Inspired by Jabblog. Step Mother and Father used to breed Samoyed dogs for show. My god, how focused were they. They bored us to tears as they constantly talked about dogs and the merits or the lack of them. They made friends with like minded dog people, who also could never stop talking about dogs. Pun intended, dog showing people are a breed apart. Samoyeds are nice enough, affectionate and good pets but I never fell in love with them.
We went to a couple of dog shows where they were showing their dogs. What amused me was that for all the primping and pampering of the dogs to be shown for hours before the show, the owners as they paraded their dogs were, shall I say, modestly dressed. To use a good Aussie term, daggily dressed. They made no effort with their personal appearance at all. Yes, all about the dogs but still...
They got over Samoyeds and bred Shiba Inu dogs. They are small dogs and hail from Japan. They are the closest dog to the Australian dingo I've ever seen. They don't bark but can howl. Their heads are similar to dingoes. They aren't a lap dog in any sense. They know and respect their pack leader, the human owners but only them, and the owners know they won't receive affection from them. They are dogs to respect but will never get on your bed to soak in some warmth and the smell of humans. When visiting, I felt like I was just one sharp bite away from losing a finger. Nevertheless, I did find them so interesting to observe and I came to like them for their independent attitude.
The photo I was going to use was good, but didn't indicate any scale, so I will use this one instead from Tokyo Cheapo.
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Shiba Inu is certainly so cute. You are tempting me to get one
ReplyDeleteThey are nice Roentare and very independent. They are happy without human lovin'.
DeleteI'm a cat person.
ReplyDeleteOk Tasker. I am probably more dog. Some bad comes with cats but we did have one wonderful cat, along with a couple of not so wonderful cats.
DeleteYou're not much of a dog man. In this regard we are similar. I have never owned a dog and never want one.
ReplyDeleteYP, we've had two dogs. I like dogs. Dogs are like men. Simple to understand. Cats are more complicated.
DeleteEven loving lap dogs need to have a back yard to run around in. Could step mother and father manage in a flat or a retirement village?
ReplyDeleteAu contraire Hels. There are quite a number of dogs in our building. Most get walked outside but some don't seem to. No, it is too late for Step Mother and her husband, not my father, to move to a retirement place. I will guess it will soon be medium care nursing homes.
DeleteEven though we have two shepherds I am a cat person through and through. When the kids were at primary school a local family who bred samoyeds used to use them to tow Santa in on his sleigh. Fond memories but never really liked them. There is something about white fluffy dogs regardless of their size!
ReplyDeleteFunnily Merlot, when we having brunch in Bay Street, Port Melbourne this morning, a Samoyed of show quality stopped to drink lots of water from the dog water bucket at our pavement table. It was a nice and friendly dog, but like you, and I can't quite put my finger on it, they aren't my sort of dog.
DeleteAs many pet fanciers say, "Adopt, don't shop", though I appreciate what some breeders have done. Thanks for sharing your memories and best wishes to you.
ReplyDeleteDarla, I am a believer in that. We had a mixed breed dog from an animal shelter who caused no bother at all, and a pure bred dog that caused us endless problems with issues particular to her breed.
DeleteMy late partner and I had a pet care business and used to go to the big regional dog show just for interest, rarely having purebred clients. We got in convo with a nice man whose komondor (big dog like a sofa with braids, very niche) we'd admired. After a bit he called his wife over to meet us, saying come meet these people, they're very nice even though they aren't komondor breeders! Huge compliment I think.
ReplyDeleteIt does sound like a compliment, Boud. Maybe they were relieved to not talk about dogs. Argh, I am gonna have to Google Komondor to see what they look like. Wow, the dogs with long white dreadlocks.
DeleteEven at my age I’m still wary around dogs - big ones small ones, on leads or off, doesn’t matter. I turn and move away discreetly as quickly as I can. I know cats can turn on you if they so desire but I’ll never be persuaded to get close to a dog
ReplyDeleteCathy, did you have a bad dog experience when you were young? Or maybe you didn't grow up with them.
DeleteSamoyeds look nice with all that lovely white fur, but that's about all I can say about them. My favourite dog breeds are German Shepherds, Border Collies and Golden Retrievers. Small dogs with their yap-yap-yap annoy me. Silky Terriers are okay, my inlaws had one once.
ReplyDeleteRiver, Samoyeds take a lot of grooming to look good. I don't mind small dogs, but not yappers and not ones that bite your heels.
DeleteFirst I heard of either breed. I've owned plenty of dogs, but they were all mutts, i.e., mixed breeds.
ReplyDeleteKirk, mutts or mongrels as we might call them tend to be healthier than any pure bred.
DeleteSamoyeds they do looks a lovely dog but not my cup of tea. The Shiba Inu, never heard of that particular breed but does look a nice dog however. Yes, understand the dog talk between humans as our best friend's sister shows dogs and if we by any change go out to dinner all together it's dog talk to a degree.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, it is a bit weird how dog people seem to think what they are talking about is of interest to anyone who isn't a dog breeder.
DeleteI am a dog rather than cat person. I have toyed with the idea of having one but not quite sure I have the time to devote to a pet.
ReplyDeleteI can see you with a bouncing Labrador, Fun60. But no, you don't have time for a dog. You have to finish the Underground, and then the Overground and then National Rail stations. I see you have covered a couple of Northern Line stations but not Old Street, which I was interested to have a look at.
DeleteI watch the Canadian Jonny Devaney imitating all the dog breeds, he can be funny. Mind you sometimes he isn't but he is original.
ReplyDeleteOh yes Thelma. Someone suggested him to me in the past and he is terribly clever.
DeleteI agree, in dog showing, all the effort goes into making the dogs look their best, but most owners are definitely not very fit or, dare I say it, attractive, apart from the working dog owners and handlers. We tried it, for a bit, but it quickly became apparent that contacts within the show world were important if you wanted your dog to succeed. We always went home with the best dog;-)
ReplyDeleteJB, from what I saw it was a bit about who you knew, although the judges seemed to take their role very seriously. I guess you didn't win, but always went home with the best dog.
DeleteDog show people are different. I had a friend to raised Pugs.
ReplyDeleteTP, Ex Sis in Law has pugs. They are not my favourite dog at all.
DeleteI am a dog person although we haven't had one now for about 10 years. The loss of the last one hit me so hard that I needed a break and now when the weather is horrible I am happy to not go out for a walk. That said, I made so many good friends at our local dog park that I wouldn't have got to meet otherwise.
ReplyDeletePat, similar here. It is us very hard when our last dog died. We decided we couldn't put ourselves through that again, along with us wanting to travel more. Yes, dogs are great for getting to meet people.
DeleteI am a cat person who also loves dogs. I get the urge to romp with them often. I don't know why. I just watched a video over and over of a lady angry at her two dogs who kept disobeying her and leaping into their swimming pool, with such sheer joy I knew I'd do the same.
ReplyDeleteStrayer, a romp with dogs is fun, as long as they don't slobber everywhere.
DeleteThough I am a cat person, I like dogs. But not very familiar with the different breeds.
ReplyDeletePradeep, I think most people like both but do have their preference.
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