SkySoaringMagpie

Hound Club of the ACT Inc - Judge Sally Stasytis (Vic) BIS - Bloodhound: Ch Flushtimes CW Lady of the Lake (Imp Swd) - Ashpole RUBIS - Ibizan Hound: Ch Birrarun Hot Little Number - Lummevaara Baby - Borzoi: Alyosha Andromeda - Ackland/Lowe Minor - Whippet: Isilwane Glad All Over - Barrenger Puppy - Bloodhound: Loamys Lanes Jewell (Imp Bel) - Ashpole Junior - As for RUBIS Inter - As for BIS Aus Bred - Rhodesian Ridgeback: Ch Isilwane State of the Union - Barrenger Open - Borzoi: Ch Mistraka Sgt Pepper - Ackland/Lowe Neuter: Rhodesian Ridgeback: Ch Kysaridge Talia Varda ET - Mosslar Veteran Sweepstakes 1st - Whippet: Ch Isilwane Flag Bearer ET - Barrenger 2nd - Rhodesian Ridgeback: Gr Ch Kysaridge Alia Caeser SD - Mosslar 3rd - Basset Hound: Ch Langlords Lady Winnifred - Langford

Salukis win all zoomies! Afghans also do a good zoomie.

PSML. It's interesting the first time, but after that poo is just poo, LOL. I guess part of my point is that there are so many other things to do, even with the dogs, that it's very easy to move on to something more fun or more meaningful. Probably that does give the bullies and the fakers a lot of power as they can make it 'not fun' very quickly, there is very little consequence for bad behaviour in reality, and all the factors that others have mentioned which affect judging quality have already made it less than meaningful. The social time around the ring with friends is mostly what showing has going for it. That's is certainly something good, but I am not sure it's enough given all the other pressures. It has the feel of being a very old fashioned and somewhat eccentric sport, with noone really looking out for its future. Just mho. I do agree with this, I sometimes think ANKC/the CCs need to set up an advisory committee made up of people who have no show pedigree themselves (ie, no parents or grandparents who show/ed) and who have been showing for less than 5 years. It's a culture that often has no idea how batty it really is. Harmlessly batty is fine, but it's also scarily batty sometimes and the longer people have been in it, the less they can see it. Which is tricky because the longer people have been in it, the more likely that is to be seen as a recommendation for a senior committee position that is supposed to be guiding the future of the sport. I also agree with many of the points Nancy raises, especially the difficulty obtaining a main register dog free of a thousand conditions.

I think part of the difficulty is that it's almost impossible to quantify for the purposes of discussing numbers in the show ring. It involves an emotional assessment that each individual makes over time. How much importance am I going to attach, and how much effort am I going to make? Today when I decide whether to get out bed? Next week when I decide whether to enter a show? Next month when I decide to take an obedience term instead? Next year when I decide to breed a litter? The problem I see in these threads is not people deciding that for now or forever it's not for them - lots of good reasons about dog limits, money, time, family demands and everything else not to keep going. It bothers me when people say that decision is all down to what a***holes are doing, or worse, a single a***hole on a single day. It gives them an awful lot of power. I guess I also see it primarily as a competitive sport so that element of smoke and mirrors and toe-to-toe behaviour is always going to be there from people who think it matters as much or more than substance. I don't like that aspect or enjoy it - I know some people do. I do enjoy finding ways to neutralise it, perhaps the key is to already have an interest in watching the animals in the zoo. However, I do respect that not everyone finds poo flinging interesting.

Thanks poocow, knew I saw an ESS at some point.

The people who are a problem don't care. Or if they do care about their image, they aren't going to change because of general criticism on the internet because they don't consider themselves part of the problem. I have never said that you need a thick skin but I do think newbies and kids need good advice from seasoned competitors that puts the behaviour into perspective and empowers them to deal with it next time. My reaction to someone not being all that fantastic to a newbie is to explain what I think is going on and some options for how they might choose to handle it. I mean, presumably most of us also regularly do other things that require us to get on with and deal with people that we ordinarily wouldn't spit on if they were on fire (paid employment, kids activities, etc). Hobbies are no different.

Only one baby who was Baby in Group on Sunday. I think the Gundog was an ESS on Sunday, but that's stretching the old brain cells!

If you're going to use a physical correction it needs to be enough to be effective but not so much as to create more problems plus it has to be properly timed. Most people whacking on dogs haven't got a clue.

Wonderful idea. I think a few of us are going to do something similar now!

I think removing the 12 month Ch requirement is a terrible idea. In many breeds you don't really know you have true quality until the dog is 2 or 3 - or even 4 or 5. The existing 12 month rule wasn't perfect, but at least it went some way to acknowledging that the dog should be halfway mature. And yes, we had a pup this year who had to do over the extra 25 points after 12 months and it was no hardship, he snagged them easily. Welfare wise I'm not crazy about the Gr Ch rules either. I just don't get why people think that any dog that can get a Ch should then be able to earn the title "Grand", the whole point should be that they are extra special dogs, not that they have enough mileage under their belts to satisfy a fringe benefits tax ruling. Someone in my breed said to me recently "we don't truly compete anymore" and she is dead right. This is just two more examples of that phenomenon.

No, it's just tricky to find. Go to "About Us" and then "What's Happening"

It being family makes it a whole other ballgame which I won't comment on except to say that family stuff rarely gets better when it's hauled out in public. Leaving that aside, I can't see where confusion would arise. Bally is like "Hill" or "Town" or something like that in a name. It's a generic word describing a land division, not the word that gives the prefix it's ultimate character. I wouldn't confuse the two and if it wasn't your mum, I'd suggest appealing the decision if you have an avenue to do so.

If you are coming to the Hound Club of the ACT Inc December show and have a Minor Puppy or a Veteran, please read on! If you have a Minor Puppy there is a Minor Puppy Class despite one not being available in the ad in the NSW journal and subsequently OzEntries. Paul has kindly amended OzEntries to fix this (the error was at the NSW Journal end, not OzEntries). If you entered your puppy in Class 3 because you couldn't see Class 2, and you want your dog in Class 2, contact me by return PM. Also, the veteran sweepstakes entry function wasn't working at OzEntries for a while there, it is now, so please enter those veterans. Apologies for the inconvenience everyone. Entries will remain open until the end of this week.

Just looking for some advice from those who have BTDT. If someone offered to lease a bitch to you for a litter on the basis that the bitch stayed with them, they whelped the litter and then the pups went to you at 8 weeks, if you were interested, what would you sort out before hand in terms of agreeing money and other arrangements? Including contingency arrangements if something were to go wrong? If you've done this before yourself, what did you expect from the person you leased the bitch to?

Thanks Pav, really appreciate it. Re lasers, is that something you can purchase for home use or do you need to go to a chiro or physio?

Interesting, because I asked on a coursing group on FB and they also said "soft laser". Edit: Pav, onlead only meaning you'd still do moderate road work? Or none at all?

Only to book the camping ahead with the office. Otherwise the facilities are fairly standard - the only thing I will say is that the nearest shops aren't really walking distance. On the Saturday morning there is a farmer's market on the same grounds tho', so you can pick up a lot of nice food fresh there.

Thanks ladies, should have posted the pic before spending $500 at the vet!!

One of my dogs has a soft tissue swelling on his left carpal bones. The vet has done a biopsy and lab report on the tissue which has come back ruling out cancer and saying it appears to be as a result of trauma to the area. Dog is 5 years old, fit, not overweight and a bit of a hoon. He is not showing any signs of pain or lameness. The thing is, he's had this thing for about 4 weeks, it seemed to appear gradually and it doesn't seem to be improving. Normally bumps and lumps just disappear. I am not sure what to try next - pondering if I should try a canine physio. Has anyone seen something like this before? Vet and lab report have also ruled out it being a bursa, infection, cyst, haematoma or calcinosis. Because of where it is positioned, surgery to remove the tissue is not an option. Edited to attach pic.

Come along to the ACT Hound Club Twilight Show on Saturday 3 December in Canberra - a great friendly show, in the late afternoon and evening so not too hot. We have Borzoi specialist Ms Sally Stasytis judging. We are running a neuter class, and a veteran's sweepstakes plus there is a special Borzoi and Best Baby Borzoi trophy and rosette. Bring a picnic if you're local, make a weekend away of it and enter the ACT Ladies All Breeds shows if you're from further afield! Entries available on OzEntries for both Hound Club and ACT Ladies.

Maybe so, but there are also people who won't sell one local to them because they have kept the best and know that combined with their experience will mean the newbie will get beaten most of the time and get discouraged. There's also not much point putting all your eggs in one show ring, it makes sense to sell further afield. Something I've learned in showing is that there are usually plenty of explanations behind a behaviour. Sometimes it's people being small minded and sometimes it's people trying to be helpful and do the decent thing. Sometimes a newbie doesn't have enough insight to work out which is which, and sometimes showies need to pull their head out of their rear. Knowing which is which only comes with experience.

Don't be silly, they are doing you a favour by taking the dog off your hands! I have heard this one a couple of times recently re a rescue. Rare breed that is difficult to find the right pet home for and that some breeders will sometimes home without charge to proven companion homes for this reason. My reply is always that, yes, there are not a lot of suitable homes out there so we will be waiting until the right home comes along. What people aren't considering is that money is not the only currency. A breeder or rescuer who has known someone for 20 years might send a companion pup to them without charge because the 20 year person has already "paid" in devotion and a lifetime's care for their animals. Whereas someone who asks for a cheap dog hasn't paid anything in time and energy. I also see the purchase price as proof someone can scrape together enough money to take the dog for a mid-range vet visit without too many hassles. But getting into that conversation is pointless when you're saying no anyway. Edited becos i cant spel

The other possible explanation which is worth bearing in mind is that sometimes when an older person dies and relatives clean out the house, disposing of dogs is done by people who don't know much and care even less. It may not have been the owner.

Depends what you mean by valid. If you mean "we are all entitled to an opinion" - well opinion is just that, not fact. I have been really irritated by a show secretary once in 6 years of dog showing. Does that mean one of us is wrong?

As poocow says, you'll definitely get another note from someone if you use staples. When I was entering a dog in a different name I just put him on the back of the SAE, ie , "IW 3" which gives the envelope stuffer some help to find the right envelope for the stray Irish Wolfhound. He wasn't entered in another name. Well, as I mentioned upthread, I think snotty notes aren't a good idea anyway - just trying to help you avoid another one. FWIW, based on what you wrote, I have no idea why they got upset about it in the first place.