October 2012 Volume 5 Issue 9 C & P Swissy Licks Providing fun activities, information, and support to Swissy enthusiasts www.cpgreaterswiss.com What s Inside Jim Rasmussen 1 C & P Specialty Results 2 Judge Stansell Observations 3 Herding Results 4 Weight Pull Results 5 Travels to the East 6 C & P Specialty Wrap-up 7 Upcoming Events 7 Unsung Heroes 8 Pup in the Park! 9 Brags & Mailbarks 10 Ways and Means 11 Membership Form 12 Reminder GSMDCA & OFFA Health Survey Please remember to complete the Swissy Health Survey for dogs living at any time during the years 2008-2012. The more dogs you enter, the better! Click HERE Jim Rasmussen 2012 Pick of the Litter!! W e have had an individual who has hidden for eligible consideration for pick-of-the-litter, but those shadow years are over. Always being helpful in the back ground; setting things up or running the grill at our picnics, this person is more than 100% dependable to offer a helping hand no matter what the task. He is a former board member with the demanding position of treasure which allowed him to make a maximum contribution with little recognition. However, the signature event, which not only stands out in C&P history, GSMDCA national history, and probably all-breed history was Make-A-Cart weekend. Swissies are all about carting and one of the major hurdles for people getting involved has been the price of acquiring a cart. This event allowed about a dozen families to get started on the great tradition of carting. The cost to each family was reduced by over 50% than if they had tried to buy a cart. There was also a ton of precise work that was done ahead of time cutting everything to size. And then the patient mentoring as Jim helped everyone assemble their new family heirloom. 2011 Pick of the Litter = Jan Collins 2010 Pick of the Litter = Jenna Starr-Farling Swissy Licks is the 2011 recipient of the Alliance of Purebred Dog Writers (APDW) Hot Digital Dog Award
Hunt Country Cluster Show Results Friday, September 28 Supported Entry Judge Sharol Candace Way Best of Breed GCH Painted Mtn Oliver Twist of Fate, Katie and Randy Markley Best Opposite CH Double Q s Make It A Double, Michelle Charters Select Dog CH Kismet s Suddanly Dream Weaver, Carol and Joe Neuman Select Bitch GCH Alastair s Smokey Mountain Rain, David & Cheryl Gerzabek Winners Dog Whispering Palm s Ten Gallon Hat V Matterhorn RN, Laurie Carmody Winners Bitch/ Nox s Black and Tan Six Pack, Karin Linehan Best of Winners Reserve Dog Jotunheim Yogi, Ann Telnaes, David Lloyd, Lori Price Reserve Bitch Dufenhof Race for the Pennant RN NAP NJP, Megan Fletcher & Ellyn Signet Saturday, September 29 Supported Entry Judge Charles L. Olvis Best of Breed/ GCH Painted Mtn Oliver Twist of Fate, Katie and Randy Markley Group 1 276 dogs defeated Best Opposite GCH Alastair s Smokey Mountain Rain, David & Cheryl Gerzabek Select Dog GCH Alpenglow Remember the Riot, Kristin Krumpe, Kathleen Spencer & Lori Price Select Bitch GCH Land s End Penzance of Kismet, Carol and Joe Neuman Winners Dog Whispering Palm s Ten Gallon Hat V Matterhorn RN, Laurie Carmody Winners Bitch/ Double Q s Call of the Siren RN NAJ, Mary Jo & Jim Rasmussen Best of Winners Reserve Dog Trout Creek s Top Hat N Tales, Bonnie Huett & Sharon Fardner Reserve Bitch Palisades Dancing the Rhombus, Lynne & Josephine Kenney High Scoring Double Q s Double Olive Martini RN, Darlene Ward & Tracy Brainard Obedience High Scoring Almrausch Symphony in Rose V. Aegis, Virginia O Rorke Rally Sunday, September 30 Specialty Judge Debra Thornton Best of Breed/ GCH Painted Mtn Oliver Twist of Fate, Katie and Randy Markley Group 1 290 dogs defeated Best Opposite GCH Alastair s Smokey Mountain Rain, David & Cheryl Gerzabek Select Dog GCH Nox s George Bailey s Irish Creme, Nancy Kechner, Julie Comer, Colleen Robson Select Bitch GCH Painted Mtn. Seneca s Overboard, Janelle Kaiser & Lisa Simonsen Award of Merit Matterhorn s Last Hoo-Rah RN PT, Laurie Carmody & Alexandra Carmody Award of Merit CH Dufenhof Make Mine Milk and Pepsi, Ellyn Signet Winners Dog/ Tosseman s SD Bleacher Bum, Kristoffer Featheringham Best of Winners Winners Bitch Palisades White Lightning, Lynne & Josephine Kenney Reserve Dog Frecajo s Ace of Base RN, Kelly Nevin, M McKee, C Rehn Reserve Bitch Nox s Black and Tan Six Pack, Karin Linehan Best Veteran CH Dufenhof Make Mine Milk and Pepsi, Ellyn Signet Stud Dog Brood Bitch GCH Shadetree s Ezekiel Strengthens, Jenna Starr-Farrling & Timothy Farling CH Seavaridge s Keystone Large Marge, Dr Christie R Gisewhite & Blanche P Roberts Sweepstakes Sunday, October 3 Judge Cindy Stansell Puppy Dogs 6-9 Months Jotunheim Nelson, Kris Shields, Lori Price 9-12 Months Dufenjof Wabash Cannonball, Ellyn Signet, Danyelle & Lauren Sweeney 12-15 Months Cherished Regal Rolls Royce, Kara Fields & Kimberly Woollard 15-18 Months Whispering Palm s Ten Gallon Hat V Matterhorn RN, Laurie Raynor-Carmody Puppy Bitches 6-9 Months Jotunheim Daphne, Meredith Garrett, Mark Jarris & Lori Price 9-12 Months Whispering Palm s Chases Butterflly, Laurie Carmody 12-15 Months Seavaridge s Under the Thunder, Christie R Gisewhite & Blanche P Roberts 15-18 Months Nox s Black and Tan Six Pack, Karin Linehan Best Puppy Whispering Palm s Ten Gallon Hat V Matterhorn RN, Laurie Raynor-Carmody Best Opposite Jotunheim Daphne, Meredith Garrett, Mark Jarris & Lori Price Best Veteran CH Dufenhof Make Mine Milk and Pepsi, Ellyn Signet Best Opposite CH Shadetree s Quixote s Dulcinea RN OAP OJP NFP, Jim & Mary Jo Rasmussen 2 C & P Swissy Licks October 2012
Observations from Sweeps Judge Judge Cindy Stansell I t was my great pleasure to judge the Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs in puppy and veteran sweepstakes. My first introduction to your breed was a number of years ago at the Atlanta National Specialty. Since that time I have watched the GSMD improve in soundness and breed type. I was first struck with the wonderful temperament displayed by the dogs in the ring. They conveyed confidence and a desire to please. This desire to please ranged from barely contained excitement in some puppies to a veteran who obviously loved the handler but questioned why they were back in the ring! The one GSMD that appeared a tad hesitant responded quickly to encouragement and probably will be a willing worker upon further exposure. You should take great pride in the soundness that you are breeding. Years ago I remember being dismayed by the large number of weak rears that I saw at the Atlanta specialty. You have come a long way in improving the breed! The great majority of rears I saw were strong and true. Although there were a few dogs that suffered from the bane of the working group (straighter fronts and lack of leg), the majority of the dogs in the ring had good to excellent angulation and proportions. I was very pleased to see consistency in breed type. Although there were a few houndy appearing heads and one that tended toward the Rottweiler, most of the dogs had good heads. Such consistency is remarkable given your breed s rediscovery not so long ago. You also had consistency in bone and substance. I expected greater variation in these areas and was pleased to see more uniformity. It was thrilling to see dogs move with effortless power. Your dogs were also consistent with color. The tricolors were rich and the markings were generally symmetrical. I saw only one specimen on each end of the spectrum for too much white and too little white. I am grateful for the opportunity to judge your breed and came away even more of a fan! I am also thankful for the gracious hospitality and friendliness of your exhibitors. Your exhibitors and dogs made it a wonderful day. October 2012 C & P Swissy Licks 3
Herding Results! Megan Fletcher Junior Herd Dog Test (JHD): Double Q s Call Of The Siren RN NAJ Jim & Mary Jo Rasmussen 1 st leg Ch Suddanly Irish Draught CD RN MJP AXP DD HCT VGS Megan & Dustin Westenmeyer JHD title! Cherished Nobody Doesn t Like Kim Woolard JHD title! GCH Seneca s Let The Music Do The Talking RA NDD HT, Elizabeth Coit JHD title! Ch Matterhorn s Last Hoo-Rah RN NDD NWPD, Laurie Carmody JHD title! Frecajo s Ace Of Base Kelly Nevin JHD title! Ch Whispering Palm s Ten Gallon Hat V. Matterhorn RN, Laurie Carmody JHD title! HCT Title Earners: Jotunheim Yogi, Lori Price 1 st leg Palisade s White Lightening, Lynne Kenney 1 st leg Ch Breezy Ridge Alpzyt Mark & Sally O Neill 1 st leg Ch Beowulf Jotunheim Bella Frida Lori Price 1 st leg GCH Jotunheim With Bells On Lori Price 1 st leg Matterhorn s Bullet The Blue Sky Steven & Maria Paul 1 st leg Breezy Ridge Im Wald Und Auf Der Heide Eric & Katherine Bachli HCT title! Palisade s Man In The Moon Diana Iannaccone HCT title! GCH Painted Mtn. Seneca s Overboard Janelle Kaiser HCT title! Cherished Mind Your P s and Q s Brian Donahue HCT title! Cherished Regal Rolls Royce Kara Fields HCT title! Trout Creek s Third Time s The Charm Jim & Mary Jo Rasmussen HCT title! Breezy Ridge Kamerade von Aegis Virginia O Rorke HCT title! Suddanly Quiet Valley Post Driver Ann Gallagher HCT title! Tosseman s SD Bleacher Bum Kris Featheringham 1 st leg Ch Quiet Valleys Pistol Packin Mama Pat Cole 1 st leg Ch Double Q s Bruno! Fredrika Teute & Clyde Haulman HCT title! I n the same great fashion as our past two herding capability tests, this year s event brought out many great teams and wowed the testers once again! We held our 3 rd annual AHBA (American Herding Breeds Association) Herding Capability Test (HCT) and 1 st annual Junior Herd Dog test (JHD). Both tests were a huge success, with a total of 38 passing attempts. The capability tests were the biggest draw with many teams signing up on the day of the event. Twelve dogs entered with twenty legs earned for a total of nine new titled Swissies!! Way to go to you all!! The new event for our club, the Junior Herd Dog test, drew an impressive entry of seven GSMD. There were thirteen successful attempts, resulting in six new JHD titles! The herding event is always so much fun, but a LOT of work and I want to thank everyone who pitched in to help out and made this day as great as it was. A special thanks goes out to Bonnie Huett, who joined us all the way from Washington State she was the timer extraordinaire in the capability testing ring and really kept that test running smoothly. Thanks so much Bonnie!!! Also, our very own Michelle Charters gave me a helping hand sorting paperwork and money thanks Michelle!! Congratulations to everyone, whether you earned a title or not- you got out there and tried it!! When you ve got to potty, everybody waits!! 4 C & P Swissy Licks October 2012
Weight Pull and Seminar! Jenna Starr-Farling T he C&P Regional Specialty Seminar and Weight pull was a huge success. Rob Via from the Power Mountain Pullers Club of Stuart s Draft, VA lead the seminar. He discussed the Swissy weight pull rules and gave some pointers for training dogs to do weight pulling. Any dog who wanted to was then allowed to practice in the weight pull shoot and Rob gave pointers and tips to help the dogs pull successfully. For the competition, Rob Via was the head judge and Kris Featheringham was the apprentice judge. When the actual competition began, every single dog who participated completed a successful pull. In the competition, we had 14 Swissies compete and of those, 10 earned some type of weight pull leg. Additionally, we had 6 dogs who had never pulled before and 3 of those 6 earned a WWD leg! This was an extremely successful event and I can t wait to see some of the new comers pull in the future!! Congrats to everyone and I hope to see more of you try it again soon. Just think, we had 50% of our new comers walk away with legs and over 70% of all of the dogs who competed earn a leg. Next time it could be you and your dog! Here are the results: 89 lbs and Under: *1st- Lily (Katrine and Skip Shorb) 90 to 109 lbs Class: 1st- Shillelagh (Colleen Robson) 10x leg earned *2nd- Mack (Steven Paul)- 10x leg earned *3rd- Wyatt (Jenna Starr-Farling) 10x leg earned 110 to 129 lbs Class: 1st- Izzy (Jenna Starr-Farling)- 20x leg earned, Most Weight Pulled, Best Body Percentage 2nd- Sara Lee (Kim Woollard)- 15x leg earned 3rd- Fury (Kelly Nevin)- 15x leg earned 4th- Fender (Kelly Nevin)- 10x leg earned *5th- Fadri (Matt and SallyAnn Koontz) *6th- Dallas (Laurie Carmody) 130+ lbs Class: 1st- George (Nancy Kechner/Julie Comer/Colleen Robson)- 15x leg earned 2nd- Sirius (Nancy Kechner/Julie Comer/Colleen Robson)- 10x leg earned *3rd- Mater (Danielle Manson)- 10x leg earned 4th- Molson (Kelly Nevin) *Indicates the dog's first time ever competing in weight pulling! Two New Weight Pull Judges!! T C & P now boasts two new GSMDCA weight pull judges!!! Introducing: Judge Jenna Starr-Farling and Judge Kris Featheringham A major milestone for our club, the addition of Kris and Jenna means that our current two judges, Huck Bothner and Rob Via, can take a breather from time-to-time and we can offer surrounding clubs assistance in their weight pull endeavors! October 2012 C & P Swissy Licks 5
Travels to the East Lisa Simonsen I n late September I was very pleased to be able to attend the Chesapeake & Potomac Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club (C&P) sponsored Specialty, Supported Entry, Weight Pull and Herding Event held over a long weekend in Millwood, Virginia. I noticed right away Swissy owners on the East Coast are very similar to Swissy owners on the West Coast; they love their Swissies and enjoy having fun with their dogs. However the key difference is there are just a lot more of those Swissy folks on the East Coast! In the Pacific NW, we would be very pleased to have 30 Swissies entered in a Specialty and absolutely overjoyed if we were to obtain 40. At the C&P Specialty I had the opportunity to see about 80 Swissies competing in the conformation ring, WOW! What a pleasure it was to see so many handsome male and beautiful female Swissies in one location. Swissy breeders in the Eastern half of the US are doing a great job producing some really lovely Swissies; there were not enough ribbons for all the deserving dogs at this Specialty. I was recruited into doing some ring Lisa herding with Seadar, several years ago 6 C & P Swissy Licks October 2012 side mentoring, and it was easy with so many correct typey Swissies present. A first for me, was watching the Swissy Best of Breed winner take a Working Group 1 on the Saturday Supported entry day (a feat which he went on to repeat on the following day). It was so much fun to be a part of the crowd of Swissy folk at the group ring whooping, hollering and cheering Swissy Oliver on! Working Group Judge Candice Way made sure that she kept us all in suspense and cheering for our choice until the very last moment when she finally pointed to the Swissy! In addition to watching the conformation competitions, I also had the opportunity to watch the AHBA Herding Capabilities Tests (HCT) and the Junior Herd Dog (JHD) Tests. Herding is a personal favorite of mine not only to work my Swissy in but also to watch others work their dogs. Swissies have a way of working sheep that is just pure joy, they seem to be saying, I can t believe I get to chase these wooly delicious smelling animals and my owner is actually encouraging me to do it! I think for most Swissies it is a dream come true! The skill level of Lisa, in the middle, ringside the Swissies testing at this event were widely varying, however most, if not all, seemed to have the basic instinct necessary to herd. Many titles were earned and hopefully some of the participants will decide to continue on with the training necessary to start competing in trial level events. It would be great to see more Swissies earning advanced herding titles, and from what I saw in Virginia there are certainly some Swissies that have the aptitude for it! As much as I enjoy seeing beautiful and talented Swissies, I equally enjoy hanging out with their owners and talking dog. It was so much fun to see old friends and make many new ones; Swissy friends are the best! The C&P Club has a great group of hard working people, you all certainly know how to put on a Swissy event. I would like to send a personal thank you to the many C&P members as well as a few other visiting Swissy folks who helped shuttle me around, waited long hours at the airport for me to arrive (very late I might add!) and leave (again not on-time!), took me to some wonderful places to eat (loved Hunters Head Tavern!) and did everything possible to make sure I had a great time. Thank You!
Upcoming Events November 10-12 Draft Trial Mt. Airy, MD Contact Nancy Kechner February 2 Pack Hike Pending approval McLean, VA Contact: Kris Featheringham April 13 & 14 Draft Trial Pending approval Winchester, VA September 9-13, 2013 National Specialty Purina Farms, MO Contact Janelle Kaiser September 14-19, 2014 National Specialty Bethlehem, PA Contact Mary Jo Rasmussen Specialty Weekend Wrap-up Mary Jo Rasmussen, Specialty Chair I can t thank everyone enough for making this year s Specialty a lot of fun. From volunteering for a specific job (please see next page), to sponsoring a trophy, to purchasing raffle tickets, to entering dogs in herding, weight pull and conformation, to joining us for a hearty, delicious meal at the Head Hunter s Tavern we had a successful weekend!! And what about that weather!! Goldilocks said it best, Not too cold, not too hot just right! Sweeps Many thanks to our Sweeps judge, Cindy Stansell. This was her first Swissy judging assignment and she went about her work like a pro. Please see page 3 for her insightful comments about our breed and her experience judging. Stand-outs Oliver took two Group One placements on Saturday and Sunday amazing!! It was such fun to tease Judge Candace Way, and she teased us right back. She s a real show- (and for us heart-) stopper! We were very honored to have two people fly in from Washington state, Bonnie Huett and Lisa Simonsen! Please read Lisa s article the preceding page. We also had several first-timers who drove in from the Midwest and along the East Coast from Florida to Vermont and points in-between. Thanks for your support our Specialty weekend grows every year! Changes Next Year We are looking at some changes next year. Most notable is our new Specialty Chair Cathy Cooper!! Thank you, Cathy, for taking on this job can t wait to send you all of my files! It has been my pleasure to chair our Specialty weekend for a number of years and I m delighted to pass the baton! Photos Darlene uploaded a bunch of photos on Facebook. Click HERE and HERE to view. October 2012 C & P Swissy Licks 7
Unsung Heroes 2012 Hunt Country Cluster Helpers!! 2013 Hunt Country Cluster Needs Helpers!! Activity Volunteer Activity Volunteer Raffle Huck Bothner Raffle Jean Measell 2012 Calendars Tracy Brainard/ Darlene Ward 2013 Calendars Tracy Brainard/ Darlene Ward Photographer Darlene Ward Photographer Darlene Ward Herding Trophy sponsorships Trophy ordering Trophy distributor Ring prizes Educational seminar Megan Westenmeyer, Bonnie Huett Michelle Charters Jan Collins, Michelle Charters Bonnie Huett Mary Jo Rasmussen Rob Via Herding Trophy sponsorships Trophy ordering Friday trophy distributor Saturday trophy distributor Sunday trophy distributor Ring prizes Megan Westenmeyer Michelle Charters Mary Jo Rasmussen Trophy table decorations Ways and Means Michelle Charters Michelle Charters Educational seminar Trophy table decorations AKC/host kennel club paperwork Picnic coordination Grillmeister Weight Pull Mary Jo Rasmussen Nancy Kechner, Phyllis Walker, Ann Gallagher Dustin Westenmeyer Jenna Starr-Farling Thank you so much for everyone s help in making this year s event possible! Ways and Means AKC/host kennel club paperwork Weight Pull Picnic coordination Michelle Charters Cathy Cooper Jenna Starr-Farling As you can see, there are some holes in next year s volunteer list. Please contact Cathy if you want to volunteer for a job, assist with a job or if you d like to do something not on the list great! We ll make it happen! 8 C & P Swissy Licks October 2012
A Pup in the Park! Tre Rasmussen S aturday, September 22nd, started as any ordinary day outside to do my business, gobble breakfast, play, sleep. What else does a 6 month old pup care about? Little did I know that I was in for a big treat at the afternoon ball game! I hear the Nats won 10-1 (poor Brewers speaking of which, my parents enjoyed a brew or two!), but I didn t witness the whole game as you ll see from the photos! At the end, I was one pooped pup in the park! Sure hope I Big crowd, beautiful day, and I m in the shade! get to go next Spring and maybe some of you might join me! They brought in sod for us to potty, plenty of water for pooches to drink & tons of free yummy cookies. Lots of people said, Hi! to me and I wagged back! Maybe I ll get a hotdog next time hold the mustard, please! Keep checking HERE for next year s Pup in the Park dates they re still deciding! They re going to have to win without me I ve had it! Let me know if something exciting happens... October 2012 C & P Swissy Licks 9
C & P Member Brags!! Fender Nevin earns a Novice Standard Preferred leg in his very first agility trial go Fender!!!! Izzy pulls the most weight at the Swissathalon! Izzy earns the ACE weight pulling award at the National Specialty!! You can call him Champion Wrigley!! Congratulations, Kris!! Izzy!! Wrigley s 5 point major and Championship! High in Obedience Trial Ollie and Tracy!! Jan s AKC Sportsman of the Year award!! Siren s 5 point major The Mailbarks Hogan keeps a close eye on Teagan! 10 C & P Swissy Licks October 2012 Please welcome our newest club member Teagan O Brien! Please see Blanch Robert s tribute in the AKC Gazette by clicking HERE.
Order Form Please print and mail this form, along with a check, made payable to C & P GSMDC to: Name Address E-mail Michelle Charters 844 Washington Dr. Chesapeake, VA 23322 Tel.: (757) 548-3375 mbcharters@cox.net Phone Item Price Size/Color Quantity Total **Short sleeve tee-shirt **Long sleeve Tee-shirt $15.00 $20.00 *Patch $5.00 NA Nylon Collar $15.00 NA Blue Food Bag $25.00 17.5 H x 13.5 D Subtotal *Shipping & Handling Shipping/Handling = $5 orders under $100; $10 orders over $100 *No shipping charge on patch only order TOTAL Short Sleeve shirts are available in S, M, L, XL, and 2XL in tan, green, yellow, and blue Long Sleeve Shirts are available in L and XL in blue, maroon, and military green (there are limited quantities of this NEW color) **Please email me at mbcharters@cox.net for availability of size and color of shirts or provide a 1 st choice and 2 nd choice October 2012 C & P Swissy Licks 11
Chesapeake & Potomac (C & P GSMDC) GREATER SWISS MOUNTAIN DOG CLUB Application for Membership NAME(S) ADDRESS TELEPHONE CELL PHONE Allow contact information to be posted in club directory? Yes No Registered Name of GSMD Call Name Registration# Breeder Name Date of Birth Please check all that apply: Breeder (registered a litter within past 3 years) Exhibitor (handled dog at AKC event within past 2 years) Dog Owner (of AKC registered dog) Judge (AKClicensed judge) I (We) agree to abide by the Constitution and Bylaws of this Club and the rules of the American Kennel Club. Signature and Date Signature and Date Yearly Membership Fees are $35 for Family Membership, $25 per Individual Member. While membership is unrestricted as to residence, the C & P GSMDC strongly encourages members outside of the Club s geographical area (DC, DE, MD, Eastern PA, VA) to apply for Associate Membership. Those who wish to learn more about the GSMD but do not own a GSMD may join as an Associate Member. Associate Membership Fees are $35 for Family Membership, $25 per Individual Member. Associate members are not able to vote or hold office in the C & P GSMD Club. Please let us know what events you would like C & P to provide and how you would like to support the club. Also, add any additional information you d like to share about yourself and/or your dogs. This is YOUR club--let us know what you d like to do! BBQ s, parties, etc. Conformation Agility Obedience/Rally Dog show help Weight pull Breed information Health issues Packing Write Newsletter articles Drafting Rescue Serve on board Herding Therapy Please send a check payable to the C & P GSMD Club along with this application to Cathy Cooper, P.O. Box 4603, Martinsville, VA 24115 or e-mail Cathy at shadetreegsmd@embarqmail.com and send membership fee to www.paypal.com at cptreas@gmail.com 12 C & P Swissy Licks October 2012