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According to legend,
the Phoenix symbolizes immortality, resurrection, and
life after death. Certainly this little dog most
definitely has two out of three of those categories
nailed. When I realized that Riot's pregnancy had
somehow taken a wrong turn at the very end, it was too
late to save her litter of 7 puppies. As we prepped
her and put her on the table to section her, I just knew
it wasn't going to be good........and it wasn't. Paul
pulled dead puppy after dead puppy out of her uterus,
and it was tough for me to stand by and watch. The
high hopes I had for this litter were being dashed
before my eyes. Suddenly I heard him say, "Hey, here's
a pink one!" and he tossed me this tiny white puppy who
was indeed very much alive! Before I even had him out
of his sac, Tom said, "You should name him
Phoenix".........and so I did.
Phoenix
was a fighter from the get-go.........weighing in
at barely over 3 1/2 ounces, he was strong and
robust........perhaps because he had just "risen" from
the ashes. He most definitely symbolized life after
death, since he alone was plucked from amongst his 6
dead littermates. How he survived I'll never
know....maybe this indeed was a resurrection of sorts.
What I do know is that this tiny little dog pup had
grit from the very first moment he was plucked from the
"wreckage".
Being a "singleton" made Phoenix even more self-confident and cocky, but like his mother, he is also very kind and easy-going. Which, if one is going to even attempt to tolerate a singleton puppy, it is most definitely the attitude you need! Most of them are without a doubt intolerable.......but this little dog really seems to have the best of both worlds in his attitude. He's always up and happy, without being obnoxious or pushy. He is an absolute delight to deal with on any level. Being tightly linebred to both Revlon and Sailor is what makes him invaluable. And he bears a remarkably uncanny resemblance to old Sailor.........that same type, that same look. Right down to those cute little Sailor ears! Just in a way smaller package! Yet I see in Phoenix the Flor/York influence as well. To watch him move and cover ground so effortlessly is very reminiscent of York and Flor. He's dead narrow, has NO chest, with head and bone not often seen in a dog this tiny. His rear end drives like there's no tomorrow, and he covers an amazing amount of ground for a dog so small. He's done remarkably well in the conformation ring so far, almost always being in the final mix for Puppy Champion, Best or Reserve. And he's done this under a pretty vast array of judges, both English and American. Phoenix really is one of those that exudes presence and always shows his pants off.......you can't help but have to look at him when he's in the ring!
Phoenix also seems to
have pulled the performance abilities from his mother's
line as well. He has been a consistent winner thus far
on the race track, demonstrating the same efficient,
flawless form as Riot, along with her focus and
attitude. But being so tiny might be a bit of a
handicap for him on the race track. There is such a
thing as being too little! However, that same focus and
attitude translates even better in the field, where he
is performing remarkably well. I'm extremely pleased
with how he is working so far, and even more pleased to
see that he evidently has inherited that wonderful keen
nose that his mother, her mother, and her mother's
sisters have all had. It's great to have a keen
worker, but you can't work the quarry until you find it
first!
Naturally, the measure
of a good dog is not only in the field, but what he or
she is as a producer. I'm quite satisfied thus far
with Phoenix's performance in the field; he has already
earned his working certificate to groundhog, and gets
more intense each time I take him out. With time I'll
be able to make the call on how he measures up as a
producer. But for now, this linebred Revlon & Sailor
grandson isn't going anywhere!
Phoenix's first
litters are on the ground, and while they still are all
pretty young, they seem to be very promising so far.
And while I got pretty consistent results from bitches
of my breeding, I'm also pleased to see consistency from
outcross bitches as well. Most notably, Phoenix seems
to be siring puppies with flawless toplines, no doubt
but what Riot has something to do with that!!! But
overall, so far I am very pleased with his offspring.
Click here to view Phoenix's offspring |
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