New York, NY – The American Club today launched akc.org/health, the organization’s first ever mobile-optimized, digital content platform dedicated to canine health. The site kicks off a series of health initiatives and announcements to be introduced in the coming year. The initial stage of the new microsite offers resources and information on care, nutrition, fitness, […]
Minnesota Senate File 1325 seeks to modify the use of certain traps used in hunting, and would require the reporting of pets or companion animals found caught in traps. SF 1325 is currently pending in the Minnesota State Senate after being passed by both the Environment and Energy and Judiciary committees. Minnesota dog owners and enthusiasts […]
by Alexis Blue Most dog owners will tell you their furry friends make them feel good emotionally. But the health benefits of owning a dog may not end there. Researchers at the University of Arizona are recruiting participants for a study exploring whether dogs can improve human health by having a probiotic effect on the body. The […]
It is with great regret that we report the passing of Mr. Charles Schaefer of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Schaefer was a longtime dedicated fancier and supporter of the sport of purebred dogs. Notably, he was a member of the Kennel Club of Philadelphia since 1982 and was one of the club’s longest serving members. He […]
Santi, an Airedale Terrier from Shirley, Southampton, has won the Junior Warrant Winner of the Year competition final at Crufts 2015, the world’s biggest and best dog show. Santi, (Ch Muliebrity Rilletta JW, SHCM) owned by Manuel Fernandez, 38, has had a great start to her dog show career, which she loves alongside her role […]
By Pilar Kuhn The other day while watching our young Scottie bitch enjoy time frolicking in the front yard and taking a well-deserved break from tending to her first litter, I thought, “My ‘baby’ is a mommy.” It’s part of what we plan as breeders, but it seems like it was only a short time […]
The ancestral Hungarian herding dog appears to have migrated with the Magyars and their livestock from the Ural-Altay region, between China and the Caspian Sea, to the Carpathian Basin around 800 AD. This dog most likely can be traced back to the herding/guard dogs (Tsang Apso, mistakenly called Tibetan Terriers by Europeans) originating from China and Tibet and were widespread in that region. This ancestral Puli mixed with French and German herding dogs around 300 years ago, as a result of livestock trading between Hungary with France and Germany. Livestock was driven on hoof to their destination and the dogs went with them. Some accidental or perhaps even intended breedings between the respective parties’ dogs took place as the Hungarian Gray cattle provided much of the beef eaten in France and Germany. From the German side, the contributors to the creation of the Pumi were the Pomeranian Schafspudel (Sheep Poodle, still in existence today in small numbers) and the Hütespitz (Herding Spitz) which was considered extinct as of 1935. Both these ancient breeds had been recognized since the Middle Ages.
It’s a decades-old question: Has the chase for the top dog, at the breed level, group level, or number 1 dog amongst all breeds, hurt the sport? Is this really the reason entries are declining? Is it even a contributing factor or just another excuse for the lack of participation at dog shows we are witnessing today?
Canadian Kennel Club Press Release A group of six Canadian dog enthusiasts flew to the Scottish Borders in February following a call for help from British breeders of the ancient and endangered Dandie Dinmont Terrier. Mike Macbeth, dog judge and President of the Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club of Canada said “The Dandie Dinmont was the […]
One of the most oft-quoted descriptions of the varieties of Belgian Shepherd Dog is that of Mme. Jacqueline Aubry in her book Le Berger Belge. It reads as translated “Casual outfit, plain and sober, but full of class for the Malinois with his short, smooth coat of warm red with black mask and overlay so characteristic and so expressive of the variety. Classic afternoon attire for the Groenendael, enveloped in his splendid mane, so long and dense. Splendor of evening clothes for the Tervuren, who, in addition to the beauty of his long coat, has magnificent warm color with shades of fire, or the delicacy of grey with its clever shadows.” Whether Mme. Aubry actually omitted a description of the Laekenois or those who translated her work felt it unimportant, I cannot say. Perhaps the omission of the Laeken from Mme. Aubry’s description of Belgian Shepherd Dogs did not reflect the lack of numbers, but simply that the “description” did not fit with the elegant verbiage used to describe the other varieties. The standards of Belgians all over the world, whether in countries where they remain varieties of one breed (the vast majority) or they are separated into individual breeds, bear remarkable similarities except, of course, in the descriptions of coat and color. The American Belgian Laekenois Association standard says, “The coat must have a texture which is rough and coarse giving a disorderly, tousled look” while the FCI standard says, “What especially characterises the rough hair variety is the roughness and dryness of the hair, which, moreover, is rasping and tousled.”
