But last night, one of the Breilla team cracked the big one and was awarded BEST IN SHOW – and the winner was Ch Breilla QuestCe Que Cest, aka Clark or Fwarkie to his friends.

Now for those who don’t know Clark, he’s a ripper of a dog, but he’s also so incredibly focussed on everything except for showing that he would never have been a dog that I would have listed as a potential best in show winner. The way I would describe him is, ‘crazy beautiful’ – gorgeous and goofy all wrapped into one. He definitely had a spark as a young pup but I didn’t think the spark was, ‘goofball’.

So now ‘Fwarkie’ is a Best in Show winner and I couldn’t be happier.

Go Fwarkie and well done to handler Meg Ripper who has had the task of keeping up with his antics. It’s no mean feat to avoid tripping over a dog in show ring who suddenly decides to dart in front of you then freeze on point at a bird.

Clark at 13 weeks old

Last week I sent Ronin (the father of the pups) off to his new home down in Canberra. The day I dropped him off I cried at the airport while signing the consignment note for his crate. Ronin has been my boy his whole life and to know that he was no longer mine and would no longer be greeting me every time I walked outside made me feel like I’d been punched in the chest. I miss the way he would sit down in front of me and put his paw out to touch me as if to say, “I’m here and I want your love… love me?”.

Over the years people have thought that I spelled Ronin’s name wrong. However it’s actually a Japanese word that means, “Warrior without a master”. Ronin has gone to live in a fantastic home and better yet, they also bought one of the puppies! Their new puppy flew down on Monday morning and her name is now, “Motoko”. Motoko was a female Ronin. I LOVE that Ronin and Motoko’s new family has embraced ‘my babies’ and made the transition so wonderful. I’ve already received a photo of the two of them together that I need to download and put up on the blog when I get a chance.

Another puppy also left on Monday evening. A solid lemon girl has gone to live with her new owners on Brisbane’s north side. The couple have been long time admirers of Pointers and felt the time was right to add one to their home. I can’t wait to hear the updates on her but I know she took to her new owners straight away when they came to meet the puppies. That’s always a good sign.

So now we have photos of the six puppies who are still here. The solid liver girl who looks just like her mum Kayo, leaves this afternoon and the solid lemon boy named “Guinness” will be leaving tomorrow morning. That leaves three gorgeous babies who are just waiting for the perfect home to come along…

Leaving this afternoon, our gorgeous little liver girl. She’s so pretty!

Leaving us tomorrow morning, “Guinness” aka “Breilla Two Chai”

The boy that I’m keeping. His name is Fuji and he looks soooo much like his dad, Ronin.

And the three girls who are still looking for new homes…

Super little lemon and white girl – If dog laws were different (and my husband more willing) I’d be keeping this beautiful girl too. She is a stunner and has the most lovely temperament. A real sweetheart.

And this girl is the clown of the litter – her tail was wagging the whole time we were trying to take photos

and last but definitely not least, a little lemon ratbag. She just didn’t want to co-operate because she thought it was playtime!!

I have about 10 minutes of videos of the pups going non stop, this is just a snippet.

Oh, and my Kate Hill handbag is fine.

Today was the first day outside for the litter and they had a ball running around and exploring. Ronin decided to play dad and came over to get in on the action.

While we were outside one of our new pointer families came to visit the babies and I captured a few photos of them with the puppies. Koen and Ina had a great time running after the puppies and giving them cuddles (and Ronin had a great time trying to steal cookies from the kids.)

Grab a coffee and enjoy the slideshow… all 73 photos.

So here we go… 2.5 weeks old

The girls

The Boys

Out Take Photos!

Group photos

Kayo is like superglue when I head outside so it can be a challenge to take a photo of her without help… and then we have the awesome ‘photobomb’ from Ronin who just has to try and get himself into as many photos as possible.

Oh no… she has the iPhone out AGAIN!

Sharing the Pointer love (but the sun’s a bit bright)

My son Casey holding onto Kayo and dad-to-be, Ronin.

Photobomb!!

“I really don’t want my head held…”

Kayo having a quiet moment. This is the furtherest away from her I can get when we are out in the yard.

and here you can see her expanding puppy guts!!! Kayo at day 45.

last but not least, Kayo’s futile attempts to get into the house. It’s not happening.

More photos in a couple of weeks!

Kayo, aka Zuhraan Dark N Dreamy is being mated to Ronin, aka Ch Breilla Briser Mon Coeur some time over the next day or so.

This combination can potentially produce puppies that are solid liver, liver and white, solid lemon, lemon and white. This will also be Ronin’s third and final litter before he is desexed and heads off to a new home. The puppies from his first litter have made us exceptionally proud with many outstanding show achievements among them. I expect the puppies in this litter to be somewhat similar to the first litter seeing as how it is a very similar breeding.

Orders are now being taken. There are already three orders confirmed so if you wish to put your name down for a Breilla puppy, now is the time!

breilla@optusnet.com.au

The babies have had a great start to their show career and this weekend Sharon emailed me a few results that I just have to share.

06/02:

Solitaire – Minor puppy in group

Zack – puppy in group.

07/02:

Bryan – Best of Breed, Runner up in Group (Group 2nd) 

Solitaire - Bitch Challenge and Runner up Best of Breed then she went on to Minor puppy in Show. This was Sollie’s first challenge points.

I may not have bred these babies but their mum is a Breilla girl and it’s lovely to see that her puppies are doing so well for Sharon and Patrick. Congratulations on the wins and I hope there are many more results for me to add in the future!  (and hopefully some photos soon too.)

Ronin is my special boy – he is  my first home bred and handled Best in Group (group 1st) winner and he also sired me a litter of very beautiful babies who are doing the Breilla name proud. He has a perfect Pointer temperament and is soft without being shy, and he’s happy without getting overexcited. He loves nothing more than ear rubs and laying by your feet (and sometimes sitting in your lap.)

Unfortunately though, Ronin has a few special needs. He was injured when he had a fall down my stairs as a ten week old puppy. It appears that a hairline fracture in his elbow was unnoticed at the time it happened. Now as an adult, the injury has reappeared as arthritis and Ronin needs ongoing care in the form of food supplements to keep him mobile and pain free. Ronin was retired from the show ring in 2008 and has been happily running around my yard but it has been for my own selfish reasons that I have kept him here.

He is simply a wonderful dog and I love him very much as do all four of my children. However due to rental restrictions I’m not allowed to have the dogs inside the house with us. This means that when winter time hits, Ronin’s arthritis flares up in the cold and there isn’t much I can do to make him more comfortable.

Do you have room on your couch to make this fabulous dog comfortable and give him the home he truly deserves?

Ronin will only be available to an extra special owner who understands that he has special needs. Ronin forgets he has an injury and will still attempt to climb 6ft fences and run around like happy puppy when it’s zoomie time. He needs a calm but firm hand who will be able to settle him when he gets carried away.

Ronin has very basic doggy manners and will come to you immediately when you whistle. He is exceptionally clean and even though he has never lived in the house, I have no doubt that he would be toilet trained within a couple of days. He is also so calm that when he had his last lot of xrays he didn’t need to be sedated as he was totally relaxed in the hands of strangers and in strange surrounds.

Please email me at breilla@optusnet.com.au if you think you have the right home for Ronin.

Hiro's head shot

Hiro, Ch Breilla Point Taken is owned by David and Judy Powell in Melbourne, Victoria. Yesterday Hiro was awarded Best in Group (group first) under Irish judge Mrs J O’Connor. I always love it when Judy calls to tell me of Hiro’s wins. Most times I don’t manage to get to the phone but I know that when I listen to the message on the message bank it’s going to be something really good

Well done Hiro! Congrats to David and Judy and handler Gayle.