Page 175 - ShowSight - May 2020

BECOMING A BREEDER
1. How did you come to choose the Pekingese? Or did the Peking- ese choose you?
2. Was the Pekingese your first choice of breed?
3. What was the best source of information during your search for a Peke?
4. Had you previously seen the breed in person? Visited with a breeder? Been to a dog show?
5. Did you always want to become a breeder of Pekingese?
6. From whom did you get your foundation bitch?
7. How did you select the sire of your first litter?
8. What was it like to whelp your first litter? What was your big- gest challenge? Biggest surprise?
9. As a novice Pekingese breeder, what are the greatest challenges that you face?
10. How can today’s breeders better assist the breeders of tomorrow?
HEATHER GINOCHIO
I reside in Northern Califor- nia and recently started showing Pekingese in 2016. I breed under the affix “MonTai.” I am the club Presi- dent of the Pekingese Club of Cen- tral California and am on the Board for the Pekingese Club of America. I hope to continue my journey in dogs, particularly Pekingese, for many, many years to come.
How did I come to choose the Pekingese? It’s funny, I recall the
exact moment I decided that I needed to have a Pekingese in my life and that this was the breed I wanted to show. I was watching the Westminster Kennel Club show on television while doing some household chores. I happened to look up to take a glance right as Malachy was doing his down and back in the group ring with David Fitzpatrick. I remember feeling that time and everything around me had completely stopped. I was totally focused and mesmerized on the gorgeous creature on the screen and that was it! I knew in my heart that Pekingese was the breed for me.
Was the Pekingese my first choice of breed? In my adult life, yes. Growing up, my father and I bred and raised Jack Russels. I enjoyed the breeding and the whelping, but most of all the studying of pedi- grees. However, the breed was just not for me. I didn’t want to start on this journey without a breed that I absolutely loved. I waited years and years for something to just click with the right breed and it finally did in 2012 with Pekingese. I haven’t looked back since.
The best source of information during my search for a Peke? I think that going to Nationals and Specialty shows where I was able to see several different Pekingese at a time really helped shape my search for my foundation Pekingese. What I did, specifically, was purchase a catalog and make notes at our National Specialty next to those dogs I preferred and stood out to me. I was actually really consistent. Most of the dogs I had appreciated came from two different lines.
Before wanting to be involved with Pekingese, I had never seen the breed in person. After realizing that this is the breed I wanted to continue on with, I adopted a couple companion Pekingese from a local rescue. Once I was ready to take my first leap into the show world, I contacted Lori and Mark Stephen of Aslan Pekingese to see if they had anything available. I was still only ready for a com- panion, but they sold me a beautiful retired GCH and gave me the option to special him. I wasn’t ready to start in the Group ring, as I had never even been to a dog show before, so he remained a com- panion and became my heart. When I was really ready to look for my foundation dogs, I spent a weekend at Lori and Mark’s going over pedigrees, going over the breed standard, going over their
beautiful dogs and just having a great time. They turned into my mentors and I owe them everything.
On top of this great experience, I also had the unique opportu- nity to visit the kennels from which my foundation bitches came and that was absolutely invaluable. I was able to go over several dogs at each kennel and discuss the dogs with their respective breeder. The information I learned will serve me forever and I am so thank- ful for such great opportunities.
Did I always want to become a breeder of Pekingese? Consider- ing that I didn’t even know Pekes existed until I saw Malachy with David at the Garden, the answer is no, but I am so glad that I have connected with this breed so deeply and I can’t imagine breeding or showing anything else. At least not yet!
I started with two foundation bitches. Both from the two lines I appreciated at our National Specialty. I first approached Lori and Mark to see if they had anything available. They did not as they had just had a litter of six and all were placed. However, I knew that the grandfather of the boy they sold me had been exported by Clara Escobar Jurado of Lion Dance Pekingese in Spain. I con- tacted her and first purchased a show male who went on to be #1 OH Pekingese in 2018. When she finally had a bitch ready from the same line I was interested in, I was able to purchase a gorgeous silver fawn bitch. She has gone on to produce (in her first litter) a Group- placing bitch and a bitch that won sweepstakes and went RWB at our National Specialty in 2019. Her second and most recent litter is looking very promising, so I am excited. My other foundation bitch was acquired from the renowned Dr. Ray Lo of Dreamville Pekingese in the Philippines. I admired the type he has consistently produced which was very apparent at the National I attended. He trusted me with a lovely fawn bitch. Her most recent litter is very consistent, typey and promising. The male is major pointed at the only show we attended this year, so I am anxious to get them both back in the ring!
How did I select the sire of my first litter? I fell absolutely head over heels in love with a gorgeous, typey, correct red Pekingese owned by Mark and Lori Stephen. From the second I laid eyes on him I knew he had to be the sire of my first litter. It’s funny to say that the bitch I bred him to was not even born when I had made that decision. This is where the note-taking at the National and pedigree studying came in. My foundation bitch from Spain had a similar pedigree and complemented him very well. With just a little bit of luck, they produced a fabulous litter.
What was it like to whelp my first litter? I choose to electively c-section my bitches to avoid mortality. Pekingese are brachyce- phalic with large heads. A lot of the time, the heads are too large to pass through the pelvis. My biggest challenge was getting back into the groove of newborn puppies. (It had been almost 15 years since I had whelped a litter of Jack Russels.) I am always surprised with how nervous I am with fresh out of the womb puppies, but on that same note it’s surprising how quickly instincts come in for me and the bitch!
One of the biggest challenges I face as a new breeder is that a lot of our older breeders have passed on, taking their knowledge with them. I am fortunate enough to have mentors who have learned from these great breeders and have been able to pass down this information that I have applied to my breeding program.
How can today’s breeders better assist the breeders of tomorrow? Mentorship! More specifically, mentorship with an open mind. I believe that we need to pass down our knowledge to future genera- tions so that we can continue bettering our breed and moving it for- ward. However, everyone will have their own way of doing things and one is not more right than the other as long as the common goal is to preserve and better the breed. That is the kind of mentorship I have received and I could not be more thankful.
PEKINGESE Q&A
SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MAY 2020 | 173