Like it or not, football season is upon us. Here in New England (humbly known as “Titletown”) it’s a very serious endeavor, and it’s common to see handlers sporting Patriot’s jerseys under their suit jackets on Super Bowl Sunday. At least during the years the Patriots are in it. Which is most of them. (Sorry, not sorry).
Has he been tested for DM?” Degenerative Myleopathy testing is the newest “gotta-have” DNA test in the dog world. And it’s the perfect example of genetic testing gone wrong.
Cat videos…I index that stuff in the “Unfortunate Addiction” category, and don’t intend to explore the rest of it here. Anyway, whether or not you care, you were abundantly notified about the sad demise of Grumpy Cat on May 14, 2019. She (and this cat was a SHE), formally named Tardar Sauce, succumbed to complications from a urinary tract infection.
We asked experienced AKC judges two questions about current issues affecting our sport.
1. Describe how judging a large entry at a specialty is different than judging at an all breed show.
2. Explain how you make your “cuts” when you judge large entry specialties.
Here’s what they had to say…
Have you ever tried to guess what someone is thinking? Psychology, positive psychology and psychiatry are all in the business of studying what people are thinking, and scientists are in the business of studying how our brains work when we’re thinking. As an author and speaker who works mainly with veterinarians and their staff to improve communication and create a sense of wellbeing in their hospitals, I’ve spent years studying both aspects of the thought process, and the most important thing I’ve learned is…
The Shih Tzu (meaning Lion Dog) began in Tibet and became a treasured dog of royalty in China. Some suggest it may have been the product of other Chinese/Tibetan breeds such as the Lhasa Apso and the Pekingese. The breed arrived in the United States from Europe in the mid-twentieth century. It currently ranks 20th in AKC registrations.
Back in the early days of television, before pay-per-view, one of the more popular programs was the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports also known as the Friday Night Fights. For many of the title fights, Arthur Mercante was the third man in the ring as the referee and, in those days, the referee always wore a black bow tie. On way too many occasions, it seemed like I should have been wearing that same black bow tie because for some strange reason, throughout my life as a hunter, dog owner and dog trainer, I’ve been nearby when two dogs have decided to try tearing each other limb from limb. Males and females alike are all too frequently more than willing to settle disputes whether it be over territory, food, toys or, in the case of sporting breeds, birds, with a frenzy of teeth.
A year ago we had a vendor selling hemp products at our show. It was met with some horror by our older members. Last week we went to another show. They had two hemp vendors, and they seemed to be doing a bang-up business. In fact, their customers included one of our older members!
Even though we’ve been hanging out with them for thousands of years, there’s plenty we don’t know about how or why dogs took up residence in our world. These days, much of that discussion is steamrolled by AR rhetoric about animal enslavement. In spite of that distraction, research continues to unearth astounding clues about this long, intimate partnership.
Although dogs have been our companions for millennia, we have to guess about what prehistoric dogs looked like exactly. One thing we do know for sure, though, is the work they did. They followed the prey, drove the flocks and herds, guarded livestock, and defended their owners’ property.
