ellz

I'm actually looking forward to Saturday. And of course, I'm going to have to really impose upon the Misses R to help me socialise Roger and Flame! But I think the girls will cope...don't you?

:D Like she'll tell us! Hey woman...are we going to "picnic" on Saturday? What shall I bring?

Remember the old saying "it takes an exhibitor hours to hide a fault and it takes the judge 2 minutes to find it". Let the judges who DO find themselves offended by "presentation" judge accordingly. As is obvious, there are far more who see it as part of the whole DOG SHOW and let things slide by than there are the others who judge strictly "by the book". Many of the judges who complain about the artificial presentation are the ones who haven't got the eye, or hands to find it! For my part, I don't like it when a dog moves and leaves a cloud of chalk, powder or whatever behind them. I wonder what some judges think when they touch a dog and the colour comes off on their hands. But as the only rulings that have been upheld concern the physical "colouration" of the coat through permanent dyes etc and as there are people designated by the controlling bodies as being authorised to take samples from such coats for testing, but no such person designated to deal with chalk etc, then I think it is fairly obvious what the more "serious" issue is. And yes, I have one breed which is generally shown "au naturale" and another which is generally clipped, trimmed, bathed, dried and presented to within an inch of its existence but I do still use products from time to time to cover or "enhance" their natural condition and I have also worked for a professional handler in the USA and know quite a few secrets that I would literally DIE before I would use. And I've also been on the end of a lead of a breed of dog that is usually trimmed, brushed and hairsprayed into shape but I've never yet begrudged a judge putting their hands into the middle to check whether what is in the shop window is in fact what is behind the counter!

MOI? Neeever! :D

Ok now you have officially lost me We decided to have dinner at the Claremont Pub last night. At 6.45 as we were leaving I mentioned that we should probably go to "his" house via the Bowen Bridge because of the work going on on the Bridgewater bridge. HE said "oh no, don't worry about that, they don't work on weekends". So we drove to the Bridgewater Bridge........and on to New Norfolk, to cross the bridge there to come back to Herdsmans Cove. Serves him right that he missed a TV show that he wanted to watch!!! BUT, funniest thing was that this morning when we drove past one of the signs on the highway advising people about the closure to the bridge from 7pm until 6am....there was a BIG panel on it saying "Bridge Open Tonight" so I made a big point of showing him the difference!!!!

Ha! SHE might not have....but you need to ask a certain red haired person how long it takes to get from Claremont to Herdsmans Cove......via New Norfolk!!!!!

One would think if the puppy were coming from a responsible breeder that the puppies would have been given a suitable form of identification from birth so the puppies CAN be told apart. Try telling me that 9 Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppies with very little white (if any) don't look the same? Yet every one of my puppy people was able to identify each puppy from the very first photo taken on the day they were born, by the colour of collar they were wearing. Also, if you are purchasing from a breeder who is keeping something for themselves, you will probably not know which puppy you may be getting until very late in the piece anyway. A reputable, responsible breeder will want to choose for themselves first and there will then POSSIBLY be an opportunity for a purchaser to select a puppy from what is left. But this isn't always the case. A good breeder will know their puppies temperaments and be able to match individuals to a situation. A purchaser who is confronted by a litter of cute puppies may not be able to do this objectively. I didn't make any selections for anybody until my puppies were 8 weeks old and by then I had chosen the two I was keeping and knew the temperaments of the others. It is not always possible, or practical for somebody to jump on a plane to go and view a litter of puppies. In an ideal world, yes, every person would view at least the dam of every single litter of puppies that are for sale before they buy them. But sometimes, a leap of faith is needed. And believe me, that leap of faith isn't JUST on the part of the purchaser. It isn't exactly an easy thing for a breeder to allow a puppy to go to a new home if they haven't met the prospective family, that is why emails, phonecalls, photos etc are a very valuable thing for BOTH parties. If ANY prospective puppy purchaser has any doubts about the breeder, the temperaments of the dogs, the quality of the dam or anything else then the only thing I can advise is that they steer clear. OR that they voice those doubts and see what the breeder can say, or do, to put them at ease.

stonebridge, although ideally all dogs would be shown unbathed, unbrushed and unaltered to ideally showcase their unadulterated, pure breed type, it is after all a DOG SHOW and I'd like to see ANY dog, of ANY breed which hasn't had some form of "assistance" to help it to look the way it does in order to do well. Even the most primitive breeds are generally helped along in some way with their appearance, even if only to remove pee stains, grass stains or some other NATURAL form of blemish!

Malice is a toad! Although she DID turn the cuteness on after her bath today!! Unlike her father she has taken to leadtraining with great aplomb. OUTSIDE the ring she will happily gait on a loose lead with her head and tail in the air and all four feet pointing in the direction in which she is going. INSIDE the ring......is in the lap of the doGs but a few lucky people will get to see it next weekend at the Huon Parades!

Without your help this time lovey! Although many people besides Kerry and Judy know him now thanks to the dulcet tones of Mrs Rajacadoo-doo-doo!!!

Many people use chalk for adding a bit of "texture" to the coat but a knowledgeable judge will know the feel of it. I'd be more inclined to have a look at the Plush Puppy range myself....drop Cheryl a line and see what she recommends!

You embrassed, NEVER, poor Ellz, why didn't I hear it?!?! Must have been in the wrong place at the RIGHT time! PS. I TOLD you all that Woger is smooshable!

It was certainly amusing Mrs R! Especially cos I was talking to Kerry and Judy. Judy laughed and commented that ALL little boys need their own fan club! Mind you, that was after she and Kerry had already greeted Roger by name, quite loudly, but not as loudly as some! :D

:D And the video is coming when???? You beat me to it. :rofl: :rofl: Weeeeelllllll...unless the TCA office has a security camera it won't be happening. You silly gooses you.....how on earth could I possibly take video when I was too busy a) puppy wrangling and b) laughing? Mind you, I should probably mention that I don't see Kerry or Judy now without them asking me how Bad Alice is (and funnier still when I rang the office to get Alice's rego number so that I could enter her in shows I didn't even have to tell Kerry her registered name before he gave it to me! ;) ) and when I dropped in to say hi to the Rajacadoo-doo-doo clan at the showgrounds yesterday, both Kerry and Judy remembered Roger by name!

Many feel it essential to view the parents, however IMO it isn't always necessary. You need to ask lots of questions and be comfortable with whomever you are dealing and sometimes even seeing the parents doesn't make you like the breeder any more (or less). As an example, I am located in Tasmania but have recently bred a litter of Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppies. One is now located in Cairns, one in Melbourne, one is on Flinders Island and another is going to a new home in Townsville when her new owners get back from a long-planned trip to Japan. None of them saw anything except many photographs of the puppies and their mother (and my home and other dogs) and we had many phone conversations and emails as well. Without exception all are very happy with their puppies as far as both quality and upbringing. If the breeder in NSW has what you want and checks all of the boxes and you trust them, then I say go for it.

Oh dear!

I nearly fell out of the car when I realised it was you there. Thats terrible to that to me I think I was so shell shocked from all the lies I overheard from outside ring 2, thats why I was temporarily unfocused What I did to you was no worse than what Mrs Rajacadoo-doo-doo did to me!!! I think it is fairly safe to say that pretty much everybody who was at the Specials Ring knows who Roger is now! ROIGHT!! Methinks you need to spill!!!! Enquiring minds wanna know who is telling lies now and what they are!!!! Editing to add: Bad Alice had a bath, blow dry and clip/trim today. I was moving her out on the lead and somebody who shall remain nameless but who wouldn't be hard to identify commented "she almost looks classy".

Ahhhh gotta love vets.....somebody has to! And naturally the vet themselves sells the Science Diet puppy?? Seriously though, my puppies are started on bones pretty much as soon as their teeth arrive. They love them! At first they just do a lot of sucking and gum the bones to smithereens but it doesn't take long for them to catch on to how yummy and how much fun a juicy, meaty bone can be. At 6 weeks, depending upon what breed your puppy is (why did you get it so young? I hope it wasn't from a registered breeder), it should be fine with chicken necks that have been whacked with a meat cleaver or wing tips if it is a toy breed. I also give lamb offcuts and veal rib bones to little babies. They're hard enough to give satisfying "crunch" but still supple enough that they are easily chewed and digested and the puppy doesn't lose "heart" when it chews and chews but doesn't get anywhere with the bone as it can with a bone that is too large.

The impression I got from the EO of the TCA when I had my puppies microchipped a couple of weeks ago is that within 2 years it will be compulsory for all dogs to be microchipped prior to registration with any ANKC controlling body.

I fibbed! Was lovely to catch up with my bonded friend Rajacadoo-doo-doo, the Misses Rajacadoo-doo-doo and the wonderful Mr Rajacadoo-doo-doo! And Mrs Firestone needs to get her peepers checked!

$15 for the year for 5 dogs.....not sure how much more beyond that, but I don't need it.

Just signed up to Show Manager....it's an excellent site and the show entries are just so clean and concise. I don't begrudge the money whatsoever!

He emailed me and said mine was posted yesterday!

I anchor mine outside with tent pegs. And for a "lid", I use more panels attached with double ended trojan clips.

Took this pic en route to the "parental units" home on Monday. We stopped for a human wee walk so I got the puppies out for a break as well. The pen made it so easy and very safe considering this park is on the side of a very busy road! Shows how portable they are anyway!