Before the era of motor vehicles, if you were a farmer who had no larger draft animals, you used big farm dogs to haul tools across the farm and goods to and from market. In Europe, breeds such as Bernese Mountain Dogs and Rottweilers specialized in draft work while also serving other functions, while Canadians used their mighty Newfoundlands. In the Old Times, the tribes of the American Great Plains often used dogs to haul their goods in travois.
Part 3 – Exercising & Bathing Dogs for Trip Click here to watch on Canine Chronicle TV!
Part 2 – Packing the Van Click here to watch on Canine Chronicle TV!
The Black and Tan Coonhound was the first coonhound breed recognized by AKC in 1945; it had been recognized by the United Kennel Club earlier. The Black and Tan Coonhound, like the other coonhound breeds recognized by AKC, was developed in the United States from foxhounds and other European hounds, including the Bloodhound and Talbot Hound assumed to be in the Black and Tan’s history. Four of the other coonhounds – the Bluetick, the Redbone, the American English, and the Treeing Walker – were developed using primarily colonial foxhounds. The Plott evolved from the German Hanover hounds brought here by the Plott family who used them with other local breeds to produce their breed.
It looks like a simple question this month. Read and see if you agree. The responses it evokes are powerful, heartfelt, personal, and very telling. For judges, an assignment at Westminster comes with the respect we all have for the second most continuous sporting event in the United States. The words of this month’s contributors speak to the seriousness and joy of adjudication at Westminster, a show like no other.
Part 1 – Pack light, but be prepared Click here to watch on Canine Chronicle TV!
So, you probably heard the news by now, the Hotel Pennsylvania is on the chopping block. Before you launch into a chorus of “good riddance and not a minute too soon” just remember the immortal words of Joni Mitchell: You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.
Until 1998 when Peter Green won his fourth Best In Show at Westminster, Percy Roberts held the record for most Best In Show wins there. Roberts’ first big win at the Garden came in 1926 with the Wire Fox Terrier Ch. Signal Circuit of Halleston, followed by the Sealyham Terrier bitch Ch. Pinegrade Perfection, owned by Frederic Brown of New York, in 1927. His next two Bests at the Garden were with Wires, in 1934 with Ch. Flornell Spicy Bit of Halleston and in 1937 with Ch. Flornell Spicypiece of Halleston.
The timing may be a bit off, but the frenzy that surrounds Westminster is right on schedule. What are the COVID rules and regulations? Which hotels will allow dogs? Will there be a place close by to change clothes if they get sweaty or dirty or, more importantly, for the group (please, please, please)? Is there a set-up to wash and groom the dogs at the show grounds? How do we get onto the site itself? On and on it goes, questions which require an answer–an accurate one.
A newly released book, Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment, by Nobel winning author Daniel Kahneman, is a terrific read that speaks to human judgement inconsistencies that are impacted by what the author calls “noise.” He isn’t talking about audio noise. Instead, he means the silent “noise” in our brain, which is a product of external factors and human nature that greatly impact “unwanted variability in judgments.” I can’t but wonder how much this kind of noise affects the decisions of dog show judges, subconscioulsy or not.
