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We started showing dogs kind of by
accident. Jane had been looking for a Dachshund for
our niece as a present. We finally found a breeder
that had a litter of puppies. She was happy to sell us
a pet for our niece. The breeder also had a "Show Dog"
(Cal)
for sale. We had been to some shows previously as we
have friends in Bull Mastiffs. We thought it would be
a nice joint hobby as our hobbies and careers are very
different, and at the very least we would end up with a
great pet. So we jumped right in thinking how hard can
this be...? Boy did we have a lot to learn (see
From a Newbie's Point of View - Part
One).
While showing Cal, Patrick had been looking for his own dog
as Jane was doing the showing. Patrick had first been
looking at Pembroke Welsh Corgis, but soon discovered
Cardigans. We bought
Autumn
from Barbara Tannahill. Our lives have never been the
same since...
Over several years of showing we have
greatly expanded our knowledge of dogs and the world
of showing. We owner campaigned Autumn to the top 5 in
breed and all-breed in 2004 while maintaining full-time jobs
(see
From a Newbie's Point of View - Part
Two).
We have finished four Cardigans and finally have our first
Dachshund champion in 2006 after being in the breed for ~6
years. One of the four Cardigan CH is our first Bred
By Champion (Ransom)
in 2006 out of our first Cardigan litter.
We
are a small kennel with very active lives outside of Dog
Showing. Our dogs are part of the family and get daily
individual attention. We do not breed often and
typically have 1-2 litters per year. We only breed to
improve the breed, and to have another dog to show!
Our dogs are pets first and show dogs second as we live with
them and love them first and foremost. We take all of
this very seriously within reason, but after all, this is a
hobby!
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