Sheilajeanne

Chuck, the problem with that is there's this thing called the 'breed standard' that the breeders are supposed to follow, and if they don't follow it, the breed can get messed up pretty fast: The dog must not be timid, shrinking behind its master or handler; it should not be nervous, looking about or upward with anxious expression or showing nervous reactions, such as tucking of tail, to strange sounds or sights. Lack of confidence under any surroundings is not typical of good character. Any of the above deficiencies in character which indicate shyness must be penalized as very serious faults and any dog exhibiting pronounced indications of these must be excused from the ring At one American German shepherd show a few years ago, breeders asked the people running the show to stop making announcements over the P.A. system, as it was causing their dogs to spook. Did you know the border collie people fought very hard AGAINST being recognized by the AKC, as their breed is above all else a WORKING breed? Other collie herding breeds (rough collie Shetland sheepdog) have been destroyed by the conformation show ring, and are no longer capable of working. The rough collie now carries so much coat that if it tried to herd in an area with lots of scrub, it would get caught up in the bushes, and likely get stuck!

What NOT to wear to a dog show: As for working titles, I was definitely planning to put at least and IGP1 on Eska, but age and health got in the way... Anyway, she got her BH, the basic Schutzhund obedience title 5 days after being hit by a car, when she dashed out into the street, instead of waiting for me to open the car door... Ah well, she's a great companion, and watching her and the cat have their morning sparring match is very entertaining! Chuck, what breed are the dogs in your photo?

[sigh!] Ohhh, Klara, have you ever opened a can of worms. As I think you are aware, the main sport for proving a GSD is worthy of breeding is Schutzhund. The AKC banned Schutzhund back in 1990. For a long time prior to that, GSDs shown in the American ring very rarely had any working titles of any sort, not even obedience. Same thing with Canada. One year, I attended the obedience trials at the Canadian Nationals (biggest show of the year for the GSD). None of the dogs competing were conformation dogs, and there were even quite a few dogs of other breeds. The problem is, if you don't prove your dogs have working ability, within a few generations you will lose that ability! Very few ASL German shepherds do anything other than trot around the ring looking pretty! In Canada, some breeders got together, and were determined to fix this. The founder of our breed, von Stephanitz said "Make sure my shepherd dog remains a working dog, for I have struggled all my life long for that aim. The breeding of shepherd dogs is the breeding of working dogs; and this must always be the aim, or we shall cease to produce shepherd dogs. Efficiency for work must count for more with the shepherd dog breeder than the honors of the Show Ring." So, this group of breeders finally got the kennel club to agree that before a Canadian GSD could go 'Select' in conformation, it must pass a temperament test and have at least one working title. There was CONSIDERABLE opposition to this from breeders who knew their dogs would never pass the temperament test, which involved things like walking along a road with traffic going past, gunshots being fired from a starter pistol, and an umbrella being opened in front of the dog. The AKC club has never introduced similar rules. What about the German dogs? Well, in the early 70's a split began to form between the working GSDs and the show GSDs. The show dogs were bred to have lovely black and red coats, and like the ASL dogs, a far-reaching side gait. It was also decided that a curved back was stronger than a straight back, so backs became arched like a bridge. Due to breeding for a longer upper thigh the front end and the back were now out of balance, and as you can see from this photo, the trot was no longer a 2 beat gait. The courage test done at the Sieger show, the show of the year, was watered down. Dogs that came off the sleeve during the bitework still were getting ratings of 'pronounced'. There is currently pretty much a total split between the working and show lines. The show lines have their Sieger show, while the working lines have the BSP (Bundsieger Prufung) and the WUSV championship, which only tests their working ability in the 3 Schutzhund disciplines (tracking, obedience and protection.) Here's what a typical working line (BSP winner!) looks like: https://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=122775-ernst-vom-weinbergblick?_v=20121019223949 And here is a female German show line, who placed second in the 2017 Sieger show, which is what the VA2 rating means.

Okay, I need to know - do websites in the U.K. use biscuits instead of cookies?

Totally agree! Today's German shepherds couldn't do this: My current shepherd is working line, and they look more like the dogs of years gone by, and most can still work. Her father was a police canine: https://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=2224084-eska-von-den-roten-vorbergen?_v=20171103225743

Klara, long ago I discovered a link to a book that showed dog breeds in the very early 1900's. Many of the dogs looked very, very different from what their breed looks like now, and a surprising number of the breeds no longer exist. So, breeds do fall out of favor (or fashion) and become extinct. I'd post the link, but it's on my old computer, and I don't have time to look it up. But here's how one breed has changed since then! The St. Bernard has become so unsuited for the job it used to do (Alpine rescue) that alpine rescue units no longer use it. Edit: found a link to the book!! It was originally published in 1867. An updated issue followed in 1915. https://archive.org/details/dogsofallnations00masorich

What? No, I never said she 'fed her dog cookies'. That was the Linda Shaw quote - her GERMAN SHEPHERD dropped dead at her feet due to an inherited heart arrhythmia! Let's take this by the steps: this e-friend of mine bought a beagle pup. It developed severe, life-threatening allergies. Several years down the road, she found out that the sire also had severe allergies, and the owner was continuing to breed it, despite knowing about the problem. Like the man who owned the GSD with the pacemaker, the sire of the dog that dropped dead, no doubt he would deny the allergies could be inherited if confronted by someone with an offspring that had developed the same problem. This is NOT a rare thing in the dog breeding world. I have seen it over and over again. I could tell you dozens of stories from the GSD world of the same sort of thing happening. Those stud fees look pretty good, and that's how breeders make their money - that and selling puppies. Of course, some of the pups would have been unaffected, and that would give them an excuse to keep on cranking out pups. Dysplasia is also a problem with GSD's, but it has been dramatically reduced by the OFA x-ray program. Anyone buying a GSD these days will be checking the pup's pedigree to make sure their ancestor's hips (and more recently, elbows) passed the OFA screening program. And yes, maybe the bulldog SHOULD go extinct unless the breeders do something about fixing the problems it has! The function the dog once served (baiting bulls) is now illegal just about everywhere, so why keep a dog that's such a genetic disaster around? It's cruel what breeders have done - the females have pelvises so narrow they can't even give birth normally, and have to have C-sections! You think it's ethical to breed dogs like that??

Chuck, there's a very good reason the English bulldog is about the LAST breed of dog I'd ever want to own! They also suffer from severe breathing problems due to the short snout, and can overheat and die very quickly in hot weather. Dogs like that should not be bred. Vets often comment on how dogs recovering from anesthesia will fight the tracheal tube when they begin to regain consciousness. The short snouted breeds often don't, because it's one of the very few times in their lives they've been able to breathe freely. It's a cruel thing breeders have done creating breeds like this. The owner of the beagle in question has had many beagles (she LOVES hounds) knows the breed inside and out, knows many other beagle breeders (it's not a very large community where she lives) and knows for sure the breeder was aware of the problem, but preferred getting stud fees and points in the show ring to breeding sound, healthy dogs. It's not a problem that shows up right away in the offspring, so it was easy for him to get away with it, and claim he had no idea the pups might have inherited it. And don't get me started on the problems with the German shepherd. Here's what the breed standard (AKC) says about temperament: And here's what Linda Shaw noticed: Over a period of a decade I watched almost every Grand Victor at the GSDCC National display obvious nervous instability. I lost count of the dogs that crouched, shied, cowered and trembled before judges who apparently didn’t care. Some of the Canadian breeders who DID care fought very hard to introduce a temperament test for the breed. They eventually won out, but against CONSIDERABLE resistance. German shepherds in Canada now must pass the test in order to get a Select conformation rating. The American club (GSDCA) still does not require a test.

Chuck, oh the breeder knew the male had problems! There is no doubt about it! It is not at all uncommon for AKC show breeders to continue to breed dogs with health and/or temperament problems, as long as they perform well in the show ring. Beagles aren't my breed, but I could cite numerous examples that have been proven from multiple sources in German shepherds. Here's one of the worst. Linda Shaw wrote this. She also wrote the book on the Illustrated Standard of the German Shepherd Dog.

I had an e-friend with a beagle that was severely allergic. He nearly died from his allergies several times in the years she had him. She found out he'd inherited the problem from his father. The breeder was aware of that but CONTINUTED TO BREED THE DOG!! Don't you LOVE unscrupulous breeders?? My e-friend is a very dedicated dog owner, does agility and tracking with them, and I think has even shown her dogs in conformation in the past. She was seriously pissed off when she found out, as she was sure she was getting her dog from a good breeder!

My mom has a lead foot, so I was not surprised when a Highway Patrol Officer pulled her over as she was driving through Alabama. Hoping to get off with a warning, Mom tried to appear shocked when he walked up to the car. "I have never been stopped like this before," she said to the officer. "What do they usually do, ma'am," he asked, "shoot the tires out?"

Leatherworkers should get this one pretty quickly:

Wow, those are HUGE! Yep, Chuck I could go with that!! When I was working at a nursery, there was a pair of robins that nested nearby every year. They were smart little cookies - they had discovered that lots of juicy worms like to hide underneath the plant pots, which were resting on the ground. One day, it was my chore to move the pots and weed around them. The robins followed along just a few feet behind me, grabbing the worms I uncovered. If I turned around, they'd quickly duck behind a pot to hide!

Did I tell you about the time I got told off by a humming bird?? I had just finished cleaning and reassembling the feeder. A female came to check it out. She visited two of the 'flowers', then came and hovered about a foot in front of my face before flying off. Okay, I thought, that was odd! I decided I'd better check the feeder. I found I hadn't pushed the flowers far enough down on the 'stems' when reassembling the feeder, and the bird wasn't able to reach the nectar! Sooo, she flew over and complained to the management! I was quite impressed with her ability to communicate!

I would replace all the lacing, otherwise it isn't going to match. Nice find!! Agree with HS - don't try to fix the wear and tear on the finish of the outside of the bag. I'd give it a good cleaning with saddle soap, and use NFO on any part that seemed too stiff and dry.

I practice tooling on them. I also use a really thick piece of belly underneath my project when I'm punching holes. It really helps protect your punches! I had a Tandy Pro punch ruined by using a poundo board and also a plastic kitchen cutting board underneath my projects!

Ferg, how do you do the blocking? What do you use?

There's a rest stop on the Interstate, not far from the Rainbow bridge. I've stopped there numerous times to use the facilities, grab a bite to eat and let the dogs have a walk. When i was walking the dogs one day, I noticed the English sparrows in the parking lot had an interesting feeding method. The had learned that the grills and bumpers of cars that have travelled long distances have a gourmet feast of dead bugs on them! It was really interesting to watch them picking the carcasses off the cars. They would wait until the passengers exited the cars before doing this , then fly away as soon as they came back. I've had these sparrows nesting around several of the houses I've lived in over the years, and this is NOT normal behaviour for the ones living in suburban backyards! They prefer eating from my bird feeder, though they certainly won't turn up their noses at a passing insect!

LOL, tsunkasapa! That's a really cool tool, Fred! I can see it would work both as a head knife and an awl.

After 13 years, I have FINALLY bought a new computer. My old HP still works okay, but it's very slow to get running in the morning, and occasionally freezes up on me. So, having been thoughtfully provided with some spare cash from the government because I finally got my tax returns caught up, I decided it was time. Anyway, as I transfer stuff from the new to the old, I came across this from an old e-mail and with Christmas fast approaching decided to share! To Whom it May Concern: Mrs. Claus and I regret to inform you that effective immediately, I will no longer be able to service the Southern United States on Christmas Eve. Due to overwhelming current population of the earth, my contract was renegotiated by North American Fairies and Elves Local 209. I now serve only certain areas of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. As part of the new and better contract I also get longer breaks for milk and cookies so keep that in mind. However, I'm certain that your children will be in good hands with your local replacement who happens to be my third cousin, Bubba Claus. His side of the family is from the South pole. He shares my goal of delivering toys to all the good boys and girls. However, there are a few differences between us, including: 1. There is no danger of a Grinch stealing your presents from Bubba Claus. He has a gun rack on his sleigh and a bumper sticker that reads: "These toys insured by Smith & Wesson." 2. Instead of milk and cookies, Bubba Claus prefers that children leave a RC Cola and peanut patty (or a Moon Pie) on the fireplace. And Bubba doesn't smoke a pipe. He dips a little snuff though, so please have an empty spit can handy. 3. Bubba Claus' sleigh is pulled by floppy-eared, flyin' coon dogs instead of reindeer. I made the mistake of loaning him a couple of my reindeer one time, and Blitzen's head now overlooks Bubba's fireplace. 4. You won't hear "On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen..." when Bubba Claus arrives. Instead you'll hear, "On Earnhardt, on Wallace, on Martin and LaBonte. On Rudd, on Jarrett, on Elliot and Petty." 5. "Ho, ho, ho!" has been replaced by "Yee Haw!" And you also are likely to hear Bubba's elves reply, "I her'd dat!" 6. As required by Southern highway laws, Bubba Claus' sleigh does have a Yosemite Sam safety triangle on the back with the words, "Back Off!" 7. Bubba Claus doesn't wear a belt. If I were you, I'd make sure you, the wife, and the kids turn the other way when he bends over to put presents under the tree. 8. Bubba Claus refuses to wear the standard issue Santa cap because he says it makes him look like a girly-boy. He has been granted permission to wear a white Stetson with a red band instead, as well as black cowboy boots. Sincerely Yours, Santa Claus (Member, North American Fairies and Elves Local 209)

Awesome photos, Chuck. You're blessed to live where there is such natural beauty. Handstitched, my mom had a flowering almond bush in her backyard for many years. AFAIK, it is JUST an ornamental shrub/tree and is not meant to produce almonds. A quick Google search confirms that: https://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/shrub/flowering-almond/ Sorry! You're barking up the wrong tree if you expect to get nuts! I looked up the actual almond tree, and they are much bigger and have simple flowers with only 5 petals, not fancy pink ones.

Yeah, big difference between boot leather that covers the whole foot and a strap that just goes over the toes. Don't want it to stretch too much.

deboardp, I've heard that's how they used to have recruits break in their new boots in the army: stand in a stream for 10 minutes or so,. then march until the boots were dry! Yep, an old method, but I'm sure it will work.

Chuck, 97% of scientists say that our world is warming up due to increased CO2 emissions. So, you believe they're all wrong? CO2 level have fluctuated over thousands of years, and the temperature has gone up and down accordingly, but never like this: If it were not for CO2 in our atmosphere, the sun's radiation would just go back out into space, and we'd have a cold, barren planet. CO2 absorbs the radiation reflected off the earth's surface, and turns it into a form of heat that can warm the atmosphere and ground. Unfortunately, this means, the higher the CO2 levels, the more heat is absorbed, and the hotter the planet is going to get.

Yes, just like what is sold as Chinese food in most of North America is not at all what the Chinese actually eat! They eat much more vegetables and less meat. Some of the vegetables are things North Americans wouldn't touch, like lotus roots. SUP, yes, that sounds really crazy! Chuck, yes, as one species dies off, others take over. Nature abhors a vacuum. The changes in vegetation and animal life is how biologists know the climate is warming up. I've seen this during my own lifetime - we never used to have opossums in Ontario, as it was too cold for them. Their ears, tails and feet freeze in really cold weather. Now, in the last 30 years or so, they have established breeding populations here. Other species that have moved in within my lifetime are mourning doves and turkey vultures, though they are mostly migratory. But the same thing goes for them - mourning doves' feet freeze easily in sub-zero weather, and the vulture's naked legs and head make them vulnerable to freezing too. I've frequently seen mourning doves with only one foot as a result of having lost one to freezing. Guess they didn't head south early enough!