Hurricane Deck

First, go read this little piece of wonderfully investigated journalism. Or you can just read my snide comments throughout the article: Please, don't call these dogs mutts. Uh, why not? Now we know that THIS is going to be a wonderful, well researched and thought out article. They're goldendoodles , cockapoos and puggles and they are among the most popular cross-bred dogs in the U.S., according to the American Canine Hybrid Club. Nipping at their heels are cavachons , shih -poos and schnoodles , says the organization, which has registered and named 671 different hybrid combinations since it started registering litters in 1990. 671 you tell me? Wow. Currently, the AKC recognizes 230 - so just out of AKC stock alone one could possibly have 52,670 different cross bred dogs. Why are you stopping at 671? Surely there is more money to be made! More dog owners are looking to create custom varieties that combine in a single dog the best traits of two purebreds. Dog fanciers have b...

Note: This started off as a post about feet, but it went elsewhere! I’ve wanted to post about feet for a while, but I have found that there is so much to get out of the way first before I can even craft it! In the world of dog fanciers, a saying that is often bandied about is “form follows function.” The origin of the phrase comes from the world of architecture; it means that the form of a building should reflect its function. It is a simple thought and some believe that it doesn’t leave room for anything other than strict utilitarianism. When I think about the true function of all domestic dogs in general the conclusion that I come to is that the function of a dog is to be a companion to humans. There are dogs with jobs (hunting, tracking, guarding, etc.) but in just about all instances a dog’s work happens in tandem with a human. An obvious exception would be the many guardian breeds that are bred to stay with and guard a flock or herd of animals without human direction and in...

Well, it hasn't been much fun the last week at the Hurricane Deck Household! We've been playing the doggie shuffle since both of my girls are in heat. It goes something like this - put the girls in the bathroom. Let the boy dogs in and put them in their kennels. Put the girls outside for a few hours, then reverse! I do appreciate that the weather has been nice enough to leave them outside for a few hours at a time or the Rat Dogs would have to spend more time in their kennels then I like for them to during the day. I am VERY appreciative of the fact that Rodear and Jada were kind enough to cycle at the same time so that I have another six months before I play the shuffle game again. Over the weekend we went to the High Plains Kennel Club dog show (UKC). Rooster was being an ass, so I only showed him one show. I hope that one day his brains outgrow his ball size. Rodear showed the other three shows and she was dumped all three times - I wasn't really happy about it...

How pathetic that I've let my blog go for THIS LONG! But, it's been a wild and crazy last few months. On a personal front, I have a new occupation as a contract landman, and I just love it! The courthouse is 10 minutes from my house, and I do the vast majority of work from my home. I love having more time with my dogs. As for the dogs, well - wow - I am down to four! I did some serious paring down of numbers and recalculated my goals for the next few years. It almost feels like I don't have any dogs at all, really. The biggest news I have is that my little rabbit, fox and raccoon hunter, Sniper, is the #9 Rat Terrier for 2010. I am VERY proud of my boy - not only is he an amazing hunter, but his temperament is just to die for, and he's a beautiful representation of the breed! This year we are only hitting mostly local shows, and of course we are going to hit Premier in Kalamazoo in June. I haven't been to a show since December, and I am ready to hit the sh...

Day 2, Sunday As I have detailed before here ,I go hunting and hiking quite a bit by myself. I am always prepared for just about any emergency and I take great pride in that – plus a year or so back I splurged and bought a SPOT Tracker for emergencies, and I also buy search and rescue insurance. My best line of preparation when going at it alone is that I always let someone know when I am going, exactly where I am going, what I plan on doing, and when I plan on returning. So one would think that on my many treks from which I have safely returned, that my husband would think me capable of somewhat being able to care of myself, right? WRONG. On School Section Mountain, the husband and I decided to split up. He would take one side of the mountain, and I would traverse the other. Little did I know that he was trying to keep me in his sight; for what reason, I have no idea. I was merrily going along my way, looking into groups of pine trees and groves of aspens, stopping to listen, ...

A beautiful but chilly Saturday morning found us high on a hilltop scanning several valleys below before sunrise. Unfortunately, even from our high vantage point there were no elk to be seen once the morning was light enough to illuminate animal that was perhaps lingering over the grass. We took out the maps and quietly formulated a plan to drive further west to a patch of promising timber. Our first sign that something was amiss was a backpack left by an outcropping of rocks. We were supposed to be the only hunters on this particular section of a ranch, and it looked like we weren’t. It wasn’t hard to spot the trespassers since they had decided to stay out of the tress and instead traverse a meadow. I caught up with them and asked them their business, their names, and then asked them to leave. I had a difficult time believing, that with a backpack full of maps and a GPS unit, that they had no idea they were on private property. My husband, father in law and I decided to split u...

While I am busy putting together a post about dog paws, I will entertain you with a story that I wrote in March of this year regarding my experience in the Best In Show ring. Enjoy! I was inspired by the laughing of my sister Rochelle to write down this memory of my Best in Show ring experience at the last dog show I was at. No, we didn't win, but a grin from one of you might be worth the headache I was experiencing!! Sniper and I happily got a group one - woohoo! I was VERY excited to take him into the ring and maybe snag one of those Best In Show ribbons. However, things took a turn for the worst when I got sandwiched in between a woman with a Shiba Inu who had no idea how to bait or even work with her dog, and a very large woman in a flowing skirt who had a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (or however you spell it - small, fuzzy dog whose eyeballs look like they are going to come out of its head). Shiba Inu woman was showing a dog that could really care less where it was. Howeve...