imported_Kat

Thanks folks :D Zheelah, Meg lives with these people but I have co-ownership of her which lets me compete with her. This situation makes things a lot more difficult for me to take her to the Netherlands with me when I move this summer... Lets just say she isn't treated as fairly as the other 2 dogs that she lives with and i would rather see her live out the rest of her life the way she deserves to, competing until she retires then playing and having long runs in the parks where we are situated in the Netherlands. It breaks my heart and I haven't posted much about this situation on Dogo here, but I know she will be better off wth me. [quote]Are you competing in general comformation or are you competing in world junior handler??? [/quote] Nope the Obedience world cup is an adult competition...can ya see why I'm saying ahhhhh at this point :P hehe [quote]Do you know if they relies a tape/dvd of crufts and the main events when it is over??? if they do I would love to have it and see you and Meg there [/quote] The BBC do televise Crufts and have videos and dvds for sale after the event but they tend to concentrate on the breed sector more than agility and obedience unfortunately. Animal Planet also televise it I think a month or so after it happens, but of course we will have a video camera there, to witness the moment when in front of the crufts audience of 30,000 (and the whole world when its televised) I trip and make an idiot out of myself :P :oops: lol I had a dream about that 2 nights ago and Megwas standing in front of me trying to conceal me lol!

In the past few weeks, I have had phone calls requesting for a biography of Meg for various doggy magazines, newspapers and the likes coming up to Crufts. If any of you are really extremely bored you can have a read of it if you like! Be warned its fairly long! :wink: [b]Meg (Kennel name: Megan Pride of Plandail O.W) is a 7 year old Border Collie who was born to working sheepdog parents in Northern Ireland. She was bought as a pet by a middle aged couple who I had previously walked dogs for, for many years since I was 9 years old. When the last of the original dogs died, this couple Sam and Margaret decided they would get another dog and set out to get a male. Shane was picked and Meg the quietest little bitch of the litter was selected also as she was irresistible to Margaret. From the age of 7 weeks of age I started to bond with Meg and walking her as Margaret can unfortunately not do anything due to severe health problems. I started taking Meg to the local dog training club for basic pet obedience and she quickly progressed through the classes and passed her Good Citizen award Bronze level at the tender age of 5 months of age. One night we were handed an entry form for a local obedience show that was soon to take place. From entering our first show we were hooked and went from being unknown to being known as a force to be reckoned with in the competition circles as Meg and I quickly won our way through the classes. The same was true in Agility and Meg is now a championship agility and championship obedience dog, and recently was awarded her prestigious Obedience warrant for outstanding excellence by the Kennel Club which very few dogs in the United Kingdom possess. many people argue and say a dog can not work both Obedience and Agility to a high standard. Meg is proof that it most certainly can be done. From local shows to national competitions all over the UK, Meg and I are members of the Northern Ireland agility team and also the Northern Ireland Obedience team where we have on many occasions been proud to take honours. Additionally Meg and I have reached national and international standard and have qualified for 4 years for Crufts agility and Obedience, where we have been delighted to be placed in competitions and last year took the Gold medal for senior agility. Indeed Meg was only a mere 2 years when we first competed and qualified for Crufts. The experience overwhelmed me more than her, I have to be honest. She calmly takes Crufts in her stride and as on every occasion when we enter the ring, she will always try her best to please. This year Crufts 2004 will see Meg and I back in the ring. We have qualified again for senior agility where we will defend our title, and also for show handling, and the triathlon consisting of obedience, agility and showhandling. Perhaps the most important event though and the zenith of our partnership so far, will see us compete at Crufts in the Obedience world cup. We are in the Northern Ireland team and will compete against countries from all over the world in the coveted main ring. Its huge and I am incredibly proud of my girly for getting there, and no matter what happens on the day, I will as always take the best dog home with me. Meg is a very diverse little dog and demonstrates canine freestyle displays and is also a registered PAT (Pets as Therapy) dog and visits sick and terminally ill children at Belfast's Royal Victoria hospital. She loves visiting and interacting with the kids and has an amazing sense that I still find spectacular, in that she adjusts her level of activity to suit that child. She is more boisterous and fetches a ball or toy for the more lively kids, but children that are in a terminally ill state in bed, she will carefully jump up onto the bed and lie quietly letting the child stroke her or will delight a child by a simple lick on that child's hand. Miscellaneously, Meg is also a registered search and rescue dog with the Mourne mountain rescue team and is trained to detect people lost in the mountains here in Ireland north and south. She has saved the lives of many lost people and has an enormous sense of satisfaction evident with her body language expression when she has a find. Far from the mountains she was also used by the police when a 3 year old boy went missing a little distance from where we live. The little boy had become trapped in between railings and a canal and the police dogs themselves had missed him. Meg found him and was rewarded by a huge hug from that little boy and later that week after the ulster Star had ran a feature, she also received some rather delicious dog biscuits and a new lead from the boy and his parents. As you have read by now Meg is like no other dog. Meg saves lives, but there was one day where we found ourselves in a very serious situation that could easily have taken both of our lives. Several summers ago, we went to a dogshow in Suffolk, south England with my friend and her Border Collie. We took a day off from the showgrounds and headed to the beach at nearby Harwich. We were having a great time in the water, when it all changed. The current changed and I found myself caught in a riptide and being dragged out to the liners coming from the very nearby harbour. The more I swam, the more I was pulled out. I screamed at Fay who thought I was messing about and was away from the current. She realised something was wrong and swam back to shore for help when I started being dragged under over and over. Meg started swimming towards me sensing that something wasn't right. I shouted at her to get back and I can honestly say that was the only time that Meg has ever disobeyed me. She swam even more determined towards me, and each time she was dragged under with the current, I was sure that she wouldn't emerge again... She reached me and turned away and I was able to grab her collar, and with a great deal of kicking and swimming we managed to get out of the swirling rip and back to shore, where my little girl licked my face then collapsed. She was exhausted and had swallowed so much sea water. That day my soul mate became even more special. She saved my life that day. I would have drowned if it wasn't for her. Sounds unbelievable and as I was sitting holding her on the beach watching her heave and cough, the events seemed surreal I have to say. She again proved her loyalty to me two years ago. We were down at the local playing fields and I was throwing her fling ring for her. The park was empty and peaceful and i was sending a text on my mobile as I threw her ring. From out of nowhere, a guy leaped on my back and grabbed my mobile. I screamed and Meg at the far end of the park heard me and abandoned her fling ring. My normally very calm little dog came bounding fast after this ******* and launched herself at his back snapping. In fright he dropped my mobile and tore off at top speed out of the park. Meg picked up my phone and carried it in her mouth trotting back to me, with her tail held high like a proud banner. It all happened so unexpectedly and I was in shock and just sat and cried. She knew that he had done wrong. What else can I say to explain her behaviour? She doesn't have a command of attack or anything as she isn't a vicious dog and I don't and have never wanted a vicious dog, but yet that day she used her perception to know that he had taken something that didn't belong to him. From reading this, you will have gathered that meg is a very special little dog. When she was born, she broke the mould and no matter how many other Border Collies I own, I never ever will have another dog like Meg. She is just amazing and as one dog magazine once put it, "Meg touches the heart of everyone she meets". As a competing dog, she is fantastic and it is because of her that I have had the fortune to get involved in competitive dog obedience and agility amongst other activities. As a friend and soul mate Meg exceeds all expectations. She is remarkable and I feel so honoured to share my life with her. Meg is a very special dog and her loyalty and willingness to please is priceless. About me: I am a final year BSc. Honours Zoology student at Queens university Belfast. I major in canine social behaviour of both wild and domestic canids and am at present writing my thesis on the social behaviour of Border Collies that come from working and non-working backgrounds to get a better understanding of this highly intelligent breed that puts it above all other breeds. Personaly I work at a vets and am also involved in training agility and obedience at my local dog training club, and additionally judge at shows. The behaviour of the canid family fascinates me and I have been priviliged to work with understanding the behaviour of domestic canids and also wild canids including wild foxes and wolves which i have been priviliged to closely interact with, including cases of abuse where I have worked with these animals to gain respect and trust and understanding. Presently I am in a longterm relationship with a guy called Sander, and in the summer of 2004 when I graduate, I will move (hopefully with Meg) to the Netherlands to live with him permanently. From there I am planning to take a Masters in the Netherlands and to pursue and further my career of my career in canid behaviour. [/b]

great fricking moral. "Get a stud then you can breed out of control and produce more unwanted puppies because you are a greedy fat &%&*%*&%" GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! :evil:

sod what the judge thinks. We know that we always take home the best dog at the end of the day :wink:

I agree. Dogs are smart but even with training there is no way I would leave one of mine or any other outside free to roam. Meg was stolen from her own back run last year and that is enclosed so leaving her out to run on the road (which never would happen anyway) would be tempting fate.

Whoa scary situation for you and thankfully it didn't turn out to be a tragedy. Mega nd Zoe both keep their collars on also as the dog wardens here are prats. Some don't even bother to check microchips and this was proved when my friends Lab Ben escaped and ended up in the pound 4 years ago. They didn't bother their asses to check and ...Ben was euthanased... Its a debate but perhaps a safety collar should win the toss up.

lol it means so much more now that Meg and I have started show handling. Best to do Obedience or Agility then its the brains of the dog tested (and the handler!!), although there are still "politics"in the obed and agility circles too unfortunately :roll:

Our house is crazy at times and they all swap food and steal each others when they get the chance...Bin Laden one of the cats is crazy about veggies and fruit and steals mandela's (the iggys) when it is sitting out cooling :o

yep our lot get olive oil and in the surgery I would advise owners the same. Just a teaspoon in the dogs food is all you need and vitamin E is also very good for the skin and also muscle. Additionally don't bath her as you will strip all the natural oils from her coat, but instead put a handful of salt in a bucket of luke-warm water and use a sponge to go over her coat.

oops sorry Zheelah I forgot about that part of your question! Our dog club used to train over winter in an indoor equestrian centre, but we stopped because so many dogs and handlers were being injured from running on the uneven and deep soil turf that they used. Now we do very little training over winter as our dogs work hard for us during the summer months, and they like us need and deserve a break. We just do a little bit now and again to keep them supple at our agility field, but no formal training as such. It just doesn't do them any good to be worked constantly and we deliberately avoid the winter league over here where other clubs take part every few weeks, and think it will improve their dogs come summer shows. The proof is in the pudding and the proof that the top dog club in the country is our club with Meg being the top agility dog, shows the winter league is of no benefit at all. Mami: congrats again on your pup. start doing little bits and pieces of obedience now, which will be the foundations of your agility. Also get a kids play tunnel and push it right in so it isn't long, then gradually lengthen it and train her the tunnel praising her each time. start by getting someone to hold her, then you can call her through using treats and praise. Also lay a flat board on the ground and get her used to walking over it. These are all little bits that will get her used to agility equipment, but you will not be able to start formal training fo several months yet. :wink:

Congrats on your new pup. Being a biased BC fanatic I have to say she is very pretty :wink:

I do empathise with you. Meg has been the top agility dog in N.I for 3 years running now and is also the current top obedience dog. She also holds the fastest time here for the completion of a standard 20 obstacle agility course in a time of 26.54 seconds, with standard 2 foot 6" jumps (and that was after my leg had been out of plaster cast 2 weeks earlier! :P ). We started a few years back to compete in England which gave us more competition and let us compete against fantastic blazing fast accurate dogs, and happily now my dog is up with those dogs and is qualified for Crufts again this year in senior agility and the obedience world championships also to be held at Crufts. I really do feel for you with quarantine laws, but there are plenty of things you can do to keep your dog stimulated. Also are you a trainer? You can get so much pleasure from teaching others agility. What sort of obstacles do you do and are you under FCI regulations? One of the exercises in the obedience world champs competition is that the dog must retrieve a dumbell over a jump. You could try little things like that. You may be a handler like many who detest obedience and think that it can't be mixed with agility, but personally I love the mix and so does Meg, and when we aren't doing agility over winter, obedience is still fun to do. As an advanced handler I feel that I can never know it all about agility and we are not guaranteed to go out and storm a course. I train plenty of jumping exercises and combinations of boxes, double jumps, zigzag lines, pull throughs, and tighter turns. All these little things with a confident trained dog will shave off seconds from a time. I hope this gives you a few more ideas, but at the end of the day remember to keep it fun for both you and your dog. Yes I am very competitive but at the same time I love it and Meg loves it and the day that she doesn't find agility fun, will be the day that we will stop. Some handlers I see over in England push their younger and older dogs to the limit resulting in all sorts of injury and still they continue for the sake of themselves and don't give a tap about their dog :evil: Few piccies of my girly: [img]http://sander.servehttp.com/kat/Meg%20crufts%20obed.jpg[/img] [img]http://sander.servehttp.com/kat/meg%20jump%20wales.jpg[/img] [img]http://sander.servehttp.com/kat/me%20and%20Meg%20Crufts.jpg[/img] [img]http://sander.servehttp.com/kat/megweavingcrufts.jpg[/img] [img]http://sander.servehttp.com/kat/Meg%20and%20Mike%20in%20jeep.jpg[/img] (as you see she enjoys a variety of activities including off road driving!) :wink:

Glad to hear that Zebra has made such great progress :D

[size=6][color=violet]HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL WHO ARE CELEBRATING :bday: :bday: :bday: :bday: [/color][/size]

What age is he? He isn't any particular breed and could turn out to be anything, but at the moment looks like a cross bred Yorkshire/Lhasa apso. Although in saying that he looks like a pup I reared and that puppy turned out to be a GSD x size! Whatever he is, he is cute and I'm sure he will keep you on your toes :wink:

umm this post is from June folks :lol:

Personally with Meg because she is such a good girl and lets me do anything with her, I use a pound coin and scale her teeth, but most dogs won't allow this so just be careful using a coin or nail to scrape off tartar .

Do you participate in the KC GCDS Zoe?

Sorry I altered your dogs sex there... make that *her teeth :wink:

dry sea salt on a damp tissue and if he lets you, rub the tissue around his teeth, and they will come up nice and white.

They are a nice breed but very stubborn and strong-minded, so you would need to have a stronger personality and even more so if you wanted to work him. They are very friendly from the dogs I have known and enjoy cuddles but as I say its their stubborn streak that makes them a rascal!

Yeah the Old english Mastiff is certainly the heavyweight of the doggy world. I was helping my friend in Fife run her parents kennels and cattery a few summers back and we had a big mastiff called Homer in. He was short haired apart from this wee silly tuft on his head that made him look so soft hehe. He was a monster though when he decided to play rough, and had me down on the ground one day and it took my friends brother and her to drag him off me, the big lig!

In that case if its only for a short trip I would advise you to get someone who knows your dog to look after him. Poland has the highest incidence of rabies in eastern Europe also, but if quarantine laws are not required you will at least have to have an up to date rabies vaccination and microchip/tatoo. There is about 6 months of preparation prior to travel as blood tests are required and the dog will have to be tested 6 months from the date of rabies vaccination in order to return back to Canada. Your best bet is to talk to the airline or your citizens advice bureau. Just as an additional most airlines now will not fly Pit bull terriers, staffs, etc or any flat nosed dogs like British bulldogs, Pekes japanese chins etc.

Firstly are you flying from within Europe or from the Americas? Poland is not part of the EC and doesn't paricipate in the pets passport scheme so may not let a foreign dog into the country without a quarantine period.

Actually Standard poodles rank 2nd (after Border Collies.. of course :P ) in the world wide intelligence test that was completed several years back by Drs Ian Dunbar and Prof Stan Coren. They are smart dogs and their breed appreciation was boosted a few years ago when Kirsty the chocolate Std Poodle with her owner Ann Northfield won the bitch obedience championships.