Canine Confab

A timeline of articles from Geraldine Cove-Print
Kennel Club Chaos

Kennel Club Chaos

Lockdown has certainly raised our levels of anxiety but something else has made the collective blood pressure of UK breeders, owners and judges of pedigree dogs rise at an extraordinary rate! When the Kennel Club decided that they would bravely step forward into the industry of online technology to improve, ...

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Paper Tiger

Paper Tiger

Is today’s obsession with a pet dog that is anything as long as it is crossed with a poodle about fashion or is it a trend that will continue? Fashion has never had anything to do with practicality or ease of use and in this way certainly the pairing of breeds ...

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Endorsed For Life?

Endorsed For Life?

Time and time again I hear good, genuine breeders say “I’ve endorsed my puppies to ensure they are safe”, but just how safe is a Kennel Club endorsement? Take for instance “Progeny not to be registered”, that’s pretty clear isn’t it? It says the owner of the dog or bitch ...

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A Dog Is Not Just For Christmas....

A Dog Is Not Just For Christmas....

Sleet was driving across the headlamp beams as Lucy crossed the border from Scotland to England. She sighed as she realised there was still an hour and a half of the A1 to travel before home. It had been a strange couple of days, it was only last week that she ...

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Hotter Than Hell

Hotter Than Hell

With temperatures soaring again, the East of England Championship show went ahead at Alwarton near Peterborough. This particular showground is somewhat uninspiring with uneven scorched grass and tin sheds which did little to keep the heat levels down, a few plucky trees were seized upon by those grateful for the shade ...

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Dare You Criticise?

Dare You Criticise?

The media and communications world is fast moving, time and the internet wait for no man or woman come to that! The Kennel Club have certainly realised the potential of traffic to their website and their latest initiative may well sound the death knell for the longest established paper publication , ...

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Crufts. What You Need To Know

Crufts. What You Need To Know

It is billed as the Greatest Dog Show in the World, Crufts kicks off this week at the NEC on Thursday the 8th of March for four fun filled days… Those four days will only be fun filled if you have prepared because it can also be exhausting and miserable ...

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Shock Tactics!

Shock Tactics!

Imagine… You’re caught short out travelling , not a services or garage in sight. You pull into a layby , hop over the hedge while keeping a look out for perverts and Bulls and lower your under gunders in preparation to relieve your bladder. Then…WALLOP! Out of nowhere an electric ...

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Crystal Balls?

Crystal Balls?

Ahhh…the mists are clearing ..My crystal ball begins to glow with images… No, not really, but I think the first few weeks of January is about taking stock and maybe a few predictions for the year ahead. The world of Dog Showing and Dog Breeding I believe is in ...

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A Christmas Tale In Four Parts-Part Three & Four

A Christmas Tale In Four Parts-Part Three & Four

Clarice Geoff and Stella sat side by side on the hard grey chairs of the Surgery waiting room. They held hands but could not look at each other. Across the room from them sat Claire, the driver of the Range Rover. All that could be heard was the ticking of the ...

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A Christmas Tale In Four Parts-Part Two

A Christmas Tale In Four Parts-Part Two

Clarice She hit the ground running, as she burst through the bracken onto the rutted lane that ran across her path she hesitated for just a heartbeat. Habit told her to turn right, that was the way she and Dyllis always ran. Their walks with Geoff and Stella, all through the ...

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A Christmas Tale : In Four Parts

A Christmas Tale : In Four Parts

A Christmas Tale: In Four Parts Chapters will be posted 17th December, 19th December , 21st December & The Final Part 24th December It was snowing, large flakes drifted down and fell on the upturned noses of first Clarice the rangy German Shepherd and then onto Dyllis, the ...

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"Headmasters Study, Now!"

The pious among you may get to your feet, for the rest of us heathen brethren we can sleep soundly in our beds with the whisper from The Kennel Club that finally their Code of Conduct is about to become the governing document it was originally expected to be. It is ...

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"Headmaster's Study, Now!"

The pious among you may get to your feet, for the rest of us heathen brethren we can sleep soundly in our beds with the whisper from The Kennel Club that finally their Code of Conduct is about to become the governing document it was originally expected to be. It ...

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Lest We Forget

Lest We Forget

Lest we forget… as the clock strikes the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month our thoughts go to those who fought in the many wars that have shaped our world. For me the most poignant figures of loss through both world wars were the animals ...

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Farewell

Farewell

When one of our animal companions dies, for us the pain is often palpable, the intensity of our grief can be overwhelming. Our emotional response to loss can bring us to our knees, sometimes literally. Our bodies desperately try to cope with the shock and the obsessive reaction of ...

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The Deadly Embrace

The Deadly Embrace

Last week a five month old Border Terrier called Rocco met a terrible and tragic death. He wasn’t run over while chasing a cat or poisoned by dog haters or died because he was locked in a hot car, Rocco was loved and cared for and yet he died ...

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Why Would Someone Poison Their Own Dog?

Why Would Someone Poison Their Own Dog?

A BBC News report caught my attention yesterday and I thought it would perhaps be of interest to attach it to an article I wrote some time ago. BBC News Reported:A veterinary nurse who deliberately poisoned her own dog has been given a community payback order. Georgina Bretman, 28, ...

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Egg Sucking For Beginners

Egg Sucking For Beginners

I wouldn’t presume to teach my Grandmother to suck eggs, mainly because I can’t imagine why one would wish to suck eggs but also because my Grand’Mere has been residing in Blackheath Cemetery for some years but, should I ever get the urge, it would perhaps be a reminder as to ...

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Penny Pinching That Makes Sense

Penny Pinching That Makes Sense

This week I thought I would share some money saving tips which have worked for me and my dogs over the years. From seeking out the best insurance to a whelping box on the cheap, I hope to surprise you with a hint or two you had not heard before. ...

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The Postman Cometh

The Postman Cometh

It is cause for a celebration if your ten year old Yorkshire Terrier gets to ten years of age with a full set of gnashers but did it really need seven Police Officers from the Met to seize him at eight o’clock in the morning? Alfie is owned by a ...

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Wardrobe Malfunction!

Wardrobe Malfunction!

Looking back at old photographs of early days of showing both personal and somewhat more ancient, it struck me how easy it is to estimate a date just by the clothing of the exhibitors. In one particular picture of me I seriously wonder how on earth I managed to run in ...

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I've Got A Little List.... I've Got A Little List

I've Got A Little List.... I've Got A Little List

My goodness the Judges Competency Framework is a maze of more “appropriate” words than you can shake a stick at! I am reminded of that comedy sketch in Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, the Schoolmaster, played by John Cleese addresses his class “Now, before I begin the lesson, will ...

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Running Poodle

Republic of Ireland Showtime

If you have never visited the Republic of Ireland you are missing a real treat, in the penultimate week of August the dog show circuit begins with a whirlwind, whistle-stop tour that has become popular with exhibitors from the UK as well as the natives of Eire. The Green Star award ...

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Aggressive Dog

Stuff of Nightmares

It is the stuff of nightmares, you are walking your dog, enjoying the companionship and fresh air when seemingly out of nowhere an aggressive dog arrives and attacks your pet. It does seem that more dog on dog aggression is being reported, I'm not entirely sure that means that the ...

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