History is full of examples that demonstrate the importance of early life. Most focused on the kinds of experiences thought to affect early behavior and influence later development. The first year of life for a canine can be divided into three important time sensitive periods that overlap each other.
They’ve experimented with different breeds: English Springers, German Shorthairs, and German Shepherds, to name a few. In some cases, the breeds simply couldn’t acclimate to the African climate or work effectively in intense heat. Far more often, the handlers were the main problem. Few had any experience with dogs, and none at all with highly-trained detection dogs.
As a rule, dog people confront things head on without recourse to fantasy or rationalization. That overriding, collective personality trait is therefore difficult to reconcile with our secret vice– an enduring fascination with supernatural dog stories.
One of the things that I noticed during the 15 or so years that I judged all three types of AKC hunt tests was that dogs seem to have perfect timing for when they royally mess things up. Things they’ve never done in training suddenly pop up, frequently in the most spectacular fashion, when the money’s on the line in a test. This seems to be especially true if dog and handler are within one orange ribbon of a title.
A hot topic these past few months, with the long awaited return of dog shows occurring, has been the judging panels. Why are many of the same judges appearing consistently at the few shows available for exhibitors? With more shows open for entries now, what will be the effects of these repetitions? Has the time come to look at the pros and cons of the suspension–due to COVID–of the 30 day/200 miles between assignments for judges? Read through what our panel of judges has to say on these issues and more. You will find their opinions worthy of serious consideration.
Sharon Abmeyer, beloved breeder of Welsh Terriers and distinguished member, former interim president, and most recently, chair of hospitality for The Welsh Terrier Club of America, passed suddenly, but peacefully, in her home on Saturday, October 17, 2020.
Year by year, the Bulldog has become more popular, enchanting peo- ple with his unique appearance and equable and kind disposition. As of 2016, the Bulldog ranks fourth overall in AKC registrations in the United States, exceeded only by the Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd Dog, and Golden Retriever.
The world is justifiably fascinated with those perfect women who do it all, miraculously raising a brood of fabulous kids, juggling the demands of a high-powered career, finding time to pursue personal fulfillment, and somehow managing to star in that role, too.
We are very fortunate to live in Devon on the south coast of England. Just at the end of our road is a large beach – a considerable plus point for any dog owner. There are few greater pleasures in life than simply letting your dogs off their leash and watching them running completely free, crazily chasing the gulls or cowardly racing away from the incoming tide.
In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, overachiever Odysseus leaves home for 20 years to fight in the Trojan War and find his way home without GPS. All because a gaggle of goddesses were quarreling over who would get The Golden Apple for being the fairest of them all. With the quarrel turning into an all-out war, it would have been profoundly unsafe, and bad form, for Odysseus to bring his infant son, Telemachus, along for the journey. So he left little Telemachus under the supervision of an old and trusted friend whose name just happened to be Mentor.
