By Deborah Wood It’s the most famous story in the history of dog shows. It was Westminster in 1969. New York was in the grip of a horrific snowstorm. The streets had grown icy as the weather had gotten colder. Walter Goodman was stepping carefully through the ice and snow outside the brand new Madison [...]
From the archives of The Canine Chronicle, March, 2012 By Lee Canalizo Forty years ago we had in our dog show presence a veritable example of Clifton Odets “Golden Boy”. His name was Bobby Barlow. He was a handsome, talented, freckled-faced young man who looked somewhat like a young Robert Redford. Well, maybe not quite [...]
“A judge new to any breed is unable to recognize that the current winners may be of a far different type than those of another era. . . . Frequently today we hear exhibitors and judges say a certain dog is the greatest living example of that breed. Unfortunately, this dog may be very showy and sound but is not, in reality, the true type of this breed as were the winners of 20 or 30 years ago.
Many breeds today have lost their true type. . . We must realize that true type is the quintessence of any breed. A healthy farm dog trotting down a country lane has all the attributes that are found in most standards of most breeds – all it lacks is type!”
Here’s how pets can help if you’re WFH or heading back to an office. Companion animals are wonderful stress-buffers. And with millions of Americans working from home during COVID-19, it’s well-documented that pets are helpful under times of stress reports the American Heart Association. June is the perfect time to think about the psychological benefits [...]
Once upon a time in the Northeast, there was a group of dog show ladies, the best of friends, who happened to call themselves the “ANJELS”. No, they were not like Charlie’s Angels, not so young or tall and certainly not crime fighters! They were all very involved in the dog world, mostly as judges or wives of judges.
The group (in ANJELS order) was comprised of Angela Popura, the “A”, Natalie Stebbins, the “N”, Jean Fournier, the “J”, Estelle Cohen, the “E”, I was the “L” and Sheila Balch was the “S”!
I am so proud of the those in the sport of purebred dogs! The hard work, adaptability, and respect for fellow exhibitors demonstrated over the past several days is heartwarming! I am beyond excited to be writing to you this week about the first shows that occurred this past weekend and into the first part of this [...]
Many of the keenest minds whose opinions you prize will freely admit much of what they learned (and more importantly…carry into their judgments on a regular basis) were gifts from this great sportswoman. Bea started in dogs in the early 1930s with her “Coastwise” Newfoundlands. She also had success in other breeds which included German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Shetland Sheepdogs, and both Sealyham and Dandie Dinmont Terriers. When I say “success” in these chosen breeds, I say it as humbly as Bea would have; she won National Specialties in each of those breeds over her years of her involvement.
It will come as no surprise that I choose to write about Sunny Shay. It might be more of a surprise that she wasn’t the first one I wrote about…she undoubtedly has to be the most influential person to my life in the sport, as this was the start of a lifelong obsession.
We’ve all done it, myself included. Back in the mid-to-late seventies I placed a handsome young dog with a family willing to have him shown. In fact, the husband was open to the idea of handling the dog himself. The pup had a rather strong personality and I soon found myself regretting the placement. I became acutely aware that the pup was getting away with murder, the owners giggling over his stubborn and rather headstrong demeanor.
