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CYNARA NEWS

2011 NEWS STORIES

Jan 1, 2011 thru Dec. 31, 2011 Bonnie Cracks Top 10

The lure coursing rankings for 2011 were released in early January 2012.  Bonnie (MBIF DC Cynara's Bonnie Blue Flag, SC) finished at a very respectable #8 in the U.S. with only limited racing.  In her first year of racing Bonnie won multiple Best of Breed awards and two Best in Field awards. 

December 2, 2011 Solo puppy born

Today Katie gave birth to a singleton puppy.  He only weighed 9 oz at birth but was very health and started nursing quickly.  We named him Solo.

October 28, 2011 Ultrasound is positive

Katie visited the vet today for an ultrasound to verify she is pregnant.  She made herself at home in the waiting room by jumping up on the leather couch and resting her head on the pillow.  Dr. Valerie Bays and her staff treat Katie like royalty every time she's there so no wonder she was relaxed and happy waiting for her turn.  Being forced to lay on her back on the U shaped cushion wasn't too thrilling and even less so when it started raising up but we held her and whispered into her ear until she calmed down.  Although it was a bit early in the pregnancy the ultrasound confirmed our belief that Katie is going to have puppies.  Due date:  Dec. 3, 2011  Visit the Puppy page for more information.

October 20-23, 2011 Gonzo new CH in Lincoln, NE

After winning at the Enid, OK shows the previous weekend, Gonzo traveled with Kari Smith of Rainbow Show Dogs to Lincoln, NE.  Each win in Enid was worth 1 point so he had 13 of the 15 points needed going into the shows.  On Thursday, Gonzo won his class, then went Winners Dog and finally beat the Winners Bitch for Best of Winners.  It was worth 2 points and a new AKC Championship.  Gonzo is Katie's [GCH Jendaya's Mint Julep of Cynara, CD OA NAJ RE CGC HIC VC ROM] 6th champion offspring.

Gonzo moved out of the classes so he could compete against the other champions on Friday.  The judge like the new champion and selected him as Best of Breed for a 4pt Grand Championship (GCH) major.  On Sat. and Sunday he earned Select Dog honors to win more points toward his GCH title.

Cheers to Gonzo aka CH Cynara's Bittereinder of the Drakensberge, RN, CGC TDI and his proud owner Doug R.

October 16, 2011 Trooper shines in Boise 

Congrats to Owner/Handler Debbie B. for earning 2 points toward Trooper's show championship by going Winner's Dog in Boise, ID.  He beat 6 other males and did it from the Amateur Owner Handler class.  Trooper now has 5 points.  Plans are brewing to fly him to Oklahoma so we can show him in this area to finish his championship.

October 7, 8 & 9, 2011 - Cali burns up agility courses

Friday - Cali earned her NAJ today! She is the first of Katie's offspring to earn an agility title. Congrats to Liz and Cali a/k/a Cynara's Beguiling Calypso, NAJ CGC HIC TT JH-B  Cali gets to move up to Open Jumpers with Weaves (Open JWW) class tomorrow. Liz sacrificed a FAST Q to get practice on weaves, teeter and A-Frame contacts (all of which were great in FAST). Weaves and teeter paid off beautifully in standard, but Cali skipped over the A-Frame contact again. 

Saturday - Cali not only Q'd (qualified) her first time in Open JWW, but did it in style 6 seconds under time with a score of 100 and won her class of 8 dogs!  Only 2 dogs even managed to qualify.

Sunday - Cali took on the Novice Standard course with the super fun A-Frame.  However, Cali was on fire and didn't miss a single contact.  She earned her 2nd NA leg with a perfect score of 100.  Only 1 more leg to earn another title.

October 1 & 2, 2011  Katie bred to Akala

After fighting with Fed Ex for 20 hours to get them to deliver the semen on time, it was a huge relief to actually do the first AI Saturday afternoon.  A second AI was performed on Sunday morning.  If either breeding takes, Katie x Akala pups will be born close to December 3, 2011.

September 18, 2011 - Katie starts season

Finally after months of waiting, Katie has started her heat cycle.  We'll start progesterone testing this week to find the perfect time for breeding her to  American/Canadian Champion Thornberry Akala, CGN "Akala".   This will be Katie's last litter of puppies.  Her previous litters have been outstanding and interest is high to see what this breeding will produce.  If all goes well, puppies will be born at the end of November and ready to go home in early February, 2012.

September 10-16, 2011 - Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the US 80th National Specialty in Rapid City, South Dakota

Cynara Ridgebacks were well represented at the 2011 RRCUS Nat'l.  The following dogs competed:

Katie - GCH Jendaya's Mint Julep of Cynara, CD RE NA OAJ VC CGC HIC ROM - Brood Bitch & Best of Breed

Astra - BIF DC Cynara's Astral Phenomenon, MC RN CGC HIC - Lure Coursing (Won 3rd place)

Trooper - Cynara's Bounty of the Black Pearl, CGC HIC - Conformation, Stud dog & Brood bitch (1st in AOH class & helped sire win 4th in Stud dog)

Gonzo - Cynara's Bittereinder of the Drakensberge, CGC TDI - Conformation and Rally (Q'd & earned Rally Novice title)

Bonnie - MBIF DC Cynara's Bonnie Blue Flag, SC - Conformation, Stud dog, Brood Bitch & Lure Coursing (Made 1st cut in BOB, helped sire win 4th in Stud dog and earned MC leg in lure coursing)

Shiloh - Intrigue's I'm the Bee's Knees at Cynara, RN CGC - Sweeps, Conformation, Rally & CGC test (2nd in 9-12 class, 4th in Rally & Q'd in CGC)

It was a 16 1/2 hour drive from Oklahoma to Rapid City, SD.  The dogs traveled very well and were thrilled the hotel was next door to a huge park with acres of grass, big pond and a fast running stream.  The ride in the hotel's glass elevator was stressful for a few days but eventually the dogs didn't even notice.  

Puppy owners came from Texas, Oklahoma & Idaho to meet us there and to show off their dogs.  We met several FaceBook and e-mail friends and dogs in person including Jack, the sire of Litter B and his owners.  All of the dogs did well but Shiloh brought home the most loot (see photo).  She is only 9 months old but excelled in everything she tried.  

July 13, 2011 Shiloh's 1st AKC title - Trouble comes out of retirement - Gonzo's 1st Rally Trial

Legs, Legs and more Legs today. Trouble (Katie x Apollo) came out of retirement to enter the obedience ring for the first time.  The course called for 4 automatic (owner can't give a command to sit) sits plus heeling, three sit stays and a long recall.  Despite failing all 4 of her automatic sits, Trouble earned 2 legs in Beginner Novice obedience with scores of 182 and 189. 

Gonzo (Katie x Jack) has been going to Rally classes for almost a year.  Finally, his owner was ready and put him in 2 Rally Novice trial on Sat. and 1 on Sunday.  Gonzo passed both trials on Sat. to earn 2 legs in Rally Novice with scores of 84 and 85. Doug pulled him on Sunday because he wants him to earn his RN title at the Ridgeback Nat'l in SD in Sept.

Shiloh (Calypso x Titan) had a rough time in her first trial.  Actually, she had fun practicing her tracking skills around the entire Rally course.  She paid no attention to me unless I raised my voice or tugged on the leash.  I thought we had failed but the judge was kind enough to give us a score of 79.  Perfect is 100 and failing is 69 so we were close.  In the 2nd trial Shiloh did very well and tied for 3rd place with a score of 93 but lost the time because we were a couple of seconds slower finishing the course.  Regardless, Shiloh earned 2 Rally Novice legs and her RN title at 8 months old.  She is now:  Intrigue's I'm the Bee's Knees at Cynara, RN.

July 5, 2011 AKC Therapy Dog Title

Huge congratulations to Debbie B. and Titan for being the 2nd Ridgeback in the US to earn the new AKC Therapy Dog title.  AKC started issuing the title on  June 27, 2011 and Titan's Certificate was issued on July 5, 2011.  

Titan is now Cynara's Africa's King of the Titans, THD.  Titan is an Apollo x Katie puppy from Cynara's first litter born January 23, 2008 and was certified as a therapy dog in August 2009. By the time Deb sent in the application she and Titan had over 55 documented visits to nursing homes.  His specialty is patients who have experienced brain trauma.

To earn the AKC Therapy Dog title, owner and dog must meet the following criteria:

1. Certified/registered by an AKC recognized therapy dog organization.

2. Perform a minimum of 50 visits.

3. The dog must be registered or listed with AKC.

July 2, 2011 New Record for Cynara Ridgebacks

On Thursday, Gunnar, Cynara's Chronicles of a Warrier went WD/BOW for 2 pts.  On Friday, Barrett, CH Cynara's Hunter of the Mist, CGC went WD/BOW for a 3 pt major.  On Saturday, Gonzo, Cynara's Bittereinder of the Drakensberge, CGC TDI went WD/BOW for a 3pt major and Barrett, CH Cynara's Barrett Hunter of the Mist, CGC was BOB.  This is the first time Cynara Ridgebacks have won WD/BOW 3 days in a row with a different dog winning each day.

This was Gonzo's 2nd major.  He has 11 points Barrett not only won Best of Breed the first time in the ring as a champion but in the process he beat the #7 and #14 ranked (as of 6/30/11) Ridgebacks in the country.  Wonderful weekends like this one come along rarely but seeing such beautiful dogs winning in the show ring and then going back home to be pets, companions and protectors makes breeding Ridgebacks very worthwhile.

July 1, 2011 Katie earns her ROM - GCH Jendaya's Mint Julep of Cynara, CD NAJ OA RE HIC CGC VC ROM 

Thanks to wonderful owners Katie earned one of the most coveted titles in the breeding world -- Register of Merit (ROM) two days before her 6th birthday.  In Ridgeback a ROM is awarded to males who sire 10 champion offspring and to bitches who produce 5 champions. Females usually only have three or four litters so they are required to produce fewer champions than males who can sire unlimited number of litters.  A ROM is a strong indicator of a quality brood bitch or sire.  Katie is the foundation bitch for Cynara Rhodesian Ridgebacks which made the goal of a ROM so very important.

All of the extended Cynara family cheered when Katie's 5th offspring finished his show championship.  To make the celebration even sweeter, Katie earned her ROM with only 2 litters of puppies.  Three pups finished from Litter A (Katie x Apollo) and two pups from Litter B (Katie x Jack).  Two other pups from Litter B are still showing so there's a very good chance of two more champions. Two of the five champions are Dual Champions.  They have lure coursing and showing championships.

We plan to breed Katie one more time in either late 2011 or early 2012.  We are looking for homes that will appreciate having a puppy from a very special bitch.

July 1, 2011 Bear becomes Jack x Katie's 2nd Champion

Barrett traveled from Louisiana to Oklahoma City in hopes of winning a major which is all he needs to finish his championship.  Today our big handsome boy from Litter B went Winner's Dog/Best of Winners became a new AKC show champion by winning a 3 point major.  Super congrats to Barrett's owners Nick and Patty who are extremely proud of their boy CH Cynara's Barrett Hunter of the Mist, CGC.

June 27, 2011 Katie wins 2 titles with 1 qualifying run - OA & VC

Katie scored a perfect 100 and finished first today in open standard agility class.  She earned the 3rd leg and her Open Agility (OA) title.  Since the first of the year when Katie entered her first agility trial in Novice class the goal has been to win either an Open Agility or an Open Agility Jumpers title.  Either of these titles is all Katie needed for a Versatility Certificate (VC).  The VC title is a huge deal because it means she met RRCUS' strict criteria of earning a major title in 3 different areas.  Katie earned a title in conformation, obedience and agility.  Genetics is so important when picking which bloodline to get your dog from.  Katie comes from a bloodline filled with talented and smart dogs.  She is the 5th generation on her sire's side to earn a VC.

I've waited so long to be able to write: Grand Champion Jendaya's Mint Julep of Cynara, CD OA NAJ RE HIC CGC VC.

A day earlier Katie turned in a fine performance during her Open Agility Jumpers class scoring a 100 and placing first to win her 2nd OAJ leg.  She only needs 1 more leg to earn either an OA or OAJ title.  We are so close to her VC title.

April 21, 2011 Trouble's Ultrasound

We are sad to report the vet found no TnT puppies this afternoon on the ultrasound.  Hopefully, we can try the breeding again the old fashioned way -- live.

April 16 & 17, 2011 New FC & 2nd BIF

Bonnie went into the weekend with 3 majors and 12 points toward her AKC lure coursing Field Championship.  On Sat. she was slightly sluggish and finished 2nd but managed to earn 1 point.  Sunday is definitely her favorite day to run.  Once again she looked like she could run all day and still want more.  Bonnie came in 1st in Open to win a 3pt major and finish her FC.  Then she won Best of Breed (which made it a 5pt major) and with plenty of energy left beat an Afghan to win her 2nd Best in Field.  Congrats to her owners, Kate and Mark.  They can proudly call her MBIF FC Cynara's Bonnie Blue Flag, SC.

April 16, 2011 New CGC for Litter B

Kudos to owner Nick S. for going above and beyond to help his boy, Barrett pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen test.  It worked and Barrett is now Cynara's Barrett Hunter of the Mist, CGC

April 8-10, 2011 Katie wins 2 agility titles

Katie attended a 3-day agility trial in Wichita, KS.  She had a fantastic weekend.  She ran in Novice Standard and Novice Jumpers on Friday and qualified in both (Double Q) and earned her NAJ title.  Saturday was another Double Q which earned her NA title.  She was starting to tire on Sunday which dropped her times and concentration so she only qualified in Open standard.  Katie's name is getting really long now.  GCH Jendaya's Mint Julep of Cynara, CD RE NA NAJ CGC HIC.

March 30, 2011 Trouble and Titan

The TnT litter is hopefully on its way.  Trouble was bred today using Titan's frozen semen.  We'll do an ultrasound in 21 days to see if Trouble is pregnant.

March 17, 2011 St. Patrick's Day is lucky for Gonzo

Bonnie and Gonzo, brother and sister from Litter B spent St. Patrick's Day at a show in Kansas City, MO.  Gonzo went Winner's Dog and Best of Winner's for a 4-pt major.  This is Gonzo's first win in the show ring.  Bonnie caught the judges eye also but was picked at Reserve Winner's Bitch.  Second place is an honor but only 1st place gets any points.

March 12 & 13, 2011 Lure Coursing & Bonnie wins BIF

Sat. - We've been looking forward to the first Oklahoma lure coursing trial in 2011 for several months.  It is close to home and there are always several Cynara dogs there for fun runs, JCs, QCs and to run in the trial.  The first day of the trial was on Saturday.  The weather was sunny, very little wind and temps in the 60's.  Stella, Katie & Aslon ran for a Qualifier Certificate (QC).  Katie made it past the first corner for the first time since she was rolled years ago but still quit about 1/2 way thru the course.  Stella also quit.  Aslon was the star.  He ran with Katie and easily finished the course by himself.  Another RR needed a partner to run with her so I volunteered Aslon.  He did a good job and passed again.  A 1/2 brother to Litter A (sired by Apollo) named Traeger won the open class and beat Astra for Best of Breed.  The win earned Trey a major and it was all he needed to finish his Field Championship.  Bonnie came in 2nd and Aslon 3rd in Open.  Our friend Ally let her veteran, Zoi run.  Zoi has a great time even though she isn't as fast as she used to be.  Three of the puppies - Shelby, Gunnar & Keisel - from Litter C came by to visit.  They just turned 6 months old and are hitting the gangly gawky stage.  Shiloh, our newest Ridgeback, and Gunnar did a fun run after the trial.  Both show promise to be lure coursers some day.

Sun. - No fun runs or QCs for us today.  Cynara only has Bonnie and Aslon running in Open and Astra in Specials.  Only 3 RRs in Open but 5 specials and 1 veteran.  Bonnie was much more focused on the bunny today and ran blazingly fast.  She tugged on the leash trying to get to the starting line that she pulled me down on my knees twice.  Ridgebacks run strong but aren't always super fast.  Bonnie made heads turn when she flew by.  She won Open class and Aslon was 2nd.  In order to win breed she had to run against the winners of the Veteran and Specials class.  In her 3rd race of the day she tore around the course and won Best of Breed for a 4pt major.  This was Bonnie's 3rd lure coursing major.  But the best was yet to come.  The BOB winner for each breed has the option of running for Best in Field.  5 breeds -- Saluki, Borzoi, Ridgeback, Ibizian & Whippet all took on the challenge.  None of the dogs quit or cheated.  It was a close race and we hooped, hollered and cheered when the Judge announced Bonnie was Best in Field for March 13th.

January 15, 2011 Cali Breaks Maiden

Today...drum roll......Cali and Liz went Winner's Bitch/Best of Opposite Sex over 2 other bitches to win her first show point.  Cali is Liz's first show dog so they've learned to show the hard way...one loss at a time.  Unlike Debbie who was lucky enough to find a tough talented instructor, Liz has picked up tips here and there.  She drove hundreds of miles to attend a handling clinic, worked her butt off helping a pro handler for a couple of weekends to pick up tips on showing, and kept at it even when she was totally discouraged.  The first point, especially for a newbie is the hardest.  Cali is a beautiful elegant bitch who is almost a clone of her dam, Katie.

After winning her first point in the morning, Liz signed Cali up to take the Canine Good Citizen test.  It consists of 10 different tests designed to evaluate if the dog can be trusted around other dogs, people, loud noices, etc.  Many people take special classes before taking the CGC test.  Cali and Liz's team worked showed and Cali passed.  Cali is now officially Cynara's Beguiling Calypso, CGC.

Four pups from Litter B have earned points in the show ring -- Bonnie, Barrett, Trooper and Cali.  Two pups have earned their Junior Courser titles -- Aslon and Bonnie.  Trooper and Gonzo have also passed the CGC test and Trooper is the only one to earn a Herding Instinct Test certificate.  Cynara owners are the best!!!

January 14, 2011 Scuba's Thyroid Test Results

Yesterday, Scuba's thyroid test results finally arrived.  Scuba is the 3rd pup from Litter A to have her thyroid function tested and she is the 3rd pup to pass.  Katie and Apollo, parents of Litter A, have both been tested and passed multiple times.  Testing as many pups as possible in a litter is important, even if there are no plans to breed the pup being tested.  Diseases and health problems run in families so only testing the dog being bred is a good start but isn't a complete picture.  Thank you Ally for spending the time and money to test Scuba.  It's a good thing :}.


 

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.