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| Julia caught this nice shot of Jess & Penny |
Jess arrived home safely from Atlanta, and Laurie along with Penny & her mother Nikon got back to Virginia where they were welcomed by Belle & the cats. Sounds as if they had a fantastic time! Penny will spend the winter at home growing up. For all the winning she's done, Penny is not quite 18 months old, and still needs a bit of maturity. Laurie will take her through a basic obedience class, for manners and for something to do over the winter. Penny is a busy dog and needs a job!
Jess was very complimentary about the temperaments on the Dals she saw all weekend, but much less complimentary on the tails. High tails continue to be a problem in the breed and are very distracting on an otherwise lovely dog. However, bad temperaments are a far more serious problem. An ugly tail only affects a dog's show career. He can still be as a wonderful companion. A bad temperament affects a dog's ability to function as a companion, especially if the dog's attitude problems include aggression. Additionally, many shy dogs will bite if they feel threatened. There is absolutely no room in the show ring for timid or aggressive dogs, and those temperaments can also be hereditary.
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| Mudskippers are such fun! |
Lost a friend this weekend, one of my last two mudskippers. Love my Skippers, funny little fish with leg-like fins and googly eyes. I'd had those two for over 4 years, but knew the one was failing when he stopped eating. His companion is eating very little now, and no longer spends his time stuck to the wall of the tank watching me work in the fishroom. Those little skippers come from the mud flats of India and the gentleman I purchased mine from said he has not been able to get any recent shipments because of heavy rainstorms in the area. Promised to let me know when he got more in. Can't imagine now having Skippers in my fish room!
We took my mother out to dinner on Friday, do her favorite Mexican restaurant. She enjoyed her combo plate and Margarita, and loves to get out. Hopefully her November will be better than last year when he hurt her foot and eventually ended up in the hospital and a nursing home. She's done well since returning to her apartment, so hopefully this holiday season will be healthier & happier for all of us. When I picked her up for church on Sunday she brought me part of an apple pie she had baked the day before. No one makes better pies than my mother, even at the age of 86!
2 comments:
About there being "high" tails in the breed...what about low set tails? We showed a bitch a few months ago and she took reserve. The judge commented that he liked her spotting best and he felt her temperament was "remarkable" but he said her tail was too low. We'd never been told this before so I asked him what he meant and he said the back should go straight across to the tail, whereas our bitch's rounds off a bit at the rear. Her rear end looks almost identical to the picture you have posted to the left of the dog named Naughtia. So I am confused. I see nothing wrong with my dog's tail and I see nothing wrong with Naughtia's for example, but according to the judge, when their rear "slopes" like that it is a major fault. What do you say about that?
I responded to your question today in a posting. Hope my explanation helps. All dogs have faults, and some can be minimized by correct handling and conditioning, while others are there to stay. In the average Dal entry, 75% of the dogs could use better croups/tail sets/tail carriage.
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