If you want to get into showing and breeding Poodles find a mentor and learn all you can from that person and others you meet along the way. Get active and join a club and volunteer. Clubs need working members. Clubs can’t continue with out the support of their membership. Go meet others in the breed. Watch and learn. breeding program. It was a huge learning curve for me. I was surprised that the dogs I liked in the classes and the Variety, each one went back to the same dog, Ch. Penchant Paladin, (Danny). Thus, I went home with plans to breed Molly to Danny. PCA at Ludwig’s Corner had their famous Lobster cookout. People always looked forward to it. During the picnic, breeders often brought young puppies for other breeders to see and evaluate. It was a fun learning experience. So many memories back at that location. But in the end there was never anything more beautiful than Poodles in the rings at Ludwig’s Corner. In Closing Winding down after 48 years showing and breeding dogs. My mother and I started together breeding on a limited scale, only breeding when we wanted something new to show. We planned our litters by studying pedigrees; each litter was bred with the intention to get something to keep, improving on each generation. We finished almost Ch Random Wind 50 champions. Each Chasin A Dream one has a special place in our hearts. Each of our males were top producer. It was Joshua, Ch. Random Wind in Your Dreams, TP, who had the most AKC titled offspring. He had 30 Champions and titled offspring in companion and performance events. Joshua has 3 with MACH titles and a MACH 5 titled offspring. He will always have a special place in my heart. I have frozen sperm from him and hope to breed Courtney, Ch. Random Wind Chasin A Dream to him. I am very appreciative to the many mentors whose guidance over the years helped my mother, Suzanne, and I build a family of dogs based on our dreams. I am thankful to all who have been part of this journey. Ch Random Wind Chase The Sun What’s your favorite dog show? My favorite dogs show will always be a day in good weather at the Poodle Club of America National at Ludwig’s Corner. Those show grounds were beautiful and picturesque with the two rings set up on the top of the hill with white gates with beautifully landscaped shrubs and flowers around the rings. There were grooming tents close by and everyone sat around the rings watching the show. Picnic-type lunches were available when they broke for lunch. People all sat around the rings and walked around greeting other breeders and long-time friends. It was a friendly atmosphere there where you could be ringside and talk about breeding programs and what various dogs had to offer at stud. It was a time to learn from breeders in your variety. It was a time you could openly talk without people taking offense that you were bashing someone’s dog. It was a time to learn about pedigrees and breeding stock. I was fortunate enough that when we were only in Poodles a couple of years, Annie had an interest in a bitch of mine, Ch. Random Wind Weather Report (Molly), out of our second Mini litter and asked me who we should breed her to. At that point I had no idea. So, Annie, in her own fashion, told me to put the catalog away and my education began. She asked me questions and explained when I was right or why I was wrong. She explained the importance of pedigrees when Ch Random Wind In Your Dreams making breeding choices. She explained the virtues of line breeding verses inbreeding or outcrossing. She explained what a family of dogs was, not just a prefix. She told me to look for families of dogs that had the traits that you needed to add to your ABOUT THE AUTHOR Christi Gable has been passionate about Poodles since 2003, when she welcomed her first pet bitch into her life. As of August 2024, her breeding program, Theory, has produced 40 AKC Champions in Poodles. A graduate of Ohio Northern University with a Bachelor’s degree in English, Christi has also completed extensive postgraduate coursework in the sciences. Her diverse background includes serving in the Peace Corps in Moldova, assisting with research in UC Berkeley’s Social Psychology department, and working for many years in immigration law. Christi and her husband, Mark Robeson, an integral part of Theory, currently reside near Cleveland, Ohio, where they continue their dedication to the breed. 61 January-March 2025 • POODLE VARIETY
Poodle Variety Magazine January-March 2025 January – March 2025: Page 61
