When trying to understand the ever increasing shift in what it takes to win at American dog shows, I keep coming back to the same bunch of questions. If dog shows are about evaluating breeding stock, why must a dog “nail the free stack” from 10 feet away, regardless of the breed? Why must a dog lead it’s handler by 10 feet going around the ring, regardless of the breed? In breeds where markings do not matter, why do they?
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.
Yes, Dogs are our life, but we all have some sort of a side passion. A little something, we do to otherwise occupy our minds. I have always been amazed by the number of Motor Heads in the dog world.
Will Alexander Drops Some Knowledge About What’s Happening in the Sport of Dogs. It’s Deep… It’s Humorous… It’s Provocative… It’s Will Unfiltered! This week Will gives us Top 10 Ways to Choose Your Puppy. Click here to watch on Canine Chronicle TV!
Deb Cooper chats with Houston World Series of Dog Shows Cluster Chair Tom Pincus about the upcoming cluster that closes July 7th. Click here to watch on Canine Chronicle TV!
What’s changing at Morris & Essex this year? Aside from the date, not much—and that’s just how club President and Show Chairman Wayne Ferguson wants it. The dog show world is still far from normal—but it’s gratifying to enter our favorite shows once again, even with the new safety precautions.
Why did this take so long? Yesterday the CDC announced that as of July 14 it will ban the importation of dogs from 100 different countries. No more tweaks to existing regulations. No more special committees or task forces to investigate the problem. No, this time it’s for real. And you gotta admit that the problem is overdue for some drastic action.
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is one of four breeds from Switzerland sharing a black base coat with white and red markings. The Bernese Mountain Dog, recognized by AKC in 1937, is the only one with a longer coat. The smaller Entlebucher Mountain Dog, the only one in the herding group, was recognized in 2011. The next larger Appenzeller Sennenhund has been in the AKC Foundation Stock Service since 2007. In FCI, all four breeds’ names include the word “Sennenhund” (instead of Mountain Dog) which refers to people called Senn who were Swiss alpine herdsmen and dairymen.
I think whenever someone considers buying a dog of any specific breed, it is vitally important to research exactly where that breed originated, why it was bred, and also to understand the people that held it so dear.
