December 2018
A busy month with shows every weekend & planning & organising Christmas. The first show of the month was Burton on Trent Open Show, Dilys was Best of Breed and also Reserve in the AV Veteran class against stiff competition, she is really enjoying being back in the ring again. Daisy was Reserve Best of Breed, Best Puppy in Breed and got another Puppy Group placing, second this time.
The next show was Lincoln Open, just Daisy & Dilys this time with no classes for Smooth Collies. Dilys won the AV Veteran class & was given serious consideration for Best Veteran in Show. Daisy gained a VHC in her class. It was lovely to see a Foxearth puppy at the show as well as a young Blamorder pup who had come for a day out with his owner, Bridgette.
The final show of the year was LKA Champ Show, this time we just had Finn & Daisy with us. Finn decided he wasn’t in the mood for showing and took second place to his lovely brother, Blake. Daisy won her puppy class & went on to Best Puppy Bitch and Reserve Best Puppy in Breed, a really nice end to her puppy career. We did a little Christmas shopping and had a really good catch up with friends.
The following day we picked up Deb & Enzo and took them with River to Roundhay Park where we met up with both of River’s pups and their families. River was very happy to see them and played a lot. We got some lovely photos & it was so nice to see how well the bpys are doing and how much they are loved. We plan to arrange more meet ups next year, starting with Daisy’s siblings for their birthday in January.
November 2018
A quiet month for shows, just Collie Association at the end of the month, where River won her class after a long absence whilst having puppies.
October 2018
The beginning of this month saw River’s Sable & White boy (Milo) head off to his new home, where he has settled very well with his lovely family. The following day we headed to Lancs & Cheshire Open Show and met up with two of Daisy’s brothers (Wilbur and Zouki), much fun was had and a small amount of chaos too I think! We had a great day showing too with Zouki being Best Puppy Dog, Daisy Best Puppy in Breed and Reserve Best Puppy in Show. Ripley was Best Dog and Reserve Best of Breed. Clara was Best of Breed and Dilys Best Veteran in Breed and Best Veteran in Show, a very enjoyable day all round.
The following weekend we prepared for River’s other puppy, Hermes, to leave us. He went to his new home on the Monday and has been very quick to settle in with his loving owners and their cats. It was back to normal then in the Koczkodan household!
Mid-October and we headed back into Lancashire again, this time Clitheroe Open Show, where they had put on classes for Smooth Collies. Dilys was Best of Breed and then Pastoral Group 2 and Daisy Best Puppy in Breed then Pastoral Puppy Group 1 – so chuffed with them both!
September 2018
A very busy start to the month with three shows in two days. The first two shows (Smooth Collie Club Champ Show and City of Birmingham Champ Show) saw some nice placings for Ripley, Zouki (who was holidaying with us for two weeks) and Daisy as well as lots of experience for them in a noisy and hectic environment. The following day we were at Yorkshire Collie Open Show, where Daisy, Zouki, Clara, Dilys and Finn made an appearance. Zouki was Best Puppy in Breed (very clever boy!) and Finn wowed everyone by getting Best of Breed, Best Veteran in Breed, Best Veteran in Show and Best in Show. An amazing day for us all and most especially our old ‘ginger ninja’!
Zouki and Daisy had great fun for the fortnight he stayed with us, lots of playing and so many zoomies. We look forward to seeing him again soon & he will be shown a little by his owners, which is exciting. River’s puppies have grown so much, they are exploring their pen and playing a lot. As always, weaning has been messy as they are very enthusiastic eaters!
Mid-September and two more shows, Darlington with just Finn and Daisy saw them getting Reserve Best Dog and Reserve Best Bitch respectfully, Daisy was also Best Puppy in Breed, she’s getting a few of these under her belt now & loves the attention in the showring. A trip out mid-week for Ripley and Daisy (escorted by Deb & Elaine of course!) to Driffield show gave a mixed result with Ripley being awarded Reserve Best Dog and Daisy a 2nd place (although she behaved very well as always). River continues to be a fantastic mum, she also enjoyed having her mum on hand to do her grandma duties. Dilys adores the puppies and is often found cuddled up with them or following them around washing them if she thinks they need it. River gets a well earned break on the sofa then, watching what is happening! Half-sister Daisy has started joining in the fun now the puppies are big enough to play and she has shown then how to play tug-tug. The puppies had lots of fun when we held the puppy party, they found the ball pool so exciting and the play tunnel was great for zoomies and pouncing on. Their new owners have both visited them now and dates are being planned for them starting their next adventure, how time flies!
August 2018
The first show of the month was East Anglia Collie Association, we took Ripley, Clara, Finn and Daisy and gained four 3rd places, we managed to catch up with family and Newton (Daisy’s brother) and his owners while we were down there, so a nice day all round. The following week saw the arrival of River’s puppies, two gorgeous boys (mum and boys doing well), and then Deb & Elaine took Daisy & Ripley to Scunthorpe Open show, Daisy got a 2nd place to the eventual BPIS winner so a good result and Ripley was Reserve Best of Breed.
July 2018
The start of this month was supposed to be fairly quiet because we had no shows to go to, however we went to Collie Chaos at Carsington Water on 1st July with Daisy, Dilys, Ripley and Enzo which is a get together for Rough and Smooth Collies (and their owners) with stalls, games and a fun show which raises money for Rough and Smooth Collie Rescue. We then met up the following weekend with Zouki’s owners in the rather beautiful Roundhay Park. Then next thing in my calendar is the National Working & Pastoral Breeds Champ Show on Saturday 14th July, which marks the start of four weekends with shows!
NWPB Show was a very long journey and a rather hot day, but Finn was Best Veteran in Breed and Daisy was very well behaved at her first show, getting a nice second place. It’s quite a relief that our next to shows are close to home, York Open next Sunday and Leeds Champ the Sunday after, we get a lie in!
York Open proved to be an incredibly hot day, luckily we have a gazebo and cool mats for the dogs, so they fared better than we did I think! I handled Daisy to Best Puppy in Breed and Deb handled Clara to Best of Breed, a nice day for mother & daughter.
Such a fantastic day for us at Leeds Champ Show, Finn got his 4th CC, Reserve Best of Breed & Best Veteran in Breed and his daughter, Daisy, was Best Puppy in Breed. Ripley won his class & Zouki (Daisy’s brother) was third in his class, qualifying for Crufts at his first show.
June 2018
The show season is in full swing now & this is going to be a hectic month. We went to British Collie Open Show on the first weekend, Clara was our star of the day, winning Reserve Best Bitch and I got to make a rare appearance handling as Deb was unable to due to a nasty knee problem. Hopefully she’ll be fighting fit for London Collie Champ.
The long journey to London Collie Club’s Champ Show proved to be very worthwhile, we had the best day ever, with our beautiful Finn gaining his 3rd CC which (subject to Kennel Club confirmation) makes him our very first Champion. It took me several hours to stop shaking & I still can’t quite believe it!
May 2018
This has been a busy month, we were on holiday at the beginning, so Deb and Elaine took Finn, Ripley, River and Clara to Lancs & Cheshire Collie Club Champ show without us. The dogs all did well as they won all their classes & didn’t miss us at all! This was followed by Finn and River having a day trip to Edinburgh for SKC. We then had a weekend free of dog shows but instead took Ripley, Clara, Dilys and Daisy out for a photoshoot, we are really looking forward to seeing the results.
The month was rounded off with The Yorkshire Collie Club Open Show, which was a fantastic day with Dilys gaining Reserve Best Bitch and Ripley Reserve Best Dog. Finn was almost unstoppable, winning Reserve Best of Breed, Best Veteran in Breed then Reserve Best in Show and Best Veteran in Show. We met up with Koczkodan Midnight Stars’ (Wilbur) owners and it was so good to see them all again, he is growing into a very handsome boy.
April 2018
A quieter month, we attended the Smooth Collie Club of GB Open show, held with The Collie Association Show and took Finn, Dilys, Ripley, River and Clara to show, with Daisy coming along to say hello to everyone. It was chance to catch up with people we hadn’t seen for ages which was great. We then took Finn and Ripley to WELKS where they both gained 1sts in their classes.
March 2018
Time is flying by, the puppies have all left and are settled in their new homes and I’m getting great updates with lots of pictures from their new parents. I managed to persuade Rich to let me keep the girl, Daisy, and she is now playing with our adults & generally causing a little chaos and many smiles in our household. I will set up a page for her on here as soon as I get chance.
Crufts was a lot of fun, we took River & Ripley, both gaining a respectable 2nd place in their classes and then enjoying a look round the stalls, sampling treats at every opportunity!
Two days after Crufts, we headed back down to the West Midlands, this time for The British Collie Club Champ Show, we had four dogs with us this time Finn was Reserve Veteran Dog/Bitch, Dilys taking 2nd in that class and Reserve Best Veteran in Breed. Ripley was 2nd and River 3rd in their classes. It was a great opportunity to catch up properly with people we hadn’t seen this year as Crufts is always too hectic for a proper natter.
February 2018
The puppies are growing quickly, all are now registered and the boys all have wonderful homes lined up. We are running the girl on to see if she’s a keeper, she is certainly very cheeky like her mum! They have been for their eye tests and are all clear, another nice result for us.
I was too ill to attend Matlock Open Show but the gang did well without me, Deb and Elaine managing River, Ripley and Dilys between them. River was 1st JD/B and Ripley 2nd JD/B. Dilys (Manordeifi Satin Doll of Koczkodan) was BOB, then won AV Veteran (Pastoral), Pastoral Group 3 and won the Pastoral Veteran Group. She doesn’t want to be outdone by Finn! I love my oldies.
January 2018
The year got off to an exciting start with the much anticipated arrival of puppies, Clara is a wonderful mum and the four puppies are doing very well. We are hoping that her little sable & white daughter will stay here with us, the three tri colour boys are already spoken for with fantastic homes lined up.
The first show of the year was Manchester Championship Show, I was on puppy watching duty (a real hardship!), but Rich and Deb took Finn, Ripley and River to Staffordshire Showground for the day. Ripley was 1st Junior Dog and River 1st Junior Bitch, making a great end to their Junior careers. Finn was 2nd Veteran Dog behind his handsome brother Blake and picked up another Reserve CC.