“So, just what is the big deal,” he says to a friend after getting fourth place in a class of four, “if my dog’s tail resides an inch further down the croup than that of the other dogs in the ring? It is a handsome tail, it looks to me to be the right sort of tail, and it seems to suit him quite nicely.” And, believe it or not, he may very well be more accurate than he realizes.
One of the astounding things about AKC has always been its militant dedication to the most contradictory concepts. The examples are admittedly endless, but if you had to pick one, the Miniature Schnauzer is a good place to start.
John Marvin was possibly the finest historian ever to chronicle AKC doings, but he definitely tended to understate things. “Today the Miniature Schnauzer is the most popular member of the Terrier group. It was not always so for in the ‘30s and early ‘40s the breed had a difficult time to become recognized as a contender.” His brief 1964 profile in The Book of All Terriers omitted most aspects of the breed’s long, strange trip to success.
How well do you know your veterinarian and their staff? When you arrive, do you use their names and ask how they’ve been, or are you on a mission to check “visit the vet” off your to-do list? Do you treat staff like servants and the vet like an expensive necessity?
If you knew that your attitude and the way you treat the staff could save a life, would that make a difference to you?
We asked experienced AKC judges two questions about current issues affecting our sport. Here’s what they had to say…
The Questions: 1. What specifically do you like about the current judges’ application procedure? 2. What specifically would you like to see improved in the current application procedure?
The other day I settled down for lunch and clicked on the TV. Oh good, another episode of Adam Ruins Everything, the show where this guy tells you what you always thought was true isn’t. I briefly thought, “Wouldn’t it be good if Adam could set people straight about how animal rights zealots mislead animal lovers when it comes to dogs?” And it was just at that moment that I saw this episode was about “Adam Ruins Purebred Dogs.” If you want to see the episode you can Google that title on YouTube and find it. More than 8 million people already have, according to the YouTube stats.
Driving home the other evening, our car headlights illuminated a man walking a most glamourous looking dog. Marc slowed down and I gazed out of the window. It was a Rough Collie but, for Britain, one of a most unusual color.
The dog was pure white with tricolor markings on its head. It was quite stunning.
Some breeds are easier to survey to identify their experts’ priorities for evaluating their breeds. Easiest are those breeds with short coats, whose show photos have the dogs in full profile, and those with a great many breeder-judges to invite to participate in the project. The more challenging breeds are missing one to all of those conditions.
During my undergraduate years at the Philadelphia University from which I graduated, my minor was in English literature. Among the many courses I took to fulfill my requirements, one was a particular favorite, “The Victorians,” famous writers who were published during the latter part of the 19th century. Perhaps one of the more renowned and prolific of those writers was Oscar Wilde, an Irish born eccentric who highlighted the social hypocrisy of his time in his poetry, novels, and plays.
From a dogless childhood to breaking records in her breed, veterinary neurologist and AKC Canine Health Foundation Board member Dr. Mary O. Smith’s life has been fueled by her passion for animals – and a thirst for knowledge.
The American Kennel Club has added 27 fully recognized breeds since 2010, including the 2015 addition of both the Spanish Water Dog and Lagotto Romagnolo. The Sporting group expands again in January 2020 with the addition of their French cousin, the Barbet, an agile marsh retriever with an affable and sunny disposition.
