Solitaire

Gold Coasts Solitaire, CGC

(UKC Grand Ch. Gibson's Greathouse Sir Yogi, CGC, TDI

X UKC Ch. Gold Coasts DeVine Lorena )

Solitaire (Tara) arrived March 9, 2001 from Lisa Nicolello of Gold Coast Mastiffs in Jupiter, Florida (Gold Coast was also the home of Amanda). She is a second generation BARF puppy and her parents are both MCOA Gold Health Award recipients as well as UKC Champions.

We have high hopes for this pup, who should have the temperament, structure and intelligence so typical of the Gold Coast dogs. We will be competing in a variety of areas -- conformation, obedience, agility, rally, carting, freestyle, etc.. Watch for her in the ring!

Solitaire earned her CGC certificate at 8 months of age. Training is progressing well, with work in Novice obedience, agility and freestyle. While we are perfecting the exercises for Novice, we are also teaching variety by training various different exercises from Open and Utility.

News!!
	All areas of training are going nicely. Our first obedience trial will be in February 2004. We are also hopeful that we will have the skills necessary (Tara's and mine!) to compete in agility in the Fall.

We attended a show in the cooler regions of Flagstaff, Arizona (June 2003). It was a wonderful break from the 100 plus degree heat of Phoenix. Left is Tara waiting ringside to show on Saturday and right is Tara relaxing in the van before heading home.


Tara (at 9-1/2 months) on our recent vacation in the White Mountains (Greer, Arizona). We saw all manner of wildlife — deer, elk, antelope, squirrel, skunk (not too close) and others. She was extremely frisky in the brisk mountain air (35-40°).	UKC Grand Ch. Gibson's Greathouse Sir Yogi (Tara's sire) shown at an AKC show taking a 4-pt major in Florida on December 2, 2001. He had taken a 3-pt major the previous day to give him both majors for his AKC Championship and a total of seven points in one weekend. Congrats Daddy!! Yogi is also ranked #1 Mastiff in UKC's Top Ten Breed standings. Yogi is also the first Mastiff to earn a Grand Champion title.
This comparison of father-daughter gives us a good idea of where Tara will be in the future. However, we were very saddened to learn that Yogi passed away recently from heat stroke. We are watching his daughter very closely as she has the same propensity to overheat that he did and we also live in a high-heat climate (Arizona).

More pictures as we continue to add activities to her repertoire. She has now leveled out at about 160# and 30". For previous pictures of Tara as she has grown, click the button below.