Alban

Ch Alilou's Alban Ben Nevis CDX NA JH

"Alban" (b. 5/14/88)

Ch Buteo's Night Moves x  Ch. Alilou's Rock Candy JH

    Alban was my dog that I did everything with.   He was also my dog of 'firsts'.

    He was the first dog that I ran in hunt tests and my first JH title.  I think that this venue is the one that makes me the most nervous.  Here we are in the middle of the country with birds and who knows what else (including the dreaded rabbits) and we are off leash!  He was rock solid but I was a wreck!  Being a "control freak" I was totally out of my element!  He did not get out on birds very much so our first Hunt Test was run around in chaos - birds, birds, birds!  I had entered back to back tests and we qualified the second day.  Then the next weekend was even better.  He needed to get a whole year of running around out of his system and then he would get to work!  The following fall it was the same story.  The first day was a donation to the club followed by a qualifying leg on Sunday.  We finished in two seasons!

    He was the first dog that I finished in Open obedience to earn his CDX.  We had a terrible time with the easiest exercises.  He would do all the individual exercises just fine but did not want to do the out of sight sits and downs.  If Dad was leaving the ring then he should be going along!  We could do them at the training club for two or three times as long as necessary because he knew I would be back.  But when we went to a show venue he was leaving 'with' me! 

    Also, he was the first dog I ever showed in team agility.  That had to be one of the best times in the obedience ring.  Cindy Rhine and Taylor, Debbie Scardina and Connors, Jim Scardina and Sherlock and Alban and I showed twice as a team.  Since Connors lived with Cindy but was handled by Debbie - it provided some interesting results.

    He was the first Gordon Setter to earn a qualifying score in agility and my first NA title.  The sport of agility was just starting with the AKC.  Since we had a lot of obedience under our belt we started training for agility.  Alban loved to run and picked up on the exercises quickly.  Most of the problems were my handling mistakes.  In spite of learning something new by luck and chance he did earn his NA title with several perfect scores!

    In the show ring he was the first dog I ever showed in Brood Bitch.  We showed several times with his mother Fiesty, brother Duncan and sister Risky or sister Molly. I was quite proud to line up in this group!  He was the first dog I placed with at a National Specialty.  He was the first dog I made the 'final cut' with at a Specialty - that was a thrill! 

    To me the most rewarding was that he was the first dog that I ever used at stud and he produced some beautiful puppies.