The Belgian Laekenois
The Laekenois, which entered Miscellaneous in 2011, has become our 196th recognized breed.
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Night Shows…THE FUTURE OF SUMMER DOG SHOWS?
I have been actively handling dogs for 16 years, and for the last 3½ months I, amongst others, have not been able to work at or do what we love. Due to the fear of the CoVid-19, a lot of shows have been canceled or rescheduled for future dates which has caused so many in our sport significant hardship.
It’s Easy to be Against… What are You For?
When this year began, what were your plans for it? Did you plan to lose weight? Get in shape? Finish your promising youngsters? Get your special into the Top 20?
Those are things you were for–ideas for improvement, plans for progress in life and in dog sports.
When this year began, no one could have predicted what actually happened, and how it would impact your plans. How have you handled the series of monkey wrenches hurled into your life?
Real #Winning – Sportsmanship and Social Media
When I first created my Facebook profile as a young teenager, “social media” was still a new concept at that time and I was excited to finally explore all its potential. Naturally, my dogs soon dominated my Facebook as well as Instagram, Twitter, Snap Chat, etc. I am not alone in this phenomenon. As soon as the internet spits out a new social media platform, dog people have a knack for turning it to their benefit. In fact, many kennel clubs, breeders and handlers are more likely to use social media to promote themselves versus traditional websites or printed materials. Why? Social media panders to a wider audience along with a more specific audience depending upon the filters in place. Also, once a post is made, it is immediately viewable by anyone with access.
Breed Priorities – The Beauceron
The Beauceron is the largest French herding breed and is closely related to the Briard. Recognized by AKC in 2007, it currently ranks 141st (as of 2017 statistics) among AKC’s 190 breeds. The Beauceron is a very smart, willing, and versatile breed and has been used for military and police work as well as protection and herding. With a strong personality, the breed is better suited to experienced dog owners.
How Many Kinds of Dogs are There?
A few weeks ago, a group of friends of mine were sitting in my living room ragging on me about the amount of time (and money) I devote to training, hunting, showing, trialing and just plain caring for and loving my dog. One of them, clearly a non-dog person, pointed to Bo’s toy box and said, “How much do you think you’ve spent just on toys for him? Multiply that by all the dogs in this country and you have an idea of how much people spend on just one aspect of dog ownership. You could arm a fair-sized nation on American dog toy expenditures alone. How many dog owners do you think there are worldwide? For that matter, how many kinds of dogs are there in the world?”
Dogs of North America
America is the land of opportunity and it’s never been limited to humans. A surprising number of obsolete Old World breeds regained their momentum on these shores. Primarily, this occurred within the context of the East Coast show scene that dominated America’s purebred paradigm for over a century.
Socialization in Lockdown Mode
Especially in 2020, when COVID-19 has many people exceptionally worried about what their future might hold, a puppy is the ultimate vote for optimism. Is it one you made this spring? How are you doing with socialization during social distancing and limited gatherings? Most people have extra time for training and socialization, just at a time when both are proving to be difficult.
Creating Data Gold for Breeders and Beyond
Every dog registry in the world has one thing in common: they enter, store, and retrieve data. In fact, they are IT and customer service companies at their core. Their biggest assets are the names of dogs, lots of names of dogs. Their inventory is words and numbers. Some of those words and numbers could be of great use to breeders while simultaneously creating revenue for AKC – if used far more creatively than it is today.
The Anatomy of Movement – Chapter 1
Many of the breed standards as well as other dog literature has inadvertently made the assumption that dogs are so alike that what is good or correct for one is necessarily so for another.
