Happiness is a Timberdoodle

Happiness is a "Timberdoodle!"

 J & A's Timberdoodle of Acton  1/1/05 - 5/2/07

Sire: FC/AFC Coos Rylee

Dam:  Ruby Mountain of Coos

It's the weekend of the Central Maine Brittany Club fall field trial.  At every field trial, I spend a lot of time thinking about Timber, Scooby's father.  I remember calling Ray Gorman on New Years Day 2005 looking for a liver and white Brittany male.  Rays wife Martha said just so happens there is a litter being born right now!  And the rest was history, albeit a short one. It was love at first sight for John, Timberdoodle, and me. I spent the entire first summer of his life training and preparing him for the woods and for his first trial, even though I had no idea what a field trial was. Two times a day we would work together; basic yard work then later bird work. Oh he was something else and I was proud because I can honestly say I trained Timber all by myself! In all fairness though, John was still working about 60 hours a week and he did help me with the birdwork.  On the day of that first field trial Timber and I had a crash course which I'll never forget!  We did get a placement which felt like Olympic Gold!  In time there were offers to bring him south to campaign over the winter months but I wanted to keep him home with me.  The following year, he did go south for training and was on more birds than probably any other dog would have in a lifetime.  He came home a finely tuned athlete, and we were in a position to campaign him ourself.  But it was not to be.  A hidden killer lay deep within his body, a rapidly growing, rare histiosarcosis sarcoma in Brittanys common only to Bernese Mountain Dogs.  Within one month of returning home, after weeks and weeks of tests, visits to vets, specialists and more Timber died on the operating table of a heart attack upon the neurologists discovery of the cancer that had demolished his spine and all the tissue surrounding it... My memories of Timber are rich and wonderful and very special ones of my boy surface at this fall field trial each year. There is usually so much going on that I do not dwell on our loss, but I do take the time to walk that particular course we ran together.  I have also run a pup or two there since losing Timber.  I find it is very difficult.  I ran his son Scooby there the year after Timber died but I was way too emotional, took things way personal and it just hurt.  I was glad to do it though, it was part of my healing.  Now when I walk that same course good memories surround me. Sometimes my eyes fill briefly with tears. But it's okay.  And I would not have missed that brief time of enjoyment with Timberdoodle for anything. We were both robbed, the cancer was a vicious, uncaring thief stealing life from a 2 year old Brittany.  It has taken time to work through.  Timber will be in my heart...always.... forever and always.  

So, our Brittany club's field trial is this weekend and two Brittanys that we bred are entered; littermates Bailey and Bullet. It's the last time they can compete in a derby age stake because they will turn two years old on September 17th.  Bailey is just 1 leg away from her Junior Hunter title and has many significant field placements in both puppy and derby stakes (she placed in derby stakes when still a puppy).  Bullet won first place in the club's field trial derby stakes this past spring which is where he won his first field points.  He is dual pointed, something we are very proud of.  These two littermates also both competed in the American Brittany Club's Eastern Futurity Field Trial and Specialty Show.   Miss Bailey was the 4th place money dog in the Gundog Trial!  Out of Jack and Chrissy you could say we're very proud of them!  Remi who is also out of that litter has also pleased his owner and has proven to be an amazing hunting partner. Other pups from this litter and of this breeding have done amazingly well in the field. Zoey who is out of Jack and Chrissy's first litter (if you read our Facebook page you know this) was here one day last week for a field grooming. She is in New Hampshire and her hunting season for geese began this week. She's another fortunate girl who hunts frequently at a hunting preserve from April through the winter. Roxie is littermate to Zoey and she earned her Junior Hunter title at 15 months old.

We are proud of all our dogs though, here, there, near or far.  Those Brittanys who enjoy life as the families best friend are just as amazing as those who do get out and do some competitive dog events.  Each one is special in their own right and I do not mean to downplay this or feel that other Brittany who do not compete or even hunt are less significant for that is not the case.  We do try very hard to make sure the majority of pups in any given litter do go to hunting families though.  This helps us as breeders to be able to evaluate the progress of our selective breeding program here. And believe me it is very selective.  While I'm thrilled to see the conformation in our Brittanys continue to improve there will never be a time when the hunting instinct and ability is less than what it has always been.  So we know we have some wonderful, well loved dogs out there who are taller and leggier than other Brittanys may be.  They all hunt. They all are loved and well cared for.  (Speaking of size there surely are some Brittanys that are extremely small and tiny but  I don't think that's a problem we're going to see in the near future anyway.)  I find that when I talk about our dogs I am mindful to try to be all inclusive mentioning each one in the same way I try to acknowledge each of our grandchildren equally!!! This weekend I will also enjoy seeing Starr and Nashdog at the field trials! 

It's been awesome for John this summer to be helping out a friend of his with dog training, and who also had one of True's littermates there for the season as well - she's doing fantastic!  We've enjoyed visits from most of the folks who have these pups and frequent updates. If you look back to the archives beginning in October 2009 you can follow the development of these particular pups.  Casper came and visited with us a few afternoons with her owners and John enjoyed offering tips and guidance there.  Miss Brandi recently had her NAVHDA Pre-test for her title there, and the result was if it had been the real test she would have earned the NA Prize I.  Looking forward to seeing how she does.  I really could go on and on and have something so positive to say about all of these pups that are in such wonderful families who not only support our breeding goals but in many cases our own philosophy as well.  

One of these days I am going to simply list the names of all the preserves, trainers, and clubs that J&A's Brittanys are known at to help others who may be looking for places to go with their dogs.

This weekend the field trial will be a lot of fun I am sure - they always are!  The whole month of September consists of weekend after weekend of hunt tests and/or field trials. They go well into the fall too.  In some cases you have to pick and choose because it's impossible to be two places at the same time unless you split into groups of two with your dogs!  We may do that in a couple of instances.  I am anxious to run our two younger ones in a couple of trials and see how they do.  John's worked hard with all of the crew this summer while I've pretty much had to take it very slow due to the knee thing. 

But here's what I am most excited about... True and Piper's first hunting season.   I mean... I do not know when I have looked forward to bird hunting to the extent I am now.  I probably won't be able to do much more than go along for the ride, sit in the truck and take pictures after the fact but I'll be there.  We may even get to take our oldest granddaughter out - she's the one who just turned 10 and shot her first turkey this spring!  Why, recently I was even interviewed for a local paper about our family's hunting history and there will be an article published in October about all of us - how cool is that?!  But I'm looking forward to the day we load Piper and True into the truck, bells, whistles, collars and shotguns all ready and we head down the road for their first hunting excursion.  What is cool is that I know there will be other Brittanys from Treasure and Gibson's litter doing the same thing as far down as Connecticut and far into Canada.  Out of 11 puppies born last October - 8 of them will be in the woods this fall.  That is frosting on the cake!  Not to mention, our other recent litter born in January - the majority of who will also be experiencing their first season and one in particular is the field dog for a Connecticut hunting club.  I am so thankful for the perfect timing and blessing of fall/winter pups and hopeful we will see a repeat of that this year.  Anyway - October 1st cannot come soon enough for me!

Yesterday I started to work on our 'brag book' and the proof was in the pudding.  I gathered all the many letter, certificates, titles, show and field photos to put into one book.  Wow.  It is humbling. We do have a lot to be proud of after all.  In all the right meanings of the word.  I decided it would not be called a brag book.  Instead it will be called The Achievements of J&A's Brittany's.  It's all about the love of the dog, both given and received.  I'm not one to toot my own horn and certainly the winning ways of our dogs are  not the most important thing in our life, but it is an important part of our life. And because of the dogs, so many new friends have come into our life.  Many of whom we will see this weekend at the field trials. We have taken no short cuts here.  We are paying our dues.  We are ever learning, ever growing, ever seeking to improve.  It is hard work what we do, especially so for John these days.  So many of you who follow our blog, who interact with us on Facebook, who call, drop by, write a note - you all mean the world to us.  Without you we could not do what we do, or at least it would not be as enjoyable. YOU have helped the concept of All Things Brittany become what it is.  A family and a community of people who are dedicated to this breed, who are willing to help us continue to do what we do, provide feedback good and bad and become a part of our lives.  We thank you, we thank God for you. 

If you're someone interested in knowing about the latest hunt tests and/or field trial you can contact me directly of course but you can google for New England Pointing Breed hunt tests and field trials, or you can go right to the AKC website.  In the meantime, take care and God Bless!  John, Ann and ATB