"Stuff is eaten by dogs, broken by family and friends, sanded down by the wind, frozen by the mountains, lost by the prairie, burnt off by the sun, washed away by the rain. So you are left with dogs, family, friends, sun, rain, wind, prairie and mountains. What more do you want?"
Federico Calboli
Friday, January 06, 2012
Two different breeds
Ya think? Afghan, (real) Taigan
12 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Well, OBVIOUSLY the 2nd photo IS MOST DEFINETELY NOT an Afghan, because NOBODY with an AKC Afghan would EVER allow their dog to be photographed with such a disreputable building in the background!!!...L.B.
The important thing to note about the pictures Steve is contrasting and the link which Jess supplied is that the basic difference in the appearance of the dogs is simply a matter of grooming -
The markings on the two blue dogs are essentially the same .. with both dogs having the white facial blaze and full white legs ... the more heavily coated "windswept" Afghan Hound has bare legs fore and aft, with the only difference in appearance being that he's been systematically groomed to produce long enough coat to cover his "patterning" ... The Taigan is a contemporary photo, and the longer haired dog is also contemporary ... his grandmother is a full litter sister to the mother of dogs I have in my home as I type. My point in sharing the pictures with Steve was to emphasize that no matter what is happening with "modern" Afghan Hounds, they continue to breed true to the original type.
Ha! I actually had someone going fer a second there! And also actually, I have lived in houses much more disreputable than that barn! With my sighthounds and other enobled dogs! And none of them ever complained! But everyone I've ever known(precious few, fortunetely) with AKC show conformation Afghans will NEVER photograph them UNLESS they are impecibly groomed, with a suitable picturesque or dramatic background! So there IS some truth to my joke--you can tell a lot about some dogs' pedigrees by how they are photographed!....L.B.
Hi LB - again, I don't know where you are or who you know who has "AKC show confirmation" Afghan Hounds, but I'm having trouble believing that you've been exposed to a truly representative sample of owners! :) AKC or UKC confirmation showing is one facet or subsection of myriad ways to compete with any breed of dog (or even dogs that are not purebred if you choose to do performance events ) - if you're showing in the confirmation ring, a part of the challenge is in having the skills and knowledge to put a dog down in appropriate physical condition, trained to do his job, and enjoy his job and to be able to have that dog groomed in an appropriate manner. I'm afraid that what you're basing your opinion on is the higher levels of AKC competition which result in nationally ranked dogs, Westminster, Eukanuba/AKC Championships, etc. But even dogs that compete at that level are not hot house flowers, and most of the owners of dogs which were developed for heavy duty phsyical performance do not expect that their dogs are not going to get dirty or live a "real" life.
There are so many folks in Afghan Hounds (and I've been at this for over sixty years now) who are extremely well versed in the history of the breed, the origins of the breed, the use of the breed and the preservation of the breed - it is a shame that they're made to feel as if they are superficial light-weights when the dogs are discussed outside the show world.
Well BDL, if'n I take the bait, I'll be wearin' my right index finger to a nub, fer shore! It'll just be a repeat, I'm afraid, of our former ranting on that subject that came up before that was stimulated by the Chow photos(sigh)awhile back on this very blog!--and ne're the twain shall meet! And I DO love all the Afghans I've met--I was the kennel boy that had to hold quite a few at a boarding/grooming kennel I worked at many years ago(NOT to be confused with the wonderful vetinary I also worked at at another time, that also did boarding and grooming), because they were a bit much for the grooming ladies to handle. And they were REAL dogs, under all that(to me, horribly unnecessary and overly exagerrated coat)--but AKC ConFORmation show-ers are SUCH a "politically correct" and sensitive lot, it is just WAY too fun and easy to bait them, and I can't resist!(sorry...) And your spelling of conformation("confirmation") brings this funny, absurd, Monty Pythonish vision to my mind of dogs being instructed in catechism classes as well--I'm suprised some fanatical group somewhere has not tried! I wonder which breeds would excell there?(obviously NOT dogs developed by Muslim cultures!!!) Being subjugated as a Lutheran during my feral youth(that's only one step down frum you Catholics)in a failed effort to convert and civilize me, I can relate, and such a procedure MIGHT be almost as pointless and boring for the dogs themselves as Conformation Shows! And if you think about it, there are some real interesting parallels there, between our expectations in what humans hope to produce in Confirmation AND Conformation! Ha!.....L.B.
Oh LB! At first I was going to claim old age and infirm fingers for my misspelling/interchanging of "conformation/confirmation," but since you mention your misspent youth of Lutheran indoctrination, I realize that is exactly my problem as well; I'm the product of multiple generations of Lutheran DNA, so obviously my mistake was not a mistake at all, but subliminal guilt over my condition as an apostate Lutheran. ie, you can take the girl out of the Church, but you can never take the Church out of the girl. I may have been confirmed, but I was unable to conform ... alas.
All of which brings us back to the issue of confirming our dogs ... I'm not sure that "In The Beginning" my Afghan Hounds were Muslim, I think they were around long before Mohammed. While they've never shown much interest in a catechism (no matter what size), the German import Boxers of my childhood did lay down beside me and listen politely while I recited my weekly memory verses from the writing of the venerable Luther. The phrase "What does this mean?" became so embedded in my psyche that I never stopped questioning and that is ultimately what caused my trouble with the organized Church.
I am also a Child of the Sixties, and while I'm reasonably well educated, I've never placed high value on the art of correct spelling, especially when I'm writing "off the top of my head." Such things never seemed all that important to me - so, if I'm to continue contributing here, please be prepared for my frequent lapses. I do bring some interesting insight into the "purebred showdog angle" having known people here in the states who accepted Afghan Hounds from the UK in the late 30s to save them from starvation or death in the London Blitz. Not everyone who owns an Afghan Hound is a lunatic whose life centers around growing coat on a dog ... there are a great many of us who have long recognized the threat to all who own and breed dogs, and who are fighting to preserve our dogs, and the right to own and use them as we see fit.
I am very glad to learn that all Afghan owners are not lunatics(I knew that, actually), and please DO continue misspelling--it should be obvious I rather enjoy doing it myself!....L.B.
12 comments:
Well, OBVIOUSLY the 2nd photo IS MOST DEFINETELY NOT an Afghan, because NOBODY with an AKC Afghan would EVER allow their dog to be photographed with such a disreputable building in the background!!!...L.B.
A modern Afghan in Afghanistan, 2006.
Anonymous and buildings .... you're joking, right?
Black Dog Lady
He is, he ain't all that anonymous, and he'd love YOUR Afghans, who I expect have seen disreputable buildings. (She sent me the pix, Lane (;-))
I'm going to take that in the best possible way Steve, and tell you at the same time, that I thought that was a pretty good-looking building :)
BDL
The important thing to note about the pictures Steve is contrasting and the link which Jess supplied is that the basic difference in the appearance of the dogs is simply a matter of grooming -
The markings on the two blue dogs are essentially the same .. with both dogs having the white facial blaze and full white legs ... the more heavily coated "windswept" Afghan Hound has bare legs fore and aft, with the only difference in appearance being that he's been systematically groomed to produce long enough coat to cover his "patterning" ... The Taigan is a contemporary photo, and the longer haired dog is also contemporary ... his grandmother is a full litter sister to the mother of dogs I have in my home as I type. My point in sharing the pictures with Steve was to emphasize that no matter what is happening with "modern" Afghan Hounds, they continue to breed true to the original type.
BDL
Ha! I actually had someone going fer a second there! And also actually, I have lived in houses much more disreputable than that barn! With my sighthounds and other enobled dogs! And none of them ever complained! But everyone I've ever known(precious few, fortunetely) with AKC show conformation Afghans will NEVER photograph them UNLESS they are impecibly groomed, with a suitable picturesque or dramatic background! So there IS some truth to my joke--you can tell a lot about some dogs' pedigrees by how they are photographed!....L.B.
Hi LB - again, I don't know where you are or who you know who has "AKC show confirmation" Afghan Hounds, but I'm having trouble believing that you've been exposed to a truly representative sample of owners! :) AKC or UKC confirmation showing is one facet or subsection of myriad ways to compete with any breed of dog (or even dogs that are not purebred if you choose to do performance events
) - if you're showing in the confirmation ring, a part of the challenge is in having the skills and knowledge to put a dog down in appropriate physical condition, trained to do his job, and enjoy his job and to be able to have that dog groomed in an appropriate manner. I'm afraid that what you're basing your opinion on is the higher levels of AKC competition which result in nationally ranked dogs, Westminster, Eukanuba/AKC Championships, etc. But even dogs that compete at that level are not hot house flowers, and most of the owners of dogs which were developed for heavy duty phsyical performance do not expect that their dogs are not going to get dirty or live a "real" life.
There are so many folks in Afghan Hounds (and I've been at this for over sixty years now) who are extremely well versed in the history of the breed, the origins of the breed, the use of the breed and the preservation of the breed - it is a shame that they're made to feel as if they are superficial light-weights when the dogs are discussed outside the show world.
BDL
That comment is a bit of a change of tune for you. Or are there two ladies with black dogs?
Well BDL, if'n I take the bait, I'll be wearin' my right index finger to a nub, fer shore! It'll just be a repeat, I'm afraid, of our former ranting on that subject that came up before that was stimulated by the Chow photos(sigh)awhile back on this very blog!--and ne're the twain shall meet! And I DO love all the Afghans I've met--I was the kennel boy that had to hold quite a few at a boarding/grooming kennel I worked at many years ago(NOT to be confused with the wonderful vetinary I also worked at at another time, that also did boarding and grooming), because they were a bit much for the grooming ladies to handle. And they were REAL dogs, under all that(to me, horribly unnecessary and overly exagerrated coat)--but AKC ConFORmation show-ers are SUCH a "politically correct" and sensitive lot, it is just WAY too fun and easy to bait them, and I can't resist!(sorry...) And your spelling of conformation("confirmation") brings this funny, absurd, Monty Pythonish vision to my mind of dogs being instructed in catechism classes as well--I'm suprised some fanatical group somewhere has not tried! I wonder which breeds would excell there?(obviously NOT dogs developed by Muslim cultures!!!) Being subjugated as a Lutheran during my feral youth(that's only one step down frum you Catholics)in a failed effort to convert and civilize me, I can relate, and such a procedure MIGHT be almost as pointless and boring for the dogs themselves as Conformation Shows! And if you think about it, there are some real interesting parallels there, between our expectations in what humans hope to produce in Confirmation AND Conformation! Ha!.....L.B.
Oh LB! At first I was going to claim old age and infirm fingers for my misspelling/interchanging of "conformation/confirmation," but since you mention your misspent youth of Lutheran indoctrination, I realize that is exactly my problem as well; I'm the product of multiple generations of Lutheran DNA, so obviously my mistake was not a mistake at all, but subliminal guilt over my condition as an apostate Lutheran. ie, you can take the girl out of the Church, but you can never take the Church out of the girl. I may have been confirmed, but I was unable to conform ... alas.
All of which brings us back to the issue of confirming our dogs ... I'm not sure that "In The Beginning" my Afghan Hounds were Muslim, I think they were around long before Mohammed. While they've never shown much interest in a catechism (no matter what size), the German import Boxers of my childhood did lay down beside me and listen politely while I recited my weekly memory verses from the writing of the venerable Luther. The phrase "What does this mean?" became so embedded in my psyche that I never stopped questioning and that is ultimately what caused my trouble with the organized Church.
I am also a Child of the Sixties, and while I'm reasonably well educated, I've never placed high value on the art of correct spelling, especially when I'm writing "off the top of my head." Such things never seemed all that important to me - so, if I'm to continue contributing here, please be prepared for my frequent lapses. I do bring some interesting insight into the "purebred showdog angle" having known people here in the states who accepted Afghan Hounds from the UK in the late 30s to save them from starvation or death in the London Blitz. Not everyone who owns an Afghan Hound is a lunatic whose life centers around growing coat on a dog ... there are a great many of us who have long recognized the threat to all who own and breed dogs, and who are fighting to preserve our dogs, and the right to own and use them as we see fit.
BDL
I am very glad to learn that all Afghan owners are not lunatics(I knew that, actually), and please DO continue misspelling--it should be obvious I rather enjoy doing it myself!....L.B.
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