Wishing you all a wonderful holiday.

(Card uses textures and templates from my business, French Kiss Textures.)

My girls, Bella and Ellie

Liz is president of the Blue Weimaraner Club of America, has served as secretary for her local Weimaraner club and has been active in rescue. Her male, Lyric just completed his Senior Hunter title (see the post).

2010 Fairhaven Litter

NAT/INT CH Fairhaven’s Blu Skys The Limit NAVHDA NA2, JH  (Roxie) has been bred to Outdoors Duke of Westend and is due late May.

After many years of breeding I determined that the quality of my blues was as good as it gets. at least as far as conformation, temperament, willingness goes etc. What could still be improved on was the breed’s natural ability – hunting.  Now don’t get me wrong, Roxie is doing very well in the field, but I felt it was time to pull in strong hunting lines for reinforcement. Duke has not yet completed his Field Championship (he is a 4 point major shy) but his pedigree is truly inspiring. He is all breed competitive and is a big running dog.  You can see Duke’s and Roxie’s pedigrees on my Website Fairhavens.com

I am hoping that I can get  some of the litter and especially the blues into homes that will get them involved in Hunt Tests and Field trials, and even show at the IABCA shows to get their Championship in conformation.  My goal is to consistently produce a good looking, great hunting dog that can stand along with the best in conformation.

The blues in this litter will be the first litter registration for the BWCA.

Elizabeth Fairlee
Fairhaven Weimaraners

editor’s note: I will be starting up a breeder’s referral section in the future. It will have criteria for being listed. If you know of a good Blue breeder or you are one, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I am searching for ethical breeders I can recommend.

Outdoors Duke of Westend

Just a quick word that I’ve had to take a few weeks off of the site this month. I’ve had a lot of pain in my hand. Too much computer time! For this reason, I also haven’t released the monthly newsletter. I have an appointment with a specialist soon for my hand, but rest and pain-killers have helped as well, so hope to get back on schedule with the site.

February was all about Field work, but I have articles lined up on health, rescue Blue Weimaraners, agility, dogs in the garden, diet and more!

Here’s a snapshot of Ellie at around 3 months old.

The Weimaraner is a Hunting dog
I’m sure you know or have guessed that Field training is training for hunting or often more specifically for entering your dog in hunt tests or field trials to get titles. Weimaraners are a hunting breed in the sporting group. To be specific, they are considered to be Versatile Hunting Dogs also referred to as an HPR breed, which means they Hunt, Point and Retrieve as opposed to other breeds that specialize more in pointing (English Pointer) or retrieving (Labrador Retriever). You may also hear a Weimaraner described as a continental pointing breed. This distinction came about because the British often used several dogs that specialized in tasks such as pointing, retrieving or flushing whereas in Europe, usually the same dog performed many tasks.

What is Field Training
Why does a hunting dog need to be trained? While hunting dogs naturally have a desire to hunt and pointing dogs usually instinctively point, we do ask them to learn some behaviors that are contrary to their natural desires. A pointing dog might naturally point, but we then ask it to stay still (steady) even after the bird flies away (flushes) and even to stay still when it falls when shot. It can take a lot of patient training to get to the point where a dog understands to be “Steady” until released to retrieve.  This is called “Steady to Wing, Shot and Fall.” Weimaraners should have a natural instinct to retrieve, but we want them to consistently not only go get the bird, but also to deliver it to hand. This usually takes some training. There may also be some water work, teaching your Weimaraner to track and retrieve water fowl, like ducks. A Weimaraner will also be trained to work with a bracemate and will learn to “honor” the other dog’s point if that dog finds and points a bird first.

Field training is something that is never completely finished. You don’t train them once and then they know it for the rest of their lives. Like all dog training, it requires regular practice.

Try it, you might like it.
Like others you’ll hear from this month, I never thought I would be involved in hunting and training for field. What we have discovered is that Field training is really fun! Not only are you outdoors, often working with friends, but seeing your Weimaraner do what it was meant to do is awesome. When you see your Weimaraner on point with every molecule of its body strung taut with intense concentration — well, it’s a thing of beauty.

Bella is on point. I am about to flush the bird. Gunners are standing by.

The Weimaraner is above all, a breed that is intended to hunt. While not everyone with a Weimaraner must hunt, it is important that we understand, respect, and protect the intent of the breed. I realize that to many, hunting has intimidating if not negative connotations. When examined closer, we may find that this is an undeserved, knee-jerk reaction. Future articles will look closer at attitudes about hunting.

If you are interested in learning about training your Blue Weimaraner for field, you could contact your local Weimaraner club. They often have training sessions or fun days where you can come out and give it a try. You can also contact your local NAVHDA branch (North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association). They will often have training fun days and prep days for their Natural Ability test. I also recommend the Steady with Style blog for a gentle method of training, they have a free manual to download.

Top photograph is of Bellatrix des Perles d’Artemis (Bella) on point. © Cori Moesta. Please do not reproduce without permission.

Renée asked for photo submissions from all the Blue Weimaraner owners she has managed to come in contact with—which is a lot, she’s naturally bubbly and gregarious! From the photo entries, she picks out a number of likely candidates for the cover based on image quality, resolution and overall appeal. She then puts it to the public to vote for the final cover winner. For the interior photographs, she tries hard to find a place for each Blue Weimaraner that was submitted, but with over 400 images submitted, some editing has to be made. She places images based on resolution, quality and whether they fit the “theme” of the month.

Yours truly usually helps with the cover design, but Renée has a lot of input.

Pre-sales have started for the 2010 calendar. Why not order one early to assure yourself of a copy and to help finance the printing? Order Here

This project resonated with me because when I was a photography student at the University of Oregon, my teacher, Ted Orland gave us an assignment to photograph a day of our life every hour. It was a wonderful assignment. It is in the end the little things in life that go unrecorded that are perhaps the most important and most valued later in life. A friend commented, but won’t every day look the same? I know we all pretty much have a routine for the week that seems pretty repetitive and mundane. Think of this as a chance to look at your life with fresh eyes. Find the magic in the everyday. Also, what seems mundane today will be history tomorrow. What about that election poster you see while you are waiting for the bus?

We are perhaps also making our own history right now with our Blue Weimaraners. Let’s record where we are right now. Today.

So, I challenge you to participate in this project. I’ll post the links here on the site. I’ve set a start date of October 26th, but really, you can start when you want. Even if you do this in 6 months, I’ll post your link.

Be sure to read the How To page on the site. There’s valuable information you need to know before you start.

For instance:

• Only photograph in horizontal (landscape) format.
• Use a wide angle instead of zoom. (Go in closer if you need to.)
• You are the only one to photograph, but you can photograph yourself in a mirror or by holding the camera out.
• Scatter your photographs throughout the day. Take several so you can choose later, but don’t submit 2 taken at the same time.

Go have fun! I look forward to seeing the results.

I encourage you to head over to their site and place your donation to participate.

Instructions from the club:

The BWCA Raffle and Auction is now live on the Blue Weimaraner forum in the BWCA section. It will remain open until Friday October 30th at 5:00 pm pacific standard time. If you wish to participate in this fundraiser, please take a moment to read this information carefully. You can also find this information in the “details” thread on the forum.

Participation/Forum Options – First, in order to participate you need a user id / password for the forum. This is for no other reason than to keep out spammers. You can request that your account be deleted when the fundraiser is over. When you post in a particular thread, you will automatically receive an email to let you know that someone has posted after you. You will then need to visit the thread to read and respond. If you wish to receive an email and be able to reply via email for ANY message posted in the BWCA Auction/Raffle category then click on the “forum subscriptions” link on the upper right hand corner next to your login name.

Each item is clearly marked both in the item title and in RED in the thread itself whether it is for the raffle or silent auction.

Raffle – If you bought raffle tickets, you can now post your ticket numbers in which ever raffle items you hope to win. If you have not purchased raffle tickets you still can by going here: Once the raffle/auction closes, the item threads will be locked and the real tickets (in my possession) will be placed in the corresponding item envelope and the drawing will take place. I will video the drawing and post it for all to see, hopefully on 10/31. Any ticket numbers placed after the closing time will not be counted as it will take a few minutes for me to lock each of the threads.

Silent Auction – Listed in the first posting of each item, in GREEN is the starting bid amount and the bid increments. Keep a close eye on your bids because someone might just outbid you. If that happens, you can go back and bid again. Keep bidding until the auction ends at 5:00 pm PST on 10/30. Any bid placed after that time will not be counted as it will take a few minutes for me to lock each of the threads.

Shipping of Items – Most of the items donated will be shipped directly from the donor. Be sure that your shipping details are correct on your PayPal address. If you would like your item shipped somewhere else, please let me know. The rest of the items will be coming from me and will be shipped the week of November 2nd.

Thank you all for your support.

So why a new website on Blue Weimaraners and why is it called Blue Weimaraner Today? Most of you are probably aware of the controversy over the “Blue” coat variation of Weimaraner. If you aren’t, don’t worry, there will be future articles, videos and podcasts that will explain the situation in clear, easy segments. The essence of what you need to know is that the Blue Weimaraner has a complicated and tumultuous history with enough mystery, drama, rivalry and treachery to qualify as a leading TV soap opera. I guess all that’s missing is sex—and we can consider that covered under breeding!

You’ll learn all about the past of the Blue Weimaraners in future installments, but really, this site will focus on where we are today and where we need to go. It’s time for us to lift our heads and recognize ourselves. Let the rest of the world follow. Let’s celebrate this beautiful variation that grew from the Weimaraner and who’s time has come for it’s own destiny. OK, raise up your fist and repeat after me. Blue is Beautiful!