that in the end I will be forced to let the chips fall as they may and accept whatever outcome is given to me. As with most terrier people I possess the same tenacity and stubbornness our breed is infamous for but sometimes no amount of willingness can change a situation, and it is that knowledge that tightens it's grip around my chest and puts me on edge. The tenseness doesn't ever fully leave until my puppies are around 4 months of age and thriving but it does ebb a little after they are born and filling their little bellies for the first time. Once they are here, they are living physical beings I can put my hands on, and their mother is doing well I feel like I have just the teansiest bit more control over their destiny. I have the luxury of choice at this stage and the ability to monitor, supplement, and administer veterinary care if necessary to any individual who is not thriving to my standards. I have influence. But, until they are here I have but faith and hope that the love I have for them, and the generations of terriers behind them, will deliver them safely into this world and my waiting arms.

 

"So when you buy a puppy and with your precious dollars part,

remember you only give your money but [the breeder] gives their whole heart"

- Anonymous

Winter Wonderland

 

 

“Snow on one side of the canvas, silence on the other. I’d call that a perfect painting.

”
          - Jarod Kintz

I think we have seen more snow already this year than in the past several combined. I have always loved the snow and thought of it as a trade off, a reward of sorts, for surviving the frigid temperatures of the Canadian north. In excess it can makes things like driving and some outdoor events a little trickier but it also covers the landscape in a fresh blanket of white every time it falls, renewing it and making it pristine again. There is something so peaceful about a fresh snow and the near daily dustings makes our winter walks feel so tranquil and serene. I am not normally one to use words like "tranquil" and "serene" to describe pack-walks involving terriers but watching them lay the first footprints into the uniform white landscape and disappear behind large snow drift only to reappear seconds later brings about near unparalleled feelings on contentment.  It is our daily routine to bundle ourselves in our warm winter clothing and head out to the forest trails just outside the city where dogs are permitted to run off leash and it is these hikes that are the part of my day I look forward to the most. Even when the wind is blowing a bitter cold across the prairies we can escape down the trail and be enveloped by the large trees that serve to quiet the air and on heavy snow days only permit a select few flakes to fall gently through. The terriers bring life to the hibernating land and adore their winter playground as much I do. They run, explore, sniff, and cavort in the snow and when we leave each day they snuggle in to the car for the drive home quiet and content, remaining that way through most of the evening. In contrast to our busy, active, full-to-the-brim summers winters around here are for recharging, re-centering, and simply enjoying each other's company.

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot (Michael Altshuler)

 

“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.”
― Brad Paisley

 

 

While I sit here and reflect on the past year and all the joy it has brought us some highlights stand out; Sadie earning her ONYX in flyball and on the same day little Loki debuting in fine form. Having the opportunity to bring Stash here and have him live with us. Welcoming a new chapter of the Inseguire book into this world with our Diva x Dempsey puppies and watching them grow and develop. I could go on. We have enjoyed spending time at terrier trials, flyball tournaments, and a few other canine sporting events this year but most of all I feel blessed to get to share every day with these lovely dogs. It has been a really wonderful year for our gang and we welcome 2013 with open arms and anticipation for what it may bring. So, from all of us here to all of you out there HAPPY NEW YEAR

A weekend to remember

“With an enthusiastic team you can achieve almost anything.” 
- Tahir Shah

 

Flyball has always been a large part of our lives here at Inseguire. It keeps our terriers physically and mentally challenged and through the sport we have made some very close friendships. We spend numerous weekends a year in a building filled with dogs and often "roughing it" camping nearby overnight. We have made many many friends across the country and developed many close relationships. All of us fuelled and tied together by this insane desire to surround ourselves by too many barking dogs! And it all began when Sadie and I moved across the country and needed something to do. 

An offhanded trip to a local canine event gave me my first expose to flyball and after signing up for a beginner class I was hooked. Sadie was a relatively ease dog to train and despite taking time off to whelp 2 litters and almost having a career ending accident in 2010 thatbtook almost a yet to recover from she has run solidly for almost 5 years and served height dog duties for no less than 9 clubs! She has given me a foundation from which has built and incredible legacy of flyball Jack Russells. 

Sadie's first litter gave us Cali who has been a reliable little height dog earning over 15,000 points and serving as a division 1 height dog for the last 2.5 years. Her litter mate Topher who plays for our good friends the Hotdoggers has earned over 10,000 points in limited outings and often run double time at the tournaments so more teams can play. From her second litter both Tov and Kiwi have raced reliably since their first tournament in 2011 earning their 15,000 (FMCh) and 10,000 (FMX) titles respectively. Both also run consistently in the mid 4s with Kiwi breaking into the 4.3s at this past tournament. From Cali's first litter little Loki is now a titled dog with a bright future making her generation number three for our kennel.

So what does all this have to do with this past weekend? Well as we watched Kiwi earn her FMX and put her first 4.3 on the clock, Tov earn her FMCh, and little Loki debut solidly in the pack and earn her FD and FDX, Sadie eclipsed them all and earned her first "big" title, her ONYX, that NAFA commemorates with an engraved plaque. It was a very special moment for me as she is already 9 and while she shows few signs if slowing down I had been chasing this moment all year - actually I had been chasing this moment for almost 5 years - and nothing could have been sweeter than sharing that moment with my very special friend and ever constant terrier companion. Sadie has given me so much and I wanted this for her so to have it all come tighter this weekend with all her children and grandchildren there to see it was icing on the cake. 

And with that we will settle in for the winter and look forward with excitement and anticipation to what 2013 will have in store for our little furry herd. 

Rainier 2012

 “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

– St. Augustine 

Kiwi and Sadie

This year the gang and I traveled to Washington to attend the Rainier Hunt Classic Trials just across the border in Everson WA. Our first trial in the far west the drive was spectacular through the rocky mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. Rainier is a small, but well put on, trial and we had the opportunity to meet some people and see some terriers we have not seen before. The girls did very well, finishing no worse than second in every class they were entered in all weekend. Cali and Kiwi made the final ring both days in conformation and were beat for Best Bitch by a couple of lovely dogs. Sunday I had to enlist the help of a few hands as I entered Sadie in the rarely-available Open Veteran conformation class and when she won that meant she, Kiwi, and Cali all made the final Bitch ring. I could not be more proud to have had 1/4 of the terriers in the final ring that day belong to my kennel! Sadie was also as tough as always in the family classes with her daughters Cali and Kiwi by her side she was family champion Saturday and Reserve Family Champion on Sunday.



left-right: Sadie, Kiwi, Cali with
Castle Pines Baron, Barons daughter, and Forget-me-not Mickinley

Inseguire Warden also made his show ring debut this weekend turning 4 months on the Saturday of the trial. He showed very well for being such a baby still and while he was not overly keen on the collar and leash part of things he very much enjoyed the meeting the judge part and the standing pretty and getting cookies part. He started his show career off with a bang and took home Best 4-6mo Dog Pup both days as well as Reserve 4-6mo Puppy Champion both days.

Inseguire Warden

On the performance side of things little Loki is really learning the ropes in Go-to-Ground and pulled on some spectacular times in her championship class. She is still working on sticking with the quarry even when blocked and not going and looking for another way to reach it - a trick her mother Cali is very well known for! Kiwi finished second in both flats and hurdle racing both days to the ultra-fast Kachina and Sunday when we decided to let Stash have a whirl at the racetrack he impressed us all by winning the over males hurdle race and going on to be the Reserve Racing Champion!

Woofgang Stash winning the Over Male Hudles Race

The big highlight of the weekend came mid-afternoon on Sunday however when I had the honor of showing our new boy Woofgang Stash in some of our first Working Terrier classes. The Working Terrier division in the holy-grail of terrier showing. Being in a breed club that emphasise the working aspect of our terrier the best and highest rewards in the show ring are reserved for those terriers that have proven themselves in the field and as such admitted entrance to the Working Terrier division. Stash, the veteran that he is, showed beautifully in his class and I needed only hold his lead as he won that class over some lovely terriers. From there it was onto the best dog ring where once again he faced off with some stunning examples of the breed. I waited, with baited breath, as the judge went over each terrier thoroughly and deliberated carefully before she announced that the reserve went to the lovely Diggin West Razzle and champion went to Stash! A little break to watch the girls compete and we were right back in against the female champion and reserve for best working terrier. Four outstanding examples of the Jack Russell Terrier, all having proven their grit in the field in front of a working judge, and now competing for top show honors. The judge had each pair, winners together and reserves together, walk off and then switched them up. She again went over each dog and I think you could have heard a pin drop as she whispered the ring steward her decision. You could have nicked me over with a feather when they announced that the Working Terrier Champion that day was Stash and although I did nothing more than hold the end of his leash I was honored and proud to be the one other side of it! What a great weekend, full of great memories, and a fantastic way to cap off our regular trial season and prepare for Nationals in October.

Woofgang Stash held by judge Sand Brown
with his ribbons and perpetual trophy for
Best Working Terrier