The Edison, New Jersey shows have been a local favorite for years. The all-breed centerpiece of the weekend–New Brunswick on Friday and Saturday, March 24-25, and Bronx on Sunday the 26th–drew reasonably good entries of 1395 on Friday, 1696 on Saturday and 1557 on Sunday. Although entries aren’t what they used to be, it’s safe to say that things could be much worse.
In the medieval and Renaissance eras, a court jester or fool was frequently employed by noblemen or the monarchy to entertain the nobility and the royal household as well as their guests. Most of the entertainment was performed in a comic style with a significant part of it being physical comedy–slapstick, mime, stunts, funny faces and clowning. The jesters had the right to talk and mock without fear of punishment and they wore symbols, such as the cap and bells, acknowledging this right. Many court jesters possessed a natural talent for this work and were said to be born wearing the cap and bells. Some dogs, it seems, were also either born to be jesters or have made comedy an important aspect of their life’s work. In other words, a significant part of their time has been spent wearing the jester’s cap and bells.
Heartworm is again on the rise, according to statistics from the America Heartworm Associations (Heartworm Incidence Maps – American Heartworm Society). Heartworms can be deadly. Unfortunately, traditional heartworm treatment is expensive, painful and difficult. In recent years some veterinarians have elected to use an off-label treatment that appears to be safe and effective while also less painful, less expensive and less difficult. Now a new study confirms that this treatment is up to 90% effective in naturally infected dogs.
Let’s be honest, fashionistas. Our highlight of the Westminster Experience is seeing what everyone is wearing. The most sought after fashion statements are the reveals as each group judge, and finally, the Best In Show judge steps onto the green carpet prior their introduction to the audience. I know exactly what you are doing in that moment. Phones in hand, Google Lens at the ready, who will be the first to have the all important fashion stats: designer, price, availability? We know what is important!
Maybe you’re new to showing or maybe you’ve had show dogs for decades. Wherever you are in your conformation life stage, you can end up with a dog that drips in type, moves like a dream, stacks like a Lecourtier bronze and won’t show any of that off in the breed ring. Read this article for ideas you can use to help your gorgeous dog become a show dog. You might even want to save this issue of CC for reference, in case you need it in the future.
As we know, the foundational strains of our breeds originally developed in response to prevailing conditions. Specialized selection, which added the finishing touches, came much later. Modern breed development built on the natural groundwork of the dog’s genetic plasticity. Blistering hot, arid, frigid or wet, adaptation truly became the canine key to survival. Where other species merely thrived or failed in response to changing conditions, dogs systematically tailored their physiology to conquer their environmental demands. That has resulted in everything from hairless dogs impervious to heat to Nordic breeds ideally adapted to arctic zones. It also explains the globally pervasive presence of domestic dogs.
In the middle of the night, my telephone rings and instantly my racing heart brings me from slumber to full-attention. Fumbling, I find the phone and learn that a dear, elderly, dog friend is dying and I must come at once to collect the dogs.
Who knew? For months there were so many questions surrounding the move of the 147th Westminster Kennel Club annual dog show to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York. “Flushing, New York? Where in the world is that,” so many inquired. Well, sitting right near LaGuardia Airport, and Citi Field–home of the New York Mets baseball team in the boro of Queens–the center is in a highly trafficked area where commuters travel through to get to and from Manhattan to the West and Long Island to the East. How was this ever going to work? Let me say, unequivocally, it worked perfectly.
Did you know…virtually everyone in the dog sport, even those famous ones in the history books for one reason or another, started exactly where you started. Somewhere, somehow, they wanted a purebred dog and sought to find one. Most didn’t have a show dog in mind at first, and most likely their first purebred dog didn’t cut it as a show dog. Those of us that dipped a toe in the pond were quick to find that out. There were big fish in ‘Dem Der Waters’…and some of them looked like sharks with really, really sharp teeth to those of us in the uncharted waters we waded into.
I’ve bred quite a few litters in my time (Boston Terriers, Miniature Smooth Dachshunds and Standard Smooth Dachshunds) and the one thing that’s always really struck me was the difference in behaviors of the various puppies produced.
