Article written by Us My memories of childhood are many. I have wonderful memories of a very happy busy childhood. Being an only child, most people would think that life would have been lonely and quiet but this was not the way, my extended family was enormous and cousins were plenty! As children we always shared the joys of our animals from little white mice bought home from school by me, at my mothers shock!, cats with their kittens, family dogs and their puppies, and horses. Horse riding as a child was my first true love. I enjoyed the competition of skill riding and sporting events. My own horse was called Princess she was a strong bay mare with white stockings and a perfectly placed blaze. In my eyes she was the most beautiful Princess world wide! During our riding ventures my eyes were attracted to the Australian Cattle Dogs, but unfortunately this was one breed my father had forbid me to own. "They are working dogs and have a purpose for farms and properties only! NOT for the household or the neighbourhood" were his words to me. I knew in my heart that one day I would own one of these very special dogs. We showed and bred Australian cattle dogs with success and pleasure. One of the highlights was being the breeders of Aust. CH Banlan Bedevilled. This dog is the sire of not only the first UK champion Australian cattle dog but also is the sire of a Best of Breed winner at Crufts During this time we were looking for a breed that my youngest daughter could compete with in child handler classes. We studied many breeds, finally deciding on the Tibetan Spaniel and this is where our love affair began. Luckily, from Joyce and John Jones (Karakoram) we were able to buy our first Tibetan Spaniel "Karakorum Mirralan"- Ellie now 11yrs and still living happily at home with us.. She was the daughter of Aust Ch Helfor Nima Tashi NZ (Imp UK) and with great pride we were the first kennel in Australia to have been entrusted with Tashi's precious bloodlines. Joyce was a mentor to me. She was honest when she spoke; she made you stop to think seriously about the breed and breeding. Explaining type and the pitfalls and difficulties in maintaining breed type, along with importance of strong pedigrees and good health. With great sadness, Joyce passed away many years ago and the Tibetan Spaniel community in Australia in my opinion lost a truly knowledgeable lady and a lover of the breed! Our first tibbie litter was of three males, very pretty sables but not so successful in the show ring. So we tried again using a different sire. Success!!! From this litter Ch Banlan Oscar Dela Rentae and his sister CH Banlan Elegance were born. This brother and sister team have been the true show dogs- winning Dog CC Best of breed and bitch CC at Sydney royal 2004 under Finnish judge Mr K Jarvinen. They both have been wonderful companions and are joy to own.
Another litter was born to us at this same time. Dolly was a sweet girl we imported at the age of 18 months from New Zealand but Dolly was not happy in the show ring or with any strangers. We mated Dolly to Aust Helfor Nima Tashi owned by Karakorum Tibetans Spaniels. This combination produced one male 'Toby'- Banlan Dancing Master and his sister 'Kiri'- Banlan Riva Dance. Toby lives with us, but like his mother from NZ he does not enjoy the show ring. After establishing a sound foundation for our breeding programme and successfully incorporating our bloodlines, our family decided to try and import again. This was not going to be easy. With help of the world- wide- web, we had looked at many countries, for type, bloodlines, progeny from the bloodlines and the health issues in the pedigrees. At this time we continually returned to the beautiful dogs bred, or of which had origins in the Scandinavia countries. The UK had nearly no websites to follow. Frozen semen was also an option but at this time Australia success rate for implantation of this semen was not high. Fortunately for us and our breeding programme we were able to import our girl Chelsea- Aztlon Shiraz (NZ). She has been a delightful character, beautiful to my eye and a very true to type. We have great plans for her in the future. Her English heritage will hopefully compliment the pedigrees we already have. Our Tibetan Spaniel family is small scale, consisting of 4 males and 4 females. Our tibbies have complete free run of our yard all day, playing and digging in open spaces, with fresh air, green grass and sunshine. My husband's workshop seems to be the main place of interest for them. Watching him work, listening to all machinery and removing parts to play with, along with meeting and greeting everyone who comes to our home. We have tried to selectively breed our tibbies. Trying to keep in focus all of the health issues with our chosen and wonderfully mystical breed. My dreams for the future are to be able to continue showing and breeding our tibbies with care and love. To also maintain small scale breeding with quality pedigrees and not loose sight of correct type and soundness in body and mind. Not to go with just winning trends but to grow and develop as a breeder using care and sensibility. We are never too old to learn more about our passions in life. I do wish for our puppies that their new homes, that are carefully chosen, are life long and that their new owners enjoy these special additions as true and loving family members. Within my journey I have been fortunate enough to meet some remarkably talented breeders. Many of which have become very trusted and treasured friends. The modern world and the internet has taken friendships, interests and gained knowledge to another level. Friendships are now found not only in our own countries but in every corner of the world. Advice, concerns, information and other aspects of our breed can be discussed at a press of the button. We are all so much closer, and for me personally this can only benefit our precious breed, The Tibetan Spaniel. 
|
