Chloe and I got a nice note from the producers of Dog TV following up on a post I wrote last week.

I had asked about research they had used in the creation of this interesting new offering. They sent me a list of articles they had relied on as developed the concept. It appears that they have relied on over forty publications on the general topic of how dogs process auditory and visual stimuli.

As I mentioned last week, one of their chief consultants is a well respected board certified Veterinary behavior expert, Dr Nicolas Dodman.

Continue Reading "More From Dog TV" »

In case you missed it, last night was the beginning of the 135th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Now, as a run-of-the-mill dog owner, I have never been too interested in the whole concept of showing dogs. Probably because I never understood the purpose. Well, while watching the procession of perfectly coiffed pups last night, I took a minute to actually dive into the world of dog shows and I have to admit, it is pretty intense.

Governed by the American Kennel Club, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of many types of AKC dog events in which AKC-registered dogs can compete. The basic purpose of dog shows is to facilitate the evaluation of breeding stock for use in producing the next generations, according to the Westminster Kennel Club website.

Each dog is presented to a judge by a handler. The judges are experts on the breeds they are judging. They examine each dog with their hands to see if the teeth, muscles, bones and coat texture conform to the breed's standard. They view each dog in profile for overall balance and watch each dog gait, or move, to see how all of those features fit together in action.

Continue Reading "Best in Show? Not for My Girls." »

Purina sponsors the National Dog Show every year on Thanksgiving Day (I watchted last year and will watch again this year) and it's better than...almost anything. It certainly beats reality shows with "humans". Ok, there are humans in the National Dog Show, but they are eclipsed by the dogs.

David Frei, who returns as one of the show commentators (along with John O'Hurley - former actor who portrayed J. Peterman on Seinfeld), says, "If you have a dog, it's the alma mater factor; you compare your own dog lying on the sofa next to you with the Champion Retriever or Brittany you see on TV."

I'm not sure I agree completey with that. First of all, my dogs are not allowed on the sofa (sorry, my house, my rules and yes, I love my dog just as much as you love yours), and second of all -

I just wrote a post over at the Scratchings and Sniffings blog about a discussion with the hosts of the National Dog Show presented by Purina, which will air on NBC Thanksgiving Day at noon. [it's also hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia]

The reason I'm posting about the show here is because I wish I could watch it. But, I'll be in a huddle with about 60 relatives (yep, that's the right number - we have to rent an American Legion Hall!) without a television. And, unfortunately, I am not sure how to get our VCR to tape it.

Which led me to wonder: do they offer the National Dog Show on DVD, afterwards? Man, I should have asked that question when I was on the conference call last week! I'm off to do some research and find out. One thing I know...I'm purchasing the DVD if it's available.

Meanwhile, I also wonder how many of the precious pets in the show have pet health insurance? I hope they all do. During the conference call I did ask if a vet was on staff at the shows, and David Frei and John O'Hurley who are the human hosts, said, yes. Which is only natural.

Pet health insurance - will it become a normal part of pet ownership going forward? What do you think?