“Author Archive”
Stories written by AnthonyA
There’s a saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. It’s a common phrase that means it is challenging to teach something or someone something new if that person or animal has been doing things a certain way for so long that they’re too stubborn to learn how to do it differently. While that’s not exactly true of old dogs, it can be a bit more difficult and take more patience to teach an old dog something new. But it’s even more difficult and time consuming when the “old dog” is actually the dog’s owner or his professional trainer, Craig Klein, who isn’t old but like me is accustomed to training dogs a certain way, and the result was that both of us have had to learn a bunch of “new tricks.”
August 19th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” said Benjamin Franklin, in a letter he penned to Jean-Baptist Leroy in 1789. It has been my experience, more often than not, that when the “Grim Reaper” comes calling, we see that the tax man follows. It should be remembered that on the federal level and in the vast majority of states, dogs are considered livestock and may be taxed as such.
August 17th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
Late that hot, humid, Wisconsin July afternoon, the massive, powerful, Alaskan Malamute in full coat, was on the start line of the Fast CAT track. On signal, with his handler still dressed in glimmering show finery, those first few steps responded to the moving lure with the muscle, bone, and impressive working function required of a sled dog, transitioning rapidly into speed. Earlier that day, at the specialty, he was select dog from the Veterans class, with many exhibitors and spectators watching in a central location on the grounds. The show catalog carefully noted his full AKC name, titles and proud owners’ names. When he responded to the lure, there was no means to communicate to other exhibitors and spectators that this strong example of his breed could do more than look pretty. At the Fast CAT track, hidden on the back far edge of the show grounds, with no spectators, his name and titles were anonymous. His magnificent run went otherwise unnoticed.
August 17th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
Traditional research has always been considered the purview of the university and the research laboratory. This belief has effectively ruled out other kinds of good science and took away the motivation of others to become involved. However, following the events of 9/11, Brussels, Boston, Las Vegas, New York and London, the need to move the psychological machinery of research in a new direction became a compelling issue.
August 15th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
“Pavlov’s Dog” is a catchphrase so deeply embedded in popular culture that it long ago surpassed any direct reference to dogs. And guess what…that’s exactly what good old Ivan Pavlov had in mind when he commenced his oddball experiments back in the 1880s in Russia.
August 14th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
Stay at home, stay at home…um, we’re dog show folk, we don’t do stay at home. Not well, at least. So maybe you’ve taken the opportunity to breed that litter. Or two. Maybe you’ve done the virtual Trick Dog thing–every last level. With every last dog. And maybe you’ve got your dogs’ virtual Rally titles. And while I suppose you could take up dock diving or tracking or some other canine sport, maybe you’re not so thrilled about running around in the heat. If only there were more dog things you could do online…
August 13th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
There has always been a connection between dog show folks and food! Why do I say that you ask? Well, for the last sixty years that I and my family have been involved in our special interest of dogs and dog shows, there has consistently been a discussion of food and eating well amongst the participants. Early on, during the novice days of match shows, there was always a picnic lunch to enjoy during the day, usually in the company of the other exhibitors and their young dogs and families.
August 13th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
When it comes to Christmas, I am the Grinch personified. But one thing that always helps me through the tedium of the holidays is the inevitable re-runs of classic movies. My favorites are those from the British film-making heyday of the ‘50s, ‘60’s and early ‘70s. And one of those festive stalwarts is, of course, the 1968 musical adaptation of Charles Dickens classic tale, Oliver!
August 11th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
When a couple of good friends recently asked if I would like to take a drive up to see a litter of beagle pups, I couldn’t resist. Beagle pups are the cutest things in the world and I was quite interested in this particular breeding. Most important, it seemed like eons ago that I had actually seen other people’s dogs and talked dogs with a group of breeders.
August 10th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
As more shows are scheduled to happen in the months ahead, judges are preparing to return to the ring, too. Obviously, there will be many changes and new procedures to follow. How will judges adapt to the “new normal?” What are their thoughts, concerns, and expectations? This month’s panel of judges shares how they are preparing for their upcoming assignments. Understand what they are feeling and why. You may have had the same opinions, too.
August 10th, 2020 | Posted in Current Articles,Featured | Read More »
