RallyValley

Glad to hear Gibbs' surgery went well and he is now on the road to recovery. Mirawee can't wait to hear all about Jive next week!

I don't know much about working Brittany's outside of WA. :) I think quite a lot are more French lines the US...

I look at the breed I have chosen and I am involved in and can see some ways in the USA they have helped to preserve a Brittany as a dual dog; - Less coat is preferred, profuse coat is a fault. This has stopped the breed getting an exaggerated show coat. -The breed celebrates their dual dogs, they publish all Duals on a website http://www.brittanybreed.info/DualChampions/ , they have dual champion classes at speciality shows, they have a futurity with show and field trials and award the highest dual dog (the dog that places highest in both) - Judges education there REALLY emphasizes working ability, they explain how field collars leave a mark, they show images of dogs with incorrect coat full of burrs and discuss this, they explain how trialling dogs are thin and muscular (well most Britts that show are, they condition their dogs really well), they talk about features I.e nostrils, neck and angulation THEN discuss how this effects working ability.

They are supposedly related to Chesapeake Bay Retrievers who also have an oily coat.

Sometimes it IS important to have shows, here is a list of the 598 AKC Brittany Dual Champions, http://www.brittanybreed.info/DualChampions/ they are all examples of good structure and functioning field dogs.Brittany's have more Dual Champions then the rest of the sporting group combined ;) . You see some Brittany's that are solely field bred that hardly look like Brittany's anymore! So the show ring keeps type consistent and encourages better form. You sound very quick to judge and make assertions about how 'show dogs' live. Every 'show dog' I know lives a much better life then the average pet ;) And remember for most people their show dogs are their pets, that just do a bit of showing on the side.

How are u finding the VAN? I find it makes mine pick up weight really quickly if I feed according to the packaging I have to feed much less. I've not noticed any difference in either dog. :)

Toby and Zora get either 1.5 cups a day or 1cup and 150 gams of VAN made up with chicken mince. Toby sometimes gets less then Zora and they both get a meaty bone at lunch time.

Yes I think it is too ;) Would love to see a wicket brought out at a show!

Thanks Ness. Tollersowned Yank my US import is quite tall also, a close relative. Yank's Australian Customs boys have some leg also. His other GET nice and leggy also. I love long legs on labradors. I think I've met Yank, he didn't seem as tall as that boy, are the working Labs usually really tall? Leggy I know but so big? I've just never really seen many working line Labs, I've just spent yesterday watching some show Labs waddle around the ring while waiting my turn so it's shocking the two are the same breed! :laugh: But also I watched the working gun dog demonstration and thought those Labs were stunning! Lots of leg, still looked like a Lab in the head too!!! Some field labs don't exactly look like Labs anymore (probably badly bred ones) but these ones looked great!! ETA I think that Lab only looks so big because many Labs in Aus are so short!!! I once took my friends Lab who is top of the standard down to a show class and everyone was commenting on how huge and oversize he must be. It's Dogs 56 - 57 cms (22-22.5 ins) at withers and Bitches 55 - 56 cms (21.5 - 22 ins) at withers

Ah yes I have had this link sent to me before, I am unable to get past the text at the past which is grossly inaccurate!!! The person who created the video makes their bias and lack of knowledge known in the first minute so I have never bothered to continue on.

MG Yes it came on suddenly after his evening run. Thanks for the compliments about Zora, I'm glad she's got looks because she has lost a little bit of her brains since her season! :laugh: Apparently it's fairly normal and I'm hoping they will come back after her diestrus period ends.

Sorry to hear RV. Hope the medication helps him. How old is he? 4 in June. So still a baby really. But just so I'm not a total downer link at my pretty girl sucking on her teddy for comfort. This toy came over in the crate with her at 8 weeks.

Vet thinks Toby has arthritis... will wait on Deb's opinion on that... and gave him anti-inflammatory tablets and we are doing a course of cartropen. I've passed the smooches and hugs on. Love the names Mirawee! Not too envious of you Mirawee early morning toilet trips, cleaning wee and poo. Looking forward to meeting her though. All the best for Ruby RS! I hope Millie gets recognised as well!

I've skipped training as well currently at the vet with Toby who is limping badly and has been for 24 hours. Worst he has been for a very long time

If you baby him so much you will make it a bigger deal then what it was. You will learn from this and it doesn't sound like he really cared. Have some cornflower or soap on hand next time, you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. :)

Of course the usual obedience, agility, showing, field work, companions, therapy dogs, field work, retrieving, fly ball but also some unusual talents; Trough Lounging Getting Dirty Sucking on toys like a pacifier

Same :) One of the advantages of living in Perth ;)

How adorable Mirawee!!!!! Your poor son OSS! Feeling like you need to throw up/throwing up is worse then any pain!! How exciting about the potential show boy!

Also MG curious what made you decide on a Clumber? I would never own one but I have a soft spot for Sussex Spaniels, which are a little bit similar :laugh:

So happy for you ST! It's your English Setter dream come true!! Best of luck to Frankie and the setters from Mariglen if she is in this year ;) I haven't been on DOL as much this week - this is my third day of a massive migraine and I just want to get better! But congratulations to everyone on their awesome results over the Classic, Ptolomy reading about Scootas special award made me a little teary

After meeting my Brittany I never want to own another breed - truly perfection in a dog

My dog has leaky anal glands and I didn't find Black Hawk helped with that. He is on Vet's All Natural with chicken mince for breakfast and Earthborn Holistic Ocean Fusion for dinner and he has not leaked once since being on this diet.

Well done Em!!!! We have a RATG later in the month, Zora is entered, but mostly as a donation - I highly doubt she will be ready ;)

Wow I didn't mean to offend anyone I really admire retrieving dogs and if I had a Retriever breed I would be doing Retrieving Trials :) When I say versatile I mean that my Brittany (and all other Utility Gundogs) are H-P-R breeds, they were bred to hunt the bird out, point it and retrieve it. To me doing only the last part of the equation is not testing the true versatility of my dog. A good handler in the field will not be looking busy, that's because they have trained their dog and trust the dog to locate the birds, I don't know about you but I can't smell out a tiny button quail in a massive stubble paddock so I won't interfere unless needed ;) A good field dog should also be obedient - their recall should be instant, they should stop on a whistle, they will take direction as to which area to hunt in - you cannot have two dogs in the brace covering the same ground, they do have to do a water retrieve across a river and a land retrieve to complete the trial which includes marking game and returning it with no signs of damage to the game. They must also sit steady, off leash 3-5 meters from the handler while the other dog in the brace completes a retrieve no more then 7 meters away. The pool of field trial dogs in WA is small but the community here is doing their best to improve the quality of the work and it has been getting better. We have non shooting trials in WA so we do not break the law, so we are required to do two retrieves at the end of the trial, they are done on pidgeons from dummy launchers, they are to be in cover. You won't see usually dogs negotiating cliffs, rivers and gullys when looking for quail - quails usually live in the wheat stubble and farmers generally only plant wheat on flat land. Saying that I have been at a trial where the whole party had to cross through a dry river gully, the dogs just blew through as they knew better then to look for quail there. I do believe in a general sense that doing other sports with my dog, including showing, agility and obedience is a better show of her versatility.

MY mugs have picture of wine bottles on - hmm ? appropriately chosen I think Well done on your terrific results last night - good to see him back to his best. Thanks for the play afterwards too - Strauss sure enjoyed it.Thanks Hannah for showing and looking after the boy last night I think I am pretty lucky to have a boy who is happy to go off and do things with other people. I took him into the obedience ring, where he won Novice (cough cough god only knows how) and then Hannah took him up to the show ring and then later on he wandered through the show dogs to go and have his photo taken before coming back to the bottom oval and playing ball with Brookie. I wouldn't swap him for all the tea in China! Strauss did really well! He impressed quite a few people who had never before seen a Toller so handsome ;) Congratulations on your success Mirawee! Yes Strauss got to have a few different handlers, he was as very good sport, as were the handlers :)