It all began with a 10 year-old boy practicing handling techniques in his family’s yard after school. Most junior handlers probably would have focused on their own skills – taking even strides, mastering the smooth transfer of the lead from hand to hand. For Charles “Corky” Vroom, the practice sessions had a deeper purpose. He wanted to understand the dogs – their structure, how they moved, and how their minds worked.
On that particular day, in the not-too-distant past, there were several good quality dogs in competition but it was perfectly obvious to any knowledgeable onlooker reasonably familiar with the breed being judged that there was one exhibit which stood out, head and shoulders, so to speak, above the rest. It was clearly the best in terms of make, shape, movement and ‘type’. But yet it failed to go Winners and its breeder-owner-handler had to settle for the Reserve position.
“Although she came from a background in this sport, it was obvious from the start that Janie’s enthusiasm and dedication was off the charts. Even then, she demonstrated an exceptional ability to focus on the big picture and apply her talents, first and foremost an exceptionally good eye for dogs.”
May it please the court. How many times after an abortive run or go in some dog sport have you heard someone say or possibly said yourself, “Wow, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen him/her do that” or ‘Well, that’s a new one.” Animal behaviorists contend that dogs are not capable of complex thoughts such as determining that they’re at a test or a trial, and they can get by with goofing off or playing the clown. They say when dogs are naughty, it’s because something has happened to upset them or they feel ignored. They further state that when a dog acts up, they aren’t doing whatever they’re doing in the hope of getting a reaction from you or from the gallery.
As I was getting in the zone this morning, getting my material together for the next CC column, I received an email from my old friend Terry Hundt. She reported the sad news of the passing of our mutual friend Natalie Stebbins. Now, many of you present day folks may ask, just who was Natalie Stebbins? Well, let me tell you who she was! In the “glory days” of dog shows in the northeast, Natalie was one of the strong, clever and quietly powerful forces behind some of the top winners of the time.
German Wirehaired Pointers were developed in Germany in the late 1800s. It is a rugged, versatile hunting dog that can work in different terrains. This medium sized breed is known for his distinctive protective wire coat with facial furnishings.
Recently some individuals were asked what they thought of the effect, if any, that the AKC Code of Sportsmanship is having upon how members of the Fancy conduct themselves and interact with each other nowadays. Quite obviously the intent was to find out, or get some idea, as to whether or not it is generally felt that a positive impact has been generated by its adoption. The overall tenor of the responses was, interestingly and perhaps not unsurprisingly, rather negative with opinions expressed that, in all likelihood, this has made very little difference in how people behave.
As many sporting, hound, terrier and even a few Poodle owners decide they owe it to their dogs to give them the opportunity to do what the breeds were intended to do, hunt, the odds increase that someone in their circle of friends and acquaintances will regard the dog owners as rating somewhere below child molesters and axe murders. And, the odds are also good that the dog owners will find themselves in hostile conversations with anti-hunters and quite possibly awkward ones with non-hunters. So, you need to have some idea of how to deal with these folks.
The dog walking routine has cycled through countless fads and stages. And I’ve done it long enough to observe plenty of this unfolding drama. Back in prehistoric times, I was the lone dog walker pounding the pavement.
The English Springer Spaniel evolved from land spaniels developed in England, differentiated initially by behavior (springing) and size (bigger). It is the most popular sporting spaniel according to AKC’s 2014 registration statistics. The breed is very competitive in the sporting group, with multiple English Springers often ranked among the top twenty sporting dogs.
