Jam is ready to pop!

 Jam is due to have her puppies this week!  She has lost her girlish figure and is full of pups.  A big contrast to how she looked at her last modeling gig for Nordstrom's showing off Burberry watches, before she went on maternity leave.  

Jam was bred to the gorgeous Fala, CH A GraytSky A La Fala Love'A.  This line breeding combines two outstanding pedigrees and dogs with wonderful health, temperaments and natural ability in the field. This litter theme will be the Wonder Litter, with AKC registered names created from Stevie Wonder songs.  We're sure these pups will be Wonder-ful!!!

We will be posting all the exciting news on our main blog: Grayhart Weimaraners.

Savi & Jam

Family Portrait

With Memphis visiting, I thought it would be fun to take a quick family portrait and despite the heat, the  dogs put up with sitting for a few minutes while I took a few shots and then were rewarded with treats.

From left to right: littermates from our Clay x Trixie breeding, "Memphis", Grayhart's Million Dollar Listing, "Savi", CH Grayhart's Shear Genius,JH,NSD,NRD,CGC,V, "Jam" (Parker x Trixie), CH Grayhart's Purple Haze,CD,JH,OA,OAJ,SD,VX, and Momma "Trixie", CH GraytSky's I'm Not Really A Waitress,CD,RN,OA,OAJ,V,BROM.

Our Girls

              A bevy of beauties...our champions...l-r: Savi, Jam & Momma Trixie!

Let the sun shine

A picture perfect almost-Spring day for sunning on the deck. L-r: Trixie, Savi, Jam

February Field Training

Savi

 We enjoyed President's Day doing one of our favorite activities, field training with Jam and Savi.  Kellyann was also off from work and took these great shots of our girls. We could not have been more pleased with how well Savi worked, as she has not been in the field since December.  If she continues as this pace, she will be ready for Senior Hunter this Spring or by fall.

 Savi on point.  The weather was perfect with good wind and Savi pointed the birds from quite a distance. She held until released for the retrieve!

 Awesome retrieve from Savi!

 Savi standing pretty!

Jam, who is still recovering from her procedure last week, was so happy that we let her out to retrieve a Chukkar!

Happy New Year! Our 2011 Grayhart Year in Review

Sky, CH Grayhart Lightfoot's Early Morning Rain, RN,JH,TD,NSD,NRD,CGC,VX

Our 2011 Year in Review

Wow, 2011 was a busy year full of family, friends and of course, Weims. We couldn't have imagined all the fun times and successes brought by the Grayhart dogs and their dedicated owners.  A highlight of the year was the Weimaraner Club of America National Specialty in May, in Ohio, where every dog we had placed or won their classes, and even finished titles, in multiple venues and the wonderful time we spent with friends from all over the country, especially Bliss and owner, Jen Boyd, who flew in from Alaska.

In July, we traveled to St. Louis for the AVMA convention for Jam and Trixie to represent Frontline's newest product Certifect and were able to spend the weekend with Marshall, Dylan and owner Laura Roehrich.  We then took a road trip down South, and spent time with Sky & Debbie Moody and Mia-belle & Jessica Scharff, competing at the Tarheel Weimaraner Club Agility trial in North Carolina and then the WCA Southern Futurity/Maturity show weekend in Greenville, SC.

Visiting with Bravo at Martin's Beach in December 2011

We ended the year visiting Bravo and owners Jay and Ron in California, spending a wonderful few days with them and their family and visiting their incredible beach cottage. Many Grayhart dogs live in the Northeast and we were thrilled to see Ranger, Monty, Mia, Mason, Trudy, Whitmore, Memphis and all their owners.

As for awards, we were honored for Trixie to receive her WCA BROM title and with Bravo, GCH Grayhart's Crescent Bravo, CGC, going Best Dog in the Western Futurity, we had our first Futurity winner!  And couldn't be prouder that FOUR of Trixie's get finished their AKC Championships in 2011!

Congratulation to our new Champions: Bravo, Mia-belle, Mason and Sky!

We are grateful for all the support of our wonderful puppy people who give our pups the best homes possible.  We could not have done it without the help of my wonderful mentors and friends, Amy Anderson and Bonnie Lane.

***

We hope 2012 will bring everyone good health, happiness and prosperity!

***

Highlights of 2011:

Trixie, CH GraytSky's I'm Not Really A Waitress, CD,RN,OA,NAJ, V:

• Trixie was awarded the WCA Breed Register of Merit or BROM title.  This WCA award recognizes sires and dams who produce fine offspring.  
• Four of our Grayhart bred pups out of Trixie finished their AKC Championship titles in 2011!  Trixie has produced six champions to date and we look forward to more of her pups completing their championship titles.
• At the 2011 WCA Specialty Agility trials, Trixie had stellar performances. Day one: 1st place Exc A Standard and 3rd place Open JWW.  Day two: 1st place Open JWW!
• Trixie's son, Bravo, won Best Dog in Western Futurity, and as owner of the dam and Bravo's breeder, we received a pewter dog statue.
• Trixie continued to model, doing printwork and video for Tiffany's and represented Frontline's new product, Certifect, at the AVMA convention in St. Louis, with daughter Jam.

Trixie-Parker pups born May 28, 2008, were busy in 2011:

• Jam, CH Grayhart's Purple Haze, CD,JH, OA,OAJ,SD,CGC,VX, had an extremely busy year in multiple venues, earning titles and qualifying legs. 
• Out on a limited basis as a special, Jam earned multiple Best of Breeds, owner/breeder handled.  
• At the 2011 WCA Nationals week, Jam, handled by Jamie Bernardin, was selected for an Award of Merit.  Jam also received a Specialty AOM at the GSWC Specialty in May and then owner/breeder handled, earned an AOM during the Southern Regional Specialty in Greenville, over several group placing specials.
• Jam finished both Open Agility (OA) and Open Agility Jumpers with Weaves (OAJ) titles, all legs with placements, including many 1st places. Jam completed her Open Standard title at the WCA Nationals winning the class.  At the WCA Specialty Agility trial, Jam was 1st place in Open JWW!  All of Jam's qualifying runs for her agility titles have been earned with placements.
• At the Tarheel Weimaraner Club Agility trial, Jam won the High Combined award for highest scoring Weimaraner.
• Jam earned her first qualifying legs in both Excellent A Standard and Excellent A JWW.
• During the WCA Nationals week, Jam earned her 3rd Companion Dog, or CD leg to complete this title with a 3rd place. These titles gave Jam the necessary requirements to earn her WCA "VX", Versatile Excellent title.
• Jam earned her WCA Shooting Dog (SD) title.
• She continued to train in obedience, agility and field work and will do the same in 2012 after her first litter, with breeding plans in January to Mason, CH GraytSky's Southern Fire, NSD.
• Jam passed the Delta Therapy Dog certification and spent time visiting autistic adults at a nearby residential facility.
• Jam continued to model, doing shoots for Frontline's Certifect, representing them at the 2011 AVMA convention for the product launch in St. Louis.  She also worked with Supermodel Coco Rocha on a commercial and print shoot for Longchamp.
• Sky, New CH Grayhart Lightfoot Early Morning Rain, JH,TD,RN,NSD,NRD, CGC,VX, finished her AKC championship title and the next day went Best of Breed!
• Sky earned her WCA Novice Retrieving Dog (NRD) and Versatile Excellent "VX" titles.
• She continues to train in agility, earning her first agility legs and is working towards her TDX.or bred by us, we are proud of 

Trixie-Zeke litter, born March 23, 2009, were busy in 2011:

• Mason, New CH Grayhart's Daily Special, handled to his last 2 points by his breeder, completed his championship in September.  We are truly thankful to Pat O'Brien, Zeke's breeder/co-owner, for his friendship and handling of Mason to his three majors wins, including a Specialty win.
• Mia-belle, New CH Grayhart's Special Request, RA,CD,NSD,NRD,V, had an extremely busy year, titling in multiple venues. 
• Mia-belle finished her AKC Championship completely owner handled, including winning a 4-point Specialty major! 
• Mia-belle earned her WCA Versatile "V" title and her WCA NRD title.
• Mia-belle earned her first Open obedience CDX leg.  She will be back in the obedience ring in 2012 and is training for agility and hunt tests.
• Trudy, Grayhart's Special Reserve, shown sparingly in 2011, won 8 show points including her 2nd major, owner/breeder handled. She only needs 3 single points to finish her AKC championship.  Many thanks to Pat O'Brien for his handling of Trudy to her first major and our collaborative effort to finish this lovely girl.

Trixie-Clay litter, born January 14, 2010, wasted no time making their mark in 2011:

• Savi, Grayhart's Shear Genius,JH,NSD,NRD,CGC, had an exciting year.  She earned her first show point in February and with limited showing, ended the year needing just one single point to finish her championship. She was a great traveler, going along for the ride to the WCA Nationals and then our trip down to the Carolina's for the Southern Futurity/Maturity and visiting with Debbie and Jessica.
• At the WCA Southern Futurity, Savi, handled by Carissa Shimpano, came in 2nd place in her futurity class.  Then, at the Greater Charleston Weimaraner Club Supported Entry show, owner/breeder handled, Savi won a 5-pt major from the Bred-By-Exhibitor class and went on to go Best of Winners!
• At the last show weekend of the year, at the Lehigh KC show, Savi was Winner's Bitch for 2-pts and the next day at the Delaware Water Gap KC show, Savi was Winner's Bitch and Best of Winners for a 3-point major!
• Savi earned her WCA NRD, Novice Retrieving Dog title and her WCA Versatile "V" title.
• Savi was a terrific ambassador for the Weimaraner breed at the AKC Meet the Breeds in New York City.  She also helped out at a number of Tri-State Weimaraner Rescue events, helping to raise money and educate people on the breed.
• Supermodel Savi followed in the Grayhart tradition and her Swiffer ad was spotted in many nationally circulated magazines and she was a hit as part of the Gap Kid's I Want Candy, holiday ad campaign.   She also worked with Trixie on the Tiffany shoot.
• Savi will be very active in 2012, training for her agility and obedience debuts as well as training for her Senior Hunter title and Delta Therapy Dog certification.
• Bravo, New GCH Grayhart Crescent's Bravo,CGC, had an exciting year in the show ring, completing his championship title at just 14 months of age and finishing his Grand Champion title  just two month later, earning multiple Best of Breed wins.  He also earned Specialty Select Dog and Awards of Merit.  Selectively specialed in 2011, Bravo finished the year ranked #22 among all Weims nationwide.  Bravo will be out in the show ring in 2012.
• With no formal training, GCH Bravo earned his Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certificate.
• Bliss, Grayhart's Launch My Line, made the trip down from Alaska to the 2011 WCA Nationals in Ohio and made us proud, placing in every class she was shown in.  She will work towards her show championship in 2012.

I hope that I haven't forgotten anyone but as you can see, it was a busy year. You can check the archives of our blogs, the main one, for Trixie and all our Grayhart pups, and the ones dedicated specifically to each of our dogs and we will continue to publish updates to share all the news and fun happenings as well as the Grayhart website.

It was great fun spending time with the pups and their owners, as well as old and new friends at shows.  We also enjoyed running and chairing the Garden State Weimaraner Club Hunt Test and volunteering for Tri-State Weimaraner Rescue.

Jam's Best of Breed Delaware Water Gap KC Show

Jam's official Best of Breed win photo with Judge Shirley Limoges, awarded on December 18, 2011, at the Delaware Water Gap Kennel  Club show.  There was a major entry in Weimaraners and half-sister Savi was Winner's Bitch and Best of Winners for a 3-pt major!  A terrific day at the show.

Happy Holidays from Grayhart!

Photo and Design by Sara Renee

Gray-t Weekend for the Grayhart Girls! Delaware Water Gap KC Show

 Sunday was the Delaware Water Gap Kennel Club show and the Weims had an 8:00 am ring time.  No sleeping late for the princesses.  Trudy stayed with Pat in his room and my girls enjoyed going back and forth between Kel's room and mine in our suite.  They are truly creatures of comfort!

 Sunday was a repeat performance of Saturday.  Ike was Winner's Dog and both Savi and Trudy won their classes.  Pat stayed on Trudy and I took Savi in for winner's.  I was thrilled when the judge pointed to Savi and she was Winner's bitch.  There was a major in dogs so Savi would have to go Best of Winner's to get the major.  Again, Michelle, our Weim friend, took Savi in for me while I showed Jam.  Michelle worked hard to show Savi off.

Jam showed really well and was full of attitude.  After all the champions were examined and lined up, the judge had the one dog special and Ike gate around together.  She then pointed to Jam and had us go to the front.  Then placed Savi second and then Ike.  She had the group go around together and the final results....Jam won Best of Breed, Savi was Best of Winners and Ike was awarded Best of Opposite!!!

This gave Jam a Grand Champion major and also earned Savi her second major.  Savi now only needs one single point to finish her AKC championship title.  We were just floating after the judging was over.

Jam - Best of Breed (unofficial win picture)

Since Jam went Best of Breed, we needed to wait around for the Group competition. The Sporting Group, was the last group before Best in Show. We had a lot of time to kill, so Kel and I bundled up and took the dogs for a long walk and then went out for Chinese food for lunch. We then visited the many vendors and did some shopping. It was a thrill to watch our friends show their Vizslas and see Jenna go Best of Breed with her special, Miles. Miles won the breed on Saturday and had gotten a Group 2.

The Sporting Group was late in the afternoon and since it was full of professional handlers and some of the top dogs in the country, my goal was just to have fun with Jam and make her shine.  Kel got some terrific shots of Jam and Miles in the group.

 It takes about 20 minutes for each of the seven groups to be judged.  It is a long time for the dogs and you want to make them look their best when the judge is looking.

Congrats to Jenna and Miles for winning the Sporting Group and competing for Best in Show!!!

A wonderful end to a great weekend!  We look forward to the dog shows in 2012 and finishing Savi and Trudy's championships.  We plan to breed Jam in January so she won't be back in the show ring until after her maternity leave and she's in shape.

Gray-t Weekend for the Grayhart Girls! Lehigh KC Show

Kellyann and I headed off early Saturday morning to Allentown, Pennsylvania, for the last show weekend of the year.  We were looking forward to seeing friends and hoping that we could finish the year with a win.  What an amazing weekend it turned out to be, beyond our wildest expectations.

Savi, Winner's Bitch for 2 points!

 Saturday was the Lehigh Kennel Club show.  I showed Savi in the bred-by-exhibitor class, which we won.  Pat O'Brien, who was there to show both our Trudy as well as a very nice puppy named Ike, out of Pat's dog Duke, littermate to Zeke, Trudy's sire.  Pat went winner's dog with Ike and then won the Open bitch class with Trudy.  Since Trudy is so attached to me, Pat and I decided to switch dogs and I took Trudy in for winner's and he handled Savi.  We were afraid that if I was standing behind Trudy, she would keep trying to turn and look at me.  Trudy was quite the happy girl and tried kissing me nonstop while I stacked her.  The judge even commented on my happy girl.  The judge pointed to Savi and she was Winner's Bitch for 2 points!

Next was the Best of Breed class and a fellow Weim friend took Savi in for me as I had to handle Jam.  Ike was picked for Best of Winners and Jam was awarded Select Bitch, earning Grand Champion points.

Jam in the Best of Breed class

This show has a Bred-by-Exhibitor competition and Savi was Best BBE Weim, so we waited for the BBE groups which did not start until mid-afternoon.  The BBE Sporting group was last.  After a long wait, it was finally our turn to show.  The group was quite competive, with eight sporting dogs, most of which had gone winner's for majors in their respective breeds.  Savi showed well and we had fun in the big group.

 Yay!  The judge awarded Savi a Group 3!

Savi doing a bow while we played and had fun in the BBE group.

After a long day at the show, we rushed off to the hotel to meet Pat and Ike's owner, Sandra, and went out for a fabulous celebration dinner.  Back at the room, Savi and Jam had a wild play session, well deserved after being crated all day and strutting their stuff in the show ring.

Off to bed to get our beauty sleep for Sunday's show...

Handle this

It wasn't a Weim only class but with four Weims training, we definitely had the majority.  From left to right above, Jam with me, Bebe with Bonnie and Steve working the puppy.

What better way to spend a rainy Tuesday morning than go with friends to handling class and then out for a scrumptious lunch?  An added bonus was the shopping at Total Pet Care, where they have terrific prices on food, treats, toys, collars and everything your dog would need.

 Savi practicing her free stack

 This shot of Savi is actually the reflection in the mirror on the other side of the room.

 another free stack of Savi after our go around...

 Jam, out for some ring practice as we get ready for the Delaware Water Gap and Lehigh shows in two weeks.

 Good girl!  She remembers how to be a show dog.

 Jam loves Steve and he took a turn working her...

 And around we go...

 More treats please!

 Jam above and Savi below...

 Kel tried her best to take shots of all the dogs without intruding on the class.  It was challenging with the poor lighting and constant moving but I appreciate the pictures she took.

Savi

After class, we all went to a Long Island favorite, Maureen's Kitchen.  They have the most awesome menu, hard to decide between their yummy breakfast options or creative sandwiches.  Lots of comfort food and great company = a perfect day with friends!

New WCA Ratings Titles for Jam and Savi!!!

Jam & Savi with their qualifying ribbons

We had a great time today at the Delaware Valley Weimaraner Club (DVWC) WCA Ratings tests visiting with friends and seeing many talented Weimaraners.  The DVWC and Garden State Weimaraner Club's put on a double ratings test at Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, with morning and afternoon tests with a delicious potluck lunch in between.  

We are proud to announce that both Jam and Savi qualified and have new titles!  Jam ran in the Shooting Dog (SD) rating, which is similar to the AKC Senior Hunter test but not as stringent, and had a terrific run that would have been a pass in a regular AKC Hunt test.  She was braced with her half brother, a Parker son, who already has his Senior Hunter title, and they ran very well together.  Jam had a nice honor in the backcourse.  In the birdfield, Jam used the wind and pointed the Chukkar on scent from at least ten feet away.  She held her point while I located the bird and was steady to shot and then retrieved the bird to me.  

Jam is now CH Grayhart's Purple Haze,CD,JH,OA,OAJ,SD,VX!

Savi was entered in the Novice Retrieving Dog (NRD) rating test.  This test includes both a land and water retrieve.  Savi had awesome retrieves to hand on and and in the water.  Friends commented that she has a Master Hunter retrieve!  

Savi is now Grayhart's Shear Genius,JH,NSD,NRD,CGC!

Weimaraner Wednesday

 Fall is definitely here and we had a perfect day for field training - cool, crisp and sunny!  I forgot my camera but snapped off a few shots of the dogs running in the field before we began training.  No, I didn't get a German Shorthair Pointer.  This energetic girl belongs to my friend and training partner Jeff and I took her for some obedience and socialization training with Jam, Savi and Trixie.

 Becky, the GSP, is a friendly 9 month old pup but needs to learn some manners with other dogs.  Jam took on the role of teacher and gave Becky a number of appropriate corrections until Becky learned how to behave.  All dogs need to learn dog language and if they don't it can be dangerous.  Becky runs in hunt tests and needs to know when another dog doesn't want to play or not to get in their face.

 Once Becky was comfortable with my grey girls, she had a blast running and playing with them in this huge field.  It also helped get burn some of her endless supply of energy off.

 Training was very satisfying.  Jam ran with Becky's housemate, Beau, who received his 1st Senior Hunter leg last weekend.  The two ran well together and we were able to steady them and shoot for retrieves.  Jam broke before the shot and I was able to correct her before she grabbed the bird.  I then made her stand and then released her for the retrieve, which she did well with.  Unless a dog makes a mistake in training, it is difficult to fix problems encountered during the actual test.

 Even though Becky is a green dog and working on her Junior Hunter, she is extremely birdy and the perfect running mate for Savi.  Savi had a gorgeous point, sorry no photo, and we shot over her for the first time.  I did attach a check cord before we flushed and released the Chukkar in case she broke.  Well, so proud of my girl who stood through the shot and waited until I released her for the retrieve.  She had to search for the bird as she didn't mark the fall but when she found it, had an impressive retrieve to hand.  We are also training her to honor and she's starting to understand that not every bird is hers.  I'm very excited at the progress she is making and hope to have her ready to run in Senior Hunter in the Spring.

Weimaraner Wednesday

Jam, enthusiastic in the fields!

 Weimaraner Wednesday fun spent field training with our friends and their dogs.  The weather was a bit hot and muggy with little breeze, so challenging scenting conditions for the dogs.

Jam on point

 The girls found the birds and had decent retrieves, especially our little retrieving machine, Savi, who does it with such gusto and retrieved to hand, it brings a smile to everyone who watches her.

Savi, air scenting as scenting as she hunts for birds

The leaves are already beginning to change color, reminding us that fall is upon us.  I just long for some nice cool weather.

 And only in New Jersey would we have such wild distractions in the bird field!  The preserve where we train is said to have one of the best Halloween Hayrides in the state!

 The dogs are so used to these freaky figures that they pay no attention to them.