We had a fantastic year going to 16 championship and 3 open shows, we came away with at least one first at 18 of them and 10 best puppy awards. Lara ended the season Top Puppy Siberian Husky Club of GB, Top Puppy Our Dogs, and Top Bitch SHC of GB. Koona was Best Puppy and Best Bitch at the SHCGB open show.

Lara also won 2 RCC’s at the tender age of 6 and 8 months, and gained her Junior Warrant at 10 months, she is pictured below right aged 6 months old having just won the RCC and best puppy at WELKS 2003. Koona is pictured below left aged 11 months old at the SHC open show 2003, where she was best puppy, best bitch and BOS. Koona was Best Bitch and BOS at the Club open shows the following two years 2004 & 2005.

Koona Lara WELKS 2003

The judge was John Evans, a breed specialist with 28 years in the breed at that time.He is looking at his final line up, Lara and I are on the right, we had won puppy bitch and went on to win the Bitch RCC and Best puppy. Lara won her second RCC and best puppy the following month at Bath under Linda Pritchett.

Main Championship Show wins - 2003

2004 proved to be an even better year, our breeding won 7 CC’s and 4 RCC’s. We kept two more puppies, Zoox Prinmore Pride (Edi) and Zateizzi Realy a Zoox (Ali), both went on to become Champions. Edi was Top Puppy SHCGB and SSHC. He gained his Junior Warrant and a RCC aged 8 months. Koona was Best bitch for the second year running at the SHCGB open show, and Runner Up Top Bitch SHCGB. I also judged Siberians at the South Wales championship show, awarding CC's in the breed for the 11th time. I had the largest entry of the day - 175 with 34 in post grad bitch.

	These two pictures are of Edi and Ali's litter mates aged 6 weeks. Edi is in the middle, fourth from the right, Ali has walked off ! both became Champions.
	Say Cheese---trying to get both litters all in a line, Ali is fourth from the left on the front row and Edi is on her left.

To View More of those Litters:

Main Championship Show wins - 2004

And at the two Siberian Husky Club of GB shows:-

Zoox Tourmaline Rose aged 7 weeks (Edi's sister), went on to win- Best Puppy at SKC and the SHC of GB open show owner, Linda Reilly

During 2004 we showed seven of our dogs, all of them qualified for CRUFTS.( For one show season only we have printed the show records for these seven dogs).

Zoox Prinmore Pride JW ( EDI )

Edi 9 months old (click to view Pedigree) Top puppy SHCGB and SSHC 2004 Junior warrant winner at 8 months of age. He then enjoyed a rest from the ring to mature. Edi went on to become a Champion

Edi's show record for 2004

Zateizzi Realy a Zoox (ALI)

Ali 6 Months Old (click to view Pedigree) She became a CHAMPION in January 2009

Ali went through a very leggy stage and needed time to mature, she was soon taller than her older sister Lara. Ali and Lara have very similar markings. She was shown a lot less than Edi, but still won in 2004

To view more of Ali:

Ali and Lara have very similar markings. Ali & Lara both went on to become CHAMPIONS.

The two litter sisters Zoox Lusilga and Zoox Tigalu, are sired by the import Kefeus Tigalda Tsilga at Azgard, we hope the introduction of this new blood line will benefit our future breeding. With very limited showing, Lucy gained her stud book number. Both sisters love to curl up with Edi.

Twiggy Curled up with Edi

To view more of, Twiggy & Lucy

Zoox Lusilga ( LUCY) RCC winner (click to view Pedigree)

 

Zoox Tigalu (TWIGGY) (click to view Pedigree)

Zoox Seven of Nine (SEVEN) (click to view Pedigree) Seven went on to become a CHAMPION

Seven is a half sister to Edi and just as sweet in nature. She finds showing a waste of time and looks bored the whole time she is in the ring. The minute she gets away from the show , she is her usual bright self.
Seven and Edi are also very similar in colour and type, and won the brace class at the SHCGB open show. Their dam “DAX” is not shown, only because we want to concentrate on the youngsters, but she did go to both the SHCGB open shows, where she was entered in the Brood bitch class, which she won both times, thanks to the quality of her offspring. Seven's show record for 2004

	Dax with 2 of her progeny Zoox Seven of Nine & Zoox Prinmore Pride (Edi) both went on to become Champions. Edi and Seven are very Similar in type and colour to their dam.
	CH Zateizzi Chleo Surprise at Zoox JW (LARA) In 2004 she won a CC & RCC Lara gained her title in 2005 (click to view Pedigree)

Lara and Koona are the two sisters we kept from the excellent litter born in 2002 sired by Zoox Zirkanba (Tyke) out of Zateizzi Easter Surprise (Chleo). I only made it to two shows during our eight years out of the ring, taking both Chleo and Dax (Zoox Cillmizhtra) to their first show, where they both won their classes,and qualified for Crufts 1999 where they then repeated their wins with Chleo going on to win Best Puppy in breed at Crufts. That was the end of their very short show career untill recently, when both have competed successfully in brood bitch classes at club shows, with Dax winning each time.
Lara's show record for 2004

CH Zateizzi Chleozha by Zoox (KOONA) Koona gained her title in 2005 For the second year running she was Best Bitch and BOS at the SHCGB open show. She also won 2 CC's. (click to view Pedigree)

Koona's show record for 2004

To view more of Seven, Lara & Koona

We would like to congradulte Alex and Ruth Marvin with Lara and Koona's brother Logan (Zateizzi Zirlea) who is proving to be an excellent working dog coming 4th in the 2 dog ABSA championships for the 2004 / 05 season.

Alex in his Rookie year, came 4th in the ABSA championship with Logan & Mackie

TYKE (Zoox Zirkanba) was returned to us when he was 6 years old, he has been very influential in our recent breeding programme and has produced 3 show champions and some great working dogs, at least ten of them are running at lead. Seven of them have led their teams to victory at races during 2006/07.

Zoox Zirkanba (1CC 1 RCC)Tyke was returned to us aged 6, he has been very influential in our recent breeding programme. (click to view Pedigree) Tyke is the sire of 3 of our Champions and Zateizzi Valleresso at Wolfpaws 2CC&2RCC, Zateizzi Castello 1CC&1RCC, Zoox Strong Resolve 1CC &4RCC and Zoox Spot the Difference 2RCC's. Teams led by his progeny have won 30 races and been placed in the Top three in 80 races between the 2004/05 and 2009/10 Rally seasons.

To view more of Tyke

2005

We had a brilliant 2005 season, three of our breeding gained the title of Champion. The two litter sisters, Zateizzi Chleo Surprise at Zoox JW and Zateizzi Chleozha by Zoox both became Champions within a fortnight of each other. They won all their CC’s under breed specialists. The year ended with Andy Smales making up Zateizzi Inshka at Erandika. For the third consecutive year Koona was Best bitch at a SHC of GB open show, Edi was Reseve Best in Show at the same show. From our litters born this year, twelve of the puppies entered the show ring towards the end of the season(October) and eleven of them qualified for Crufts 06, where both puppy classes were won by our breeding and Best Puppy in Breed was the grey and white puppy 2nd from the right in the picture below, Zateizzi Valleresso at Wolfpaws (Lia) owned by the McAleavey’s. Seven of the puppies in this picture are now running lead, five are on winning teams.

A few days after her triumph at Crufts, Lia aged 12 months competed at her first rally leading her four dog team to victory. Also in that team was the black and white puppy dog, Zoox Malastrana at Wolfpaws who won two best puppy awards at Champ shows and was also placed at Crufts, he is pictured 3rd from the left in the same picture. Best puppy dog at Crufts was the Marvin’s Zoox Strong Resolve (Hunter), who proved to be a super dog in harness.See the excellent rally results for Hunter and his team on the Working page under Alex Marvin.

Alex Marvin had a great 2005/06 working season winning his first race and seven other high places which won him 2 dog ABSA CHAMPIONSHIP . Congratulations to Alex and of course Logan (Zateizzi Zirlea) pictured in full flight running with team mate Mackey in the picture above. We wish Alex all the best for the next season when the pups Zateizzi Castello ( Troy) and Zoox Strong Resolve JW (Hunter) will join the team. Both youngsters went on to have a good show record, with Hunter (above right) winning his Junior Warrant. Logan, Troy and Hunter are all sired by Zoox Zirkanba, Logan and Troy are both out of Chleo, and Hunter is another of Dax's super progeny. Chleo and Dax have now been spayed. Having both been excellent brood bitches, they along with Tyke have featured consistently in the "Top Ten Rankings" in the SHC Top Stud and Top Brood awards for the last four consecutive years.

Main Championship show wins for 2005

And at the 2 Siberian Husky Club GB open shows

2006 is the 21st Anniversary of Siberian Huskies having CC status. The first set of CC's was awarded at Crufts in 1986 by Sally Leich, where we were proud to be awarded the CC & Best of Breed with Zoox Gadzheek. Despite the fact we were away from the showring for 8 years, our breeding and that of kennels who are founded on our lines, has featured well at Crufts in those 20 years. Listed below are the CC and RCC winners.

1986 Zoox Gadzheek CC&BOB

1988 CH Zoox Gadzheek RCC and Zoox Dukara CC

1990 Zoox Nyla of Chatanika CC

1991 CH Zoox Gadzheek RCC and CH Zoox Miduchenka RCC

1993 CH Zoox Zachara at Gwaihir CC

1994 Yabet Alyeska CC&BOB dam-- Zoox Zaranzala of Yabet

1995 Sarawana Zephyrus RCC and Sarawana Zemni RCC-dam Zoox Duzella of Sarawana x CH Zoox Miztrozhat JW

1996CH Azgard Vannir Dream CC&BOB---dam CH Zoox Zalamazu of Azgard

1997CH Yabet Tamarisk CC----dam Zoox Zaranzala of Yabet

1999 CH Yabet Tamarisk CC ---dam Zoox Zaranzala of Yabet

2000 Azgard Savanna Sky CC&BOB ---dam CH Zoox Zalamazu of Azgard

2001 CH Azgard Vannir Dream RCC --dam CH Zoox Zalamazu of Azgard

2001 Marallan Niwleiraidd CC&BOB --dam CH Zoox Toskazhinzhki

2010 Zoox Chianti RCC

and we must mention--

2004 Rjarani Kazhu CC&BOB sired by CH Zoox Special Edition of Rajarani

Zoox Dukara ----- Sarawana Zemni --- Azgard Savanna Sky --- Marallan Niwleiraidd and Rajarani Kazhu all became CHAMPIONS

2006 has been a quiet year for us, as we only attended a few shows. As already mentioned, we are very proud of Zateizzi Valleresso at Woflpaws, Best Puppy at Crufts, and Zoox Strong Resolve who won Best puppy dog at Crufts, and went on to win his Junior Warrant, he is the 11th Siberian Husky JW winner we have bred . Zateizzi Inshka at Erandika won a RCC, and our youngster Zoox Spot the Difference, in limited outings won the RCC at Blackpool. We ended the year with Zateizzi Really a Zoox winning her first CC at the LKA, this was only her third outing in two years, as we felt she needed to mature. I also judged the breed at Windsor, awarding CC's in Siberians for the 12th time. It was a very hot day and I did my best to get through the large entry as quickly as possible before any dogs or humans were affected by the heat, as they were in lots of other breeds.

CH Zateizzi Chleozha by Zoox whelped her first litter sired by CH Eekonoos Zefram Cochrane, two of the boys have gone to live with Max and Lena Hall. Max has competed three times in the famous Iditarod Trail Sled dog Race in Alaska, a distance of 1160 miles, in temperatures that can drop to -80F, winning the Sterling Achievement Award in 1999 for the most improved musher. To read more about Max and his adventure, go to www. maxhall.com.

Zoox Spot The Difference. RCC Blackpool.	Zateizzi Really a Zoox. CC winner LKA. Ali went on to become a Champion

As mentioned, at Dalby 06, Mark McAleavey won his first ever race, competing in the C-class running the two 12 month old pups Zateiizzi Valleresso of Wolfpaws at lead and Zoox Malastrana of Wolfpaws at wheel.During the 2006/07 rally season teams led by young dogs bred by us won 12 races. At the start of this new season Alex Marvin came out with his new team of Zateizzi Castello, Zoox Strong Resolve and Zateizzi Zirlea, the dog he had great success with the previous season. Bren Clarkston, a rookie, also appeared on the scene with his two boys Zateizzi San Mario of Anoktra and Zoox Forest Gunner, these five boys are known affectionately as "Tykes boys", after their sire Zoox Zirkanba, who is also the sire of Rialto and Valleresso. At their first rally of the new season both Bren and Alex won their classes, this was at the New Forest, quite an achievement for Bren at his very first rally, not many have done that. At their next rally, Sherwood Forest, Bren proved it was no fluke by again winning the 2 dog ES class, and Alex was 3rd in the DS class. That same day Richard Morgan was competing in the B-class at the SHC's Fineshades rally where he won his first ever race running Zateizzi Rialto in double lead. Alex and Bren then went to Ringwood where Alex won his class and Bren was 3rd. Then at the SHC's rally at Sherwood they both won their classes, and yet again did the double at the Forest of Dean.They then travelled up to the SHC's prestigious Aviemore rally, where both were competing for the first time, both came 2nd, and both were the fastest teams in their classes on one day of the competition. Alex was awarded the trophy for best newcomer.The next rally they both attended was at Ashley Heath, where Alex came 2nd and Bren had another win. They then went to the last rally of the ABSA Championship series at Yateley Heath, where Bren came 2nd, but Alex had to withdraw because on arrival Logan was found to be slightly lame. To finnish the season they went to the SHC's Broxa rally where Alex finnished the season with another win and Bren a 2nd. Pictures of these teams can be seen on the "Working page".

Alex and Bren have again done the double by BOTH being crowned ABSA CHAMPIONS for the 2006/07 season in their respective classes, a great achievment, particularly for Bren who was competing in his first season. Congratulations to both of them, and of course "Tykes" five boys, who we are very proud of.

I know Alex and Ruth have been very influential in helping Bren and Fran, and I would like to thank them both for that. I wish them well, and every one else running dogs we have bred, for the rest of the season and future seasons. I am grateful that you have proved our breeding is as capable of holding its own out on the trail today, just as it was when we were out there racing, quite some years ago!

Zoox Zirkanba (Tyke) , the sire of the above mentioned dogs, is bred from a long line of very successful dogs, his dam was Ch Zoox Zabarnik a very good worker in harness, she was bred from Ch Zoox Gadzheek a fantastic wheel dog and top winning male in the show ring 1985,86and 87, he was also winner of the Complete Siberian Husky award, based on wins in the ring and on the trail in 85/86,87/88 and runner up 86/87. Zabarnik's dam was CH Zoox Dukara, the first JW winner in the breed, and an excellent team dog in harness.She won the Complete SH award in 1986/87 and was Top winning SH in the showring in 1986.Tykes sire was Zoox One and Only JW, the only puppy Zoox Izizhumzhat JW ever had. Izzie along with her sire "Umi", Zoox An-I -Kye Surprise JW, ran double lead, taking our team to 23 victories during three seasons, they were all excellent dogs of their time, and we are proud their legacy lives on through our current lines, particularly through the Zateizzi line, which was founded on Zoox Shinka Surprise, who was bred after the early and sudden death of Izzie. Izzie was Mandys dog and she was so devastated at her loss, that we did the repeat mating of Umi to Inka, which gave us Shinka Surprise, we got Mandy her own affix based on Izzie's name and then everything that was bred down from Shinka Surprise, and her daughter Zateizzi Easter Surprise was registered under the Zateizzi affix. Umi was also the sire of Azgard's foundation bitch CH Zoox Zalamazu of Azgard, Top Brood Bitch1995,96,97,98,2000 and runner up 99, Chris Barry says she was an excellent command leader of her time, what more could one ask for! He was also the sire of our Zoox Zalzmhuki who sired CH Rajarani's Christmas Fox, CH Sarawana Zemni(RCC Crufts) and CH Zoox Toskazhinski, the foundation bitch for the Marallan Kennel.

TYKE has produced 3 Champions and 4 more winners of CC's/RCC's. 11 of his progeny are running in lead, and 7 of them led their teams to a total of 14 wins during the 2005/06 and 06/07seasons, plus many other high placings. Here is a picture of 4 of his sons, loved, shown and raced by Ruth and Alex Marvin. Flash the baby of their family, had just started training and proved to have a great work ethic, he made his debut the following season, he is from Tykes lovely litter out of Twiggy (Zoox Tigalu), seen below, all 7 of these pups went on to excell in harness. Flash's half brothers already had a great record on the trail and were ABSA champions for the last two seasons. 12 of Tyke's progeny have gone on to lead their teams to victory in 30 races and a Top 3 placing in 80 races up to the end of the 2009/2010 season.

For more information and pictures of the Marvins team, and pictures of our teams and our record at the rallies, go to the WORKING page. Also read the following article on the HISTORY page , "1986 ---- -It is 20 years since Sally Leich awarded the first set of CC's in Siberian Huskies at Crufts 1986".

To read more

2007 started well with Alex Marvin winning the ABSA - DS Championship and Bren Clarkston winning the ABSA - ES Championship . Ruth and Alex finished the ABSA season by winning best in show with Zoox Strong Resolve JW and best puppy with Zoox Quick as a Flash at their Fun day.

Zoox Phoenix has been to 4 open shows, aged only 6 months and won Best puppy in Breed at all four and BOB at one of them. Her sister Zoox Lily Sloane (Lily) went to one open show where she was also best puppy in breed, at the same show Zoox Lazenska was BOB. Ruth Marvin has had Zoox Strong Resolve JW to 5 Open shows at the start of the new season, he was BOB at all of them. In March I was also honoured to judge at the Northern Samoyed Society Championship show, where both my CC winners were from a very well known kennel of long standing in the breed, and what a super pair of Sammies they were.

Our Zateizzi Realy a Zoox (Ali) went to WELKS, her first show that year, and won her 2nd CC, at the same show Zateizzi Castello won the RCC for Ruth and Alex Marvin. Zoox Phoenix was Best puppy in breed at Bath. Zoox Strong Resolve JW won his first CC at Border Union, followed by Zateizzi Castello also winning his first CC at Windsor. Zoox Prinmore Pride's daughter Fastrax Kadmiel, bred and owned by Tina Cake was best puppy at South Wales and Best Puppy in Show at Eastbourne Open. Zoox Strong Resolve JW won another three BOB's at Open shows through the summer.

However the show season soon came to an abrupt halt for us, after I had an accident and broke both ankles. After 5 weeks of not being allowed off the bed, I was thrilled to eventualy make it in to the dog pen, it was great to be out in the fresh air, but little did I know that it would be a total of 14 weeks before I would be "pot free", by which time the season was all but over. The dogs loved to lick my toes, and my 2 casts were a great source of curiosity to them. I must thank my many friends for visiting and their numerous emails which kept me sane and up to date with all the news.

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Zateizzi Valleresso at Wolfpaws, owned by Jackie and Mark McAleavy won the RCC at Leeds show, which is only 5 minutes from our home. I was sorry not to be there, as it was two weeks earlier that I had my mishap, so was laid up at home.This was the 200th green ticket (105CC/ 95RCC) to be won by a dog we had bred or owned. However I did make it to the City of Birmingham, sporting 2 purple casts and matching wheelchair, where I was thrilled to see Ruth with Hunter (Zoox Srong Resolve JW) win the RCC. At Driffield Zoox Phoenix became the 12th Siberian we have bred to gain her Junior Warrant. After 4 months out of the ring, I made it to W&PBS, where Jet (Zoox Lazenska) won the open class, which qualified her for her stud book number, and Frosty (Zoox Spot the Difference) won her second RCC, thank you to the kind people who moved my dogs for me in the ring, as I was still unable to run myself ! By LKA I was doing better on my feet, which was just as well, as I was judging the Sibes. This was my 13th time awarding CC's in the breed, and by no means was it unlucky 13, as I had a super entry of dogs to go over, and thoroughly enjoyed my day.

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. Phoenix Hunter Lily

The working season of 2007/08 arrived with good news from the first rally of the season, ABSA's Thruxton, where Wayne Davies won the C-class. Running at lead for the first time at a rally was Zateizzi Dorsoduro with Snowpawz (Goose) alongside Tango with Zoox Alzhazhu at wheel. From a litter of 8, Goose is the 5th littermate to lead his team to victory, this is the 14th race won by a team led by one of this litter. Pictures of those teams in action can be seen on the Working page.

Here is that litter aged 8 weeks, sired by Zoox Zirkanba X Zateizzi Easter Surprise --from l-r, Miki ( Zateizzi Rialto), Elbe, Blade (Z' San Mario), Troy (Z' Castello), Goose (Z' Dorsoduro), Lia (Z' Valleresso), Willow and Kieva. Miki, Blade, Troy, Goose and Lia have all led their teams to victory at rallies. As much as we like our pups to go to working/show homes this is not essential, but a loving home for life is, the other three, Elbe, Willow and Kieva have made wonderful pets and can be seen below.

Elbe, Kieva & Willow

We wish all our puppies a happy and healthy life, and congratulation to all the winners, we are very proud of you all.

Alex Marvin won the 2 dog class at ABSA's New Forest, running Logan and Hunter, as Troy was out of action. Alex continued with his winning ways at the SHC's Broxa rally, held between Christmas and the New Year. This time he moved up to the C-class with the addition of the youngest pack member, Zoox Quick as a Flash. He certainly lived up to his name, running lead with his half brother, I was thrilled to see him cross the finnish line on the second day full of energy. Flash is the 9th dog sired by Tyke to lead a winning team, Broxa was the 17th race where his progeny have led their teams to victory.

Main Championship show wins for 2006 and 2007

2008 -- Boston a new show with limited CC status started a new show season. Catherine Lewis was our specialist judge. Zoox Prinmore Pride JW won the dog CC and his son Zoox Malastrana at Wolfpaws, owned by Jackie and Mark McAleavey won the RCC. Aviemore was soon upon us and we went up to watch, another great entry of over 220 teams. It was great to see both Bren and Alex come 3rd in their classes---how do they keep getting the same place?

Crufts soon came round, and although I hadn't entered as I had puppies due, I popped down for the morning, and was delighted to watch Zoox Phoenix JW and Zoox Alzashra win their classes. It was also great to see Zoox Strong Reslove JW and Zoox Nerudova at Wayreth both come 2nd and Zateizzi Valleresso at Wolfpaws come 3rd in their large classes. The judge, Krystian Greenland of the well known Rajarani kennel, made the following comments:-- Zoox Strong Resolve -- this dog's forte is that he is an incredibly attractive dog with the most mischevious expression, beautiful eyes and although foxy, still exhibits a degree of mascilinity that I feel is essential in a male Siberian.Condition and musculature excellent, exhibited so well. Zoox Phoenix -- Wow, what a truly exciting bitch this is. "Love, love, loved her"as they say. Everything just fills the eye & ticks all the boxes. With a shade more maturity she is going to win all there is to win. They don't come much better than this. Zoox Alzashra -- A nice honest bitch of good type, make and shape,superb head with those lovely almond oblique set eyes, well arched neck, well angulated and again, proportions are spot on.In profile she was a dream, powering around with light footed ease. Zoox Nerudova at Wayreth -- thought she would be my winner on first look, unfortunately, her nerves got a little the better of her, but I could go over her and was very impressed. Once again a most magnificent head, so typical of this kennel and her breeding, very well built bitch, lovely reachy neck and so well angulated all through.Quality girl. Zateizzi Valleresso at Wolfpaws -- If a bitch could be awarded a CC for type alone, this one would win it hands down for me, quite outstanding for type, text book head.She just didnt cover enough ground, this could have been the floor, I hope it was, as she is a stunning bitch.

Back to the rallies and Alex ran a 4 dog team at Broomhill , notching up another win. At South Alwen, new musher on the block, Daimon Edwards who had been rapidly improving since his first rally at Broxa, won the 2 dog class with littermates Zoox Starry Night and Zoox Coldsnap (Ali & Mika). These girls are Tyke x Twiggy daughters, so this made the 19th race won by teams led by Tyke's offspring in the last 3 years. The total number of his progeny who in the last 3 seasons have either competed in a two dog winning team, or have led their team to victory is now 11.

Our puppy dog Zoox Teebo made his debut in the ring at W&PBW under Ann Shaw, where he won a 1st and two 2nds, followed by another 1st and 2nd at WELKS where long standing club member Beryl McCallum was judging.He then won two 2nds at the SHCGB Championship show under Specialist Jenny Manley (we later discovered that the puppy that beat him in minor puppy was in fact too old for that class!) Zoox Alzashra won the RCC her first "greencard", and a delighted and proud Eleanor Ellis with Tyke, won the stud dog class for the second year running, with a grand line up of his "kids".

Birmingham National followed, where Zoox Prinmore Pride JW and his half sister Zoox Seven of Nine both won their second CC's under specialist Helen Gutteridge, Seven went on to BOB. Edi's CC was the 100th CC won by dogs of our breeding, Zoox/Zateizz, Sams and Sibes--what a day. Thanks must got to Pete Steffens and Natali (pictured below) for doing such a great job handling for me, as I had a torn ligament !!

Teebo

SKC- and Teebo won another 1st and two 2nds under breed speacilist Audrey Richardson. Zoox Prinmore PrideJW won the RCC and Zateizzi Valleresso at Wolfpaws, owned by Jackie and Mark McAleavey won the Bitch RCC. I would like to thank Linda Reilly for helping to handle at this show.

Down to a wet Bath where Speacilist Sue Knowles was judging. Teebo won two 1sts and two 2nds. Jet (Zoox Lazenka) was 2nd to Zoox Phoenix JW who went on to win the bitch RCC, her first "green card". Zoox Strong Resolve JW won his second RCC for Ruth and Alex; this was the 200th GREEN CARD (101CC/ 99RCC ) won by dogs we have BRED, Zoox or Zateizzi. Another winner of a first green card was Jet at Three Counties, where she was awarded the RCC.Thanks once again to all the kind folk who helped me in the ring at these shows.

Sunday 15th June, not only was it the SHCGB open show, where Teebo went Best Puppy in Show (thanks must go to Helen Redwood for handling him and everyone else that helped me on the day with Frosty and Jet, both 1st, Edi 2nd and Seven 3d), but also the day two of our pups, Dawson and Yukon flew over to Canada to start their new exciting lives with Rob and Louise Cooke .

It was hard to imagine as I took the pups on their last walk, that sunny evening with their sisters and Jazz our GSD (above), that in less than24 hours they would be in Nova Scotia. Here they are just arrived at their new home, we wish them well on their new adventure.

June, July and August was relatively quiet on the show front for us, with most shows being judged by all rounders, who seem to have little understanding of the breed from what I have seen!! At Paignton Seven was awarded her 3rd RCC, under breed specialist Sue Sercombe.

Above are pictures from Canada of Yukon and Dawson aged 4 months. Below are pictures of their two sisters, Jolly the grey is Dawson's sister and Solara is Yukon's sister . Both girls love to go for a swim in the river.

September 08 - Zoox Solara and Zoox Chianti (Jolly ) were 6 months old and both qualified for Crufts at their first show. They then went over to Belfast where breed specialist Lisa Tebay was judging. Solara was Best puppy in breed and Jolly's brother, Zoox Echo Falls at Tuscarora owned by Audrey Richardson, competing at his first championship show also qualified for Crufts winning two classes and best puppy dog. Jackie and Mark McAleavey had a great day winning their classes with Zoox Malastrana at Wolfpaws and Zateizzi Valleresso at Wolfpaws (Lia) who then went on to win her first CC and BOB, which made the expensive trip over to Belfast well worth the effort. Pictured below are Jackie and Audrey handling Solara, and Lia winning BOB, these pictures were taken by Catherine Lewis. Thanks to Jackie and Audrey for handling.

Dog Tired!! Back home, the dogs catch up on some well earned rest, and Lara recovers after being spayed.

October 08 - It was nice to catch up with friends at Midland Counties where Sally Leich of the very well known Forstal kennel was judging. Sally had attracted an entry of 168 which was well in excess of double, and almost triple the entries we have seen at championship shows this year under some all rounders, I would even go so far as to say there were more dogs entered in her post grad classes, than dogs exhibited at some of the champ shows, which does make you think! Sally had the honour of awarding the first set of CC's our breed was allocated, way back at Crufts 1986 when our young dog Zoox Gadzheek took his first CC and BOB. I did feel it was a shame that the MC society hadn't scheduled minor puppy classes for our breed. However Jolly held her own in the puppy bitch class and went on to win best puppy in breed.

While Jolly was being bathed the day before, little did we know that her brother Dawson, and Yukon were having their first run in harness in Nova Scotia. I got home from the show to a lovely email and video of the 2 boys having their very first run, their owner Louise said they were excellent, which isn't a bad "first school report "! Pictured below are Yukon & Dawson 7 months old , enjoying their first time in harness, and Yukon cooling down at the end of the run. It seems Lou and Rob have the same approach to training their puppies as I do, starting them in the middle or towards the back (never lead) of a well established team with reliable dogs next to the pups, pulling a good weight. This way the pups are never frightened by a sudden burst of speed and they learn to balance themselves by throwing their weight into the harness, keeping a tight back line at ALL times. As they grow and mature the speed can slowly be increased, there should be no rush to see "how fast they can run", as so many people seem to want to do here in the UK. As with all athletes, even young ones, they need to steadily increase their fitness and muscle up. Building the speed too early can cause irreparable damage to tendons and ligaments, not to mention damaged feet and dogs being ruined. So never be in a rush and be careful with early training, the foundations need to be laid correctly, it will pay dividends in the long run!! Getting fixated with how many mph they are running is not the way to go when starting out ! At the end of the day, watching how each team member is running, particularly puppies and watching the trail for walkers with loose dogs, people on bikes, pheasants and the like, up comming turns and any other problems there may be out there, is far more important than looking at a speedometer!

Pictured below are different size teams out training at the start of the 2008/09 season. Storm working well with the bike and all the dogs in the 4 dog team are sired by Tyke, who is running in the 2 dog team with his grandson Thunder, who is a litter brother of Yukon. Catherine's 6 dog team is working hard on a trail covered in golden pine kneedles. The heavy rig they are pulling is carrying 2 people which made a total weight of 550lbs pulled by these 6 bitches. The wolf grey leading Catherine's team is the very pretty bitch Foxi, sired by Edi, she is jointly owned by Catherine and myself. Running left wheel is Frosty, the winner of 2 RCC's, who is another great worker sired by Tyke. Frosty is also co-owned between Catherine and myself. Oneida running right team is the third member of the team that is bred by us.

November 08 -- Great news from 17 year old Danny Slater who has Teebo's two 13 month old sisters Zoox Kneesa and Zoox Ashra, sired by Ewok of Jedeye out of Seven. They went to their first ever rally, ABSA's Wyre Forest and won the ES class. What a great way to start the new season.

The same weekend Solara went up to Scotland to join Catherine's pack, she will be joint owned by Catherine and myself. Although this was arranged when she was a tiny puppy, it didn't make it any easier when the day came round to let her go. I think Catherine was begining to worry that I had changed my mind! Solara moved in as if she owned the place, which is exactly what I predicted. After a couple of days she went out on her first training run, see below where she is running with Bilka and two other Zoox bred bitches, Foxi and Oneida, each dog is pulling a load of about 60lbs. Again as I fully expected she just went off like a trooper and had a fantastic first run, starting at the back of an experienced team certainly plants the correct foundation from day one. Catherine was thrilled to bits with her, and just like her siblings Yukon and Thunder, she looks like she will be a valued member of the team.

Mid November and a busy weekend of rallies for Zoox/Zateizzi bred dogs. Danny took his girls Ashra and Kneesa to their second event, held at Pembrey run by BSHRA. Two individual days of racing, saw Danny come home 1st on the Saturday and 2nd on the Sunday, he also won the Top Rookie award both days. The same weekend the SHCGB held a rally at Brandon, where Alex Marvin was 2nd in the C-class running Logan, Troy, Hunter and Flash. Bren Clarkestone competed in the E-class and was also 2nd running 3 boys, his own Blade and Taz, and Eleanor and Colin Ellis's Storm. Daimon Edwards ran his two bitches, litter mates Ali and Mika, and came 3rd in the D-class. Competing down in the New Forest at a rally run by ABSA, Wayne Davies came 5th in the B-class running just 4 dogs, with Goose at lead and Ruski wheel.

Meanwhile Catherine was busy training her dogs up in Scotland and Solara went out on the all bitch Zoox team, although Bilka (the piebald running lead) is bred by Catherine, her breeding is Zoox/Zateizzi, so Catherine and I class her as one of the Zoox six. Other members of the team were Foxi running joint lead, Oneida and Solara, and at wheel the sisters Frosty and Tala. Catherine is using her heavier converted quad with the 6 dog team, the average load per dog is 57lb, which I class as a good weight for early season training. This is how I started out all my puppies, as far as I am concerned its a tried and tested method and one that worked very well for us. I always trained with a heavy rig, so the average approximate weights my dogs each pulled, ranged from100lb if I ran a four dog (which was very rare) down to 66lb if I ran six and 50lb when running eight, which was my usual size team. When Ian ran a four dog team with his racing rig the average weight each dog pulled was about 52lb and it dropped down to 35lb when he ran six dogs.

One week later and the weather had changed, with snow and sub zero temperatures hitting Scotland. Catherine took the same "Zoox" team out training through a hilly snow covered forest. All the girls worked really hard and our puppy Solara thoroughly enjoying her run, as did all the team. Catherine sensibly made sure that Solara got used to working on both the right (as seen above) and the left ( as seen below), she also learnt to keep her balance and work confidently going up and down hills. Meanwhile Daimon had gone down to the SHC's Quantock Quest rally and came 4th in the D-class.

The last weekend in November saw Danny Slater compete at BSHRA's North Yorkshire Broxa rally. He had 2 super runs winning his class each day and he was also Top Rookie on both days.

The first weekend of December ABSA ran a 2 day rally at Sherwood Forest. Alex had a great weekend and came 1st running his four boys Logan, Troy, Hunter and Flash in the C-class. In the ES-class Bren came 2nd with his boy Blade who is the litter brother to Alex's Troy, and Storm who belongs to Eleanor and Colin Ellis. Storm is the litter brother to Alex's Flash and Daimon's two girls Ali and Mika. Daimon won best newcomer and was 7th in the ES-class, so quite a family outing. Wayne competed in the D-class and was 4th running Goose in lead, who is the brother of Blade and Troy. Colin ran ten and a half year old Tyke who is the father of these nine, along with Alex and Ruths Mackey, to come 3rd in the Veteran class, even though Colin went a little further on the first day having taken a wrong turn, a lesson hard learnt! Tykes progeny have now led their teams to 20 victories.

LKA was the last show of the season and another super quality entry, this time for breed specialist Barbara Stanier. Both pups did well, Jolly was 1st in the minor puppy bitch and Solara 2nd in puppy bitch, her brother Scout (Zoox Rioja of Anoktra) was also 2nd in puppy dog and Seven was 2nd in the open bitch class.

Danny Slater went to BSHRA's Warren Wood rally the weekend befor Christmas. Sadly the course wasnt marked clearly on the Saturday so the class was scrapped when it was discovered most of the competitors had gone wrong. Danny went back to compete on the Sunday and came second with his two girls and was Top Rookie in his class. The last 2 rallies of the year were ABSA's Wareham where Wayne was 3rd and the SHC's Broxa Forest, where Daimon was also 3rd.

Pictured above are the latest pictures of the 9 month old pups out training on the snowy trails in Canada in December 2008. Dawson and Yukon are working in team position, with Yukon mainly visible. Dawson is pictured in the middle picture above.

Main championship show wins - 2008

2009

The year got under way with the SHC's Greystoke's rally at Penrith. On the first day Daimon was in the lead in the D-class with his 2 litter sisters Ali and Mika, and in 2nd place was Jeff Trotter, running Zoox Atlantic Storm (Elvis) and Zoox Thunderbolt (Rocky) who are litter brothers of Ali and Mika. On the second day of the rally Daimon held on to his winning position, but Jeff dropped down to 4th place. This was Jeffs first rally and quite a learning curve for him. He took the boys on after they had been returned to me six months earlier and he has done a great job with them.This was the 21st win for Tykes progeny.

Meanwhile Danny was competing down at BSHRA's Kings Forest West rally with his two litter sisters Ashra and Kneesa. He came 2nd on the first day and on the second day the class was yet again scrapped due to the incorrect marking of the course! It seems hardly believable that this should occur at any rally, let alone two consecutive rallies organised by BSHRA.

Boston the first championship show of the season, where Ali ( Zateizzi Really a Zoox) was awarded her 3rd CC by breed specialist Tracey Pittock, this made her the 19th Champion we have bred/ owned and the 215th CC/RCC won by dogs we have bred/ owned. Ali's daughter Jolly won the puppy bitch class at the show, and Teebo and Solara both came 2nd in their classes. It was a freezing cold day and the temperature was -3C with a bitter wind, and had to be the coldest show I have been to in all my years of showing dogs! On the way home we called in at the SHC's Sherwood Forest rally to watch some of the first days racing and catch up with a lot of friends. Bren ran Storm with his two boys and at the end of two days of racing came 4th in the E- class, Daimon was 6th and Jeff dropped from 7th on the first day to 10th in the D-class.

After the rally the puppies had a short training run. Bren ran Dawn and Dean Aslett's Zoox Fleurie (Willow) and Zoox Shiraz (Spirit), and Colin ran Bren's Zoox Rioja (Scout) with his own Zoox Tarrango (Thunder) and Tyke who is the "grandad" of these four 9 month old littermates, who are also littermates of Solara and Yukon.

At the Sherwood rally we walked 4 of our dogs round with us, they were well behaved and stood quietly besides us everytime we stopped to chat to folk, I had to smile when quite a few people commented on how well behaved they were! I expect mine to behave and they learn good manners when they are young, which makes life so much easier. I can see no fun in having dogs that yank you around and jump all over you and others. I am always a bit amused when I see people being dragged about by their dogs. I know there is a trend now to walk Sibes attached to a belt round your waist but I really don't see how dogs can be controlled in this way or learn any manners. Judging by the way I have seen people walking them into shows they do seem to be totally out of control, lunging at and bouncing on any other dogs as they pass them. To me that's just bad manners, a bit like leaving them to bark and scream on their bench all day! Sibes may be bred to pull but that doesn't mean they can't learn good manners when walking on a short lead. I usualy walk 4-5 dogs at a time, it's a case of being respected and certainly not brute strength! At home I often walk 10 at the same time when moving them from the far dog pen, they often see rabbits as we walk over to the house, but they know full well they are not allowed to pull me over, as they so easily could. There is a picture of all 10 being led by me at the bottom of the "About" page. Pictured below are Lily, Jolly Edi & Seven down by the river, and then the two Champion litter sisters, Lara & Koona. Heading for home are Ali, Jolly, Lily & Koona.

The following weekend ABSA held a rally at the Forest of Dean where Alex Marvin ran his 4 boys in the C-class and came 2nd.

Danny Slater went to the 2 Kings Forest East rallies organised by BSHRA, where the problems at the last 2 venues were at last sorted out and the D-class competitors had two good days of racing. Danny and his girls had two great runs winning their class each day and Top Rookie.

The end of January is time for the mass exodus to Aviemore, where we were delighted to hear that Bren ran his two boys Blade and Taz and Eleanor and Colin's Storm to victory and won the E-class. I bet there were some great celebrations that night. This is the first win by a Zoox team at Aviemore since1993 when we won the C-class the year before we retired from racing. They have been very close the last two years with a second and third so this year Bren pulled out all the stops to win that covated first place. Storm is the 12th dog sired by Tyke to run lead on a winning team, and this was the 22nd win for his progeny running at lead, and the 28th win for teams led or/and made up fully of our breeding since2006.

The first weekend of Febuary BSHRA held two, one day rallies at Sherwood Forest. On the first day Danny came 4th and on the second day he was 5th in the D class, both his girls were in full season and werent running as well as they usualy do, oh the joy of bitches!! Danny was Top Rookie in his class both days. On the Sunday Alex Marvin competed in the C-class and came 2nd against strong competition and Bren ran in the D class and came 4th. A week later and most of the country was covered in a blanket of snow. No one wasted any time in dusting the cobwebs off their sleds and going for a run in the snow. Below are the 3 Twiggy / Tyke daughters Mika, Kodi and Ali running together for the first time and the two 10month old pups in the middle are Konna's daughters by Edi, Spirit and Willow, it looks like they all had a great time. Wayne Davies has certainly made the most of the snow, here is with five of his dogs, Goose is running right lead and Rusky left wheel.

The SHC's Grimsthorpe rally was almost a sled race, but although there was a good covering of snow on a lot of the trail, the race was held on rigs. Sadly the second days racing was cancelled due to the trail being covered in ice after a freezing cold night, so the placings were based on one days racing, Alex came 2nd and Bren 3rd both running in the E-class. Over the same weekend Wayne competed at ABSA's Ashley Heath night rally and came 4th in the D- class. While everyone was busy at the races, we were playing catch the snowball at home! Look closely and you will see the snowball at the top of the pictures.

BSHRA held 2 races at Elvedon the weekend of Valentines day . Danny and his 2 girls were back on form, and won their class on the Saturday and were 2nd on the Sunday, and yet again Top Rookie in their class each day. Danny did so well that with 2 races still to be held in the D class Champioship, he could not be beaten, so he had WON the BSHRA D- class Championship for the 2008/09 season in his first season with these young bitches, who arent even 18 months old yet. He also won Top Rookie and Top bitch team at all his races that season

The following weekend Bren ran Blade, Taz and the Ellis's Storm at the SHC's Rendelsham rally and came 3rd in the E-class. Daimon was also 3rd at the SHC's Shanley Callenge which is 3 consecutive days of racing, while Wayne was 5th in the Q1 class at ABSA's Wyedean Quest 4 stage event, which was held over 3 days including night runs.

At CRUFTS Jolly won her class and went on to win Best puppy in breed, so not a bad day! She also made friends with a well behaved Dalmatian!! Jolly went on the gain her Junior Warrant.

We had no idea that 5 months later she would have a real Dalmation puppy to play with, as my daughter Mandy decided to add one to her family, and of course he visits and stays with us for holidays.

.

3 siblings

Teebo has been living with his 2 litter sisters Ashra and Kneesa and the Slater family for two months, where he has made a lot of progress in training. He is steadily getting fitter and has now progressed to running with both his sisters, to say he is enjoying himself would be an understatement. These 3 youngsters, not quite 18 months old are all that Seven had in her litter to Ewok, so its so nice to see them all living and working together as a team, under Danny's guidance.

Meanwhile in Canada the pups we sent over to Rob and Louise are now 12 months old and can be seen below out running on an eight dog team. At the moment (March) they still have lots of the lovely white stuff!!!

Catherine went to Quithel, the last race of the season where she was 5th in the B-class running young Zoox Solara at lead with the more experienced Bilka, Vixen and Zoox Nerudova(Foxi) team dogs, Zoox Spot the Difference (Frosty) and Zoox Walk on Star (Oneida) at wheel.

I missed the 2 breed Championship shows over the Easter weekend as Mandy, my daughter got married in Scotland. It was bad enough having to wear a "dress", but much to my horror Mandy also insisted I wore a hat! However I have to say that once the day got going I felt very at ease in my outfit, which surprised me because I am not one for dressing up. We had a fantastic day and just like all parents, felt very proud of our daughter, it's a feeling I can not describe, but if you have been there, you will know exactly what I mean. Watching my daughter getting married cartainly made me think about what is important in life, and without a doubt it certainly makes all the petty behaviour that goes on at shows seem so pointless, and makes me wonder, why do people feel they have to behave in such a way!

As some of you will know Mandy owns the Zateizzi affix and you "oldies" will remember her showing Izzie from the age of 7, and racing in the junior classes with one and two dogs--how time flies, it seems like only yesterday ! Although Mandy stopped showing when she was in her early teens, as she became very involved with her ponies, I have kept her affix going. All the litters I have bred from her bitch "Dot" Zateizzi Shinka Surprise (sister of Zoox izizhumzhat JW) and Dot's daughter "Chleo" Zateizzi Easter Surprise have been registered under the Zateizzi affix.

Our next outing was WELKS where Jolly won the junior bitch class, Lily was 3rd in post grad behind her sister Phoenix and Seven won the open bitch class and her 4th RCC. Jackie and Mark McAleavey had a great day with Zoox Malastrana at Wolfpaws (Nero) winning his 2nd RCC and Zateizzi Velleresso at Wolfpaws (Lia) winning her 2nd CC & BOB. Pictured below are Nero, Lia and Seven.

Eleanor and Colin Ellis won the junior dog class with Jolly's half brother Zoox Tarrango, and a delighted Fran Mathers was 2nd in a strong open dog class with Zateizzi San Mario of Anoktra, which gained him his stud book number. Thank you Gemma for taking the above pictures at WELKS.

At SKC Seven won her 3rd CC under breed specialist Sue Jones and became the 20th Champion we have bred/owned, and the 16th Siberian Husky Champion. Dogs we have bred/owned have now won a total of 220 CC's & RCC's. Seven, pictured below by Catherine Lewis, has never been an easy bitch to show. She really doesn't enjoy showing and tends to sulk from the minute we arrive at a show untill we leave, but now she can stay at home resting on her laurels! Zoox Phoenix, handled by Ruth Marvin also won the RCC for Natalie Ward.

Pictured above CHAMPION Zooox Seven of Nine (Seven) and Zoox Chianti JW (Jolly who has just started to moult)

For those that aren't avid show enthusiasts, the summer is a time to catch up on other popular activities, such as learning to swim, aqua aerobics or going on-line to research the family tree!!!

It is a long time since I have taken just one dog to a show, but thats just what I did at the East of England and our local show Leeds where Jolly won a combined total of 3 firsts and 2 seconds. Leeds was a sad and yet happy show, sad because earlier that week the Siberian husky world was shocked to learn of the sudden death of Sue Livingstone. Sue was a delightful person, who had a smile that lit up a room. She was always willing to help anyone, and always looked on the positive side of life. Before judging started most of us gathered under the dreary skies and gentle rain in the outside ring, where Sharon Jones said a few words about her dear friend while fighting back the tears, as were most of us. After a minutes silence balloons were released , they soared high into the sky and quickly dissapeared into the distance. It was very moving and very sad, it is hard to believe we will never see that smiling face again. But I had to smile when Sharon said that Sue would probably be looking down at us and saying--what is all this fuss about! With that in mind many of us chatted about the good times we had with Sue, and remembered how much she had enjoyed judging at this show last year. We then got down to the buisness of showing our dogs, which is just what Sue would have expected us to do. So the show ended on a happier note, but with most of us reflecting on our own lives and realising how we should grab every day because none of us knows what tomorrow holds.

Our next two shows were the other side of the country, firstly Paignton where Jolly won the junior bitch class and Zoox Phoenix handled by Ruth won her third RCC. I was also delighted to see Rupert win his third ticket and thus his title, I awarded him his first ticket at Windsor in 2006. Two weeks prior to Paignton, at NW&PB Spangles was also made up, I had also awarded her, her first ticket at Windsor, these are 2 worthy new champions of our breed. Jolly also won both her classes at Bournemouth.

WKC 09

Twiggy's pups aged 6months and a day had their first outing at the WKC, where Zoox Torosay owned by Jeff Trotter and Zoox Fernie owned by Tracey Owen both qualified for Crufts, both owners were thrilled. Eleanor Ellis won the junior dog class with Zoox Tarrango and his half sister, our own Zoox Chianti JW (Jolly) won the junior bitch class. Jet had her first outing this year, she was 2nd in a strong open bitch class and Edi who is the sire of these five, was 4th in open dog. Pictured above is Torosay and Fernie (with owner Tracey) and my three, Jolly, and Jet with their dad Edi at the WKC show.

Zoox Chianti JW (Jolly) is our 16th homebred Junior warrant winner, here she is doing what she loves the best, diving and swimming. Her new best pal is Pinot, Mandy's Dalmatian puppy, she likes to take him down to the river to give him a swimming lesson, and then come home and play a game of chase! He is far more fun than the full sized Dalmatian toy she met outside the ring at Crufts earlier this year, where she was best puppy in breed. We had no idea then, that she would end up with a real one to play with!

I was unable to make it to the City of Birmingham but Catherine took Zoox Solara who we own in partnership and came 3rd in a very strong class to the RCC winner, and Zoox Phoenix won the Limit bitch class yet again. The following week at Richmond Phoenix again won the limit class and then went on to win her first CC& BOB. Darligton was a lovely show with a great atmosphere where Edi came 3rd in open dog, Jet 2nd in open bitch, the largest class of the day and Solara was 2nd in graduate bitch, pictured below.

Solara Jolly & Lily

The following day the SHCGB ran an open show at Ripon racecourse. What a superb venue, without a doubt one of the nicest I have ever been to, parking was in a huge well mowed field adjacent to the picturesque canal and just round the corner from the beautiful courtyard where the rings had been laid out. The committee members and helpers, headed by show manager Michael Patrick had certainly worked hard, and continued to do so throughout the day. The show was very well run, there was a super atmosphere, and everyone seemed to have a great day out under the bright blue sky. I had anticipated having a hectic day as I had agreed to handle for two owners, however one didn't turn up and the very capable young handler Leanne Roberts very kindly agreed to handle for the other, so I was off the hook. As I had entered Jolly, I decided to show her, she came 2nd in her class, Lily went just to keep her company (see above). Winning a sweatshirt in the raffle and the giant cream cake made my day, when it was announced towards the end of the day, that all cake would be half price, there was a huge cheer from all around. A great show, well done to all involved.

The first day of October and I was judging at Driffield Championship show, awarding tickets in the breed for the 14th time. The weather couldn't have been kinder and the ring was huge! My entry was full of quality dogs, many that I would have loved to have taken home. With breeders producing such quality dogs as this, I feel the breed is in good hands, long may this continue.

After one of the warmest Octobers I can remember, training can't have been easy for those trying to get their teams ready for the new season. Pictured below are Catherine and Colin both starting out young puppies with an experienced team member. Catherine is running 6 month old Chorniy with Solara, and Colin is running 7 month old Shadow with Tyke. Running with a reliable lead dog will teach the puppies the ropes, so they can confidently progress onto a bigger team later in the season.

The first two day rally of the new 2009/10 racing calendar was run by SDAS at the Ford Estate on the31st Oct/1st Nov, where Jeff Trotter competed with his 2 boys Zoox Atlantic Storm and Zoox Thunderbolt (Elvis and Rocky) and came 5th. Running the 2 litter sisters Zoox Coldsnap and Zoox Starry Night (Mika and Ali), Daimon Edwards competed at the Delemere night rally run by the SHCGB and came 8th.The same weekend ABSA held their first rally of the season at Wyre, where Wayne Davies won the C- class with Zoox Dorsodura at Snowpawz (Goose) running double lead. This is the 23rd race won by a team made up of, or led by Tykes progeny, all the above 5 mentioned dogs are sired by Tyke.

WPBS 2009 - Frosty with her 3 pups. Bramble (Zoox Flora) then proud mum Frosty - daughter Chorniy (Zoox Huathe at Wayreth) and her son Sonic (Zoox Roodmas among Osochilli)

Sonic Thunder & Storm

At Working and Pastoral Breeds of Scotland Edi won his 3rd RCC. We were thrilled to see 3 puppies from our last litter (Frosty x Teebo) all at their first show qualify for Crufts. Zoox Roodmas among Osochilli (Sonic) won 3 classes and was Best puppy in breed for Karen Roberts, Zoox Flora (Bramble) won minor Puppy bitch for Amanda Davies and 3rd in that class was Zoox Huathe at Wayreth(Chorniy), owned by Catherine Lewis. While we were busy at the show, down at the SHCGB Brandon rally Colin Ellis was having a great weekend. Running his two young boys Zoox Tarrango (Thunder) and Zoox Typhoon Ty (Storm) in the D-class at a rally for the first time, they came a delighted 2nd, with Daimon Edwards running Ali and Mika hotly on his heels into 3rd place. Alex Marvin had a good run in the C-class to come 2nd running the four Zoox/Zateizzi boys Logan, Troy, Flash and Hunter and Bren was 7th in the E-class running Taz, Blade and Scout. The following weekend Catherine competed at Culbin her first rally of the new season run by the SSHC, where she was 8th each day. Running in the B-class Catherine's team was made up of four Zoox bred bitches, Solara, Frosty, Foxi & Oneida, and her own bred Bilka & Vixen.

In October we had some terrible news, Yukon the lovely boy who went to live in Canada with his half brother, sadly died after suffering from two consecutive bowel interceptions. He fought to the end, we were all devastated at this news and our thoughts were with Louise and Rob at this terrible time. His obituary can be seen on the Shaytaan website, it will have you in tears! Dawson missed his half brother and best pal for some time but has now settled down as training has got under way. An enthusiastic worker, he is always keen to be off, as can be seen below at hitch up.

Our GSD Jazz is 12 years old so we decided it was time to think about getting another. Back in May we put our name down with a breeder of long standing in the breed. Jazz has now got her new apprentice in the form of Fizz a cheeky jet black 7 week old little she-devil. Fizz has certainly made her presence known and has settled in well , she loves to go into the dog run and play with the pack, her best buddy is Jolly who is keeping a close eye on her in the picture below. She has had a few visits to out local park cafe, carried of course as she isn't fully innoculated yet, althought she is that heavy now, I don't think there will be any more visits until she can walk there.

A young puppy means getting up through the night and early in the morning, we are often outside playing as the sun rises and have got some nice pictures of the pack as the sun shines through the dog run. The only problem with a jet black puppy is that you haven't a clue where she is in dim light to darkness, she can be right in front of me and I can't see her, so I now have a torch by the front door, ready for her many loo visits outside! I seem to remember having the same problem 23 years ago with the girl's first pony, a black Shetland. Many a time we would walk into her in the evenings as she would lay down on the grass by the dog run, thankfully she soon learnt to come to her stable when she was called, so we didn't have to go and search for her in the pitch blackness on those dark winter nights.

Colin Ellis competed at the New Forest rally held by ABSA, running Thunder and Storm in the 2 dog E-class he was 4th. On the first day it was 15C, but on the second day there were gale force winds, heavy rain and hailstones, so you could say Colin's dogs names matched the conditions!! Wayne Davies was 3rd running his four dog team led by Goose in the C-class, he went out in the worst of the weather, and Richard Morgan was 5th running Miki (Goose's brother) in lead. Up in Scotland at the SHC's Tentsmuir rally, Catherine competed in the B-class with her 6 dog team and was 6th over the two days. I thought this was pretty good, because poor Catherine came a cropper twice on the first day, but kept hold of her team and got back on the rig and carried on, she is certainly a brave lady. Daimon competed in the D-class with Ali and Mika and came 5th. Danny Slater competed at his only rally of the season down at BSHRA's Santon Downham rally on the Sunday. Running the 3 litter mates Ashra, Kneesa and Teebo in the C3 class he came 7th just 17seconds behind the winner. There were only 4.23 seconds between the 5 teams that were placed between 3rd and 7th place.

Rob and Lou have now moved their Shaytaan kennel to an ex zoo in New Brunswick. Although most of the animals have long since departed they have aquired a couple of Llamas. With almost 100 acres and 4 lakes they certainly have lots of room, and the luxury of running straight from their dog yard is something most can only dream of. Rob is giving his team a water stop, while out exploring the vast trails which run straight from their back door. Dawson is running two team positions in front of the wheel dogs.

Fizz with Lyn Harrison's shepherd Nic Nic at the Sherwood Forest rally in December. Ian with Fizz andTwiggy.

Eleanor and Colin's dogs: Storm(Twiggys son by Tyke), Thunder (Edi x Koona), Ice and Shadow (Edi x Twiggy's 9 month old pups) and the grand old lad Tyke! Colin ran Storm and Thunder in the E-class and came 5th.

We went down to the ABSA Sherwood Forest Rally where it was wet and muddy, but we had a great time. It was nice to catch up with Lyn and Mike Harrison, and their latest pack member, a black GSD related to Fizz our 12 week old shepherd puppy, the two shepherds had a great time playing with each other. Fizz found all the teams a little scarey at first, but soon got used to all the activity around her with the help of Twiggy who kept her company and gave her confidence. We just missed seeing Alex finnish his race on the first day, he passed us taking his team back to his van as we were walking up to the finnish line. He must have had a good run as he was in the lead on the first day. At the end of two days racing Alex finnished in 3rd place and Wayne 7th both in the C-class, and in the E-class Colin was 5th and Daimon 7th. Twiggy is a little bitch we don't show but she has produced two super litters and some excellent working dogs, Alex was running her son Flash, Colin was running Storm and Daimon was running her daughters Ali and Mika, all her progeny tower above their little mum, you can read more about their wins on the Working page. Eleanor and Colin also have 2 pups from her last litter, aged 9 months they also tower above their petite mum, she was pleased to see her pups and of course the grand old boy Tyke, who ran in the veteran class with Mackey and came 3rd. At the SHC's Culbin rally Jeff Trotter was 6th in the D-class.

The following weekend Colin ran his two boys at ABSA's Ringwood rally and came 3rd in the E-class, Wayne was also 3rd, but in the C-class. Wayne lent Rusky to Mike Holburn to run with his Siberian cross in the DO and they came 2nd. Jeff Trotter ran his 2 boys at the SDAS Kershope rally and came 4th in the D- class. LKA show was on the same day where Ruth had a great day winning the RCC with Zoox Strong Resolve JW.

Mid December and heavy snow fell around the country and the temperature dropped well below freezing. At the two SSHC Tentsmuir rallies, there was a thin covering on the ground but not enough for sleds. Catherine Lewis seen above, had 2 great days of racing and was over the moon with her 2nd place in the B-class on the Saturday. At Sunday's race the same team went even faster and flew round the course, Catherine said it was the best run she had ever had and her team gave her an exciting but perfect run, all she had to do was hang on! Catherine was thrilled with her team and they were a very credible 3rd behind two fresh teams. I was so pleased to get the the phone call from Catherine to tell me how well the dogs had run. I could tell how thrilled she was to have experienced just how good her team was, which was something I never doubted. As I have said befor, she is a gutsy and brave lady who most certainly never lets her disability hold her back from her one true passion, running sled dogs. Well done Catherine I am proud of you and all your hard work certainly paid off! The day after Boxing day the SHC held a rally at Yately where Alex won the C-class and had the fastest run of the day, which is always a great achievment.

Main Championship Show wins - 2009

2010

The New Year started with most of the country under a blanket of snow. The SHC held a rally at Greystokes in Cumbria where it was near perfect conditions for a rare sled event. Everyone had a great time and Daimon Edwards seen here running Mika and Ali came 4th in the D class. Jeff Trotter raced on the first day but sadly the heavy snowfall during the night closed off his route back to the rally on the Sunday. Down south at the snowless 3 day ABSA Wareham rally, Wayne Davies had 3 good runs to finnish in 2nd place in the C-class. Colin Ellis also had 3 very good runs and finnished in 4th place with Storm and Thunder in the E-class. He was over the moon to realise that he was also faster than all the teams in the other classes with the exception of the winners of the B and C-classes. Mike Holburn came 3rd running Rusky and his Siberian cross Diesel.

As a breeder its great to see dogs we have bred leading a happy and full life, but sadly sometimes things go wrong. Its never nice to find out that an owner wants to rehome their dogs, and certainly not at all nice to be told this by text, I think a phone call to the breeder is the least the owner can do. On New Years day I recieved such a text and had to set about finding homes for these dogs. I was very pleased that two very experienced owners contacted me to say they were interested. I am pleased to report that the youngster has gone to live with Richard and Lorraine and their pack of working dogs, and the two experienced working dogs have gone to live with Bruce and Lyn who have almost as many years experience in the breed as me! We wish these owners lots of fun with these boys and look forward to hearing about their new adventures.

Boston was the first Championship show of the season, it had moved to its new home in the new Executive Building at the East of England show ground. What a super venue and very well laid out, the new green carpets looked very smart but were slightly slippy. With the Big Freeze and bad snowy conditions through out the country there were a number of absentees, but breed specialist Audrey Richardson had a quality entry to go over. A very bald Edi was 2nd in open dog and Jolly won the graduate bitch class. Ruth won her 4th RCC with Hunter (Zoox Strong Resolve) and Natalie won her 2nd CC & BOB with Zoox Phoenix. So that made Lia, Edi and Phoenix all sitting on 2 CC's, the question was, which one was going to be the next Zoox Champion? The SHCGB held a rally at Sherwood the same weekend as Boston. As Ruth had taken Hunter to the show on the Saturday, Alex only competed at the rally on the Sunday, he ran in the E-class with Troy, Hunter and Flash and came 1st in that days competition and was over a minute infront of the 2nd place team on that day. Sherwood was the Clubs second consecutive snow rally. Everyone prayed that the snow lasted for the Clubs next rally which ws Aviemore, it did.

With such a lot of snow around, everyone was told to take, or borrow a sled for the ABSA Forest of Dean race, and then the day befor it rained all day and night, leaving the trail very slushy for Saturday nights rally. The trail for Sundays race was found to be covered in ice, so start times were delayed while everyone went out to try and break up the ice and make it safe. Only the B and C teams ran and then the remaining classes were cancelled in the interest of safety . Wayne was very pleased to win the C-class, Colin was 4th in the D-class, and Mike was 2nd in the DO class.

Aviemore was knee deep in snow and for the first time in quite some years the race was a sled event. I heard there were major problems with parking this year and many people had to park on the road quite some considerable distance from the race site. Those that managed to park in the carpark or on the road side not too far from the start had to be down at the site before 5am to get a spot. Carrying sled and equipment, plus getting dogs to and from the race site must have been exhausting for those that were parked such a long way from the trail. As expected many people found running with a sled quite difficult and admited to having little control of the sled or in some cases their team. But there were those that knew exactly what they were doing and with past experience of running a team in front of a sled, they put that experience to good use and ran a good race. Alex Marvin was one of those people, he had a good weekend and came 3rd in the C-class out of 43 starters. He is pictured above on the left running Logan and Flash at lead and Troy and Hunter at wheel on the Saturday, then on the Sunday he moved Hunter to lead and put the power horse Logan at wheel to give some extra power in the fresh snow. Richard Morgan hadn't managed to get to many races prior to Aviemore but he also had a good weekend and was 12th running Miki (Troy's litter brother) at lead. Wayne Davies had a bad run on the Saturday due to a team comming across in front of his team causing a major tangle, which he was left to sort out as the other musher wouldn't get off her sled! He finnished in 20th position and was running Goose who is Troy & Miki's brother on his team, both he and Richard ran in the C-class and they are pictured below, l-r Richard-Wayne. Colin ran in the D-class with Storm and Thunder and was 18th.

Wayne, Colin and Mike all competed at ABSA's Ashley Heath night run where Wayne was 3rd in the C-class, Colin was 5th in the E-class and Mike was 2nd in the DO class. The following weekend Daimon Edwards competed at the SHC's Pembrey rally running his two girls in the D-class where he came 2nd. He followed this up with a good win the following weekend at the SHC's Grimsthorpe rally. He had a great run on the first day with the sisters Mika and Ali, and although a little slower on the second day he still easily won the class.

Alex Marvin also had a win at Grimsthorpe running Ali & Mika's brother Flash along with Hunter and Troy (seen above) in the E-class. Down at ABSA's Yately rally Wayne Davies also had a fantastic day. He came 2nd in the C-class running Goose up lead (litter brother of Troy) and ended the series winning the ABSA C-class CHAMPIONSHIP. Congratulations to Wayne and all his team. Colin Ellis ran his two boys Thunder and Storm (Flash, Ali and Mika's brother) in the E-class where he was 4th and 4th overall in the E-class Championship, well done boys! Mike won the DO class running Wayne's Rusky along with his Siberian cross Diesel. So a very good weekend for Zoox bred dogs at the rallys, well done everyone.

Edmundston, Canada where Rob & Louise are out training for the Can Am. Lou is running a 6 dog team and Rob an 8, with Dawson (Zoox Trebbiano) at right wheel next to Northwapiti's Eeek. Rob has run at the Can Am before, but this is Lou's first time, good luck to both of you. We hope you have a good run and enjoy yourselves!

Back in the UK and nearing the end of another working season, the SHC hosted the Rendlesham rally with Bruce Hall at the helm. The D class was dominated by teams of our breeding, Colin running Storm & Thunder had a great run on the first day to be in 2nd place just 4 seconds behind the leader. Daimon running Ali & Mika (litter sisters to Storm) was hot on his heels in 3rd place, again just 4 seconds behind Colin and Alex was in 4th. It was all to play for on the Sunday, which turned out to be a very wet day indeed. The seeding was in reverse order, so Colin was one of the last to run, he had the best run of his life with the boys putting in a sterling performance for him to end up in 1st place, apparently he came over the finnish line with the biggest smile on his face and was thrilled with the way the boys had run. Alex moved up two places to finnish in 2nd with Logan and Mackey the team he started out with back in the 2004/05 season, and Daimon remained in 3rd place. Alex must also have had a great run in the E-class as he finnished in 1st place with Troy, Hunter & Flash ( litter brother to Storm, Ali & MIka). Richard ran in the C-class and was 5th running Miki at lead who is Troy's brother, well done everyone. Bruce ran Blade and Taz (2 of the boys that had to be rehomed in January) in lead on the Sunday, this was the first time he had run them together in lead and Bruce said he had the best run he has had for years, the boys gave him a great run and Bruce was very pleased with them. Meanwhile Wayne and Mike were both competing in the Wyedean Quest a rally held over 3 days in 4 stages, where Mike was 3rd in the DO category running four of Waynes dogs and his own cross bred boy, and Wayne was 4th in the pure bred category.

CRUFTS was upon us by mid March, and I decided to just take Edi and Jolly. Breed specialist Linda Pritchett was judging and had a large quality entry to work through, which she timed to perfection, without stopping for lunch. Our breeding had a great day and in large classes won the following.- In post grad dog Jackie was 3rd with Zoox Malastrana at Wolfpaws, in Mid Limit dog Zoox Strong Resolve was 2nd, and Ruth had quite a surprise when Prince Michael of Kent walked into the ring. He was introduced to the top 3 placed in the class. Ruth had quite a nice chat with him and he said how musculed Hunter looked, so she told him he was a working dog. It's always nice to push the point that these aren't just pretty show dogs, no matter who you are talking to!! In Limit dog Ruth was 3rd with Zateizzi Castello and in Open dog I was 2nd with Edi (Zoox Prinmore Pride), so the boys did well.

Our own Jolly (Zoox Chianti) was 1st in Graduate bitch (above) and went on to win the RCC at only 23 months old which follows on from her best puppy award at Crufts last year. In Mid Limit bitch Natalie was also 1st with Zoox Alzashra, and in Limit bitch Jackie was 3rd with Zateizzi Valleresso at Wolfpaws, so a pretty good day all round. There was a super atmosphere around the ring and much applause for all those placed, which all made for a very enjoyable day.

A couple of days later and ABSA ran their Hero Quest in support of Help for Heroes at Pembrey. It sounds like it was one of the most enjoyable rallies ever held. Most of the Mushers dressed up in fancy dress, with the most popular theme being super heroes. I couldnt stop laughing when I saw the pictures, even some of the children and in one case dogs and rig were all dressed up. It looks like the majority of people really got into the swing of it, even if it meant they could hardly see where they were going.

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Desperate Dan ready to go, the look on Thunder and Storms face says it all, "crickey who the hell's that on the rig, let's get away from him", but Superman had a firm hold of the boys. Desperate Dan must have eaten rather too many pies, because after his win the other week he dropped to 7th in the E-class, but Colin, sorry Desperate Dan had a great time and was just out for a fun run, and sensibly took it easy as he peeped through his mask---hmm, is that a mask !!!! Superman had a flying start ( sorry couldn't help myself) and tried to fly round the course, but his all boy team with Rusky at wheel and Goose lead, kept him grounded, however that didn't stop Superman from having another go at taking off as he approached the finish line. Wayne, sorry Superman finished 3rd in the C-class.

Caveman Dean Aslett must have scared his 3 Zoox girls Kodi, Willow and Spirit to death when they saw him, but they certainly had a good run to finnish 7th in the D-class. Goodness knows what anyone must have thought if they were out for a gentle stroll and they came accross this lot!! Daimon went to the SHC's Dyfnant rally and was 3rd in the D-class.

While everyone was having fun at Pembrey I was busy with my two daughter's dogs doing a spot of training on the lawn. Both girls have now got 2 dogs each, Tracey's two are down here daily as she still keeps her horses here, but with Mandy away in Canada her two were also here, and what a bunch they make. Mandy's 7 year old Lurcher (Deerhound x Greyhound) Spider is the oldest, then there is Tracey's Brindle Staffie cross who is about 4years old, he came from the Dogs Trust as a stray so we cant be sure of his age. Her latest dog Forest another Lurcher type and jet black also came from the Dogs Trust, since he has grown in the couple of months she has had him we think he is younger than the estimated age of 18 months they said he was, and is probably under 12 months old. The baby of the bunch is Mandy's 10 month old Dalmatian Pinot. This lot along with my 2 GSD's certainly made for a hectic weekend. My old girl is 12years old now and like a gentle quiet life--not much chance of that with the mob visiting, but the black Shepherd pup Fizz, now 6 months old loved it, her best pal is Pinot, but all the dogs get along great

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Pictured above -The Rabble and Fizz at 6 months. If I had a pound for the number of times folk have asked me if she is an "Alsatian" cross---or one of those Belgian dogs!!! One person even thought she was a Labrador cross, and then of course after you tell them what she is, you get, "Oh 'Ive never seen an all black one before". It takes me back to the days when everyone used to say " where's your sled" when they saw me out with the Sibes, thankfully we don't seem to get that as much these days.

Phee & Edi

The SHC Championship show was held mid April, where we were thrilled to make up Edi. He won his crowning ticket under breed specialist David Patterson, this made Edi ( Zoox Prinmore Pride JW) our 16th homebred Siberian Champion. However the day got even better when Zoox Phoenix JW also gained her crown at the same show, this time under the very well know specialist Bru Greenland. Phee went on to BIS and Natlie was in floods of tears, I hasten to add they were tears of joy at making up her first Champion, and our 20th home bred Champion (including our Sams)--what a day! Zateizzi Valleresso at Wofpaws also won the large Limit bitch class, I'm sure it wont be too long before she also gains that elusive 3rd ticket. I had to smile to myself when I realised after the show that Siberians we have bred/owned had won a tally of 99CC's & 99 RCC's, what were the chances of that. Including the tickets our Sammies have won, dogs we have bred/owned have won 116 CC's and 113 RCC's, making a total of 229 CC's & RCC's.

The following day our GSD puppy Fizz was awarded her Kennel Club Good Citizen Bronze Certificate, followed by her Silver a few weeks later aged 7 months.

Not much to report at the moment, as I am not doing many shows this season, but we took Jolly up to the SKC and she was 3rd in the Open class. Amanda Davies took Zoox Flora with Snowpawz to the 3 C's and won a large junior bitch class.

Blackpool was our next outing where five of Edi's progeny had a good day under breed specialist Helen Gutteridge. Gem (Zoox Pride of Sevens) was attending her first show,she was 2nd in mpb and 1st in puppy bitch, owner Chris Stanley was delighted as this was also his first time in the ring. Tracey Owen then won junior bitch with Karni (Zoox Fernie ) and 3rd in the same class was her sister Zeya (Zoox Innis Chonnel) owned by Liz Phillips and her sister Lesley Howarth. Our own Jolly (Zoox Chianti JW) was 1st in graduate bitch and went on to win her second RCC, and Jet rounded the day off with a VHC in what the judge called a very strong Open class.

Gem 2nd minor puppy bitch & 1st puppy bitch ----Karni 1st junior bitch and---------Zeya 3rd junior bitch

Our next show was NW&PB where we arrived just in time to see Ruth Marvin with Hunter (Zoox Strong Resolve JW) win limit dog. Ruth was also 2nd in Open dog withTroy (Zateizzi Castello) who was then awarded the RCC by judge Tina Cake, her first time awarding tickets. Jolly was 2nd in limit bitch, so not a bad day. Ferelith Hamilton sat next to me for a while and we had a very intersting chat, she is such a lovely lady and one of our country's greatest all round judges. Paignton was our next outing, a round trip of 1000km, we must be mad! It was a nice relaxed show where Jolly won the post grad bitch class, the judge was breed specialist Helen Lightfoot.

Our black GSD Fizz was awarded her KC Good Citizen Gold certificate aged 9 months old. Most mornings we are up bright and early to do some tracking, but we still go to the local park where Fizz loves to pose in front of the flower beds much to every ones amusement. It's got to the point that when she sees me get my camera out, she looks for some where to pose!

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I decided it was time to take down the high 3 tiered kennel block as Fizz decided she should also jump onto the top level with the Sibes, which made me very uneasy. Shepherds are just not as agile as Sibes even though they may think they are. The kennel block had been up for many years and as we don't have many Sibes these days there was really no need to keep it. So down it came to the utter disgust of the gang. Ian built a super new paltform which rather resembles a flying sauser!! The gang all seem to like it but they aren't pleased that they can no longer see over the wall and watch people and their dogs walking up and down the lane. Pinot, Mandy's Daly also came round to check out the UFO.

Chleo the boss has a spot all of her own, while Edi sits on the top level surrounded by all his ladies!

Fizz competed in her first obedience classes at a Companion dog show in Darlington the beginning of August. Much to our surprise she came 1st out of 25 in the Starters class, which was run along the lines of a beginners obedience class. She had to do heelwork on and off lead, a recall and sit & down stays. She went in the Triers class, based along the Novice class format, where she had to do heelwork off the lead, a recall , stays and retrieve an object provided by the judge. She is usualy very good at retrieves, but today she reverted back to her puppy antics and messed around and then did a really crooked present, she thought it was a great game. I had to smile at her, she looked so cheeky. Oh well not to worry, it was all great fun and my early nerves dissapeared as everyone was so friendly and helpful. We decide to push our luck and have a go in the Flyers class for dogs that hadn't won a 1st in the A-class. She had to do heelwork off the lead with quick and slow paces. An A-test recall, a retrieve, stays and a send away. Now she is pretty good at send aways, but she is trained to go to a cone/electric fence post or the like from 20 metres plus. She has never gone a short distance to a marked out box with 4 cones. So bless her, off she went to the nearest cone and lay down, I had to smile as she did what she has been trained to do, how would she know that she had to ignore the individual cones but go to the middle of the box they marked out. Her sit and down stays were all brilliant, and I was very pleased with my 10 month old puppy girl. Of course we had to take some pictures to mark the day, Fizz is seen here proudly holding her 1st place rossette and her KC Good Citizen Gold Rossette, while the old girl Jazz, is chewing a bone in the back ground.

Main Championship Show wins - 2010

To view more of our dogs at home

" ARE YOU LOOKING FOR YOUR FIRST PUPPY, WATCH OUT --- IT'S A MINEFIELD OUT THERE " !!

As I have said in the past, when looking for a puppy, it does not matter if you don’t want to show or work your dog, but just want a loving pet, who will walk untill you drop BUT REMEMBER—YOU DO WANT A DOG THAT CAN WALK WITHOUT PAIN AND BE ABLE TO SEE, FOR THE WHOLE OF HIS LIFE -----so I can only advise you, to make sure that at the very least the parents of your puppy and as many relations as possible have been Hip scored and eye tested, ask for proof. EVERYONE WANTS A HEALTHY DOG. Although this does not fully guarantee your puppy will not have a problem in the future, at least you know the breeder is showing they care for the future of the breed.

All the GOOD breeders I know and would recommend, treat all their dogs as much loved pets. Do not think for one second that just because they have a few dogs, and they proudly show them, and/or work them in harness, that those dogs are not treated with respect and loved. These breeders have a full understanding of the breed, and each of their dogs is treated as an individual, they lead a full and exciting life, and without exception, every GOOD breeder I know, makes sure their dogs want for nothing.

Do not believe the owner who breeds, saying they just have their dogs as pets, if they are much loved pets, then why are they breeding from them? These people invariably know very little about the breed, how can they as they have done nothing with their dogs, or mixed with experienced people who can pass on their wealth of knowledge about the breed. They see breeding solely as a quick way to make money, and although they breed from their bitches, and put their dogs out to stud to any one who wants to use them, they will say , they are not breeders. To my mind any one who has bred a litter, is a breeder!! Most of them state in their adverts that a "£100 unreturnable deposit " will secure you a puppy. I am not sure if that is even legal, but who in their right mind would send a deposit for something they have never seen, would you do it if you were buying a car advertised on the web you had never seen, I doubt it, you would go and see the car and get someone with mechanical knowledge to check it out first. So surely you would check out a breeder and see the puppies before parting with any money. The last thing on a reputable breeders mind is wanting £100 deposit from someone they haven't even met!

Pet breeders usualy don't bother having their dogs eyes checked for heriditary problems or have them X-rayed for hip dysplasia, proving how little they care about the health of the puppies they breed. They try to make out that their dogs are better treated than those in big kennels, and yes maybe they are than those unfortunate dogs that are in puppy farms (and there are plenty of them around), but I doubt for one second that their dogs have a better life than those that are in the GOOD kennels I am talking about. There are hundreds of pet owners now breeding from their pets, and other bitches they have taken in, under the pretence of "rescuing them" and giving them a good home, where as all they do is breed from them. These dogs may have started out as pets or maybe right from the beginning these owners came into the breed intending to breed, just to make money. They delude themselves that they are doing it for the right reasons, but if you ask them, why do you breed, they say all sorts of stupid things, like "its good for the bitch". I'd love to know of just one valid reason, to date I have never heard one. The dogs they "so called rescued" are bred from, and then passed on yet again. More often than not these dogs are not well bred, some have fake pedigrees and most are not KC registered. All this breeding is done with one thing in mind---money!!!

A few dogs however are from GOOD kennels where their owners were crafty enough to lie and decieve the unsuspecting Good breeder from the start. These people have however signed a contract agreeing that they only wanted a pet and would not breed from that pet puppy in the future, also accepting that there is an endorsement placed on their KC registration papers saying that any progeny will not be eligible for registration, and yet breeding is exactly what they do. So of course any puppies they then breed will NOT be KC registered as most good breeders will not lift the endorsments under these circumstances. Good breeders place endorsements on their puppies to try and safe guard their breeding and the future of the breed in this country, and not one of these good breeders forced anyone into taking one of their precious puppies, the new owner took the puppy having fully understood why this endorsement was placed on their puppy, they signed a contract acknowledging and agreeing to it. BUT despite all this, they then go and breed from the puppy a year or two later, and theyl then have the cheek to say to their puppy buyers that the horrid breeder of their dogs will not remove the breeding restriction from them, so its not their fault that the puppies can not be registered---Ha, what a joke, more often than not, they haven't even told the Good breeder that they have bred from the Sibe they got from them. So BEWARE and ALWAYS check out the reputation of the breeder of your puppy with the breed clubs-----REMEMBER EVERYONE WHO BREEDS A LITTER IS A BREEDER!!!!! But only a few of them are GOOD breeders. All the good breeders I know are NOT cliquey, but very friendly and will go out of their way to help new people who want to learn about this fantastic breed.

You are welcome to contact me for more advice, or you can be put in touch with a breeder via The Siberian Husky Club of GB or The Scottish Siberian Husky Club (See my contact page)