helen

I am show secretary for the Club L'Epagneul Breton (Brittany Club) in Victoria. We used show manager for our show and it was fantastic. They sponsored us being a small breed club so the people who did enter online did not have to pay the usage fee, just the credit card fee. They pretty much did all the work setting things up and respond very quickly to any questions - we had different prices for members and non members and sweepstakes, and we even added a membership form which was used - they do the whole package - you can look online and see who has entered at any time as you get a link and a password. using online entries does allow you to keep the entries open longer, when you are ready to do the catalogue you just hit a button to close entries - I advertised normal closing time, 1 month before show but left online entries open until the very last minute, before printing the catalogue. They also added a price for postage of numbers. When people enter using show manager they get an email before the show reminding them of their entry, and it includes weather report as well

I suggest you contact Marilyn DiNatale of riverreed Brittanys - she has American and French dogs, and blended dogs as well and is extremely knowledgeable. If you go to shows in nsw you are not likely to see anything with French lines. http://www.riverreedbrittanys.com - There are people in usa who have both French and american lines that do say that the French are more obedient as they are bred to hunt more closely, a lot of usa dogs have been bred to hunt at a bigger distance and they trial on horseback. There are also some people with French lines who do health test.

can I join in? I just decided to do 52 weeks of Bella again as she is 14 now and loosing her health pretty quickly

how cute, my girl Bella can still see fine, but is deaf as a doorknob

I checkout out the blog, it is a beautiful tribute to Indiana, but very sad too

Bella at 14 by Rivamist, on Flickr I don't come in to the forum very often now, but visited for a quick browse and saw this thread and it is so exactly like me and Bella I had to post and went outside and took a photo. Bella is 14 now, but she did start to slow down about the same age as Cherry - and she was also my introduction to agility (and showing and obedience and breeding), so we have learnt a lot together along the way. Bella has developed a bit of a breathing problem recently so can do even less now, but still very happy and I still get a bouncy excited greeting every day. She is having some lumps removed tomorrow. I think everyone should join the 52 weeks photo project with our oldies (if you haven;t already, this thread has inspired me to do another year of photos of her now that she is older, as I haven't taken photos of her forever. ETA - she is looking a bit moth eaten because I accidently started clipping her with a 15 blade instead of a no 5 blade LOL

that is horrible. Sometimes you can just be unlucky. A friend from agility has a staffy and her dog started getting the same problem, she is the only staffy I I know of personally that has had this problem - are Pugs prone to this?

I don't know but they always have big numbers outside the ring (up high)

that is awful, sorry to hear about Maddie & CK

I was very spoilt last time she was here, she stayed locally and my first Brittany litter was quite young and she was very impressed with them :-) She had Brittanys before she had shepherds. Her husband came last time and a few of us learnt what a tracking guru he is too while we were having a break, not sure if he is coming this time.

Fantastic news. Susanne Clothier is coming to Australia May next year for a 2 day seminar if anyone is interested. I attended her seminar last time she was in Australia and it was fantastic. There is more info here http://www.k9events.com/new-assetts/advertising/susanne-clothier/Suzanne-Seminar-Brochure-Aug-'13.pdf - Mount Duneed is between Geelong and Torquay so an easy drive from Melbourne. This is some info from the link just in case there is anyone who doesn't know of her - About Suzanne: Suzanne Clothier internationally known dog trainer, behavior consultant and speaker, is the author of “Bones Would Rain From the Sky” and numerous other publications. Suzanne has been working with animals professionally since 1977, with a deep background of experience that includes obedience, agility, puppy testing, breeding, Search and Rescue, conformation, instructing, kennel management and canine midwifery. She has served as a committee member for the American Humane Association's Task Force for the Development of Humane Standards for Dog Training, and as a member of the AKC's Agility Advisory Board and consultant for Guiding Eyes for the Blind’s Canine Development Center in Patterson, NY. She has taught seminars on a wide variety of topics in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Belgium, and Italy, and spoken to groups as diverse as FEMA Northeast Region Disaster Dog Teams, Association for Pet Dog Trainers, Alaskan Dog Mushers Association and Wolf Park. Suzanne is well respected for her holistic Relationship Centered TrainingTM approach to dogs and the people that love them.

on the flip side, if your dog stacks up beautifully without moving or fidgeting they may only need the one shot :D Edited to add - from my experience too, if the judge is going up/down the line they may also move away when the judge gets in front of them

The very essence of positive training begins with good attention IMO - so hopefully that helps to answer your question.

You sort of described so well the reason that I could never be without a Brittany

A Labrador person was telling me she has a green suit (not dark or light) which is a dusty sort of green colour that matches any dog she shows, hope the description makes sense LOL

I would love to take photos of anyone's dog if they ask :-) - helengreenphotos.com

thanks Ruth, I think I found the website, but it is starting a bit too late for our show, thanks anyway.

that is good to know, because I need some new clippers too, a bit like canon v nikon cameras LOL. Do you know of a good place to buy online too?

super cute puppy

hi. does this tie in with ozentries or is it separate?

Raineth, I had to say you have such good taste, three of my favourite dogs - of course Brittanys won for me but I love Spinones and Smooth Collies too. I find Spinone faces way too cute :-) Megan, I often think about how much more terrifying it would be to have a smaller dog. No wonder some people with the small dogs are too worried to walk them at all. I think how stressful it is with mine when we have those aggressive encounters, even though I know their size affords them some protection; not from getting hurt, but certainly from getting badly hurt or killed.

Thanks for that, first hand accounts from people with the breeds is just what I was after. Any other info you can give is much appreciated, everyday life stuff that you don't tend to find in books and on the Internet especially is very helpful. Actually there are great show dogs in both European and American lines, I have seen both, American dogs in Australia and European dogs in Europe. They are a different type, most peole who have European lines in Australia and New Zealand do not show, but there are some around and some nice ones. There is a Brittany club in New Zealand that you may wish to contact as well, http://www.brittanydogclub.co.nz/

Sorry a bit behind, a few birthdays there, and congrats on graduating from puppy school :-) Here is Tilly today, didn't want to go too far away from the air conditioning LOL

no worries, it is something that came from t-touch, where they use bandages/bands to wrap around legs so dog is aware of their rear end, but without the bandages - ETA sometimes used in agility for dog walks

What is the problem with the ramp? Is the dog scared to walk up it, or is the dog just jumping off because it doesn't know what to do for some reason? If the dog is scared the owner is right not to force the dog, especially if it is sensitive. If the dog is just jumping off the ramp, try teaching the dog to walk on it on the ground, the raise it just a little bit, then a bit more etc until it will stay on. I am guessing the dog is on the large side because they can't pick it up, so sometimes you see in agility large dogs just struggle because they are unsure about what the back end is doing, if so going over it a few times while rubbing the back of the hocks helps so the dog is aware of what the rear end is up to - just a few ideas anyway.