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Westminster Dog Show Opens
Associated Press ^ | February 12, 2008 | BEN WALKER,

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 ...


TOPICS: Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: beagle; dogs; uno; westminster
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To: AnAmericanMother

You are right. That’s a new one on me about the cats. Those siamese are wonderful having had 8 myself.

The BOX is due to thinking that only a dog(male)can win rather than a bitch(female)can win Best of Breed or Best of Anything. LOL It is still there. They can be very sexist. You can see by looking at Angus and his littermate sister, Barbie, he is much larger than she is. The mastiff breed really shows the difference. My Keeley (Shiloh Shepherd) looks just like a male and is bigger than a lot of them. Of course, there are the judges who don’t like whites in the Shepherd breed(do you know Hitler thought they were inferior and tried to have all of them destroyed). Any vet will tell when they are born the whites are usually the healthiest and most fit. Judges may like larger dogs rather than smaller dogs or the owner political angle is always there. And it doesn’t happen in just the dog world; the horse world is really bad and cattle too. But to be fair; there are some good judges out there.


41 posted on 02/12/2008 8:15:38 AM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

The bichons are wonderful. They are the sweetest breed.


42 posted on 02/12/2008 8:16:36 AM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: Cagey

Usually, it’s the challange dog that will win over the challange bitch because it’s a male.


43 posted on 02/12/2008 8:18:37 AM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: libstripper
Beagle, shmeagle, a dog has got to have fabulous fur, plus have a snooty French name! :)
44 posted on 02/12/2008 8:45:56 AM PST by Cecily
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To: TexasNative2000

What a great personality that dog has! I’m rooting for him. :)


45 posted on 02/12/2008 12:38:39 PM PST by SoKatt
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To: freekitty
The bichons are wonderful. They are the sweetest breed.

I've heard they can have a lot of health issues. Is that true?

46 posted on 02/12/2008 1:18:18 PM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

That I am not sure of. You might look them up to see what their health looks like.


47 posted on 02/12/2008 1:21:46 PM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: Cecily

That poodle is a fine example of the breed. My friend who owns Angus, the mastiff also field trials labs and there are a couple of poodles that do very well at it. Of course, they are water dogs after all.


48 posted on 02/12/2008 1:23:01 PM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: bcsco

What a life for that cat. LOL No wonder he disappears.


49 posted on 02/12/2008 1:24:42 PM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: Cecily

LOL. That is a great dog.


50 posted on 02/12/2008 1:26:34 PM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: freekitty
What a life for that cat. LOL No wonder he disappears.

She should have named him Reilly. He's living the life of...

51 posted on 02/12/2008 1:34:15 PM PST by bcsco (To heck with a third party. We need a second one....)
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To: freekitty

My husband and I were watching the poodle last night with our mastiff snoring loudly at our feet. Hubby thinks the Poodle Society of America (is there such a thing?) is “buying” the wins- they always seem to do well. I’m looking forward to the working dog class tonight...


52 posted on 02/12/2008 5:30:27 PM PST by luckymom (Forget the baby whales, save the baby humans.)
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To: luckymom
Hubby thinks the Poodle Society of America (is there such a thing?) is “buying” the wins- they always seem to do well

Poodles are wonderful smart dogs. I've had two over the years, but the Poodle hair cuts in dog shows are not attractive.

53 posted on 02/12/2008 6:30:26 PM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: freekitty

A Shih Tzu waits backstage.

54 posted on 02/12/2008 6:39:25 PM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: bcsco
We've been to a few dogs shows- my daughter assisted a couple of handlers, one of aussies, one of collies. If I remember correctly, they pick best of breed, then best of opposite sex in that breed, and perhaps some other titles as well.

We were watching Westminster about six years ago and saw a collie we recognized. A dog she had helped with had won best of breed for rough coat collie - he won the next year as well. His name was Bam Bam - gorgeous black tri collie.

Nice aussie won last night - I hope he does not win best of breed. Too many people think they want aussies and then they end up in rescue. An aussie needs a lot of time.

55 posted on 02/12/2008 7:26:52 PM PST by aberaussie
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To: aberaussie
You're right, an Aussie is an awful lot of dog.

We have a bunch of them in Agility, and that's a dog that needs a serious full-time job!

I have Labs, they are field Labs so very 'busy' dogs who also need a full time job. Most people just aren't willing to put in the time to make a busy dog happy. Every time I see that book about Marley, I just sigh. If the ignorant owners had taken the breeder's advice and gotten a laid-back conformation Lab instead of a hard-charging field dog, EVERYBODY would have been happier (including the poor dog!)

56 posted on 02/13/2008 6:01:25 AM PST by AnAmericanMother ((Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment)))
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To: AnAmericanMother

We have a 3 yo German Shorthair. Active dog, right? Needs a lot of running area and outside activity? Not!

We acquired him as a puppy from a breeder who kept the brood in the unfinished part of their basement. Not a good situation from a breeding standpoint for such dogs but it worked well for us. When we brought him home in mid-January three years ago, it was the first time he’d been outside. That plus the winter weather completely disoriented him.

I suffer from heart related issues and am pretty sedentary. Because of his background he’s the perfect companion. He goes out to do his duty but wants back in right away. If it’s snowing or raining, forget it. I have to force him outside. He’s perfectly content lying at my feet or in his ‘chair’ (the wife’s) when she’s at work. Sure, in summer he’s happy chasing birds & squirrels outside in the yard, but is ready to come back inside with us when it’s time.

Breed may be an indicator of characteristics, but environment also plays a role in how a given animal corresponds to those characteristics.


57 posted on 02/13/2008 7:12:17 AM PST by bcsco (To heck with a third party. We need a second one....)
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To: bcsco
Sure you can affect inbred characteristics, by early environment (as in your case) or intensive training. But you're going against heredity!

My 6 year old Choc is a perfect lady despite her field background -- she hasn't been 'out of training' since she was 10 weeks old. And my 16 month old Black will get there . . . eventually. She already has her CGC and is in training for hunting retriever. She'll start agility in a few weeks.

Both of them were pups in a wide-open environment -- the Choc in an outdoor paddock with a 'manger' for shelter, the Black on 40 acres of fenced property. Outside in all weathers with their moms and littermates. When the Black came to us (from Wisconsin), she had the fullest, plushest, heaviest coat you can imagine. She lost that pretty quickly in GA!

Either one of them would have been a disaster for somebody who wasn't willing to put in the time to train. But right now both of them are sacked out on the study carpet like a couple of dog rugs . . . although the Black has one eye open to see if I'm going to do anything fun . . . .

58 posted on 02/13/2008 7:21:30 AM PST by AnAmericanMother ((Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment)))
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To: AnAmericanMother
My daughter's aussie is a couch potato. He was a pretty active puppy, though. We were doing rescue at the time we got him and took in two other puppies at the same time - our house was a rowdy place with the three of them and my adult. We had all four colors at once!

My daughter did agility and obedience with her dog and then left him with us when she went off to college. As he got older he really preferred just hanging out in the house. He lives with her now in TN, and really prefers to stay indoors - especially if there is snow on the ground!

My dog likes to go out and run, either by himself in the backyard or with my younger daughter. We have to be careful to not let him do too much because he gets very sore. He's twelve and the vet says that too much activity aggravates his joints.

We are waiting on a litter of aussies to get a pup for my younger daughter - things are going to get pretty lively here!

59 posted on 02/13/2008 7:39:14 AM PST by aberaussie
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To: aberaussie

As they get older, they DO get calmer! The contrast between my Choc and my little pistol of a Black is remarkable . . . . a gentle little whine, “I see the duck, mom, and I’m ready” versus “oh! a duck! can I get the duck? oh! PLEASE! let me get the duck! Pleasepleasepleaseplease!”


60 posted on 02/13/2008 7:54:18 AM PST by AnAmericanMother ((Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment)))
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