In Stride Azawakh & Training

18/11/2024

It has been one hell of a journey. Today Anubi finished his AKC Grand Champion Bronze and retired from the show ring. I believe there have been under 5 GCHB in the breed

Anu and I have climbed to so many heights I never even dreamed. He is my first show dog and he was not an easy one at first though with time, hard work , and trust he turned into the consummate showman.

I started showing him while the breed was still in miscellaneous and the breed was recognized when he was a few points from his Certificate of Merit. Early in 2022 he blew out his knee in a lure coursing collision, and needed surgery to repair the broken bones. He took a Group 2 in a large sighthound group at UKC Premier Nationals exactly 12 weeks later.

He picked up his first major on the East Coast and his second here in the West. He finished his Grand in three weekends and I realized at the end of last year he was only 12 points from his Bronze. That was my goal before he retired.

We've been so many places and made so many friends and memories. I will always be grateful that he was my introduction to the show ring.

Anubi
Group Placing, Multiple OH Group Placing
BIF MBBIS BA URO1 UGRCH AmGCHB DC Naram-Sin du Haras de Crouz RA FDC SC CAA DCAT ACT1 ACT2 SCN SBN SIN THD CGCA CGCU TKP VHMA FITS RATI JOR SGRC2 FCH AVD
7.5 years

2024 Westminster invitee, Westminster AOM, #5 Breed, #6 NOHS, #8 All Breed, 2025 Westminster invitee

2023 NOHS Finals BOB, NSS AOM, Royal Canon AOM, #2 AKC Breed, #5 NOHS, #6 AKC All Breed

2022 UKC Top 10 Finals BOB, Group 2 UKC Premier Nationals, Group 2 Total Dog UKC Premier Nationals, #1 UKC, #5 NOHS, #6 AKC Breed, All Breed

2021 UKC Top 10 Finals BOB, #1 UKC

2020 #1 UKC

2019 NOHSn Finals BOS, #2 NOHS, #15 AKC Breed, All Breed

First Azawakh to earn ACT1, ACT2, BA, CA, CAA, DCAT, JOR, SIN, SBN, SCN, THDN, THD, FITB, FITS, SGRC, VHMA, SGRC2, DC

Of 11 offspring he has sired four AKC champions and has one other son that is major pointed, one other that is AKC pointed, four UKC champions, and two more that are competition pointed.

I could not ask for a better partner.

14/11/2024

Unfortunately, Czerny's ultrasound today showed no puppies.

I am absolutely glad we attempted the breeding. It has my cemented my belief that Czerny has a phenomenal temperament and I hope I'm the future her owner is able to breed her. She has been an I'm incredible house guest and I am glad I got to know her better.

We will do a relaxin pregnancy test late next week just to double check, but I trust my vet's ultrasound skills implicitly so unfortunately it just didn't work out this time.

Thank you to all the incredible people who worked together to make this happen.

18/10/2024

This breeding is truly the result of what collaboration can do.

Czerny (UCH Kel Simoon Toccata N'Sambala)doesn't cycle frequently, so it was important that she be bred this cycle. Her owner, Lenny, wasn't at a place where he could have a litter this moment and I was since I opted not to breed Amalu her last cycle.

Last Thursday we settled on a plan for me to lease her and whelp and raise the litter. Lenny, Theresa, and I will be co-breeding this litter.

Czerny had her health certificate to fly last Friday. She flew out Saturday. Thankfully we had friends at the Basenji National who helped us coordinate and thank you again Julie Leicht for being willing to fly her to us.

Theresa and I picked her up at the airport late Saturday. We ran progesterone (she was day 12) on Monday. Thank you Timberland Vet who was willing to run it on my way back to to Seattle. We ran progesterone at my vet on Wednesday which showed she was ready and I went up to breed Czerny to Haris (AmGCH AmCH In Stride Sambala Cain't Say No) yesterday. Haris is staying with me during the Rhodesian Ridgeback National, so we'll hopefully get a couple more breedings. Thank you Cassie for letting us use your boy!

It's been a whirlwind but I'm so happy we could make this happen. Fingers crossed that she takes.

Ultrasound the week of November 11th.

We do have space on our interest list. This will be an AKC showable litter. This may be one of my only AKC showable litters in the next three years.

16/10/2024

Classes are posted.

Tuesday - Control Unleashed - 5:30-6:30
Wednesday - Intro to Rally - 5:00-6:00
Wednesday - Advanced Rally - 6:30-7:30
Thursday - AKC STAR Puppy Obedience - 5:00-6:00
Thursday - Intro to Scentwork

All classes are six weeks and Renton based.

I don't often offer this many classes, but there seems to be enough interest. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sign up at the link below:

Book group dog training classes.

19/08/2024

I have run into so many Service Dog access issues recently. Both with my personal Service Dog and with quite a few client dogs. Today's was resolved easily, but it's always stressful, so it's time for a public service announcement.

In the United States:
✨ Service dogs are defined as- a dog that is task trained to mitigate an individual's disability. They must be under control and house trained. A disability is defined as a condition that significantly limits an individual's life or area of their daily life.

✨ Service Dogs do not require a certification

✨ Service Dogs are not required to have any specific identifying equipment. Flying is typically an exception to this time where the dog must be marked as a Service Dog.

✨ The certifications you see online for Service Dogs are in fact fake. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not require certification. There are some voluntary city, county, and state registries but they are voluntary

✨ The general rule with Service Dogs is that the law (city, state, or federal) that provides the most protection to the team is what applies. If state law requires registration and federal does not- federal law applies.

✨ Service Dogs can be any breed

✨ Service Dogs fall under the Air Carrier Access Act for flying, Fair Housing Act for housing, and the Americans with Disabilities Act for all other access rights.

✨ Religious institutions can bar Service Dogs. Private individuals can bar Service Dogs from their house. Businesses cannot bar Service Dogs without cause.

✨ One instance where a Service Dog might be barred is at certain areas of a zoo where the Service Dog's presence alters the animal's comfort or causes then distress. People with dog allergies are not an acceptable reason to bar Service Dogs, per the ADA.

✨ Service Dogs must be task trained to mitigate a specific disability. That task is allowed to be a natural alert (cardiac, migraine, blood pressure, etc) that has been shaped into a defined task. Tasks must be active - providing comfort is not a task because it is passive, not active.

✨ Businesses are allowed to ask two questions when a dog is brought into their non- dog friendly space. 1. Is that a Service Dog? 2. What tasks does the dog perform? (This second question can include asking what the tasks look like. It does not include: "What's wrong with you")

✨ If a handler does not answer that the dog is a Service Dog and explain the dog's active tasks, businesses can ask the dog to leave. But only in the circumstance that the answer to the questions do not indicate the dog is a Service Dog.

✨ If a dog is not under control, businesses can always ask a Service Dog to be removed. This is a very very important piece of businesses' rights.

Hopefully this has been illuminating about some of the complexities of Service Dog law. Could Service Dog laws be better? Yes, but it's honestly a very complex problem to solve and that's a discussion for a different day.

Picture of my client's Shiba Inu Service Dog today.

13/08/2024

I am very proud of miss Drama. She went Best Female one show and Reserve Best Female the other show. This gives her her first competition win in UKC.

We've been working with her the past month and she came back with some foundations for the show ring. It's going to take some practice and patience for her to be relaxed in the ring, but she was much more comfortable the second show and Theresa did a great job supporting her in the ring.

First two pictures by Malinda Julien Photography, third picture is Lexi D Photography. I absolutely love the second picture because it very much encompasses Drama.

12/08/2024

Ducky (In Stride's Dance of Ducklings) has now been visiting just under two weeks. We have specific training goals that we have been hitting. She is such a happy girl and sometimes impulsive, so that's what we've been working on. Duck reminds me a ton of her Aunt Gem.

She fits into my pack well and her siblings Drama and Quixote (who has been visiting the last two weeks) adore her. The adult dogs are very helpful in helping her guide some of her boundless enthusiasm. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to share my life with her for a few months.

One of the reasons that Ducky is visiting is to get updated radiographs of her spine. Most know that she was hit by a car back at the end of March, which fractured one of her lumbar vertebra. Her recovery has gone well, but Ducky was placed as a show, performance, and breeding prospect, so extensive follow-up was warranted in this instance.

My vet did pretty extensive Xrays- two views of her lumber spine, her abdomen, hips, and both elbows. The bad news is undeniable that Ducky unfortunately has lasting changes to her body. We did not take updated radiographs of her skull, because it is clearly healed and not painful, but Ducky likely did have a skull fracture that has since healed. While her elbows are radiographically unremarkable and would pass OFA tests, she has aesthetic changes to their appearance.

The fracture to her lumbar vertebra has healed. However, Ducky was eight months when she was hit by the car, her bones were still developing and while the vertebra has healed, it has not healed cleanly. I have now heard from three different vets that there was nothing, no surgery or any treatment, we could have done differently that would have ensured the break healed more cleanly. We are deeply thankful that Ducky does not have neurological deficits considering the substantial damage to her back.
The radiologist report was illuminating and I am glad we pursued that avenue. They noted a narrowing of the space between her last thoracic and first lumbar vertebra. They suggested noting whether this area was painful and monitoring it. That junction is, in fact, slightly painful for Ducky (whereas the healed fracture in her lumbar area is not and we suspect those vertebra will ultimately fuse to help protect that region).

The radiologist also noticed a difference in Ducky's left hind leg that indicated some atrophy. This is consistent with what we have found - she is tight on that leg and requires stretching and strength building. From here, we will pursue physical therapy to help with Ducky's strength and range of motion, as well as to build core strength around her lumbar area, to help give as much stability to that area as possible.

The best possible news, despite this update, is that Ducky is alive. She is healthy. She has zero signs of neurological issues. She is cleared to live a normal pet life with no restrictions beyond monitoring and supplements.

This does mean, for her health, I am washing Ducky as a breeding and high impact sports (lure coursing, agility, etc) prospect. She is cleared to do things like show, trick train, scentwork, and such. But most importantly, she gets to live out the remainder of her life happy with her family. It has been a long journey to get to this point, but I will forever be thankful to have Ducky not just alive, but thriving.

Ducky will get to do some practice running straights on the lure (running is actually important for her rehab, it's only sharp turns that are a risk) and show in September before heading home to her owner.

12/08/2024

Imboran went Reserve Best Male both shows on Sunday and when Quixote, at a year old, was not quite feeling up to going into the juniors ring with his junior, Imboran stepped up.

Imboran went in for both shows for juniors and he was just phenomenal. The junior had never practiced with him, but he absolutely loves to show and they looked great together in the ring and helped the junior get her Total Junior award.

I am so very proud of Imboran. He has matured into such a confident, showy boy.

First picture is by Malinda Julien, second is from Lexi D Photography, last three pictures are from Nic Cross

11/08/2024

Due to sickness, I missed the first two days of the UKC Western Classic. However, Ira and his human can't up from California and had a fantastic weekend.

Ira finished his UKC Championship at not quite ten months old by taking Best of Breed over five other Azawakh and then on to Group 1.

Ira is owner's first show dog and she has done a phenomenal job with him. They turn their sights to agility at this point.

It was so lovely to get to see both of them again. Ira was so happy to see other Azawakh and played with them hard.

Ira is from my E Litter (Anubi x Amalu) and is:
Grand Sieger BPIS UCH In Stride's Everything's Alright TKN

Win photo by Malinda Julien Photography and ringside photo by Lexi D Photography

08/08/2024

It was a very long weekend at the Damascus LGRA meets two weekends ago.

Anubi went Best of Breed on Saturday. Nina (URBIS UCH In Stride Sambala Cell Block Tango POA GRC) took Best Opposite on Saturday and finished her Gazehound Racing Championship. She went Best of Breed on Sunday.

Drama (In Stride's Defying Gravity JC) ran her first LGRA meets. The first day it took her a bit to figure out the boxes but on Sunday, she took second place and earned herself three championship points (out of 12 needed for her GRC). She is going to be an incredible runner as she continues to mature. She is so focused.

Haris (AmGCH In Stride Sambala Cain't Say No POA) was a First-time-entered dog in Sunday after certifying that Saturday and I'm so very proud of him. He took Best Opposite and earned 1.5 points his very first meet.

Quixote (In Stride Dream Impossible Dreams JC) was our turtle both days, but managed to take his first point on Saturday, and I'm so proud of how well the game clicked for him.

Imboran (Xanadu Farms Imboran TKN VHMA FITB JSR) ran clean out of boxes which was my goal for him ahead of LGRA Nationals. Anubi, Tabiri, Amalu, and Birdie weren't the focus that weekend because the goal was to prep the green dogs, but I'm so thankful for experienced, seasoned adults.

It was incredibly gratifying to see four of my bred-by dogs, all only a year old (Nina, Haris, Drama, Quixote) in the high point race on Sunday, running well and clean. I am so very proud of them.

We were able to get all the green dogs certified for NOTRA ahead of Nationals. Haris, Drama, and Quixote all certified to run!

All photos by Hanah Fields-Austin

08/08/2024

Long overdue brag, but at his first show in the classes, Malachi went Best of Breed and into Group 1 and Reserve Best in Show.

Malachi went to his new home at the end of last year and it's been the best fit I could have hoped for and I love seeing him succeed in life and the ring.

Malachi is from my D Litter (Tabiri x Amidi) - full siblings to Drama, Quixote, Ducky, Yufen, and Dev.

Very very proud of this team!

06/08/2024

As mentioned in my previous post, we would be sharing Drama's written behavioral assessment once we received it back.

Attached is the full written assessment.

In essence the evaluator found that -
"Drama showed pretty typical age and breed behavior throughout the evaluation... All and all, Drama showed a broad skill set of social behaviors, and struck me as a well-rounded, fairly confident, social dog who is behaviorally healthy. She engaged with me a lot and was playful, energetic, and biddable during our time together."

She will be seeing our vet in a few week's time for updated vaccinations and bloodwork, which we expect to be normal

31/07/2024

There have been assertions that Drama (In Stride's Defying Gravity JC), who was returned to me in the middle of May, was evaluated and diagnosed with rage syndrome. She posted in a very popular Dogbook group as well as an Azawakh specific group and asserted this publicly. She has repeatedly refused to produce evidence or provide the names of the individuals who she asserts diagnosed Drama, between the ages of 4-8 months, with rage syndrome.

We requested our veterinarian contact the veterinarian who provided care for Drama while in the possession of her former owner. The clinic has no record of an assessment or diagnosis of rage syndrome nor do they have any record of behavioral concerns. They specifically told us that she seemed like a "perfectly normal" puppy. The former owner has refused to provide the name of the individual who she claims completed the assessment or produce documentation an assessment was completed.

In light of these facts, paired with observations over the past 2.5 months and the results of a third party assessment, we have no reason to have concerns regarding Drama’s temperament. We do not doubt her former owner experienced behavioral issues with Drama and based on the lack of these behaviors being present in her current settings we believe this was a case of a home not being appropriate for the dog.

As with all of our dogs, we will continue assessing and evaluating to determine the best options for Drama’s future. At this time Drama is thriving both in my home and with the family of the Junior who completed her JC/QC on her. The Junior’s mother is an experienced dog person with an extensive history in animal behavior. At this time we have only noted age appropriate behaviors paired with the impact of having been in a home that did not meet her needs. These findings match the observations of our evaluator.

While screening was completed of her original placement, sometimes mismatches are made. We have not accused her former owner of abuse, neglect, or any maltreatment. We attempted to provide support when her former owner reported behavioral issues/concerns while Drama was in their care and advised on several occasions the dog be returned due to the reported issues. We offered several months worth of training, worth thousands of dollars, free of charge, which the former owner declined.

We are thankful the former owner eventually recognized the mismatch and returned her. We are disappointed that her former owner has felt the need to make false assertions of assessments and diagnosis and has repeatedly made disparaging statements about Drama, her littermates, the breeder, and program. It is our hope this individual will cease and desist from attempting to harm our program through these false statements. We wish her the best in her future in the dog community, however her actions are quite concerning to us. We have not been able to directly address any of these issues due to this individual blocking us, those connected to my program, and any person who requests additional information or evidence to corroborate her claims. We do not question that there were behavioral issues in the home, we feel any and all problems were due to incompatibility and an escalation of typical behaviors due to possible mismanagement.

Attached are the emails (names redacted) detailing our most recent exchange regarding the false charges of rage syndrome.

22/07/2024

To say I'm proud of this team is an understatement.

Today, Ira (In Stride's Everything's Alright) from my E Litter (Anubi x Amalu) took Grand Sieger after going Best Puppy in Show at the IABCA show at only nine months old.

Grand Sieger is a special award given at IABCA shows.
Grand Sieger is defined as: All dogs who win any of the weekend's Best in Shows (any show, any day, puppy, regular, altered, veterans, rare breed etc) will compete for a best of the weekend award. It is awarded by a panel of judges. In this case this panel included AKC Azawakh approved judge Sheila Paske, who I have the utmost respect for her knowledge of the breed.

All of my E litter puppies have now earned a RBPIS/BPIS. Ira is the ninth dog I have produced to take Reserve or Best in Show at some level.

I am particularly proud of this team. Ira was placed as a performance prospect. Structurally he evaluated as the strongest puppy in a very strong litter, but he had the drive and need to do performance and his owner is doing a phenomenal job in those venues. She decided to try her hand at showing Ira, which I've fully supported, and she has truly put in the work. Ira is not an easy first show dog but I am so impressed with how far they've come in a short amount of time.

Congratulations Ira - Grand Sieger BPIS In Stride's Everything's Alright TKN

Thank you Ashley Cirimeli for the photos

15/07/2024

While I went to play flyball, a bunch of my puppy owners had fabulous weekends!

First up was Volt out of my C Litter (Anubi x Gem). He warned his ATT title (AKC Temperament Test) this weekend! Volt is also squarely sitting at #1 owner-handled Azawakh right now. He has both his majors in AKC conformation and just needs a few singles to finish.

Drama out of my D (Tabiri x Amidi) went with a friend to a lure coursing trial. She had seen the lure twice before. Once as a practice and once certifying for LGRA. She completed her Junior Courser with two qualifying runs this weekend and also passed her qualified courser certification today! So she is eligible to run in Open. I got Drama back under two months ago and I'm just blown away with how she's bounced back. She went to an out of town trial with a friend. And actually her ten year old daughter handled Drama herself all weekend!

Quixote, Drama's full brother, was no slouch! He also completed his Junior Courser title as well as his qualified courser certification. He took third in Singles yesterday as well. He was handled by his owner's daughters (9 and 10 yoa) all weekend!

Ljósta out of my E Litter (Anubi x Amalu) became the first of his litter to finish his UKC Championship at 9 months old, doing it in style telling a Group 1 and then onto Reserve Best in Show. He took another Group 1 and a Group 2 this weekend as well. Ljósta is Kamiko Kourtev's first show dog and she's done incredibly with him!

While not this weekend, Obi (Ljósta's brother) warned his STAR Puppy, Trick Dog Novice, and his Rodeo Sog.Novice Barrel and Straight titles. Congratulations Vicki Harrison Williams!

I am so incredibly proud of these promising young dogs and their owners.

13/07/2024

Happy first birthday to my D Litter (Tabiri x Amidi).

I love all the puppies I've produced. But this litter was an absolute joy to raise. They are bright and joyful to be alive. I love these puppies and love how many puppies stayed local so I still get to see most of them regularly.

I see all the best of their parents in them.

Happy birthday Malachi, Drama, Dev, Yufen, Quixote, and Ducky! To many more. Thank you to all their people who love them so much.

Titles and accomplishments, along with registered names beneath each picture.

02/07/2024

In reading through a post discussing Azawakh and temperament, I was struck by the assertion that Azawakh are like every other dog in temperament and the implication that they need to change to conform to modern society. This blog post is the result of my thoughts on the subject.

There is a post that has been shared often recently speaking to the indigenous temperament of Afghan Hounds and how there are times that the innate pressures of the Afghan's original environment that formed not just structure, but temperament are often forgotten in favor of other traits - perhaps, s...

19/06/2024

By request, I've added a new session of rally intermediate/advanced. It starts next Wednesday at 5p at Confluence in Issaquah. Happy to pro-rate the class if you can't make every week.

I also am starting my next session of Control Unleashed this week and still have a couple shots open.

Book group dog training classes.