A Tribute to Phoenix

It seems like yesterday that I flew to Canada and picked up our first Blue Picardy Spaniel puppy.  It was late at night by the time I arrived home and my then nine year old son was half asleep on the couch waiting for me and his pup.  The puppy too was exhausted from the travel, but it amazed me how she woke up to check out my son and they just cuddled up together and fell back asleep.

Phoenix is eight+ years old now and she's grown into an elegant, persuasive, sometimes incorrigible girl. She's produced some fabulous puppies and has proven to be an excellent mother.  She surprised me in how she gave birth to her pups:  very calmly, no fussing or nesting.  Very quietly, no screams or even grunts.  She just lay down and gently pushed out her puppies, immediately cleaning and nursing them to perfection.  She's always loved being around her puppies and would nurse them until they left my house even at nine weeks!  She loved to be with her puppies and hang out and was a very loving and nurturing influence.

As a puppy herself, Phoenix was the poster child for tolerance.  The kids would dress her up, make her play in their games, and put her under the covers with them to sleep.  And she loved every minute of it. Never one time ever in her life has she growled or shown disfavor with a child or adult.  She's always loved attention and is the kind of dog who gets you petting her without you even being aware you are doing it by slipping that silky head under your hand as you sit and visit.  She is a bottomless pit and I've never felt that she felt she had eaten enough to satisfy her.  I think that's one reason she loved being pregnant--lots of extra meals!  But alas, she's also a non-reformable food thief.  But she's such a character and has such consistent personality, it seems a small price to pay in regards to all else she brings to the party.  She is bright and eager to learn; absolutely up for fun at any time; takes attention any way she can get it-and gives it back tenfold.  She's been a wonderful pack leader and matriarch to my dogs-demanding respect and proper manners, but lavish in her affection and companionship.
She is a supreme snuggled and bed hog for sure.
And beautiful.  She is such a beautiful image of a female Blue Picardy Spaniel.

Phoenix is what I call the Canadian line as she was born from two of the top kennels in Canada.  These dogs in my experience were very athletic and birdy; shorter coated with some feathering but not at all overdone; sweet and sociable but they had a higher energy and more rambunctious spirit than other lines I've worked with…..and Phoenix represents all those traits well.

She has shown a super strong prepotency in her puppies to follow her physical traits.  I've seen my tiny little cuties and my big chunky monkeys all somehow manage to even out and become these pretty darn consistently sized adults all favoring their mother.  The great majority of her puppies matured within the size boundaries of 55-60 pound females and 65-70 pound males.  She did throw out one massive male puppy-gorgeous but massive.  Not sure where he came from!  Her puppies also favored her shorter coat and higher energy.  Very athletic and looking for direction.  And they also inherited her sweet nature, tolerance, beauty and fun loving attitude.

So we spayed Phoenix last year and took her off active puppy duty.  She is in fantastic health thanks to the raw diet.  She is slim and fit and has great energy for walks.  Her teeth look like they belong to a teenager-no tarter or infections or bad breath.  She's still always looking for someone to pet her, still checks out the counter to see if no one's looking after those leftovers, and she's still loving up on my other dogs and me.  She introduced us to this breed and she's the foundation for my line and I wanted to thank her publicly for making our house a home for all the love and joy she brings every day.