BRNC's First Fall Race Meet 10/10-11

BRNC had its first fall meet a couple of weeks ago and we had two really exciting days of racing. Gil was absent for the weekend but Willow, Belle, Gator, Fecni and Luna all made it out.



Saturday we had all five MAs entered. The track was pretty rough and hard on everyone's feet. By the end of the day Willow and Belle had sore pads so they stayed home on Sunday. Nevertheless, Willow put in some amazing runs and tied with her nephew Gator for first place, giving them both 1.5 points towards their GRCs.

Official Results for Saturday were:
1. Gator (Betcha-Katcha Omlin)
2. Willow (Betcha-Katcha Nubia)
3. Luna (Betcha-Katcha Ojeda)
4. Belle (Betcha-Katcha Nellie Belle)
5. Fecni (Vakvagta Fecni)



Sunday was pup day. With Willow and Belle out for the rest of the weekend that left only Gator, Luna and good ol' Fecni. The brother and sister duo were battling for first place the whole day, but in the end Gator took home first prize for his second meet win and one more point towards his GRC. He's now more than half-way to completing his championship. Luna also picked up a half point towards her GRC.

Official Results for Sunday:
1. Gator
2. Luna
3. Fecni

The Stout-Hearted Terriers, Opal and Beryl, were also in attendance and gave it their all. Opal was undefeated in her class the whole weekend.



... and our friend Bandit did his best :)

Silly Gilly

This is kind of an old video but it's pretty cute so I thought I'd post it here for posterity. I can't watch any dog-related videos on Youtube without Gil coming to my desk to listen. He listens so intently, I wonder what he's thinking. If I ever take a trip I'll have to make some videos of me for him so that he can still "see" me while I'm gone. Maybe I should buy the dogs a TV to watch while I'm out during the day, lol.

Fecni's Fitness Program

Hi Everyone, this is Fecni speaking (since I don't have fingers Audrey will be typing for me). For those who don't know me personally, I have a little weight problem. I'm kind of an easy-keeper as they say and over the long hot summer I gained a few extra pounds that I need to get off before the coursing season starts. So, since I know there's lots of other dogs out there who are also battling weight problems I thought I would take the opportunity to explain my personal fitness regimen so that others may follow along if they want.

The most important part of my fitness program is exercise. I believe that the majority of canine weight problems can be dramatically improved with just exercise alone. I usually do a brisk walk with my group for about one hour everyday, which translates into about 3 miles of walking. To increase my endurance, I walk with either a loaded backpack (see above and below) or I drag weight with a harness and chains every other day. For my cardio workout I jog about 3 or 4 times a week for about 30 minutes with adequate warm up and cool down periods to keep my muscles from cramping up.


The second most important part of my fitness program is diet. As I said before, I'm a really easy-keeper, plus I tend to be a little greedy when it comes to food. In order to keep myself feeling full, while also cutting back on calories, I eat a low-fat dry kibble mixed with a half a can of green beans.


Snacking is one of my major vices, but just because you're on a diet doesn't mean you can't have snacks every once and awhile or even everyday. The important thing is to cut back on high-calorie, high-fat snacks. I only eat a little of these right after a workout or right after a race to replenish my energy, but don't over do it!


For daily snacking, you can eat fresh fruits or vegetables (carrots, celery, apples, bananas etc), or my personal favorite, ice cubes.

You don't want to over do it with the ice cubes since it doesn't feel good to have a lot of cold ice in your stomach, but a few cubes in place of a dog biscuit will do wonders for your body and will leave you feeling satisfied until your next meal. Which reminds me, when I'm on a diet I prefer to eat twice a day rather than once a day. When dieting it's always better to eat more small meals over the course of the day rather than one big meal because it will lessen your hunger and help you eat less overall.

So, that's my fitness program in a nutshell. It's very simple and easy to follow and I guarantee it will work for you too.

Bye,
Fecni

News From Abroad: Racing in Germany

I just got these photos from Willow, Belle, Luna and Gator's breeder in Germany. Betcha-Katcha Otis (brother to Gator and Luna) made his racing debut and placed third overall. Also in attendance were Belle and Willow's sister, Nookie, and Gil's sister, Fenyves. Nookie placed second overall and Fenyves placed fourth. All in all the BK and AU dogs did very well and we are very proud of them.

Now on to the pictures:

Otis in white, Fenyves in black and Nookie in blue

News From Abroad: Remy's puppies at 4 weeks

Girls:








Boys:

It was bromance

Mr. Al E. Gator is visiting the Stout-Hearted crew for a week to get started on weight pull training. He and Gil acted like long lost brothers when we got home today and have been enjoying each others' company. It looks like bromance to me ...

Woofstock El Dorado Hills

Six of the eight California MAs went out to El Dorado Hills for Woofstock on Sunday Oct. 4th. We had a small booth set up for NAMAA with displays for the dogs' ribbons and a stack of flyers for curious passersby. Although it was a bit windy and chilly it was a beautiful day with a pretty decent sized crowd. We had quite a few people stop by and ask us questions about the dogs. Of course, there were many people who mistakenly thought we were Greyhound rescue but once the correction was made most of them seemed genuinly intrigued by our brood. At the end of the day our stack of flyers was completely gone so hopefully we've generated some new interest in the breed.

Dude had his first big American adventure and was all pooped out midway through the day


Luna, ever the beauty queen, was dressed in her very finest for all the onlookers to admire ...


Luna was also kind enough to let Fecni borrow some of her bling for the day so that she could have a day of glamour too

News From Abroad: Remy's puppies are 3 weeks old

IABCA Golden State Fall Sieger

Gil and Fecni attended this year's IABCA Golden State Fall Sieger in Antioch on September 26th and 27th. This was Fecni's first time in the International show ring and Gil's first time in the open class (IABCA doesn't consider dogs to be adults until they reach 18 months of age).

For those who don't know, IABCA is a show-giving organization that conducts its events in the style of European FCI shows; all dogs recieve a written critique and a rating ("excellent", "good", "fair" etc). If a dog recieves the minimum number of excellent ratings they then become eligible for an IABCA International Championship title. Gil started his show career in the IABCA show ring and has done very well in the past, taking group, Res. BIS and BIS rarebreed awards.

Best of Breed awards were split evenly between Gil and Fecni over the entire weekend, but neither of them took higher awards at the group level (better luck next time). However, our Silken Windhound friends were also in attendance and one of them ended up consistently winning group 3 awards with a fairly large group entry. Congratulations Cyndi and Dusty!




Despite our lack of success in group, the judges made many favorable remarks about the dogs in their written critiques.

Among other things, the judges noted the following about Gil:
Overall Impression: "typey, balanced, well built" - Juliann Kowalsky
Head: "Typey, masculine" - Sherry Swanson
Movement: "covered ground with ease" - Jane Roppolo

Among other things, the judges noted the following about Fecni:
Overall Impression: "well balanced, sound" - Sherry Swanson
Movement: "clean coming and going" - Juliann Kowalsky
Overall Impression: "Nice profile, clean/smooth" - Jane Roppolo

The Stout-Hearted Greyhounds, Cali and Humer, were also entered in the veterans class for the last two shows of the weekend. Queen Cali reigned supreme and beat her stinky brother twice for Best of Breed honors. Humer says, "oh well, maybe next time" :-)



Videos:

Gil in group:


Fecni in group:


Cali in veterans: