July 2010

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:41:13 -0400

Ylva's and Karo's daughters Nyx and Ruby, the first in Thunder Bay with owners Joey Farrell and Linda Roe, the later in N.H. with Joe Juza have both got a Senior leg, Big Congratulations!

Nyx has already her Senior Hunter in the States but this is her first in Canada.

We went to Wabamun in the beginning of July and both Pippin and Maisey finished their Junior titles.

The American specialty was held in June and Joe Smithberger who owns Taylor, the sire of our latest puppies, had made a "steady box" to be auctioned off at the specialty auction. It was dedicated to Patsey and we were very moved at his kindness.

At the specialty Taylor did very well , getting a second in the open class,which is a big and very competitive class.

June 2010

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 23:31:41 -0400

We spend quite a bit of time at the retriever club's land.

These are wonderful training opportunities.

May 2010

Thu, 13 May 2010 21:37:39 -0400

The puppies have moved out to the kennel, observing the adult dogs and getting used to some commotion. They can go in and out as they please during the days when we have nice weather. When it's cold there is a heater and a wood-stove in the kennel to keep it warm and cozy.

April 2010

Sun, 9 May 2010 11:10:53 -0400

Update April 1, 2010

At two weeks of age the Puppies eyes are starting to open. We had a sad day yesterday when we realized that we could not win the fight against the boy puppy's eye infection. He could not digest his food either and did not gain any weight, he was still 790 g compared to his littermates' weight of more than 1200 g. We did not want him to suffer unnecessarily seeing that whatever we did would end in the same way. He was euthanized.

Update April 7, 2010

All the puppies are at home now; the three from Sunshadows kennel came home yesterday. The Ruby fed pups are a bit bigger as they had their food supplied without any competition. They are all thriving and doing very well. They will be de-wormed today and we will start supplementing the feedings as there is a limit what Ruby will be asked to provide. She has been such a good foster mom and she is not done yet. Besides she is a lovely dog to live with!

On our walk this morning there are signs that spring is here, the Prairie crocuses are in bloom.

March 2010

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:49:37 -0400

Winter seems to finally be over. We have done some obedience and trialed a few of our dogs. Weizer got his second open leg, Pippin finished his CD, Quinta now has a leg on her Novice, Chat and Splash went to the show in PA and Splash came home with 4 points and Chat with 2.

In January, Patsy was bred and we had an ultrasound in the middle of Feb. which confirmed that she was in whelp. It was thought that she carried 6 or 7 pups. As her due date got closer I doubted that number since she was very big.

At the time she was due her contractions were very weak and she went in for a c-section. She had 10 big puppies. Everything seemed to go well with both pups and Patsy but a day and a half later Patsy collapsed and died on the way to the vet clinic. I cannot describe the shock and sorrow. We did though have to think about our orphaned puppies and due to our friendship with many breeders in our community we now have 2 surrogate mothers; the Lab Ruby lent to us from Prairiestorm kennels and a GSD from Sunshadows German Shepherds who just accepted 3 of the pups as her own.

We are very grateful to the friends who helped us!

The pups are doing well and we hope they all will thrive. There are 2 girls and 8 boys in the litter. Ruby only feeds the pups. She was ready to have her own puppies weaned at her home so I think she thinks she has completed her job, but accepts her new job quite happily and has settled down very well. As she does not want to lick the pups we have to take over the job of getting the pups clean. Also, the young pups are dependent on the mom to urinate and defecate so we have to rub their tummies to get them to do this. The pups are being fed every 4 hours, just like newborn human babies, so it is work around the clock.

November 2009

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:51:10 -0500

As long as possible we do some training at home. Here is Jona returning from a mark.

Prairielight news archive

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 09:08:22 -0500

January is now gone. The days are slowly getting longer. We are doing obedience in the winter when the snow and cold weather prevents us from field activities. On nice winter Sundays we do go out and train with the Saskatoon retriever club, but due to the cold it does not happen all that often. In September we went to the Lloydminster show where we did obedience with Jona and Ylva and they both now can add CDX to their names. We also went to the Regina trial in October with Ulk and Patsy for one day and they came home with two legs each of Open and Novice respectively. Hazel and her owner Bonnie were busy showing in Ontario and Hazel’s brother Pippin has also been out for a couple of weekends, obtaining a few points and a Best Puppy in Group. He has been joined by Junior puppy Bentley for one show weekend and for more we hope. In November we realized that Jazz was not well as we found some big lymph nodes on her. She was treated for some time but left us on the 13th of January. We miss her tremendously. She was such a lovely dog with a wonderfully calm temperament, an excellent retriever, a beautiful show dog and just a very good dog. We are happy that we have her two daughters Patsy and Maisy.
At Christmas time we got quite a few pictures from our puppy owners. Here are a few:
During the summer the Prairielight dogs were busy in the field.
Patsy, Luna, Skippy and Jazz passed their Working certificate tests. Ulk got his WCI and Nick his WCX. We also went to a few hunt tests and Patsy and Weizer completed their three tests to get their Junior Hunter titles. Skippy and Ylva need a leg each still. Jona got his first Senior hunter lag. We enjoyed seeing Kaleb and Sarah run the WC tests here in Saskatoon successfully both days. Rosa and Sharon ran very well in the Junior here in August.
In the Saskatoon show in early September we had Maisy entered and her brother Dazzle from Manitoba was here as well with his owner Sarah Read and Ben. Daz went home with two points and a second in the sweeps and Maisy acquired her first point as well. In that same weekend Sharon and Lily got their final leg for the OTCh title and Rosa finished her CDX.  Remington got his WC and a US Rally title.  In September Jona and Ylva both finished their Open obedience titles.
The summer was busy as there are not that many events in Saskatoon so we have to travel to Alberta as well. We also went to the National Specialty in Quebec City where we saw Joe and Michele Juza with their two Prairielight dogs - Hannah and Ruby. Ruby won the Canadian Bred class and got first placing in Novice A obedience. Both Ruby and Hanna passed their first Junior Hunter test in Canada. They have already a couple of field titles from the US where they live. We also saw Ulk’s puppies from Labry’s kennel in Thunder Bay and Skippy’s sister Nyx also at the Labry’s kennel. Nyx got her WCI in Québec. Jazz’ and Dar’s puppies are now old enough to show and Hazel and her owner Bonnie Young have been busy showing in Ontario. Hazel has had some good success and was actually best of breed in her first show. She will be joined shortly by her brother Pippin in the show ring. Ylva and Ulk’s puppies are soon 6 months as well and at least a couple will be shown when the opportunity comes.
In April and May we had many things to celebrate.
Ramona and Sabre turned 11 in early March but we had a belated birthday party in April with special hamburger birthday cake decorated with wieners. Sabre is still the fastest eater! In the beginning of April we went to a show in North Battleford with Skippy and Patsy for three days, Jona joined for two and Norah joined for one. Patsy and Skippy got a few points each and Jona got two grp 4th. At the same show Rosa - Ch Prairielight Game Winner WC CD and her handler Sharon Ball qualified in Open with a very good score. In the beginning of May we have the spring show here in Saskatoon. Patsy and Skippy again got a few points. The greatest feat was achieved by Sharon and Lily - Prairielight Keep ‘Em Talking CDX, WC - who qualified for the second time in Utility. There was a lot of cheering! The training group at Buena Vista is a very supportive group of people. There was more good news in May. Cash-Prairielight Morning Coffee - finished his CD in good style in BC with his owners Koralee and Craig Duguid, Kaleb - Ch Prairielight Talk of the Town Agn -also finished his CD. Another score in the 190s. Trainer and owner is Sarah Novak who also has done extremely well with Kaleb in agility. Remington -Ch Prairielight A New Beginning - is doing well in his obedience trialling as well with his handler and owner Randy Armitage.  Prairielight Bella Diamantha, owned by Jim Labine in Minnesota, is one of the very few Flatcoats who now can call themselves a Tracking Champion. This is a very impressive accomplishment! Ch Prairielight Stickhandler and his owners had the good news that Jerry was #3 conformation Flatcoat in 2006. Jerry and his 'brother 'Wayne now have another more important job looking after a real baby brother! Another special celebration: Morgan had her front leg amputated 2 years ago in May. She is still doing very well!

Most of the puppies have gone to their new homes and these are some pictures from the last few days they spent with mom Jazz learning dog speak and some communication skills. We are keeping one of the girls and we will try to have some updates on the website now and then.

: FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2007 ::
February: Jazz’ and Dar’s puppies were born the night between 10th and 11th of February. They can be seen under the heading Litters.  
March: The first show of the year in Saskatchewan is held in Prince Albert during the first weekend of the month. Ylva was there for conformation; Luna and Jona were there for obedience. Ylva got a group 2 and a group 3 so we were very pleased. Luna finished her CD in three straight trials. Jona got a leg on his Open. In the end of the month we had an obedience trial in Regina where both Skippy and Weizer got their CDs in three straight trials and Ylva got two legs on her open so that was a very productive weekend as well. In the meantime we had a week or so of spring weather that since has disappeared. We get a lake on our property of a short time in the spring and the dogs thoroughly enjoy that.

:: JANUARY 2007 ::
In January Sharon Ball and Lily went to the obedience trial in Regina where Lily got her first leg in Utility with a very good score. We wish them continued good luck! Lily's brother Kaleb and his owner Sarah Novak have been busy in the Agility trials and have finished four more titles so far in 2007. Ulk has got quite good at pulling his sled and the 20 kg sand bag. Also Weizer is starting this kind of exercise that they seem to enjoy. The amount of snow we have makes training difficult so we have to find other ways to keep our dogs fit. Of course they walk and run on our trails every day as well. The photos above are Skippy and Patsty enjoy spending time together on the trials.

:: OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2006 ::
Where did these months go? The colors of autumn were replaced early with lots of the white stuff and we preferred to stay home. We continued field training as long as we could and then obedience started up again. The fall is a beautiful time in Saskatchewan and the pictures of the girls and the boys were taken on one of those days when everything is still warm, sunny and golden.
We all enjoy the snow although some more and some less. We have visitors coming, the deer come to feed under our birdfeeder and although we did not have a partridge in a peartree, we did have a grouse in an apple tree. The tiny owl we hear and very rarely see-maybe once a year.
The end of the year is good-the days will soon be longer and we will all have more energy. The dogs enjoy our daily walks and ski-trips, running after deer for a few steps realizing the futility, finding a stick here and there to play tug with and generally enjoying life.

: SEPTEMBER 2006 ::
Nyx and Toby both living in Thunder Bay had a very good Labour Day weekend. Nyx finished her JH, so did Toby who also got her WC the same weekend Nyx is owned by Linda Roe and Joey Farrell and Toby and Nyx are littermates. Toby is owned by Sue Legge and Terri Lee Backor. Hannah had again a good weekend and got another leg on her American JH and now has her American JH title. Kaleb in Lethbridge earned his Advanced Agility Title, two weeks later debuted in the Masters level - in three straight runs he earned his Masters Agility Title.

:: AUGUST 2006 ::
Jona got his last Junior leg so now he is CH Prairielight Up At Dawn CD, JH, WCX. His sister Hannah in NH and her little sister Ruby both did well in hunt tests in their area. We had a visit from Sabre, Ch Prairielights Liontamer CDX, WC. He is Ramona's brother and they both look great at 101/2. We also had a visit from Norah who lives in the city but comes out for a visit now and then. Jerry won 4 out of 4, BoB in Calgary in the beginning of August.

:: JULY 2006 ::
The big occasion for the year is our National Specialty that this year was held in Lethbridge Alberta. As usual it was a great time seeing all the Flat coats and their owners. The whole Prairielight gang went-lots of work-lots of fun. I counted to 12 prize cups when we came home. We were pleased to see Ulk in the final line up for best of breed; Jona made the cut and Ramona won her veterans 9-11 class. Kaleb (Novak-Eddy) and Lily (Sharon and Don Ball), Ramona's pups were best of altered, Ripley (Hockman-Barry) and Weizer got their WCs So did also Lily and Rosa-repeat performance! We also visited with Simon (Smolkin) and Harley (Davidson) who came just to say Hi.  In the Lethbridge all breed show Jerry and Wayne (both Cyr and Fitzmartyn) did very well. Jerry was best of breed on Sat and got a Group 1st and Wayne was best puppy in group also one day.
The other day a picture arrived of Hannah who is Jona's sister and lives in New Hampshire winning best of breed in a local show
The first of July is Canada Day and Nick sends his greetings to all his relatives and friends, esp Tip who has got at least two majors in the States during the last week and Jerry and Rosa with wishes for more successes!

: JUNE 2006 ::
In the beginning of June Jona went to the NACA show in Edmonton where he was BoB three days out \of four, just beaten by little brother Remington one day. Jona also came home with a Group 3. On the same weekend there was a WC test in Wabamun where Ulk got his WC.  The following weekend we had WC tests here in Saskatoon. There was a record number of Flatcoats entered - 8 out of 9 with the kennel name Prairielight. The exception was Ulk. All handlers and dogs made a good effort and a few came home with ribbons. Rosa, Lily and Ylva got their WCs and Jona got a WCI and following day a WCX.

:: MAY 2006 ::
In the Saskatoon May show Ulk was entered in Specials and won the breed two days out of three.
Jerry who lives in Calgary and is owned by Angelique Cyr went to the show in Medicine Hat and was BOB all three days and also got a group 4th.
The American Flat Coated Retriever Specialty was held in May and we were sad not to be there. We did get good news though: Nyx - Prairielight Heart of Darkness owned by Joey Farrell and Linda Roe won her sweepstakes class and got a second in her regular class. Also Jazz' and Huxley's son Riverwood Rain Maker was reserve winners dog and Jazz' daughter got a third in the Open Bitch class. Both these dogs were bred by Lenore McKee when Jazz lived in Minnesota.

:: APRIL 2006 ::
We went to North Battleford where Luna got her last point and Skippy got two.

:: MARCH 2006 :: We hope you like the new look of our Website!! Please continue to send pictures to our friends and family page.
Jerry got a group third in Calgary and Wayne was best puppy in group one day. Both are owned by Angelique Cyr and Robert Fitzmartyn.
We went to Prince Albert to do obedience. Jona and Ulk were entered. Jona needed one leg and Ulk two for their titles and they both completed this with excellent scores. Jona was awarded the Memorial Trophy to the dog with the Highest Aggregate score in Novice A.
Also in March, Ramona and her siblings Sabre, Marti and Kaxi all celebrated their 10th Birthdays. Sadly enough Marti, Prairielight's Card Up The Sleeve, passed away three days after the birthday.
:: FEBRUARY 2006 ::
The show season started in Calgary in the beginning of February. Rosa, Ylva and Jona went there and met up with Jerry from Calgary and friends and relatives from other parts of Alberta. Jerry had a very good show, he was best of breed on Friday and best of opposite on Sunday. Ylva was best of opposite on Friday. Rosa was entered in obedience only and finished her CD in great style. We also had the opportunity to meet up with mom Maja and we had a picture of this happy family reunion.