Monday, June 27, 2005

Dog People

Having been a "dog person" but now reformed I find this little piece quite funny....I used to compete in Obedience not Show, but it still holds some truisms to both Show and Obedience dog people.

Dog People Are A Special Breed...
Dog people are a special breed not usually recognised by the public. They...
Think everyone has crates in their living room
Have messy houses..even thought their kennels are spotless
Can always fins a show catalogue from somewhere within arm's reach
Have kids who know more about the "birds and the bees" when they are 5 than most people know when they are 40!!
Drive trucks, vans ,station wagons especially equipped to haul dog crates
Can never be reached on weekends, they are usually at a dog show
Will drive 400 miles, spend $100 on petrol, $200 on a motel and $150 on meals to bring home a 25cent ribbon
Have kids who regard "bitch" as just another household word
Have lush, green beautiful backyards...and have never bought a bag of fertilizer
Get up at 6 am to walk the dogs, can be ringside , dressed to kill at 8 am but have trouble getting to work on time
Will usually give up a $150,000 home in the suburbs to move to a shack on 10 acres, so they can have a $150,000 kennel
Never miss a closing date for entries-but pay the mortgage 10 days late
Would rather be audited by the Tax Office than investigated by the Canine Council
Use dog food bags for trash cans and 300 gallon trash cans for dog food
Talk for hours on the phone to another dog person in a language known only to dog people
Have parents who think they've lost their minds.
This is reflective of my life before children (BC), working, training, trailing,committee meetings, etc. Although we didn't do all of the above...Close to..I know many who did and still do. I think that people who have a extra interest outside of work and home life have something else to contribute to society and the world. If any of the beginners I help train 10 odd years ago, came away with a better understanding of their dogs or even went on to competition; I feel I accomplished something. If I learnt nothing more except persistence, I'd be surprised..I trained one of the most stubbornest dogs who had the most pleasant nature with people but could not stand Rottweillers or larger male dogs. He was attacked at the age of 6 months by a Rottweiller which is all we could put down his subjective aggression to.
He was the most wiley, street smart, ring wise, little SHIT you could imagine. Tolkien was an Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler) he would be 17 now we lost him when he was 13. He was the biggest brute of a heeler you'd ever see...True working dog stature. He would work and work and work for me, training and training, till we were almost foot perfect..In the ring he knew I could not correct him...So he'd play up.
We must've been the biggest joke in the obedience world...But I didn't care nor did Tolly..He was happy and so was I, we were doing something.

1 comment:

Misfit said...

I am with Brian, I do and will make a terrible dog trainer. I have the patience but not the consistancy. How the kids have made it this far is beyond is...LOL