mita

Full list (188) videos of all the breeds being judged in the ring: http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/videos/Breed%20Judging/2013

Thanks for the fantastic list of Best of Breeds. The Tib is GCH Kan Sing's Tenzin. I'm no expert but the US tibs' tails seem to sit flatter on their backs than the Australian-European ones. I was just about to post the video of the Tibetan Spaniels being judged, on the TibbiePets list. Videos for each breed can be watched on Westminster Show website. Fantastic website. http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/videos/Breed%20Judging/2013/Non-Sporting/vid:2624955

Friends tibbie boy ate a stone & needed vet attention. He was put under anaesthesia for it to be removed.

The smaller companion dogs are not good left outside. She could look for some way where they can be kept more inside.

Spot on comment. The rescuer has to make a judgment ... they have a responsibility to do so. And sometimes that judgment is a negative observation of the applicant. Then it's a matter of couching the refusal in some kind of civil way. Not always easy.

Great video .... & brilliant how the music lyrics matched the final message.

Well said. It's good for the general pet public to find out how the purebred system works. Especially the enormous amount of thought & effort that goes into producing puppies. As well as the emotional & financial demands on the breeders. From that perspective, the price of puppies is modest.

Pity they don't name the proposed code, Buddy's Code, to remind people that it's not just more rules and regulations... it's to prevent real tragedies that can and have happened.

They just get more & more beautiful. Just shining with good health & confidence with everything. This is the perfect way puppies should be raised. Whoever adopts these babies will be very, very lucky.

This seems in line with the overall written plan we were given by the UQ vet behaviorist with our furniture- ripping sheltie. That plan had a central plank of obedience training (in everyday life). We had to really stress that .... she had to learn to earn anything she got, from treats to attention like pats, to food to ride in the car. Always she had to obey the directions of 'Come', 'Sit'. And we were told to ignore any attempts by her to 'demand' those things. She had to learn that we initiated what happened for her in her life.... not her. Any 'asking' from her .... like eye contact, jumping up, whimpering, barking had to be ignored. In fact, we had to turn our backs if necessary & no eye contact. We had to pick a moment when she was not taking any notice of us, to call her for her good things in life (but 'Sit' first). We were also told to make sure she didn't rush before us thro' doorways & gates. In fact, for a while I had a light lead tucked into her collar so I could control the 'Sit' and 'Wait; before I went thro' the gate. Eventually it wasn't needed. This had to be consistently done as the vet explained learning was cumulative so it's not surprising that it gradually 'soaks' in over weeks, even months. It's not like a light suddenly going on. New learning requires new neurological pathways being laid down. Also (same with children), there can be an escalation of 'bad' behaviour during the time the new behaviour is being introduced. Oddly enough, it can be a sign that the 'new learning' is making its mark... the old habit is fighting back against 'a new kid on the block'. That can explain some setbacks. But the trick is to keep going forward without missing a beat. This was part of a written plan which included other things as well. Made it clear to follow. Article that best reflects what lay behind it: http://www.westwoodanimalhospital.com/BhvArticles/separation_anxiety1.htm

That's a good think.

Sends me to a Facebook page, too.

DD, how can I put this delicately. Genes count, too! :) :) :) You are such a comfort . Actually genes are a bit on my side at least in terms of longevity: Fraternal grandpappy died at 99, Daddy died at 91, Maternal grandpappy died at 77 because he fell off his horse, Mummy died at 83. Genes and having a mummy like Kirislin will definitely be to Kibah's advantage. Kibah sure has a lot on her side. Plus her general condition looks so good. Sounds like you're here for a long time, DD. But how can I put this delicately (I've got to stop saying that! )? It was Kibah's good looks you were envying. Back OT. Only this morning I was talking with a friend about how advanced vet medicine now is, in the treatment of cancers. Her dog has been treated.

Well, Bhutan has a Tibbie on a stamp. Hint, hint Australia Post. :) Seriously, I love it when AP puts out doggie stamps.

DD, how can I put this delicately. Genes count, too! :) :) :)

A friend of mine entered her moggie in a cat show here ... but I got the impression that section was just for fun & wasn't taken all that seriously. I don't get what Crufts is trying to achieve. I have no problem with doggie competitions for mongrels, but based on things like health and behavioural traits relating to being companion dogs or working dogs, in some way. But it puzzles me, how something like that would fit in with Crufts' aims. I'd say the dogs would have to be 'genuine' mongrels, not designer produced dogs from purebreds. But how on earth could you prove that a dog is a genuine mongrel when documenting, reliable papers just don't exist and apply for them? Without such proof, the way is wide open for the awful practice of crossing purebreds, to find a way in. Against all that Crufts stands for. ADDED: WH's comment about the futility (stupidity!) of appeasement ... is spot on.

The man next door who has champion racing greyhounds, says the magic food he feeds them, is.... bananas. He says they're high in potassium & it gives his greys strength. I reckon Kibah knows that trick & it's why she looks so beautiful and in good condition in that lovely OP pic. Whatever treatment she gets, that great condition will stand her well. Shall be thinking of you both. And keep up the 'nanas. :)

Double post.

Of course, it was a group that existed near humans.... on the margins. It was what enabled the researchers to screen out subtle signs of potential for tameness... and take the animals close to human so it could be developed further.. Extent of tameness & progeny trait changes were the key features. The work has been picked up and extended beyond the original research environment. Durham University in the UK.... and also Germany (as indicated before). It has great significance for knowledge about all species that carry potential for tameness. All of which is why I've said I'd like to see researchers keep an eye on programs such as the fox rescue... & inform them and mine data.

How do you think the research was able to pick up on the potential for this trait in undomesticated foxes in the first instance? Those that showed the behavioral signs of potential for tameness.... were screened into the program to take them close to humans. Not all could be included. . Same with any species ... genetic expression varies within it. And that likely phenotype for tameness in foxes, had not been triggered by their environment. Survival in the wild depended on other traits. But, as the science suggests, the phenotype was there, within the species, with some having more potential than others. Which is why I've also added caveats about a fox rescue program ... by stressing that selecting on the basis of observed behaviour is critical.

'Natural instincts' driven by genotype. Foxes have been demonstrated to likely have phenotype for tameness potential. That research was only possible because it was possible to select foxes which, even tho undomesticated, showed behavioral signs of potential for tameness.

Not much point adding to an already polarised thread... but the reason why a (selected) fox can make a pet which behaves like a domesticated companion animal, is that it's been demonstrated that it can, because it likely has the genotype for tameness. Over time, an array of animals have been domesticated ...because of that underlying genotype. Not only dogs. Foxes have been added to that list of domesticated animals. So a pet fox would be a pet fox, like a pet cat is a pet cat, as a pet pig is a pet pig ... Can't see people rushing out to acquire a pet fox, just as people don't exactly rush out to get a pet pig. Dogs & cats have the long history & the numbers. But it's still a possibility of acquiring a pet fox (in fact, as I've said, I'd like science to keep an interested eye on such efforts). Foxes have been demonstrated to have a potential which modifies considerably a description of 'wild' animal. Likely genotype for tameness. Interesting how it develops over generations. Raise a tiger so it's intimately & atypically 'close' to humans .... but its offspring will have all the 'wild' predispositions. Not so, for the fox...tameness' was expressed & enhanced as a trait over generations.

i have no problem with the OP fox program, so long as the animals are desexed and they are selected for behaviours that indicate strong 'potential for tameness'. And strict rehoming standards are adhered to. In fact, I hope they're keeping case records. While their program is not set up as piece of scientific research, there's case study data to be mined. The Russian work on the likely genotype for tameness that foxes share with all species capable of being domesticated, is being continued at the Dpt of Evolutionary Genetics at the Max Palnck Institute in Germany. Considered absolutely to understanding the process of domestication in species ... including dogs.

A fair call plus the fact that those foxes will then contribute to another way of life that Russian research showed they have genetic potential for. It was found that foxes likely have a collections of genes which confers a propensity for tameness ... a genotype that they share with any species that are able to be domesticated. Which allowed for the 'tamed' foxes in their research program .... which came to behave like companion dogs. Also this OP 'fox rehoming' group is desexing the animals, so the population is actually being reduced by removing them from the wild. As demonstrated 'tameness potential' is the key trait, I'd expect those choosing the foxes are selecting on that behavioral basis.

Those Grade 1 children have a lot to answer for! :)