FEATURED MEMBER…Brenda Buechler of Rhapsody Chows

This month our member interview was with Brenda Buechler of Rhapsody Chows who lives in Alaska, USA

.  Brenda I can’t believe how cute some of these pix are.  This one of Odo in his costume had me rolling on the floor when I saw it in the envelope!

How many years have you been owned by Chows? How many chows do you have today and their names?
Been involved in chows for 20 + years and currently have 2 chows one boy Ch.Rosewines Rockibilli nRhapsody Odo… and 1 female SingFus Kira Nerys..Kira is a little over a year and Odo will be 3 years old in May 2009.

FATHER AND DAUGHTER

When did you acquire your FIRST chow…tell me a little bit about him/her?
My very first chows name was Sampson and I got him in Fairbanks Alaska in 1985 or 86 he was 10 weeks old and very pet but he lived to be 14 years old and lived a wonderful life..I will never forget him as he set me on a path that has been a godsend at times for me if it were not for my chows I dont know how I would of got threw it all with many changes in my life.. I have forever been hooked on the breed.

A LITTER OF PUPPIES AT THE BUECHLER HOUSE

What are your favorite qualities that only a Chow Chow can possess?
Really there are many but the number 1 would be loyalty..This breed is forever loyal to their family and friends. Second the independent nature they have .. and 3rd the incredible intelligence they have..so very very smart..and so clean…

Favorite activities that you and your family share with your chow(s)
my chow kids love to go in the car they never seem to get enough of this they love to stick their heads out and watch everything THEY especially like going to PETCO with mom for dog training class to be involved in class or just to socialize…its all fun especially the Treat Bar loaded with yummy dog treats we never make it passed there…

BRENDA WITH “SHOOTER”

What would you like to see WORLDCHOW MAGAZINE offer to the Chow fancy?
i would like to see educational articles on current events concerning chows and fun stuff to like the photo contests and community events people have participated in….

EXTREMELY RARE COLORED CHOW PUPPIES…OR…..BRENDAS GUINEA PIGS “LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY”

Our dogs have wonderful way of bringing humanimals together. List up to 3 close friends you have met via your chows and dog interests. Tell me a little bit about the connections

The people that got me started in showing chows would be Lewis and Nancy Cuccia I spent alot of time learning under them and they taught me alot also Bob and Love Banghart as this is where I really started understanding dog showing I traveled with them to many shows and watched and observed as well as showed  the knowledge I gained was truly priceless as I still remember things even today that they passed on to me they were wonderful and I cant thank them enough for all the the help they gave me…Chow people are awsome you just need to ask and they will be more than happy to teach you….wonderful

BRENDA WITH KIRA

Tell us about a grooming secret/hint that has really helped you with keeping your chow coat in good shape or any special feeding regime that you find has been helpful for your dogs conditioning.
Feeding the right food is soooooooooo important a good diet is the key to everything else… I had to go thru several foods before I found a food for the chows the fact they are fussy doesnt help..Salmon oil in food also very good for skin and coat….

CALENDAR GIRL KIRA

I recently entered my chows Odo and Kira in a photo contest locally to raise funds for our local dog park and Im happy to say that Kira won the contest with the most votes and was featured on the cover of the calandar for 2009 with all proceeds of calandar going to support the dog park and Odo was a top ten finalist also not to bad as there were ALOT of dogs in this contest and it was a tough competition they also won alot of neat prizes and cool stuff.

BRENDA HAS SOME “SMOOTH MOVES” AS WELL…HEE HEE

What are your 3 biggest concerns regarding the state of the Chow breed right now

• Health Issues
• Loss of overall breed type
• Increase in bad dog laws

Thank you so very much Brenda!!! As much as I already knew about you from years of showing and breeding dogs ..it’s so fun to learn lots more about our fellow chowists through these interviews!

1000 pardons for the OOPS post that went out to a few of the members today and then disappeared off the site.  That was supposed to be   saved as a draft to be posted tomorrow but apparently my computer has different ideas….. I am still having issues with this blog but we got it worked out in the long run!