Almost There...

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Rory's Dad
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Almost There...

Post by Rory's Dad »

90% certain that we will pick the lighter red female. Still haven't told Rory, but think he senses something is up. Will be heading to Shows with Rory on Feb 2nd & 3rd. Date for picking up new girl is Feb 10th. Starting to get excited and nervous a bit at the same time.
Rory at outdoor show in Romulus, NY
Rory at outdoor show in Romulus, NY
Rory_Oct.jpg (121.09 KiB) Viewed 6377 times
Light Red Girl at 5 weeks
Light Red Girl at 5 weeks
Light Girl.JPG (95.27 KiB) Viewed 6377 times
Darker Red Girl at 5 weeks
Darker Red Girl at 5 weeks
Dark Girl.JPG (95.59 KiB) Viewed 6377 times
karenmarie
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Re: Almost There...

Post by karenmarie »

What a beautiful baby girls. I have a huge smile, as I can feel the anticipation and excitement \:D/ Both girls look very happy and healthy. Rory I am sure senses the excitement you are all feeling. LOL, won't he be surprised!! I know you will enjoy having a male & female, as they become quite bonded rather quickly. We, as you have had males the past 30 years and with some apprehension and excitement made the tough decision to introduce a female into our pack. She is a joy, and yes, females are different then males in many ways but she is quite different than our female shepherd as well.(We had female and male german shepherds before our Chowdren)Our household has a new dynamic the past 26 months with Ms Bella. She has had four heat cycles and we now have the phases of her cycle documented. LOL, she has four personality changes, one with each stage. Separation hasn't been a real challenge as we used the same methods as with our shepherds. We wish for the time to go quickly until you pick your new baby up. Good luck, looking forward to lots of pictures!!! Oh, not to forget, Rory looks fantastic, Job well done =D=
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Fozzbear
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Re: Almost There...

Post by Fozzbear »

They are both gorgeous little bundles of fur - don't know how you will choose between them. I'm sure Rory will love whoever you pick.
I miss having a baby in the house - even though my boy was a handful, my girl was a gentle quiet little thing. Both great in their different ways.
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applebear
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Re: Almost There...

Post by applebear »

awah you just want to squish those little faces...I can see why it's a tough choice, they are both lovely. The lighter one looks a little broader in the head/muzzle, but both look plenty stocky. Rory is going to love having a friend. :)
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612guy
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Re: Almost There...

Post by 612guy »

Both puppies look very nice. It would be hard for me to not pick the red one because that what I like. I just love chow puppies with a black mask, even though they almost always fade away as they grow older. Either way you go I'm sure you're going to get a wonderful puppy.

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lweiher
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Re: Almost There...

Post by lweiher »

Ok...my vote...and I know it doesn't count...but TAKE BOTH!! Wouldn't that be awesome!! I have a black chow, but those two are SOOOOO precious!! I think all of us that have the "chow thing" would have as many as we could! It appears you are involved in the show world, so I know it will be tough for you to pick one...ultimately, I say....go with your gut (or Rorys')!! It looks like you can't miss with these two cuties!!
Sincerely and with purple kisses from my Lily....Best of luck choosing!
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Re: Almost There...

Post by Judy Fox »

Beautiful babies! I think chow puppies are the most adorable in the world. :D
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Rory's Dad
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Re: Almost There...

Post by Rory's Dad »

612, i agree with you...i prefer the reds. Going a bit more on the facial features on this one as well as size. The sire is over 85lbs. Very big. I know the mom mostly controls the overall features and size of the litter, and she is small. The sire is also cream, so i think overall, they are not going to be deep reds in the litter.

I think overall the lighter girl is a bit more delicate looking. A better mix for Rory, but i could be off base here. Shoot me an email with your thoughts...maybe we'll bring em both out to MN for a couple shows.
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Re: Almost There...

Post by Rory's Dad »

HAHA, showed the posts and responses to my wife...she said we arent heading to MN until at least June...she saw -20 degrees on the news today.
lweiher
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Re: Almost There...

Post by lweiher »

Can't say as I blame her....although I don't live there and I don't know where you have to go in Minnesota....but I know that June is not a guarantee that it will be warm there! We vacation in Northern Wisconsin in June and have had really cold weather .... but come on.....it's for a cutie pie!
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Clovers_Mom
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Re: Almost There...

Post by Clovers_Mom »

Oh my gosh!!! Adorable .... Rory is looking amazing as well! I am sure you will have your hands full pretty soon- so excited for you, the images make my heart melt. lmk if Rory will have any MA shows (or NH/ME) coming up!
Good Luck, cannot wait for more pix's and to see how Rory does!
Rory's Dad
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Re: Almost There...

Post by Rory's Dad »

Clover, Rory will be in W. Springfield next weekend, but only one other Chow entered. This will be a practice run for him with no points at stake. Looks like April shows should be busier for Chows, but there is still a lot of tension with Chow owners here in NE. The AKC sanctioned club is divided, and there is competion for a coup.

Rory will have been showing for a year come the April set. He has taken 7 best of breed designations, but only earned 4 points. He also took Reserve Dog in a Sweepstakes show in NY late last year.

I will have to keep you updated on shows, or check Infodog.com, as they are the keepers of all things show related. We were in Wrentham last year and anticipate the same come springtime. Our new girl should be showing by then as well. There was also a show in ME that turned into a major, but that surprised us and we missed it. Should be some chances for a good number of Chows at the spring Fitchburg shows, as well as Falmouth around June. Other than that, it looks like we will be heading south for the pups (NJ, mostly).

You are so close and we still never got to introduce Rory and Clover...shame.

Hoping that the NE Chow folks will get past the politics. Seems that there a faction of the other Chow owners used to show their dogs pretty regularly. Nice dogs overall, but some not so well groomed, and some with obvious health issues evident in their coats, etc. Aside from myself, their is only one other Chow kennel that shows regularly with really good Chows. (Tony & Sharon Raposo of Royal Chows in RI). I think there is a healthy competition with them. The rest seem intent on seeing if either of us decide to call it a day. They like to obtain points without serious competition and win by default against each other. Sad really. Not what Confirmation Shows are really about, and not a good indication of a CH dog, should they happen to obtain it by manipulating the shows. The breeder that Rory came from (and our new girl), are looking to do some limited number of shows this year, so that should be good.
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Clovers_Mom
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Re: Almost There...

Post by Clovers_Mom »

It is wonderful to hear that Rory is doing so well in competition it is crazy to hear of the ridiculousness that takes place 'behind the scenes'. When our 'time' comes, I would love to get your breeders info. I have to say not being familiar with the dog show circuit infodog.com is a bit hard to navigate.
Would love to try to get the dogs together (at some point) or see them at a show. How fun. At shows- I could bring Clover ? I know.. I am sure a silly question... I have never been to a dog show... So I have nothing to reference for etiquette or rules...
Even Jersey- lmk ... I always am 'meaning to get down to n.jersey' and see a friend.. & have another who is on the shore.. So not a crazy idea as long as the weekend worked ...
612guy
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Re: Almost There...

Post by 612guy »

Rory's Dad wrote:Clover, Rory will be in W. Springfield next weekend, but only one other Chow entered. This will be a practice run for him with no points at stake.
Counting points takes awhile to figure it out but I checked on Infodog and the other entry is a Champion female so Rory could win a point each day if she shows up and he goes BOB. Maybe it's one of the females from Royal Chows and you aren't counting on it, but he still has a chance. Or maybe I'm all wrong because counting points is very confusing.

Here is from AKC web site:

How To Figure Points If Your Class Dog or Bitch Goes Best of Breed
Count regular class dogs in your gender, plus all move ups & Champions of both dogs and females entered for Best of Breed competition. Absentees do not count.

Total of class dogs - 3 entered
Total of class females - 4 entered
Total of Champoin dogs - 2 entered
Total of Champoin females - 1 entered

Points D1B D2B D3B D4B D5B
Chows 2/2 4/4 5/7 6/8 7/9
WD goes BOB (3 class dogs + 3 champions = 6 dogs for 4 pts)
WB goes BOB (4 class females + 3 champions = 7 females for 3 pts)

TIPS: Veteran dogs or any other non-regular class dogs are not counted in determining points.

Good luck,
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Re: Almost There...

Post by Cocoa »

Both the little girl pups are adorable, lucky Rory!
Rory's Dad
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Re: Almost There...

Post by Rory's Dad »

612, yes i know. It's ridiculous actually. Rory's handler has somewhere around 20 years of experience, and sometimes i ask her, and she still has to figure it out.

The point system is way too complicated. And for us Chow folks, a bit unfair. Now i'm not saying they should get points for winning when they are the only dog present, but absent a complete lack of competition, points should be awarded. Hopefully, like you say, if he beats a female CH, points are awarded. Becoming a bit dissillusioned knowing that he will need 2 majors to get CH. Have only seen 1 major event within 500 miles of me for Chows in the past year. AND infodog did not predict that as a major (not their fault, just no way to tell if shows are worth attending ahead of time...pay the fee and then see, nice racket).

Again, pts are so confusing, which is why we dont handle ourselves, aside from being fearful of missing a ring call. I do think that their has to be at least two other dogs for pts. Don't think beating only one other dog, regardless of ranking is worth any points. I could be wrong as well though. In any event, he needs the ring time and hopefully the spring will be better (last year was OK).
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Re: Almost There...

Post by 612guy »

You do need alot more dogs to get a major out east than here in the midwest. As far as the rules to get points, they are on the AKC site and I find that they are very easy to understand after you read them a couple of times. Brutus has gotten a point when he was the only male but with 2 females at the show. He beat the winning female for best of winners. So if Rory is the only male but there are multiple females or any champion he still can get points. I think you need 5 males or 7 females to get a major worth 3 points. So if Rory was the only male but there were 7 females and he won best of winners he would also get 3 points.

Handling Brutus is half the fun for me but there are classes anyone can take. The tricky part in comformation class was the instructors have never showed chows so they always told me to go too fast. With chows the speed is alot slower and I was told to slow down by the members of Chow Chow Club of greater Minnesota. Finding shows to go to and filling out the forms correctly wasn't fun the first time but is easy now. Ring call isn't that big of deal either because they can't start before the posted time even if the are running ahead. The toughtest part I found out is talking to the judge but was told alway ask them what they did/didn't like about my dog.

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