You've been watching too much Ridley Scott.

Me thinks you have just come back from the pub

So your not going to be at the birth then!

LOL-----good luck with the next 20+ years then!

As an aside,(you probably don't want to know this). I am on standby for springer because the owners are having a home birth and the midwife has said the dog has to be out of the house (7mth springer). I asked why and apparently the only reason she gave was that she had let one stay once and it had eaten the placenta and that wasn't nice!

Maybe she thought it would give the dog blood lust.

rune

Flyball is tremendously high adrenaline for a short time and causes some spectacular fall outs!

I loved it for the high I got and the men in our lot were pretty laid back.

rune

I am not hugely competitive---more so than Tassle though. She used to be so laid back in agility that I ended up giving her an allowance which included her entry fees (she still had to come to shows with me) and telling her she was now wasting her own money. That made her think about it a bit but you can't change someones character

I need a competition now and then to motivate me, something to aim at. The multisports is good because you are in competition with yourself. Demos aren't quite enough.

rune

Don't like 'man work' - I know all about the theory that these dogs are very well trained and controlled but I just don't 'get' the need to prove their ability to intimidate a human ...is this a macho thing ?

dont really like HTM either - too much like Billy Smarts Circus for my taste

Don't really approve of shooting and the subsequent gun dog work - just don't get that whole thing of breeding birds just so that someone can blast them out of the sky and your dog can pick up their bodies


really like Agility and have done this in the past - also like obedience, showing and breeding

But I have to agree that as long as the dogs enjoy whatever hobby you do it really matters not one jot what anyone else thinks - the world would be a pretty boring place if we all liked the same thing !

I enjoy watching manwork (I regularly used to watch Lancashire Police dogs train when I lived down there) but of course that was for real, not sport. I suspect that there are more men in schutzhund than women, and that there will be some pretty big egos on show I also suspect that there will be an element of "macho" members with these sort of dogs. However, on the other hand, there is a massive amount of dedication and training that goes into these dogs and so would hope that the macho element is small compared to the more professional type of sports person. If that makes sense!

Regarding gun dog work, I too am not particularly a fan of breeding birds to be shot (and all the other stuff that goes with it) but do enjoy watching the gun dogs working and watching their instinct and training combined.

Had to answer this bit A dog can have a high hip score yet still move beautifully, if it has all the other credentials to take it to the top in the show world why should it be refused it's title? A bit like saying Miss World has everything, looks personality etc., but has a hole in the heart so don't give her the title Obviously if the dog is lame and can't move then whoever helped give it the title is questionable, but that goes on a lot...you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours...you have to accept it goes on in the show world, no doubt it goes on in a lot of other hobbies too.

Putting dogs into uncomfortable stances is impossible, unless you truss them up..no dog will stay put, no matter how well trained.

With regards to high scoring dogs being bred from that is a whole separate issue and splits the ethical breeders from those that are not. Showing isn't all about breeding, I've shown all of my dogs but haven't bred from them all

I'm 100% with both of you there! The training is fun, watching her get it is fun. Sure it might be fun to do a complete run someday, but the best part is the bonding, seeing her become a more confident dog and just having fun!

The place we train at is called "It's all about the dogs" and the trainer, who does compete, is all about having fun with the dogs and making sure no one gets injured.

You've chosen to illustrate your point with a picture of the ONLY dog breed which is expected to stand in what might be called an "unnatural" stance. Most dogs are shown in a normal and natural four-square stance:



Most breeders, if looking for a stud dog will be influenced much more by the dog's health tests results than by his "champion status."

We show our dogs, do some informal obedience work with them and they act as very effective canine fundraisers for a variety of charities, but the activity I love most with my dogs is running them in harness. There is simply no other feeling in the world that compares with running a team of dogs at first light in the middle of a deserted forest - wonderful (and the bonus is, the dogs absolutely live for it!)





Mick