Mar 25 10

Thanks for attending the LCNW 2010 Spring Specialty

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As is typical of Pacific Northwest March weather, we had a blustery weekend. Rain would alternate with sun and we were all bundled up in coats and sweaters. Of course, the dogs loved the weather!

With the LCA Nationals looming right around the corner and being on the West Coast, many usual attendees had to make the choice of attending one show or the other. We had a total of 35 entries which made for a smaller, but very cozy, show. There was room for all in the lodge and plenty of food was available at our famous potluck. Smiles and laughter rang through the air.

For Conformation we were fortunate to have Sharon and David Krogh as our judges on Saturday and Sunday respectively. We also were granted the privilege of hosting an AKC judge who was seeking mentoring in the breed – Pat Putnam.

The weekend in Conformation belonged to Mary Ann Ruggiero-Smith’s Leodania’s Ma Reggio di Calabria (Reggie) as he took Best in Show both Saturday and Sunday. Best Opposite Sex on Saturday was Peggy Atchley’s Seelowen’s Goodhearted Bridget CGC (Bridget) and on Sunday Tobi Smith’s Flyin’ Lions Airplay RN CGC (Ayja).

Obedience and Rally continue to grow and thrive. Under our judge Chris Primmer, Jody Woodruff and Desperado’s Agamemnon UD RE CGC (Bentley) earned High in Trial. On that note we congratulate them on being the first Leonberger team to earn an AKC Utility title. We are all so proud of them.

Stephanie Kuwasaki of DeKu Photography joined us again to provide wonderful ring action photos as well as win photos with the Judges for purchase. Her photos are displayed on her website at: http://deku.smugmug.com/Dog-Show/Leo-Spring-Specialty-March2010.

On Saturday evening the LCNW continued our tradition of striding ahead and offering more and more for our members. The first official Fireside Chat was hosted by Jody Woodruff and was a well attended, informative question and answer session on tackling the joys and challenges of Obedience with your Leonberger.

We have a special treat and another groundbreaker for a Regional Club scheduled for our August Regional Specialty. We have coordinated to bring in esteemed UK judge John Feehan. Do plan on attending and receiving fantastic critique on your dogs from this revered expert. He has also agreed to provide us a short seminar- I’m sure it will be something you won’t want to miss. On Sunday we are also fortunate to have obtained Pat Hastings as our Conformation judge. She isn’t easy to schedule and we are honored to have her view our dogs. We’ll see you then!

Salena Anderson
President, Leonberger Club of the Northwest

Jan 12 10

Save the Date for the LCNW Spring Specialty!

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Hi everyone,

Mark your calendars for the LCNW Spring Specialty, March 12 – 14, 2010, at Argus Ranch in Auburn, WA.

This fun weekend starts on Friday afternoon, March 12, with our wonderful Wine and Cheese Social and continues on Saturday with Conformation, Obedience, and Rally events followed by our famous Raffle and Potluck. We finish up on Sunday with another great conformation show.

Manu’s Mocha Madness will be there as always, serving up their great food and drinks.

Also, save the date for The Summer Specialty, August 20 – 22 at Argus Ranch in Auburn, WA.

Registration information will be sent out by email, and be available on the LCNW website in the next few weeks.  See you there!

Virginia Reid
LCNW Secretary

Jan 12 10

Get ready for Fireside Chats

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On Saturday evening, March 13, at the LCNW Spring Show, Jody Woodruff will host the first official informal Fireside Chat about entering and preparing your Leonberger for Obedience.

It will be a roundtable discussion, question and answer session for 15 to 20 minutes.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Jan 12 10

Skagit County Buddy Walk—A Great Leo Adventure!

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BuddyWalk 5

Hi,

Every year we go on the Skagit County Buddy Walk— it is hosted by a group called Parent 2 Parent and is in support of Down Syndrome children and their families. This year I opted to take Jed. Not only would it be a fantastic opportunity to socialize Jed but the event would be a great chance to act as a Leo ambassador.

Jed was fantastic. Initially he thought the live band was too loud but he settled right in. He was a calm, gentle soul— kind and tolerant of all the children who clearly couldn’t resist a big hairy puppy. For any dog he did well, considering he is a 9 month puppy he did phenomonally!! Not only did he take the noise, crowds, wheelchairs, ballons and blanket toss in stride, he tolerated the children groping and tugging on him with grace. He was a testiment to the Leonberger breed.

Anyone else have any great Leo Adventures??? Send them on in! Share your good times. It can be a great way to give the rest of us ideas on new things to do and places to go with our Leos.

Salena

Board President, LCNW

Jan 12 10

Welcome to 2010

by admin

Hello!

As we Spring into 2010 we have a lot to look back on and much to look forward to. We’ve made many new friends both human and canine. Our membership has had many amazing times and successes from Mary Ann Ruggiero’s Ariel with the Super 18, to Jody Woodruff’s Bentley achieving the first Leonberger AKC UD title. There are others but I certainly can’t list them all. We need to just pause for a moment and realize what we and our friends have achieved.

We also have much to look forward to. The Leonberger Club of America received approval from the AKC for entry into the Working Class as of July 1st. This will certainly change the face of our club. I encourage all members to be positive through these changes. With active participation we can retain what really makes our club so special – Great Dogs, Great People.

Here in the Northwest your Board and Show Team members are actively preparing for our regional specialty, “Spring into 2010”. I look forward to seeing old friends again and meeting new ones this March. We’ll have great competition, great food and lively conversation. Be sure to hang around Saturday evening, not only for the great food but to get updated on our plans to apply for AKC sanctioned status.

One exciting change for us this March concerns Junior Showmanship. We are starting our transition towards AKC rules with this class. To begin our AKC journey we have modified the age ranges to reflect AKC classes. Pee Wee (non-AKC but so much fun) will now go up to age eight. Junior class will be nine to thirteen and Senior class will be fourteen to eighteen. See the premium for more information and, if you can, pre-register those Juniors and Seniors so they can be included in the catalogue!

This March we are also starting a Fireside Chat tradition. Saturday evening Jody Woodruff has agreed to be available for a brief round table discussion/question and answer session about preparing for and entering Obedience with your Leonberger. We’ll meet by the fireplace shortly before the potluck on Saturday; bring your questions and fears and she’ll do her best to help you out.

Back to talking about the AKC — our August 20th through 22nd show is chock full of plans. We intend to hold our first B Match on Sunday. Pat Hastings will be our judge for that special event. And, mentioned last but certainly not least, the LCNW Show Team is proud to announce our Saturday judge, esteemed John Feehan from the United Kingdom! Mark the August Regional on your calendars now for this extremely special show. He will continue our new tradition of Saturday education by providing an after show Leonberger seminar based on what he has seen not only at our show, but globally. We can turn out in force to participate in the B Match and to give Mr. Feehan an amazing American welcome.

So I will let you go and expect to see you all March 12th through 14th. Join us and share in the excitement 2010 has to offer.

Salena

Board President, LCNW