22.12.
Nyara's puppy obedience classes ended today and I
asked mom to join us with my camera! Some more photos will be
published soon, I hope...
13.12.
On Sunday we were there again, but this time it was
the Nordic Winner Show with Mr. Michael Gadsby from the UK judging.
Today my handling schedule was more busy than yesterday, as also two
of Walter's sons were entered. Niilo (Neliapilan Wesihiisi) got 'very
good' in Open class but brother Texas (LC Ch Neliapilan Willilänsi)
won the Working class with 'excellent'!
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Walter's son Texas
LC Ch Neliapilan Willilänsi |
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Walter's son Niilo
Neliapilan Wesihiisi |
I also handled Lauri (Pices Golden Galant) today in
Juniors, and boy did he shine! The result was pretty much the opposite
from yesterday, as he now did get the 'excellent' and eventually even
won the class of 9(!) gaining a new title "Nordic Junior Winner
2009"!! Congratulations to Lauri's new owners as well as the
proud breeders, of course!
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 |
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The new NordJW-09
Pices Golden Galant
with me and the judge M. Gadsby |
|
...and his mom "Luna"
CIB Pices Flaminia
4th in Champions out of 13 |
In the Veteran males I was asked to show Gimmy (Ch
Neliapilan Rautanaamio), a boy I used to show several years ago when
he was young. He now did his comeback first time in the Veterans and ended up winning with
'excellent' and later on also BOS-Veteran!
In the bitches I only had Luna (CIB Pices Flaminia)
to handle, and she showed with unbelievable drive and sparkle again
today! I think she must have been a bit jealous for all the extra
attention that her daughter got at home ever since her leg was broken...
But today it was all about HER being The Princess once again - and it
showed! Luna's result was again 'excellent' and even with 4th
placement in the Champions, out of 13!!
Not a bad weekend at all, and I'm sure the
uncomfortable crowdiness will also be forgotten well before next
year's winner shows.... :)
12.12.
This year the second highlight (after our own
Specialty of course) of the show season, the Messukeskus Winner Show,
was again actually a two-day winner show! Today, on Saturday, it was
the traditional Finnish Winner Show (Voittaja-2009) and tomorrow the
Nordic Winner Show. Naturally, all breeds were judged on both days,
which meant that the show ground was of course twice as full as
usually!
I was so glad we had none of our own entered, but
was still able to enter the ring showing some other Afghans, as usual...
;-) Felicia's sister Luna (CIB Pices Flaminia) gained 'excellent'
without placement out of 9 Champion bitches with me. I also showed her
"husband" Moses (Ch Neliapilan Hei Melennetään) who
likewise got 'excellent' without a placement, but in a class of 15
handsome Champion males. In addition I also handled their cute son
Lauri (Pices Golden Galant) who performed very beautifully, but only
got 'very good' in the Juniors. Overall the Top4 for the judge Mr. Bo Skalin (Sweden/Finland)
in both males and bitches turned out pretty international.
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Some shots of handsome Lauri performing
with me on Saturday |
After the breed judgings we (well, I...) did some
shopping and then stayed to see the finals. We wanted especially to
witness the historical win that Walter's breeders did... Kennel
Neliapilan was awarded as #1 Breeder of All Breeds in Finland 2009 for
the third time in a row and like that wasn't enough they even broke records
winning with the maximum points possible!
Just imagine a final ring filled with these ten Afghans moving ;o)
A view from the wall screen: Arja Kettunen &
Maija Vihma
being interviewed by Leena Sarvi
Sir Walter CONGRATULATES his breeders for the
magnificent achievement!!
See www.neliapilan.com
for more...
6.12.
It's the Finnish independence day and Sir
Walter became once again a grandpa! His Belgian daughter Cora
(Corazon del Ghyryo) gave birth to her second litter of 7 males and 2
bitches today! The proud father is the handsome Shakka -
OnlyOneWayMyWay (born in Italy, living in the Netherlands).
Congratulations and best of luck for the future!!
Please visit kennel Fyrverkeri
website for more info!
Currently, Sir Walter has
18 children from 2 litters and 36 grandchildren from 4 litters!
29.11.
Nyara turned 7 months old
two days ago, so it was time to make some new pictures!! Have a look
at her page and below, please. Unfortunately
the weather was not perfect for picture taking - at all!
In case you are wondering, the 6-month-old pictures
didn't work out as she was absolutely too unbalanced at that moment...
But she is still 6 months old at the current cover picture, with
Father's Day greetings to Grandpa Waltie!
24.11.
Nyara and I began a puppy
course at Koirakoulu Kompassi in Konala/Helsinki. The idea of the
"puppy school" is to give both the owner and the puppy a
soft landing into obedience, explaining how the basic things are
taught to the dogs. The idea is that hopefully many will need those
skills in the future as they start whatever activities their owners
have in mind - so not only obedience. For us, the future is still a
big question mark but let's just say impossible is nothing, LOL!
| Our first task at the course was to teach the puppy
to look at you on cue. The owner was to raise his/her fists close to
the face level, holding a treat in one hand. The puppy should then
give up the treats and look at you in the eyes to get the treat. Well,
well... We had some difficulties with that, I confess, because as soon
as Nyara realized she should do something to
get the treat, she started jumping around all crazy trying to figure
out what she has to touch or what position to make to earn the
click!! Of course this was not a clicker task, so I couldn't help
her with that, and hence I was of course always late whenever she
happened to look at me for the 0,01 second... No matter what I would
say or what voices I'd make, she just kept |
|
| on guessing the act
that would work (examples:
"if I touch this chair with one paw?" "the other paw?"
"both paws?" "sit down?" "sit down touch the
chair?" "stand still?" "front down?" "touch
the wall?" "jump up high?" "lay down?" "lay
down, head down?" "give a paw?" "steal it from
your hand?" "bite your toes?" "sit pretty?"
"turn around?" "touch the chair again?" etc..).
Our neighboring sheltie owner sure had some fun as I was trying to
calm her down and make all those funny voices to lure her to look at
me... |
However, opposite to what one might think, I was
surprised but actually very glad about her reaction! All the fussing means that
a) she really understands what clicker training is about and b) she independently
tries to seek what she should do for the click (not looking at me at
all for help) and c) she didn't care about the other puppies at all
when it was time to "work" with me, even though that was
something I was a bit worried about beforehand - that she might not
want to concentrate playing with me much when all those new friends
were around! Surprise!
At the end of the class I then realized that there
actually is a word she recognizes for looking - or actually three
different words: "food", "hungry"
and "eating"... Ha ha!! So now I just have to add
"look" as one of them.
The following evening I decided we were going to
learn that game the right way: I took 10-15 small pieces of sausage in
my hand, sat on the sofa and asked Nyara to sit in front of me. Then I
just clicked when she happened to look at me. The first two were a bit
difficult, but clever girl figured out the game very fast (even
without the help of "food", "hungry" or "eating"!)
and that's all it took! She now recognizes the cue even when sitting
next to me (obedience position) and I even tried it at our agility
training with all the disturbance from the other dogs. Voilá, it
still does
work on first cue!
My clever little girl... :)
As homework we also got laying down and getting to
the left side sitting position. I think we have made some nice progress
with those, too, this week, thanks to the excellent tips! But these of course don't
have to be perfect at all at this age - they are and should be still
puppies! I think the most important thing is for the puppies to learn
how to learn, really. And that it can be so much fun!
So next lesson on Tuesday again!
8.11.
Happy Father's Day our dear Sir
Walter! (cover picture updated).
1.11.
Walter's handsome son Texas
(LC Ch Neliapilan Willilänsi) won EXC/1 and BOB-working class Afghan
at the Lahti Specialty from judge Tanya Ahlman-Stockmari! I couldn't
unfortunately stay for the finals due to our agility training class,
but his breeder Maija showed Texas
nicely to Runner-Up BIS Working class Sighthound! Congratulations Texi
& the Gardemeister family!
24.10.
Some things never change... :)
Märtha & puppy-Walter
in
autumn 1997 |
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| |
Walter & puppy-Felicia
in
autumn 2002 |
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Felicia & puppy-Nyara in autumn 2009
Believe it or not, but these days our silly Felicia - 7,5 years old - is like another puppy in the house
whenever Nyara is visiting. And when she's
not there, Felicia will be
waiting by the window, hoping for her to come soon again... Even we,
as her owners, sometimes find it hard to believe how childish Felicia
has become, and falling for Nyara so quickly! For once I
got to witness their every day life with my camera, so please, follow
the link to see some more photos
of Nyara & Felicia enjoying life together.
10.-11.10.
I wanted to - and did - finally participate in the
"Basic course for breeders" that is also the requirement of
the Finnish Kennel Club for anyone wishing to apply for a kennel name
(prefix). I even managed to persuade mom to join me, even though she
had already taken that course "sometimes during the golden
1970's...". However, at the course we noticed we weren't the only
Afghan people there at all... ;-)
So now also I have a diploma for passing the course
with flying colors and, should I want to, could apply for a kennel
name... We shall see about that... ;-) (And yes, mom did pass the test,
too!).
Also my grateful thanks to grandma who agreed to
look after Nyara for the long days during this
weekend, even though she had been there quite a lot this week already
while I was at work! Couldn't have done it without you, THANK YOU!
26.9.
Our Felicia continued her autumn activities with her
favourite sport - Lure Coursing! For once the competition was
situated very close to us, as it was held next to the Sighthound
Centre of the Sighthound Club of Helsinki in Tuomarinkartano! Our 7½
years old veteran showed a lot of enthusiasm once again, that also
little Nyara got to witness by the field for the first time:
Nyara (the big black hairy spot)
is wondering why
Terja looks as if she's in trouble walking Felicia to the field...
What?! Did I see a bunny over
there?!!!
Felicia, 7½ years old, clearly
ENJOYING!!
Felicia's placement today
was 14th out of 21 (males & bitches competing together). She did a
clear and happy round although it was obvious she was much slower than
her 2-year-old partner. The nice thing about this hobby is that the
dogs don't know anything about the placements, they are just filled
with happiness because they got to do it! In Felicia's
case, her good mood showed even the following day at our Agility
training, where I admit having my guidings wrong a few times because I
did not expect her to be that fast & clever!
What a nice way to end the lure coursing season for
this year!
23.9.
We did it! New photo of Nyara
posing is finally online! She is nearly 5 months old in the picture
which you will now find on top of her own page.
20.9.
A busy day at the Tampere Specialty show! The judge
of the day was Mrs. Ruth Wagner from Luxembourg, and our handling team
was much needed today:
- Pices Golden Galant "Lauri" got EXC/2nd with me in Juniors
- Pices Golden Gobra "Timothy" got EXC/3rd with mom in
Juniors
- Ch Pices Federico "Rico" got EXC/4th with mom in Champions
And in the Best Male competition we nearly ran out of hands thus
making a few changes - and eventually I ended up showing the Holy
Moses, Ch Neliapilan Hei Melennetään, to Best Male 1st!
In the bitches it was mainly my turn to keep on
excercising:
- Pices Golden Gazelle "Zena" got EXC/1st with me in Juniors
(out of 6!)
- our own Felicia was shown, too(!!), and
got EXC/2nd with me in Working class
- CIB Pices Flaminia "Luna" got EXC/3rd with me in Champions
And in the Best Bitch competition mom took her Felicia and I had Zena,
but none of the girls got final placements this time.
For the BOB-competition, Moses' owner Debi wanted
me to continue showing him and hip hip, we did take the win home!! I'm
so glad for you, Debi!
Showing the handsome Moses (Ch
Neliapilan Hei Melennetään) to Best Of Breed!
This was also the very first time Nyara
could join us to an official doggie event (because of her vaccination
programme), and actually we had our whole team with us today -
including Sir Walter, of course! Little
Nini was such a joy to have along, all excited about the amount of
people to kiss-kiss-kiss and doggie friends to play-play-play with!
She will be more than welcome to join us many times in the future also!
And at the same time, I couldn't help noticing the smile on Grandpa Walter's
face when he saw where we had come to - as he, too, has always loved
the atmosphere of being along at a show...!
19.9.
And only a week later, Niilo
(Walter's son Neliapilan Wesihiisi) was back
on track, him too - and now on the bit more rarely seen distance with
the Afghans, the 350 meters. He was second out of two in this heat,
but thus helped his friend Zorro to make a new official track record
for this distance in Tuomarinkartano/Helsinki! Hopefully I'll later on
find out what Niilo's own time from this
competition was.
13.9.
Walter's son Niilo
(Neliapilan Wesihiisi) took part in the Tampere GP track racing
competition. Unfortunately he got herassed by his own best friend
Maiju, who would have preferred just a play with him. :) However, the
strong-minded boy knew exactly why he was on the track and just kept
on going without losing the lure out of sight! His final placement was
then second out of three. Well done, Niilo,
and better luck for your next competition! We are so glad you got your
daddy's nerves, made of steel!!
6.9.
Today it was the turn of another brother to shine -
but not for the weather, though, LOL!! Walter's
son Niilo was entered to the All breeds
"Let's Go" dog show in Vantaa. Since the venue was for once
so close, I wanted to go and handle him myself. I got to witness with
my own eyes that he has indeed matured a lot, and even the judge must
have seen this since he gave him the Open class win and later placed
Niilo as 3rd Best Male with the CAC!!! Jippie! You can not imagine how
happy I was, standing there with that rosette in my hand - all wet
from the rain but it was so worth it!
CONGRATULATIONS owner Anu Lehto as well as the
backup team Arja Havia & Heikki Liukkonen for bringing him to the
show!
5.9.
Walter's son Texas
(LC Ch Neliapilan Willilänsi) was back on track today, taking part in
the SA-FA Race in Hyvinkää. There were four contestants in that heat
and Texas' placement was 3rd with the time 41.84 seconds. However, he
was the overall best male so he still got the title "SA-FA:n
VSP-Ratamestari 2009" ("BOS at the SA-FA Racing
Championships 2009"). Congratulations! His momma Gin
(Ch, LC Ch Neliapilan Ryövärintytär) was second at the Veteran
Championships.
30.8.
Mom went to Tervakoski Int. to show some Afghans of
our friends' when I realized I might not make it to our agility
training in time from there. Walter's son Niilo
(Neliapilan Wesihiisi) was one of them, and boy has he matured into a
lovely young man!! Niilo enjoyed the
show so much that he eventually even became 3rd Best Male over a nice
bunch of top winning Champions! ;) The CAC went to the overall winner
so he had to settle with the Res-CAC. But what a thrill, Niilo!!
Congratulations, Anu & rest of the family!
In bitches mom showed "my regular girl"
and Felicia's sister Luna (CIB Pices
Flaminia) to 2nd Best Bitch placement with Res-CACIB! And Luna's
daughter Zena (Pices Golden Gazelle) had already earlier been awarded
with BOB-puppy, shown by mom, too! So not a bad day at all!
At the home front we made it to the agility
trainings in time, and by 'we' I mean "the power girls" as
this was now the first time little Nyara got
to join Felicia and me to sense the
atmosphere! I have to say I was so blown away by her behaviour once
again - the minute the car went on she went "off" not waking
up until we were there (of course it was not her first time in the car,
but it's a rather long drive still and first time accompanied by
another Afghan)! And at the training field she just jumped out of the
car, walked in the middle of all the other Afghans (never seen so many
Afghans at once before) and with a happily confident wagging tail just
said "Hi, I'm Nyara and I'm here to join all you guys in the FUN
allright!" She is just so wonderfully easy to have along!
29.8.
Life must go on and today I received the opposite
kind of message informing that Sir Walter has
once again become GRANDPA! His daughter, the beautiful Helmi
(CIB Fi Ee Lt Ch FiJW-06 BaltW-08 Neliapilan Wedenneito) is now the
proud mom of nine little babies - six boys and three girls in black
& tan and brindle colours. The sire of the newborn litter is the
young EeJW-09 Neliapilan Bengalintiikeri "Alf" (sired
himself by CIB Trouble du Menuel Galopin out of CIB Neliapilan
Jukebox). For more information on the litter, please see the website
of kennel Neliapilan.
Sir Walter is now
currently the proud father of 18 and grandfather of 27 kids!
Warm greetings to you all!
My darlings!!
Sir Walter with his granddaughter Nyara
27.8.
We got the sad message that Felicia's
darling mother Rose (CIB Fi Se No Lv Ch NordW-99 Khaos Black Rose) has
left us and crossed the rainbow bridge... We have so many dear
memories of her, as she used to be a regular visitor in grandma's
garden, looking after the "kids's" play together with "reserve-husband"
Walter, and in the show rings she used to be
shown by my mom and me, too. Thinking of those shows with her still
brings the smile on my face - and cold sweat on my back, because even
as a "routined champion" she truly enjoyed giving the
handler a hard time! I can not remember ever showing another bitch
with such an incredibly angulated front ... that was still always
"tangled" because that was her favourite handler fooling
trick: to slide the feet together so that the handler didn't see or
feel anything happen. What a Queen! And remembered by many more than
just us for her wonderful construction, classic type and stubborn
Afghan attitude!
Rose, we miss you, too!
CIB Fi Se No Lv Ch NordW-99 Khaos
Black Rose 15.09.1996 - 27.08.2009
26.8.
The "Texas-report"
continues... After a busy weekend being "handsome" Texas
wanted to show everyone that he's "not just a pretty face"
going on to WIN the track racing competition - the Sighthound Club of
Helsinki (HVK) Cup!! His winning time was 41.23 seconds, not bad!
23.8.
The following day from Kouvola Texas
was out again, this time at the Heinola all-breeds show under Peter
Harsanyi from Hungary. Texas was again
graded as 'Excellent' but wasn't placed in the open class for being
too American (if I really understood it right)...? But he got such
excellent reviews that you can really be proud of!
22.8.
Walter's son Texas
(LC Ch Neliapilan Willilänsi) performed today at the Kouvola
all-breeds show for the judge Tuula Savolainen. Texas
won the working class with 'Excellent' and got the great 2nd Best Male
-placement with Res-CAC! Well done, but so close again!
The same day his sister Liana
(Triple Ch Neliapilan Wuorikristalli) was the only one representing
the family at the Finnish Lure Coursing Championships. Her final
placement was 6th with the points 208 + 183 = 391. Good job, Liana!
15.-16.8.
With no shows at all since our National Specialty
in the beginning of June, I was more than glad to be back in the rings
this weekend!! Grandma kindly offered to stay at home with all three
of our Afghans while mom and I woke up early this Saturday and headed
towards Tammela to attend the annual Specialty of the Sighthound Club
of Finland. The Afghan Hounds were to be judged by the respected breed
& Sighthound specialist and current president of the German
Sighthound Club (DWZRV), Mrs. Wilfriede Schwerm-Hahne, kennel
Cizfaha's, from Germany.
I was kindly given 4 Afghans to show and started with
the two kids of Felicia's sister. The "young
little show machine"
Lauri (Pices Golden Galant) was a joy to guide around the ring and
right to the first placement in front of his two brothers. Sister Zena
(Pices Golden Gazelle) preferred showing up to her name, jumping
around like a little gazelle indeed! The little cutie still took some
steps right (and did pose like a princess, though!) ending up winning the puppy
bitches. So in the BOB Puppy competition mom stepped
in to help, and won the rosette with brother Lauri, while Zena was
awarded with BOS Puppy!
In the adult classes I showed Walter's handsome son
Texas (Fi Ee LC Ch PMM-07 Neliapilan Willilänsi) who got 'Excellent'
and won the Working class. In the Best Male he was placed fourth and
awarded with the Res-CAC! Well done, Texas!
In bitches I only handled Felicia's beautiful
sister Luna (CIB Pices Flaminia) who was once again prepared to top condition
and showing like a queen! I really felt like as if she was especially
glad to be back in the rings with me again (no offence to the
substitute handlers she's had during my absence)... To our big enjoyment
Mrs.
Schwerm-Hahne thought she was The One today and awarded Luna with the
Best Of Breed against her "husband" Moses (Ch Neliapilan Hei
Melennetään, father of Lauri and Zena etc.)!!
Me & Luna (CIB Pices Falminia)
on the right winning BOB,
the judge Mrs. Wilfriede Schwerm-Hahne in the middle,
and Luna's "husband" Moses (Ch Neliapilan Hei Melennetään)
on the left with owner-handler Debi!
However, problems arose due to this unexpected win,
since I had planned to celebrate my upcoming birthday in "non-doggie"
company on Sunday when the Group finals would be held... With some
careful planning we managed to organize everything, as the finals were
luckily due to begin later in the afternoon. As we were driving
towards Mustiala, in good time as we thought, we got a nervous phone
call from Luna's owners telling us that the finals would start over an
hour before the time given in the show letter! We had 20 minutes time
to get there - but still at least 40 minutes to drive...! Luna's owner
Marjo-Riitta refused to let us turn around and return home "being
too late" and somehow we made it to the show grounds only a few
minutes after the Group 10 judging had begun. I rushed straight into
the ring from the car and took over Luna's handling from the kindly
assisting Janica. Luna herself thought it was all a big joke and put
her best foot forward! Finally, the Group judge Mrs. Schwerm-Hahne
chose Luna to Group 1st!! Something we definately value from among so
many beautiful Sighthounds!
|
Photo: Ari Salmela
|
In the Best In Show competition we were against the
Basenji, who had won his Group under the BIS judge Mr. Oliveira from
Portugal. Luna still gave all she got and was proud to be crowned
Runner Up to Specialty Best In Show! What a way to spend a birthday!
Thank You judges for the nice "present", he hee... :)
P.S. I'm hoping to get more photos from this
weekend, too, especially from the Group finals...! Anyone?
8.8.
I received two lovely photos of Felicia at the
Tottijärvi Int. LC competition from Eva Piiparinen and Ari Salmela, Thank You
both!
Felicia (in blue) waiting for the
Tally-Ho!
with friend Siiri (in red) and the owners Terja & Pilvi.
2.8.
Walter's son Chivas
(CIB Chivas del Ghyryo) was the only "kid" shown at
Donaueschingen ("The German Skokloster") this year. He
gained EXC/3rd on Saturday from Mr. Alain Campagne, France, and EXC/4th
on Sunday from Mr. Nielsen, Canada. We can be very glad for these
achievements, since especially on Sunday the 'Excellents' were
definately not given to everyone! You can find all the results and
more pictures from f.ex. Afghanen.de. |
|
 |
There's also one more new photo of Chivas racing on
his page. I just love this shot!
1.8.
Felicia went to the
international Lure Coursing competition in Tottijärvi, near Tampere,
to take part in the Afghan Hound Club of Finland's Veteran LC
Championships! The course turned out to be one of the toughest we've
ever seen, with nearly 800 meters on a hilly grass field going up and
down and up and... Really asking for Sighthounds with stamina! Our Felicia
didn't mind the demanding course at all and enjoyed the day a lot! She
was even on a tied leading position in the Veteran category after the
first run, but the two boys overtook her in the finals leaving Felicia
to the 3rd best & "BOS" Veteran ... ;) However, Felicia's
overall placement was one step better than after the first round,
going 9th out of 21 Afghan Hounds, so not bad at all! And with this
achievement - her second placement to the better half at international
LC competitions - she is now qualified for the Working class at the
international dog shows from now on, too! Yippee!
Since I was not there myself, instead taking care
of "my darlings" Sir Walter & Nyara
at home, I'm hoping to find some photos somewhere to add later on!
28.7.
And again another new set of photos added to Nyara's
gallery. :)
26.7.
I received nice photos from Liliane, the owner of Walter's son
CIB Chivas del Ghyryo (and Nyara's
brother Indigo del G., by the way!), showing Chivas
having a go at track racing on the Belgian Afghan
Hound Club's summer event day! It seems to me that he had a clear view
right away what
to do and really enjoyed the run!
More photos of Chivas racing added to his
own page.
| 22.7.
The July is passing by high speed
and my "pupernity leave" is shortly coming to an end
- 4 weeks on a holiday, and back to work next week, jipi... Actually,
I think this was the first time I had a holiday this long and
still got paid during it!
However, on this website there's now a new photo collection
for Nyara, the cutie wearing her
adorable puppy snoods!
|
|
|
9.7.
We are back ONLINE!!
After nearly a year's absence, I decided to
celebrate this journey of ours of 40 years with the Afghan Hounds with
a new website design layout! I hope it will turn out functioning OK
for most visitors at least... ;-)
And from now on, you can again expect some regular
updates on the site, too!
28.6.
The first night home went OK with Nyara,
and I slept the whole night on the floor with her. When we left Gent I
already noticed that she is quite bonded to me - already - and I think
that also helped with the settling, not feeling "all alone".
And today it was time to meet our Walter
& Felicia and the two big gardens!
More pictures from today can be seen from Nini's
gallery.
27.6.
Yesterday (Friday) it was time to fly back to Belgium
- to bring home our new family member NYARA (Ishnyara
del Ghyryo)! The trip was full of activities, as our luggage got lost
already on the way from Helsinki to Brussels and probably visited
China before we got it delivered to the door early Saturday morning...
But once again we got to enjoy the good company and
enormous hospitality of Nyara's breeders, Thank You so much! On Saturday I
helped to wash 5 of the puppies (yup, a real "puppy washing
mashine") who then left to their new homes. And in the afternoon
it was finally time to pack our own Nyara to the car and begin the
long journey home.
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| Mom Cayra making sure no
puppies were harmed during the bathing! |
Nyara definately did not enjoy the car ride (and let
us know that!), so we were wondering how the long flight home would go...
But clever girl behaved like she had been at the airport a dozen of
times, walking head and tail up in front of me (first time on the
leash!!), drank a little, ate a little, peed on a safe spot - and fell
asleep... She was laying calmly in the bag for the whole flight and
didn't even notice our landing to Helsinki-Vantaa! What a brave little
girl!!
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| Waiting at the Brussels
Airport with Nyara |
THANK YOU our Dear Friends for giving me the chance to
get the precious little Nyara!! You can not imagine what it means to
me to finally realise the dream of having an Afghan living with me -
and her even being a Cayra daughter & granddaughter of my darling
Walter!!
22.6.
Walter's 75% sister Suzi (CIB Neliapilan
Yksinäinen Suzi) and her owner Harri turned together 50 years this
spring and wanted to celebrate that in good company by organizing an
unofficial agility competition for the Afghan Hounds! The competition
was called The Suzi-Cup 2009, and of course we wanted to participate!
Many of our agility students were also there, and the judge &
course designer was our own agility teacher Kirsi Nousiainen. The
participants were divided into two groups - beginners and advanced -
and according to the rules nobody would get disqualified. :)
Felicia & I started in the advanced
group and had a lot of fun during the course! The only obstacle she
first missed was the dog-walk, but got there with a little help anyway.
Otherwise I think we did not do any other mistakes, and our time was
OK, too. At the end of the day the results were given and to our big
surprise, Felicia & I WON the Suzi Cup!!
Hip hip!
Of course the purpose of the evening was to just have FUN and that
we did allright! There is always something special with the "Afghan
way" of doing agility, LOL! And for me it was of course so nice
to also see all the progress our students have done during our
trainings! There were several couples that I felt really proud of!
Good job, everyone!
I hope that we can now somehow begin a tradition with this
competition - there are actually quite many Afghans training agility
in Finland at the moment!
I also took a bunch of photos from the day, have a look at my
web photography site! Unfortunately, though, the texts are now
only in Finnish, but I guess you can at least figure out the official
names of the participants (and I let the pictures make you laugh by
themselves!)!! If extra points could be given for doing it in style,
I'm sure the trophy should have gone to our friends Mango &
Hannele, ha ha!
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Felicia & I rushing to
the finish line
|
13.-14.6.
Mom and I packed our bags and flew to Belgium to see Walter's
daughter Cayra's 6,5 weeks old
puppies and, yes..., to CHOOSE the girl who will be moving to us in Finland in
just two weeks! And here she is:
Thank you friends for the many laughs and good time we got to spend
with you! See you in two weeks again... ;-)
To find out more, surf to Delghyryo.com!
12.6.
Walter's son Chivas
(CIB Chivas del Ghyryo) was shown today in Oss, the Netherlands, for
the judge Mr. Huber from the USA. Chivas
won the Champion class and got res-CACIB & res-CAC!
Congratulations Liliane & the Gang!
9.6.
Our dear Sir Walter celebrates his
12th BIRTHDAY TODAY!!
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Sir Walter pictured at the
SA-FA National Specialty
only three days before his 12th Birthday!! |
Still in excellent condition, knowing what he wants
and when, but on the other hand what a sweet teddy-bear he has
become...! He's just one of those you wish you could keep with you
forever!!
Sir Walter's many friends
also sent us so many nice
greetings today, we are very touched! Thank You each and everyone!!
6.6.
One of the highlights of the year is always the SA-FA
Afghan Hound National Specialty! This year the invited judges were Mrs.
Sammi Willson, kennel Shibarghan, from South-Africa (adult classes)
and Mrs. Säde Hohteri (puppies and juniors)! Total entry of Afghan
Hounds was great - 131!
For my family this day is also full of duties, and
preparations begin several weeks before. And still I somehow managed
to find time to groom two Afghans and handle seven!
The day began with the puppies, and I first handled
the young "Lauri" Pices Golden Galant to 2nd place in his
class with Honour prize! In the bitch puppies' class I was trying to
navigate "Miss Zena" Pices Golden Gazelle, who once again
charmed the audience and the judge by being just so sweet as candy! In
the end Zena went all the way to BIS-puppy!!
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Showing "Zena"
Pices Golden Gazelle
to BIS puppy at the Finnish National Specialty
with the judge Mrs. Säde Hohteri! |
In the adult classes the only Walter's kid that
entered the ring was son Texas (FI & EE LC
Ch, PMM-07 Neliapilan Willilänsi). He enjoyed the big ring and took the first placement in
the Working class with 'excellent' and a head held high!
In the bitches I was kept busy with a strike of
four classes in a row! First, in the Open class, I was asked to show
Miisa (Neliapilan Seitsemäs Käsky), who this time gained 'Very Good'
along with quite many. In the Working class I showed our own Felicia,
who was also awarded with 'Very Good' and the fourth placement with a
wagging tail again! The next class was the Champions were I handled Felicia's sister Luna
(CIB Pices Flaminia), who took a grand slam and
won the whole class!! After the victory and some photo taking I
hurried to the ringside to change numbers once again and to grab the
Veteran lady Kukka (FI Ch FIJW-01 SM-02 DV-03 Neliapilan
Tähdenlento), who was very happy to be in the ring after a veeeeery
long break! Kukka's placement was 3rd in the class with 'excellent'.
In the Best Bitch class I chose to show Luna, who
fought really hard for the placement and was finally pointed out as
second!! What a comeback to the rings after raising a litter of 9!!
The judge also commented on her superb muscle condition - no wonder if
you happen to know that she has been doing nothing else but playing
with her puppies all spring along!
There was still one competition to take part in,
and that was the choice of Best In Show Working Class dog. To our big
joy the judge's decission went to "our" Texas!!
In the evening we enjoyed a lovely dinner with the
judges - a tradition of the Club.
What a wonderful day! I hope I can find more
pictures from the show to add later!
31.5.
Tampere calling again, this time it was just me and
Felicia who headed there to participate in the "SA-FA Racing
Day" of the Afghan Hound Club of Finland. Car filled with all
necessities, as it was a really hot day, we left driving alone. I had
promised Felicia as a friend for a racing licence
candidate, as one
approved solo run and two group test runs are needed in here before
you can participate in real competitions. We all wanted to race our
Afghans as early as possible, when it was still cool and cosy - and
luckily we could. After the run Felicia was
still totally crazy about the lure and
herself thought it was not at all too hot to go to the track again!
What a fit "veteran" she is...
After our turn we were just chilling in the shadow
talking with friends and enjoying the day. Later on we also got to
listen to a very interesting lecture of Sighthound physiotherapeutics
and proper training schedules. Thanks to all at the orginizing group
for putting up a very enjoyable and thought-giving day!!
In the evening Felicia & I drove directly to
our agility training, where we train regularly every Sunday, but even had the chance to sleep in the car for
45 minutes before it, what a luxury!
In the car we also got a nice SMS from Liliane who
has Walter's son Chivas
(CIB Chivas del Ghyryo) in Belgium. Chivas had won BOB with CAC in
Arnhem, the Netherlands for the judge Mrs. Lilian Hanniste from
Estonia! Way to go, Chivas!!
23.5.
The International Aptus Show in Helsinki was once
again held at the traditional Ice hockey hall. I joined Walter's son
Texas (LC Ch Neliapilan Willilänsi) and his mom Helena
Gardemeister,
as the other owner Sini was on a holiday in Monaco. Texas visibly
enjoyed being in the ring and gathered many comments of having matured
into a fine adult male! Slowly but surely, as it so often is with the
"big Afghan boys".
The judge Mr. Erwin Deutscher from Austria also
took a liking to our boy, placing him first in the competitive Open
class. In the Best Male Texas was not left unnoticed
either and I decided not to
give in a second for the CAC, and indeed we didn't! Texas' finally
placed magnificently as 2nd Best Male with his very first CAC and even
the res-CACIB!! Only losing to the BOB & BIG-1 winner and current
leader of the Afghan of the Year -competition. Not bad at all, Texi!!
:)
You can just try to imagine our joy and the face of
Sini when we called her in Monaco to share the news... :D WE ARE SO HAPPY FOR
YOU, TOO!!
16.5.
Me and mom headed to Tampere Puppy Show to help out
our friends Marjo-Riitta and Teija (kennel Pices) with handling a
bunch of golden puppies.
We enjoyed the day to the full, and why not when
all - the weather, the company and the results - were excellent!
BOB-puppy rosette was given to "Zena"
Pices Golden Gazelle, the pick of the litter of the breeders, and
shown by me. Zena also went on to 2nd place in the Group - and
enjoying every second of attention her, too!
BOS-puppy went to brother "Timo" Pices
Golden Gobra, owned by Debi Pomrening-Virtanen and the breeders, and
shown by mom. So eventually this became another mother vs. daughter
competition that I can count to my victory, ha ha!
 |
BOS-puppy "Timo"
Pices Golden Galant with mom,
judge Markku Mähönen,
BOB & BIG-2 puppy "Zena" Pices Golden Gazelle
with me
|
Also Zena & Timo's brothers and sister did very well, and
together the Golden quartet even took home the BIS-1 Breeders Group
trophy!! More photos and info of the day at the breeders' website: www.kolumbus.fi/pices.
10.5.
On the mothers' day today, both my "moms"
went away to Turku to take Felicia competing in Lure Coursing while
Walter & I stayed home. It was not the course for Felicia,
though,
as her points were only 187 and placement 10th... But it was
heart-warming to hear once again how so many would have wished their
dogs to be paired up against her, since she's so well known for her
"fair play spirit". However, it seems that the coursings are
more the youngsters' cup of tea these days, so we have to see how many
races she still gets to run this summer. On the other hand, this is
the last year she is allowed to race anymore, being already a veteran!
At home Walter & I enjoyed the peaceful Sunday
with a long walk in the forests and fields, eating well and doing some
regular coat care. Soon it was time to go to the agility training where
Walter
joined me as "assisting coach". It was nice to spend a
little special time together!
1.5.
Walter's German daughter Cyra
(Ch & B+P Ch Cyra del Ghyryo, CU, CLU) went to Italy, and on
Friday, at Padenghe sul Garda, won the Working class and
was awarded an Italian CAC! On Sunday it was time for some Lure Coursing at
Manerba del Garda, where she gained 3rd place out of 16 bitches!! The
bitch CACIL and win going to her best friend Bashana d'Avicenna!
CONGRATULATIONS family Moser (kennel d'Avicenna) for the nice weekend in
Italy!
27.4.
Walter's beautiful
daughter C.I.B. Cayra del Ghyryo gave
birth to eight beautiful puppies today! 5 handsome boys and 3 gorgeous
girls with one very special little princess among them... ;-) Sire of
the litter is the C.I.B Boxadan Master Millenium. Have a look at the kennel
Del Ghyryo website for more info!
25.4.
Well this is truly "news" - we showing
one of our own at a dog show!!
Sir Walter being retired now, it was of course Felicia, who had "only"
had a show break of 10½ months...! But sometimes that's needed to get
them on the spirit again, and I have to say, I don't think I've ever
shown Felicia bursting of energy, nearly flying and wagging her tail
constantly like today!! It was truly a pleasure
and fun time being in the ring with her! Amazing what a long break and some clicker training
can do... ;-)
The judge Mr. David Allan from Spain also noticed the
beauty in her, placing Felicia second in the Champion class of five
with 'excellent' (a grade that truly had to be earned today)!
Altogether 31 males and 20 bitches were shown to Mr. Allan today at
this Lahti International (CACIB) show, so
it was a very nice entry, too!
 |
Felicia & me pictured in
Lahti Int. together with
her sister Theba (Ch Pices Filomena) |
After the show we went out to take some photos of
her - with nice success, which you can see on Felicia's own page
now!
On our way home we stopped to eat some junk
food(...) and got a call there from Germany with some super exciting news:
Walter's Greman daughter B+P Ch Cyra del
Ghyryo has today finished her German (DWZRV) Championship
with the last required CAC & also VDH at Oberhausen-Reinhausen!!
The judge was Mr. von Lehn!
CONGRATULATIONS Hans-Jürgen & Ingrid Moser
(kennel d'Avicenna) for the wonderful achievement - we are so very
proud of the multi-talented girl, Cyra!
15.4.
Non-doggie news for a change: to my big surprise I
had gotten a call from Raisio
Oyj that their Research Foundation would like to award me with a
scholarship for the exceptional work with my masters' thesis! So it
was with great pleasure I drove to their premises in Raisio to take
part in their spring seminar and to be awarded in front of the
audience! Wow! Thanks to Raisio Oyj, I have now decided to realize my
dream of a new camera - the Canon 40D!
Read more (in Finnish): Maatalous-metsätieteellisen
tiedekunnan tiedote.
11.4.
In Hoope, Germany, Walter's daughter Cyra
(B+P Ch Cyra del Ghyryo, CU, CLU) won the working class and was later
on awarded with the res-CAC. Well done, that was close! Only one
ticket missing...!
5.4.
The winners from last year were awarded today at
the Afghan Hound Club of Finland's official spring meeting. We are
proud to present you the following:
Racing Afghan Hound of the Year 2008
1. FI Ch, FI LC Ch, FI R Ch, SM-07 PMM-07 CVM-08 DVM-08 DV-08
Neliapilan Wuorikristalli "Liana"
6. Neliapilan Wesihiisi "Niilo"
Fastest Afghan Hound of the Year 2008
1. FI Ch, FI LC Ch, FI R Ch, SM-07 PMM-07 CVM-08 DVM-08 DV-08
Neliapilan Wuorikristalli "Liana", average time 40.33 s (of
three best from two tracks)
2. Neliapilan Wesihiisi "Niilo", average time 41.78 s (of
three best from two tracks)
Newcomer in Racing of the Year 2008
1. FI Ch EEJW-06 Neliapilan Walkoapila "Jade"
Lure Coursing Afghan Hound of the Year 2008
2. FI Ch EEJW-06 Neliapilan Walkoapila "Jade"
3. FI Ch, FI LC Ch, FI R Ch, SM-07 PMM-07 CVM-08 DVM-08 DV-08
Neliapilan Wuorikristalli "Liana"
6. FI EE LC Ch, PMM-07 Neliapilan Willilänsi "Texas"
Working Class Afghan Hound of the Year 2008
1. FI EE LC Ch, PMM-07 Neliapilan Willilänsi "Texas"
Active Afghan Hound of the Year 2008
2. FI EE LC Ch, PMM-08 Neliapilan Willilänsi "Texas"
Show Afghan Hound Bitch of the Year
10. CIB FI EE LT Ch FIJW-06 BALTW-08 Neliapilan Wedenneito
"Helmi"
CONGRATULATIONS to you all for the magnificent
results, placements and new titles you gained during 2008! You make
your daddy burst from pride!! Thank you also to all the families for
taking so good care of your beloved Afghans!
Felicia also wishes to congratulate her sister Luna
(CIB FI NO SE LT LV Ch FIW-03 NORDW-05-06 Pices Flaminia) for her
marvellous 3rd place at the Show Afghan Hound Bitch -competition,
shown by Tuuli!
1.4.
I got a tip from a friend that a very famous
etologist Dr. Ádám Miklósi would be giving a guest lecture at the
University of Helsinki - and of course I wanted to be there! It turned
out to be a rather interesting evening, though unfortunately I have to
say it didn't quite reach my expectations... The videos were nice to
see and I admit testing one of the situations with our own Walter
& Felicia, but much more time would have been needed to get deeper
into the subject. This was just a scratch to the introduction (evolution
of dogs & wolfs) that brought me no big news - nor did the
conclusion: "a dog is a dog, a wolf is a wolf - thus a dog is
not a wolf!". Yep yep...
However, I must say I'm always glad to support the
dog genome project of Dr. Hannes Lohi & his team - the group
arranging this event also! To find out more about what Dr. Miklósi
talked about, please go here: Ádám
Miklósin luento keräsi jättiyleisön (in
Finnish!).
16.3.
Walter's daughter Jade
(Ch Neliapilan Walkoapila)
had won the title "Lure Coursing Afghan Hound of the Year"
of the Sighthound Club of Helsinki, and since her owners were away on
a show tour "the granny" was asked to represent her and
bring home the trophies. I was of course more than happy to do that!
Congratulations Jade & family Staf for the great
achievement!!
15.3.
This time I traveled alone by train to watch the
International show in Tampere today. Mom was already in town due to
her work, so we thought it would be nice to just go together and see
the judging of Mr. Wendell Moore from GB. At the end of the day I found
myself having been in the ring with two Walter's kids
anyway, so there I
was again.
Walter's son Niilo (Neliapilan
Wesihiisi) I showed to a fine 3rd placement with Excellent in
the class of 8 open males! And he really enjoyed showing today, so
Thanks Anu for entering him!
Niilo's sister Helmi
(Ch Neliapilan Wedenneito) was originally handled by their breeder Arja Kettunen and
together they swept the table with Helmi's Best Bitch and final
CACIB!!
Helmi is now the first from this litter to finish the INTERNATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIP and Walter's overall 3rd Int Champion
kid!! SUPER
CONGRATULATIONS to family Salonen! The very second Mr. Moore pointed
Helmi to Best Bitch Arja stopped running and could hardly take another
step after this with her recently operated knee (stubborn as she is,
she just had to show her)... Hence I got the opportunity to show Helmi
in the BOB-competition - winning together BOS to today's overall BIS
winner, not bad! ;-)
|
|
The NEW International Champion, Walter's
daughter
Neliapilan Wedenneito "Helmi"
|
7.3.
It was time for the annual Winter Coursings in
Mustiala where also Felicia likes to
participate! This year the males
and bitches raced separately, and 7 males & 19 bitches entered!
"Lucky" Felicia got paired up against the fast newcomer girl
who ended up winning the whole competition (congratulations!)...
However, we were very
glad to find out that our winter excercises had been beneficial, as
she was not at all tired even though she decided to cut a across the
deep snow to keep up with her partner! Well done Felicia, always glad to see that happy face after
the run despite of the final placement of 15th... :)
Some of Walter's kids were there
too, and the star
of the day was again son Texas (LC Ch Neliapilan
Willilänsi) who won
the competition with "BOB" Afghan Hound points of 464! His
brother Niilo (Neliapilan Wesihiisi) also got to the finals as second
best after the first heat, being very close to his last LC-CAC, but
once again decided to "enjoy" the final run a bit too much -
resulting in his 4th placement in the males' category with 388 points.
Sometimes it's tough to chase after the last CAC
needed, as also sister Jade (Ch Neliapilan
Walkoapila) found out.
Unfortunately she didn't make it to the finals this time, though still
placing as 10th. Their sister Liana (Triple Ch Neliapilan
Wuorikristalli) was however overall 3rd in the bitches with 455 points
and the LC-CAC-quality.
Congratulations Sini, Texas,
Liana & Outi!! And
fingers crossed Jade & Niilo, I'm sure you'll get the last LC-CAC
eventually...!
1.3.
Felicia and her siblings celebrated their 7th
birthday yesterday, and today her breeders came for some cake -
together with sisters Sarah, Luna & "the Teletubbies".
Thanks for a lovely afternoon once again and congratulations to all Felicia's brothers and
sisters!!
21.2.
During the winter we have taken part in the group
dog park events organized by the SA-FA activity committee. This time I
also had my (smaller) camera with us, so below are a few shots.
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Felicia trying get her sister Theba to play
again
|
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Walter is wondering what's up with Tony?!
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"I better guard him until he's feeling
better again"
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Walter and his new friend Tony (Ingenue
INXS) sharing a spot
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Walter (right) running with a friend
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We were quite many - maybe about half of us in
this photo!
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Just a view (with also both Walter &
Felicia in the same picture)
|
15.2.
Felicia's sister Luna's
puppies from the Pices Golden G -litter came for a visit!
Auntie Felicia was not so
keen on the "Teletubbies" but Sir
Walter showed us all once again his wonderful character by guiding
the kids on a "tour around his backyard"...
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Waltie: "Well hello, and whose kids are
you then?"
Puppies: "Ohh, your highness, the lord of this backyard,
we come to you so modest and humble..."
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Waltie: "Oh my, there are even more of
them...
Well, let me show you around here then..."
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Waltie: "One, two, three, fo... Let's
keep together, kids!"
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"Here we go again, left, right, left..."
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Over the hill, us too...
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Our darling Walter... Always knows the right
thing to do!
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Eero & Tuomas (9 weeks old) visiting us
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Aren't they just so adorable!!
Please find more info from the Pices
website - Lauri is still looking for a home of his own!
1.1.
Happy New Year everyone!!
