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Unlike the other Dog World columnists, I’m not a major ‘name’ in the world of dogs. I’m not a leading breeder, a globe-trotting judge or even a regular on the championship show circuit.
Last weekend it was the turn of the champion PD dogs and handlers to come out for the first time this year. The Yorkshire WTS were the hosts and Wakefield was the venue with Lorna Cottier judging the ticket.
After Crufts was all over and my visitors had gone home, I started to look back to when Bruce and I first began our annual visit to the greatest dog show in the world.
For a while now I have been disappointed with the standard of freestyle that I see in the UK. I have mentioned this many times to others who seem to agree that the routines from ten years ago could easily win outright in the advanced classes now.
Crufts, our show of shows, is over for another year and this was a good one with the accent firmly on how wonderful dogs are in all walks of life with health issues firmly in the background – and this not before time!
Crufts is already fading in our memories as preparations begin for next year! I really enjoyed talking to those rescues invited to the Kennel Club stand on all four days to meet and greet the hundreds of doggy visitors.
As a pregnancy enters the last couple of weeks a breeder’s thoughts will turn towards whelping. It is unlikely the whelping will begin on the calculated date. The 63-day landmark is only an average figure and it is influenced by several biological...
I make no apology for revisiting Craigie Aitchison and his work. Along with David Hockney’s Dachshunds and Lucian Freud’s Whippets, Aitchison’s Bedlington Terrier pictures are some of the most iconic dog images of the late 20th-early 21st century.
Nobody can deny one of the most stunning breeds to fill the eye is the beautiful Irish (red) Setter. Recently I had the honour to judge varieties and BIS at an open show. Trotting into the veteran class came the most exquisitely turned out Irish...
My method of breeding is quite simple – breed quality to quality and then select quality. Last time we looked at the principles behind breeding for quality. This time we need to look at the practical methods that we might use to achieve quality.
Italy is not the best place to spend a weekend when you’re trying to lose weight and especially the Mantova area where the cuisine is of the best and the local wines memorable.
The week following Crufts is always a tricky time for commentators on the world of dogs as copy has to be submitted before the event has taken place. Whatever is written with regard to the show will inevitably be out of date, especially if...
