Tuesday 14 March 2017

show dogs and not so slow dogs



The other week I went to Crufts. I spent most of my time there hanging out with the Irish Wolfhounds  with a glancing appreciation at the whippets - of which Beezle is half. I don’t know why I went really – I could more easily have stayed at home and hung out with our Irish wolfhound and half whippet.



For those unfamiliar with wolfhounds they are a breed of domestic dog, specifically a very large sighthound from Ireland. A sighthound is a dog that runs too fast for you to catch and chases everything.
The upside of all this running is that they like to sleep a lot. Their preferred sleeping arrangements are:

. On the sofa when you and your guests want to sit down.
. On the sofa when you and your guests are sitting down.
. On the floor in a doorway where you will trip over them.

The most common thing asked about a wolfhound is “Where has my dinner gone?”

Their temperament is loyal, sweet tempered, generous, dignified, thoughtful, patient and full of love and other people’s dinners. They do not make good guard dogs as they are often very friendly towards strangers.

The name is derived from two words
Wolf – to wolf down ones food (or someone else's)
Hound – a dog breed used for hunting, especially one able to track by scent, particularly the scent of other people’s food, the Christmas turkey, the birthday cake etc.

definitely not a wolfhound

The wolf hound has very specific dietary requirements. It consists of four main food groups:

. The nice meal you spent all day preparing.
.  Cushions, shoes and the back of sofas.
.  Anything left out on the table or work top.
 . Things meant for other people




Pixie's very interesting fact for this month's blog post is that there are over 150 different breeds of dog. Most of which were at Crufts in various forms.

 Beezle has pointed out that he is a lurcher not half a whippet. A lurcher is a cross between a dog that runs too fast for you to catch and chases everything (a sighthound) and a dog that runs slightly more slowly but still chases everything (a working dog)

The name is derived from two words
Lurch – as in to leave someone in the lurch i.e. a long way away
Er – as in “er where’s that dog gone to now?”

They have excellent recall. They know perfectly well that you want them to come back and will do so when they’ve finished what they are doing. which is usually running  very fast in the opposite direction after something that is moving just a tiny bit faster than them.

 
Beezle in his Franciscan robes.
  As Beezle - or Brother Beezle and Frances of Assisi would say "Pax et bonum" (peace and the good)
Mr Walters checking to see if I'm doing my writing quota for the day

The rooks are building their nests again and I hope are using the horses' fur coats to line their nests. I hear that the ravens at the tower of London have lined their nests with rabbit fur.











There, where the rusty iron lies,
The rooks are cawing all the day.
Perhaps no man, until he dies,
will understand them, what they say.

The evening makes the sky look clay.
The slow wind waits for night to rise.
The world is half content. But they

Still trouble all the trees with cries,
That know, and cannot put away,
The yearning to the soul that flies
From day tonight, from night to day.


Charles Sorley.