Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[MROO]

And this is why I like performance events.

Me, too, but it's really hard to do performance with a Shih Tzu! I even had a hard time in mixed breed conformation shows, because most of our judges were big-dog people and we didn't always have quick access to a grooming table in the ring. Judges don't like to wait for a table to be set, and it's hard for a little dog to look confident when a stranger swoops down from above ... but she handled it well. Twenty-some years later, I still have a Shih-Tzu shaped hole in my heart!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Competitive is fine - nothing wrong with competitive, and there is room for interpretation even in performance events, but nowhere near as much as in conformation events. In competition either you get the job done or you don't. If I were younger and not involved in field trialing, I would not hesitate to get involved in obedience or agility events. We titled a dog up to CDX in both AKC and UKC and found competitors to be generally supportive.

That’s awesome. I really want to do agility but never had the right dog hahah that’s good people are supportive though! I don’t mind competitive, I’ve just seen some blame the dog and/or get upset with them if they lose or whatever guess that happens in about any sport though! But some seem to take it so seriously and lose sight of what it’s about and the fun

 

[MROO]

Competitive is fine - nothing wrong with competitive, and there is room for interpretation even in performance events, but nowhere near as much as in conformation events. In competition either you get the job done or you don't. If I were younger and not involved in field trialing, I would not hesitate to get involved in obedience or agility events. We titled a dog up to CDX in both AKC and UKC and found competitors to be generally supportive.

ABSOLUTELY! Field Trials, Agility and such, although open to some interpretation, are mostly judged on actual performance. Conformation, no matter what ANYBODY tells you, is purely political. Sure, you can get pretty far with a really good dog even if you're an amateur, but if you want to get the dog "finished," or even properly noticed, you need a professional (expensive) handler ... and you need to turn your dog over to them, lock, stock and barrel, while they work with him/her. I wasn't willing to do that, even before my little girl had her accident, so I knew from the start that I was only in it for fun. That made the whole thing much easier ... and much more enjoyable!
If I had it to do over again, I'd go Agility or Obedience ... but I doubt I'll do either. I'd rather have a "Good Citizen Award" with a rescued mix. It's a lot more meaningful for everyone involved!

EDIT to add link to the Canine Good Citizen Award:
https://www.akc.org/products-servic...good-citizen/what-is-canine-good-citizen/#who

 

[sourland]

Twenty-some years later, I still have a Shih-Tzu shaped hole in my heart!

Beats the 45 year old German Shepherd sized hole in my heart. After Rhon died I vowed to never have another GSD.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I had a Shih Tzu, so we did a few specialty breed shows in DE, MD & VA and two AKC All-Breed events in MD and and PA. She did really well as a puppy, but slipped on a newly waxed floor and broke her tiny jaw in two places shortly into her adult class age. It was scary, but she came through it fine and the rest of her 15 years as a spoiled lap baby.
I attended a lot more shows than I participated in, though. As part of a breed club, we went to a lot of different shows all over the area - sometimes as support for other members, but mostly for the experience and the fun. The All-Breed, mixed discipline shows were the best - we got to see agility competitions and some REALLY neat Search and Rescue and Public Service demos.

That sounds amazing!!

 

[ShrekDawg]

ABSOLUTELY! Field Trials, Agility and such, although open to some interpretation, are mostly judged on actual performance. Conformation, no matter what ANYBODY tells you, is purely political. Sure, you can get pretty far with a really good dog even if you're an amateur, but if you want to get the dog "finished," or even properly noticed, you need a professional (expensive) handler ... and you need to turn your dog over to them, lock, stock and barrel, while they work with him/her. I wasn't willing to do that, even before my little girl had her accident, so I knew from the start that I was only in it for fun. That made the whole thing much easier ... and much more enjoyable!
If I had it to do over again, I'd go Agility or Obedience ... but I doubt I'll do either. I'd rather have a "Good Citizen Award" with a rescued mix. It's a lot more meaningful for everyone involved!

You can actually do agility and obedience and all the other AKC dog sports with mixes too! And there are a bunch of other agility organizations besides AKC too! So you might still be able to do it. For AKC you do need to register them with their Canine Partners program but they can compete and earn titles and everything with it! They just can’t compete in conformation. Not sure how the other organizations work for competing. But mixes can definitely compete and be quite successful.

 

[MROO]

Beats the 45 year old German Shepherd sized hole in my heart. After Rhon died I vowed to never have another GSD.

I've never had another Shih Tzu. If I did - and I don't think I could - it would never be a black and white. When I had my Chu, black and whites were really rare. Everyone wanted the gold and the gold and white. Now, black and whites are everywhere.
I'll never have another black and tan border collie, either. My Tag, now THERE was a DOG! He wasn't even a full border. Our vet (who raised & competed BC's) said he had something else "in there" probably two or three generations back. Except for his smaller size, you'd never know it, though. My fella was all BC - activity, smarts and neuroses all included. As a youngster, he was a tail chaser. I'll never forget watching him finally catch it and look up at me with a thoroughly confused, almost panicked expression. I swear he was asking me, "Okay, what do I do with it, now?" He sulked the rest of the day and never chased his tail again ... but the cat's tail became fair game!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Yep, I do non competitive agility with my dogs. Old Dog looooves it and is such a star. Killer Husky goes a little crazy. Haven't gotten to take the Goober out to an agility event yet - he wasn't even a year when the pandemic hit. He's mellowed out now and I think going through agility commands with him will be easy come spring. We have a beginners set for our back yard.

 

[aart]

black and whites were really rare.

I had a white and black GSD mix...Gorgeous the Magnificent...
....mostly known as Maggie and other derivatives.

 

[MROO]

Yep, I do non competitive agility with my dogs. Old Dog looooves it and is such a star. Killer Husky goes a little crazy. Haven't gotten to take the Goober out to an agility event yet - he wasn't even a year when the pandemic hit. He's mellowed out now and I think going through agility commands with him will be easy come spring. We have a beginners set for our back yard.

Did you build your own set or did you start with a kit? I've seen both and I'm leaning towards building one, here. DD needs a bit of pushing, but Crazy Dog needs the job!