Page 23 - Demo

LP: Billie is by Ch Carolina’s Oliver Twist CD who was bred by Selena Poplin of Carolina. Oliver is by HOF Ch Briarbrook’s Game Plan and out of Ch Southwynd’s Almond Joy CD (Selena’s foundation bitch). The bottom side of Billie’s pedigree goes back to more working lines, including Ch Manchado’s Crazy Horse (Teak) and some Casa Buena and Fairoaks dogs. Both Selena Poplin and Terri Morgan of Calais have been very influential on my breeding decisions. When I decided to breed Billie, Terri was kind enough to take me around to look at dogs at the 1995 Nationals in Michigan. I ended up sending Billie to Toby (HOF Ch Sure to be Famous of Tres Rios CD). With thoroughbred horses, they refer to families or lines that cross well as “nicks.” Toby had crossed beautifully with another Oliver daughter owned by Shirley Gamble. I think that was the deciding factor.
My second litter was by Cajun (HOF Ch Terra-Blue’s Just Too Hot, ROMIII, ROMXIII). The pick puppy from that litter, Pepper (Ch Lyric’s Too Darn Hot), is producing beautifully.
Another dog I should mention is Schooner, my mom’s first Aussie, purchased from Julie Humeston of Heartfire. Mom’s first ASCA Nationals was in Arizona in 1994. We both fell in love with Elmo (HOF BISS Ch Propwash St. Elmo’s Fire) and Partner (HOF BISS Ch Summertime’s Showdown of the Old West), but Dorothy fell hard for a black tri male puppy that Julie was showing. We tried to buy him or co-own him, but Julie wanted to keep him. A little over a year later, Julie called me and said she had a litter with almost the same pedigree as Elvis, the puppy we liked so much. She had two males available, and she would be in Pasadena the next weekend. My mom lived about 15 minutes away, so she went down to see them. Mom asked Julie which puppy Julie preferred. Julie liked the head on the one puppy but the other puppy “never put a foot wrong.” That was Schooner. Mom was excited about
breeding Billie to Schooner, but I dragged my feet a bit, think- ing they’d be too tall, too leggy, and too short-backed. I never thought I’d be so lucky as to have a male that would cross well with my bitch, but Billie and Schooner proved me wrong, and they produced a wonderful litter together.
ASJ: What performance venues do you work your dogs in?
LP: In agility I compete in the AKC events and the co-sanc- tioned NADAC/ASCA trials. In obedience again I try and get both AKC and ASCA titles. I show conformation in AKC and ASCA and the same with stock, although I don’t trial myself. I don’t have enough time to compete in UKC or USDAA events.
ASJ: How many performance titles have you currently put on dogs, and what are they?
LP: Okay, I had to count these up. In agility, I have personally put 54 agility titles on my dogs. Of these, eight are Excellent/ Elite titles, 15 are Open titles, and there are an additional 18 titles on dogs I’ve bred. Of the 18 titles, four are Excellent titles and six are Open titles. I didn’t count the NADAC titles, as they really duplicate the ASCA titles since most of the trials are co-sanctioned. I’ve put nine obedience titles on dogs, of which three are Open titles and the rest are Novice titles—and there are five more titles on dogs I’ve bred . Currently I have one Started Sheep title and one Pre-Trial Tested title, but there are three out there getting ready to trial. Oh, and Kathy Kregel has put a tracking title on Lyric’s Grand J Autumn VCD2 (Versatile Companion Dog 2), CDX, TD, PT, AX, AXJ.
ASJ: What qualities do you look for in young puppies you may keep, and what are some things you would recommend performance puppy buyers look for in an upcoming star?
Ch Lyric’s Showboat AX AXJ RS-E JS-E GS-N “Beau”
May/June 2005 The Australian Shepherd Journal 21