Page 416 - ShowSight - December 2019

Ashley Mroz continued
of heart is one phrase I hear sometimes and it is true. It’s hard let- ting go of a neonate and it’s even hard to let go of our senior dogs.
Do I work outside of the home? I am self-employed, so once or twice a week I work outside of the home. In the summer that is usually Wednesdays and Saturdays, so yes, it becomes challenging to balance “life” and “hobby” at times. I am glad I am lucky enough to be able to spend as much time with my dogs as I currently do.
Is my family involved? Just my mom is involved, she has been involved in every aspect from training to breeding, to even being tossed a dog to take in at a show! She is a great sport about it.
Am I involved with a breed club or all-breed club and held posi- tions within the club(s)? I am involved in my current breed’s parent club. I don’t currently belong to an all-breed club, which I should probably remedy. The only position I have held is willing volunteer.
My kennel/exercise areas described: I don’t have any official ken- nels, I am just blessed with a large house and lots of land in a rural area, for the most part the dogs get the run of the place. The person I co-breed with is just down the road and has an official kennel and grooming area that we utilize often.
How did I come up with my kennel name and is it registered with AKC? My kennel name is Silver Lining as a tribute to a late dog of mine, it is not currently registered.
Do I co-breed and co-own with others? Yes, I co-breed and co- own with WyldKatz Field Spaniels, I also co-own some other breeds with friends.
Is my breed easy to place? The Field Spaniel isn’t difficult to place, but once in a while we get some homes that don’t understand the needs of this breed (like lots of socialization), so they end up not being a great fit together. I personally have only advertised through our parent club. I don’t think there is anything to make it easier for me, there are other ways to advertise out there that I could utilize if needed.
Do I think “Breeders’ Showcases” as a special event at an organi- zation’s site will give breeders the recognition they deserve? I LOVE being able to compete in special breeder attractions. I wish more shows would offer special breeder attractions, it is a great opportu- nity to show off our hard work.
What can AKC do to help breeders attain great results? AKC could offer more education opportunities, there is always some- thing new to learn.
Any hint or trick I can share with fellow breeders? I was in the midst of my Animal Science degree when I whelped my first litter, so that gave me some extra help and I also had a couple helpers with me. An extra pair of hands is always appreciated and two heads are better than one, right? I would also suggest taking some genetic classes or going to breeding seminars: never stop learning.
Do I show my own dogs? Yes, I enjoy showing and spending time with my dogs, I do occasionally have help from friends (or handlers) when I enter one too many dogs, like at Nationals.
The most amusing thing I’ve ever witnessed at a dog show? I get a chuckle out of some of the outfits I see at shows, like the ones around the holidays (ugly sweaters!).
JOYCE MULLAN
Many years ago, when my two children were only eight and ten years old, I decided that they needed to have a dog in their lives. For a long time, both children kept begging for a dog. I sat down with them and made an agreement with them that if I got them a dog, they would feed, clean up after the dog, and spend time play- ing with it.
I proceeded to look first in the local Classified Ads in our local Contra Costa Times Newspaper and couldn’t believe that I found a family looking for their mother’s two-year old Standard Schnauzer
female dog. Their mother had been a retired School Teacher and this family had recently lost their mother. I researched the Standard Schnauzer breed and found it was true that this breed is consid- ered hypoallergenic and a very intelligent dog. Since my son had severe allergies to grass and tree pollens, and to cats, I decided to call this family hoping that this female Standard Schnauzer was still available.
Not only was this little girl available, but also the family who was trying to find a “good home” for it was only 20 minutes from my home in San Ramon, California. All of us immediately piled into my car and we headed to see Heidi and be interviewed by her family. We were able to take Heidi home with much excitement in our hearts.
By owning Heidi, I learned that the Standard Schnauzer is an incredibly brilliant and clean dog, in it’s breed description the Standard Schnauzer has a “Human-like brain, and is a very healthy breed of dog.
After my retirement from 41 years in the Corporate World, I decided to again own a Standard Schnauzer, but this time I desired a puppy from a prominent breeder close to me so that I could be mentored in showing and breeding this puppy. I found that only seven miles from my home was a successful Standard Schnauzer Breeder, Blackhawk Standard Schnauzers. After contacting and meeting them, I was placed on their Wait list for a female, show quality puppy with cropped ears.
I waited for a puppy for almost two years, and I helped the Davis’ exercise their four dogs at a local dog park about 20 minutes away two to three times per week. I greatly enjoyed their dog family and soon was invited to “socialize” their litter of puppies. Yes, after waiting for a female puppy for two years, I was on their wait list for the only female puppy with five of my female’s brothers in this lit- ter. At nine weeks of age, I was the proud owner of a beautiful, very alpha-type puppy.
What made me know that this is what I wanted to do? With my former experience of owning Heidi earlier in my life, and with the two years of spending many, many hours with the Davis’ family of four Standard Schnauzers, there was no question in my mind that Brie was the foundation Standard Schnauzer of my new adventures in the Dog World of training, showing, and breeding these remark- able dogs.
The Davis’ were my mentors for many years. I learned from them that socialization and training were critical to do early in a puppy’s life. I did everything “by the book” and had many Friends, Family, and strangers at Home Depot, Lowes’, Orchard Supply (when they were in business), parks, coffee shops, hairdressers, etc. give Brie grain-free treats and pet her.
In addition, Diana Wall and Renee Pope have been additional, excellent mentors to me during the last six years of being a breeder. Soon Brie had all inoculations at four months of age, and I enrolled her in Conformation Classes every week for 1-1/2 years. I was then ready to start showing Brie when she was six months old. When Brie turned 11 months old to the day, she became a Cham- pion. She was known across in the United States as CH Blackhawk Brie de Provence, but only once in her show career of seven years was she shown outside of California in Klamath Falls, Oregon. After this show in Oregon, I learned that many of the best Stan- dard Schnauzer Handlers lived in California and that most promi- nent Standard Schnauzer breeders came to California for many of the dog shows and especially for the National Dog Shows and
Specialty Shows.
Brie was ranked in the Top Ten All-Breed and Breed in the U.S.
for three consecutive years. In 2010, Brie also was awarded Best Opposite Sex along side of her Half Brother winning Best of Breed at the National Eukanuba Dog Show in Long Beach, California.
412 • ShowSight Magazine, DeceMber 2019
Breeder Q & A