Posted on 02/14/2012 5:07:09 PM PST by nuconvert
Oh my goodness, “their” should be “they’re”. I DO know the difference.
My Golden is about 11 now and totally white faced. I used to post a picture of him when he was young (it was carried on the Success Story page of Golden Retriever Rescue of Wisconsin 2002) but they’ve taken all those pics down — too old, I guess. So, I don’t have a good picture of him now.
He has the most regal head that I’ve ever seen on a Golden, complete with the occipital bump. My dog trainer (who hated Goldens) said that you have to “pay extra” for that bump. But he’s long, tall and lean and well porportioned. He weighs 78 lbs year round. Unlike my previous Golden, he doesn’t seem to gain weight. He just stays at 78. His hips seem to be good, no lameness at all.
His only medical problem seems to be and allergy to grass pollen at certain times of the year which causes him to scratch. We take care of that with mild doses of Prednisone.
Sounds so much like our first golden, Sandy. She was a rescue of sorts (not from an official rescue, but headed to the pound and a friend asked me if I wouldn’t like to take her instead and in a moment of weakness I, who had never SEEN a golden retriever and thought she meant a lab said, “sure!”. And a love affair started.
Sandy was an AWESOME hunting machine after my husband managed to get her over gun shyness. She was a late starter, we didn’t even get her until she was about 18 months old and she never saw a bird for some time after that. She was not anything anyone would look at in a show ring, but she was wonderful. I did put an obedience title on her, and that opened a whole new world to me. But she had allergies, which also required pred, unfortunately in fairly large doses as time went on. I need to find some photos of her to scan and put on my page so I can post them. She was quite a girl. Who cares if they can win in the show ring, they have golden hearts. Would love to see a pic of your boy. :)
Max is a no-talent retriever, unless you count that he is able to manipulate his “parents” to give him anything he wants. His other talent is to always be aware of what our next move will be and to always be right at our heels. He doesn’t particularly like to retrieve and he’s not interested in birds at all. But, we don’t need that. He wasn’t keen on agility either (hated the dog walk after he saw his GSD friend fall off during one session.)
Seriously, this dog has adapted his behavior so that he is the perfect dog for us. He goes to work with us every day and patiently waits in the corner office all day long, raising his head only when another employoee comes up front to get a cup of coffee. He’s hoping that they’ll give him a bone out of his jar, but he never barks, or whines.
He walks himself on our acreage and never leaves the place. He tags along on every outdoor task that we do, except the mowing. He caught on really quickly that it is useless to chase the lawn mower. He just waits up on the porch in the shade until I am done.
We tell him that he is Best in Show every day, and he understands every word we say.
ID please?
Here is a 2005 picture of Max taken in front of my OLD front door which has since been replaced. If it would stop snowing, I'd take a new picture of him in fron of a much prettier door. Poor baby is squinting in the soun -- south exposure which is why the old door took such a beating.
fron = front
soun = sun
Oh, he’s quite pretty (wish the photo were bigger). Love that color, nice coppery color. One thing I like about goldens, lots of nice variation in coat color, and all can be correct with the exception of really really pale or honest to goodness setter red. He does have a handsome face.
The dog I posted is a spinone, a wire coated Italian pointing breed that is not as wide ranging as an English pointer.
I love Spinones. Of course I’ve never met one. Just know them from watching dog shows. They look like such happt dogs.
If you ever get to go to one of the big shows where they have a Meet the Breeds going on or something, and you can meet one or two do it. They are lovely in temperament. Not generally quite as outgoing as goldens, but still, yes, happy and quite silly. My last one died of cancer (the one in the photo, Gucci) about 6 years ago and I miss having one around. They pair nicely with goldens. But they ARE big dogs.
Pekes are never put in any type clip for show, nor should they be. They are shown as nature intends, with whatever coat they grow.
From the standard:
Coat - It is a long, coarse-textured, straight, stand-off outer coat, with thick, soft undercoat. The coat forms a noticeable mane on the neck and shoulder area with the coat on the remainder of the body somewhat shorter in length. A long and profuse coat is desirable providing it does not obscure the shape of the body. Long feathering is found on toes, backs of the thighs and forelegs, with longer fringing on the ears and tail. Presentation - Presentation should accentuate the natural outline of the Pekingese. Any obvious trimming or sculpting of the coat, detracting from its natural appearance, should be severely penalized.
Well, Darnright, if that standard should be applied to humans then that would mean that none of us could get a haircut, or a shave, in the case of the men. And we’d all look pretty ugly. Since all the other breeds are washed, poufed, clipped, (and sometimes dyed) it seems that the ppoor Pekes are at a severe disadvantage.
> Since all the other breeds are washed, poufed, clipped, (and sometimes dyed) it seems that the ppoor Pekes are at a severe disadvantage.<
Of course the dog is bathed. Then it is brushed, poufed, if you will. The standard refers to clipping or scissoring. One does not clip a show dog unless the standard specifically calls for or allows it, as in the Poodle, Cocker, Portuguese Water Dog, Lowchen, etc. Terriers are not clipped, they are groomed for the ring with a hand stripping knife.
Sadly, there are breeds whose standards specifically forbid scissoring and/or sculpting, such as the Keeshond, Collie and the Sheltie. Exhibitors routinely scissor them and judges do nothing. Handlers have made a mockery of the Affenpinscher standard, making this once natural breed look nothing like its standard requires.
ALL of the Westminster Dog Show Judges are ABSOLUTE EXPERTS on ALL Dog Breed AKC Standards(IE The Judge that did the “Herding” Group on Monday Night would be JUST as qualified doing the “Terrier” Group last night). Remember the winners are NOT judged by ANY other thing than do they comform to the AKC Breed “Standard”.
The closest I got to the dog show biz was owning a Norwegian Elkhound from the famous Vin Melca line, certainly the best dog our family ever had.
But my impression is that politics is huge in the judging.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.