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CYNARA NEWS 2008

2008 NEWS STORIES

November 29, 2008  First Cynara HIC
Titan had an unusual adventure.  His owner took him and Decker, her other Ridgeback, out to a working sheep farm.  Titan and Decker took turns in the pen with the sheep.  Each were evaluated on how well they responded to the sheep and how fast they learned what is expected of a herding dog.  The evaluator was quite impressed with their natural instincts and awarded them a Herding Instinct Certificate.  Titan is the first Cynara Ridgeback to earn a HIC.  Huge congrats to their owner for being willing to spend time finding out another of the things these amazing dogs are capable of learning.

October 18 & 19, 2008  Astra added another two more points to her tally sheet by going WB each day in Lawton.  Stella was reserve both days.  Katie's first litter is doing exceptionally well in the ring for being so young.  Stella has 1 point - Astra 6 points & Trouble 5 points.  

October 11 & 12, 2008  Stella wins 1st point & Astra earns 2nd BoB
Stella [Cynara's All That Spicy Jazz] attended her first shows in Enid, OK over the weekend.  After standing like a rock for the judge's exam she gaited gracefully around the ring.  The judge had to choose between Stella and sisters, Trouble and Astra but quickly pointed to Stella for Winners Bitch.  Astra took Reserve.

The judge on Sunday loved Astra's front and made several flattering remarks about her future in the show ring.  He became the second judge to pick Astra as Winners Bitch, Best of Winners and Best of Breed.

September 6 & 7, 2008  Katie's Puppies Compete for First Time
For the first time ever, puppies from the Katie x Apollo litter born in Jan. 2008 competed against each other.  Astra, Scuba & Trouble were entered in a small Oklahoma show.  On Sat., Astra went Reserve Winners shown by her owner for the first time.  Afterwards both Astra and Trouble earned their Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certificates.  On Sunday, all 3 girls were shown by their owners.  We had an excellent judge who took his time and looked at each Ridgeback carefully.  Trouble was selected as Reserve Winners and Astra took Winners Bitch.  Then she took on the Winners Dog and a multiple group placing champion.  The judge brought the 3 RRs into the ring and inspected them, had them run around the ring, evaluated some more, checked them from the front and from the rear, paced, thought about it some more and finally to the delight of the Cynara fans he pointed to Astra as Best of Winners and Best of Breed.

August 22-24, 2008 Trouble's Show Debut a Success
 

Trouble began her show career in Kansas City, MO and had no trouble catching the judges attention.  Puppies traditionally are entered in shows for practice.  They learn to adapt to new sights, smells and most of all strange noises.  Rarely do judges select a puppy as the winner unless they are exceptional.  In Trouble's very first show, even though she balked at allowing her teeth to be examined, the judge selected her as Winner's Bitch (WB) which was worth one point toward her AKC championship.  A few minutes later the judge pointed to her as Best of Winners (BOW).  The BOW contest is between the WB and the Winner's Dog (WD).  The WD had earned 2 points so by beating him, Trouble's win was worth two points.  Two days later a very experienced judge again awarded her WB and BOW.  Incredibly, this time it was a 3-point major in males.    At 7 months old, Trouble becomes Cynara's youngest Ridgeback to earn a major.  Special thanks go to Kari Smith for showing Trouble to her full potential during this amazing debut.

June 28, 2008 - NEW TITLE.  Dozer earned his Rally Novice title today with a score of 91 to earn his 3rd and final leg.  Lucas, one of Trouble's brothers came up from Texas for a short visit.  He went to his first dog show -- not to show but to have his eyes tested.  Both eyes were perfectly normal and he became the 3rd puppy from Katie's first litter to pass their CERF eye exam.

June 14, 2008 - Trouble entered her first show today.  It was the K9 Squares Fun Match held at the Okla. City Fairgrounds.  Trouble is only 4 3/4 months old so she was entered in the 3-6 Puppy Conformation Class.  Scuba and Astra couldn't make it to the show to compete against their sister so Trouble easily won Puppy Best of Breed (BOB) for Rhodesian Ridgebacks.  The competition stiffened when she went up against the BOB from the other Hound breeds attending the match.  A very nice slightly older Plott Hound puppy almost beat us but Trouble stacked and moved so nicely the judge pointed to the her for Hound Puppy Group 1.  Trouble and I were both getting tired by the time we finally hit the mats for Best in Match.  She wasn't holding her stack for as long and I wasn't paying as much attention to the judge's instructions as I should have so it was quite a surprise when the Judge announced the Ridgeback was Best Puppy in Match.   Later the judge told me Trouble had very nice conformation, even though she was a bit high in the rear, but it was her breath-taking side gait that made it impossible for the judge to pass her by.

May 25, 2008 Dozer turned in a great performance at the lure coursing trial today.  He tied for 2nd place and had to run a 3rd heat to decide who earned the points.  Dozer won the run-off and earned another point toward his Field Championship.  Dozer now has 9 of the 15 points needed.

May 24, 2008 - Astra & Trouble were both examined for any eye problems or diseases (CERF eye test).  Both girls passed with flying colors and were determined to be normal in both eyes.  The results of the exam are being mailed to CERF and should be posted on the CERF web site soon.

May 24, 2008 Several of Kuno's kids and grandkids ran in the AKC lure coursing trial held in Shawnee, OK.  Miles (grandson) earned his Junior Courser title in the morning & then bolted to 1st place in the trial for a 4pt major.  Dozer (son) grabbed 3rd place for 1 point.  Riva (granddaughter) who also earned her JC in the AM was 4th & Zoi (daughter) was 5th out of 8 Ridgebacks entered in the open class.  We all missed seeing the mighty Kuno run this year and certainly are hoping he recovers from his ruptured disk.

April 29, 2008 Cynara's Africa's King of the Titans "Titan" became Katie's first puppy to graduate from Puppy Preschool.  The instructor stated, "Titan is an awesome dog and they are a great team!" Debbie and Titan are now moving on to a regular obedience class.  We are very proud of the work Debbie has already put in this puppy. 

April 16, 2008  The puppies turn 12 weeks old today.  All owners are having some success with housebreaking and basic obedience like sit and down.  Commands getting lots of practice are "no bite" and "leave it".    Titan and Debbie in Idaho won an award in puppy class for meeting the most people -- over 100.  It only took a few weeks for homes with older Ridgebacks to report that they had accepted the puppy and were even starting to play.  Chisum, our rather serious Ridgeback, seems to be Trouble's favorite.  He is very patient and even wags his tail when she gives him puppy kisses.

January 27, 2008 - Katie has been such a wonderful mom that it has made caring for her and the puppies much easier.  Many breeders swear good dams come from good dams.  Katie's dam, Gemma was wonderful and took great care of her babies.  The 7 puppies are 3 1/2 days old and moving around the whelping box surprising fast. 

Weight at 2 1/2 days: Pink 1lb 9 oz – Blue 1 lb 7 ¾ oz – Cool White 1 lb 7 ¾ oz – Red 1lb 4 1/8 oz – Orange 1lb 5 3/4 oz – Purple 1lb 5 ¾ oz – Green 1lb 3 ½ oz

January 23, 2008 - Wow, what a day.  Katie had her puppies 3 days early and almost caught us off guard.  My wonderful team of co-whelpers showed up and together we delivered 8 puppies.  Unfortunately, one was stillborn but we have 4 feisty females and 3 handsome male puppies.  At this time, all of the puppies are spoken for and have people anxiously awaiting their arrival.

January 19, 2008 - Katie is 8 weeks pregnant.  Only 1 week to go until we have puppies!!  X-rays to count puppies are scheduled for January 21, 2008.

January 13, 2008 - Only about 2 weeks to go.  The whelping box is built and set up in the library.  Everyone I know is saving newspapers to line the bottom of the box.  Several people have volunteered to be whelping assistants so hopefully regardless of what time of the day or night labor starts, a few of them will be available.  Katie has gone from 2 cups of dry food a day to 4 1/2 cups plus one can of Evo per day.  She is eating 3 times per day and will soon be fed 4 times per day because her stomach can't hold as much because of the puppies.

Contact Cynara

Cynara Rhodesian Ridgebacks *  Elaine Hudson, Nicoma Park, Oklahoma -  405-514-0394  *  For more information about Cynara, purchasing a puppy or older dog, or for other Ridgeback
related questions, e-mail us at CynaraOKrrs@gmail.com  Member of the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the United States and the Tulsa Sighthound Association.