August 2012 By Lee Canalizo I have no clue as to why I was inspired to write about Carol Hollands. Someone or something must have made me think of her…and that means many of my readers would probably enjoy doing the same. If you didn’t know Carol personally or professionally, I urge you to read [...]
by Ria Hörter Most dog breeds were developed after hundreds of years of evolution and lengthy selection by breeders. However, some breeds owe their existence to just one person, whose name they bear. Readers of The Canine Chronicle have already met Louis Dobermann and his Dobermann, John Russell and his Russell Terrier, and the Dukes [...]
Text and Illustrations by Ria Hörter Augustus Elliot (also Eliot, Elliott and Eliott) Fuller (1777-1857) was an extremely rich British landowner who lived in Sussex, Wales and London, and owned property in Jamaica. Around 1795 he began to develop a line of working spaniels, bred for hunting in the heavy cover and clay soil [...]
Just as I sat down to write this month’s column word reached me that Denise (Denny) Kodner had died. To many reading this it will give a tug at the heart because Denny was one of “us”.
Morris & Essex is different – it’s dedicated to Geraldine R. Dodge’s memory and to dog shows as they should be. There were relatively few “non-dog” spectators at Colonial Park in Somerset, New Jersey for its third revival on October 7. It was a Thursday and the outdoor show only happens every five years. The atmosphere was different, too – in a way that is hard to describe. It felt like a celebration of purebred dogs and dog shows – created as a gift to the fancy. It was a day to remember just why we breed and show purebred dogs.
Situated in the farthest southwest corner of Europe, Portugal borders Spain, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The country has eight national breeds; all of them were, or still are, used for work such as herding, guarding and driving cattle, and hauling in nets for the fishermen. Some of them are companion dogs as well. The names of these native breeds all derived from their geographical origin. It can be a chain of mountains (Estrela Mountain Dog), an island (Cão de Fila de São Miguel) or a village (Cão de Castro Laboreiro).
Shepherd fanciers are a different breed of cat. We know we have the greatest breed of dog in the world and generally we prefer specialties to all-breed shows. Specialties are where we find the tough competition—where the rubber meets the road. German Shepherds certainly have made their mark at all-breed shows though.
The Pekingese Club of America ended 2009 on a high note as we celebrated our 100th year with the Regional and National specialties in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Wyndham airport hotel. The PCA was formed in 1909 in New York City by a group of socialites who appointed JP Morgan as the first honorary President. We’ve come a long way from the days when our National was a posh society event in the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel on Central Park South in Manhattan, but this parent club still holds its privileged past in high regard.
It is important to teach younger people, if they are truly interested. I do my best to do this and so do many others. Young people cannot or should not be forced to learn about our sport. There are a few young people who truly want to learn. They will be the backbone of our sport in the coming decades. It is important for young people to have the talent to look at a dog and evaluate them in their mind with the picture of what this breed should look like, and not be afraid to discuss this with experts in this breed.
