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JulieW

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Some people asked me about my dog a while ago after I put his photo as my avatar, so I thought I'd tell you that today he was in his first limit class at a championship show, and he got 1st place :-) This may not mean much to most of you but it means he gets a 'stud book number' from the Kennel Club which means he's qualified for life for Crufts.

 

Fingers crossed also for his first litter of puppies who are due on Tuesday - hope they're born fit and well - and also everything crossed for his other mating he had yesterday - a long wait ahead to see if she's in whelp (well, it feels like a long wait)

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He's a flatcoated retriever. 4 years old in October. Got 2nd in his class at Crufts in 2011 but didn't qualify for this year and I've been too busy to show him much over the last year, so really happy with today's result.

 

I saw some bulldogs earlier - I'm always amused by how they're shown face on to the judge - the only breed who do that I think

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Must admit showing isn't my thing but know an awful lot who do. My Oscar is 4, Elsie 31/2 and Ted, our rescue, 9.

 

I love flat coats. Beautiful dogs. Very nearly succumbed a few years back but decided I couldn't give the required exercise. Mind you now I'm exercising 3 very active bulldogs it pprobably wouldn't have been much more.

 

I've also just realised what an idiot I am. I didn't even look at your avatar which is, of course, patently a falt coated retriever. Doh!!!

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I have a black labrador, Amy, who is two and a half and a treasure and Minette and King Charles Cavalier who is getting on for 13 and is a PITA and it isn't age. She has always been like that! We also have two cats, Smokie, a long hair moggie who I bought over a very young kitten because I felt sorry for her her. She is a tortoiseshell and mardy as all torties are! We also have the red and white short hair Harley (short for Harlequin as he has a red mask) who was a rescue and only cost the price of his food. He is a very dear, sweet natured cat. :)

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I must confess that I have never been much of a dog person. I was never allowed one as a child ( despite much pleading) and over the years I became quite nervous around them.

 

However over the last 12 months I have become more and more attracted to the idea of becoming a dog owner, maybe because my youngest will be "flying the nest" sometime in the near future. I really want a miniature dachshund so at the moment I'm trying to persuade my other half that this is an essential purchase when we move into our new house next month ( I hope I have more success that I did with my mother!!)

 

I've been doing lots of research and reading around the subject but how great I can come to balletco too for advice. :-)

 

Congratulations to you Julie too

Edited by Kitschqueen_1
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We've had retrievers (golden and flatcoated) since we got married 20+ years ago, but have recently "branched out" and bought a Welsh Springer Spaniel puppy. He's gorgeous too - I'll try to put a photo on of them together :)

 

When we bought our first dog I knew nothing about showing, but saw a notice in the vets for a ringcraft class, thought we'd give it a go (without really knowing what it was) and ended up doing OK (not bad for a golden retriever anyway). We then bought a flattie with the intention of showing him - he did really well until he was nearly 2 but ended up a bit on the small side and I took up agility instead. Then we got another golden who, unfortunately turned out not to have all his "bits" so couldn't be shown (but I was really busy with the children being quite young then, so didn't really matter) - followed a few years later by Gimble who's done really well. I've had a bit of a break from showing him over the last year while he matured a bit and my mind was on Josh getting a job!

 

I'm very excited about finally managing to get a dog "good" enough to have his stud book number and looking forward to seeing how his first lot of puppies turn out. He's got a pedigree that lots of people are interested in (mostly Swedish lines) so hoping there'll be a bit more interest in him after yesterday. He's a lovely, soppy dog - and although I enjoy shows, where I get to meet up with friends who I've met along the way, I'm not that dedicated to it!

 

When we bought the new WSS puppy this summer we didn't go out looking for one to show, but have managed to get one who might do OK, so we'll give it a go! My hubby's interested in having a go at gundog training with him - it's a bit different with a springer to a retriever.

 

(Having read this back it's funny, as it kind of mirrors our dancing experience - finding a local class to go to, not knowing whether they child's any good, progressing through different classes/exams, getting awards, having to have health checks! - Just minus the puppies.....)

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Must admit, I didn't know you could pinpoint the date of puppies' arrivals so accurately (if at all, to be completely honest).

It's amazing what you can learn on ballet websites....

 

Surprised me too Ann, but I think it's pretty accurate with these breeds to within a day or two either side (it's only an 8 week-ish gestation period, so I suppose that helps).

 

My daughter helped out at a whelping with a lady she's dog/house sat for, recently - she guessed correctly that her "lines" usually have their puppies a couple of days early, so Zoe was lucky to be there for 8 of the 9 golden retriever puppies births.

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.

 

(Having read this back it's funny, as it kind of mirrors our dancing experience - finding a local class to go to, not knowing whether they child's any good, progressing through different classes/exams, getting awards, having to have health checks! - Just minus the puppies.....)

 

How funny that you posted this just as I was just thinking exactly the same about my motivation for getting a dog now. I could easily see me getting into the world of showing to fill the void of driving to lessons, festivals, auditions etc. when my dd has left home. I was desperately sad and felt redundant when she no longer needed me to do her bun!!

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How funny that you posted this just as I was just thinking exactly the same about my motivation for getting a dog now. I could easily see me getting into the world of showing to fill the void of driving to lessons, festivals, auditions etc. when my dd has left home. I was desperately sad and felt redundant when she no longer needed me to do her bun!!

 

I do also get confused with my terminology sometimes and have to correct myself - catalogue vs programme, judge vs adjudicator - I'm sure there are others too :)

 

Festivals and dog shows frustrate my husband in the same way in that it's too subjective for his liking. Adjudicators who like certain styles or dance schools/judges who like certain types or breeders !!

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I do also get confused with my terminology sometimes and have to correct myself - catalogue vs programme, judge vs adjudicator - I'm sure there are others too :)

 

Funny how ballet pervades our every day lives. We are currently recruiting at work and I got a very horrified look from one of the candidates when I told him today that "We're planning to hold the auditions a week on Tuesday." I think he wondered what on earth we were going to ask him to do!

Anyway, good look with the showing. I don't know anything technical about dogs but yours looks beautiful in your avatar.

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No news on the puppies yet. Sounds like there's a window of quite a few days that they can be born in and Faye's owner says that they were due "from Tuesday" - so fingers crossed that they might come by the end of the weekend. I sent her a message yesterday asking if there was any news and she replied at 2.30am saying that she keeps waking up to check on her, only to find Faye fast asleep and quite happy! This is why we keep dogs and not bitches ;)

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Thanks JulieW for pointing me to this thread.

 

My little dog Chino who has since died in June this year, has no great claim to fame. He did come first in obedience classes once, I still have the rosette. We dropped a couple of points because I gave him the command twice, he didn’t need it, it was me, I lost him the point but we still came first.

Chino.jpg

Chino really was my best friend, he gave me purpose to my life when my partner died in 2005, as it felt my life and whole existence had ended. He got me out of the house to take him walks, so I met people. I had to cook for him so I cooked for myself. The world then was a very strange and unfamiliar place and I had no reference other than Chino. The down side for Chino was I was still working and he had to go to kennels every day as a day boarder, but there was little else I could do other than let him go, and that would break my heart. So we had to make the best of things, I still had my career and Chino had a second home at the kennels every day, I tried to make his pen as comfy as I could, the lady at kennels let me bring his own fluffy basket, carpet and other bits. Occasionally I had to go away or overseas for my company, that I felt very guilty about but it didn’t appear to bother Chino, I know he was well looked after, but I did really miss him.

Even when I took up dancing, I still had to consider Chino, mostly he would go with me if the parking was secure at the venue, I would pop out a couple of times that evening and taking for a walk then go back to the dance. Where that wasn’t possible, that gave rise to my two dance evenings, where I would call home after the first venue, take Chino for a little walk, make sure he was OK the go on to the second venue, but times at these were always limited.

 

I guess indirectly Chino introduced me to Ballet, I had taken Chino to our local park for a walk, On the village hall door was a notice “Adult Ballet Class, call Nicky”, so I did and the rest is history.

 

Chino like many Cavaliers developed a heart problem in later life (there average life expectance is about 10 – 12 years), Chino’s condition was detected early monitored and medication introduced at the appropriate time. I finished work at the end of april this year so we could spend the remainder of his life together with me a home. Life was just wonderful, it was perfect. I tried to make a clean break from work, but was asked if I would continue to be a member of the board of trustees for the company pension scheme, that I agreed to.

 

On the 13th of June I was to have a trustees meeting in London with an early start, which meant Chino would have to go in kennels the night before. The previous day we had 3 lovely walks in the sunshine, I held back for his last walk for as late as I could then I had to take him to the kennels. The ladies daughter took him into the building, Chino stopped at the door with a biscuit in his mouth and looked back at me, so as to say “do I have to go mum”, he looked so sweet, and that was the last time I see him alive.

 

Apparently he was OK that night, but in the morning when they let the dogs out he was having trouble breathing. The proprietor took him strait up to Chino’s own vet, which gave him oxygen and medication but could not save him. I found out when I phoned on my way back from London, my only thought was to get Chino home and put him to rest.

In the end Chino save me from making that awful decision that many dog owners have to make and that’s having to have their lovely dogs put to sleep.

For me Chino was the best dog and companion in the world.

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Thank you girls, he was so very special to me.

 

IMG_0125_zpse572a6e3.jpg

 

I can’t leave it on such a sad note, here is a picture of happier times, Chino and I in our lounge, you can see some of his toys between the two chairs. Clearing dog hairs was always a difficult and time consuming thing, on my hands and knees with a damp cloth (more effective than a vacuum cleaner), now I don’t have to do it, but I would swap that to have him back.

 

PS the door on the left is my dance studio.

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