Poppy
Information
Poppy was the exact opposite to Chimo in personality. She was sweet and loving and ever so gentle. I really can't remember Poppy ever doing anything seriously wrong. Even as a puppy she was always so incredibly well behaved. She was very undemanding but was always close at hand. She was a wonderful mascot of the breed and would have made an excellent Pet Therapy dog if I had been aware of this activity at this time. Poppy was Jason's mate. I tried breeding her to two other dogs and she absolutely refused to be bred by them. The breeding to Jason would have been a nice one but I was concerned about Jason's temperament (he was shy). I remember during the second time we tried to breed her. she was having absolutely nothing to do with the male so I decided to try Jason to see what Poppy's reaction would be. Even though she was near the end of her season she was willing to stand for Jason! That was when the decision was made to try breeding her to Jason on her next season. Jason and Poppy has seven beautiful pups together. None had their dad's shyness.
One of my fondest memories of Poppy is her relationship with my mom. Poppy was a very special favourite of my mom's. She would always be by my mom's side when my mom was cooking yet she never got under foot. She was my mom's very best "dish washer". She also loved to curl up by my mom.
In the Show Ring
Although there wasn't a shy bone in Poppy's body, the show ring was just not her cup of tea. She wanted to cuddle, not be showy in the ring. She was a very sound moving bitch with lovely type so I did finish her championship easily and even obtained a few Best of Breed wins. However, after she was finished I never bothered to try to special her.
Obedience
Poppy did very well in the obedience ring. She was a happy willing worker and normally achieved scores in the 190's. Poppy finished her C.D. title in four trail but she went on to compete in an additional two trails in which she was High in Class. Her scores were 187 (2nd in class), 193.5, 189, 193 and 192. Her one non-qualifying score she got up on the long down. This was very unusual for Poppy as well as unfortunate because she was working towards her best score of 196. She had a perfect score for her heal on lead. The genes were obviously there for what was to come with her daughter Angie.
Other
Poppy got very sick shortly after I got her as a pup. The problem was never identified at the time but later it was suspected that she may have had distemper or even pravo which was a very new decease in the 80's. She did recover but she had urinary infections throughout her life. Although she was basically fine, she was never a "well" dog. The hope had been that breeding her would clean out her system and clear up the infections. Sadly this did not work. In the winter of 1985 she became diabetic. She was left at the vet's for a full week in an effect to try to regulate her diabetes but it was not working. The decision was made to say good-bye. This was probably one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make concerning my dogs. My vet did not feel this was a hereditary problem but something that went back to her sickness as a pup. None of her 7 pups had any health issues.
Poppy was the exact opposite to Chimo in personality. She was sweet and loving and ever so gentle. I really can't remember Poppy ever doing anything seriously wrong. Even as a puppy she was always so incredibly well behaved. She was very undemanding but was always close at hand. She was a wonderful mascot of the breed and would have made an excellent Pet Therapy dog if I had been aware of this activity at this time. Poppy was Jason's mate. I tried breeding her to two other dogs and she absolutely refused to be bred by them. The breeding to Jason would have been a nice one but I was concerned about Jason's temperament (he was shy). I remember during the second time we tried to breed her. she was having absolutely nothing to do with the male so I decided to try Jason to see what Poppy's reaction would be. Even though she was near the end of her season she was willing to stand for Jason! That was when the decision was made to try breeding her to Jason on her next season. Jason and Poppy has seven beautiful pups together. None had their dad's shyness.
One of my fondest memories of Poppy is her relationship with my mom. Poppy was a very special favourite of my mom's. She would always be by my mom's side when my mom was cooking yet she never got under foot. She was my mom's very best "dish washer". She also loved to curl up by my mom.
In the Show Ring
Although there wasn't a shy bone in Poppy's body, the show ring was just not her cup of tea. She wanted to cuddle, not be showy in the ring. She was a very sound moving bitch with lovely type so I did finish her championship easily and even obtained a few Best of Breed wins. However, after she was finished I never bothered to try to special her.
Obedience
Poppy did very well in the obedience ring. She was a happy willing worker and normally achieved scores in the 190's. Poppy finished her C.D. title in four trail but she went on to compete in an additional two trails in which she was High in Class. Her scores were 187 (2nd in class), 193.5, 189, 193 and 192. Her one non-qualifying score she got up on the long down. This was very unusual for Poppy as well as unfortunate because she was working towards her best score of 196. She had a perfect score for her heal on lead. The genes were obviously there for what was to come with her daughter Angie.
Other
Poppy got very sick shortly after I got her as a pup. The problem was never identified at the time but later it was suspected that she may have had distemper or even pravo which was a very new decease in the 80's. She did recover but she had urinary infections throughout her life. Although she was basically fine, she was never a "well" dog. The hope had been that breeding her would clean out her system and clear up the infections. Sadly this did not work. In the winter of 1985 she became diabetic. She was left at the vet's for a full week in an effect to try to regulate her diabetes but it was not working. The decision was made to say good-bye. This was probably one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make concerning my dogs. My vet did not feel this was a hereditary problem but something that went back to her sickness as a pup. None of her 7 pups had any health issues.