136th Westminster Tuesday Live Blogging: Working Group
Working Group, here we go. There is some blur here with shepherding dogs (here, the dogs tend more to be "livestock guardians," in other words, killers), some sled dogs, draft dogs, fishermen's dogs, some rescuing & tracking, some big game hunting breeds (which should mean the Ridgeback is in here, but nooooooo), guard dogs, war dogs, and though they won't admit it, fighting dogs.
The AKC is an arbitrary deity, and is oft beyond mortal comprehension. But please, Dear Dog, couldn't you break things up and create an arctic / spitz group, as I was whining just a little while ago?
Fun thing: owners of the Tibetan Mastiff who went best of breed got married today in the grooming area. True Story. Dang, it looks as though they aren't going to broadcast the funny fashions show in its entirety. Dog costumes for as much as $500. Some of the bigger breeds look caparisoned, not costumed.
And speaking of costuming, the judge looks pretty snazzy herself, in a formal black gown which will take well to bending and stretching. Just one or two of the panels in her skirt are slightly sheer; sexy without being revealing. The opaque panels have the same sheer fabric floating over them. She looks as good in motion as a full-skirted black Cocker, and I know she wouldn't be insulted to hear me say so.
A daring V in both the front and back, many narrow horizontal gathers around her hips and waist towards a rhinestone ornament at left waist. Sheer but shirred long sleeves, again, modest and functional. And they'd hide the sin of loose old-lady arms if she had them, but I don't think she does. Dang, she looks good. It just floats around her. Whatever she spent, it was worth it. Jesus. Now I'm not just suffering from dog envy, I've got a case of gown envy, too?
Akita: Japanese guard dog. This one is very, very handsome. Hey, Paws, Helen Keller imported some of the first of these back in the 1930s. Call name Verushan? from New Hampshire, #1 Akita in the country now. Maybe her call name is Moonshine? Marooshi? Paper name is Witch with Attitude. Can't tell. QUIT MUMBLING!
Alaskan Malamute: Sled dog. This one is named Latin Lover, call name Super Ricky. Mals always have brown eyes and rounded ears. He moves like a dream, nice heavy bones.
Anatolian Shepherd Dog: Shepherd from Turkey. This one's named Old School, called Gator, from Idaho. Short-coated and territorial, always a light cream with dark ears. Big fellas.
Bernese Mountain Dog: One of my flist had / has Bernies. Where are you? [EDIT: here she is! see boreality's comment below.] His name is Abbot from Oregon, lovely black, white, and red dog in the usual Berner pattern. Nice thick tail. Don't get this dog if you live in the hot South.
Black Russian Terrier: Bred for protection? Not sure. They are Russian but not terriers. Think of a giant GIANT Schnauzer with a thick black coat and heavy beard & forelock. This boy is named Zill and looks really good. It's a genetic mix of Airedale, Schnauzer, and Rottweiler, recognized here for the first time in 2005.
Boxer: big-game dog bred to run down boar and bear, and for protection. This is a bitch named Styled Dream who is the winningest female boxer in the history of the breed. Expect her to get pulled just because of that. They call her Scarlett. I hate that her ears are cropped and her tail docked.
Bull Mastiff: Security dog from England. This is Fifth Wheel Don't Blink, called Dooley or Dewey, making his last appearance in the ring. Gosh, I just love their big heavy heads. The Rockefeller family brought them here to guard their own huge estates. Always a light buff with black facial markings and ear-tips.
Cane Corso: Security dog bred by the Romans. They are notorious for having killed the petite lesbian in California in her own hallway. Tight crops on the ears, docked tail, too often abused as fighting dogs. They are usually buff with a bit less striking black on the face than the Bull Mastiff, whom they resemble.
Doberman Pinscher: Security dog bred by a German. they've become service dogs, the announcer claims. I haven't seen it. Cropped ears, docked tails, black bodies with red feet, snout, and sometimes blaze. A pretty girl named Fifi from Dublin Ohio is this years entry, being displayed by her breeder/owner/handler.
Dogue de Bordeaux: Security and fighting dog from France. Rub My Belly At Rising Star is a big red dog called Buddha, massive wrinkly face, smaller white blaze. Natural ears and tail. Think Turner and Hooch.
German Pinscher: Ratter bred in Germany. Kaitlers Revival is a red dog called Lucas. Much smaller than a Doberman, very very shortly cropped tail, cropped ears, many different colors permitted.
Giant Schnauzer: Originally herding, then security. The minis are shown in the terrier group but the Standard and Giant are shown in Working. Siasconset Rose, a black bitch, is called Scottsie (sp?) of Ft. Worth, Texas. She has an amazing handler who has had two recent Best in Shows here: J.R., the Bichon Frise, and Stump, the Clumber Spaniel. And here he is with a great big breed. Cropped ears and severely cropped tail.
Great Dane: German boar hunter. Not Danish; descended from Irish Wolfhounds and Mastiffs. This beauty is named Jitterbug Man, call name James, fawn with a black muzzle and blackish ears, terrific mover, sure to be pulled. Lovely, lovely, lovely dog. Perfect topline. Well, all the dogs at Westminster are going to have perfect toplines. But still. Damn, he's lovely. The handler, head to toe in hot neon pink, doesn't distract any attention at all. THAT is how lovely James is. [No! She didn't pull him! How very wrong of her! Tch! OTOH, maybe she didn't in order to make room for the sentimental act of pulling the Tibetan Mastiff, see below.]
Great Pyrenees: Shepherd; livestock guardian. I usually think of them as all white, but they need not be. This one is pale ivory with shadowy patches of pale amber on the hindquarters and gray on the skull and ears. Black lips and eyes. These are big, floofy dogs. And smart. And tough. This one is named No-Brainer and called Riley (?). He works as a free-range chicken guardian in New Jersey. Announcer says they were the royal court dog of Louis XIV of France, which I find very hard to believe. Really? These dogs are BIG. Say... I don't know, 80 pounds? 35 kilos? Maybe a lot more, with all the fur, it's hard to tell. Announcer says "animated snowdrift," and yeah, you can see that. What does Wiki say about weight? "A 27 inches (69 cm) dog weighs about 100 pounds (45 kg) and a 25 inches (64 cm) bitch weighs about 85 pounds (39 kg)." [EDIT: see boreality's comment below for more on this.]
[Break for the Subaru commercial with the collie attempting to back into the boat dock.]
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog: Security dog bred by Romans. Same paint job and general build as the Bernese Mountain Dog, but a short, smooth coat. And perhaps a pinch smaller? I prefer this coat, but that's my prejudice in favor of short single coats speaking. This boy from Charlottesville, Virginia is named George and has really lovely markings, including an exaggerated sagittal stripe that goes down to the nape of his neck. He is a weight-pulling dog who has done 3300 pounds (1500 kg) in the past.
Komondor: Hungarian livestock guardian. The big white rasta dog, bigger than the Puli but with the same corded coat, which is a serious anti-wolf deterrent. Think of it as doggie Kevlar. Today it's Nagyalma Unforgettable Too from Indiana, known as Coal to her friends (despite being white). They are double-coated, but it twists up to form the cords.
Kuvasz: Another white Hungarian livestock guardian Wildwood Silver Six Pence comes from Las Vegas and is called Tanner. He's the top winning Kuvasz of all time. These are a very pretty breed, white-and-cream with a thick stand-off coat like a malamute's. Big dogs.
Leonberger: Livestock & general purpose guardian and draft dog from Germany. Big dark gold dogs with dark snouts and ear tips, thick double coat, natural ears and tail. This one is named Feiner Eros, called Odin or Oldin, from NY. Soulful eyes and nice movement. Might get pulled.
Mastiff: Security and fighting dog, probably from Tibet. Beowulf's Bit o' Blarney is his name and they call him Seamus. Big (but shorter than the Bull Mastiff), massive bone, fawn coat, natural ears and tail, blackish on ears and face, allegedly owned by Kubla Khan in the thousands.
Neapolitan Mastiff: War dog from, duh, Naples. Security and fighting. Beautiful gun-metal gray loose coat, wrinkled face. Used in one or more of the Harry Potter movies. Slobbery. Natural tail, brutally cropped ears (as you'd expect in a fighting dog). Called Mastino in Italian. This Ohio male is Ch. Amazing Love's Crush (good name for competition on Valentine's Day, right? But remember, the Leonburger is named Eros). They call him Crush; he is sure to be pulled.
Newfoundland: Rescue & Fisherman's helper; draft dog to haul firewood. Snazzy Story at Avalon Bey is called Snazzy. These are very big dogs and look larger due to their wonderful thick double coat. Always black, a little bit of white is permitted on the chest. These dogs can actually dive. Web-footed. One survived the wreck of the Titanic, sez the announcer.
Portuguese Water Dog: Fisherman's helper. These poor beasts are cursed with the same silly-assed (bare-assed) show cut as the Lowchen you saw yesterday. Full fur to their waist, and then nekkid, until the tail-tuft, with the idea that the fur would get waterlogged and drown them. (I have no idea what the excuse is for trimming Lowchen this way.) They clearly share some heritage with poodles; look at the face. His name is Oz, or Freestyle The Wiz. Bo Kennedy, the Obama family's dog, is a PWD, and I expect Oz to get pulled.
Rottweiler: Security dog brought to Germany by Roman army. High Flyin' Gladiator, called Pilot, is a fine, heavy-built "middle linebacker" type and may get pulled. I like Rotties, and I've seen some Rottie-Dobie crosses that were just magnificent, hitting the perfect middle between the two breeds for people who find Rotts too massive and Dobes too greyhound-ish. Rotts have severely cropped tails but this one seems to have natural ears.
St. Bernard: Draft, search, & rescue from Switzerland. Emerald Eyes from Kentucky is called Jewel. Coats can be short or long; hers is short, and her lovely brown saddle is oh-so-slightly outlined with black before going to the white of her chest and belly. Very pretty girl. The announcer reminds people to think of the movie dog Beethoven. Nice heavy bones in her forelegs.
Samoyed: Hunting, hauling, herding. You know these; they look just like the American Eskimo Dog, stark white and spitzy, but bigger. Candied Ham of Pebblestone is called Candy, a two-year-old from New Jersey. Either she or her handler took best of breed last year. Damned useless announcers.
Siberian Husky: Hauling dog from Siberia. Topaz Silver Lining of Pennsylvania, called Sylvie, has just the faintest tinge of black in her white double coat; she does look like someone started to plate her with sterling silver. Wow, she is all flash on the floor. She's stunning. Pull her. Much smaller than malamutes, and with pointed prick ears instead of rounded ones. Also, Siberians may have blue eyes; malamutes, never.
Standard Schnauzer: Guard dog, ratter from Germany. Zorro v Morgenwald is a nice silver boy from Bloomington, Illinois, first shown here in 1899, the same year my gramma came over from Germany. I never asked her if her farm had dogs. I know she had geese, and three cows.
Tibetan Mastiff: Guard dog for women & children (why just women & children? Damn announcer, damn.) Major Victory of Loki is just called Major, and his human owners got married in the grooming area right before the show. He is lovely, big floofy black coat from the knees up, shorter red socks, a bit of red in his furnishings (eyebrows, etc.)
My pulls: James the Great Dane; Crush the Neapolitan; Oz the PWD; Pilot the Rottweiler; Sylvie the Siberian; Snazzy the Newfie. The Giant Schnauzer will get pulled because of the handler; hiring such a luminary tells the judge the dog is something special. Maaaybe the Leonburger, the Bull Mastiff, and Scarlett the Boxer. Maaaaybe Zill the Black Russian.
The judge's pulls: the Malamute Ricky, Bernese named Ammet or whatever, Boxer Scarlett, Doberman Fifi, Rottweiler Pilot, Samoyed Candy, Standard Schnauzer Zorro, and the Tibetan Mastiff Major, DANG I KNEW I should have picked the Tibetan.
The judge's picks: Okay, I'm guessing the Sam, the Dobe, the Boxer, the Mal. What does she pick? She picks the Dobe, the Boxer, the Mal, and then the Schnauzer. Hmmm! Oddly, she chooses a fifth, the Bernese, and leaves the remainder unranked. I suspect she pulled the Tibetan for the same reason I nearly did -- to give his parents an extra thrill on their wedding day. Good dog, though, I'd have pulled him without that if I hadn't already pulled such a big handful.
Okay, I love doing this, I do, I do, but I cannot keep going tonight. I'll blog the terriers and Best in Show tomorrow, but I gotta stop sitting up now before my back snaps and my vertebrae roll across the floor like unstrung pearls.
Hounds
Toys
Non-Sporting
Herding
Sporting
Working
Terrier
Best In Show
The AKC is an arbitrary deity, and is oft beyond mortal comprehension. But please, Dear Dog, couldn't you break things up and create an arctic / spitz group, as I was whining just a little while ago?
Fun thing: owners of the Tibetan Mastiff who went best of breed got married today in the grooming area. True Story. Dang, it looks as though they aren't going to broadcast the funny fashions show in its entirety. Dog costumes for as much as $500. Some of the bigger breeds look caparisoned, not costumed.
And speaking of costuming, the judge looks pretty snazzy herself, in a formal black gown which will take well to bending and stretching. Just one or two of the panels in her skirt are slightly sheer; sexy without being revealing. The opaque panels have the same sheer fabric floating over them. She looks as good in motion as a full-skirted black Cocker, and I know she wouldn't be insulted to hear me say so.
A daring V in both the front and back, many narrow horizontal gathers around her hips and waist towards a rhinestone ornament at left waist. Sheer but shirred long sleeves, again, modest and functional. And they'd hide the sin of loose old-lady arms if she had them, but I don't think she does. Dang, she looks good. It just floats around her. Whatever she spent, it was worth it. Jesus. Now I'm not just suffering from dog envy, I've got a case of gown envy, too?
Akita: Japanese guard dog. This one is very, very handsome. Hey, Paws, Helen Keller imported some of the first of these back in the 1930s. Call name Verushan? from New Hampshire, #1 Akita in the country now. Maybe her call name is Moonshine? Marooshi? Paper name is Witch with Attitude. Can't tell. QUIT MUMBLING!
Alaskan Malamute: Sled dog. This one is named Latin Lover, call name Super Ricky. Mals always have brown eyes and rounded ears. He moves like a dream, nice heavy bones.
Anatolian Shepherd Dog: Shepherd from Turkey. This one's named Old School, called Gator, from Idaho. Short-coated and territorial, always a light cream with dark ears. Big fellas.
Bernese Mountain Dog: One of my flist had / has Bernies. Where are you? [EDIT: here she is! see boreality's comment below.] His name is Abbot from Oregon, lovely black, white, and red dog in the usual Berner pattern. Nice thick tail. Don't get this dog if you live in the hot South.
Black Russian Terrier: Bred for protection? Not sure. They are Russian but not terriers. Think of a giant GIANT Schnauzer with a thick black coat and heavy beard & forelock. This boy is named Zill and looks really good. It's a genetic mix of Airedale, Schnauzer, and Rottweiler, recognized here for the first time in 2005.
Boxer: big-game dog bred to run down boar and bear, and for protection. This is a bitch named Styled Dream who is the winningest female boxer in the history of the breed. Expect her to get pulled just because of that. They call her Scarlett. I hate that her ears are cropped and her tail docked.
Bull Mastiff: Security dog from England. This is Fifth Wheel Don't Blink, called Dooley or Dewey, making his last appearance in the ring. Gosh, I just love their big heavy heads. The Rockefeller family brought them here to guard their own huge estates. Always a light buff with black facial markings and ear-tips.
Cane Corso: Security dog bred by the Romans. They are notorious for having killed the petite lesbian in California in her own hallway. Tight crops on the ears, docked tail, too often abused as fighting dogs. They are usually buff with a bit less striking black on the face than the Bull Mastiff, whom they resemble.
Doberman Pinscher: Security dog bred by a German. they've become service dogs, the announcer claims. I haven't seen it. Cropped ears, docked tails, black bodies with red feet, snout, and sometimes blaze. A pretty girl named Fifi from Dublin Ohio is this years entry, being displayed by her breeder/owner/handler.
Dogue de Bordeaux: Security and fighting dog from France. Rub My Belly At Rising Star is a big red dog called Buddha, massive wrinkly face, smaller white blaze. Natural ears and tail. Think Turner and Hooch.
German Pinscher: Ratter bred in Germany. Kaitlers Revival is a red dog called Lucas. Much smaller than a Doberman, very very shortly cropped tail, cropped ears, many different colors permitted.
Giant Schnauzer: Originally herding, then security. The minis are shown in the terrier group but the Standard and Giant are shown in Working. Siasconset Rose, a black bitch, is called Scottsie (sp?) of Ft. Worth, Texas. She has an amazing handler who has had two recent Best in Shows here: J.R., the Bichon Frise, and Stump, the Clumber Spaniel. And here he is with a great big breed. Cropped ears and severely cropped tail.
Great Dane: German boar hunter. Not Danish; descended from Irish Wolfhounds and Mastiffs. This beauty is named Jitterbug Man, call name James, fawn with a black muzzle and blackish ears, terrific mover, sure to be pulled. Lovely, lovely, lovely dog. Perfect topline. Well, all the dogs at Westminster are going to have perfect toplines. But still. Damn, he's lovely. The handler, head to toe in hot neon pink, doesn't distract any attention at all. THAT is how lovely James is. [No! She didn't pull him! How very wrong of her! Tch! OTOH, maybe she didn't in order to make room for the sentimental act of pulling the Tibetan Mastiff, see below.]
Great Pyrenees: Shepherd; livestock guardian. I usually think of them as all white, but they need not be. This one is pale ivory with shadowy patches of pale amber on the hindquarters and gray on the skull and ears. Black lips and eyes. These are big, floofy dogs. And smart. And tough. This one is named No-Brainer and called Riley (?). He works as a free-range chicken guardian in New Jersey. Announcer says they were the royal court dog of Louis XIV of France, which I find very hard to believe. Really? These dogs are BIG. Say... I don't know, 80 pounds? 35 kilos? Maybe a lot more, with all the fur, it's hard to tell. Announcer says "animated snowdrift," and yeah, you can see that. What does Wiki say about weight? "A 27 inches (69 cm) dog weighs about 100 pounds (45 kg) and a 25 inches (64 cm) bitch weighs about 85 pounds (39 kg)." [EDIT: see boreality's comment below for more on this.]
[Break for the Subaru commercial with the collie attempting to back into the boat dock.]
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog: Security dog bred by Romans. Same paint job and general build as the Bernese Mountain Dog, but a short, smooth coat. And perhaps a pinch smaller? I prefer this coat, but that's my prejudice in favor of short single coats speaking. This boy from Charlottesville, Virginia is named George and has really lovely markings, including an exaggerated sagittal stripe that goes down to the nape of his neck. He is a weight-pulling dog who has done 3300 pounds (1500 kg) in the past.
Komondor: Hungarian livestock guardian. The big white rasta dog, bigger than the Puli but with the same corded coat, which is a serious anti-wolf deterrent. Think of it as doggie Kevlar. Today it's Nagyalma Unforgettable Too from Indiana, known as Coal to her friends (despite being white). They are double-coated, but it twists up to form the cords.
Kuvasz: Another white Hungarian livestock guardian Wildwood Silver Six Pence comes from Las Vegas and is called Tanner. He's the top winning Kuvasz of all time. These are a very pretty breed, white-and-cream with a thick stand-off coat like a malamute's. Big dogs.
Leonberger: Livestock & general purpose guardian and draft dog from Germany. Big dark gold dogs with dark snouts and ear tips, thick double coat, natural ears and tail. This one is named Feiner Eros, called Odin or Oldin, from NY. Soulful eyes and nice movement. Might get pulled.
Mastiff: Security and fighting dog, probably from Tibet. Beowulf's Bit o' Blarney is his name and they call him Seamus. Big (but shorter than the Bull Mastiff), massive bone, fawn coat, natural ears and tail, blackish on ears and face, allegedly owned by Kubla Khan in the thousands.
Neapolitan Mastiff: War dog from, duh, Naples. Security and fighting. Beautiful gun-metal gray loose coat, wrinkled face. Used in one or more of the Harry Potter movies. Slobbery. Natural tail, brutally cropped ears (as you'd expect in a fighting dog). Called Mastino in Italian. This Ohio male is Ch. Amazing Love's Crush (good name for competition on Valentine's Day, right? But remember, the Leonburger is named Eros). They call him Crush; he is sure to be pulled.
Newfoundland: Rescue & Fisherman's helper; draft dog to haul firewood. Snazzy Story at Avalon Bey is called Snazzy. These are very big dogs and look larger due to their wonderful thick double coat. Always black, a little bit of white is permitted on the chest. These dogs can actually dive. Web-footed. One survived the wreck of the Titanic, sez the announcer.
Portuguese Water Dog: Fisherman's helper. These poor beasts are cursed with the same silly-assed (bare-assed) show cut as the Lowchen you saw yesterday. Full fur to their waist, and then nekkid, until the tail-tuft, with the idea that the fur would get waterlogged and drown them. (I have no idea what the excuse is for trimming Lowchen this way.) They clearly share some heritage with poodles; look at the face. His name is Oz, or Freestyle The Wiz. Bo Kennedy, the Obama family's dog, is a PWD, and I expect Oz to get pulled.
Rottweiler: Security dog brought to Germany by Roman army. High Flyin' Gladiator, called Pilot, is a fine, heavy-built "middle linebacker" type and may get pulled. I like Rotties, and I've seen some Rottie-Dobie crosses that were just magnificent, hitting the perfect middle between the two breeds for people who find Rotts too massive and Dobes too greyhound-ish. Rotts have severely cropped tails but this one seems to have natural ears.
St. Bernard: Draft, search, & rescue from Switzerland. Emerald Eyes from Kentucky is called Jewel. Coats can be short or long; hers is short, and her lovely brown saddle is oh-so-slightly outlined with black before going to the white of her chest and belly. Very pretty girl. The announcer reminds people to think of the movie dog Beethoven. Nice heavy bones in her forelegs.
Samoyed: Hunting, hauling, herding. You know these; they look just like the American Eskimo Dog, stark white and spitzy, but bigger. Candied Ham of Pebblestone is called Candy, a two-year-old from New Jersey. Either she or her handler took best of breed last year. Damned useless announcers.
Siberian Husky: Hauling dog from Siberia. Topaz Silver Lining of Pennsylvania, called Sylvie, has just the faintest tinge of black in her white double coat; she does look like someone started to plate her with sterling silver. Wow, she is all flash on the floor. She's stunning. Pull her. Much smaller than malamutes, and with pointed prick ears instead of rounded ones. Also, Siberians may have blue eyes; malamutes, never.
Standard Schnauzer: Guard dog, ratter from Germany. Zorro v Morgenwald is a nice silver boy from Bloomington, Illinois, first shown here in 1899, the same year my gramma came over from Germany. I never asked her if her farm had dogs. I know she had geese, and three cows.
Tibetan Mastiff: Guard dog for women & children (why just women & children? Damn announcer, damn.) Major Victory of Loki is just called Major, and his human owners got married in the grooming area right before the show. He is lovely, big floofy black coat from the knees up, shorter red socks, a bit of red in his furnishings (eyebrows, etc.)
My pulls: James the Great Dane; Crush the Neapolitan; Oz the PWD; Pilot the Rottweiler; Sylvie the Siberian; Snazzy the Newfie. The Giant Schnauzer will get pulled because of the handler; hiring such a luminary tells the judge the dog is something special. Maaaybe the Leonburger, the Bull Mastiff, and Scarlett the Boxer. Maaaaybe Zill the Black Russian.
The judge's pulls: the Malamute Ricky, Bernese named Ammet or whatever, Boxer Scarlett, Doberman Fifi, Rottweiler Pilot, Samoyed Candy, Standard Schnauzer Zorro, and the Tibetan Mastiff Major, DANG I KNEW I should have picked the Tibetan.
The judge's picks: Okay, I'm guessing the Sam, the Dobe, the Boxer, the Mal. What does she pick? She picks the Dobe, the Boxer, the Mal, and then the Schnauzer. Hmmm! Oddly, she chooses a fifth, the Bernese, and leaves the remainder unranked. I suspect she pulled the Tibetan for the same reason I nearly did -- to give his parents an extra thrill on their wedding day. Good dog, though, I'd have pulled him without that if I hadn't already pulled such a big handful.
Okay, I love doing this, I do, I do, but I cannot keep going tonight. I'll blog the terriers and Best in Show tomorrow, but I gotta stop sitting up now before my back snaps and my vertebrae roll across the floor like unstrung pearls.
Hounds
Toys
Non-Sporting
Herding
Sporting
Working
Terrier
Best In Show