For GIGI!!!! Yeah - GiGi took Best of Breed from Field Champions today up in New York and ran off for Best in Field and won it! She can now add - Multiple Best In Field Winner - to the front of her name :)
Quincy also placed 4th in a large Open Stake of 18 dogs!
Yeah for the kids :)
Friday, July 18, 2008
The Sighthound Definition
Wonderfully written by Glenda Konopka - Annadar Whippets
With the exception of “sighthounds,” every and all other breeds of dog used by mankind for hunting game (I’m not talking about verminators [Welsh Terriers, Wire Fox Terriers, etc.] that kill pests like rats, mice, moles, etc.) is an “assistant” to the human hunter: retrievers bring back what the hunter shoots out of the air; spaniels, setters, and pointers find game by smell and “point out” the game so the hunter can either flush it himself or let the dog do that so he can shoot it; “scent” hounds (Bloodhounds, Bassets, Treeing Walkers, Foxhounds, Beagles, etc.) chase by scent and either run the game to ground, chase it up a tree, or otherwise ‘corner’ the prey so the human can kill it (whether or not he uses a “ground” dog to get whatever it is out of its hole in the ground). None of these breeds of dog are expected to kill the quarry as a true and important part of their job assisting humans to hunt. They work (mostly) under direct human instruction (a/k/a Field Trials, Earth Dogs, Coonhound competitions, etc.) and don’t kill the prey, the human kills it with a bow, gun, or other weapon. The human picks up the prey and off they go back home to cook.
On the other hand, Sighthounds are expected to work independently (I understand the Scottish Deerhound walking with its master to look for prey, whippets for rabbits, etc.) of their human in the hunt. They (hopefully) find and flush the game on their own (using all senses), chase it down well out of reach and control of the human “hunter,” and (what distinguishes them the most) they make the kill, not the human. Hunting with a Sighthound generally doesn’t involve the hunter killing anything or even carrying a weapon unless it’s to dispatch fatally wounded game. I had an Irish Wolfhound owner add that the sighthounds are also magnanimous enough to share “their” kill with the human they choose to work with, not for, like other breeds. Sighthounds are the ONLY breeds we humans expect to do ALL the hunting work – find it, chase it, hold it, kill it, bring it back or wait for help. No other breeds that I know of carry this kind of responsibility. I think it’s why they have such different personalities and behaviors and are considered “aloof” – they are actually independent, not uncaring. They love us enough to share “their” kills with us as we become the leader of their pack in our homes. It’s why there is always a little bit of the “wild” in any Sighthound worth its salt and why they work “with” us and not “for” us; it’s a partnership, not a Master-Slave relationship, at least the way I see it.
I think this will/should better help new Whippet owners, and even long time Whippet owners that don't participate in any sports with their Whippets, better understand their Whippets and their personalities and why they are so different then most other breeds of dogs. Thanks Glenda for this wonderfully written piece.
With the exception of “sighthounds,” every and all other breeds of dog used by mankind for hunting game (I’m not talking about verminators [Welsh Terriers, Wire Fox Terriers, etc.] that kill pests like rats, mice, moles, etc.) is an “assistant” to the human hunter: retrievers bring back what the hunter shoots out of the air; spaniels, setters, and pointers find game by smell and “point out” the game so the hunter can either flush it himself or let the dog do that so he can shoot it; “scent” hounds (Bloodhounds, Bassets, Treeing Walkers, Foxhounds, Beagles, etc.) chase by scent and either run the game to ground, chase it up a tree, or otherwise ‘corner’ the prey so the human can kill it (whether or not he uses a “ground” dog to get whatever it is out of its hole in the ground). None of these breeds of dog are expected to kill the quarry as a true and important part of their job assisting humans to hunt. They work (mostly) under direct human instruction (a/k/a Field Trials, Earth Dogs, Coonhound competitions, etc.) and don’t kill the prey, the human kills it with a bow, gun, or other weapon. The human picks up the prey and off they go back home to cook.
On the other hand, Sighthounds are expected to work independently (I understand the Scottish Deerhound walking with its master to look for prey, whippets for rabbits, etc.) of their human in the hunt. They (hopefully) find and flush the game on their own (using all senses), chase it down well out of reach and control of the human “hunter,” and (what distinguishes them the most) they make the kill, not the human. Hunting with a Sighthound generally doesn’t involve the hunter killing anything or even carrying a weapon unless it’s to dispatch fatally wounded game. I had an Irish Wolfhound owner add that the sighthounds are also magnanimous enough to share “their” kill with the human they choose to work with, not for, like other breeds. Sighthounds are the ONLY breeds we humans expect to do ALL the hunting work – find it, chase it, hold it, kill it, bring it back or wait for help. No other breeds that I know of carry this kind of responsibility. I think it’s why they have such different personalities and behaviors and are considered “aloof” – they are actually independent, not uncaring. They love us enough to share “their” kills with us as we become the leader of their pack in our homes. It’s why there is always a little bit of the “wild” in any Sighthound worth its salt and why they work “with” us and not “for” us; it’s a partnership, not a Master-Slave relationship, at least the way I see it.
I think this will/should better help new Whippet owners, and even long time Whippet owners that don't participate in any sports with their Whippets, better understand their Whippets and their personalities and why they are so different then most other breeds of dogs. Thanks Glenda for this wonderfully written piece.
Helen's new title!
Helen got her JC title this morning in NY. She isn't competing today but will hopefully be running tomorrow! The trial hasn't ended yet, but as soon as I get results I will be posting them ;)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
They killed Mickey Mouse!
Poor Mickey! Dave has settled into his new home quiet well with his new Boston Terrier friends and apparently loves chomping on their heads - LOL As you can tell by the stuffing all around - he is surely a typical Whippet! But, I don't think Mickey deserved it!
Christian has left...
Christian (from our Rupert x Fiona litter) left with his new owners on Saturday. He's doing great and fitting in with his Greyhound pals - we hope to have lots of pictures and updates to post on him here :) Here is a picture we took of Christian right before he left.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Happy 6th birthday!
Today we celebrated the 6th birthday of our 2002 Sweet Pea x Blaze kids!!! The kids that are here enjoyed chicken feet for lunch!
Day 1 of their life!
"Brooks"
"Leigh"
"Scarlet"
"Hummer"
"Isaac"
"Star"
"Monty"
"Hunter"
"Blaze Jr"
"Glory"
Day 1 of their life!
"Brooks"
"Leigh"
"Scarlet"
"Hummer"
"Isaac"
"Star"
"Monty"
"Hunter"
"Blaze Jr"
"Glory"
Elle in Poland
Elle made it to Poland safe and sound on July 4th and is doing great - here are the pictures we got after he arrived to his new home in Poland. They love him to pieces and we hope to have lots of pictures to post during his stay in Poland :)
Our 4th of July visitors
Rainie & Julie (from our 2004 Peter Gabriel - Sweet Pea x Remington litter) stayed with us over the 4th of July weekend for about a week while their mom and dad were out of town. It was great to see the girls again and spend all that time with them!
Rainie & Julia
Rainie
Julia
Rainie, Sweet Pea & Julia
Julia & Rainie - waiting in the kitchen for a snack
Lola - still bad, but cute!
Here she is from yesterday morning - just keeping an eye on everything going on around her :)
Monday, July 14, 2008
BAD GIRLS!
Here are our BAD GIRLS!
The other day we FINALLY got a picture of Helen doing what she loves to do - walk along the top of the porch railing like she's a cat. This was taken through the kitchen window.
And then last night I was looking out the back door at part of the new fence going up (will explain that in another post later) and Dido was on the grill! We had just used the grill to cook dinner an hour or two earlier and it had rained and she was cleaning it off when I caught her. I started snapping pics (through the back door) and up jumps sister Lola! So here are the two girls on the grill - looking at me like "What did we do? Aren't we cute?" You can see the split rail fence going up in the back ground. That was done just a few hours earlier.
The other day we FINALLY got a picture of Helen doing what she loves to do - walk along the top of the porch railing like she's a cat. This was taken through the kitchen window.
And then last night I was looking out the back door at part of the new fence going up (will explain that in another post later) and Dido was on the grill! We had just used the grill to cook dinner an hour or two earlier and it had rained and she was cleaning it off when I caught her. I started snapping pics (through the back door) and up jumps sister Lola! So here are the two girls on the grill - looking at me like "What did we do? Aren't we cute?" You can see the split rail fence going up in the back ground. That was done just a few hours earlier.
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