SkySoaringMagpie

Agree with Nekhbet, make sure they do the scraping and have a look and ID the problem first. Some places will just prescribe antibiotics and steroids and that isn't going to help some conditions.

That technique of hiding so that the young pup turns around and sees you gone and wants to find you was one that Dunbar demo'd in a video at his conference too.

To add to Jed's point, don't assume that the dog that beat you will never get the CC. You can never tell what a judge will do.

erny and sandgrubber. I will try the milk or honey option first, if that doesn't work, will see if we can make a game of a water bladder. Edited because I can't spell

One of our dogs is very reluctant to drink in public/away from home. He's not the world's most relaxed dog but he is pretty good in other respects and will sleep away from home in a crate. He gets the same water away from home as he does at home because we take water with us rather than using whatever is on the grounds we are at. He will eat away from home, but is not as keen as he is at home. It is not that he will never drink in public, and in fact he is slowly improving, but he still worries me - it can't be good for his kidneys to wait until he is desperate or just happy enough with his surroundings to drink. Also I want to do the ET with him which he could do standing on his head at home from a fitness perspective, but which would present problems at the sports ground if he didn't drink regularly. I have tried praising when he drinks with a view to putting it on cue, but the praise immediately snaps him out of drinking and he puts his head up to focus on me instead. I then tried doing very low quiet praise, but even that distracted him. I may try petting him instead as he loves massages but that means I have to get close enough to him while he is drinking without him stopping to focus on what I am doing. It's as if any kind of distraction at all in the environment will make him bring his head up away from the bowl. I guess that's useful from a survival perspective if you don't want to be eaten by a predator, but it's driving me nuts! Help!

I am staying with my mum so maybe I should bring her two pretty much totally untrained SWFs.

I paid too late to get a dog in so I will have to just admire your dogs! At least without a dog I can take squoodles of notes. Looking forward to meeting some more DOLers

For respect and self-control it's hard to go past a NILIF program - Nothing In Life Is Free. If you Google you'll get a ton of hits.

Funny how it's different for hound breeds that are from the same family. I asked the question about taking whiskers off on a large international Saluki list once and was overwhelmed with replies saying "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THOSE WHISKERS, SALUKI PEOPLE DO NOT TAKE WHISKERS OFF" I wonder sometimes if other hound judges think we are being lazy or messy, but sod it, the whiskers stay on ;)

The lamb plus Artemis might be too much. Lamb is pretty fatty, and I think it's Artemis' fat content that has disagreed with one of my boys. He's been Mr Farty since I switched so I'm going to switch back to Royal Canin Maxi/Eagle Pack.

Finding your ring: The rings will either be labelled with the groups to be judged in that ring, or there will be a ring plan at the Secretary's Office. If you are not sure, ask at the Secretary's Office. You also collect your catalogue if you have ordered one from the Secretary's Office. Sometimes the "office" is a gazebo, but it should still be labelled "Secretary's Tent" or something similar. If not, ask someone to tell you where it is. At the ring: The steward is the person, usually with a clipboard, organising the dogs in and out of the ring for the judge. The steward will call your number (which you got on a card with your entry) when assembling dogs to send into the ring for the judge. Make sure you are wearing your number either in an armband on your left arm, or pinned to the front of your shirt with a pin on your left side. Listen for your call and respond, eg, “yes ma’am” or “here” and/or show them your number. If you do not respond when called, the steward will call again. If you do not respond when the steward calls for the third time, you will be called absent. If you are called absent, you cannot show and that decision is final. You will not get a refund. Be wary of being caught chatting with other exhibitors when you’re just about to go in as you can be distracted and miss your call. You can extricate yourself by saying “great to chat, I have to go now or I’ll miss my call” and walk away. The steward may also ask your breed to start getting ready as the previous breed judging is winding up. If you have a Pug and hear the steward say “Pugs getting ready please!”, start moving towards the assembly area and let the steward know that you are there, eg, “I have number 73”. If the steward is busy with the judge, wait for them to return to organising the exhibits again before talking to them. Buy a catalogue when you enter and watch the progress of the judging so that you know when you will be on. Time visits to the loo, getting changed into show gear and preparing your dog so that you won’t be caught out. Be aware that if a couple of exhibitors who have entered a lot of dogs don’t show up on the day, you can find the ring has skipped ahead much quicker than you were expecting. That said, don't hang around the ring entrance unless you are just about to go in or you will be in the way. See if you can find a spot away from the bustle of the ring entrance where you can see what is happening. Watching will also show you what the judge is doing with the exhibits. For example, he may be running them around the ring once, then asking them to set up in front of or on the table, then asking them to go out and back. Or she may ask the exhibits to go straight in and set up immediately and then do a triangle. If you watch, you will feel more confident about what to do when you go in. The steward will tell you when to enter the ring and start showing your dog. On your first day, tell the steward that it is your first time. They should let the judge know and help you in the ring. If they don’t, or you are still not clear about what to do, ask the judge. You can always explain that you are new. Depending on how you went, you may have to go back in the ring. Will leave explaining all that for another DOLer (Sway?) Finally, if possible, ask your breeder or an experienced friend or a generous DOLer to buddy up with you on the day for your first time, so that they can guide you through the processes.

I suspect part of the issue here is the vet premises and the smell of the vet if he is happy to be handled at classes. I'm not sure where your vet is, but I might try taking him with you when you run minor errands like picking up worming tablets or weighing him. If the vet nurses can give him a pat and a treat that would also help. Essentially it's about making sure he has positive, or at least neutral, experiences of the vet premises. If the only time he goes there he gets put in a small room and manhandled then he's probably not going to improve.

The other thing that may be peculiar just to Salukis is that it is OK for the front feet to "turn out a small angle" - some say it's even desirable. Normally this would be considered being east west and therefore a fault. I think I've been dumped for that reason before but have never asked about it.

Do they retrieve the wolves at the end for another day or do the dogs kill them? Were long lines used when Borzoi were historically used in Russia - I'm assuming no? Having them on a long line seems incredibly unsporting. Anyway it's is a good point now that just about everything is on YouTube - you need a critical eye. Just because it's from the country of origin doesn't make it worth emulating and/or historically accurate. There are also videos on YouTube from the middle east where the hounds are being used to tear apart cats. Even if it were a traditional occupation (and it isn't) it would not be something I'd be emulating. Also agree that on private properties many people know if their dog can hunt or not, but they don't always talk about it unless they know they're talking to someone who gets it. Posting it here is different to chatting with friends.

I don't know enough about it but if you see Effie at a show she could tell you. I recall seeing an article on a kind of hunting foxhound "show" in a National Dog magazine. Not sure if it was a year ago or longer. Sorry, not very helpful but maybe a few leads if no-one pops up here

Nattylou, I don't recognise the dog you've posted, where is he from? Love his neck feathering, you don't often see that these days. To answer your question, I think it would depend on the country and how he was presented. I can't imagine him doing very well in America or Australia if he was presented like that, but am happy to be proved wrong! I suspect if you gave that dog to most Australian "show" people he'd be plucked and trimmed to look quite different before they would put him in a ring to compete with a fully trimmed up and sculpted cream feathered dog under an All Breeds judge. Also, if someone wanted a show dog who would kick butt in the DOL pointscores they would probably not select a parti-colour as their first choice. As much as people get defensive about colour preference, it does exist. I think the only braver choice than a parti-colour would be a brindle. I partis btw, my first girl is a parti so I am a fool for parti-colours. I'm a bit of a weirdo tho', I'll take what I love over what will win any day

This is a really interesting article. It's worth getting a cuppa and a biscuit and reading the whole thing. http://saluqi.home.netcom.com/belkin.htm I think the questions he poses for Salukis could well be posed for many other breeds.

I agree.

Dogs that lack confidence are not easy, so give yourself permission for it to take some time. If it's genetic, she will probably never been a totally confident dog - that's OK, you can work with her to make life less scary. There are different schools of thought on avoiding comforting a dog that is scared. I think the important thing about leadership is to demonstrate that you are not scared or stressed. If you are a drama llama or an anxious or a-typey person, this means reigning yourself in so that you always present as calm and in control to your dog. The household also needs to be calm. Also, visitors need to be drilled in how to deal with the dog (no looming, no eyeballing, no screeching etc etc). We had a lot of success with environmental work - just taking the dog for a walk in the neighborhood and praising like mad when he didn't react. Regular walking in public made a huge difference to his disposition. Don't overdo it, if it means starting with a walk to the end of the street that's fine. With the golf clubs, I would use standard desensitization very similar to that which is suggested for getting dogs used to bicycles. ie, put them out in a yard, lying down so they can't fall (because that will make it ten times worse) scatter treats around, once she's comfortable taking treats 10 yards away, decrease the distance. Once she's happy with walking around them lying down, stand them up, etc. Obedience class if she can cope with it, would also be a good idea.

I agree. What you describe is my issue with the way this non-debate is usually framed. Ultimately I doubt many of us disagree about the differences between dogs competing in obedience and dogs working sniffing out currency. There are less provocative ways to frame the question tho', and the OP knows that.

Wow! I know doggie dancing is often seen as lightweight, but the relationship and training necessary to get that kind of performance is anything but lightweight.

I figured best not to bring any of the skinny super models.

Lmao, you made that sound as though you weren't going to go if your OH wanted to. Heh, it's a dog minding thing. We live in Yass and I went to the Dunbar seminar in Sydney so it's not my "turn" to skive off to a training seminar for the weekend.

That looks really interesting, just checked and OH doesn't want to go so I'm going to book in!