Bella Vista Times

Bella Vista Times

December 2009

Pictured from left to right: in front of the sleigh: Phyllis & Gator (he was not happy wearing the antlers!); in the front row of the sleigh: Tiger, Claire, Cuss & Dot; in the back row of the sleigh: Charlotte & Joyce; and in the basket: Lena. Once again this year’s photo is the work of professional photographer, Terry Rowe. We think it is one of the best ever!

Happy Howl-i-days & A Very Happy New Year from Steph, Scott & all the dogs!

Since it is now December, it’s time for the annual Bella Vista Training Center update. As always, we need to thank all of our instructors, students, boarding/grooming clients and friends who helped make 2009 another successful year for Bella Vista. Without this help and support, we could not continue to grow and offer the wide variety of classes, seminars, and events for our canine companions. It is a privilege to know and work with all of you and with your dogs.

Once again, the dogs have been kept busy. While we started the year with 11 dogs, we are now living with just 8. Just in case you are wondering—no, 8 is not enough! We hopefully will be adding others to our home in 2010. Here’s what has been happening with our gang. Please don’t forget to keep us updated on you and your dogs.

In May 2009, just one month short of his 12^th birthday, Bubba suddenly passed over the rainbow bridge. Bubba was busy competing and showing right up to his passing. On February 7, 2009 he earned the Family Obedience Title from the United Kennel Club, and on May 8, 2009, he completed the APDT Veteran Level Title and earned an Award of Excellence. Bubba was a once in a lifetime companion and Steph misses her boy every single day.

Charlotte and Evelyn have both left Bella Vista for new homes. That is the reason that we now have only 8 dogs living in our home. Yes, it does seem a little quiet at times.

Charlotte attended multiple breed shows in 2009. Although she is a very pretty girl (and she has the ribbons to prove it!), it became obvious to us that she would be much happier living a life of leisure rather than of show and performance. Charlotte is now living with her son, Ace. Cindy & Dennis Graham are her caretakers. Charlotte will be returning to Bella Vista in 2010 to have a second litter of puppies.

Evelyn is now living with Jen & Jim Nowak. Being trained by Jen, Evelyn is involved in rally obedience, obedience and agility sports. With Jen as her handler, Evelyn earned her Canine Good Citizen Certificate, the APDT Rally Puppy (RLP) and Level 1 (RL1) Titles, and the UR1 (United Rally 1) Title from the United Kennel Club. Evelyn earned her first title on first birthday!

Phyllis and Tiger both turned 12 years young in 2009. While both are slowing down a little, Phyllis remains the top bitch. Tiger still insists on playing tug at times and if you won’t play, he will wrap his paws around your ankle and bite! Phyllis is a bit deaf and has some vision problems, so she no longer is involved in performance sports. Tiger still competes on a very limited basis. In 2009, Tiger earned the Family Obedience Title and the Rally Level 1 Title from the United Kennel Club.

Although Dot did not earn any titles in 2009, she was able to figure out how to negotiate the roller and the restriction in the Master Level earthdog tunnel. In November, she earned her first leg towards the Master Earthdog Title. We are sure that she will be ready to qualify again in the Spring.

Cuss finished his Master Earthdog Title in June. He also earned 4 agility titles. Three of the titles were awarded from the Teacup Dog Agility Association: TG1, TG2 and TBAD. He also completed the Novice Fast Preferred Title from the AKC.

While Gator continues to be plagued with old injury and Lyme issues, he was able to be shown on a very limited basis in agility, rally obedience and obedience. Steph has christened him “the one day dog” since he does great on the first day! On day two, Gator either gets way too creative or he just chooses not to participate. In February, Gator and Steph went High In Trial, at the UKC Family Obedience completion and earned the FO title. Gator earned Preferred AKC Agility Titles in the Open and Novice Fast and in the Open Jumpers Classes. In APDT Rally he received the RL1X3, RL2X3 and RL3X2 Titles. In United Kennel Club competitions, he completed his UCD and URO1 Titles.

In addition, to competing in the breed ring (she is pictured here after winning her first major), Claire earned her first performance title in July in from the Teacup Dog Agility Association. She completed the TBAD Title. Claire took some time off from the show ring to have a litter of puppies in September. Look for Claire in the breed, rally and agility rings in 2010.

Of all the dogs, Joyce wins the award for being the busiest one! This year, she earned a total of 19 titles, and has qualifying scores towards more advanced titles. In obedience she earned the Family Obedience (FO) Title from the UKC and the Companion Dog (CD) Title from the AKC. In Rally Obedience, she earned the RAE (Rally Advanced Excellent) Title from the AKC, the UR01 from the UKC, and the APDT Rally Champion (ARCH) and APDT Rally Champion Excellent (ARCHX) Titles. Her list of agility titles includes: WV-N (Novice Weavers) and HP-N (Novice Hoopers) from NADAC; Novice Fast (NF), Jumpers (NAJ) and Standard (NA) from the AKC, Teacup Games 1 & 2 (TG1 & TG2) and Teacup Beginner Agile Dog (TBAD) from the TDAA and Agility 1 & 2 (UAG1 & UAG2) from the United Kennel Club. In September, at the West Highland White Terrier Club of America’s Centennial Celebration, Joyce was the second most versatile dog in the entire competition. This was a real honor. She earned this award by qualifying in agility, obedience, rally and earthdog in the same week. See—she was busy!

Lena continues to make progress in her socialization process. In case you don’t remember, she is our rescue Sealyham Terrier. Lena has now decided that it is her job to be the watch dog. She lets out a loud bark whenever someone enters the yard to announce the visitor’s presence. She has also decided that it is fun to tear apart tennis balls—a skill she learned from her buddy, Cuss.

So, in total, in 2009, the home gang has earned 38 titles. It was a very busy year at Bella Vista!

Bella Vista Westies that are owned/co-owned & live with others:

Brinkley: Brinkley was shown on a limited basis in the breed ring in 2009 and now has 7 points including both the major wins towards his AKC Championship Title. He also has begun his breed show career with United Kennel Club and has earned points toward the Championship Title. He has earned the AKC Novice Agility Preferred Titles in the Standard and the Jumpers Classes (NAP & NJP). In TDAA Agility, he qualified for the G1, G2 & TBAD Titles. In Rally Obedience for UKC, he obtained the URO1 Title and in APDT he qualified for the RL-2Title

KC: Wanda Stare handled KC to her Senior Earthdog Title . In July, Wanda and KC completed the requirements for the TDAA Teacup Beginner Agile Dog (TBAD) Title. Together they also training in Rally and Obedience.

Mercedes: Connie Lentz and Mercedes qualified at the West Highland White Terrier Club of America’s Rally Trial.

Bet: In the Spring of the year, Bet completed the requirements to be awarded the Junior Earthdog Title from the AKC. Bet was also shown in Rally Obedience by Melissa Graham and has one leg towards her AKC Rally Novice Title.

Currently, there are many Bella Vista Westies that are actively competing in agility, earthdog, rally, tracking, and obedience with their owners. Congratulations to all who took the extra time and effort to work with their Westies. Please keep us posted on you and your dog’s progress!

Breeding News: 2009 was a busy year for puppies. In fact, like crazy people, we had 3 litters at the same time. KC was bred to Cuss and had 5 boys. Both Claire & Charlotte were bred to Lucky (CH Dawn’s Share N’ The Luck, TDX, SE, RA) and each of the girls gave birth to 2 girls and 2 boys. It’s hard to believe but there were 13 puppies in our house at the same time. All of the pups have moved on to homes of their own. Yes, it is very quiet here now in comparison to the months of October & November!

Mercedes has been bred to Lincoln, and puppies are due on January 1, 2010. That should add a little chaos to the new year!

The Canine Caring Connection was started in 2009, by Stephanie Capkovic, Leslie Hoy and Jen Nowak of the Bella Vista Training Center. The goal was to give people in the central Pennsylvania area a new and relaxing opportunity to network and have fun while supporting local bars and restaurants, and benefiting local canine charities. Although there are no "official" members, the instructors, student and friends of Bella Vista began the group, which has expanded to all dog lovers in the community. To keep everyone informed and updated, an extensive email mailing list is maintained. All events are open to the public and new participants are always welcome. Please email Leslie at reddogmom@comcast.net to be added to the Canine Caring Connection membership. Updates on activities can be found on the Bella Vista Training Center’s website. The next event will be in January 2010.

2010: BVTC is looking ahead to 2010! New classes and events are currently being added to the schedule. Disc Dog classes will begin in January—a new addition for 2010. Please keep an eye on the website and contact us with any questions or concerns! Have a great holiday season! We hope to see you and your canine companion in the near future!

Last Years News