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What can I tell you? It was a dog club meeting. Blah, blah, blah… As the old saying goes, everyone has an opinion and most of them… well never mind. So we were discussing the Welcome Reception for the judges ad nauseam; the room, the food, the wine, the signage, the decorations, the size of the tables. Finally, I looked at a couple of the biggest complainers and said what I believe (I always tell the truth because that is the way my Mother raised me). “I don’t mean to be rude, but it is not about you. It’s not about the show chair, the photographer, the super or any of the committee members. It’s about the judges. It is a Welcome Event for them.” The reply left me speechless.
August 13th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Editorial,Featured | Read More »
Stay at home, stay at home…um, we’re dog show folk, we don’t do stay at home. Not well, at least. So maybe you’ve taken the opportunity to breed that litter. Or two. Maybe you’ve done the virtual Trick Dog thing–every last level. With every last dog. And maybe you’ve got your dogs’ virtual Rally titles. And while I suppose you could take up dock diving or tracking or some other canine sport, maybe you’re not so thrilled about running around in the heat. If only there were more dog things you could do online…
August 13th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
There has always been a connection between dog show folks and food! Why do I say that you ask? Well, for the last sixty years that I and my family have been involved in our special interest of dogs and dog shows, there has consistently been a discussion of food and eating well amongst the participants. Early on, during the novice days of match shows, there was always a picnic lunch to enjoy during the day, usually in the company of the other exhibitors and their young dogs and families.
August 13th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
When it comes to Christmas, I am the Grinch personified. But one thing that always helps me through the tedium of the holidays is the inevitable re-runs of classic movies. My favorites are those from the British film-making heyday of the ‘50s, ‘60’s and early ‘70s. And one of those festive stalwarts is, of course, the 1968 musical adaptation of Charles Dickens classic tale, Oliver!
August 11th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
When a couple of good friends recently asked if I would like to take a drive up to see a litter of beagle pups, I couldn’t resist. Beagle pups are the cutest things in the world and I was quite interested in this particular breeding. Most important, it seemed like eons ago that I had actually seen other people’s dogs and talked dogs with a group of breeders.
August 10th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
As more shows are scheduled to happen in the months ahead, judges are preparing to return to the ring, too. Obviously, there will be many changes and new procedures to follow. How will judges adapt to the “new normal?” What are their thoughts, concerns, and expectations? This month’s panel of judges shares how they are preparing for their upcoming assignments. Understand what they are feeling and why. You may have had the same opinions, too.
August 10th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
There is no better way to raise our collective hackles than to use the word “doodle” in a sentence. With fair warning, I’ll be doing exactly that. Sorry. Someone has to do it. Labradoodles and goldendoodles are everywhere with no end in sight. We can either curse them or learn something from them. Personally, I chose to do both.
August 9th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
A few weeks ago, a guy I know called, more or less out of the blue, to ask if I might be free for lunch that week. I said, “It’s possible.” and added, since the guy is a CPA, “What do you have in mind?” He said he wanted to talk with me about getting a hunting dog because he knew I’d bred, trained and hunted with both retrievers and pointing breeds for more years than I care to admit. He then added the magic words, “I’m buying.” That sealed the deal for two reasons: First, it would be a violation of the journalists’ credo to turn down a free lunch. Secondly, I’ve known this particular CPA for a number of years and I can count the number of times I’ve seen him pick up a check for any meal on the fingers of one hand. To describe him as “frugal” would require a complete redefinition of the word. So, it was with both some amusement and a considerable amount of bemusement that I headed into the lunch meeting, knowing as I did that over the years, he had seemed perfectly content to hunt over other people’s dogs thus sparing himself the expense of actually keeping one.
August 9th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Editorial,Featured | Read More »
Following a trail certainly applies to breeds in FCI Group 6 – Scenthounds, Leash (scent) Hounds and Related Breeds – that possess a great passion for game and rely on their keen noses and sense of detection.
In Europe, different names are used for scent hounds, such as chien courant (France), Bracke (Germany, Austria), Laufhund (Switzerland) and brak (Netherlands).
Various old European hound breeds share the same history as old French hounds or other breeds that have vanished: they became extinct or merged into one of today’s breeds.
August 9th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Editorial,Featured | Read More »
Oh, how I remember Jimmy Trullinger sitting with me during Best In Show at Westminster when a dog with a missing piece of this anatomy (the ear) was awarded the highest prize. Yikes! He was most upset and equally verbal in his dissatisfaction of that selection. The old guard was never timid when they felt strongly about something.
August 8th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Dog Show History,Featured,Remembering Our Past? | Read More »
