novacoast-blog

2011 - An amazing year!!!

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:08:41 +0100

Well, here it is almost the end of another year! We couldn't be happier with what 2011 gave to us! We had our very first litter which was an amazing experience! We were advised by a good friend and reputable, longtime breeder to keep and show the entire litter! We did however let one go and I am sure that Brittany would have been very disappointed if she wouldn't have gotten her special boy, Woobie. We are very fortunate that we see Woobie almost every week so we get to watch him grow up with the rest of his litttermates.

The puppies turned 6 months old the day of the Chaleur Dog Club show in Bathurst, New Brunswick. I stayed home to look after our newest babies that were born just days before the show and Collin traveled to Bathurst with Jury, Kiana and Savita. What happened next was beyond our wildest dreams!!! Not only did our girls pick up some points, Jury actually finished his championship at 6 months and 1 day old at his very first show!!! And not only did he finish his championship, he placed in the group in all 4 shows picking up two group 2nds and two group 4ths in a very strong herding group!! He was best puppy in group in all 4 shows and his very first time in the ring won best puppy in show!!!!! We were beyond thrilled that the judges loved our boy so much. And just when we thought that it couldn't get any better...3 more of the puppies finished easily with multiple group placements, multiple puppy groups wins, a group win and another best puppy in show for Atlas, it was a great summer for us. Jury also picked up a second best puppy in show and has been the #1 aussie puppy in Canada since July! The other two puppies in the litter picked up points as well and will continue their show career in 2012.

Savita has gone to live with a friend of ours who has now become Savita's trainer. Sue will trial Savita next year in obedience as well as rally o and drafting! As soon as Sue started Savita's training it was obvious to her that Savita was a very smart girl and very willing to please, her natural focus made her a dream to work with. Sue told me that Savita is an obedience person's dream and we couldn't be happier with the bond that Savita is forming with Sue, it is so easy to see how much they love each other and love working together! We look forward to their future in the performance rings!

We are definitely looking forward to what the future has in store for us here at Novacoast!

A Very Special Day!!!!

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 18:55:35 +0100

January 16th, 2011 will always be a very special day here at Novacoast!!!! This is the day that we welcomed our first litter into the world...6 beautiful babies!!! Words cannot describe how we felt when Mylie presented us with her first puppy...a gorgeous red merle girl...a mini Mylie!!! We were very lucky to have our good friend Crystal Flemming from Medway Kennels and her husband, Darren, here with us to share the experience and to help us with the whelping.

Since that day, we have enjoyed watching the babies grow and change on a daily basis. We never tire of watching them!! We love every minute of it, from the first sounds to the first steps to their eyes opening...now they enjoy watching us too and they don't miss a thing!!!

We look forward to seeing what the future holds for each one of our babies!!!!!

Good bye 2010

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:50:02 +0100

It is hard to believe that 2010 is almost gone!!! We have had an amazing year and feel very fortunate to have so many friends around the world supporting us along the way!!! We were super excited to welcome Ruger to our family back in February, we will never be able to thank Ellen and Amy of Thornapple Aussies enough for allowing Ruger to come to Canada to live with us. We have always loved Ruger ever since we saw his puppy pictures but never dreamed that he would someday join our family.
And then there is Quarry...Quarry was sent to us to show by his breeder, Lisa Wensley. Quarry won us over quickly and we were very happy when his breeder said that he could live in Nova Scotia with us. Quarry had an amazing puppy career with Collin, he ended the year as the #1 Aussie puppy in Canada and the #9 Aussie in Canada!!! The support from our local dog show community was incredible...it was SO amazing to hear everyone cheering for Quarry when he won his first best puppy in show, that was a moment that we will NEVER forget!!!!
We had one more addition to our home in July and that was Miss Charlotte. We had waited almost 3 years for the right puppy from Calais Carolina and Charlotte was definitely worth the wait!!! She is a beautiful example of the breed, very smart and very loving!

We are looking forward to a very exciting 2011!!! Our very first litter here at Novacoast will be born in January. This is a litter that we have been looking forward to for a very long time!!! We will also be busy with our dog clubs. I will be serving as the secretary of our local kennel club (SSKC) and will also be a regional director for our national breed club (CNASA). It will be a busy but very fun year!!

Exciting News!!!!!

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 01:01:05 +0100

Christmas has come early to us here at Novacoast!!!!! We are expecting Mylie puppies!!!!! Mylie has been bred to Ruger. We took Mylie to the vet clinic today for her ultrasound and were VERY excited to see lots of lively babies!!!!! We could see them moving around and we could see their hearts beating too. Mylie actually seemed to enjoy having the ultrasound...anyone who knows Mylie knows that her absolute favorite thing is belly rubs so she just laid back and enjoyed the whole experience.

We are so excited about this litter, the puppies should have lots of potential. Now the hard part begins...the waiting!!!!!

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 22:37:03 +0100

Cape Breton is always a very beautiful place to visit! We enjoyed our weekend in Cape Breton at the end of August and attended the Cape Breton Kennel Club show in Glace Bay. We had Quarry, Lexa and Trio with us. Lexa finished her championship handled by Terri Lee Foley Cossar during the first show. Everyone loves to show Lexa so we all had a turn. I showed her in the afternoon show and we ended up taking the breed, Lexa is the first aussie to beat Quarry since he was moved up to specials! We also went on to take a group 4th over some very nice dogs! The next day Collin showed Lexa and they took reserve winners bitch, Trio was winners bitch for her first point! Trio was shown by Chelby Marling. In the afternoon Sydney Cossar showed Lexa to best of opposite, they looked great together. Quarry was best of breed in 3 out of the 4 shows, losing only to his half sister. Quarry had a group 2nd and two group 4ths! Of course the best part of the weekend was spending time with our dogs and our friends! We had a great time at Roslyn Forrest's house Saturday evening after the show...we also got to play with her 4 week old bull terrier puppies!!! They were sooo cute! And of course there was tons of good food!!
The aussies were glad when they got back home and of course it didn't take them long to get back in the pond!! They do not look like show dogs for long when they are at home and they sure have fun getting dirty!

Summertime Fun

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 01:44:23 +0100

Well, it has been a hot and humid summer here in Nova Scotia so we have been doing our best to stay cool, which for the aussies means lots and lots of playtime and swimming in the pond!! They love to go for a swim in the nice cool water after a run in the field. They LOVE the summertime!!!

Quarry's puppy career came to an end at the South Shore Kennel Club show the first weekend in June. He ended his puppy career with a group 4th, two more puppy group wins and one last best puppy in show win!!!! We couldn't be happier with this boy and are very thankful to Lisa Wensley for signing Quarry over to us so that he can stay with us here at Novacoast:) These wins put Quarry at #6 australian shepherd in Canada and #1 australian shepherd puppy in Canada...as of right now he is at #8 aussie and still is at #1 aussie puppy.

Ruger also got the last 2 points that he needed at the South Shore Kennel Club show to finish his Canadian championship!!! So he is now CKC AKC Ch Thornapple Locked N Loaded. Ruger went to the Evangeline Kennel Club show the end of June and went best of breed in 3 out of the 4 shows. Lexa was also at this show and picked up two 2 point wins for being best of opposite sex. Lexa looked stunning in the showring, she has always LOVED going to the shows!! Little Trio made her debut this weekend and was best of breed puppy in all 4 shows and was also reserve winners bitch in one of the shows. She did a great job for her very first time in the ring.

From the 23rd to 25th of July we travelled to Fredericton, New Brunswick for their outdoor show. Quarry was best of breed in all 3 shows...Saturday and Sunday were the largest aussie entries of the year so we were very proud of Quarry. He also picked up a group 4th. Lexa picked up 5 points...a 2 point win for best of opposite on Friday and a 3 point win for best of opposite over specials on Saturday!! That little girl really knows how to strut her stuff and is such a pretty mover. Trio was best of breed puppy all 3 days and was also reserve winners bitch on Sunday. She is growing up into such a beautiful young girl!

We are always very proud of our aussies whether they win or lose!!! It's all about having fun with your dog and we definitely have fun with ours:)

Obedience School Graduates

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:50:18 +0100

May 20th was Lexa and Quarry's level one obedience school graduation. There were a few absentees but everyone who was at class did great. We played several obedience games and Lexa ended up winning every single one!!! This was the first time that one dog won every game. Lexa is a very smart and focused girl!! Quarry came in second in most of the games. Their favorite part of graduation was at the end when they were given some special treats!
We take all of our obedience classes with Crystal Flemming of Medway Kennels and highly recommend her to anyone looking for training or boarding. There is a link to Crystal's webpage on our "links" page.

4H Judging Day

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:51:02 +0100

We were asked by a friend if we would help out with 4H this year. Of course we said yes:) Judgind Day was held in Windsor, Nova Scotia on Wednesday, May 19th. We took 4 dogs for the kids to judge. It was the first time that our dogs had been in a fair type environment but they walked in there like they owned the place with not a care in the world. We had Ruger, Mylie, Quarry and Lexa who quickly won over the crowd. Mylie, of course, took no time at all to train everyone to rub her belly...she is such a funny girl. The dogs and the kids had a great time!! Some of the kids came back to see the dogs again after they were finished judging. It was a lot of fun and hopefully we will be able to help out again!

Moncton Kennel Club

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:51:41 +0100

On May 8th & 9th we travelled to Moncton, New Brunswick for the Moncton Kennel Club All Breed Shows. We had Quarry and Ruger entered hoping to get a puppy group for Quarry and some points for Ruger. I told Collin that if he beat me in the ring I wouldn't be mad at him as long as he got a group placing. So, what does Collin do??? He beats me both days, gets back to back group 1st wins, back to back puppy group and on Saturday he gets Best Puppy In Show , all with Quarry who just turned 11 months old on Saturday!!! Now how could anyone get angry over that:) Winning was amazing but the best part was hearing so many people cheering for the dog that we were showing. It was nice to see so many people happy for us! It was also nice to see how quickly Quarry's fan club grew after just 4 weekends out. This boy has a bright future in front of him!!!

Pictou County Kennel Club Show

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:52:36 +0100

On April 17th & 18th we travelled to Trenton, Nova Scotia to attend two all breed shows. Collin showed Lisa Wensley's boy, Quarry. On Saturday, under judge Doug Gaudin, Quarry took best of opposite for a point. On Sunday, under judge Avery Gaudin, Quarry was awarded Best of Breed, Best of Winners, Best Puppy in Breed and also went on to take a group 4th to finish his CKC championship!!!!! We are very proud of Quarry!!! This boy definitely has a bright future in front of him!