2007 started with Haltija giving us a beautiful and healthy litter in the first hours of the New Year. She  was the herald of another successful year in Salviamar, although we had to mourn the loss of our old Silver in February. For the second year we have been by far -with 32 shows in Spain, Portugal and France, plus the Euro Dog Show in Zagreb- the Spanish Samoyed kennel with more presence in the show rings. And again with a great deal of success.
During the year, Amélie has collected up to 13 national championship certificates and 7 CACIB in three different countries, laying the foundations for her International Champion title. Now she must only wait for the one-year-rule to be fulfilled and take a last CACIB. She is already Portugal Champion after her splendid win at the Nordic Dog Specialty Show held in Beja in October. The last two months she was clearly overstressed after so many shows. Next year we will breed her in spring.
Lily had an overwhelming start in the show rings, but finally her problems with food (she is like a human anorexic teenager) have taken a toll to her development.
One of Haltija's sons, Surprise, has turned out to be an outstanding specimen of the breed. Since he is spending his life as a happy pet, it will be difficult for us to show him in future.
And Angie had another spectacular year. In February, in a glorious weekend, first she was best bitch at the Spanish Samoyed Specialty under Pierluigi Buratti, and next day she finished her International championship at her first attempt. In May, despite being overweight and ill, she was first in champion class at the high-demanding Championnat de France held in Montluçon. Back to her normal weight and fully recovered from the  rickettsiosis she suffered from for several months, she has ended the year in great shape with 4 consecutive confirmation championship certificates in national shows (two Portuguese CCC and two Spanish Rappel of CAC) and a last CACIB at the international dog show of Valencia. In addition, she has been BOB in her last two shows.
Next year we will have to slow down with so much showing. We hope to have Haltija whelping her second litter in February, and are planning to breed Amélie in early spring.

Last weekend we were with our full pack of girls plus Surprise (he and Amélie only on Saturday) to the dog shows of Valencia, the last ones of the Spanish 2007 season, under two breeder judges: Carmen Navarro and Rafael García (kennel Villaodón). All our dogs achieved excellent results. The highlights were the two CACs of Haltija, who was just back from a short honeymoon in France with the sire of her first litter, the multichampion Thundery Thysonn de Sanna Gourska, and the two BOB wins of Angie. As usual our Sams were among the favourites of the little children present in the show premises, with Angie, who loves to be hugged by them, as the great star.

This weekend we have shown our (bred by us) big boy A Last Surprise in junior class at the dog shows of Alicante (Spain). Since  he is spending his live as a happy pet, first he had to be 'tortured' during hours on Wednesday by a top hairdresser, our friend Amparo del Cerro, to bring his splendid coat back to a 'ready-for-a-show' state. On Friday, Surprise behaved badly in the ring. Peter Harsany should have disqualified him, but he was very patient and so kind as to finish to judge him, write a report on him, and to encourage us to keep showing him. On Saturday, Surprise behaved much better and Nancy Russell awarded him an Excellent 1st. Many thanks to both Ms Russell and Mr Harsany for their kind judgements and patience.

See the new pictures of Surprise in his page by clicking his name or the picture above this lines.

Amsterdam, 118th Winnershow : Lily's sire, Thundery Thysonn de Sanna Gourska, is CAC CACIB BOB and ends his Dutch championship undefeated in only 3 shows with 3 BOB wins.
With this 7th champion title, Thysonn is now International Champion and a champion in France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
A big hug and our most sincere congratulations to his breeder Nadège Dubois.  

It seems that our comment about not showing under a breeder judge has riled a few people. Of course, it was and is not our intention to tell other Samoyed owners or breeders where to show and under which judges enter their dogs. Maybe we are wrong, but we still think that if a foreign Samoyed breeder judge comes to Spain, at least one of the members of the Executive Council of the Spanish Samoyed Association should be there, if only as a matter of courtesy. Was it not the right occasion to have arranged a Samoyed Special? Our critics were not aimed at any individual Samoyed owner. Therefore, we do not understand that we have got a public answer from the wife of the President of the SSA, being her (surprisingly enough) not a member of the Samoyed Association. And yes, we did not achieve a good result under Marija Kav¹i¹, but –contrary to other's common practice– we do not conceal our bad results. We state the bad ones the same as the very good ones.

We often hear fellow Samoyed breeders complain about all round judges with little knowledge of our breed. Well, today the Slovenian Samoyed breeder Marija Kav¹i¹ (Anatina) was appointed to judge at the International Dog Show of Torrepacheco. Only three Samoyed breeders were there: Villadón, Nariz de Nieve and Salviamar. None of the members of the Executive Council of the Spanish Samoyed Association did enter a dog. No comment!

On Saturday we attended with our four girls the Portuguese Nordic Dog Specialty Show (Alaskan Malamutes, Siberian Huskies and Samoyeds) held in Beja. In the breed, Angie was excellent 1st in champion class and was awarded the CCC. Lily was excellent 1st in junior class, and later

Best Junior Bitch in Specialty Show.

And Amélie had the perfect finish for her

Portugal Champion !!

title winning her second CAC-QC in 15 days.

Except for the veteran, a class we were not competing in, the best bitch of breed final was packed with our girls.

We have decided to breed Haltija again in autumn. Now we are looking for a healthy and beautiful boy for her.

We have been with Lily, Amélie and Haltija to Estoril. With Amélie out of coat, we feared it could be another of our unproductive summer trips to Portugal. Moreover, when we were already 800 km away from home, we noticed that our puppy Lily had just started to be on heat. At the end, Amélie was CAC + CACIB + BOS on Sunday (thanks to her judge, Damik Skok),  taking her 13th CAC and her 5th CACIB since November last year, and Lily was Best Puppy in Breed both days and Best Puppy in Group on Saturday (many thanks to her judge in the breed and the puppy final, Kari Jarvinen). On Sunday we did not stay for the group with Lily since we had a long way home to drive .
 

National Dog Show in Rovaniemi (FCI groups 5, 7 and 8): CH Iciveitican Honey Hot Bear wins her second BIS in less than one month. Three cheers for her!

Today, Haltija's sister FI & NO CH Iciveitican Honey Hot Bear (Halti) was BIS at the National Dog Show held in Pello (Lapland). Her judges were Kurt Nilsson (breed), Marja Talvitie (group) and Rainer Vuorinen (BIS). Lots of congratulations to both Halti and Heidi.

Last weekend we were with the full pack (Amélie, Angie, Haltija and Lily) to Lisbon for the international dog shows. It was Lily, with her Best Puppy in Breed  on Sunday (on Saturday she behaved too badly in the ring), who saved the honour of the kennel.

Lily & Amélie in Lisbon
(photo by courtesy of Claudia Lópes - Samspring)

And the bad news today is that Angie has been diagnosed a severe hip dysplasia by the OFA. In 15 months her hip status has deteriorated from mild (both OFA and AVEPA) to severe dysplasia (OFA).
Just after arriving from the USA and having her cleared through customs, we noticed that there was something wrong with Angie's left rear leg. Why her breeder had not noticed such an evident strange movement is still an open question. Four months later in April, at the age of 8 months, Angie's gait was so terrible that we stopped showing her and had her x-rayed. The result of the preliminary (consultation) report issued in May 2005 by the OFA was "moderate hip dysplasia". We started a medical treatment and a special exercise program for her. Some months later, in September, her gait had improved moderately and we showed her again as a trial. The judge did not object her gait and awarded Angie an excellent. Nevertheless, since we were not very convinced about her possibilities, it was not until November that we showed her again. She was placed first with excellent in her class, and soon Angie started a successful career in the show rings.
In March 2006, at the age of 19 months, Angie was x-rayed again and both the OFA and the Spanish AVEPA diagnosed a mild hip dysplasia.
In the last months it was evident for us that Angie's hips were deteriorating. We had her x-rayed a third time, and today we have got the consensus report by the OFA confirming  our fears.
The question now is if a hip status evaluation at an age under two years is meaningful.

New pictures of Amélie with 23 months added to her Gallery. Three new pictures added to the Photo section.

Up ã The Portuguese Kennel Club (CPC) has started a Hip Dysplasia Control Program. The radiological findings will be stated in the pedigree of each dog.
Furthermore, on the occasion of the next International Dog Shows to be held in Lisbon, the CPC has arranged voluntary eye exams by an ECVO certified veterinary ophthalmologist. Until now it was impossible for Portuguese breeders to have their dogs checked in Portugal due to the lack of specialists in this field.

What is the Spanish Kennel Club (RSCE) doing in regard to dogs' health? They don't know, they don't answer!

Thundery Thysonn de Sanna Gourska, sire of our Lily, adds the Bosnian champion title to his long list of trophies.

Since time goes by very quickly, our little Lily made today her debut in the show rings with a Best Puppy in Breed!  In the picture you can see her early in the morning ready to leave for the show premises.

Lily's great-great-great-granddam, Humoresque Nougat Noisette, now 14 years old and still in great shape was one of the few participants which was awarded an excellent by Henrik Soeborg (39 out of 93 Sams) at the Finnish Samoyed Specialty Show held last Saturday in Keminmaa. Of course, her grandsire Jeppe (Funny Fabric Whopee Wedidit) was one of the choice 39 too. Follow this link to see the photographic report made by Hagenhalmen Kennel.

07/06/07

New trip of Amélie and Angie to France. This time they participated in the International Dog Show of Lyon with other 21 Samoyeds. Amélie, handled with his usual expertise by Dominique Firetto, got the CACS and was RCACIB, second to an already International Champion bitch, and defeated Angie for the first time.

Haltija's sister, Iciveitican Honey Hot Bear, became last Saturday a Norwegian and Finnish Champion with her splendid win in Lisalmi (CC, BOB, BOG2).

We have been in May with our girls, Amélie and Angie, to the main championship shows of France (French Championship held in Montluçon) respectively of Spain (obligatory show of the Spanish Kennel Club held in Talavera). In France we enjoyed a large entry of 43 Samoyeds, several outstanding specimens of the breed, a prestigious and specialised judge (Mr. Christian Lang), 15 bitches in the ring competing for the qualifying CAC for the French Championship, and 7 Samoyeds shown in champion class.
 The Spanish show was the opposite and disappointing : a poor entry of 19 Samoyeds (5 of them no ring), with only 5 bitches competing for the CAC, not a single puppy entered, and only 2 champions shown. In addition, in Spain it is not even customary that the judges write a report. 

Thundery Thysonn de Sanna Gourska, sire of our Lily, adds a 5th Champion title. Last Saturday he was CAC+CACIB in St. Gallen and is new Swiss Champion.

Show weekend in Portugal. Amélie gathered her first two CAC for the Portuguese championship and got the CACIB on Sunday. Angie was shown only on Saturday, getting the CCC and being best bitch.
 Since November 2006 Amélie has been shown 18 times (17 in intermediate and one in open class). She has got in all shows an Exc. 1st in her class. In 10 shows she has got the CAC (in three of them in addition the CACIB and in four the RCACIB). In 6 shows she was RCAC (two of them in Specialty Shows). Only 2 judges have not awarded her at least a reserve. She only needs to look happier in the rings to be able to rival Angie in champion titles.

Yesterday afternoon Voyager went to his new home. There are two little kids in the family, and Juan Carlos Reixach loves trekking and is an excellent nature, wildlife and landscape hobby photographer (you can see  some of his pictures following the link by clicking his name). Just the right home for a Samoyed!

Feedback from the owners of our puppies : Ambassador, Surprise, Wings and Queen are perfectly integrated in their new homes, healthy and very happy. In the picture below these lines, Queen enjoying her first snow experience. Just when the spring was knocking on the door, the winter is back. That's good news for skiers and Samoyeds.

Salon International de l'Agriculture Paris 2007 : Thundery Thysonn de Sanna Gourska, sire of our A-litter, best male Champion of group 5!!

Our puppies ex Haltija x Thysonn have passed their ophthalmologic exam : the eyes of all six are clear!

Pictures of all six puppies - the last ones at Salviamar - with 62 days added in their respective personal pages.

Our puppies are 60 days old. Today we have wormed, vaccinated (3 of them) and weighted them: Surprise is the biggest with 8050 gr, Voyager weights 7800 gr and Ambassador 7350 gr. The strongest girl is Wings with 6500 gr, followed by Queen with 6100 gr. Little Lily weights only 5750 gr. Wednesday next week they will undergo a preliminary eye exam by a doctor in veterinary ophthalmology, and - if everything is OK - Surprise, Ambassador, Wings and Queen will go to their new homes.

And to round off the weekend, on Sunday in the 24th International Dog Show, Amélie got her 6^th CAC in 3 months and was RCACIB, and Angie was CACIB for the 7^th time and became, 1 year and 7days after her first CACIB, an

International Champion !!
 

We want to thank the 7 judges who awarded Angie a CACIB : Irene González (Spain), Monique van Brempt (Belgium), Paula Heikkinen-Lehkonen (Finland), Jean Lanning (Great Britain),  Carmyn Kingston (Australia), Fernando Madeira (Portugal) and Dick MacCoy (Ireland). And, of course, many thanks to Pierluigi Buratti (Italy) for the BOS at the Specialty Show.

Angie Best Bitch in Specialty Show !!

Amélie RCAC !
 

Judge : Pierluigi Buratti (Italy)

Main results:

BISS :  CH Roybridge King Midas (Champion Class)

           RBISS :  CH El-Al's Guardian Angel (Angie) (Champion Class)

Bitches

CAC : Arhus de Pico del Águila(Open Class)
New Spanish Champion

RCAC : Roybridge Diamond Knight
(Open Class)

RCAC : Arctic Amélia de Sanna Gourska (Amélie)
(Intermediate Class)

A big hug to our Portuguese friends Claudia and Pedro (Samspring) for this splendid win of Midas and for the Spanish champion title of Cilla. Our best wishes for Midas x Cilla next litter in mid Spring.

Congratulations too to the owners of the CAC male and new Spanish champion, Arhus de Pico del Águila. Arhus was BISS in the 2 Specialty Open Shows of the Spanish Samoyed Association (years 2004 and 2005) when the SSA was still not officially recognized by the Spanish Kennel Club. He deserved the Champion title!

A star has gone out

Early this morning our much beloved Silver-Star has left us. In the last days her state of health was deteriorated and she breathed with some difficulty. On Wednesday we went with her to the vet. There, she concealed her pains and looked  healthy. Even the biochemical parameters of her blood exam were within the normal range. But yesterday night it was clear for us that she had given up her long and brave fight against her lung cancer : she lied down under the table of the living room and refused any food, even a pap with puppy milk Marga prepared for her around midnight. When we woke up this morning we noticed that something was wrong since Amélie did not run to kiss her as usual. Silver had died some minutes before.

We got Silver June 16th 2001 with 7 years from her breeder, Jesús García Bravo, when he - due to an incurable illness - had to give up his kennel and go back to his house in Guadarrama, closer to the hospital he had to visit every few days. He had refused some offers from breeders to take Silver, looking for a suitable family for her. She was left unattended for 4 months with other 6 Samoyeds in the abandoned kennel, only getting once a week the visit of a niece of Jesús and her friend. By chance and unaware of the situation Marga phoned one day Jesús, and she was offered Silver. She had to promise not to breed her, and we drove to the kennel to rescue Silver. She was depressed and wasted. Some weeks later Silver was completely recovered, as you can see in the right picture below these lines or in the picture 'Queen of the Roses' (section Photos), and with some overweight we never could reduce again.

07/02/07

We were today to the vet with all six puppies of our litter to have them checked, wormed and weighted. The lighter weighted at birth, Surprise among the boys and Angel Wings among the girls are now the strongest boy and girl. All are healthy and beautiful, specially the boys. Next weekend we will put new pictures of all of them standing in an upright position.

New page for the A-litter added with pictures of the six puppies with 15 days and a table with their weight increase. The pups are growing well and healthy, nourished only with their devoted mother's milk. 

Haltija's litter is there just for the New Year.  We had a hectic New Year's Eve: Haltija, after a restless afternoon, showed her first clear signs of going into labour at about 9 PM. The first puppy, a big male, was born around midnight. One and a half hours later, she whelped a bitch. The third puppy, around 02:10 AM of the New Year, was a male. The fourth puppy, and second bitch, took again one and a half hours to be born. We were wondering if the vet had miscounted the pups when she ultrasounded Haltija some weeks ago, when at 08:35 AM a third bitch attracted our attention with her cries. But there was a final surprise: we were trying to have some rest after a long sleepless night and a busy morning when at 02:35 PM Haltija gave birth to a sixth puppy and glanced toward us with desperation.
 All 6 puppies look very healthy and are fattening up their tummies. And Haltija is simply doing great!

Copyright Salviamar