Tibetan Terrier Tribune
December 2005 Front Cover
Introduces...

An interview with John George

Samsara Tibetan Terriers

 

Joy and John at the TTCA National in Allentown
 

Where do you reside and what do you and your wife do for a living?

My wife Joy and I live in Burlington, Ontario which is a small city located roughly between Niagara Falls and Toronto.

I own an Urban Design and Architectural firm. Up until recently, I was also an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Design.

Joy previously worked as a video librarian for a television station in Toronto. She currently takes care of the dogs, and runs the household - in addition to her creative doll making, crafts and sewing.

Have you always had dogs?

Joy had a dog as a youngster, but I never did. Our first dog together was Max. He was a Lhasa Apso.

 Max

How did you begin your life with the Tibetan Terrier?

After Max, we got a second Lhasa Sam. We started to collect books and do research on the Lhasa breed; and we kept coming across images and stories of the Tibetan Terrier.

We became intrigued by the breed, and spent about a year going to dog shows before we finally saw our first TT. We went to shows to watch primarily the Lhasas. At one particular show, there was a judge who was as fascinating as the dogs.

His name was Paul Stanton. We learned later that Paul was very famous in the TT world in England, having handled some of the great early TTs. We touched base with him when he was in Canada judging over the years, and listened to his stories about the early dogs. Like most European judges, he was always willing to go over the dogs and provide a critique. I learned much from Paul in a relatively few encounters.

Joy and a gangly youngster with Paul Stanton

 

We did finally see our first TT, and subsequently decided our next dog would be a Tibetan Terrier. We purchased our first TT from one of the early TT people in Canada - Jean Marks. He was a large rambunctious reddish brindle boy, we named Tex.

He was never bred or shown, but he taught us much about the ways of the breed, and in particular, about the odd combination of independence, toughness and gentleness in this breed.

Who had the biggest influence on you in helping you learn about this breed?

We had two TTs as pets before we began to show seriously, and learn more about the breed. There were several people who had an early influence on us.

The greatest influence was Anette Ohman. Ron and Margy Pankiewicz who worked closely with Anette, also had some influence; as we started with their lines of dogs. We went on to co-own dogs and work very closely with Anette over the years.

Margy and Ron have always been a positive influence, and we are much indebted to the impact their dogs have had on our lines; in combination with the German imports brought over to the U.S. by Anette.

Before we started breeding, I became interested (obsessed) in the breed history. I spent a great deal of long distance telephone time talking to people such as Angela Mulliner before she passed away, as well as Jane Reif and several others.

I remember Sue Mechem visiting us in Toronto to help assess our first litter. Sue and Gary Carr were also informative and generous in their support and encouragement in the early years.

Joy and I were fortunate enough to spend some time with Mrs. Margaret Thomas in her waning years. She was a world known Canadian Judge, and owner of one the early Lamleh of Kalai TTs in North America. Mrs. Thomas was also very influential in getting TTs recognized in Canada. We learned a great deal from her in our visits to her home. She had lots of stories about her dealings with Alice Murphy (another Canadian) and the Tibetan monks in the Toronto area whom she became friends with.

 Atisha shown with Anette Ohman and Judge Margaret Thomas

Although our encounters were brief – we learned things from several other established TT breeders by observing their dogs, speaking to them, or listening to them talk.

We learned much about the show world by observing TT handlers like Pam Tillotson, and in particular Carol Strong, who made us feel comfortable when we were very nervous, in our first few times showing a TT.

We enjoyed showing, especially early on, when it was just Joy and I, and a couple of dogs.

It has always surprised me that many people new to the Tibetan Terrier breed didn't (and don't) take more advantage of the wealth of knowledge that is available through many of the greatly experienced TT breeders of the world.

Jane Reif, Angela Mulliner and the others were always more than willing to put up with my 'dumb' questions. They were patient and more than willing to share what they knew.

I was always eager to understand the historical beginnings of the breed. I wanted to understand how more experienced breeders thought, what their opinions were; and to gleam every bit of information I could from them.

These contacts, and seemingly endless discussions, led me to realize that the detailed study of pedigrees, the understanding of structure and it’s relationship to sound movement; and genetic health and testing, were important aspects of becoming a responsible breeder.

Please tell us who your TT family consists of, and their ages.

We have been slowing down in recent years in terms of keeping dogs, and breeding litters. We have several old guys now. Of our current 12 (or so) dogs - 8 or 9 of them are well into the seniors category. Our oldest, is our pride and joy Elliot - who is about to turn 18.

Our household has become a pill and medication dispensary in the evenings. We do love the old guys. They encapsulate all the most wonderful qualities of the breed. Class, quirkiness, unpredictability, and serene inventiveness.

Which dog had the biggest impact on you and how?

All of our dogs have had an impact - so it does not seem fair to chose just one. However 3 of them come to mind for different reasons.

The aforementioned Elliot (Am. Can. Ch. Malishar’s Dad-Pa Rin-Chen-Po) is very special. There are not too many pedigrees around at present that go back as far as Elliot’s does. He has been the most wonderful stud dog. We didn't get him until he was 8 years old.

 Elliot

He arrived here after his flight to Canada was diverted to Cleveland because of a cargo air pressure problem. The pilot explained the issue to the passengers, and they voted to land in Cleveland to save him (even though they all had to spend the night in a hotel before resuming their flights the next day). His offspring have done very well in the show ring. As a stud dog he had the uncanny ability to let the females strengths come through, while contributing his soundness and quality.

Next would be Atisha (Ch. Ben-sa-ba Atisha ROM). This 14-1/2" compact dynamo was our foundation bitch. She was so generously given to us by Anette Ohman of Dscho Utra TTs. Her offspring have produced some of our best dogs including, Tibetans that have won best in shows, best in specialty shows, and who in turn produced multiple group winners.

All the attitude, and spunk we can see in our lines, are directly attributable to this tiny little girl who had a huge heart. She was the best brood bitch you could imagine. 

It was not unusual for Atisha in her retirement years, to take over the litter of one of her daughter’s litters, after 5 or 6 weeks, and lovingly put up with all the maniacal tendencies of 6 to 9 week old TT puppies.

Atisha and Elliot were visually unassuming, and definitely not flashy TTs. They were sound, square and typey.

Next would be a tie between two sisters from our very first litter (talk about peaking early).

Alilah (BIS Am Can Ch Samsara's Alilah Dscho Utra ROM) and;

 Alilah

Amaia  (Ch Samsara Dscho Utra Amaia Joy, ROM, AGI, OA, OAJ, NAP, NJP, VAADC, VMJDC, VMSDC, VMTRDC, VMDC, Can. "V".)

I have no idea what all those agility letters mean for Amaia - but Penny White and Amaia have done an admirable job.

Amaia with Sweeps Judge Jane Reif

Alilah is a special dog to us. She was the first puppy of our first breeding, from our first litter.

Alilah was the first TT bitch to win a Best in Show in Canada. She was also European Junior Champion, the top TT in Canada on two occasions; and is still the all-time top winning bitch in Canada. She placed in the group in both the U.S. and Canada on multiple occasions.

Her offspring have also done well including sons Am. Can. Ch. Samsara Chase Dscho Utra (top TT in Canada) and Ch. Samsara Billy the Kid (winners dog at the TTCA National).

Under Gary Carr at the TTCA National Alilah won an award of merit, and both her offspring won the bred by exhibitor classes, and reserve winners dog and bitch respectively.

She was a special show dog who loved showing and the attention. Her trademark was jumping onto the ring table and stacking herself.

Her sister Amaia is the foundation bitch for Penny and Ron White's Amaia Tibetans.

Amaia was the first Tibetan Terrier female to win the TTCA Versatility Award (a CKC Confirmation champion, producer of three or more champion offspring - Register of Merit, and a CKC Performance title)


Who could ask for any more from two sisters from your very first litter.

Your bloodlines are based primarily on which lines?

Our bloodlines are based upon German lines brought to North America by Anetta Ohman, combined heavily with American Lamleh lines by Ron and Margy Pankiewicz.

Until recently all the stud dogs we used, all originated with the Malishar Lamleh lines.

What are some of the highlights of your Tibetans show careers?

Right up there would be winning the Canadian national specialty with a dog of my own breeding Rocky (BISS, Am., Can., Ch. Samsara Knockout at Colledge), and having Best of Winners, and Award of Merit at the same specialty; also be dogs of our breeding.

Rocky

Winning the group handling one of our own dogs for the first time, getting group placements under breeder judges, and winning the breeders sweeps at a specialty show (with Amaia) under judge Jane Reif; also rank pretty high.

I also enjoyed judging the TTCA top 20 and Springfield Regional TT Specialty Sweepstakes.

The biggest highlight still continues to be the privilege of spending time with these fascinating dogs.

Are you presently focusing on any particular dog in the show circuit, and if so, why that particular dog?

Ch. Samsara Billy the Kid will be our campaigned specials in the next year. He will be shown by our close friend and fellow TT breeder Kevin Grew of Colledge Tibetan Terriers. Kevin specialed our boy Chase to top Canadian TT a few years ago.

Billy has done quite well in his young career, achieving winners dog at both the Canadian and American National Specialties last year. He has also had several group wins and placements in the recent past. His young progeny have also had group wins, and placements.

Do you still breed?

We have been winding down our breeding activities in recent years. Several of our lines are with other TT breeders now.

We will still be involved (we're not that old) but with far fewer dogs, and less litters.

How have you seen the Tibetan Terrier change throughout the years, and in which way for the better, and for the worse?

I loved many of the earlier dogs I had personally seen. This includes Malishar TTs such as Chin, American Shang, Katy, and Si-mo etc. Also several of the well known veterans at American specialties in the early 90’s.

The coat and show preparation may be slightly more slick today - but the substance and balance of the best dogs from years gone by, is still intact. We have not moved too far backward or too far forward. There are still quality dogs around from all the different lines.

Perhaps there are fewer new breeders willing to learn enough to start line variations, and create more pedigree diversity.

There is a bit too much 'frantic' movement around today that is often mistaken for efficient movement.

By that I mean dogs that look like they are moving well - but are realistically moving with twice the effort (and steps) than a smooth moving structurally sound TT.

However in general, I think the quality is being maintained. On a positive note, there is much more exchange of information and dogs between North American and European countries. This can only be viewed as a positive.

What concerns do you have for the future of this breed?

I just hope that our current crop of new breeders take advantage of the wealth of experience available from the people who have been doing this for a long time; and not just buying dogs that are winning in the show ring.

To fully understand all the parts that make up the basics of this breed - means understanding pedigrees, learning to distinguish movement traits; and the understanding 'architectural' and structural principles such as form follows function.

This requires effort and dedication to the science of the breed – and not the somewhat superficial elements of the show ring.

What are you plans and/or goals for the future of Samsara Tibetan Terriers?

We plan to always have TTs; let the old guys age gracefully, and to attend specialties once in a while.

What advise can you give to those just beginning in the breed.

Learn all you can from the people that came before you.

Remember that after everything else is said and done - experiencing every day life with this wonderful breed is all any of us - will ever need.