Zwinger vom Rabenauge

03/11/2024

Sisters who scream together, stay together - or something like that.

29/10/2024

On Saturday, October 26th, at the Black Swamp Gun Dog Club, Finch earned her UKC Championship! She really only had points to earn, and quickly racked up what was needed.

I also had the pleasure of getting to spend time with and hang out with my good friend, Margaret at Bewegung, and her new puppy, Remy. He also earned his UKC Championship the same day, and we were very proud of him and his little puppy boy brain.

UKC CH Aves vom Rabenauge TC WB, 15 months
V Asko von der Siegermacht IGP3 lbz x V Multi Group Placing UCH Hustle vom Haus Tyson IGP2 TC RN RATS DM DS CGCA CGCU TKI ang CHIC

28/10/2024

We were up in Michigan visiting a friend this past weekend after attending another UKC show (updates on that to follow a certain someone's new title photo), and of course, we HAD to make time to get some photos of the fall color.

Coordinating Hawk and Finch is always a bit of a challenge. Akira remains ever the angel. Hopefully, I can find somewhere closer to home this week to take advantage of the peak that should be sweeping over the Valley, too.

21/10/2024

For all the quirks that Finch has, and all the frustration and irritation she (more than) occasionally brings me, I adore her. There is something about the way she throws herself into my arms when I let her out of her kennel when I get home, or the way she runs outside only to turn and play bow at me almost immediately, or the way she stretches out between my legs at night, her paw draped daintily over my leg and her cheek on my stomach - there's a connection here. She drives me outright insane sometimes, but man, I can work around it.

Here's hoping we can finish out her UKC CH next week, and then I may leave her to stew and mature a bit more. Hawk has me plenty busy right now, anyway, haha.

19/10/2024

It's been a while since we did some updated photos of the girls (beyond Hawk's recent UKC CH), so I finally found the time and a willing pair of hands to run the camera to get that done.

Hawk is maturing to be pretty darn close to what I wanted when I set out with breeding her mother in mind. A nicer shoulder, slightly more rear, a slightly stronger stop, and otherwise keeping many of the same qualities that Akira already had. At 15 months, she's trending in such a lovely direction, conformation-wise, and I'm rather pleased, to say the least.

What's more, she's a lot of what I wanted out of this pairing in terms of temperament, as well. She's incredibly open, forward, and pushy with a healthy amount of drive. It's time to get serious, grab our bootstraps, and hit the ground running.

18/10/2024

On October 5th, Akira celebrated her 6th birthday, and damn, does it look good on her.

There are so many things I could say about this dog. Truly, she has been a blessing in every sense of the word, and I am so grateful that she came into my life. She has remained my best friend, has taught me so much, and has never so much a questioned me when I've asked her to jump, even to ask how high.

There are many things happening here behind the scenes, not the least of which includes prepping her daughter for her future in Schutzhund, but hopefully there will be many triumphs for her and her kiddos in the near future.

21/09/2024

A certain someone finished out her UKC CH this past weekend and played in the CH ring for the first time! Bless Jesse and his Catahoula heart for handling this absolute heathen in the ring for me. Poor boy was DRENCHED in sweat by the time we were done 😂

No love from any of the judges for Kira this weekend, but she did get Reserve CH under judge Denise Valva, and the lineup in all 4 shows was strong. Such is conformation, haha

UCH Amnesty vom Rabenauge TC WB, 13 months
V Asko von der Siegermacht IGP3 lbz x V Multi Group Placing UCH Hustle vom Haus Tyson IGP2 TC RN RATS DM DS CGCA CGCU TKI ang CHIC

17/09/2024

Hawk is a bit coarse and heavy in her facial structure, while Finch swung the opposite side of the spectrum and went fine and feminine, but she is SO expressive and cute. She has always been very handler focused, and while she has some thinner nerve than I'd like, and a lower threshold for frustration, I would trade our relationship for the world.

Aves vom Rabenauge TC WB, 13 months old.

09/09/2024

Photos from the GSDCA TC at Wolverine German Shepherd Dog Club of West Michigan came in last night, and I am having a moment. Look at this whole adult dog! Where did my puppy go? 😭

Amnesty vom Rabenauge TC WB, 13 months old.

04/09/2024

We were very busy this past weekend! Lots of new things, but we'll start with the fact that Akira and I finally took the plunge and stepped into the AKC obedience ring to earn the first two legs of her CD with scores of 191 and 190. Her habit of crowding me while heeling is definitely going to cause us a bit of trouble in this venue, and while I know how difficult it will be to fix it, judge Fred Buroff was so incredibly kind in his critique and encouragement for us that I can't help but want to try. From telling me that I am an exceptional handler to saying that my dog is an excellent dog, he was SO wonderful both days that I showed under him, and I will wholeheartedly do so if given the opportunity in the future.

She also earned her final qualifying score for her Rally Novice with a score of 90! Rally will perpetually be the sport where I cause most of our points loss by assuming I know how the sign should be performed instead of checking, or taking us too close before performing the signs (thus causing her to knock it over and lose us points), or blanking on how a sign should be done mid course and thus causing an IP. I am still happy with how she held up for 3 days in a row of trialing and lots of travel for it. She is such a wonderful, easy dog to ride with, and I am very spoiled by it.

12/07/2024

Finch, by contrast, is just... easy. Her obedience feels as simple as breathing. She's very naturally handler oriented and engaged, naturally pushy in play, and while she has more nerve than I really wanted, it was a possibility I knew of when I made the pairing. She's the only one, and it makes her a bit spicy, and a lot of fun. Her sits are the product of her great-grandfather, sure, but a slow sit is better than no sit, and Hawk makes up for that.

Don't get me wrong - she struggles in other areas that Hawk does not. She second guesses herself more, and she is less surefooted. The WB was very clear in her absolute /disdain/ for heights and "hollow" sounding flooring. She'll make a fun obedience dog, we'll aim to title, but she'll probably be the one that teaches me how to handle a quick to frustrate, low threshold dog. There's a connection here, one that hasn't needed to be fostered and encouraged. Her sister likes me well enough, but she's far more likely to choose something in the environment - something we are continuously working on with what effectively amounts to a sock puppet puppy.

Finch really only has eyes for me. That "gut feeling" I had for her at birth may never amount to anything for sport or breeding, but I'd like to think I got a pretty cool little dog for it.

11/07/2024

Slow and steady wins the race with Hawk. She is slower maturing than her sister, and I don't have a problem with that. She's a wicked happy, wicked social little puppy who has not met a stranger in her life. She's been on the way back to the car with a pillow in her mouth, spotted people on the benches by the blind, and full body wiggled in excitement at the prospect of friends.

Yeah, I've still got a visual lure for both of them right now, but sometimes I feel like I took it away too fast with Akira, and I'm in no hurry to rush things along for the sake of meeting a deadline right now. They're young - I'm making sure to enjoy the journey thoroughly. They're both fun in their own ways, but Hawk has something special that will hopefully take her pretty far, I think.

At the very least, she is my trainer's favorite 😂

Time will tell, but right now, we've got all the time in the world.

08/07/2024

Yesterday, under SV judge Edgar Pertl, Hustle vom Haus Tyson "Akira" earned her breed survey!

The Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (the German parent club, SV) has some pretty strict standards for breeding dogs. In order to be able to produce registered offspring, a dog must present to a Körmeister in order to assess breed worthiness. Even before this, the dog must have passing hips and elbows, permanent identification, a working title and a show rating, a character assessment (as of 2020 in the US), and have passed a 12 mile endurance test (unless the dog is over 6, or has an HGH). Then, the dog performs a short series of assessments to evaluated his temperament, soundness, structure and working capabilities under a breed warden to be awarded one of two classifications; an initial survey (angek.) and a lifetime survey (lbz).

While the AKC does not hold us to these same standards, I try to replicate them where I can.

I want to commend South Michigan SchH & Police Club for putting on such a well run event. Sean and Staci Murphy are genuinely kind, helpful, and supportive, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them for anything from trials to training. Their ability to reassure me and clarify, all with smiles on their faces and a great deal of compassion, means that I will look forward to trialing with them again in the future. I also need to give a huge shout out to my trainer and my helper, because without them, I would be nowhere near where I am today, success and otherwise.

Good girl, Akira. Well done.

01/07/2024

Last, but certainly not least, we have an updated stack for Hawk!

This girl is her mother reincarnated in many ways, with thicker nerve, more possession, and a nicer shoulder, but still very much her own personality. She is SO open and social, literally throwing herself at any and every stranger in an attempt to make friends. The way her whole body wiggles when she greets someone never ceases to make me smile. I'm very thankful that the universe kept dropping hints that she should stay.

Amnesty vom Rabenauge
V Asko von der Siegermacht IGP3 ang. x V Hustle vom Haus Tyson IGP2 AD

29/06/2024

Naturally, if one puppy gets stacked, they all have to get stacked. Those are the rules that I've just made up.

Thus, Finch! Still a tad square, but by god, I love this little spitfire of a puppy. She's wildly different from her mother and yet, I see rays of her in there, peaking through. She is still my darling little songbird.

Aves vom Rabenauge
V Asko von der Siegermacht IGP3 ang. x V Hustle vom Haus Tyson IGP2 AD

28/06/2024

I am so grateful that all of the A litter are so very close, now. It affords me the ability to easily see them, evaluate them, and just continue to be involved in their lives. This litter will always be very special to me, partially because it's my first, and partially just because they're all really cool dogs.

As such, when Zuko came to train today, we just had to set him up for an updated stack. We've got to tame that cowlick at the base of his tail, but for 11 months, he's not looking too shabby! Shoulders and fore chest on a lot of these kids are pretty nice, I think ;)

Alyx vom Rabenauge
V Asko von der Siegermacht IGP3 ang. x V Hustle vom Haus Tyson IGP2 AD

06/11/2023

Last, but certainly not least, is Kestrel for his 13.5 week stacked photo.

This little man went home this past weekend to my good friend, Tiffany, and I miss his sweet face already. He's a goofball, he's fun, he's fast, and I cannot wait to see what he accomplishes.

Asmodeus vom Rabenauge
(V Asko von der Siegermacht IGP3 x V Hustle vom Haus Tyson AD IGP1 RATO DM DS CGCA CGCU TKI)

06/11/2023

Asko von der Siegermacht, sire to our A litter, put up a beautiful performance this weekend at the USCA National Championship and walked away as the 2023 National Champion and Universal Seiger.

Congratulations, Frank and Asko! It is always a joy to see you two compete.

2023 USCA German Shepherd IGP National Champions
Frank Phillips and Asko von der Siegermacht
** High Protection
** National Universal Sieger
** High Breed Survey Dog