My Poodles

Puff (1963-1971)

My first dog. Puff's mother was a pet bitch but the sire was a Champion. Her most famous achievement was her attack-on-my-command of the neighborhood bully. He ran home crying and never bothered me again. Good dog Puff! Grrrr.

And oh look, I'm already trying to get that show pose!

Topper (1973-1987)
Topper was a toy poodle, adorable, fun and smart. He suffered from an enlarged heart but still lived to the ripe old age of 14. He watched me go off to college and came for visits with my parents after I had moved to Michigan.
 

CH U-CD, Ravendune Kahlua Kiss, CDX, Can CD
(1983-1996)

Kahlua was my first show dog and came from Ravendune Poodles in 1983. She got me hooked on showing in obedience and breed. Although sold to me as a pet, she was show quality and she earned all but one championship point handled by my breeder, Todd Patterson. I miraculously got the last point showing her myself.

We started training obedience in 1984. She earned her CD and CDX easily and one of my most memorable wins, my first High In Trial in St. Catherines, Canada with a 199 in Novice B.
 

U-CD Hanovia Private Dancer, UD (1985-2002)

Tina was Kahlua's daughter and the only litter I whelped. She was sent to someone else for several years but returned to my home at age three. She was shy and lacked confidence but soon overcame that. She had 11 points towards her breed Championship although I never finished her.

She loved everyone and would rather find a nice lap to sit in rather than show in the obedience ring. She was diagnosed with PRA at age 6 but retained some vision until age 11. (Her mother and father were both CERF'd clear. Nowadays with the PRCD genetics testing, both dogs could have been marked as being carrriers.)

Even with failing eyes, she did her best for me and earned her UD and later two HIT's in Canada. She lived to the incredible age of 17, adapting to her blindness and also deafness extremely well.
 

"He's da man!

Am/Can CH Am/Can OTCH U-CDX MACH 4
Ravendune Right On Q WC UDX VCX TT RE
(Born 5/27/96)

I walked up to my breeder's door one day in August 1996 to see the puppy that Jerry had picked out for me and he handed Q to me with "Here's your new puppy!  Well I guess he picks his pups pretty well! What a dog of a lifetime to have accomplish so much with such gusto.

Right from the start, Q was always "biddable" and willing to do anything for a treat, a toy or just for the fun of it. He was the first dog I totally handled myself in the breed ring and we completed his Champion title in six months in both the US and Canada.  Concurrently we were training in obedience. He made his debut in Canada at the age of 2, won a Dog World Award and a High In Trial.

Getting the OTCH in March 2003 took a lot of work, one of the hardest things I've ever done. Q never tired of performing but, let's say he was often "entertaining" in the ring and made a lots of barks and yips which cost us points and placements.

At age three I started learning agility with Q. He loved it but for several years was pretty much out of control and way too fast for me to handle, and my handling was awful. We started getting it together and in December 2003 Q was 6th place in the AKC National Agility Championships and he also soon earned his MACH in 2004.

Q has also acted in a major TV commercial for Bissell and been featured in print ad advertising. He's a ham!

Photos by Booth (upper) and Tien Tran (lower).

Ravendune Muppet CGC (1989-2005)

Muppet was a toy poodle given to my Mother to be her companion by my breeders. She was three at the time and had never been outside the kennel. She was very shy...for about 24 hours. Due to her good bloodline with excellent temperament she blossomed right out and amazed everyone who saw her.

Mom never needed to put Muppet on a leash as she would never stray more than a foot from Mom. She was Mom's constant companion and shadow until 2001 when Mom had to go to a nursing home and Muppet came to live with me.

Just for fun I took Muppet for the CGC test in August 2002 and passed. So at the ripe age of 13 she got her first title. Muppet lived to be over 16 yr old.

Photo: Myself, Muppet, my niece-in-law Wendy with her Golden, Dee Dee after we earned our GCGs.

If you can think of Q as part Border Collie then this one must be a holy terrier! A total brat with his own agenda. It's going to take some doing to get this little boy to follow in Q's footsteps but he's on his way and starting to show great improvement.

"T" walked into the breed ring at age 6 months and 1 week old and took a 4-point and a 3-point major, owner-handled! He has a stunning head and is well put together. He has great athleticism but is more laid back than Q.

Update April 2006
T earned his Rally Novice title in February, even beating Q one time. And T made his Agility debut at Cobo Hall in March with 2 perfect runs, earning him 2 first places. He may follow in Q's footsteps yet...to be continued.

Update January 2007
T went from Novice Agility in March to earning his first MACH points in June. His first Double Q (for a MACH) was earned in December 2006.