I waited a long time for my first Curly, Am And Can CH Karakul Blazing Autumn CD, CDX, NA, OA, AX, CGC, USDAA AD, Can CD, CDX. From the moment she entered our lives I was hooked on the breed!

Curlies are an active, intelligent breed. Giving them a "job" to do makes them better members of the family. Having a dog sport you and your curly can do together strengthens the bond between you. The Curly Coated Retriever is a dog that can excel at many jobs.

Training can improve your relationship with your Curly. While obedience is a competitive sport there is also practical obedience which is not much different than teaching basic manners and communication. If you are uncomfortable with the formality and, yes, rigidity, of formal obedience you can still become a happy team in practical obedience. I recommend obedience to any Curly owner. It will make your dog a better member of your family.

Aysa training for Open

The sport of obedience has been around since the 1933 when the first obedience trail was held at Mt. Kisco, New York. Today's obedience competitions begin with exercises that attest to the dog's good manners .. walking on a leash at the owner's side, standing to be touched by a stranger, sitting and lying down with distractions, and coming when called. Advanced classes prove the owner�s ability to train the dog to do a variety of tricks: fetching a dumbbell, jumping different obstacles, obeying commands in an instant whether given by hand signal or voice, and finding items touched by the owner. The goal is to create a working team, a partnership with both human and canine working in sync.

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Ch Fairway's Softmaple Finnheir, CGC, CD,NA, NAJ, RN, RA, RE
This is his second leg to his CD earning a 4th place in Novice B.

5/28 CH Soft Maple's O' Dark Thirty JH, SH, MH, WC, WCX, WCQ, CD, RN, CGC, TT, HOF (Jet) handled by Mary Fowler, earned his first Open leg at the St Lawrence Valley KC show. Jet got a score of 193.5 and a second place.

CH SoftMaple's Comin' To America CGC CD (with Mark) in the ring, earning her first CD leg at 9 months old. Aysa finished her CD at 11 months of age.

SoftMaple's American Dreamer CGC, CD, TDI

Gunflint's Highland Hunter CGC, WC, CD
Sky earns his first Novice Obedience Leg
10/15/2006 Sky earns his second leg to his CD with a Second place in Novice

11/11/2006 Softmaple Cimramin Jorneyman Denzel earned a second place at his first official obedience trial.

9/28/2007 SoftMaple Cimramin Journeyman was entered in an obedience competition and got full 10 points from every move, total 200 points from 200 possible gaining his first prize from open class and a very easy class win!

FIN & NOR CH SWE SH CH TK2 Softmaple Cimramin Jorneyman. earned a First Placement in Open Class Obedience!

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CD Companion Dog (AKC, CKC) CDX Companion Dog Excellent (AKC, CKC) OTCh Obedience Trial Champion (prefix) (AKC, CKC) U-CD Companion Dog (prefix) (UKC) U-CDX Companion Dog Excellent (prefix) (UKC) U-UD Utility Dog (prefix) (UKC) UD Utility Dog (AKC, CKC) UDX Utility Dog Excellent (AKC) CGC Canine Good Citizen Certificate TD Therapy Dog TDI Therapy Dog International TT Temperment Tested by ATTS (or other official organizations)

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SoftMaple Obedience Highlights

1994 Am And Can CH Karakul Blazing Autumn CDX, AX, CGC, ST, USDAA AD, Can CDX earns her AKC Companion Dog title AKC CD, and her CGC

1995 Am And Can CH Karakul Blazing Autumn CDX, AX, CGC, ST, USDAA AD, Can CDX Earns her Canadian Companion Dog Title CKC CD

1996 Am And Can CH Karakul Blazing Autumn CDX, AX, CGC, ST, USDAA AD, Can CDX. Her American Companion Dog Excellent AKC CDX Her Canadian Companion Dog Excellent CKC CDX Sally ends up ranked #1 CCR in Obedience In the Dogs in Canada rating system

1997 Ch Avanti's Best Bet CGC CD ROMX Betty earns her CGC

U-CH, SR, CH Soft Maple Kyrabean Queen OA JH NAJ CGC TDI WC CD earns her Canine Good Citizen title.

1998 CH Soft Maple's Warrior Princess ST earns her Stability test title CKCRB ST
Am And Can CH Karakul Blazing Autumn CDX, AX, CGC, ST USDAA AD, Can CDX earns her Stability Test Title CKCRB ST
U-CH, SR, CH Soft Maple Kyrabean Queen OA JH NAJ CGC TDI WC CD TT earns her TDI

1999 Soft Maple Darcy CGC TDI earned her Canine Good citizen CGC
Soft Maple Darcy CGC TDI earned her Therapy Dog International titles TDI
CH Avanti SM Fair Trade CGC TDI earned her CGC
CH Avanti SM Fair Trade CGC TDI earned herTherapy Dog International titles TDI

2000 U-CH SR CH Soft Maple Kyrabean Queen OA JH NAJ CGC TDI WC CD earns her AKC CD

2001 CH Soft Maple's O' Dark Thirty JH, SH, MH, CD, TT, HOF, WC, WCX, WCQ earns his AKC CD
CH Soft Maple's O' Dark Thirty JH, SH, MH, CD, TT, HOF, WC, WCX, WCQ earns his CGC
CH SoftMaple's International Fling CGC earns her CGC

2002 SR, U-CH CH Soft Maple Kyrabean Queen, U-CD, CD, OA, NAJ, JH, WC, (WCX, WCI), TDI, CGC earned her UKC Companion Dog Obedience title
CH SoftMaple Fairway Explorer CGC earns her CGC
CH SoftMaple's Pheasant Dreams CGC WC earns her CGC
CH SoftMaple's Water Works CR-646F42M-PI, CR-EL79M25 earns his CGC
CH Softmaple Dese's Int'l D'Lite CGC earnes her CGC
Ch Fairway's Softmaple Finnheir, CGC CD earns his AKC Companion Dog obedience title

2003 SoftMaple's MoonShadow CGC earns her CGC
Soft Maple Darcy CGC TDI CD completed her AKC CD
CH Softmaple Paramount All That CGC earns her CGC
Beltane's Bodacious Blue WC, CGC, SS, SWET, WETT (co-bred) earned 3 WetDog titles. As far as WetDog can tell me, Blue is the 1st Curly in the country to earn WetDog titles
SoftMaple's Comin' To America CGC CD earns her CGC
SoftMaple's Comin' To America CGC CD earned her her Companion Dog Obedience Title at 11 months of age

2004 SR U-CH CH Soft Maple Kyrabean Queen CD, JH, OA, OAJ, NA, NAJ, WCX, WC, (WCI, WC), TDI, CGC TT earns her TT
CH SoftMaple N Hunterbay's NY Wkend CGC TT earns her TT
CH SoftMaple's O'Dark Thirty MH WCQ CD CGC TT earns his TT
(Grandkid News) Co-bred AKC/UKC/Int'l CH Beltane's Bodacious Blue-"Blue" WC CGC SS SWET WETT owned by Stephanie Ayers passed his Therapy Dog International test in September.

2005 SoftMaple's American Dreamer CGC Earned his AKC Canine Good Citizen Award
SR U-CH CH Soft Maple Kyrabean Queen, CD, U-CD, OAJ, OA, NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, JH, WCX, WC (WCI, WC), TT, TDI, CGC Kyra was entered in her first Rally Obedience trial, and earned her first Rally Novice leg.
AKC/UKC/Int'l CH Beltane's Bodacious Blue-"Blue" WC CGC SS SWET WETT (Co-bred grandkid) owned by Stephanie Ayers passed his AKC CD this year at the National
Kyra (SR U-CH CH Soft Maple Kyrabean Queen, CD, U-CD, OAJ, OA, NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, OAP, RN, JH, WCX, WC (WCI, WC), TT, TDI, CGC) earns her R.N Title. (Rally Novice)
SoftMaple's MaBelle Boucl�e new CGC
Soft Maple's Beachcomber new CGC
Grandkid news: Co-bred AKC/UKC/Int'l CH Beltane's Bodacious Blue-"Blue" WC CGC SS SWET WETT owned by Stephanie Ayers passed his AKC CD this year at the National
AKC/UKC/Int'l CH Beltane's Bodacious Blue-"Blue" WC, CGC, TT, AG1, SS, SWET, WETT Earned his AG 1 and passed his TT.

2006 CH SoftMaple's Pheasant Dreams WC CGC earns her first two RN legs.
SoftMaple Frolick In The Wind, Gambol passed her certification track.
2/24/2006 Ringo, SoftMaple's American Dreamer CGC, CD, TDI took 2nd place at his first Obed trial, and earned his first leg in Novice B.
3/5/2006 SoftMaple's American Dreamer CGC, CD, TDI passed his TDI
3/11/2006 SoftMaple's American Dreamer CGC, CD, TDI qualified and got his 2nd Companion Dog leg.
3/12/2006 Ringo (SoftMaple's American Dreamer CGC, CD, TDI) earned his third CD leg.
Grandkid News: AKC/UKC/Int'l CH, SHR, AG1, UWP, Beltane's Bodacious Blue WC, CGC, TT, SS, SWET, WETT, CD, BPS, TDI, RN, CR-754, CR-CA154/21M/C-PI, CR-723E27M-PI, CR-EL135M27-PI, CHIC Blue one of our co-bred grandkids finish his AKC Rally title April 8th with a score of 98 and 3rd place. Congratulations to his owner Stephanie Ayers. Blue was bred at Beltane Curlies by Molly Kirwan.
5/2006 Kyra finished her Rally Advanced title. This is her 26th title. SR, U-CH, UAG1, CH Soft Maple Kyrabean Queen, CD, U-CD, OAJ, OA, NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, OAP, RN, RA, JH, WCX, WC (WCI, WC), TT, TDI, CGC,
The next day at the Cincinnati KC Rally trial Kyra got a 95 in Rally Excellent B
6/4/2006 Kyra earns another Q in Advanced Rally B. (the trial did not allow move-ups) So its an extra leg
At the 2006 CCRCA National Specialty, CH Fairway SoftMaple Finnheir CGC CD earns his first Rally leg and takes first place in his Agility class!
10/7/2006 U-AG1 Softmaple Frolic In The Wind NJC TN-N earned her third leg of her Novice Tunnelers title with a 3rd class placement at a NADAC trial in NC. Gambol also ran in Jumpers and got a 3rd place finishing in 19 seconds on a 27 seconds SCT time course.
9/2/2006 at the NADAC trial in Millersville Maryland, Gambol (U-AG1 Softmaple Frolic In The Wind NJC, TN-N)got a 2nd placement in Novice Jumpers which earned her Novice Jumpers title. Gambol also earned her first Novice Regular Q.
10/15/2006 Sky earns his second leg to his CD with a Second place in Novice
Oct 22nd CH Fairway SoftMaple Finnheir CGC CD RN earns his Rally Novice title with a score of 97 Oct 21st CH Fairway SoftMaple Finnheir CGC CD Earns a Rally leg with a score of 98
Oct 21st U-AG1 Softmaple Frolic In The Wind NJC TN-N wins her Open Tunnelers class with a First Place

2007 1/13/2007 CH SoftMaple's Pheasant Dreams CGC, WC, RN completed her Rally title handled by Eva Fowler Raczka with a score of 94 in Hamburg NY

1/14/2007 CH SoftMaple's Pheasant Dreams CGC WC RN earned her first advanced rally leg

1/20/2007 Soft Maple Wind on Water ADC, VAADC, VMGDC, CGN, competed at his first agility trial in 15 months, the K-9 Cliffhangers trial in Cloverdale, B.C. first run of the day he got a Q (and a 1st place) in Veteran's Advanced Titling, which was his third Q in Advanced so he earned his Veteran Advanced Agility Dog of Canada (VAADC) title!

As soon as he finished that run he and Sheila had to rush over to the other ring and run Master's Gamblers. He Q'd in that run as well, and since that was his third Master Gamblers Q, he earned his Veteran Master Gamblers Dog of Canada (VMGDC) title! Two titles in 4 minutes!!

1/27/2007 U-AG1 Softmaple Frolic In The Wind NJC, TN-N, TG-N earned her second Rally leg with a Fourth class placement.
1/26/2007 U-AG1 Softmaple Frolic In The Wind NJC, TN-N, TG-N earned her first Rally leg. Gambol is owned and trained by Sarah Alling.
1/21/2007 the second day of the Cliffhangers Agility Trial, Soft Maple Wind on Water ADC, VAADC, VMGDC, CGN, got a Q in Veteran Master's Titling. This was his first try at Master's level. Handled and trained by Sheila Churchill.
January 18th Gunflint's Highland Hunter CGC, WC, CD finished his AKC Companion Dog title. Sky is owned by Al Dadd and Pam Panther, co-bred by Softmaple and Gunflint.
Feb 17th 2007 CH Fairway SoftMaple Finnheir CGC, CD, RN, NAJ Finished his Novice Agility Jumpers title
4/1/2007 SoftMaple Cimramin Journeyman GSDIIIa Clear, Hip B/B entered his second obedience contest, and he got 193 points from 200 possible at beginners class, with a 1st prize.
4/2007 Congratulations to Sarah and U-AG1 Softmaple Frolic In The Wind NJC, TN-N, TG-N, TN-O, RN who earned their AKC Rally Novice title last weekend. The weekends before that, she earned her NADAC (North American Dog Agility Council) Open level Tunnelers title (TN-O) with a 3rd place, two AKC Novice Jumpers with Weaves legs with a 3rd and a 1st place, and one NADAC Novice Reguar (standard) leg with a 1st place. Way to go Sarah and Gambol!
8/26/2007 CH SoftMaple's Dark Star JH, WC, CGC earned her first Companion Dog leg at the Atlanta shows. Way to go Gabby and Buck!
8/26/2007 Ellen and Jet (CH SoftMaple's O'Dark Thirty JH, SH, MH, WC, WCX, WCQ, CD, CGC TT, HOF) earn their second Rally Novice leg!
8/19/2007 CH Softmaple's Pheasant Dreams WC, CGC, RN, JH, RA Moxie and Eva finished their AKC Rally Advanced title at Owego!
8/18/2007 CH Softmaple's Pheasant Dreams WC, CGC, RN, JH, RA, earned a first place in AKC Rally Advanced at Owego. Moxie is owned and trained by Eva Raczka.
8/12/2007 Jet CH SoftMaple's O'Dark Thirty JH, SH, MH, WC, WCX, WCQ, CD, CGC TT, HOF qualifies in Novice Rally. Way to go Ellen and Jet! 9/1 & 9/2/2007 Finn Ch Fairway's Softmaple Finnheir, CGC, CD,NA, NAJ, RN, RA, RE earned his Rally Excellent title last weekend with two 3rd class placements. Way to go Finn and Pat!

Me and my first Irish Setter
Moonshadows Katie Scarlett CD, CDX, UD, Can CD, CDX All Breed HIT

Moonshadows Katie Scarlett CD, CDX, UD, Can CD, CDX All Breed HIT Scarlet was the first dog I trained. She earned her AKC CD in three shows, with all class placements, and an all breed HIT. She earned her AKC CDX in three shows, with all class placements. She earned her AKC UD in 4 shows, with 2 class placements. She earned her CKC CD in 3 shows, and her CKC CDX in 3 shows. I didn't go further with Scarlet's training since I had to go off to Collage at that point. But by then I was hooked, and knew once I got out of school, I was going to get another breed. A breed that was wash and wear. One that was versatile, and not split into hunting and show lines. A dog I could take from the obed ring to the show ring with only a change of cloths by me. Am And Can CH Karakul Blazing Autumn CD, CDX, NA, OA, AX, CGC, USDAA AD, Can CD, CDX I found that breed, and in 1993 I got Fat Sally. Am And Can CH Karakul Blazing Autumn CD, CDX, NA, OA,AX, CGC, ST, USDAA AD, Can CD, CDX. I remember at the trial she got her first Novice Agility leg... Fingerlakes shows. We had entered Conf, Obed and Agility. I ran from the agility ring to the show ring, to the obed ring. Changing my cloths in a porta-john along the way! I thought I would have a heart attack! Sally didn't mind it. That weekend she earned her first Novice Agility Leg... becoming the first curly in the US to earn an AKC agility leg. She earned 2 AKC CDX legs, and picked up 4 points in the breed ring. And she slept at the bottom of my sleeping bag in my tent at the show. I knew I had found the breed I was looking for. Sally, my first curly, was the breeds first AKC titled NA, OA and AX. The breeds first USDAA Agility titled curly. Sally finished her Canadian Championship by going BOB over the #1 Curly in Canada at the CCRCC's Curly Booster. She earned all of her agility titles with class placements. Sally ends up ranked #1 CCR in Obedience in the Dogs in Canada rating system for 1996, and the #4 ranked Canadian Curly with the Dogs In Canada Rating system for conformation in 1997. She was always #1 in my heart. Bred by Sheila Anderson of Karakul Curlies. I could not have asked for a better dog, a good friend, and a wonderful mentor.

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About the Book

Follow a litter of puppies from birthday until they go to their new homes. The diary contains lots of pictures, tips on puppy rearing, some breed specific information, and lots of information on the care of any breed of dog.

I started doing an on-line puppy diary since many of the people that would be getting one of my pups would not be able to travel here to see the pups. I did not want to put a bunch of cute puppy pictures online, and encourage anyone to have a litter just because they wanted to see cute puppies! Breeding dogs, if done the right way, is a lot of work. Lost sleep and sometimes heartache. It takes a lot of time, effort and money to raise a litter of puppies. Once I started doing The Puppy Diary, I realized I had a captive audience. These people logged on every day to see the pictures, and read what was happening. I used this opportunity to cram as much education into each day as I could. Health, Coat issues, grooming, feeding, socializing, vet care, puppy evaluations, shipping puppies.... you name it! I tried to put it in The Diary. It was suggested that I make it into a book. Well here it is! There are 560 pictures and over 300 pages of living with and watching one litter grow up.

I am sure may conscientious, caring breeders raise litters similar to the way I do. Its is a good look into the time, money, commitment it takes to bring up a litter of pups. Some of the things that go on behind the scenes, that the eventual puppies owners (family), never realize go into the litter. Enjoy my litter as I see them. Day to day

Contents:

Chapter One (Week One) ... Page 1
Seger comes into season
Happy Birthday!
Removing the Dewclaws
Start of the Bio Sensor program

Chapter Two (Week Two) ... Page 48
Coat issues.
Tail Gland Hyperplasia
Do Curlies Shed?

Chapter Three (Week Three) ... Page 94
End of Bio Sensor Exercises
Worming The puppies
Eyes are open
First pup escapes from the box

Chapter Four (Week Four) ... Page 130
Weaning. The great food fight!
Introduction to the puppy play room
Shark Cage

Chapter Five (Week Five) ... Page 156
Field dog? Show Dog? CPE?
Happy Mothers Day!
First Stacked pictures

Chapter Six (Week Six) ... Page 195
Toys! Toys! Toys!
What�s In A Name?
Kids and Dogs
Introduction to Wings

Chapter Seven (Week Seven) ... Page 236
About Puppies and Retrieving
Socialize your puppy
First Shots & Vet Visit
Splish Splash, first bath!

Chapter Eight (Week Eight) ... Page 286
Shape up or ship out!
Requirements to ship puppies
See all the pups!

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