Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

Rottweilers. Computers. Cameras. World Domination. Not necessarily in that order.

Rottweilers.
Computers. Cameras.
World Domination.
Not necessarily in that order.

Finally! Axel at the ARV 2010 Nationals

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The long-awaited photos from the ARV 2010 National Sieger Show arrived this week. As you know, Axel traveled to Kentucky in September for the show with his breeder Denise and her husband Gary. After the long wait, I would have been quite disappointed if the photos hadn’t turned out well. And fortunately, they did. Here he is with his friend Scott Allen:

Click on the photo to see the rest of the pictures from the show.

As you know from my previous posts on sieger shows, the judge gives a critique to each dog. The critique is done for all to hear at the show, and you also receive a printed copy.

3 year old male, correct size, attentive, correct coat, correct markings, forehead should be wider for age, highly set away carried ears, correct shaped med. brown eyes, correct muzzle, more fill under eye and more pronounced cheek, exc. mouth pigmentation, strong neck a bit wrinkled, correct top and bottom line, bone could be a bit stronger, good front and rear ang, movement correct action in front, not enough in the rear, correct top line

I disagree with some of it: I like his head, I think his mouth pigmentation could be darker, and I don’t think his rear movement and drive is insufficient. It could have been so on that day. And although he was third out of the three dogs in the Champion Males class that showed, I’m still satisfied with his critique, his V (excellent) rating, and the reports that he traveled, behaved and showed well all weekend.

For comparison, here is his youth critique from the USRC 2008 National Sieger Show. He was 18 months old then and placed second with a V rating out of a large (20+) class.

strong boned maled nice outer lines excellent chest
proportion correctly set eyes good head shape
scissor bite lively temperment excellent coat correct
gate with good drive from the rear

Both critiques appear as typed: errors, strange translations and all. As a show typist many times myself, I don’t fault a few typos, and some things do get lost in translation. When you look at the show photos, do you see what the judges saw?

Same time, last year

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Last year, Axel was on the road chasing his championship dreams (ok, fine… my championship dreams). Freya and I were getting ready for her second UKC Rally Obedience trial, hoping to finish the first level and wondering if we could make it as far as the advanced titles.

This year, I’m wondering how to keep Axel busy and happy at home, now that he’s chased and caught that championship dream. Sometimes I think he misses showing. He’s a very “look at MEEEEEEEE” kind of dog. I don’t want to send him out to chase a grand championship, though.

This year, instead of working towards advanced titles with Freya, I’m wondering how to fix whatever went wrong over the spring, or whether to just let her retire. I wish she could tell me what she really wants, because I think it might not be the same as what I want.

(NaBloPoMo | November ’10: 10 of 30)

Pumpkin shortage: yes or no?

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Somehow I managed to completely miss talking about Axel’s sieger show in September. We had a few bad technology moments right around the show date, so there wasn’t much blogging in early September in general. I also wanted to post a photo from the show, as well as talk about his critique. But I still haven’t seen any show photos, and I really wanted to post the photo along with the critique so everything makes more sense.

So what does Axel’s show have to do with the pumpkin shortage? If you have a dog like Axel that is prone to occasional dietary indiscretions, or one like Freya with a mild case of IBS, the pumpkin shortage was a bad thing indeed. Canned pumpkin is one of the best remedies for either diarrhea or constipation in dogs. I know that sounds strange, but it has to do with the fiber in pumpkin helping to regulate things in either direction. And it should go without saying that if you are unsure of the cause, a visit or at least a call to the vet is still the best course of action. If, like us, you can attribute any unpleasant output to overindulgence or a known condition, canned pumpkin is your dog’s good friend.

Even though it was apparently well-covered in the media, I somehow missed the fact that there was a canned pumpkin shortage. So a few days before Axel was to leave for his show, he was suffering from a minor digestive upset, and I went to buy some pumpkin. I went to three different stores and at the last one there was a sign mentioning the shortage and that they expected to have pumpkin back in stock in about a month. Whoa. That would be an eternity when your dog is exploding. Fortunately it was a very mild upset, and one skipped meal and one bland meal got things back on track in time for trouble-free traveling.

So when canned pumpkin returned to the stores last month, I got a couple of big cans. And by most accounts, the shortage is now over. Then I saw yet another source, where CNN was reporting as late as October 24 that the pumpkin shortage was not in fact over.

I don’t really care about pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving or any other time. But I do want to make sure my dogs’ butts are covered. Today, it was Freya’s turn to need some pumpkin love, so there goes some of our stock! What’s the real story… shortage or not… anyone know?

(NaBloPoMo | November ’10: 9 of 30)

Westminster dreams

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I was sorting through some dog-related mail and email, and buried somewhere in there was the news that premiums for the 2011 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show had been mailed out earlier this month. This is the first time I’ve ever owned a dog that is eligible to enter. As an AKC Champion of Record who is eligible for Best of Breed competition, Axel could go and run with the big dogs.

“Eligible” and “competitive” are two very different things, of course. And I don’t think the money and time for a trip like this is going to fall out of the sky by the closing date. But it makes a nice daydream. I think the ultimate dream for many of us psycho dog people is winning Best in Show at Westminster handling a dog of our own breeding. My modified version for the moment would be my handler placing in the Working Group at Westminster with the first champion that I’ve owned (no Rottweiler has ever won at Westminster, and only one has ever won the Working Group, so that is the realist modifying the dream).

We won’t enter, of course. But it’s still a nice dream.

(NaBloPoMo | October ’10: 19 of 31)

From the photo files

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Nothing looks sweeter and more peaceful than a napping Rottweiler puppy and its older sibling.


January, 2004. Oscar was 9 years old. Freya was 7.5 weeks old and this was her third day at home.


February, 2007. Freya was 3 years old. Axel was 9 weeks old and this was his second week at home.

(NaBloPoMo | October ’10: 18 of 31)