Blog Posts

Granite Kennels Alaskan Malamutes

May 16th, 2013

5/16/2013

Off to Harrisburg last month...COBY earned placements in the Novice weight pull, pulling up to 1000#. He has been in harness very little but is starting to get the hang of it in his new custom harness from Jen at Powderhounds Malamutes. He also got official word that he finished 2012 as the #1 AKC Rally Novice malamute (by the AMCA system). We are trying to gear up to move into Advanced work later this year, though we have planned a couple forays still in Novice to sort of "brush up" on competition skills.

On the health news front, RHYA has tested clear (non-carrier) of the gene causing Alaskan Malamute Polyneuropathy. As Istari kennels' Emrys also has tested clear, that means COBY is clear by parentage. More results to come soon..

April 06th, 2013

4/6/2013

Wow, we have not updated in a long time... Let's see... spring/summer of 2012 Tassi welcomed her litter of puppies, and that kept us very busy! COBY won a couple more points toward his championship, including winning best of breed...RHYA completed her Open Standard (Preferred) Agility title, and TASSI earned her first Qs toward her Novice Jumpers title. We went all the way to Chattanooga Tennessee for our National Specialty in October 2012- fun times!! RHYA placed in her veterans class and won an agility class, COBY made the cut in a big Bred-by Exhibitor class (he just missed..the invisible "5th" place), won his Rally Obedience class, and TASSI again made the cut for Best of Breed. (we were busy!) KACEY learned how to ride on a golf cart, as did her grandma RHYA....they both loved it! COBY finished 2012 as the #1 Rally Novice Malamute* in the US! RHYA was the #4 ranked Malamute in Open Standard Agility! (*AMCA system)

So far in 2013, KACEY has earned her first championship points, RHYA a Q toward her Excellent Standard preferred title and more legs toward her Masters Jumpers preferred. COBY was invited to compete in the very first AKC National Rally Championships! We could not attend, but how cool to be invited amongst the very top competitors in the sport and breed.

Sadly, we lost our ASHLAR.. more than 13-1/2 years with him is still not enough...I love and miss you my sweet boy...

Fun in agility!

4/24/2012

RHYA had a chance to run AKC Agility this past weekend, where she earned her second "leg" (qualifying score) toward her Excellent Jumpers Preferred title! She had a clean run (perfect score) and won a squeaky toy and a pretty blue first place ribbon for her effort- she likes the toy best, of course. GOOD GIRL!!

And off we go again...

4/3/2012

We made a quick trip to Syracuse NY to participate in the Alaskan Malamute Club supported entry shows in conjunction with Onandaga Kennel Club. COBY was not a winner in the breed class...but he still made me proud! He was overexcited and unfocused most of the day, but still pulled off a qualifying score in Rally Novice B, AND did it well enough to be awarded Highest Scoring Alaskan Malamute in Rally! THAT made our day trip worthwhile for sure- plus we got to enjoy the company of friends we have not seen in many months through the morning and over a delicious lunch- what a fun day!

Road Trip!

3/23/2012

We took a bit of a road trip! Off to the shows in Louisville, KY- the Kentuckiana Cluster. COBY was entered in Rally Novice B on Thursday and Friday, and was entered in breed for Friday and Saturday. He was a little distracted on Thursday, but still pulled off a score of 87 in Rally. On Friday, he was quite a bit better focused, and earned a score of 93 and 4th place in his class- whichhe followed up a very short time after by going Winners Dog for another point toward his championship- Good boy COBY! We were fortunate enough also to be able to meet up with Julee, who owns ROCKY from our first litter- it was so nice to spend a little time talking and to see recent pics of ROCKY- thank you Julee for loving this boy and giving him such a secure and happy home! XOXO
The dogs and I stayed with a dear friend for nearly 1-1/2 weeks all together, while Miss TASSI had a bit of a dalliance with a handsome guy named PHOENIX, who endeared himself to me completely with his sweet and outgoing temperament. Only time will tell now if their tryst was successful!

PHOENIX!

A new Title!

1/21/2012

COBY and I went off to the Hamburg, NY 3-day cluster of dog shows last week. Coby competed in Rally Novice B obedience all three days, and in conformation two of the days.
On Friday, he earned a 97 (out of 100) in Rally, to complete his Rally Novice title, even earning a second place in the class! He went on to earn another 97 and a 90 the other two days, very nice performances on his part all weekend. He also won Winners Dog and Best of Winners one day in the breed ring for another point toward his Championship. Good boy, COBY!

Here's a quick look at one of his high-scoring courses- not perfect, but you can clearly see he was having fun and trying hard to work together with me as a team. The errors in performance are my fault for not training him enough!

Another wet Saturday for the Coby-pup...

12/10/2011

A little splashy fun on the holiday weekend!

11/28/2011

This past long holiday weekend, COBY finally got a chance to go for his first session at Canine Splash- a dogs-only indoor swim center! He LOVED it! He swam, and jumped, and splashed, and retrieved toys...and came home a tired boy! We'll be making regular visits to this business, what a great place...

2011 AMCA National Specialty

11/2/2011

Well.....what a long, sleepless, and busy week Nationals was- as always...and I loved every minute of it!

On the first Sunday, RHYA pulled her way to a WWPDA (advanced weight pull) leg, pulling over 23 times her own body weight! TASSI, weighing just a couple pounds more, had to pull one more round than her mother for an advanced leg- but that next round was more than 25 times her weight: she tried SO HARD, but just couldn't get it, so the cart attendants pushed the cart for her, so she thought she was successful, and she got huge hugs and praise for her effort...COBY pulled in the Novice pull, and easily pulled the allowed three rounds.

On Monday, COBY was my little star, earning a qualifying score and his first leg toward a Rally Novice (obedience) title!

Tuesday saw us running agility, where RHYA qualified in Excellent A Jumpers with Weaves, with a 1st place!

Wednesday we NQ'd in agility, before rushing off to the Working Dog Showcase, where I had the pleasure of presenting my girls RHYA and TASSI to the judges and audience as the multi-talented dogs they are.

Thursday: COBY qualified in Rally again, this time with a score of 95! and his second title leg..just one more to go! I'm so happy with him, it has been a number of years since I did any obedience training- now I guess I owe it to him to train him to do it right, so he can finish the title and move on to the next level. Later that day, COBY also competed in a big sweeps class, where he was happy but clearly not planning to stand still very often. Even 12-year-old ASHLAR took a trot around , just to show that he's still here and well.

Friday found COBY in the ring again, briefly, as he leaped, twirled, bounced, jumped and wagged his way through a far-too-energized version of happy puppy!

Saturday, RHYA placed 4th in her Working -titled class, also being happy and bouncy...and then TASSI took her turn for a spin in the ring, first alone and then with a group, as she made the cut for Best of Breed! What a thrill!

All in all, a great week, surrounded by our greatest friends and hundreds of beautiful Malamutes...pure bliss. Days after our return home, people are still exhausted, and the dogs are so glad to be sleeping on the bed again...

Invited

8/9/2011

Tassi received her invitation yesterday via email to the 2011 AKC/Eukanuba Championships! Congrats to my little "Pink Princess"!!