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.
Dogwise, it’s been a relatively calm summer around here. But that never lasts. The big excitement of the moment is happening at Suffolk County District Court–which some would call a groundbreaking legal case. Of course, cynics like me see it as just one more case of dimwits with dogs.
It’s been a long time comin’ but if last week is any indication, those long bleak years of anti-purebred propaganda are over. Mind you, none of it was fair–or true, nonetheless, it grabbed media attention and the dog-loving public bought into it for decades. But it’s a new day dawning judging by the incredible reaction to a recent New York Times interview with Wally Conron who, you may or may not know, invented the infamous Labradoodle back in 1988.
I admit to feeling a source of great pride when I attend the AKC Canine Health Foundation National Parent Club Canine Health Conference. When the AKC first announced 24 years ago it was forming the Canine Health Foundation, I recall thinking it was just going to be window dressing. I didn’t even go to the first Parent Club Conference. I could not have been more wrong. And I’m proud to say I’ve attended every one since.
Although dogs have been our companions for millennia, we have to guess at what prehistoric dogs looked like exactly. One thing we do know for sure, though, is the work they did. They followed the prey, drove the flocks and herds, guarded livestock and defended their owners’ property.
Having been in the dog show world for a number of years now, the biggest lesson I have learned is to be grateful. This sport, like most others, is dependent on good people of goodwill participating. With success should come an awareness of how much we owe other people. Here is a little overview, to give you some perspective, on the debt all show dog owners owe to their fellow competitors.
The Modified Continental (ModCon) – the trim is also known as the Historically Correct Continental, Hunting Class Clip, Heritage trim, and the HCC.
This trim has ALWAYS been accepted in the AKC breed standard for Poodles as long as the trim presents a smooth unbroken outline on the dog. The breed standard for Poodles does not mention how long the coat on the dog must be, just some modifying phrases such as “ear fringe should not be of excessive length.” Shaping of the coat to ensure balance is permissible in all trims per the standard.
In a country with more than 80 million dog owners, why is there still a shortage of dogs that are needed to protect the borders, airports, cities, schools, malls, entertainment events and nuclear plants. Most Americans are unaware of this shortage even though it is not new. The problem significantly increased following the events of 9/11, Brussels, Boston, Las Vegas, New York and London. As other terrorist events and natural disasters began to occur, most countries began to buy up the supply of working dogs for their own protection. According to the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, about 90 percent of the detection and patrol dogs in the US come from overseas breeders. The dependence on European breeders to supply a needed resource was not acceptable to the Federal Government, and during the past 50 years, four separate Federal breeding programs were established only to close each of them because of a budget cut or a lack of funding. The last closing in 2012 demonstrated that this problem needed the involvement of the private sector.
By Amy Fernandez The dog game is rife with controversy. These days it’s impossible to navigate any corner of this sport without slamming into it. So, in the interests of resetting the tone, let’s talk about a raging controversy that’s safely removed from dog shows. Perhaps not in the strictest sense…technically, it still involves putting […]
