Lark and Dave Visit the Malheur Militants

A few words about my visit to the USFWS Malheur Wildlife Refuge yesterday. Joan and I started visiting Malheur and nearby Steens Mountain soon after we moved to Oregon almost 30 years ago. We and many of our friends believe this area is one of the most beautiful places in the state. For more than a 100 years, much of Malheur Wildlife Refuge has been in public ownership and dedicated to conservation purposes. So when a gang of out-of-state extremists invaded the Refuge, we and many other Oregonians get defensive.

Oregon Public Broadcasting Coverage of the Malheur Insurrection

IMG_4960_1600pxYesterday at dawn the 180,000 acre refuge was almost completely desolate of human presence. The militants only hold a couple of acres of ground and so the land continues to serve its most important function, providing habitat for more than 300 species of birds and a wide range of other wildlife. But its a shame that the public is prevented from enjoying the place because of the actions of these thugs.

IMG_4956_1600pxI first stopped at one of the rear entrances into the headquarters area yesterday. The driveway was barricaded and guarded by a single man. I got Lark out out of the SUV and we walked as far as the first barrier where I posed her for pictures. The sentry said hi and asked if he could help me. I said no, we’re fine. I spent a few minutes with Lark doing obedience exercises in front of the barricade, then loaded Lark into the SUV and headed back toward the main entrance. A moment later, an old guy on a horse comes cantering down the road toward me. At about 100 ft away, he attempts to turn sideways in the road to block me. But his horse, swerves and lunges, almost throwing the guy off. His hat goes one way and his cell phone flies another. The guy was shaken, but trying his damnedest to hold on to his dignity. His name was Dwayne (or Dwight?) and he also asked if he could help me. I asked if I could help him. He said his horse is always a little frisky in the morning. I refrained from saying that maybe maybe he needed some more lessons riding a horse. He dismounted and asked if I would hold off driving ahead until he and his horse could pass behind me. Before I left, he warned me to be careful around headquarters. His words were “there are a lot of scared kids with guns up there”.

A couple minutes later Lark and I visited the main entrance to HQ. There was a guy getting out of a black Cadillac Escalade and he walked past the roadblock to a few others sitting around a camp fire. A young man asked if I wanted to come over to warm up at the fire, an offer which I declined. I don’t care how hospitable these guys were towards me. They were stalking and harassing BLM and USFWS employees. Men and women who actually live and work in that community. I didn’t want to be friendly with any of these extremists. I posed Lark for more photos and we did some more obedience exercises in front of the roadblock. It was just me, Lark, the militants. No media and no law enforcement presence in sight. I don’t know what the guys around the campfire were thinking, but I figured there must be at least 1 or 2 leaders in the gang that were thinking about public perception to their occupation. So when tourists show up at the barricades to pose their puppy for pics and treat the guys with guns as nothing more than interesting background, I have just a glimmer of hope that those leaders will start to wonder about their public image.

20160122_085800There are good reasons to be concerned at how the US attorney treated the Hammonds. It was this issue that gave the Bundy’s the pretense for coming to Oregon. The case has enraged a lot of folks in eastern Oregon and it could have been handled by the US Attorneys office a whole lot better than it was. The Bundy’s and their stooges have come from out of state to assist the citizen’s of Harney County gain local control of public lands. Apparently the militants can’t see the illogic of their arguments so clear to the almost everyone else. I came away thinking that maybe the FBI is doing the best thing by letting these nut jobs stew by themselves out there. No need to make martyrs for the other crazys that want to privatize public lands.

Sharpy: New TDU Title

sharpy_tdu_award_miller_20141005This morning Obsidian’s Accipiter (“Sharpy”) earned her Tracking Dog Urban (TDU) title at the test held in Monmouth, Oregon by the Luckiamute Tracking Club.   Sharpy kept her nose down and negotiated some complicated passages along the track. It wasn’t until the last 3 yards, with the glove in sight, that I started to doubt whether we were going to pass.  Sharpy was proceeding very strongly on damp grass along the last leg of the track.  I saw the glove indicating the end of the track near the corner of a building ahead. As Sharpy approached the finish, she caught scent of a squirrel and shot around the corner, jerking herself hard when she got to the end of her lead.  The “self-correction” caused Sharpy to run back to me with her ears down and apologetic for chasing wildlife. To prove she had changed her ways,  she stayed at my side and refused to move toward the squirrel or the glove.  In spite of multiple commands to track, Sharpy stood fastened to my hip. I was in a terrible predicament.  The end of the track was 3 yards away and my dog wouldn’t restart.  Just when I was about to give up hope, Sharpy caught a whiff of the glove and laid down where she was.  The judges recognized this as Sharpy’s article indication from the previous articles we found on the track!  So they signaled to me that we had successfully finished the test.  I’ve had close calls in tracking tests, but never quite this close before.  The judges today were Curt Curtis and Judy Stromquist.

sharpy_tdu_map_20141005 Rogue and Heart also were entered in today’s test.  Rogue got into trouble midway down the track and we wandered off until we heard the whistle.  Heart made it down a difficult first leg that included two driveway crossings and quite  a lot of other non-vegetated surfaces.  I knew we had come to the first turn and held Heart patiently until she committed to a new direction…the wrong direction unfortunately.  Even though we failed, the judges let us finish the track.  Heart performed very nicely and was hardly distracted by a tractor that passed within a few feet of her or by the barking huskys lunging toward Heart at the end of their leads just as she approached the glove.  A very strong performance in spite of the fail.  Of five dogs in the test, only Sharpy passed.

The TDU is a relatively new AKC tracking test. The major specifications of the test are:

  • 400-500 yards in length
  • The track is aged between 30-120 minutes
  • The track has 3-5 turns
  • 10-30% of the track must be on non-vegetated surfaces

I believe that Sharpy may be only the second Belgian Sheepdog to have passed the TDU test.

The award photo is courtesy of Peggy Miller.

 

Reunion 2014

Glace Noire Sabre d'ObsidianLast Sunday we had the chance to visit with seven of Heart’s offspring at the Obsidian Kennel reunion held at the Rogue Farm in Independence, Oregon.  Pack members traveled back to the Willamette Valley from California, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The Obsidian offspring in attendance were:

  • Obsidian’s Atlas (Flag)
  • Obsidian’s Aye of the Hurricane (Storm)
  • Glace Noire Sabre d’Obsidian (Sabre)
  • Obsidian’s To Build a Fire (Colt)
  • Legendary Broadsword of Obsidian (Kupo)
  • Obsidian’s Black Rock Buccaneer (Blaede).

and of course our own Sharpy (Obsidian’s Accipiter).  Sota, sire of the Obsidian B-Litter, also stopped by to be admired by the gathering.  The guest of honor was Heart herself.

The center of activity was the shaded deck behind the farmhouse.  From there is was an easy walk to the Willamette River where the dogs could cool, and it was even a shorter distance to the tasting room where we could refill a growler with Rogue’s Brutal Bitter.

8. Which of the following is considered a fault under the AKC standard for the Belgian sheepdog?
a. 25 inches tall for a male
b. Chest broad, not deep
c. Eyes: brown, preferably dark brown
d. tends to single track on a fast gait

Legendary Broadsword of Obsidian After a picnic lunch,  I subjected the gang to a game of Belgian trivia with 18 questions about breed history, the AKC Belgian sheepdog standard, performance event rules, and the Obsidian family.  I thought I’d stump everybody when I asked them to name the sire or dam of the earliest Groenendael foundation couple,  but Connie Batsford had been waiting for that one.  “Petite”, said Connie.  Good Girl!  Trivia was followed game in which we blindfolded one of the group, who was then presented with three different dogs and they had to choose which was their own.  Those A-Litter boys look like they were made with a cookie-cutter, so it was definitely not as easy as it sounds.  Joan, hands down, proved herself the champion by correctly identifying all three dogs, only one of which she owns.

Obsidian's Aye of the HurricaneIt was wonderful to see how nicely the A-Litter has matured at three years old.  They are a very handsome pack of Belgians.  Kupo and Blaede from the B-Litter show so much promise.  We know they can look forward to success in the show ring or the performance arena. They are all lucky dogs to have the owners that they do!  Thank you Connie, Wendy, Maggie and Michael, Sean and Lauren, Heidi and Jeff, and the other owners who couldn’t attend for the rich lives you are providing these dogs.

 

2013 Spirit of Chilko Award!

Chilko was our first purebred Belgian Sheepdog. She was an exceptional tracker, earned high-in-trial in obedience competition, worked on professional wildlife detection projects, helped us with sheep chores, and had fun in agility. She always had a big smile for humans and dogs alike. Chilko showed us how versatile Belgian sheepdogs can be and she inspired us to become breeders.

To celebrate Chilko’s life, we offer an annual award named in her honor and announced on the birthday of our A-Litter (Feb 12). Each year we select one dog bred under the Obsidian kennel name to represent our hopes for generations of accomplished, healthy dogs to come.

sabre_connie_1000px

Joan and I are very pleased to announce that the recipient of 2013 Spirit of Chilko Award is Glace Noire Sabre D’Obsidian BN RN HT CGC, just Sabre to his friends. Sabre is owned by Connie and Rick Batsford of Vacaville, CA who bred Belgian sheepdogs under the kennel name Glace Noire. Our own Rocky is from Connie and Rick and he’s another one of the great dogs whose qualities we hope to be able to produce from our own breeding program. Sabre is already competing in obedience and rally, tested in AKC herding, and is training for agility and tracking. At home, Sabre is something of a service dog, whose strong shoulder’s provide Connie some stability as she climbs stairs (Two knee replacements and Connie is still doing dog sports!). Sabre also patrols the Batsford yard doing his best to keep deer from eating all the roses. Sabre really demonstrates how versatile our breed is. Connie says of Sabre “Everyone loves his exuberance and flash when working. Like others of his litter, he loves to be busy and he’s fun to work because of it. He’s a great ambassador for the breed.”

soc_sabre_2013Thank you Connie and Rick for all the time you put into training Sabre and showing others in the canine community what a fantastic breed we have!

Sabre will be receiving a cast figure of a Belgian sheepdog by Czech craftsman Milan Sorm with Sabre’s name engraved on the base. More information about the Spirit of Chilko Award can be found in the files section on the Obsidian Yahoo site.

Dave and Joan

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day brought a mostly clear, cold morning to Benton County, Oregon.  So for the first time in years, Joan and I decided to take all five dogs for a walk at the same time.  The old boys, Rogue and Rocky, mostly just followed the the interesting scents around the field.  Knife wanted Joan to keep throwing his frisbee while Sharpy just wanted to chase Knife.  Heart tugged with Joan, hunted for voles, and enjoyed a rare break from her puppies.

Thank you Laura Hilton, Peggy Richter, Connie Batsford, Gunnel Johanssen, Terry Hendricks, and all the breeders who have been caring for the generations of Groenendael ancestors that made our dogs the wonderful companions that they are.

Obsidian B Litter Arrives!

Obsidian B Litter: Blue and RedWe are very happy to announce that our Heart whelped two male and three female puppies on November 4.  Unfortunately, we lost little Pink Girl a few days later due to a heart defect.  The remaining four are vigorous and growing by leaps and bounds.  Heart is a wonderful mother.  If dogs are capable of having pride, then Heart’s big smile whenever we enter the whelping room certainly shows a lot of satisfaction in what she has produced (with a little help from Sota).Color Bands

We will be streaming video from the whelping box for the next couple weeks. The camera is usually on from about 8 am to 8 pm Pacific time.  The live video feed can be viewed at: http://www.ustream.tv/search?q=obsidian+b+litter.

The sire and dam of the B Litter are CH Isengard’s Tall Sippin’ Sota RN MX MXJ XF and Kaponomana’s Heart of Obsidian TDX MX MXJ PT.

 

 

Light Green Boy

One of the best things about being a breeder is the new friends we’ve made through the puppies we sell.  Stacy Hebert for example.  Joan met Stacy at Wonderdogs in Philomath, where she was showing up at classes without a dog. Stacy was actually going to socialization and obedience classes before she even owned a dog!  Not many prospective dog owners demonstrate that level of preparedness.  So we were very happy when Stacy showed an interest in our A-Litter puppies in 2011.  Stacy and her husband Brian came to visit our home while all the pups were still here.  First they had to get past our boisterous, adult Belgians.  Brian wasn’t entirely comfortable around large dogs at that time and his previous experience with Belgians wasn’t positive. So it took some nerve on Brian’s part to push past Rocky and Rogue.  But all was quiet in a few minutes and we could turn our attention to the puppies.  It was a fun visit and although the pups were almost irresistible, Stacy and Brian needed some time to think about buying a pup. This would be the first time Brian lived with a dog and they were treating the purchase like the big commitment it really is.  Good for them we said.

belgian sheepdog puppy lucaThe rest of the A-Litter were moving off to their new homes and we still hadn’t heard back from Stacy.  Light Green Boy, one of the pups that we thought would be a good match for Stacy and Brian now was the only pup not yet reserved.  We got a call one Sunday morning from a couple that was visiting the Oregon Coast from Utah and came across our website.  They asked if they could stop by that afternoon and visit the puppies.  Sure we said. They were looking for a companion dog and after spending some time with our pups, asked to purchase Light Green Boy.  We talked at length, they filled out a questionnaire, and met our approval.  It might sound impulsive for a couple to decide to purchase a puppy while on a long, sight-seeing trip.  But Belgian sheepdog litters are so uncommon that most prospective owners have to travel hundreds, sometime thousands, of miles to get a pup.  So this couple saw an opportunity to interact with the pups and their mother before deciding to purchase.  I was sitting at our kitchen table reviewing the terms of our contract with the couple when the phone rang.  Joan answered and left the room.  A minute later, Joan was frantically signalling me from behind the backs of the couple, mouthing something that I failed to comprehend.  I was totally confused and now the couple were wondering whats going on.  Finally Joan says aloud in a slow, firm tone, “We need to talk right now.”  And so I followed her outside.  The call was from Stacy.  She and Brian had talked and talked and finally decided they really wanted Light Green Boy.  Joan was absolutely adamant that she wanted the pup to go to Stacy and Brian. But I had already told the Utah couple that Light Green Boy could go home with them.  It was an ethical dilemma for novice breeders.  But then we asked ourselves, “What’s best for Light Green Boy?”  The nice couple from Utah that we just met two hours earlier…or the young couple from Corvallis that Joan met repeatedly at training classes, wanted to do obedience, and would probably try a lot of new activities with their dog?  It was a very awkward farewell to the couple from Utah.

Light Green Boy is now Obsidian’s ‘Alala (‘Alala is also known as the Hawaiian crow), but friends call him Luca.  Stacy and Brian moved to Spokane, where Stacy is a part-time training instructor at Diamonds in the Ruff.  Now she teaches others how to raise well-mannered puppies.  Luca and Stacy are also training for competition agility and they came back here a couple of weeks ago for a very intense, three day mini-agility camp with Joan and I.  Stacy’s handling skills are excellent considering Luca is her first agility dog. They can look forward to having a lot of success together.  The long weekend also gave us a chance to do a thorough assessment of Luca’s conformation at two years.  As dog owners, each one of our companions have our unconditional love. But as breeders, we need to be looking at every pup we produce with a hard, critical eye.  What are the strengths in each dog we want to carry forward in our breeding program?  What are physical or behavioral traits we wish to improve on?  Only by developing long-lasting friendships with our puppy buyers do we get a chance for regular reports about the Obsidian pups as they grow up.  None of the A-Litter pups conform perfectly to the Belgian Sheepdog standard, but we couldn’t be happier with the pups that Heart and Gusto produced.  Finding good homes for each puppy was the one thing about breeding that scared us the most before the A-Litter.  Now we think of each new litter as another chance to make some new friends.  It makes all the work of breeding well worth the effort.

Dave

Welcome to our new website!

Flying RogueI hope you all enjoy the new online home of Obsidian Belgian Sheepdogs.  Our revised website was created within the WordPress framework, allowing us to add new graphic features, create an integrated blog, and facilitate content sharing.  Let us know what you think of our new website via a comment on the blog page or an email from the contact page.