Finally a photo of Candy

[Susan Russell]

Ken helped me take a few photos yesterday so that I had photos of Candy and Rhonnan on my website. This is the one he took of Saeterelva's Candy for Russell's and next is Russell's Kelly Green - Rhonnan, the dog I got back from the lady I sold him to. He had terrible flease when I got him back, but he is doing well now and looking for a new home.

It was the first day we'd done bird work for ages, and the dogs were sooooo happy...

Today we sorted lambs - kind of like counting sheep, but less restful! Soon it will be lambing time...

We are making final preparations for the Irish Setter Club of Canada to hold the Canadian National Chukar Championships and weekend field trial, June 11 - 13, 2010 in Princeton, BC. It is the first time the Irish Setter club has held this event, and we hope that it will be FANTASTIC!! C'mon and join us.

Susan

[Carmel Murphy]

Lovely snow photos of your dogs!! Hope you find a nice home for Rhonnan(he is a handsome chap!!)

[Jo Ottinger]

Wish I could come sounds like fun. Lovely pictures of them both. Wish I had room for another Irish.

[Susan Stone]

Hi Susan!
Is Candy a combination of norwegian and american lines?

[Susan Russell]

Yes she is, actually, now that I think about it, both of these dogs are. Candy is by Russell's Great out of N UCH Saeterelva's Trom-so. Rhonnan is by Can Ch Saeterelva's Russell Am JH out of Can DC AFTCH Am DC Highfeather Raise 'N A Ruckus Can FDX CD AM MH CD VCX! Great is also Raisin's son and Russell is Trom-so's son, so they are quite closely related and both combine North American and Norwegian lines. Candy's Sire is a combination of North American field and show lines, where Rhonnan's dam is North American show lines. A bit confusing to describe, but simply yes they are a combination and I find that I love the dogs from these combinations very much. The only downside for me is that the tails are lower than our field trial judges here prefer, but that is outweighed for me by the correctness of their type and ability. I think they have many more positives and hopefully we can continue with that! LOL!

[Henk ten Klooster]

Candy is a classic. Good to see that Norwegian influence, its THE country for dual Irish setters. Analysed your pedigrees in your website & saw some relatives (Karrycourt). Keep us updated on the field trial, I have a few invitations from Canadians (there is a dog of mine) and one never knows...Tails expected to be high in the trial?

[Susan Stone]

Thanks - a bit confusing, yes, but I get the hang of it.
Low tails a downside? IMHO quite the opposite... Hoefully the judges will learn to apreciate them;-))

[lyn hathaway]

they are both lovely dogs susan

[Susan Russell]

Thanks. Tails...hmmm..an ongoing issue here to some extent. Always, of course, one wants to see a tail - high or low - that is an expression of intensity on point, that is a given. So limp hanging tails, irregardless of tail preference would always be frowned upon. Trial judges here prefer "High and Tight" on point, that is, high tail and high head. That is not to say that a dog with a level tail would not finish a field championship here. My Raisin is an example. She is fairly competitive at weekend all breed trials despite having a level tail. The preference here, though, is for high style and given equal performances, high style will win every time. In fact at the ISCA Futurity the standard is for level or higher, and I lost out the futurity this year because my Jack dog pointed with a tail slightly below level. I went in knowing the rules, though, so I cannot complain of the judging, they judged the way they were told to. I will not remove a dog from my breeding program though, for not having a high tail - simply because the Irish Setter has bigger fish to fry right now in my humble opinion than where its tail is on point. Field trials anywhere are simply a game and the rules and standards reflect the preferences of the moment within the game. It should all reflect real hunting situations, but alas, it cannot do that because human preferences and egos always come to affect the written rules and unwritten standards. That is fine, I still like to play! I am fond of saying it is not world peace! It is a fun hobby!

Yes Henk there is some Karrycourt in the pedigrees that have the Mythodical dogs in them. And my Eadie (who now lives elsewhere) was sired by Karrycourt's Runnymeade Rocky as well. Jeannie Wagner - Karrycourt is still active, and her son Brian has taken over the breeding program. They are in Ohio.

[Henk ten Klooster]

Congratulations Susan on your "tail-mindset". If many more would be like you and rules changed, genepoles could be exchanged better. That would be a giant breakthrough! As you know all of the North American working Irish setter history is separated from its European family because of that. Thanks for your Karrycourt notes, my Clancy is a granddaughter of Karrycourt Wild West Hero. Keep up the good work!!!