Doozer was bought as Wilhelm's show dog. HA HA! Wilhelm's show dog turned into MY show dog! I worked with him, trained him, and took him into the ring! We, of course, thought Doozer was an awesome dog so we just knew that Doozer would finish his Championship quickly and out of the puppy classes! Well, we were wrong. LOL! Doozer kind of started with a whimper. He placed 2nd or 3rd more often than I can remember. When we took him to his first Saint Bernard Nationals (a huge show where there are only Saint Bernards) he didn't even place in his puppy class. He got his first point towards his Championship in early June 2003 at almost a year old. The next day, he won again! I don't think he won again for 6 months or more after that. He really matured very slowly. He picked up single points here and there and his breeder finally took him to California for a show and he got his first major there plus won Best Bred-By Exhibitor. At his next Nationals, from the Bred-By class again, they placed 2nd for most of the week. 6 months later - 1 month before he turned 5-years-old - Doozer finished with a huge 5 point major in Kansas. Yeah! Now his real adventure could begin! We decided to campaign him as a Champion and hope that we could place him as one of the Top 20 Saints in the country! We entered him at the next local show as a Champion... and he got dumped both days <sigh>. WHAT??!! How could this happen?? Just because it took us almost 4-1/2-years to finish his Championship didn't mean he was ugly!! Or did it? .... Naw... couldn't be. We kept at it and slowly he built up the points needed to be invited to the Saint Bernard Club of America Top Twenty event in 2008 (calculated from events June 2007 - May 2008)! He also was invited to the AKC/Eukanuba for finishing in their Top 25 in 2008 (calculated from events October 2007 - October 2008). And he finished as the Number 13 Saint Bernard in the country for January - December 2008 (according to the Canine Chronicle). See! We knew he could do it!!
Doozer's breeder took him to the 2008 Nationals where he was shown in the Best of Breed class (making all the cuts at all the pre-shows; and the first cut at the Nationals itself) and also the Top 20 event.
I took him to California in December of 2008 where it was a thrill and an honor to show him in the AKC/Eukanuba! Although he didn't win at any of the "big" events we didn't care. He was there because he had been invited to be there!
Along the way, we also finished his UKC Championship (placing in the Group 3 times including a Group 1!). Doozer finished in a tie for #3 Saint Bernard in UKC in 2007. And we completed his IABCA (or International) Championship (placing there in the Group as well).
In 2009, after we had accomplished more than we ever expected or dreamed, we retired Doozer, and the next phase of his life began... Obedience, Rally, and couch potatoe!!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Doozer as a Puppy
First, we want to say that Doozer has been doing very well lately. Surprisingly well in fact! For the first couple of days after switching to the new medication we didn't really see a difference. But then the new medication kicked in and had him practically running around on 3 legs!! Unfortunately, we are now seeing other signs of struggle within his body. He is still active, but he sleeps much more and much more deeply. And he has to potty much more often. And sometimes, we don't think his mind is all there. He'll gaze off into space and not even hear you call him. Evidently the cancer is gaining ground :-(
So, instead, we'll think about his past. His puppy hood! After we brought him home we wanted to make sure he was a very well-socialized puppy. After all, we were going to show him and he had to be able to stand being petted and meeting new people. Little did we know what a monster we would create! Doozer went EVERY where! He went to Daycare, he went with Wilhelm to the auto restoration shop he had at the time, he went to PetsMart and PetCo. Heck, he even went to Home Depot! He got petted by everyone and soon learned to love being the center of attention... especially with the girls! He really is a "chick magnet"... LOL! Yes, we get tired of the "Isn't that the dog from those movies? Beethoven, right??" remarks, but it's just a part of taking a Saint Bernard with you that you learn to laugh about or ignore. But even now, Doozer needs to be the center of attention. If he is not in the same room as Mom and Dad, he whines... and cries... and carries on until you give up and let him be with you. He used to sleep on the bed until he couldn't jump on the bed anymore. Now, he has decided to jump on the bed with his front and then he whines and cries until someone gets out of bed and helps him up on to it! Be careful what you wish for... you might just get it! LOL!! It doesn't help that when Doozer is outside in the front yard people driving by suddenly slow down and stare. Many of them actually stop and or turn around and stop so that they can say "HI" to him. Many people have never seen a Saint Bernard before and they are just fascinated. Doozer, of course, just laps up all the attention. He thinks he was born to be a STAR!
As a very young puppy, Doozer lived with 3 other dogs: a Doberman, and 2 Great Danes. The Dobie and the Danes loved playing rough in the bedroom and every time they started Doozer would dart under our bed and hide so he wouldn't get stepped on. Yup, he was that small! Saint Bernards are born about 1 to 2 pounds but grow quite quickly. When we brought Doozer home he weighed a little over 13 pounds. By 6 months of age he weighed over 93 pounds and at a year old he weighed over 120 pounds! So hard to believe he needed to hide under the bed but he did :-) Funny how as he got older, the bed grew smaller... Eventually he grew big enough to start playing with the big dogs on his own!
Doozer was a pretty good lil' puppy. He really didn't chew on much (just 1 remote and a couple of wooden chair legs). He went to Puppy Kindergarten and graduated with flying colors! And he didn't dig. About the only thing he did "bad" as a puppy was learn to open doors. We have the latch kind of door (as opposed to the round knobs) and he figured out if he put his nose under the latch and lifted his head and pushed, the door would open. Kind of annoying when the bathroom door opens from the common hallway <blush>. He also loved to jump in the bath tub (with or without someone already in there). He didn't start out loving his baths and blow dries, but before long he sure did! But we'll talk about that in a future blog when we talk about his show career...
Saint Bernards are pretty hairy dogs. Even the short-hairs like Doozer. Doozer has a very plush coat and it seems like every time we turn around we need to vacuum. There are "little Doozers" everywhere! And the drool!! Doozer is actually not too bad, but Wilhelm likes to say that Doozer is our automatic texturizing machine for the walls... When it gets too bad we just paint over it!
When Doozer was 8 months old, our Doberman passed away suddenly. It was a heartbreaking loss for us, but especially me as I had brought the Dobie with me from my previous marriage and he was my heart dog. Somehow, Doozer knew what was needed from him and he stepped in. I didn't want him to at first, but he was just there waiting for it. Eventually, as the pain from the loss of the Doberman subsided, I noticed Doozer again. Not that I didn't love the Danes too, but Doozer managed to slip close to that empty hole that the Doberman had left. Doozer and I bonded and suddenly Wilhelm found himself without "his" dog because he became mine! From that time, Doozer started responding more to me than Wilhelm. If we are both at home he prefers my company. He is happy enough with Wilhelm (if he *has* to!!) but it's me he comes to for comfort and petting when needed.
So, instead, we'll think about his past. His puppy hood! After we brought him home we wanted to make sure he was a very well-socialized puppy. After all, we were going to show him and he had to be able to stand being petted and meeting new people. Little did we know what a monster we would create! Doozer went EVERY where! He went to Daycare, he went with Wilhelm to the auto restoration shop he had at the time, he went to PetsMart and PetCo. Heck, he even went to Home Depot! He got petted by everyone and soon learned to love being the center of attention... especially with the girls! He really is a "chick magnet"... LOL! Yes, we get tired of the "Isn't that the dog from those movies? Beethoven, right??" remarks, but it's just a part of taking a Saint Bernard with you that you learn to laugh about or ignore. But even now, Doozer needs to be the center of attention. If he is not in the same room as Mom and Dad, he whines... and cries... and carries on until you give up and let him be with you. He used to sleep on the bed until he couldn't jump on the bed anymore. Now, he has decided to jump on the bed with his front and then he whines and cries until someone gets out of bed and helps him up on to it! Be careful what you wish for... you might just get it! LOL!! It doesn't help that when Doozer is outside in the front yard people driving by suddenly slow down and stare. Many of them actually stop and or turn around and stop so that they can say "HI" to him. Many people have never seen a Saint Bernard before and they are just fascinated. Doozer, of course, just laps up all the attention. He thinks he was born to be a STAR!
As a very young puppy, Doozer lived with 3 other dogs: a Doberman, and 2 Great Danes. The Dobie and the Danes loved playing rough in the bedroom and every time they started Doozer would dart under our bed and hide so he wouldn't get stepped on. Yup, he was that small! Saint Bernards are born about 1 to 2 pounds but grow quite quickly. When we brought Doozer home he weighed a little over 13 pounds. By 6 months of age he weighed over 93 pounds and at a year old he weighed over 120 pounds! So hard to believe he needed to hide under the bed but he did :-) Funny how as he got older, the bed grew smaller... Eventually he grew big enough to start playing with the big dogs on his own!
Doozer was a pretty good lil' puppy. He really didn't chew on much (just 1 remote and a couple of wooden chair legs). He went to Puppy Kindergarten and graduated with flying colors! And he didn't dig. About the only thing he did "bad" as a puppy was learn to open doors. We have the latch kind of door (as opposed to the round knobs) and he figured out if he put his nose under the latch and lifted his head and pushed, the door would open. Kind of annoying when the bathroom door opens from the common hallway <blush>. He also loved to jump in the bath tub (with or without someone already in there). He didn't start out loving his baths and blow dries, but before long he sure did! But we'll talk about that in a future blog when we talk about his show career...
Saint Bernards are pretty hairy dogs. Even the short-hairs like Doozer. Doozer has a very plush coat and it seems like every time we turn around we need to vacuum. There are "little Doozers" everywhere! And the drool!! Doozer is actually not too bad, but Wilhelm likes to say that Doozer is our automatic texturizing machine for the walls... When it gets too bad we just paint over it!
When Doozer was 8 months old, our Doberman passed away suddenly. It was a heartbreaking loss for us, but especially me as I had brought the Dobie with me from my previous marriage and he was my heart dog. Somehow, Doozer knew what was needed from him and he stepped in. I didn't want him to at first, but he was just there waiting for it. Eventually, as the pain from the loss of the Doberman subsided, I noticed Doozer again. Not that I didn't love the Danes too, but Doozer managed to slip close to that empty hole that the Doberman had left. Doozer and I bonded and suddenly Wilhelm found himself without "his" dog because he became mine! From that time, Doozer started responding more to me than Wilhelm. If we are both at home he prefers my company. He is happy enough with Wilhelm (if he *has* to!!) but it's me he comes to for comfort and petting when needed.
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