Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Specialty show and Rally
Yesterday and today the PVIWC held a Specialty show. What that means is that it was an AKC sanctioned show that was only one breed. In this case Irish Wolfhounds.
Let me tell you, IW and their people know how to have a good time! The show was held at the beautiful Turf Valley resort, on the golf course. Despite cold weather and rain, everyone at the show seemed to be having a good time.
Especially the hounds! Several times during the show, we would hear one or two hounds start to howl and in about a minute a good number of the rest would join in. The whole resort would be treated to a chorus of howling. It was hilarious! The first time it happened, I thought a siren set them off, but then I realized all that noise was just coming from them.
Finn and I had our first Rally, we went in Novice A which is for people and dogs just getting started in showing. In Rally there are two parts to scoring. There are ribbons for placing, but in order for the score earned to count it has to be a qualifying score. The pair must earn at least 70 points out of 100 to qualify. Finn and I received a score of 86 and third place, so we earned our first qualifying score! Of course we made mistakes, or rather I did. I rushed Finn through a sit, and went off course on one obstacle, but in all I was very pleased with how we did.
(for details on Rally, see the AKC site)
Today we just watched the show. Dress for Rally is casual, but for the breed classes I was interested to see more formal clothes. I greatly admired the women running their hounds (in the soggy grass) in dress suits and shoes!
I was especially impressed with the camaraderie between the competitors and the good nature of the hounds.
You have to admit the weather was probably quite authentic, LOL!
Let me tell you, IW and their people know how to have a good time! The show was held at the beautiful Turf Valley resort, on the golf course. Despite cold weather and rain, everyone at the show seemed to be having a good time.
Especially the hounds! Several times during the show, we would hear one or two hounds start to howl and in about a minute a good number of the rest would join in. The whole resort would be treated to a chorus of howling. It was hilarious! The first time it happened, I thought a siren set them off, but then I realized all that noise was just coming from them.
Finn and I had our first Rally, we went in Novice A which is for people and dogs just getting started in showing. In Rally there are two parts to scoring. There are ribbons for placing, but in order for the score earned to count it has to be a qualifying score. The pair must earn at least 70 points out of 100 to qualify. Finn and I received a score of 86 and third place, so we earned our first qualifying score! Of course we made mistakes, or rather I did. I rushed Finn through a sit, and went off course on one obstacle, but in all I was very pleased with how we did.(for details on Rally, see the AKC site)
Today we just watched the show. Dress for Rally is casual, but for the breed classes I was interested to see more formal clothes. I greatly admired the women running their hounds (in the soggy grass) in dress suits and shoes!
I was especially impressed with the camaraderie between the competitors and the good nature of the hounds.
You have to admit the weather was probably quite authentic, LOL!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Happy Anniversary!
Today is the one year anniversary of our adoption of Finn. A year ago he was a very different dog.
He was scared, bewildered, and very worried about what had happened to his life.
Today we went on our usual morning walk.
We protested the leash a bit.
We walked with our girlfriend Teddy.
Then we played with a ball in the front yard.
It's really hard to catch a wolfhound with the camera when they are really playing!
The ball was tormenting him, he had to kill it.
Home for a happy dog!
He was scared, bewildered, and very worried about what had happened to his life.Today we went on our usual morning walk.
We protested the leash a bit.
We walked with our girlfriend Teddy.
Then we played with a ball in the front yard.
It's really hard to catch a wolfhound with the camera when they are really playing!
The ball was tormenting him, he had to kill it.
Home for a happy dog!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
More book reviews! Updated!
Today I have 3 books where the main character is an Irish Wolfhound, or a cross.
Boru: The Story of an Irish Wolfhound by J. Allan Dunn written in 1926.
This is the book I read first, I ordered it from Amazon. The story is set in the USA, and is of a winning show dog who finds himself on his own in the west. It was typical of the era, definitely reminds you of The Call of the Wild. I enjoyed it, but I felt the author had no real knowledge of IW.
Finn The Wolfhound by A.J. Dawson written in 1908.
This book was written before Boru, and after reading it, I can't help but think Boru was a copy of this story. A.J. Dawson's story was set in England and Australia, and also has a champion show dog surviving in the wilds. The advantage to this story is that it is partially based in fact. A.J. Dawson was a breeder of Irish Wolfhounds, he did have a champion dog, the dog's mother died as the one in the story did, and he did go to Australia and make his fortune. I enjoyed this story much more. The quirks and character of the IW was much better.
Jan, Son of Finn by A.J. Dawson written in 1928.
This story is a continuation of the previous one. The main character is an Irish Wolfhound and Bloodhound cross, the son of the IW from the previous story. It takes place in England and Canada, and while a good story, I didn't find it as engaging simply because the main character didn't have as much personality.
All three of these stories show the fascination the literary world had at that time with the wilderness. I found it especially poignant how the loyalty and faithfulness of the IW was emphasised, and was the turning point of the story. It is obviously a characteristic that has long been associated with the breed.
Both of A.J. Dawson's stories are available to read online at Internet Archive.
Update!
While browsing the Internet Archive, I found this book:
The Irish Wolfhound by George Augustus Graham published 1885
Captain G.A. Graham is the person most responsible for saving the IW breed. I'm beyoind excited to find his book, and read his thoughts on the breed, and how he brought about it's re-emergence.
Boru: The Story of an Irish Wolfhound by J. Allan Dunn written in 1926.
This is the book I read first, I ordered it from Amazon. The story is set in the USA, and is of a winning show dog who finds himself on his own in the west. It was typical of the era, definitely reminds you of The Call of the Wild. I enjoyed it, but I felt the author had no real knowledge of IW.
Finn The Wolfhound by A.J. Dawson written in 1908.
This book was written before Boru, and after reading it, I can't help but think Boru was a copy of this story. A.J. Dawson's story was set in England and Australia, and also has a champion show dog surviving in the wilds. The advantage to this story is that it is partially based in fact. A.J. Dawson was a breeder of Irish Wolfhounds, he did have a champion dog, the dog's mother died as the one in the story did, and he did go to Australia and make his fortune. I enjoyed this story much more. The quirks and character of the IW was much better.
Jan, Son of Finn by A.J. Dawson written in 1928.
This story is a continuation of the previous one. The main character is an Irish Wolfhound and Bloodhound cross, the son of the IW from the previous story. It takes place in England and Canada, and while a good story, I didn't find it as engaging simply because the main character didn't have as much personality.
All three of these stories show the fascination the literary world had at that time with the wilderness. I found it especially poignant how the loyalty and faithfulness of the IW was emphasised, and was the turning point of the story. It is obviously a characteristic that has long been associated with the breed.
Both of A.J. Dawson's stories are available to read online at Internet Archive.
Update!
While browsing the Internet Archive, I found this book:
The Irish Wolfhound by George Augustus Graham published 1885
Captain G.A. Graham is the person most responsible for saving the IW breed. I'm beyoind excited to find his book, and read his thoughts on the breed, and how he brought about it's re-emergence.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Happy Spring!
March 20 is the first day of Spring! Finn decided to dress up to wish everyone Happy spring.
Here he poses with the Gnomes in his spring garb. I know he doesn't look to thrilled, but really he is.
We pause for a moment to check out the chew-ability of the flower.
But his sense of humor eventually comes back.
Meanwhile the horses celebrate in there own way.
Here he poses with the Gnomes in his spring garb. I know he doesn't look to thrilled, but really he is.
We pause for a moment to check out the chew-ability of the flower.
But his sense of humor eventually comes back.
Meanwhile the horses celebrate in there own way.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
First we went to the Bain Center in Columbia, with Pets on Wheels
Then we went shopping at Highland Feed in Highland. (We get our dog and cat food here, plus lots of yummy treats for everyone, dog, cat, horse and bird.)
Then we came home and found this guy,
Update! This is a North American Wood Frog, according to Google, anyway.
and these!
Spring is coming!
It was a good day.
Then we went shopping at Highland Feed in Highland. (We get our dog and cat food here, plus lots of yummy treats for everyone, dog, cat, horse and bird.)
Then we came home and found this guy,
Update! This is a North American Wood Frog, according to Google, anyway.
and these!
Spring is coming!It was a good day.
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