CH Jordan Baylee of Windtree CD RA NA NAJ

Hi, I am Kara.  I got my first Standard Schnauzer (and first dog for that matter!!) on January 1st, 2005.  Couldn't ask for a better way to start the New Year than to add a little 9 week old puppy to the family!!  I had waited a long time to make the commitment.  I was doing research and searching for a breeder for about 6 years.  My sister has a Mini and Giant, and I decided the Standard would be the perfect size for me.  I was just waiting for the right time and dog to come along.  

I met Sunny Lambert at the Land O'Lakes Kennel Club Show the previous year.  By lurking on the Standard Schanauzer Yahoo! groups website, I saw her announcement of the "B" litter.  I called Sunny up wanting to just come over and look at the pups...there was no danger of me getting one because all five were spoken for.  The little 5 week old bundles of fur were adorable and I couldn't wait until she had her next litter...maybe I could convince my husband that we needed one of them.  Through divine intervention, or luck, I got a call from Sunny a couple of weeks later saying the buyer for one of the females had backed out and the second person on the waiting list decided a puppy would be too much for her.  I had to do some quick sweet talking with my husband so we could bring Jordan Baylee of Windtree into our family!!

It was tough waiting until Jan 1st to pick up our little girl.  My two stepchildren, Jordan and Lauren (then 12 and 10), were very excited and spent New Year's Eve with us so we could all go and pick up Baylee.  There were many chanting sessions of "We want Baylee NOW!" throughout the evening.  Lauren helped me make a little fleece blanket to bring Baylee home in.  Morning came and off we went to Sunny's house. We got all of our new puppy instructions and played with the rest of the gang for awhile.  A couple of hours later, we headed home with our new little bundle of joy!

Baylee has been everything I ever dreamed of a dog being and more.  She has the best temperament, is unbelievably smart and perceptive, has great structure and movement, and she demonstrates the strong work ethic that Schnauzers are known for.  I mainly wanted a companion, but soon found myself learning to groom and dabbling in conformation.  Both Baylee and I had to learn our way around the show ring, and believe me...it wasn't always pretty.  Shortly after she turned 2, she finished her Championship at the Land O'Lakes show by going Best of Opposite for a 5 point major!  It was a great feeling to know that I, as a novice handler, finished Baylee to her CH title.  (Although I have to acknowledge and offer my gratitude for all of the help that Sunny and Steve Schloesser gave me along the way!!)

We have now switched our focus to the agility and obedience rings.  We have finished our Rally Novice title and will be hitting the obedience rings to start work towards her CD soon.  But Baylee's real love is agility...she absolutely loves it.  I swear she has a grin spreading from ear to ear as she is running the course.  We are still working on controlling our excitement, but look for us in the agility ring soon!

Oct 21st, 2008 Update: I can't believe my little girl's 4th birthday is nearly here! She has been such a joy to the family. We have been working hard on having some fun in the agility ring and are starting to get results. The past few years, I have wanted to attend the SSCA National Specialty and so I decided this year was as good as any. So, Baylee and I packed our bags and off we went to Pleasanton, CA. It was kind of stressful for me to fly her out there since she was relegated to the cargo area, but she survived the trip none the worse for it. It was fabulous to see all of the Schnauzers!! There are just so many beautiful dogs. We are very lucky to be involved in such a smart, athletic, beautiful and healthy breed!!

We competed in Obedience, Rally and Agility while we were there. We had the possibility of finishing 4 titles...my goal was 2! Our first chance was for Baylee's CD in Obedience, but she just didn't feel like heeling off lead that day. Oh well. On to Rally. Baylee got her RN title a couple of years ago and we just haven't competed much since then (working on that off lead stuff!). She managed to qualify for her last Rally Advanced leg and got 1st place in the process. Things were looking up.

Friday through Monday, we were entered to compete in Agility. We came there with only one of her JWW (jumpers with weaves) legs and no standard legs. This was only our second AKC agility trial. Baylee loves agility and is still a little wild on the course. I knew that our level of performance was kind of a gamble...could be great...or could be quite humbling. There must have been something about that California heat that fired her up!! She Q'd Fri/Sat in JWW to get her NAJ title. She also Q'd Fri/Sat/Sun to get all 3 legs for her NA title. We moved up to Open class and came ever so close to getting a couple of more Q's...a knocked bar one day and a few seconds over time because we needed to stare at the weaves for a little while before entering them for some unknown reason!! I guess Baylee didn't want to set my expectations too high for her!! As an added bonus, Baylee was High in Trial Agility SS on Friday.

I am so proud of Baylee and we will be embarking on some additional training to further hone our agility skills. (Mostly for me as the handler!)

Jan 2nd, 2009 Update: Baylee finished her final leg towards her CD today and she finished in 2nd place!! She would have been tied for 1st except for her handler got 0.5pts deducted for not going fast enough on our fast time! Sorry Baylee!
Congratulations to my little girl, CH Jordan Baylee of Windtree CD RA NA NAJ!!!

Baylee and her AKC CD New Title Ribbon and Medallion

 
Lauren and Baylee lounging in the sun