Friday the 13th




Statistically Friday the 13th is a good one for me.  I got engaged to my wonderful husband on Friday the 13th and had my second little girl on a Friday the 13th so I am waiting to see what good will come of today.  Happy Friday the 13th to everyone, it's not all bad.  :)



Luke has been under the weather the last couple of days, he tweaked his shoulder and has been out of commission.  He has never been the picture of perfect structure and regularly twisted or injures something.  When both he and Tilley were young she would run rings around him.  She could turn on a dime at high speeds leaving him in the dust or tumbling from trying.  As Tilley became a frisbee star Luke became interested as well.  He was an amazing catch but much different than Tilley. Tilley would never wait for the frisbee to come down, she would effortlessly go up in the air to get it.

Leaping in the air was something that we never wanted to see Luke do, even at a young age. He just could not manage the landing; his was more like crash landings.  So controlling the frisbee to keep it low was the trick for him.  Now well into his senior years he is suffering from his lack of quality structure.  I hear so many people say "I don't want a show dog," talking to prospective puppy breeders as they are told about how well put together a dog is.  You may not want a show dog but you do want structure; that being said every show dog does not have good structure, far from it.  What you want is a dog that is put together properly so that they can move without getting hurt.



Movement is huge and having been in the show ring since the age of 13 it is something that I am continually watching.  I don't care what breed or mix it is, I like to see a dog that can move and move properly.  Tilley was one of the most put together dogs that I've known.  Would she have won ribbons in a show ring?  Most definitely not, but she could out move many of the dogs in the ring.  Often structure and substance are over looked in lieu of beauty, this is a sad occurrence.

Take the German Shepherd that we see in the show ring today; they are a train wreck.  Their movement is all wrong and the poor dogs can barely walk let alone run.  All because of a trend for a particular visual effect.  At some point in time things must go back to the dog itself, we humans must stop creating sculptures to look at for our enjoyment and give the dog back their sturdy and highly functional bodies.

With some extra rest Luke will hopefully be back to his old self in a couple of days.  But age is quickly sneaking up on him and bouncing back is taking longer and longer.  As I watch Elsa mature into a beautiful young lady it is quite apparent that her structure is wonderful.  Her movement is effortless much like Tilley's was and seeing her fly through the air often gives us pause, does she have invisible wings?

1 comment:

  1. Molly, the black poodle we had before Paisley, was what we lovingly referred to as a "lemon". She had a birth defect that affected her spine and required neurosurgery to repair. That led to deformed hip structure and scar tissue problems, particularly as she aged. She also developed severe inflammatory bowel disease. Despite the health issues she faced, she lived to be 14, and had a pretty good quality of life, I hope.

    I am now trying to get used to the difference with Paisley. She is so active, energetic, and physical. It is such a different situation. She never stops moving and playing. I still worry that something will appear, or she'll hurt herself leaping and running, but I hope that she has good structure that will allow her to remain physical.

    I sure hope Luke recovers quickly from this latest soreness quickly and gets back to being his usual self. It is hard to watch a dog age.

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