The Saluki Thread

[Gazinghound]

Aaah, was that crushed velvet being modeled so gorgeously by Little Purple Riding Snood?!

(I have yet to find the remedy for bed-jumping. Ulla uses other people's beds that aren't always covered in stuffed animals as trampolines, landing pads, launching pads, diving boards, etc. It occasionally results in dirty, furry, messes, undoing of bed-making, or even ripped blankets...but short of closing all the upstairs doors [which nobody likes to do becaue it makes everything so dark] or guarding the beds yourself, it's tough to prevent her from doing it!)

That's so terrific about the shows!! Wow! Such a good experience your first time out--well done! It sounds as if shows in Australia work differently than shows in the US. I'm so happy for you guys; many congratulatory kisses to Miss Bella, who looks rightly proud of her very first ribbons. And you got to show someone else's dog already, very nice! ^^ Layla...what a lovely and suitable name...reminds me of Laila from Roadside Romeo. (If you haven't seen that Indian/Disney animated dog movie, I also recommend it!) You should certainly be proud of her; beating even one other competitor is a fine achievement! I too have found that many of the other Saluki people are very nice, friendly, understanding, and helpful. They remember when they were rank beginners--and even those with years of experience aren't perfect and still make plenty of mistakes. I'm glad Bella had a positive time and got over her nervousness, too. Yeah, I was lucky that Ulla never flat-out refused to enter the ring; it would've been even harder to get her back in after that.

Well, it's sure been a lucky week for Salukis! Yay! Excellent.

I love the photos. The first one is so funny, but then the second looks like a group shot where they're all friends, joined by a little Affie.

Nice Chesire Cat bag, too. x->

Here we have Ulla's icy birthday num-nums, embedded with salami-cheese and peanut butter XD...mmmmm, Kanine Krunchies!!



...and the puppies enjoying an ice-feast...





...plus: "Ulla and the Attack of the Jack-Jack!"



She's been ridiculously cute for the past several nights and/or mornings--running upstairs, knocking on my door, jumping on my bed, knocking my plush friends out of her way, arranging the blanket and pillows to her liking, sandwiching herself between me and some blankets or pillows, curling up...& sleeping right on/next to/across me foreeeeverrrrr. *-* If I move, she moves, wanting to remain up against something.

[grizabella]

It's confusing how shows are different here to the US, I spent ages reading an American book about showing and then realised it wasn't how they do it over here!
How it works here is that all the dogs are entered into age classes, including the Champions and Grand Champions, and the class winners then compete for best of each sex (Challenge) and than against eachother for Best of Breed. Only the best dog and bitch of each breed get points, five points plus one for each dog entered (each dog they won over plus one for themself). To become a Champion a dog needs 100 points- not easy if you're competing with Grand Champions!
The bitch who won Bitch Challenge both days is a stunning girl, a multi BIS Grand Champion. <3 We're going to have to get very lucky if we want to win any points at all against such strong competition!
Hopefully I'll be able to post some videos a friend took soon... if he sends them to me!!

Awww, that's nice that Ulla's being so cuddly- must make you feel very special! Looks like those birthday treats went down well!

[Gazinghound]

Aw, man! ;D That's funny, though frustrating.
Very interesting to know how shows work "down under." I guess it's not really all that different...just a variation on the organization, but the competition still comes down to the same thing. I'd explain our process of elimination, but you've apparently already familiarized yourself with it.

I think I prefer your point system, however. Ours is notoriously baffling. Even my friends who have decades of show experience are always guessing and having to check the books to find out how many points each win is worth. The value has to do with the number of dogs entered in any given show, which makes sense...the more dogs you beat, the more points you earn. Still, the system could stand to be a lot simpler & more straightforward. This link spells it out as clearly as possible, I suppose: www.akc.org/events/conformation/counting_points.cfm

"The American Kennel Club requires a dog to obtain a total of 15 points with two major wins (a major win is worth three points or higher) to become a champion." Hmm. 15 points, versus 100. Sounds as though it's a lot harder to earn a Championship over there--unless other factors come into play to kind of even it out?

Oh, Bella, you've got your work cut out for you--but you can do it. Ya got what it takes! You go, girl!

Ullie's brother Jackson was working on a Grand Champion title, but his person got a bit fed up with all the conformation stuff and other "additional" titles they introduced, and so decided to pursue Obedience/Rally instead. (Our dogs actually didn't do the traditional obedience before because the breeders didn't want them associating a ring full of dogs with sitting, lying down, and such.)
Yes, her love and snuggliness are a tremendous honor to have bestowed upon one... ;D We've still got four ice cubes left; the rest have been voraciously licked, crunched, and devoured.

A few pics from our Jeep ride in the countryside yesterday...



Ulla checked out the scenery for a few minutes and then curled up for a nap (despite the bumpiness of the ride.) Guess that's a good sign, since I'd someday like to get a doggie motorcycle sidecar! Rusty was the one practically falling out of the truck...

Jack was held up in the front seat the whole time, but I got a little of him on video.
Aaaaaand then this arrived today!

[grizabella]

If you're lucky over here you can win up to 25 points at one show (usually you have to win Group or Best in Show, unless there's a huge breed entry). I think the Australian system is slightly less boggling to the mind. I think the main difference is that you are directly competing with Champions from the start which makes it that bit more intimidating, haha! But I suppose there's not enough non-Champion dogs to do it the other way over here, and the Champions and Grand Champions had to start somewhere!
I think CC (Challenge Certificate) is the same as BOS. If you win BOB and yours is the only dog of the breed entered you still get six points, so I guess it all adds up eventually. We'll get there one day! I think when Bella wins her first BOB we'll be throwing a party!
I'm aiming at entering Bella in one show a month. It's such good fun! I really enjoyed being able to show Princess Layla as well, she was very different to Bella so it was quite interesting, I was more used to a taller Luki! Bel just wanted to hoon with Arya though she wasn't allowed, and Pasha wanted to play with everyone!

Good luck to Jackson with his Obedience and Rally, I'm sure it's a lot of fun. I bet that lovely certificate will be going up in a nice frame.

That picture of Rusty sticking his head out is terribly cute. Enjoying the scenery? Looks like Ulla's enjoying the wind in her ears. Love her collar! ;D

[Gazinghound]

Oh, wow, cool. Five points would be kind of a lot from one show here...although of course you'd get more if you won the group or BIS. I think the most we've gotten in one day was 3. ^^ Your system does seem a tad less mind-boggling than ours, hehe. Ahh, I see...yeah, we at least got to start out competing in our class against other non-Champions before possibly advancing to the Best of Breed judging, when the Champs come in. (Now we don't have to get there as early because all the classes get done before we need to go in.)

I've heard the term Challenge Certificate before, from Britain, but was never quite sure just what kind of award it was. You guys will definitely get there! A show a month sounds like a fine plan---fairly ambitious! We typically did three to five a month every several months, averaging about 8 to 10 a year. So glad you're enjoying it!! Yes, when you get to show (or even hold onto!) someone else's dog, you really understand how different they all are, in personality/temperament, size, appearance, etc.
He, he, he! ^w^

Thanks, Jacks will appreciate that. I understand he did well with the first phase of his training, but that he's been acting a little cheeky in the second. Typical.

Yep, soon as I find or a buy an appropriate frame, it'll go in one! For the moment I've got it in front of my diploma, on the shelf where we've been placing the most recent awards and certificates to come into the house.

Haha, that was my favorite pic of Rusty. He was going nuts sniffing the woods and trying to stand up and "surf" on the platform next to me. I had to keep him from jumping out. He even tried sitting on the edge, but I felt he was a bit too hefty for that to work very well, and finally got him to stay either in the back or lying down next to me. ;D

Oh, and I forgot I had another suggestion to make...my friends/Ulla's breeders always chew gum in the ring. There's apparently some way that dogs can smell it on your breath if you're even a little tense, anxious, nervous, worked up, excited, edgy, etc. Soooo, the gum scent masks anything of that nature and helps them stay calmer. Of course, it's always good to try and become as relaxed as possible yourself, because tension travels right down the lead to the dog.

[grizabella]

Some photos a friend took of Saturday's show, you may notice that eventually I got Layla not to lean back during the stack, lol! No piccies of me with Bella, team photographer wasn't around that day, and I had my hands full.
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150863757618068.416501.729748067&type=3

Now all three of Bella's sisters in Australia have their Aus. Champion title; well done Lilly, Cali and Precious! Bella has some serious catching up to do, lol! ;D Only got 100 points to go...
I think her sisters in Canada are still working on theirs though.

[Gazinghound]

Hahaha!! Nice work! It's not easy to get them out of unwanted habits like that. Great pictures. You've got some real beauties over there! YIPPEE! Happy congratulations to her sisses (with the cute names!) Only 100 points? Pssh--no worries, you'll rack 'em up! So will the Canadian girls (hehe, sounds like a lotta girls in that family!) ;D

[grizabella]

All girls except for the one boy!

[Gazinghound]

Oh, that must've been rough for him growing up. XD Pretty big family, too.

[grizabella]

Here's the first of three videos from our first shows:


You can hear Bella complaining in the background as I've 'run off' with another Saluki.

[grizabella]

And here's Bella's turn:

[grizabella]

I'm very relieved that Bella has improved with regards to going to bed, the past two days she's stayed in bed once I put her in it without getting up. Before that she would get up again, and again, and again, which was really exhausting! Maybe she was tired last night as I was up very late finishing off a picture... whatever the reason, I'm glad she's going to sleep easier now!

[Gazinghound]

Oh, that's lovely to hear! Glad she (and you!) are starting to get better nights' sleep...hopefully that'll continue and become her new habit.

[grizabella]

Here's some more Saluki for the Saluki thread! My baby.


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[grizabella]

Miss Bella didn't have a fantastic night's sleep last night. She was up until one in the morning refusing to go to bed. She ended up in my bed, but just cried and cried and cried. She didn't need the toilet (tried letting her out to go but wasn't interested). She didn't settle until the early hours, once we'd moved into the lounge (so the rest of the house wasn't kept up by her complaining!) where she was immediately quiet and fell asleep. Not exactly what I had planned for a night before an exam... she's never made such a fuss like that, I've no idea what was wrong. :/