UCI Nat'l/Int'l CH CHEECHAKO (“New-comer” in the Chinook Indian language) is a Rose X Trigger pup. Her Human Parents say, "amazing how much all the pups from this cross look alike! 

When we started our search for another Standard Poodle to fill the void left when our last girl passed, we contacted several out-of-state breeders to enquire about available puppies.  Two out-of-state breeders told us about Harmony Mountain and the nice puppies available there. Harmony Mountain is almost in our neighborhood and we didn't even know about them!  Neil and I lucked out when we looked at the Harmony Mountain puppies, Lori and Rich had a puppy they had planned to keep but changed their minds due to having enough dogs in training to keep them busy.  That puppy became our fur-kid “Harmony Mt. Cinnamon Cheechako” or Cheechee as we call her.

Cheechee is a very confident, outgoing girl.  We are not hunters but if we were she would be a great hunting partner as she is very prey driven.  She has never met a stranger while in our company, but is a good guard dog around our home.  This is important as last year someone tried to break into our home while I slept, that won’t happen anymore with Miss Cheechako on duty!  She is a wild child, headstrong but still capable of getting her “Canine Good Citizen” award without taking a single wrong step.  She is correct and pretty, and has achieved her IABCA Championship title.

Cheechee’s favorite move is to stick her head between our legs and look up at us, not easy to ignore her if she wants attention (and pretty funny if you have guests and forget to tell them about her little act!).  She is particularly fond of Lori and gets pretty excited whenever we stop by Harmony Mountain for a visit.  Lori and Rich’s boy Ace is her favorite playmate.  She torments him, pulling his ears and pestering him to no end which he takes very good naturedly (lucky for her).

I don’t know how we lived without a poodle, life is a lot more interesting now we are a complete family again.  Can’t wait to add the next pup (which will be soon)."

BOOM's (Rose X Val) Human Parents (us) say: "Boom is growing to be one of the most incredible working and companion dogs in our group. He is EXTREMELY well-natured, exuberantly happy, well-conformed, and basically, EVERYTHING we hoped for in a Harmony Mountain dog."

JACEK's (Rose X Trigger) Human Parents say: I had Poodles in my life continuously for the past 25 years and I have vowed not to be without one.  I currently have Andre (not shown), Rose (the Harmony Mountain sweetie herself that Jacek is climbing on) and Jacek (pronounced yaw-sec) a 4 month old Rose x Trigger puppy.  They are a hoot and I really enjoy being with them as well as they appear to enjoy being with each other. Jacek requires a lot of attention, but Rose is always willing to lend a hand to keep him entertained. 

My husband is only a recent dog person, but you'd find it hard to believe.  He is often snuggling and sweet talking Rose, playing with Jacek or trying to get Andre to listen to him. The Jacek pictures above are about two weeks old (as of 9/09/09), so it doesn't show all of his 28-pound glory. . .   Or energy. . . Or tail wagging.

      

PIPER's (Rose X Trigger) Human Parent says: Piper has a georgous face and an awesome personality!

SUMMER's (Rose X Trigger) Human Parents say: Summer has a VERY tight sit and is quick as a flash.  (I might add that she has an alternate sit that looks like a very spacious teepee.) She won both the "sit" and the "down" contest in her puppy class. I was embarrassed that my dog slept through class, woke only to perform, and always won, so the second time she won I gave the prize to the runner-up.  She doesn't even like the first toy, but Sacha (a Daisy X Trigger girl) thinks it's wonderful.

Summer "graduated" from PetsMart puppy class on Sunday.  I enrolled her only for socialization.  100 bucks.  It was a total bust.  From the beginning, having her own perfectly good dogs at home, she had no desire to associate with any of the dogs in that class and largely ignored all of their overtures at friendship.  After making the rounds to greet all the people, she'd curl up on my purse under the stool and nap, waking only to perform whatever she was asked.

As usual, she slept through most of Sunday's class, this time on a large pillow bed the trainer had brought in just for her (seriously).  She briefly rose to do a couple of skills for the trainer but slept through all the struggles to get the mortarboard cap on the other pups, until it was her turn for photo ops.  When she saw all the cameras trained on her, she sat up straight as an arrow on that pillow, cap perched on her head, head up, eyes on the camera, and posed.......and posed........and posed........for several minutes.  Everybody was howling at how important she thought she was, sitting there in a perfect pose on "her" bed.  

BRIDGER, CGC, TDI (Rose X Trigger pup who earned his Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog International Certificates on 5/15/2010) Human parents say: "Well we (me & 4 dogs) went to Flagstaff for fun & exposure at the Rescue Roundup. There was a lot going on....an agility ring with a band playing at the north end, disc dog demos to the east, vendors set up in every spare space & people with their dogs EVERYWHERE. Some dogs were well behaved most not....dogs getting loose, running on course, running through the vendors & on & on. I forgot the lure coursing & another terrier event, barn something or other, which meant continuous barking from them.

Bridger was a hit! He walked the whole venue with another dog & sometimes all 4 together & acted like he'd done this all his life. The friend who went with us could not believe he is only 4 mos (almost 5), kept looking at his teeth cause his size & manners made her think I was lying ;) He stayed in his crate when I ran a dog, never barked, pottied on leash, ate his lunch & traveled like a veteran.

Of course when we got home, he cranked it up & became that 4 month, almost 5 month old puppy, terrorizing the rest of the pack, had dinner, then promptly crashed & so did I." Bridger is owned by Lori Chandler of Leader of the Pack Corp.

Update 5/15/2010: Bridger passed his CGC & TDI evaluations today at the ripe old age of 1 yr. & 12 days :) In fact the evaluator added a comment on the application for registration: "Very Mellow, Well behaved dog. Will do well in therapy work."

I'm so proud of him. I bet I told the "what made me choose him at 5 1/2 weeks" story 50 times. In fact a lady who has an organization called Wonder Dogs that works with the disabled & training their own dogs asked me if I would help her choose her next service dog (she has polio & is wheel chair bound). Said I would love to :).

The only thing is.....what you see is a dog that started with great temperament (thanks to the dedication of Lori & Rich) and training that is a way of life not just certain times of the day cause it's "time to train." So in a way it's deceiving. Some who saw him today may not have realized they were seeing the combination of good breeding, plus training, but think he is a dog that "came that way."

This is just the start...stay tuned :)

RUGER is a Rose X Trigger pup. His Human Parents say, "Ruger is very playful and a quick learner. He is our first standard (we have a 14-year-old toy) and my husband wants to make a retriever out of him.

Ruger is VERY huggable, my daughter lays snuggled up on the floor with him while she reads her school books.
 
He went on his first pheasant hunt a few weeks ago and will go on his 3rd this coming weekend. He mostly hung back behind Ron that whole first weekend, but by the 2nd day of the 2nd hunt he was getting out and sweeping the field! Must be pure instinct he hasn't had any real formal training."

FINNEGAN (Rose X Val) goes to work everyday with his groomer mom. Her grooming shop is in a vet's office and he has become the Veterinarian greeter. He has free roam of the vet and grooming waiting area, frequently making the humans and dogs feel at home. He is very loved by momma Jen and can be seen at Desert Hills Animal Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. He is shown above just after his 1st birthday.

BAILEY's (Rose X Val) Human Parents say: "At 8 1/2 months, Bailey is a very active, mischievious dog.  He is incredibly smart and loves to earn treats for tricks.  His best trick is when we point our finger at him and say "bang".  He rolls over on his back and puts his feet in the air.  It's hilarious.  He keeps us on our toes and we love him very much!"

ASTI's (Rose X Val) Human Parents say at 13 weeks of age: "He is walking great on a leash, sits, is learning down, knows his name, and loves his ball and toys.  Toilet training is coming along but still accidents in the house.  He is so sweet and so smart and just  the perfect puppy for us.   We really love him!! Thanks for helping us pick him."

ECHO's (Rose X Val) Human Parents say: "Echo is beautiful and she has a wonderful temperament...so she is a very well rounded, awesone Standard!.  As the pictures above show, Echo got a second place ribbon (out of at least 15) in the conformation fun match.  The judge said she is very square. Echo is my buddy.  I can't tell you how much I love her.  We are in sync."

These are pictures of a pup we had named Rider and had planned on keeping (Rose X Val). We had him DNA'd for coat color, and because he carries brown (from his sire, not Rose), we opted to place him. His new owners will be renaming him Carbon or Jackson. He will enjoy many geological adventures as his owner is an Assistant Professor of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU."