November 2004

For me, November will be the end of the 2004 show session. After a last trial in Syracuse, NY, we will be spending our time practicing for the 2005 Obedience Invitational. The Invitational is run so differently then any obedience trial, I was warned I needed to practice for it if I wanted to enjoy myself there. Each ring will have a combination of Open level and Utility level exercises mixed together. You might be expected to do a drop on recall, scent articles, and signal exercise in one ring. Each exercise is done twice the first day in 6 different rings. Second day is the same, then full class run-thrus of the finalists from each group. After talking to other Kerry Blue owners who have been there (Lisa Franklin, Carol Wertz, and Evelyn Gansfuss), I believe mental and physical exhaustion will be hard to avoid. Jessie and I were so lucky to get invited, since we only qualified to earn points the last month of eligibility, June, but had a few fortunate wins that put us in contention. I will be writing more about the Invitational later.

Jessie, like most Kerries, is really enjoying the cooler weather of November. Nothing like a chill to bring out the puppy in a Kerry. He’s got a new spring to his step that is wonderful to see, now he is “officially” a veteran having turned 7 on the 9th. Each year that passes though makes you worry about how little time you have with your dogs. One of my good friends just lost her Novice A obedience dog this week, a dog that she trained all the way through to his UDX. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain of losing a dog that you have spent the amount of time with that you spend working to this level of obedience. Every time I go out and train or show Jessie, I hope I can be in the moment and truly enjoy him and his great attitude, his fun naughtiness, and mostly his companionship. That’s what it is all about, isn’t it?

This month we have a wonderful interview with Evelyn Gansfuss about her amazing OTCH kerry, Steller. I do hope you will read it. I am really amazed by what Steller accomplished inside a relatively short obedience career. I believe this is due to a mixture of great breeding and an experienced handler (maybe with a little luck of the Irish thrown in). Ironically, we also have a wonderful brag about her new obedience kerry, Phoenix reported to us by Eve Fishell, Tantara Kerries, (breeder of both Steller and Phoenix).


Brags

From Eve Fishell:
Evelyn Gansfuss completed Phoenix's (Tantara's Phoenix) UDX with scores of 194 1/2 and 196 1/2.
Phoenix becomes the fourth Kerry ever to obtain this very prestigious title.

From Sharon Burnett:
Rocket (Keristar’s To the Moon) earned his first qualifying run in AKC Novice Jumpers Preferred (Q2) and a second leg on jumpers (Q2).
Rocket is owned by Sharon and bred by Betty Ann & Bill Clayton of Anthony, Florida.
Also, Ms Rascal (Keristar's Mutual Fun) earned a Q4 in Open Standard Thanksgiving Weekend.

From Jane Eno:
My Jessie, Primrose Jessie James UD, got a 192 in Utility at the Syracuse Fall cluster. Not good enough for a ribbon or UDX leg, but a triumph after having disconnects Friday and Saturday.


Interiew with Evelyn Gansfuss on her Kerry Blue Terrier, Stellar.

What is Steller’s full name and what titles has she earned? Include any important wins or honors (HIT, HC, CGC, Invitational, Dog World).

American and Canadian OTCH Tantara's Cosmic Stellar UDX3

Evelyn added, "Stellar was named for the stars, as all my dogs are named for stars or starlike."

Some of Steller’s achievements over the years include:
132 OTCh Points
11 1st places
23 second places
6 High Combined
1 HIT (won HC on the same day)

UDX Nov 20 1994 - had more legs after that.
OTCh June 18 1995
CGC
Steller was a registered Therapy Dog.

1st- Kerry American OTCH
1st- Dual OTCH
132 OTCh points total under 21 different judges.

Evelyn tells us:
"I earned the OTCH June 18, 1995. That was the weekend of the Invitational, and I decided not to go since I only needed 9 points to finish. It was a wise decision, as she took a first in Open and earned 18 points. It was a big class, and she won it outright.

The day I finished Stellar's OTCH, she needed 9 points and earned 18.

Stellar would have had more high combineds, but at that time, unless there was 6 in open B - high combined did not count and some of those summer shows had small open entries and a lot of absentees. And there were no points for 3rd place or 4th place. Only for 1st and 2nd.

Had HITS in Canada too.

Stellar finished her UD before her second birthday. Got Dog world twice, once for Novice and then for finishing all three degrees in less than a year. Won the Terrier Group at the Invitational." Who was Steller’s Dam, Sire and what is her birth date?

Stellar was born Nov 7, 1990.
Sire: Am. & Can. Ch Gamgee's Samwise Am.CDX & Can.CD. owned by Gerry Yeager.
Dam: CH OTCH Tantara's Blue Streak Am UD, Bd CD, AG.N., MXJ, MX, OAC, OJC, NGC, EAC, ADC, VAADC, PD1, ROM owned by Eve Fishell.
An American Sire and Canadian Dam.

Here is what Evelyn has to say about this amazing Kerry and her own history with terriers.

"She is still alive and will be 14 years old Nov 7th. She lives with my son his wife and two grandchildren. They love her immensely. Her greatest adventures are on the Jet Ski boat. She will push the kids off to get on it first. More later.

By the way, I did not chose Stellar from a litter- she was a reject from someone else, who was supposed to purchase her,but changed her mind. I was not interested in a Kerry at that time. I wanted another terrier, but never had a Kerry until I took in a Rescue Kerry named Bonnie. I had her for six weeks, while waiting for the people who were going to adopt her to get her. They were away on a vacation in New Zealand, and since she was so crazy and untrained I had to train her. I decided to get her CD and she placed 2nd two times with 194 1/2. She earned her CD and then went off to live with Louise Lang. You can ask Louise about what they did with her. When I got Bonnie, she was 2 weeks shy of her first birthday. When I first got Bonnie she played Poodle Bowling, (Evelyn owns a few mini poodles.) - but that didn't last very long, since they all ganged up on her and taught her you don't bowl mini poodles around. I have had several terriers that included a Wirehaired Fox Terrier, an Airedale with a UD, and a Soft Coated Wheaten with a CDX. That was how I made the decision to get a Kerry.

Stellar is a foodaholic. Teaching her fronts was easy, because I kept the food in my mouth and taught her to catch it. She only enjoyed showing in Novice. She did not like the continuous competition, as she got bored. Don't forget, there were no mixed up exercises then.

Keeping her attention in quiet shows was very difficult. If someone passed by, she would look at them until they disappeared. She failed the sits a lot...ten times in a row. It got so bad that I would take a step away, and she went down. She was not fun to show.

I attribute her success to my knowledge, experience and I knew how to handle terriers. I knew what to expect and what to do. People told me you could not make a terrier do the same exercise twice. I worked until I could do the same exercise twenty times. I looked at her and trained her as if she was a poodle.

Stellar retired at age 5 1/2. The day she left home she didn't even look back and has not missed working since. Although Stellar moved to my son's house, that didn't mean I never showed her again. Every time they went on vacation, she was left with me and I showed her. I also took her to Canada to get her UD and was thoroughly scolded by my grandchildren for taking her away for two weeks.

The two times that were exciting - One show was in Maryland. I can't remember if she qualified in Utility or not. I have to look it up. Anyway, the class was over and I knew she did a good job, so I started to warm her up in case there was a run-off. Sure enough, I was called in for a run-off. The next dog was called in for a run-off, and it was a Standard Poodle. It turned out to be for first place. I won the run-off. It was also HIT. That was my 1st 1st in Open, which I needed toward the OTCH.

The day I finished was also exciting. It was a big class. There were a lot of dogs called in for the run-off. There were Border Collies, Goldens and Poodles. Included was Diane Baumann. I figured I was out of it because of all the dogs in the run-off. To my surprise, I was called in with a first place, which was out-right. I certainly was surprised to win Open B.

As you probably know, the breeder of both my Kerries is Eve Fishell. Why did I go back to her? Because I know that she breeds for temperament and her dogs have a long history of obedience. (Jane's Comment: Evelyn is now training a 2nd kerry named Phoenix.)

When Stellar was one year old, I brought home two mini poodle puppies. She adopted them as her own. She raised them and protected them . To this day she loves poodles. The poodles thought she was their mother and treated her as such."


Thank you Evelyn for sharing your history with Stellar! Her successes are a true inspiration to all us showing and competing in obedience with our kerries.

Jane Eno


Content Editor's Note: Please contact Jane Eno and tell her about your accomplishments, training techniques and experiences with your Kerry. Jane will include the information in the next edition of the Performance Newsletter.

Last Updated: 12/15/2004, 7:20 pm