The Westminister Dog Show

[Deleted]

fairfox said:

And yes, dachshunds do smell good (mine smells of peanuts and sometimes cornchips).

Corn chips, yes! We said our Vizslas had "fri-toes" and we currently have a red cat who has "chee-toes!" Mmmm... pet feet!
That was a beautiful English Springer, but weren't they all, really? The Vizsla placed, at least, better than usual.
Oh, and about those gaits berrybearie mentioned: I think they're all natural. The ones I'm familiar with all are, anyway.
Don't forget to donate to the Humane Society!

[kostgard]

Yay for the Springer! I grew up with an English Springer, so I've got a soft spot for them.

The Vizsla was so purty, I'm glad he at least placed.

[eleanorrigby]

Oh, for crying out loud. I just watched the Shiba Inu vid. Those cuties look like the ridiculously adorable result of a mating between an Akita and a fox.

Heh, as the proud owner of a Shiba Inu I have to comment. They are seriously the cutest, smartest, most loyal dogs ever. My friends seriously come over just to play with her. I watch the show every year just to gush over the Shibas with my mom.

[grumpygirl]

kostgard said:

Yay for the Springer! I grew up with an English Springer, so I've got a soft spot for them.

I read this too fast and thought that it said:

"I grew up AS a Springer Spaniel." Glad to see that you got that fixed and can type now.

[diablocody]

nursenoir said:

fairfox said:

And yes, dachshunds do smell good (mine smells of peanuts and sometimes cornchips).

Corn chips, yes! We said our Vizslas had "fri-toes" and we currently have a red cat who has "chee-toes!" Mmmm... pet feet!

I love my little Frito-smelling Chihuaua. I thought I was the only person who actually liked that dog-toes smell!

[johnboysmole]

Oh cool. I'm glad that Springer won. I worked closely with a Springer who won Westminster years ago, and that was not a very nice line of dogs, but they showed really well and looked exactly the way they're supposed to look. But the poor dogs lived in kennels and were known to have sudden rage.

The Springer that won last night is beautiful and has personality. He's a certified therapy dog, and it's clear someone loves him. I love seeing show dogs who are companions.

In other news... The Australian Shepherd that won best of his breed is a half-brother to an Aussie who belongs to someone I talk to online. He's very handsome too.

[Deleted]

Ah. I was wondering who won the herding category. I fell asleep and missed it. I was rooting for the Aussie Cattle dog since my Archie is a Cattle dog mix. Still, I like the Australian Shepherds. They are wonderful dogs.

[kostgard]

grumpygirl said:

kostgard said:

Yay for the Springer! I grew up with an English Springer, so I've got a soft spot for them.

I read this too fast and thought that it said:

"I grew up AS a Springer Spaniel." Glad to see that you got that fixed and can type now.

Yeah, growing up without opposable thumbs was a bit rough, but I had the glossiest coat of anyone in my school.

[berrybearie]

johnboysmole said:

Oh cool. I'm glad that Springer won. I worked closely with a Springer who won Westminster years ago, and that was not a very nice line of dogs, but they showed really well and looked exactly the way they're supposed to look. But the poor dogs lived in kennels and were known to have sudden rage.

That's terrible. I don't understand the mind of someone who would want dogs to be such a big part of their lives and then treat them like lab specimens. I saw James and his handler on the Today show. She said he's going back to serving as an Alzheimer's therapy dog and doing obedience and agility trials. (I wish Emma could do those. I have friends whose dogs love it.)

Timed with the dog show, the local paper had an article today about purebreeds and designer dogs (puggles, labradoodles, etc.) at the local shelter. A rep said that many of them are given up as puppies by people who pay hundreds if not more, for a puppy from a breeder and then decide they don't want to actually have a dog. And there are some bad bad breeders are here. It makes me so so and

[kostgard]

Yeah, I hate people who think pets are disposable. I adopted my dog from a shelter when I was in college (in a college town) and so many of the dogs were there because stupid college students thought it would be cool to have a dog, then realized they were work and dumped them off as soon as they peed on the carpet or after the first time they chewed something up. My own dog's former owners just abandoned her outside when they decided to move.

That's part of the reason why those damn Pedigree commercials were killing me. If anyone out there is thinking about adopting from a shelter - unless you are just absolutely in love with the idea of a puppy, please consider adopting an older dog (and by "older" I just mean "out of puppyhood" or at least a year old). Apparently everyone wants cuddly puppies and it's the older dogs who generally don't make it out of the shelter. When I went into the shelter to adopt and told them I was looking for a dog who was at least a year old, the workers almost hugged me. It just breaks their hearts to see these nice adult dogs get passed over then eventually put down because everyone wants a puppy. The bonus with an older dog is they are often (mostly) out of the puppy chew-everything-up phase and a lot of them already have some amount of training.