"Patricia Hearst poses for a picture with her French bulldog, Diva."
Posted on 02/12/2008 5:59:18 AM PST by libstripper
NEW YORK (Feb. 12) - Uno the beagle turned Madison Square Garden into his own big, green backyard.
He barked and bayed. He nipped at a newly printed sign. He tried to grab his leash. He took a flying leap at a piece of filet mignon.
"Snoopy would be proud," handler Aaron Wilkerson said Monday. "He was being his merry little hound self."
He also did something out of character: He became the first beagle to win the hound group at the Westminster Kennel Club show since 1939 — that's 483 years, in dog years.
America's top dog competition has presented best in show 100 times and a beagle has never won. Uno's victory assured him a place in the final seven Tuesday night.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.aol.com ...
If I recall, Sinkspur had two Bichons. (Today’s bit of trivia)
"Patricia Hearst poses for a picture with her French bulldog, Diva."
From the two finalists (Challenge Dog and Challenge Bitch) is selected Best of Breed, best import or best A.V.N.S.C.The runner-up is deemed Best of Opposite Sex (or Runner-up to Best of Breed). There is then a run-off in which the second best individual in the gender of the winner (the Reserve Challenge) is brought back to stand against the Best of Opposite Sex (the Challenge who did not win) for the title of Reserve Best of Breed. So, if the Best of Breed is the Challenge Bitch, the Reserve Best of Breed may be the Challenge Dog or the Reserve Challenge Bitch.
I’m more confused after reading the above description of “Best of Opposite Sex” award at Westminster.
Can you explain this title?
Thanks in advance.
I always had Poodles because they didn't shed. Currently I only have a cat because he came to my door and asked if he could live here. I wouldn't mind having one of these Bichons, but it would require the same amount of grooming as a Poodle....The Bichon makes me smile just to look at him...
Boy, talk about making it unnecessarily confusing. Why not just pick the top four dogs in breed? Why do they have to distinguish sex? Using that as a criteria makes me wonder if they really do acknowledge the top two best dogs?
That’s a great photo. He looks like a young Gabby Hayes. LOL
We had gotten a Lab some time ago because someone had told me they don’t shed. I guess that someone had it in for me! I never saw a dog that shed so much but she was the best dog I’ve ever had. Incredibly intelligent and loving.
The whole BOX (Best of Opposite Sex) deal arose because in many dog (and cat) breeds there are substantial differences (size, frame, head) between the sexes. If a judge likes a particular 'look' that tends to favor one sex over the other, the BOX tends to ameliorate that. Also, since the purpose of conformation organizations like AKC (or CFA) is to "improve the breed", the judges want to put up an example of both the best male and the best female.
"Reserve Best of Breed" is just a refinement on this back in the other direction, so that the second-best or runner-up is chosen regardless of sex.
Freekitty, I'll stand corrected if it's somehow different in the Dog World!
"A woman had a black cat 'Felix' who spent his days outside, coming indoors at night. One October evening he disappeared. The woman searched for him in vain, but the following spring Felix reappeared, healthy and clean. Everything was back to normal until that fall when Felix disappeared again.
"Again, Felix reappeared the following spring. Perplexed, the woman began asking neighbors for clues. She finally rang the bell of an old couple who replied 'A black cat? Sure. We hated to see him out in the cold so we bought a carrier and take him to Florida every winter'".
LOL!
I have one Lab that sheds and one that does not. My Black Lab is an incredible shedding machine . . . her crate pad stays black with her hair, and if she sits in my lap watching Westminster (like she did last night, jumping up periodically to bark at the dogs on screen) my dress is black with hair too.
My Chocolate Lab blows her undercoat for about 10 days in March or April, I vacuum around her crate for that time and then the shedding is over, except for a little bit when you scratch her tummy. She sleeps on our bed and there's very little stray hair.
The Black is mostly field bred, the Choc half show and half field, so I don't know whether it's color-related or type-related. Interestingly enough, the Black has no undercoat at all, just a slick topcoat of very fine black waxy hair. The Choc has a longer, coarser topcoat and the finest, fluffiest grayish down underneath. It must be the Black's field breeding, because she was bred in Wisconsin and the Choc in Georgia! Go figure!
There are only a handful of dogs that don't shed, but then you'll end up spending a fortune over the years on grooming bills. If you're allergic and still want a dog, it's worth it.
See post 28. There is actually a reason.
If you click on my name, you can see a photo of Spenser, my cat.
Spenser. Is he for hire? :)
Thinking back, I may actually have named him after that Spenser...:)
Thanks for the explanation on BOX and the information on Labs and shedding.
We had a Chocolate and her coat was as you described, compared to most blacks I’ve come across. However, she was a shedding machine 12 months of the year. That never bothered me at all but then I don’t vacuum often. The person who does was not amused.
He's not amused, but he's not amused at having to vacuum anyway, so it's hard to tell!
Well, that makes some sense. Thanks for the input.
Well, that makes sense. Thanks for the input.
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