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The online diary
started life as a blog of my strange 'other life' with the dog. I
wanted to record some of the experiences that I had as a first-time dog
owner. To access the archive, click on the appropriate month.
The most recent articles are listed
separately.
You are most
welcome to send comments about any of the articles. Record your
comments via the Contact Me page.
SUMMER, WHAT SUMMER?
Wed
20 Aug 2008
We’re back
from three weeks in the Lake District. Unfortunately, the weather was most
disappointing and we did not achieve as much as we could have hoped for in
our quest ti climb all the fells. Beattie
managed to add nine fells to her list during the time we were there. Our
most memorable walk was the ascent of Scafell, England’s second highest
mountain. Beattie has now made it to the
summits of all the 3000’ peaks in the Lake District – Scafell Pike, Scafell,
Hevellyn and Skiddaw. Her current tally of fells climbed is 111 out of
214. This means that she is now over halfway towards her ultimate target!
I have 18 fells left to climb.
The day we
climbed Scafell was supposed to be ‘a decent sort of a day’ according to the
weather forecast. I had to drive over to Eskdale in the southwest corner of
the Lake District to begin our walk. It was fine and sunny when we set out,
but soon clouded up and by the time we reached the summit of Slight Side,
the rain had set in and Scafell itself was under cloud. The wind was
increasing and conditions on the top were quite poor by the time we reached
the summit. I wanted to visit the West Wall Traverse, but it was so cloudy
and the ground so rough, I abandoned the idea and instead headed downhill
off the fell. I did manage to visit the top of Lord’s Rake, a well-known
route to the top, which has been closed as a rock fall has made the route
too dangerous. On the way back to the car, I sank up to my knees in a bog
and only managed to extricate myself with my walking poles.
Beattie was quite nonplussed about the
whole situation, being too sensible to venture into the bog!
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A BALANCED VIEW?
Thu 21 Aug 2008
There
was a television programme screened the night before last about the
problems associated with the close breeding in some pedigree dogs
and the genetic diseases that afflict those particular breeds. The
programme makers selected the Cavalier King Charles spaniel and the
Rhodesian Ridgeback as extreme examples of what was going wrong in
the world of pedigree dogs. The viewer was left with the impression
that all pedigree dog breeds were ultimately doomed to extinction
due to the excesses of dog breeders obsessed with the aim of
producing the perfect ‘show dog’.
I
would agree that some of the practices described such as very close
relation mating and culling of RR puppies that do not have a ridge
were an anathema to all lovers of dogs, particularly when breeding Cavalier King Charles spaniels that carry the disease passes on
conditions such as syringomyelia.
The
criticism I would make of the programme that it did not set out to
give a balanced view of the actual situation. Although many dog
breeds suffer from their own particular medical conditions (Bedlingtons
are prone to the condition copper toxicosis), it is far from
implying that most dogs are inherently unhealthy and carriers of
these life-threatening diseases.
There
are many responsible dog breeders who do not engage in the practices
described in the programme, yet not one was interviewed. There are
over two hundred dog breeds registered with the Kennel Club, yet
only a few breeds were used as examples to make the point the
programme makers were so keen for the viewers to understand.
I had
a long chat with AT yesterday about
the programme. AT is a registered
breeder of Cavalier King Charles spaniels and is one of those
responsible breeders the programme makers should have interviewed.
She is very careful always to ensure that her matings are not from
related dogs (this is called outcrossing) and she has all her dogs
scanned and tested at the appropriate age to ensure that they are
not carriers of any known condition.
AT
told me that the answer to the problem lay with DNA profiling of
dogs and that it would soon be possible to do this.
Whether that would stop the activities of the irresponsible dog
breeders, I do not know, but it would help if the Kennel Club
insisted on such profiling when a dog is registered with them, once
the technique is perfected. I have to say that I was shocked at the
mealy-mouthed responses from the representatives of the Kennel Club
to some of the issues raised.
Beattie, is a happy, healthy little
dog and the vet has described her as ‘perfect’ on the occasions that
she has gone in for check-ups. I am sure that is true for the
majority of pedigree dogs; at least that is my impression when I
meet other dogs when out for a walk with
Beattie.
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Comment from
sablonneuse
I didn't see the
programme but I did see a lady representing the Kennel Club before
it was televised. She was saying that the programme was biased, that
the Kennel Club had known about this problem for some time and was
taking steps to prevent it. It is pretty obvious that the
majority of pedigree dogs are happy and healthy. If a minority of
breeders are involved in bad practice they should be exposed but it
should be made clear that genuine dog lovers would never do anything
harmful for the sake of increasing their profits.
CATS
Sun 31 Aug 2008
Dogs and cats
are natural enemies aren’t they? Beattie
certainly confirmed this common belief last week when we visited
A’s sister in Taunton. The estate where
she lives is simply stiff with felines. They appear in every garden, under
every car, perched on fences, shed roofs, in trees or sun themselves is a
deep patch of grass by the side of the walkway. In short, you cannot move
for cats and for Beattie they presented an
exciting, if deeply frustrating, challenge.
It did not
take her long to cotton on to the ‘kitty challenge’. After one or two
of the furry creatures had made it on to her ‘doggy radar’,
Beattie made a point of actively looking
for cats on our ‘toilet walks’. As soon as we were out of the door she was ‘up for it’, tail up and
ready for anything that might come her way.
Beattie’s problem was that she was continually frustrated in her quest
as she rarely had the opportunity of any close encounters with the
neighbourhood cats. True, she would bark enthusiastically as we passed and,
very occasionally, she would catch me out, spotting an unsuspecting Moggy
before I had and giving chase as far as her extender lead would reach.
The cats would
react in two ways; either run or climb to escape, or more perplexing for
Beattie, stand their ground. This was not
so satisfying from her point of view as she could only bark but she dare not
go any closer. Some sixth sense told her those claws might be bad news for
her.
JT had a low lounge window, which was
perfect for Beattie to keep an eye on the
movements of the ‘locals’. The down side was that she would spot a likely
victim but was then powerless to do anything about it. She would bark and
whine and stand by the door, but to no avail. There was no chance of her
getting though the door without the active cooperation of her master and she
soon realised she was beaten!
But she would
never sulk for long. There was always next time …
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Zoom or a Canon EOS 20D
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