Black Watch Debatable

AK Dog Doc's terrific posts were some of the best things that ever happened to this forum, and I'm heartsick to learn of her death. She was so generous with her knowledge, so kind and intelligent and sensible, and she wrote so well. That passage Eileen quoted was spellbinding. My deepest condolences to her loved ones. Tranquilis, you and your family are in my thoughts.

OMG KATIE!! Congrats on Steve's rally win!! It's so great you're here on the Boards. My new guy Smoky is following in Steve's footsteps training-wise except that you two are miles ahead of us. We're following your progress closely... [Katie's blog is super, by the way.] Hi, Paula!! Hi, Jan!! Hi, Sue!! Hi, all!

Interesting report -- Terrierman has more [and more] over at his blog.

Ditto. I have a tiny flock of [mostly] Border Cheviots, and I love 'em.

From Snopes... er, Pet Connection:

A few more links worth reading: Nathan Winograd on the situation in L.A. [poster city & county for MSN] The Illinois Veterinary Medical Association's position The California Department of Finance says AB 1634 is bad news for California taxpayers

More info here, here and here. Huge thanks to State Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod. Many folks [i was one] visited her office and talked the ears off her terrific assistants -- they listened politely, asked good questions, and doG bless 'em all. It's dead. [Check out this letter from the bill's author. And for a hefty dose of crazy, go to the bill's website and wade through the lies and half-truths [shudder]. Eternal vigilance is the price of keeping our dogs safe from these wingnuts.]

But it looks like Kell did all right Cattledog Finals results page, in case the screen grab doesn't show up. Congratulations!! [Two dogs in the final, whoa...!]

Oh, no. Thank you, Sally, for the updates -- Bill and his family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you guys so much! [Heh -- she said "you guys."] I was sure it was a quote about me, but it's from the first post in the thread: This statement really upset me, too. I thought my border collies would go to Stanford and support me in my old age, and now Jon Katz is all, "Dogs aren't people!" Who knew?

That depends... Are we talking about Dixie Girl, or Rev. Jeremiah Wright?

Actually, the report you cited lists several deaths attributed to Labrador retrievers. A border collie was involved in a fatal attack a couple years ago. So what? The CDC hasn't tracked fatal attacks by breed since 1998 -- they think it's a waste of time. The bigger the dog, the greater the likelihood that it will cause harm if it attacks. Again, so what? The majority of dog bite victims are children, and it doesn't take a big dog to maim a child. Some 40 breeds have been involved in fatal attacks, according to the CDC. Briards are rare as hen's teeth, and they've killed four or five people in the last decade. Should it be illegal to own a Briard? Here's a quote from Julie Gilchrist (a doctor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who researches dog bites): On another site the CDC states: Further discussion of this study can be found here and here. _______________ Just out of curiosity -- are those of you who self-identified as middle-aged-white-women-who-are-not-racist cool with what the poster said? Do you agree with her description of "a huge hispanic population.. that thinks that they are the most "bad ass" if they have the largest pit bull on a huge chain and a collar with the largest spikes"? Do you figure the poster has met every family, every man, woman and child with a Spanish surname in South Texas and they all have pit bulls on huge chains with spiked collars because they all want to be the most 'bad ass'? Have you met all those people with Spanish surnames? Or do you think it's just "most" of the "huge hispanic population"? "Many"? Every other family-with-a-Spanish-surname on the poster's block...? Because when someone says that "the problem is stupid people think they are 'bad asses'" and and the "huge hispanic population... thinks that they are the most 'bad ass' if they have the largest pit bull on a huge chain and a collar with the largest spikes," I don't see how you can read that as anything but a slur: a biased generalization. And if you're not cool with what the poster wrote, then do you think I'm out of line to take issue with that biased generalization? As I said, I'm just curious. RDM --- barring a few jerks in Ontario

Let's try it! And how does it spoil the thread if someone raises her hand and points out, "Y'know, that's one offensive whopper of a generalization"?

maybe I'm just oversensitive. Nah. Luisa

I am sorry to bring up a painful topic, and even sorrier if I should have mentioned it sooner. If friends/relatives are planning to adopt or buy a Rottie pup, they should be aware that early spay/neuter makes Rotties "significantly more likely to develop bone sarcoma." Link to the abstract on PubMed. Link to the complete article. Yet another reason mandatory spay/neuter laws make me angry. [i blogged about it this morning.]

Did anyone else think the Group-winning Weimaraner looked dead lame in the Best of Show judging? I swear she looked head-bobbing lame to me -- I was surprised none of the TV people commented on it. I loved the beagle.

Sure it's an average corgi, not that there's anything wrong with that. The human is closer to the sheep than the dog is. A responsive dog of any breed can be trained to move [or in this case, trot past] tame sheep in a controlled setting. Crop the human out of the picture and the dog may even look useful. There are photos on the web of bulldogs and cocker spaniels and great danes "herding." As far as the so-called herding breeds themselves are concerned, most, like the sheltie, have been bred for show and companionship for the last hundred years. They have no more stock sense than a golden retriever or a beagle. And speaking of stock sense: Zamora is this coming weekend [Feb 15 - 18]. Beautiful country, range ewes and a half-mile, uphill outrun -- what's not to love? I'll be there taking photos, I hope. Here's a shot from last year: Diona is out of sight behind the sheep, not that handler Haley Howard is worried or anything: Diona before the shed. (Disembodied legs at left belong to judge Bill Berhow.)

[golf clap] Bill's summation of the reasons Katz is loathed is so spot-on that I am totally going to steal it for my blog link to it in the future. Though I hate giving Katz even that much free publicity.

I have Border Cheviots and am in the process of consolidating my flock to BCs. They aren't for everybody, but I love them tons. They are bold, smart, independent sheep that can scatter like gazelles if the mood strikes, or stand and stare a weak dog out of the pasture. As Julie says, they are healthy, hardy and easy keepers. This thread discusses them a bit.

On the Sheepdog-L Yahoo site, click on a message and hit the REPLY button. The next page you see should have TO, FROM, DATE, SUBJECT, etc. --- and TO should have a drop-down menu to click on. That's where you choose between sending a message to the whole list, the moderator or just the author of the post.

Thanks for the updates, and what a huge relief the injuries weren't worse...! The first time I laid eyes on Lulu, down at the city shelter, she'd been hit by a car and had scrapes all over and a badly broken foot. I can still see the scars on Lu's head, but only because I know where to look. [Lu is doing great these days -- did some fine outruns at Anna's the other weekend -- and sends sympathetic sniffs to Lark. Luisa sends tons of supportive vibes to Julie.]

Likewise! Aw, they look wonderful (I love those dogs... really love Glen.)

It's prey drive! That "rant" thread.

I totally agree. Lots of SoCal mojo around you and Naihm now.