Xin-Feng's blog in English

January 2012

2012-01-28T22:09:00.000+01:00

I can't believe we are almost at the end of January 2012 and I haven't posted this year yet!

Chimay and Ari are doing great together, they play nearly every day together in the garden.

Ari tired after playing

Last week Frank and Chimay went away for a week to a holliday-parc in Limburg. Marcel, a friend of ours, came here to paint all wood downstairs (doors, window frames). When Marcel painted outside last year, Frank got sick from the smell of the paint, so we thought it would be better if he was not around when Marcel painted ;-)

The result is great, instead of a somewhat depressing beige shade, it all is now light green.

The entrance

The hall has new wallpaper and we pimped the radiators of the central heating, a blue cover in the hall

Our little angel watches over us, for more than 30 years.

A dark pink cover in the kitchen.

And the first snowdrops are nearly blooming.

last day of 2011

2011-12-31T16:24:00.000+01:00

My last post in 2011, I will end the year with pictures of Frank, Chimay and Ari.

I am glad this year is almost over, it was not a good year with Eoos' death and my healthproblems.So I hope 2012 will be kinder to us.

Wishing all readers a happy and healthy 2012!

Christmas time ...

2011-12-26T19:03:00.002+01:00

... inside

This year I took the Chistmas decorations out, the last two years I was too tired to decorate the house.

In the kitchen the dracaena is upgraded to Christmas-tree

and one of the decorations is the Christmas-Chow I got ten years back from an American friend.

In the window a poinsettia, with Ampelmännchen-lights, a souvenir from our trip to Berlin in 1998.

The red Ampelmännchen

and the green Ampelmännchen.

The big faucet in the kitchen carries glass Chrismasbells, they jingle when we get some water.

... outside

As long as it is not freezing the rose "Schneewitchen" (also known as "Iceberg") keeps blooming...

And the Prunus Subhirtella "Autumnalis Rosea" started blooming, I love to have a tree that blossoms in winter!

Another nice picture of the Prunus Subhirtella "Autumnalis Rosea".

And Ari was wondering what I was doing in the garden...
the camera should be poited at HIM!

Pekingese

2011-12-25T21:36:00.002+01:00

Last Friday I went to Almere with Chimay & Ari. There live Marco and Jolanda with four Pekingese, two of them are related to Ari: his litter sister Sacha and a black half-sister Dunja (she has the same sire).

Marco took some wonderfull pictures:

France november 2011

2011-11-28T20:38:00.000+01:00

I am not in the mood to write a lot, we had a great time in France for three weeks :-)
Below a selection of the pictures I took, we visited churches, monastries, cities. I found out my new camera is good at stained glass pictures (without flash).

View all

Get your own

birthay Xin-Feng's C-litter

2011-10-30T13:15:00.000+01:00

Today they celebrate their 7th birthday, the remaining pups of our C-litter.Congratulations Cajou, Chow, Cheina, Castro, Ginger and Chimay!

A nice picture of our birthday girl Chimay:

visiting Demi and Endo

2011-10-23T23:49:00.000+02:00

Today we went to Klaaswaal, where Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter) lives with Ilone and Ben.

Ari, Chimay and Demi

Chimay

Chimay and Demi

Ari and Demi

Demi is always happy to see Frank

Ari and Chimay

Then we went to Gouda to visit Guido and Endo (Xin-Feng's Endo).

Endo is happy to see us

Endo curious

video

2011-10-12T00:53:00.002+02:00

mushrooms

2011-10-10T00:05:00.000+02:00

It is fall now, and I love it!
In the front garden were some ink caps (Coprinus comatus) in different stages of growth.

ink cap popping up

now you see it is a kind of mushroom

deceasing ink cap

a picture of Ari

2011-10-01T22:58:00.000+02:00

I am so happy, I got a very early birthday present :-)
A Sony compact camera, it can nearly do as much as my big camera, even a bit more in some ways. But a lot smaller, so easier take with me.
Here my first try, inside, with flash. Not bad at all.

opening of Villa Ari

2011-09-16T23:08:00.000+02:00

Villa Ari is all finished, time to celebrate!

Together with Marijke and Frans,

Val and Ro

Frans came up with "Villa Ari" some time ago,
so he did the official opening

Villa Ari

a toast on the gardenhouse... oh no, the villa ;-)

We dined together, the women inside, it was a bit too cold outside, and the men in the villa.

And the men were having a good time with the beertender nearby!

Chimay rather stays outside.

Ari in his villa...

and by the way, I accidently took a picture of myself today ;-)

Kate

2011-09-02T23:48:00.003+02:00

Yesterday Marcel came with his black smooth Chow Chow Whoopi and his new smooth pup Kate (Storybook Love of the Royal Club). Ari was curious....

It looks like a Chow Chow, but it is my size??? I'll sniff very carefully.

Chimay tied to ignore Kate.

Whoopi and Kate

Marcel is eating, Ari is hopfull something will drop... sadly nothing did...

Kate proves again: Chow Chow pups are the cutest!
Ari, Kate and Chimay at the kitchendoor.

And a nice picture of Whoopi.

Vale Eoos

2011-09-01T21:34:00.002+02:00

Today it is six months ago that Eoos died.

I have been working on the memorial pages for Eoos the last weeks.
Today I finished them: a page about Eoos' life, a memorial vale Eoos and a photo album.

Farewell little girl, I wish we could have had more time together....

roses

2011-08-12T12:39:00.004+02:00

Despite the rainy weather we have had for weeks now, the roses do very well in the garden.
Last week, when I took pictures of the gardenhouse, I took some pictures of the roses too (in the half hour we actually had a bit of sunshine).
Here the roses "Nostalgie" and "The Prince" next to eachother.

The "Nostalgie" came last year, as Frank liked it, a two-colored rose, cream-white inside and red on the outside, with a sweet fragrance: "The Prince" stood for some years in my garden in Rotterdam and I took it when we moved to Lelystad. The first years here it did not bloom much, but I adored and cherished every flower it had.
It is a David Austin rose, purple-red with a special spicey scent. It is not an easy rose to grow, it wants attention, fertilizer and a moist ground. I think that he liked the exceptional sunny months of April and May this year, I have never seen it flowering for such a long time.

Villa Ari

2011-08-08T00:17:00.003+02:00

After a very wet July, last week we finally had some dry days, so Marcel c.s. painted the gardenhouse. The colors will be the same as our house: "Boerencrème" (Farmers cream) and "Zaans groen" (Zaans green, Zaandam is a Dutch city, in the old city many houses originally were painted green...). The cream is done now, and again we are waiting for dry weather... so the rest can be done.

Last month my thyroid values (free T4 and TSH) were finally okay. Sadly I still feel way too tired... So I went back to my GP, who ordered bloodtests again. Thursday they draw some blood and next week I will hear the results...

birthday A-litter

2011-07-20T01:23:00.000+02:00

Today is Noes' 13th birthday (Xin-Feng's Anouska).And Angels 13yh birthday too!As far as we know these are the last two remaining from our first litter.

Congratulations Angel and Noes!

Villa Ari

2011-07-10T23:33:00.000+02:00

Villa Ari (de gardenhouse) is nearly finished, the primer is on, it is furnished, now it must be painted in the same colors as our house. But the weather has been bad for painting lately.

Why it is called "villa Ari"?
look ;-)

Ari's birthday

2011-05-12T21:16:00.000+02:00

I almost forgot, I am so bad with birthdays... today our little, happy Peke has his birthday!!
Congratulations little man, also to your litter sister Sacha and your litter brother!

Chimay and Ari

2011-05-01T23:08:00.002+02:00

Last week Chimay and Ari played together in the garden after our morning walk. It is fun to watch, but hard to get a picture... I tried a few times, but each time when I got back in the garden with my camera, they had stopped playing.
Today I was inside when they started, so I grabbed the camera, went outside and was fast enough to take two pictures:When Chimay starts running through the garden, you have to watch out, don't stand in her way, because she will run right through! Ari knows, so he let her pass.Chimay thought two pictures was enough, I was happy that both were good ;-)

Then I took some close-ups of Ari:A lot of hair with the wind blowing through.

Ari to the groomer

2011-04-18T22:19:00.004+02:00

Today Ari had an appointment with Corinne, our groomer at Trimmen en zo.
Next week Ari will attend the Paasshow (Eastershow) in Leeuwarden.

Ari being washed, there is not a lot of Ari left ;-)

Are we finished yet?

Being washed is not that bad, drying is worse.

But a lot of attention is nice, despite the dryer!

Nearly dry, only some wet hairs on his head make Ari look punky.

Ari happy and all clean and shiny!

Back home Ari decided to roll a bit, washing makes you smell odd!

Clubmatch NCCC

2011-04-12T21:52:00.002+02:00

Last Sunday we had the annual Clubmatch of the Dutch Chow Chow Club. Three Xin-Feng Chow Chows were entered, first one to be judged was Endo (Xin-Feng's Endo):He was 4th with Very Good in the Open class dogs.Guido and Endo.

Next one was Chinka (Xin-Feng's Embla) in Open class bitches:Chinka was 4th with Very Good too.

And last was Demi (Ch Xin-Feng's Demeter NJK) in Champions class bitches:Demi was 2nd with Excellent!

We took Chimay and Ari with us. Ari did very well, he stayed with me all day and kept me calm. I deliberately missed Endo's judging, I got so nevous even thinking about it, because of the disaster last year... So I took Ari for a walk and returned when the judging was over.
Endo did a lot better with Guido as his handler.

Thanks Peter for taking photos!

Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter)

2011-04-08T22:41:00.001+02:00

Today I received two great photos of Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter) from her owner Ilone.

Biking with Ari and Chimay

2011-04-03T22:36:00.003+02:00

Last week we bought a transport-crate for Franks bike, now Ari can join us for a ride!Ari likes it very much, lots of new things to see.Chimay walks next to me and if she gets tired she can sit in the doggyride trailer.

birthday E-litter

2011-03-04T22:00:00.002+01:00

Today is your second birthday, so Happy Birthday to Chinka, Egoi, Endo, Enrico en Molli!

For us it is a sad day without Eoos...

farewell Eoos

2011-03-01T23:27:00.003+01:00

Yesterday afternoon we went to the vet with Eoos, to be spayed. Late in the afternoon we called, she was waking up from anesthesia and we would pick her up around half past six.

Then we took Chimay and Ari for a walk and drove to the vet. When we arrived Eoos was not doing well, bloody diarhea, then only blood came out and she vomited blood.
She fought like a lioness and stayed with us until this morning, but it was a lost battle, she died this morning at the vets in Franks arms, 11:11 local time...

Our vet had contacted the University Clinic in Utrecht for advice. There the bloody diarhea was recognised, called it "shock shit"... nothing could be done, a servere allergic reaction, probably caused by the anesthesia.
At the necropsy was found that Eoos colon was serverely infected and got porous all over. It was a miracle she kept going for so long...

Rest in peace dear Nurse Eoos...

playing in the garden

2011-02-21T14:23:00.003+01:00

Today we had a cold, but sunny morning. After our morning walk everyone went into the garden. When I took the camera Chimay and Eoos started to play. Ari did not go between the girls ;-)
view all photos

a racing-pekingese

2011-02-14T20:43:00.003+01:00

After the dogshow yesterday, we went for a walk together at the Zuigerplaswood.Here are dogs allowed to walk of leash, so Chimay, Eoos and Ari took off... They never go far, but they like a good run.Ari did his best to keep up with the Chow-ladies, a little racing-pekingese!A last picture of Ari and Eoos, after this one it got too dark to take pictures.

Companion and Toy Dogs Show

2011-02-13T21:36:00.002+01:00

Today Ari went with Marijke and Valentina to the Companion and Toy Dogs Show in Zutphen. First time in the Youth Class, Ari was yesterday exactly 9 months.

The judge was Mrs Zwaartman-Pinster, just as at the FlevoDogMatch in september.
On the left Ari at the table with the judge and Marijke, Ari got an Excellent 2nd place in the Youth Class.

Ari and his littersister Sacha. Sacha got Excellent, 2nd place in the Youth Class too. And she got the reserve CAC!

Team Ari: Marijke, Valentina and Ari.And a last picture of Ari in Zutphen.

hospital

2011-02-11T16:49:00.003+01:00

Today I went to the hospital to see the internist, a nice short visit:
I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease. In the next months the dosage of Thyrax will be upped every few weeks.
Although I don't feel much better, I am not getting worse either. But the TSH count last week was 56, a lot lower than the first test.
In 5 weeks time drawing blood again and in 6 weeks the next appointment.

ED result Endo

2011-02-02T21:27:00.002+01:00

Today we got the ED result for Xin-Feng's Endo.

ED Free

So both hips and ellbows have the best possible score!!!
Next step is testing his knees.

Cardiologist

2011-02-01T18:59:00.002+01:00

Today I had my next appointment at the hospital, with the cardiologist.
My hart is doing well, there is only a bit of extra fluid in the way, there is extra fluid in my whole body, because of the thyroid problem. So the cardiologist thought it will go away on its own when the thyroid levels are back on track. This can take a while...

Next appointment on February 11th, then I will see the internist and hopefully hear more about my thyroid problem.

HD result Endo

2011-01-26T22:00:00.004+01:00

Today we got the HD result for Xin-Feng's Endo.

HD-A
with bone-deformation 0 (no deformation) and Norbergscore 40
(Norbergscore is a calculation of the angles between thigh bones and hip and 40 is the best possible score)

Endo has great hips!!!

Now we are waiting for his ellbow results.

Ari groomed

2011-01-25T17:15:00.002+01:00

Today Ari went to the groomer.
Corinne washed, dried and combed Ari, so now he is looking great!

Nurse Eoos

2011-01-21T19:22:00.004+01:00

Somehow all our dogs find a job in our home.
Since June last year Eoos found hers: she guards our health and we call her "nurse Eoos". She wakes Frank if his heart starts beating too fast (supraventricular tachycardia). He can stop this by himself, but often he realises too late it is there. The "double" heartbeat usually starts at night when he is sleeping and goes on until he realises that his heart is the reason for his extreme fatigue.
Thursday, very early in the morning, it happend again and Eoos alerted Frank. She did this a few times before, but we were not certain if it might have been coincidence. Now we are sure "nurse Eoos" is watching at night.

Eoos did wake me a few times in the past months, but we don't know why, communication from dog to human is always difficult. Maybe we will find out, it took a while before we realised why she woke up Frank. Maybe it is related to my thyroid issue, then we will probably never know...

human medical troubles

2011-01-20T21:30:00.003+01:00

I have been very tired and slow for the past months, at first we thought I had a major depression again, but upping my meds did not help.

So I finally went to my doctor (did I mention I don't like doctors?) over a week ago, the next day there was blood drawn (dit I mention I don't like needles?) and the bloodtest showed my thyroid does not work well, probably for a long time, as it was/is servere and I was send to the hospital right away (did I mention I really dislike hospitals?). Was there the whole afternoon, blood drawn again and many questions answered to the coassistent (that is a doctor in his last years of his training for a specialism) of Internal. There was taken a heartfilm too and that was not completely as is should be, so while waiting for the okay to leave from the cardiologist, I panicked big time and left.

Tomorrow there will be taken an echo of my heart.
I have no diagnose for the thyroid, it could be infectious, it could be Hashimoto's, we don't know yet. February 11th I will see the internist, or he will see me is probably a better way of saying I have an appointment.
My brain is a bit foggy.
And February 1th I have an apointment with the cardiologist.

I am taking thyroid-pills now and feel off and on sometimes within a few minutes time.

the symptoms of van hypothyroidism are partly the same as Major Depression list of symptoms (Wikipedia)

Winter fun

2010-12-26T22:14:00.001+01:00

The day after Christmas and it good weather to take a walk in the Zuigerplaswood. Everyone enjoys the snow.ChimayEoosAri

HD and ED results

2010-12-22T15:48:00.003+01:00

Today we got the official HD and ED results from Eoos.
As expected it was not good at all: HD C and ED grade 3 (both sides)...
Eoos wil spend her life with us as beloved pet, as these results make her not fit for breeding. We hope to keep her in shape with limited excersise and a supplement containing Glucosamine, Chondroitine and MSM.
There won't be any Chow Chow pups born at our pace, at least for the next years.

Next week Endo's ellbows will be examined. If his ellbows are as bad, it will be the end of our small contribution to the Chow Chow breed...

cosy picture

2010-12-12T22:49:00.005+01:00

This morning, when Frank came home from work, all dogs snuggled up together with Daddy:Even Chimay gave permission to take her picture ;-)

Ari in the snow

2010-12-02T21:16:00.003+01:00

Winter came early this year, freezing weather and snow!
Ari never saw snow before, he likes it :-)
Today I took some nice pictures of him in the garden, playing with his snowy tennisball:I thought this was the best picture of Ari today, just before he came back inside, snow still on his snoutyou can see all pictures in our Picasa webalbum

And to my surprise the only picture of Chimay turned out rather well:

disappointment

2010-12-01T21:10:00.005+01:00

Last Monday we went to the vet with Eoos, her eyes were tearing again. We thought her tear duckts were blocked, and she was sedated to flush them. But it turned out she had a little curl in her eyelid, entropion, and she got surgery right away. While she was sedated the vet also took X-rays from hips and ellbows, for official HD and ED results. Her hips look allright, but her ellbows not :-(
We don't have the official results yet, but if they are what the vet suspects, Eoos is not fit for breeding, so our breeding days might be over.
After this we ended up in the worst evening traffic jam ever, so the drive home was not a bit more than an hour, but 4 1/2 hours!

Poor Eoos wears an Elizabethan collar now and that while she is in heat too, life ain't easy for a young Chow Chow... And neither for her owners...

France 2010 - part three

2010-11-26T23:27:00.002+01:00

November 19th, 2010
The morning walk with Chimay and Eoos was nice and quiet. Sadly the walk with Ari went not so smooth... On the way back the rolleash fell out of my hands and got Ari scared. He ran back, crossed a busy road just behind a big truck and just before a car... Nearly the end of our little Ari.
He ran upon a hill where the rolleash got strangeld and I was able to catch him. SIGH I was shaking all over!

That afternoon we went to the beach, to catch some fresh air.The Chow Chow ladies discovered fresh water in a river that ended at the beachEoos in the rivierEoos on the beachAri againAri en ChimayTwo pictures of the Mediterranean Sea:

Some water in the car before we go on
We drove to the old village of Gassin, upon the hill we can see from the appartment.A picture of La Croix-Valmer seen from GassinGassin is beautiful renovated, the capel (12th century)Flowering bougainvillea in November!Frank and Ari in GassinAll pictures of this day can be viewed at the Picasa webalbum.

November 20th
Still a bit shocked from yesterday but it is cleaning time, tomorrow we will travel back! Frank walked the dogs, so I could work on. The weather was awfull: rain, wind, showers and thunder. A good day to think about leaving LOL

November 21st
Everyone and everything packed into the car. Today we go to Luxembourg, we booked a hotel there.

November 22nd
Funny warning (for us, as we have no electronic navigation): situation changed, put your navigation off. Frank still trusts his Anita with her road maps.
Arrived at home at 4 pm and started the washing machine. That went well, but then the dryer broke down :-(
That resulted in this::All washed socks on the radiator in the bathing room. Luckely the mechanic came the next day and repaired the dryer.

France 2010 - part two

2010-11-24T23:38:00.006+01:00

november 16th, 2010
We went to St Maxime, to the big Carefour supermarket as I needed a few things. First to an other store, a gardenstore that included an "animalerie" and I was curious, well animalerie is pet store in French. We bought some stuff for untangle Ari's fur, the last days it has been dufficult to comb him. Ari was happy with it and so was I.
Photo moment of the day: the Heineken van was unloading
november 17th
Frank took Chimay for a good walk, to the beach and back again.

november 18th
Chimay and Ari slept together on the dogbed, when Eoos joined them. She stayed there long enough to take a pictureEoos on the balconyAri sleeping on the dog bedThen Eoos decided it was playingtime No harm was done to any Pekingese during the play

When Chimay had enough of all the play around her, she hided on Franks lapMore photos at our Picasa webalbum.
Then it was time for my yealy bath, at home we have a shower, no bathtub ;-)

France 2010 - part one

2010-11-23T23:03:00.005+01:00

November 10th/11th, 2010

We went on our way early in the morning, a cold and rainy November day, good day to leave for a vacation in the south of France ;-)
Ari thought traveling by car was great, a stop with a short walk nearby every two hours! We arrived at the hotel in Villefranche-Sud at seven, a small room, but big enough for the five of us. Next morning on our way again. At the second resting spot Eoos was happy, she recognised the place from last years vacation and she finally understood where we were going. When we arrived in La Croix-Valmer, Eoos and Chimay were glad to be back. Ari did not know what to think of it, but as long as everyone is near, he is happy. Frank and I were rather exhausted after the long drive, but because the shops downstairs were closed (don't know why), Frank had to drive again to get the groceries. He even managed to cook us a good meal! Then I walked the dogs an off to bed for a good night sleep.

November, 12th
A resting day for all of us, needed and well deserved.

November, 13th
Frank did a nice walk with Chimay, from the beach up to the village. I walked the youngsters on the beach. We planned our trip for the next day. On the road we saw, like last year and in 2005 road signs to Gap. Somhow both Frank and I were intrigued by that name, so we diceded to make a trip to Gap.

November, 14th
Gap was a little further away than we thought, my mistake, not 200 but 250 kilometer. We stopped at a rest area before Gap for a little walk. We could see a dam for hydropower:and then the very blue river flows onFrank with Ari and ChimayIn Gap we went into the city with Ari, Chimay and Eoos stayed in the car, they don't like city walks. We had a delicious cup of coffee on a town square and saw this nice tower.A magnificent cathedral in GapAri did well for me, so Frank did not have to take care of me alone. He also made some other people happy, two older ladies recognised him immediately as a Pekingese. We did not understand all they were saying, but anyway, Ari made them happy.Ari in front of the cathedralFrom Gap you can see the AlpesGap was a nice place to walk around, there is a good atmosphere in this city. It was a longer drive than expected, but well worth the drive!

november, 15th
A rainy day, I walked the dogs, when possible, between the showers and we took a resting day again. My right shoulder is hurting from a pulling Eoos and brushing Ari :-(

Champion Demi

2010-10-31T15:50:00.003+01:00

Yesterday at the show in Leuven (Belgium) Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter) got BOS, with this win she got the last needed point for her Belgian Championship!
Congratulations Ilone and Demi, sorry Demi I will write down your complete name with titles: Neth. & Belg. Ch. Xin-Feng's Demeter Neth. Youth Ch..

Happy Birthday Chimay!

2010-10-30T17:03:00.002+02:00

Today Chimay is celebrating her sixth birthday.
Her littermates from our C-litter too, Happy Birthday Cajou, Chow, Cheina, Castro and Ginger!

To celebrate this special day, a few pictures of Chimay from the past year. I have not many pictures to choose from, as Chimay does not like to be pictured...
This was really a lucky shot, Chimay and Eoos playing in the garden.Chimay is not very playful, she does it maybe once a month for five or ten minutes ;-) June 17th I was lucky, I had the camera in my hands when Chimay and Eoos started to play.

Chimay at her best, perfectly groomed for the show in Groningen, March 6th, 2010.

Chimay in Klaaswaal after a good run with Eoos and Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter), June 15th, 2010.

Chow Chow pups and more Chow Chow pups

2010-10-29T22:24:00.003+02:00

Teija of kennel Basstrick's in Finland mailed us that Molli (Xin-Feng's Eki) got a litter of 7 at October 15th. On the picture is the sire Casper (Fin Ch Sherae Billi Billeri).

Molli got 4 males (1 fawn, 3 red) and 3 females (1 fawn, 2 red).Proud Mom!
And at Vita Texla Chow Chows on October 27th Vita Texla Lobke gave birth to 7 pups too, here the first picture of Vita Texla's L-litter:
I will enjoy all puppy pictures in the next weeks!

Angel

2010-10-21T21:34:00.004+02:00

Monday we went to Noordwijk, where Mr and Mrs Choudhuri from Berlin (Germany) enjoyed a short holliday on the Dutch coast. Of course Angel (Xin-Feng's Angel) came with them, the rough dog from our first litter. Twelve years old, but still going strong. He does not walk very fast and is a bit stiff in the joints, but otherwise in good condition for a twelve year old Chow Chow. It took a bit longer than previous times before Angel recognised us.
The pictures are not great, I took them from the appartment on the 4th floor.
Mr Choudhuri just went for a walk with Angel when we arrived, so I went to the balcony to take a few pictures.
It was a nice afternoon. We kept our gang in the car until Angel went to the balcony to get some sleep. Then Ari made sure he was the center of all attention, he really LOVES human attention! Angel was happy to stay away from all the fuss.

our website

2010-10-20T14:02:00.003+02:00

Today I released a large update on the Xin-Feng website.
The lay-out is changed so the website and the weblog have more similair looks. And I rewrote the website in valid XHTML.

two Excellent and one Very Promising

2010-10-19T12:17:00.003+02:00

Last Thursday I took my camera with me to our handling class, to take pictures of the three dogs Valentina and Marijke took to the show in Zwolle. All three were first in their class!
From left to right:

Butterfly (callname Hella, Dutch Shepherd shorthair, 1 Excellent Youth class, the first point to become Dutch Youth Champion!)

Rovamel's Vanity Valiant (callname Poppy, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, 1 Excellent Open class and reserve CAC / CACIB!)

Dango (callname Ari, Pekingese, 1 Very Promising Baby class)The weather was not great for taking pictures, but I tried to take a nice one of each, Hella, Stella's daughter:and PoppyTaking a picture of Ari was a challenge...
He did NOT want his picture taken, did NOT want to stand and did NOT want to walk...
For a few goodies he might do something. But he was still avoiding the camera. Back to Valentina for a goodie and some cuddling! Since the show in Zwolle Valentina is on Ari's list of favorite people too.

Finally I took some reasonable pictures, but Ari shows that he did NOT like it Ari was happy to be home again!

Ari at the dogshow in Zwolle

2010-10-15T23:11:00.002+02:00

It has been a while since I wrote here.
The past weeks I have been busy redoing the website, new lay-out... patience, it is nearly finished...

And Ari keeps me on my toes, the Chow Chows are stubborn, but Ari... is even more stubborn AND he is smart!
Keeping up with his coat takes some time too, but our cooperation gets better each time I brush him.

Last Saturday, October 9th, Ari went with Marijke and Valentina to the dogshow in Zwolle. Marijke handled Ari too at the FlevoDogMatch. Because Frank and I can't do it, a day at the show is too tiring for Frank and too stressing for me, it is nice someone else wants to take Ari to the show. So Ari was put in his bench and on his way to Zwolle he went!
Leaving behind a flabbergasted Eoos, what was going to happen with Ari? She just recently started to play with him and now he was leaving??

The other people with Pekingese dogs at the show were very nice and attentive, here one of them is brushing Ari, so he will look his best when entering the ring.

Valentina and Marijke with Ari on her lap, at the ring side.

Ari at the table in the ring, it was a pity that the German judge Jungblut was very short about Ari: 4,5 MON. ALTE BABY ANSPRECHENDE KORPER GUTER KOPF, qualification Very Promising

Ari with is bowl for Best Baby of the Breed!

Ari en Marijke in the spotlight for Best Baby in Show

Early in the evening Ari returned with his first bowl :-)
Eoos was VERY happy her friend came back! Ari was happy to be home and exhausted after a day from home.

Thanks to Marco & Jolanda Draijer, owners of Ari's sister Sacha (photo left), for taking and sharing their photos.

Many thanks to Marijke and Valentina for taking Ari to the show and Valentina for the spotlight photo.

D-litter 3 years!

2010-09-21T01:00:00.004+02:00

Happy birthday Demi, Desna, Bobbie, Dante, Dao and Demi!

FlevoDogMatch 2010

2010-09-07T22:46:00.003+02:00

Last Sunday we went to the FlevoDogMatch here in Lelystad. We entered all our dogs.

Judge for both the Chow Chow and the Pekinese was Mrs. P.C. Zwaartman-Pinster.

The Chow Chows were first to be judged, so Endo (Xin-Feng's Endo), entered in the Young Dogs class for dogs between 15 and 24 months, went first into the ring. Guido and Endo did very well and the judge gave Endo an Excellent! That made him Best Dog.

Then Eoos (Xin-Feng's Eoos) went into the ring, entered in the Young Bitch class for bitches between 15 and 24 months. Frank showed Eoos very well. The showtraining classes payed off ;-)
Eoos got an Excellent too.

Then the Open class bitches: Frank with Chimay (Xin-Feng's Chimayra) and Ilone with Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter). The judge was surprised when she felt Chimay, she is very musculair ;-)
But she did not move well enough in the rear, so she got Very Good. Demi got an Excellent and won the Open class.

Then Eoos and Demi competed for Best Bitch, Demi won and went on against Endo for Best Of Breed. Demi won again, so she went on for Best of Group at the end of the day.

Marijke showed Ari for us, thanks very much Marijke!
Ari was entered in the Baby class, for dogs between 3 and 6 months. To our surprise the judge liked him and awarded him with Very Promising. So Ari went on for Best Baby of the show at the end of the day.

Ari with his medal for 4th place in the Best Baby competition It was a very tiring day with excellent results for all.

Ari has fun with some tennisballs

2010-08-29T23:17:00.002+02:00

Yes, Ari again.
The Chow Chow ladies are still on photo strike, refusing to be near any camera.
Ari is growing so fast and likes the camera... so here is Ari:

more about Ari

2010-08-22T23:35:00.004+02:00

Ari came over a week ago and has blended in well.
The Chow ladies are getting used to him, Eoos and Ari are nearly playing, I think that will happen within a week.
Chimay is happy, he is not pushy and very polite.

Today I took some photos, Ari does not dislike the camera:After 15 years only Chows, it is a bit strange a pink tongue:Here you can see a bit of his legs, he really is mostly hair!And one more photo:

here is Ari!

2010-08-13T21:08:00.003+02:00

Hi everyone this is Ari:Ari is a three months old Pekingese and he arrived yesterday.
Here you see him at our bed next to Frank, I left him there when I had to walk Chimay and Eoos, and he behaved perfectly.Ari and Frank on the bed with Eoos this morningWe missed having a male dog in the house, but did not want a third big dog.
We doubted between a Pug or a Pekingese, a Pug has a shorter easier coat, but the Peke is more like the Chow in character. Well we decided in favour of the Peke.
Ari's official name on his pedigree is Dango and he was born in Oss (the Netherlands).

According to Wikipedia
Ari means "to be" in Japanese
Ari means "lion" in Hebrew
Ari means "brave" in Armenian
Ari means "gorgeous" in Kurdish
That all together gives: to be, lion, brave and gorgeous and we thought that fits the little dog ;-)
Pekinese were bred in China to look like little lions, more information about the Pekingese breed.

Joop Bezemer (1927 - 2010)

2010-05-31T11:19:00.002+02:00

Franks mother, my mother in law, died last week.
I never realised it, but a death gives a lot to do.
At first the arrangements for the funeral.
Also all kind of practical things like canceling memberships, inform the authorities and relevant organisations about her passing and remove her belongings from her house...

Thursday Frank and I went to the funeral-home in Vlissingen.She laid there peacefull in the coffin. Farewell Ma, rest in peace...

Then we went on to her home in Middelburg. It was strange to be there without her.
It has not always been easy between her and me, but lately our relation was better then before.

She was 83 years old, born in Rotterdam.
Married a sailor, divorced. Good times, bad times.
Some photo albums and a few other things are now here in our house in Lelystad, the remains of a lifetime.

Today is the funeral, Frank is there accompagnied by his friend Wilco.
Frank is going to read a poem by Bert Schierbeek (translated by me):

when it is raining
I think
don't let her get wet

and when it is storming
won't she get cold

and I think
that thinking
is no help

because you will never
get wet nor cold

because it rains
nor storms ever
again for you

The last tulips

2010-05-14T22:59:00.002+02:00

Early May the last tulips started to bloom. The tulip "Groenland" is my favorite. It is in a less sunny part of the garden, so it is the last one to get its flowers:Now it is nearing the end of tulip season only a little time left to enjoy them...

Clubshow Dutch Chow Chow Club

2010-05-13T22:30:00.003+02:00

More than two weeks ago, on Sunday April 25th, was the yearly show of the Dutch Chow Chow Club.

Chimay was not feeling well, so she stayed home with Frank. He would come later with a friend.
Since he stopped taking Ritalin his energy levels are back the way it was before. So he needs a lot of resting time and long days are too much for him.
I went with an other friend and Eoos to Eemnes where the show was held.

Ilone picked up Endo on her way to Eemnes.
We had thought Ilone would show Endo, but he refused to walk with her, so I went into the ring with him.
Long time ago I vowed I would not ever go into the showring again, and I should have sticked to that...Endo was already a bit irritated and picked up on my anxiety, he snapped at the judge and got disqualified :-(

Afterwards we sat together recuperating:The rest of the morning Endo was doing great as PSD. He accompanied me all the time, supported me and ignored everyone else. Then I was very happy with him.

Next Eoos and her sister Chinka (Xin-Feng's Embla) had to go into the ring.Eoos, shown by Ilone, got Very Good (3rd) and her sister Very Good (4th).

Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter) did very well in her class: Excellent (1st)!

Well, I had been courageous and went into the showring with Endo. Sadly the price was high again... It took more than two weeks before I calmed down a bit :-(

Thank you both Leni and Peter Wellinga for letting me use your photos.

Eoos

2010-04-20T22:27:00.002+02:00

Eoos loves to be outside in the garden. Even more when I am there too.
She was content when I put the stepping stones back in the border. Now she is able again to stick her big nose everywhere ;-)

But most of the time she is laying around somewhere:Only looking up when she hears something
Last week the old grass was removed, there was very little grass left, most of it was dirt.
Eoos shows that she likes the new green:It is artificial turf, it looks almost like real grass, but does not need to be mowed. Both our Chow ladies are happy with it. Chimay avoided the camera as usual.

time for tulips

2010-04-19T22:47:00.003+02:00

It is great to look at the garden now, it is tulip time!
This red tulip looks like a bouquet on its own:perfect symmetrylooking like satin
The last daffodilsand the first butterfly of the season

first birthday of our E-litter

2010-03-05T20:28:00.002+01:00

Yesterday they celebrated their first birthday: Chinka, Egoi, Endo, Eoos, Enrico and Molli, congratulations all!
And we think of Esmo, who is not with us anymore...

A picture of Eoos, our birthday girl:

snowdrops

2010-03-03T20:26:00.001+01:00

Spring is on its way!After a long winter the snowdrops are flowering in the garden.

Enrico (Xin-Feng's Erilo)

2010-02-21T23:19:00.003+01:00

Yesterday we went to Nijmegen to visit Enrico (Xin-Feng's Erilo) and his owners.
Enrico was happy to see us bak.He leaned over the fence to greet us.Enrico and his owner Hubert.After a nice cup of coffee we went outside to get Chimay and Eoos out of the car and to take some pictures:Enrico has grown into a handsome dog!
As usual Chimay ruined my try to take a picture of them all...But Marijke managed to take a good one, from left to right Eoos, Chimay and Enrico:Enrico and Eoos meet:It was good to see Enrico, Hubert and Marijke again and we were happy to see how fond they are of eachother.

Molli (Xin-Feng's Eki)

2010-02-18T19:29:00.003+01:00

Yesterday we got news from Finland. Teija told us that she went to two shows with Molli (Xin-Feng's Eki) and she did very well, both times she got Exellent.
On February 7th in Keuruu (Finland) she was best in Juniorclass and 2nd Best Bitch and on February 14th in Tallinn (Estonia) she was again best in Juniorclass and also Best Bitch!

Teija and Molli in Tallinn

Thanks Teija, you and Molli make us proud :-)

Demi BOB in Eindhoven

2010-02-06T18:56:00.003+01:00

Yesterday was the Dog Show in Eindhoven.

Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter) was entered, for this was her first chance to become Dutch Champion,as she turned 27 months in January. In the Netherlands dogs have to be at least 27 months when they get the last point for their championship.

And Demi did it again: she was Best of Breed and earned her last point to become Dutch Champion!!!
Congratulations Ilone & Ben, we are very proud, Demi is the first Chow Chow we bred who became Dutch Champion!

More photos at Ilone's weblog (in Dutch).

Chinka (Xin-Feng's Embla)

2010-01-23T23:07:00.003+01:00

Today we visited Chinka (Xin-Feng's Embla), and her family in Almere.

A few days ago I received some great pictures of Chinka in the snow:

But seeing her in real was more fun, Chinka was very happy to see us.
We decided it would be nice to walk the three Chow Chows together and take some pictures. Sadly it started to rain when we went out, so the walk was cold and short. One of the pictures turned out well enough, from to left to right Chinka, Eoos and Chimay.

I think Chinka looks a lot like her half-sister Demi (Xin-Feng's Draupadi), here pictured at the Young Chows Day of the Dutch Chow Chow Club, September 2008:

and more snow

2010-01-06T22:31:00.005+01:00

The world is white, or better is still white, since December 17th we have had snow nearly all the time.
Chimay and Eoos look great with their red coats in the snow. But I kept forgetting my camera when I walked them.
Last Sunday I finally took te camera with me ;-)

Chimay

left or right?

playing

Eoos

Eoos in an all white world

After playing Chimay wanted to run away, but ultimately decided to come back. When she is like that I put her on the Flexi. Eoos is in heat, so when I saw some other dogs, she was put back on the Flexi as well. With two Flexi's it is impossible to take pictures, but I was not completely happy with the pictures I had taken.
The other dogs were the three from Illona and she was taking pictures as well, with help of her boyfriend. So when she was finished I asked her to take some of my girls:

Chimay and Eoos

Eoos

Thanks Illona!

Endo

2009-12-29T21:56:00.002+01:00

On December 26th Guido and Endo came to Lelystad.
We picked them up at the trainstation and went straight on to the Zuigerplasbos, a big park where the dogs are allowed off leash. That way everyone is used to eachother and tired..
Chimay, Eoos and Endo had a good time, sadly no pictures, I forgot to take my camera...
Back home Frank made us a fabulous diner :-)

The next mornig I took some pictures from Eoos en Endo:And one more time Endo:

Show Wijchen

2009-12-19T23:10:00.005+01:00

Today was the big day for Xin-Feng's Endo and Xin-Feng's Eoos: for the first time in the Youthclass.

Yesterday Guido and Endo came to Lelystad and this morning the alarm went off at half past four! A little after six we went on our way to Wijchen. We arrived early enough to get a nice spot for us and the Chow Chows. Ilone, the owner of Xin-Feng's Demeter, arrived a bit later with two of her Shibas.

Ilone offered to show Eoos. She has a lot of show experience, so we took her offer gladly.

Endo had not his day. His left eye teared a lot and he was tired of the night at our place. The judge J. van Hummelen from België gave him a Good.
Smooth, 9 months. A bit insecure. Irritated eye. Crooked teeth. Straight forelegs. Good bone. Good back. Correct tail. Good angrulation in front and back. Fluent movement.
The other male, Orso van het Bossche Front, got an Excellent, so he won the Youthclass males.
Then Ilone and Eoos went into the ring, Eoos did very well and got an Excellent.Smooth. Nice expression. Good ears. Dark eye. Correct bite. Good front. Straight forelegs. Good feet. Strong bone. Good backline and tail. Standing back legs parallel. Excellent coat. Nice movement..
She won her class and got Best of Breed!!!So Eoos got her first CAC and the first point for Youth Champion.
In Group 5 she was not selected, but we were already so proud of her!

A very good day in Wijchen and thank you Ilone!!

Snow

2009-12-19T22:47:00.003+01:00

Yesterday is snowed inLelystad.
Eoos had never seen snow before and was a bit offended that her garden looked so different ;-)

On our morningwalk Eoos was just getting used to the snow when she fell through the ice... She came out on her own and was not completely wet.

Back home I dryed her with a towel and then she went into the garden to play in the snow:
Snow is fun!

Demi did it again!

2009-12-14T14:08:00.003+01:00

Last Sunday Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter) won in Brussels for the third time Best of Breed!
At Ilone's weblog an impression (in Dutch).

Chimay neutered

2009-12-01T21:17:00.001+01:00

Today Chimay was neutered.
She gave us two wonderful litters, but both times the delivery was heavy for her. Her heats were long and intense, so we decided neutering was the best option.
All went well and she is sleeping on her dogbed right now.

Van Xin-Feng's blog

Xin-Feng's Egoi

2009-11-22T17:01:00.002+01:00

We stayed in a hotel in Montceau-les-Mines. The last part of our vacation was visiting Cathy and Cédric, who live near this town. They are the owners of Eoos brother Xin-Feng's Egoi.

Chimay and Egoi, he has the same dark red color as his mother.

Egoi and Eoos meet.

Egoi and Cathy

It was good to see them all back. We even met Cathy's parents, who came bye. The visit was way too short, but we had a long drive back home to go. So we all got back in the car again and at 4 in the morning we were back home...

last day

2009-11-20T16:50:00.002+01:00

A nice picture of Frank with Eoos and Chimay. The sun was low, this makes the color so bright and deep!

Typical for the mediterranean are the stone or umbrella pines.

We know the edible seeds of this tree as pine nuts.

We drove a few times by this sign and got curious...

So we took this way to find out, but there was no clue. It is either the name of the road or the name of the top of the hill.
North of this place is the town Le Luc, maybe it has to do with that.

This was our last day in La Croix-Valmere. Tomorrow everything back in the car and on our way to Montceau-les-Mines.

La Croix-Valmere

2009-11-19T16:43:00.004+01:00

Some more pictures of the apartment and the village La Croix-Valmere. The yucca at the balcony was blooming!

A picture of Frank at the balcony.

Chimay wants to see the view too!

Eoos at the balkony.

It was in the center of the town, left the town hall (Hotel de Ville):

Right the place to play de jeu-de-boules:

and straight ahead the next hill:

fondation Maeght

2009-11-17T11:46:00.000+01:00

Originally we wanted to go first to the city of Vence, because of the long history of this town. But we took the tourist route along the coast and that took longer than we anticipated (and poor Eoos, she got nearly car sick of all the curves in the road).

So we went straight on to a museum for modern art in Saint-Paul: the Fondation Maeght.

They have, among others, a large collection of Joan Miró and Alberto Giacometti.
A beautiful garden with many sculptures of Miró. The founders of this museum gave him time and space to try many forms of art here.

A detail of stained glass made by Miró:

Outside and inside many statues of Giacometti, in his characteristic streched style:

A moving fountain by Pol Bury:

And so many other great works of art, a painting by one of our favourite modern painters Ellsworth Kelly and some works of Fernand Léger, like this pottery art in the garden:

It was great to be here, seeing so many beautiful and facinating pieces of modern art. No doubt this was the best part of our stay!

beach

2009-11-15T21:08:00.001+01:00

Yesterday we arrived in La Croix-Valmer. The appartement is in the center of the village.

Today we drived around a bit, to get to know the surroundings.
Stopped for a short walk near the lighthouse at Cap Camarat.
We decided it was time to take a closer look at the Mediterranean Sea. We found a small beach, with an entrance directly from the parking place:
Eoos loved the sand and the sea:
After a short sprint, the length of the flexi a few times forth and back, Chimay sat down to look around:
Frank and Eoos walked a bit over the rocks:
It was a good first day in the south of France!

visiting Cindy and Chows

2009-11-14T18:55:00.001+01:00

Friday November 13th we left very early in the morning to France.
Our first destination was Corbelin, a small village east of Lyon, where Cindy and Julie live with their Chow Chows.
They have 6 Chow Chows, two of them are smooth:
Cajou (Xin-Feng's Cajou), litter sister of Chimayand Dune (Latte Macchiato of the Royal Club), a half-sister of Cajou as she has the same sire (Multi CH. Paramount Stylish Smooth)Cajou and Dune
We spend the evening talking about Chow Chows ;-)
The next morning we put ourselves and the Chows in the car again and went to the south of France.

Thanks Cindy and Julie for the hospitality!

today 25 years ago

2009-11-13T06:00:00.001+01:00

We were so young!

Show Bleiswijk

2009-11-08T15:32:00.004+01:00

Yesterday Endo and Eoos went to the all breed show in Bleiswijk.

We had to get up very early, the alarm went off at 5:30!
At 6:30 on our way and picked up Guido and Endo at 8:00 in Gouda.

We had an Australian judge: Mrs G. Cook, she will be judging the Best in Show today. Chinka (Xin-Feng's Embla) was entered in the show too, so in the Puppy Class were 3 pups entered, all Xin-Feng pups.
Endo was the first to be judged and did very well together with Frank.
Immediately after Endo the two sisters went in the ring. Eoos did not very well, she can behave much better than she did. But the judge made her the best of the two sisters, they both got a Very Promising.
Then I had to go into the ring too, because Endo and Eoos had to compete with eachother for Best Pup of the breed. De judge was very charmed with Endo, so he won.
The judge said to Frank that Eoos needed some training, so he told her we had not been training with Endo and had been working with Eoos for some months ;-)

Here the critiques of Endo and Eoos:

415 Xin-Feng's Endo
An extremely promising young male very typical for the breed. Very good head and expression. Well set ears, lovely eye, good pigmentation. Excellent rear, correct stilted gait. Good coat.
1 very promising, Best Pup

419 Xin-Feng's Eoos
Bitch of very good type, size and balanced. Lovely head and expression. Excellent coat texture. Good overall construction. Very good bone and feet. Excellent rear.
1 very promising

Because Endo was Best Pup, he was expected in the big ring to compete for Best Pup of the Day. Endo really tried his best, but the judge had other preferences.

It was a good first show day for Endo and Eoos!
The next show we will attend will be in December in Wijchen.

too bad

2009-11-04T21:17:00.002+01:00

Ilone called yesterday, Demi got an echo and sadly, she is not pregnant :-(

Too bad, we had hoped Chimay would become a grandmother. Well, maybe next time better.

Xin-Feng's Eki

2009-10-30T21:14:00.002+01:00

did well at her first show!

On October 24th, at the show in Seinäjoki, she was best pup of the breed under judge Marianne Holmli. The complete results, with photos, can be found on Netchows.

Miniature Bull Terriers

2009-10-25T20:59:00.001+01:00

Yes, you read it right, no I don't want one, although the are very cute ;-)

Val asked me if I wanted to write the critiques at the clubmatch of the Dutch Miniature Bull Terrier friends. The judge was from England, so they needed someone who could write Eglish well enough.
Frank went with me to take over if necessary, Chimay went as my Service Dog and Eoos went to get used to shows. Val was ring commissaris and Marijke joined us too.
Left the judge, behind the table me (Anita) and Val.
It went very well, there were not many Miniature Bull Terriers (18), so it was not a lot of writing. Chimay stayed all the time behind my chair: and Frank and Eoos watched it al from a side:
It was a good day.
Eventually I would do it again ;-)

Eoos

2009-10-16T21:02:00.002+02:00

Today two pictures of Eoos. She was sitting in a funny way, so I could not resist (and I had the camera in my hands, because I was taking pictures of our new tree). She has grow so much!

Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis Rosea'

2009-10-16T20:41:00.003+02:00

Is a long name for a beautiful tree. When we lived in Rotterdam we had one in the back garden. It flowers in the winter, when it is not freezing. There is not much flowering in this time of year, that is why I love this tree. In the spring it often flowers again.

Tuesday we went to Nobilis in Ens to get a Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis Rosea'. On their site it was mentioned they had this tree and I earlier bought two trees at their place (an Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum' and a Prunus with red leaves) they both were of outstanding quality, so I was happy to go there again.
I planted it the same day.

Wednesday I worked again in the garden. Two of three blueberries I took with me when we moved from Rotterdam to Lelystad were not doing well. They survived but did not thrive, because they were not planted on a right spot. So I replanted them, I hope just in time. They both got a better spot and some fresh soil.

smooth Demi

2009-10-07T15:28:00.002+02:00

Last Monday smooth Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter) was bred in Germany by the black smooth Chen Jin Zung Tzung Le.

A short impression (in Dutch) with pictures on Ilone's weblog Del Cazadora Blanca.

We keep our fingers crossed!

the website

2009-10-06T15:21:00.002+02:00

Today I released a large update.

But I want to mention that Gladdichs pages are finished: a page about his life, our personal farewell and a photo album.

oh my... forgotten!

2009-09-28T15:13:00.001+02:00

I completely forgot our D-litters 2nd birthday last week... That while I lately got some nice pictures of some of them. Thanks all for sending the pictures.

So belated Happy Birthday Demi, Desna, Bobbie, Dante, Dao and Demi!
Here the pictures, first smooth Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter): This is Desna (Xin-Feng's Desdemona): and here Dante (Xin-Feng's Dante): and this is Dao (Xin-Feng's Dao): and finally rough Demi (Xin-Feng's Draupadi): We hope you all had a good birthday!

Molli (Xin-Feng's Eki)

2009-09-25T15:05:00.002+02:00

We got a picture again from Finland. Molli will attend her first show at the end of October. A Finnish breeder and judge saw Molli recently and liked her very much... so we have high hopes for Molli in the showring!

Young dogs day, Dutch Chow Chow Club

2009-09-24T14:48:00.003+02:00

Last Sunday, September 20th, was the yearly Young Dogs Day organised by the Dutch Chow Chow Club.
Eoos, Endo and Chinka (Xin-Feng's Embla) were presented in the ring for the first time. This is not an official show, so no qualifications are given.The handling classes payed off, Eoos stood perfectly still and went good trough the ring. Only she did not like being touched by the judge, so that is important to do in the next handling classes.
After they had been in the ring, Peter Wellinga took a picture of every young Chow. Here is Endo:Chinka looked great, if you see something strange: she wore pants because she was in heat. She is an adorable and happy little Chow!Peter took a great picture of our three smooths:and a nice picture of me and Chimay.And here a picture I took of Chimay with her son and two daughters:Eoos had enough of all photocameras, but from a distance I took this headshot.And finally Endo proud with his ribbon (all young Chows got this ribbon).

Esmo

2009-09-22T19:15:00.001+02:00

once more Gladdich

2009-09-13T20:14:00.003+02:00

Today would have been his birthday...

I am working on a tribute for him on the website, but it will take time before it is finished. However I made an artwork for him that is on the site now. I relased a big update last wednesday (09/09/09), website Xin-Feng Chow Chows.

ringtraining

2009-09-04T18:56:00.004+02:00

as we call it, I think the best translation would be handling class.

Every wednesday we train with our Chows for the show. Together with some others from the neighbourhood, all of them show and breed.
Last Wednesday I finally did NOT forget my camera ;-)

Val owns kennel "Rovamel", she teaches us. Her breed is the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. This week she had Digit and Poppy with her.

Val with Poppy

Gertrud owns kennel "van het Bovenwater", her breed is the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. She was with Talutah.

Gertrud and Talutah

Marijke owns a Dutch Shepherd shorthair Amazing, callname Stella, but usual she is training one of the Staffords from Val.

Stella

And then there are Frank and me with the smooth Chow Chows Chimay and Eoos; kennel "Xin-Feng".

Chimay and Eoos

Normally Chimay sits next to me and we watch the training together. But this time I was taking pictures so Chimay had to watch alone:

They have to learn to stand stil for some time:
Poppy
Talutah
Eoos

And trotting through the showring
Talutah

When the youngsters are done, the older dogs get their time too.
Digit
Stella
And Chimay showing off she knows what to do:
After the handling class Gertrude teached some basics of doggy-dance. That was fun for all.
It was a nice training, we are looking forward to next weeks class!

Klaaswaal

2009-09-03T20:56:00.003+02:00

A new car makes us drive, to get used and because it drives great.
Going for a ride is even better with a goal, so sunday we went to Klaaswaal to visit Ilone and Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter).
It was a good visit, Ilone and I both took a lot of photos.

Frank, Eoos and ChimayChimay, Demi and EoosChimayEoos in actionDemi happy to see FrankEoos with two young Shiba Inu's: Baruda and Chimari (Ilone breeds Shiba Inu's)
On Ilone's weblog are more photos and some short movies (weblog in Dutch).

new car

2009-09-03T20:46:00.005+02:00

After ten years and some we replaced our yellow Renault Kangoo.
On monday August 24th our new car finally arrived (we waited since May). A white Dacia Logan.
We got a sticker from Ilone with a photo of Demi (Xin-Feng's Demeter) on it. Frank had to be persuaded, but the sticker is on the car now ;-)

Endo

2009-09-03T18:42:00.001+02:00

On August 2nd we visited Endo.
Endo, Eoos and Chimay

Molly

2009-09-03T18:39:00.002+02:00

Teija mailed some photos of Molly (Xin-Feng's Eki), here nearly 5 months old.

Esmo

2009-09-03T18:31:00.002+02:00

Marcel gave me a lot of photos of Esmo (Xin-Feng's Esmoreit), Bono and Whoopi.
Bono is a great-uncle and Whoopi a (half) great-aunt of Esmo.

Esmo (April 30th, 2009)Marcel and Esmo (May 2nd, 2009)Whoopi and Esmo (May 2009)Bono and Esmo (May 2009)Bono, Esmo and Whoopi (June 2009)Esmo at the top of the stairs (June 2009)

Enrico

2009-09-03T18:29:00.001+02:00

We got a photo of Enrico (Xin-Feng's Erilo) at 3 months.

so much to tell....

2009-09-03T18:21:00.002+02:00

My weblog is terribly behind. After Gladdichs death I was not in the mood to write anything. And then my laptop started to break down, the screen could not stay up and that is not workable, so we bought a new one.
I really dislike new things, so it took a while before I was used to Vista and had all my sofware working.

Today I am going to try to catch up, there is a lot to tell!