Over the weekend, one of the ESPN channels was showing dog shows. These
weren't conformation shows like Westminster but agility trials. Speed
trials, obstacle courses, diving

Some of these were run by AKC so limited to registered dogs in
recognized breeds, which is less fun, but I guess AKC is trying to
demonstrate that, no, some of the breed standards haven't ruined what
the dogs were bred to do.

I saw a Papillon compete in one of the obstacle courses. Not only is it
truly possible for this breed to walk, he flew through the course. The
extremely lightweight dogs have a bit of trouble on the teeter totter
but once they walk out far enough, it tilts down, even for them.

On Jun 5, 2023 at 8:17:05 PM PDT, ""Adam H. Kerman"" <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

> Over the weekend, one of the ESPN channels was showing dog shows. These
> weren't conformation shows like Westminster but agility trials. Speed
> trials, obstacle courses, diving
>
> Some of these were run by AKC so limited to registered dogs in
> recognized breeds, which is less fun, but I guess AKC is trying to
> demonstrate that, no, some of the breed standards haven't ruined what
> the dogs were bred to do.
>
> I saw a Papillon compete in one of the obstacle courses. Not only is it
> truly possible for this breed to walk, he flew through the course. The
> extremely lightweight dogs have a bit of trouble on the teeter totter
> but once they walk out far enough, it tilts down, even for them.

They're ALL good dogs, Adam!

On Tue, 6 Jun 2023 03:17:05 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
<ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

>Over the weekend, one of the ESPN channels was showing dog shows. These
>weren't conformation shows like Westminster but agility trials. Speed
>trials, obstacle courses, diving
>
>Some of these were run by AKC so limited to registered dogs in
>recognized breeds, which is less fun, but I guess AKC is trying to
>demonstrate that, no, some of the breed standards haven't ruined what
>the dogs were bred to do.
>
>I saw a Papillon compete in one of the obstacle courses. Not only is it
>truly possible for this breed to walk, he flew through the course. The
>extremely lightweight dogs have a bit of trouble on the teeter totter
>but once they walk out far enough, it tilts down, even for them.

Well it certainly beats paramutual races on Corgis which our local
racetrack does annually on days associated with Queen Elizabeth. I've
no idea whether they intend to do any more of those now that she's
gone - we had a local Corgi fancier club whose members loved to take
their turn with the ponies...

BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
>On Jun 5, 2023 at 8:17:05 PM PDT, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

>>Over the weekend, one of the ESPN channels was showing dog shows. These
>>weren't conformation shows like Westminster but agility trials. Speed
>>trials, obstacle courses, diving

>>Some of these were run by AKC so limited to registered dogs in
>>recognized breeds, which is less fun, but I guess AKC is trying to
>>demonstrate that, no, some of the breed standards haven't ruined what
>>the dogs were bred to do.

>>I saw a Papillon compete in one of the obstacle courses. Not only is it
>>truly possible for this breed to walk, he flew through the course. The
>>extremely lightweight dogs have a bit of trouble on the teeter totter
>>but once they walk out far enough, it tilts down, even for them.

>They're ALL good dogs, Adam!

Of course. It's just unusual to see an owner allow a Papillon to act like
a dog!

I'm trying to make a point that little dogs are abused as purse dogs and
lap dogs. My dog wants to be a lap dog at times, but he's now 66 pounds
and it doesn't really work.

On a walk a few days ago, the guy down the street had a toy dog. He let
the dog go on the parkway at the end of the block, then picked up the
dog to carry it back to his own property, a distance of one lot. That's
how people treat tiny dogs. We're not talking about trying to get through
snow. Let them walk!

On Tue, 6 Jun 2023 12:27:07 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
<ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

>Of course. It's just unusual to see an owner allow a Papillon to act like
>a dog!
>
>I'm trying to make a point that little dogs are abused as purse dogs and
>lap dogs. My dog wants to be a lap dog at times, but he's now 66 pounds
>and it doesn't really work.
>
>On a walk a few days ago, the guy down the street had a toy dog. He let
>the dog go on the parkway at the end of the block, then picked up the
>dog to carry it back to his own property, a distance of one lot. That's
>how people treat tiny dogs. We're not talking about trying to get through
>snow. Let them walk!

Corgis aren't exactly "purse dogs" (ours was a female about 30 lbs)
but they're certainly a favorite of the "Wonder Dog" circuit.

I didn't attend the Corgi paramutal event but my daughters told me
only about 1/2 finished the course with the remainder leaving the
course to chow down on the grass on the edge of the track.

Our second dog was a Corgi / Buu Terrier (we think) cross who was
about 80-90 lbs and my kids used to joke about his conception though
they didn't know whether the Corgi parent was the male or female.

Our current dog is a German Shepherd / Husky cross and the first dog
we've ever had with normal legs.

I've always been a cat person and never liked dogs but the last is/was
my late wife's and it's now my job to make him as comfy and happy as
possible including daily "walkies". Fortunately we also have a good
back yard with lots of grass for him to run about in when the weather
is good which it is now. It was fairly common for that first Corgi to
disappear into the grass when she was running about in the back yard
and she was very definitely a super-alpha female!