Will Alexander Drops Some Knowledge About What’s Happening in the Sport of Dogs. It’s Deep… It’s Humorous… It’s Provocative… It’s Will Unfiltered! Will Alexander has an in-depth conversation with George Alston. Click here to watch on Canine Chronicle TV!
Click here to read the complete article 10 – March, 2024 Click here to read the complete article 10 – March, 2024
Group and Best In Show Judges Talk About Their Choices in Their Own Words…
Click here to read the complete article 250 – February, 2024 Click here to read the complete article 250 – February, 2024
When you watch a great show dog-handler team, what do you see?
Have you ever noticed how happy most dogs seem to be when they are working? Well, that’s a really silly question, come to think of it. Of course you’ve seen how happy your dogs are when they’re doing a job they love or you wouldn’t be doing it with them. This holds true even if that job is just sitting on someone’s lap as was the case with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel belonging to a lady I interviewed.
The end of the dog show calendar for 2023, like it always does, features a treasure, The Star of Bethlehem Cluster. This gem is known to many of its loyal fans as the BEST cluster of the year. It features a great show facility that is easy to reach from good highways and small and large airports. Ask the exhibitors and judges who arrive at the Lehigh Valley Airport. It’s 15 minutes from the venue, The Agri Plex at the Allentown Fairgrounds. On the very same site is The Allentown Farmers Market that features a neverending array of culinary delights. Everyone flocks into the market each day to eat there or bring food to the show. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, desserts, and pretzels are avail-able–among so much more. Name it and you can probably find it and eat it.
Yes, the current president’s dog is a biter. Every day the news brings a brand new political scandal of some type. Remember when politicians were boring? Yeah, that idea seems pretty nice nowadays. Anyway, this news was not boring. Apparently, a FOI request yielded a string of biting incidents involving the presidential German Shepherd, Commander. You might recall that Biden’s other German Shepherd, Major, was also known for a less than personable approach to White House life.
Like all lifelong students, I have had many mentors. I first learned about straight fronts when I was eleven and a crusty old breeder of German Shorthaired Pointers told me that while yes, my dog was beautiful to the eye, he was terribly, straight fronted. Unfortunately, my early mentor must have thought I understood her meaning but I did not. Why, I thought, was his beautifully boned front legs – stick straight from elbow to paw – considered a flaw? It wasn’t until much later I learned that while words are helpful, they are not enough.
Every breeder wants their puppies to have ears like the ones described in their breed’s standard. They want this because they know that a dog’s ears influence their overall appearance–not just in size, but in position and shape–and more often than not, they produce the characteristic look that represents the recognizable traits of their breed.
