:Vickie wonders..
Posted: October 24, 2008 Filed under: Apso Aficionados 3 Comments..if some of us remember this bottle of wine??
2006 Portrait of a Mutt Zinfandel
The wine that “made” Mutt Lynch Winery. Portrait of a Mutt is the perfect name for our Zinfandel, as it blends a small amount of spicy Carignane fruit into our jammy Zinfandel. As the label says, “Just because I’m not pedigreed doesn’t mean I’m not a good dog!”
:Apsos help make “their” bed…
Posted: October 23, 2008 Filed under: Apso Aficionados 3 CommentsKaty did a painting of Sadie Wonder yesterday…
It’s always a treat to visit Katy’s blog. In an entry titled Leader of the Pack, she writes about this, as she says ‘juicy’, painting of Sadie. If you haven’t been, treat yourself and take a little trip to Katy’s. Her words are nearly as eloquent as her art.
Then take another trip to Zeke the Apso, a page Katy and Ken dedicate to
“Promoting the Physical and Spiritual Welfare of our beloved and fellow created beings.”
Scroll down to The Zeke and Sadie Showon the left hand side of the page and watch three Apsos make their bed. Too funny! This morning I watched all the videos, including a couple I hadn’t seen. I especially like Zooming to Stevie Ray. It’s always fun to watch Apsos zoom. Stevie Ray Vaughn was a nice touch!
Katy writes about Sadie, leader of their pack, describing her as a benevolent leader. I love that! ‘Alpha’ so often is used as a negative and that’s a huge mistake. My experience with the many canine alphas I’ve had the privilege of knowing is calm, wise leadership, using status only when absolutely needed. When Drepung came, Ceese told me no one in Virginia bonded with him. I’m certain that was because he isn’t a cuddly, affectionate dog. I was immediately drawn to his sense of self, his quiet leadership, his machismo. From the time he came to me, including the car ride from Virginia to Colorado, he has physically positioned himself to watch over the pack. In Ceese’s Volvo, he chose to ride on the console between the two front buckets seats, looking out the front window. Here, outside, he positions himself in the highest corner of the outside yard, sitting like the noble Apso he is. It’s a quite a contrast to compare his personality to Sadie Sweet Sadie. Yet, both leaders, benevolent leaders.
:Cute Commercial…sent by Vickie
Posted: October 23, 2008 Filed under: Apso Aficionados 1 CommentOne of my sister’s friends shows OES and her current two are distantly related to some of these Australians …
http://www.worthdoingworthdulux.com.au/
Note from Debby…notice the long tails on the Old English Sheepdogs!
:Beware of Cocoa Mulch…sent by Ginny
Posted: October 18, 2008 Filed under: Apso Aficionados Leave a commentSubject: Please tell every dog or cat owner you know.
Even if you don’t have a pet, please pass this to those who do.
Yesterday one of our dog agility friends experienced a tragedy and wanted me to pass a special message along to all of my dog loving friends and family.
Over the weekend the doting owner of two young lab mixes
purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their garden.
They loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep
cats away from their garden. Their dog Calypso decided that
the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a large
helping. She vomited a few times which was typical when she
eats something new but wasn’t acting lethargic in any way.
The next day, Mom woke up and took Calypso out for her
morning walk. Half way through the walk, she had a seizure
and died instantly.
Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon
further investigation on the company’s website, this product
is HIGHLY toxic to dogs and cats.
Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey’s, and they claim that
‘It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that
eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of
degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of
all dogs won’t eat it.’
This Snopes site gives the following information:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp
Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman’s Garden
Supply and other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal
ingredient called ‘Theobromine’. It is lethal to dogs and
cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs.
They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already
occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word of caution, check
what you are using in your gardens and be aware of what your
gardeners are using in your gardens.
Theobromine is in all chocolate, especially dark or baker’s
chocolate which is toxic to dogs.
Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of
theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to
caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal
quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed
severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the
stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed
the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.
:Marlena’s Bette…
Posted: October 13, 2008 Filed under: Apso Aficionados 7 CommentsThis is a story I’ve wanted to tell for some time. The problem is I don’t know the details of a story that I think represents the best of what competition with purebred dogs embodies on the human level. This past weekend marked another milestone in this story, so I’m going to jump in with what I know of the story and maybe others’ comments will fill in the details. Or correct my mistakes. Or add parts I don’t know about.
Some ?? four years ago, during Minnesota Specialty weekend in August, I met Marlena for the first time. She had recently moved to Minnesota to live with her long time friend Val (current president of TCLAC). Marlena told me one day she was going to have a Lhasa Apso. She would be named Bette after Bette Davis. I politely nodded my head, told her Bette Davis Eyes was one of my favorite songs and went about the weekend thinking no more about the encounter.
The following August there was Bette sitting in Marlena’s lap. I don’t think Bette was old enough to be shown. Maybe… But Marlena couldn’t show her. Marlena had a hard time simply moving, never mind being able to move fast enough to gait Bette in the show ring. Marlena told me she was going to lose weight and show Bette. I again politely nodded my head, told her how pretty Bette was (her head is exquisite!! – no big round Bette Davis eyes!!) and went on with the weekend.
Together Val and Marlena attended Weight Watchers. The next August when I saw Marlena she had lost weight. While the rest of us were chowing down on chocolate and other goodies from the vast spread of food offered both days of the TCLAC Specialties, Marlena and Val ate scrumptious looking salads. I did actually covet their salads!
Val had been showing Bette, accumulating points, but Marlena told me she was determined to show Bette once. And she did. She reached the goal she’d been working on. Then she upped her own ante. She wanted to put at least one point on Bette
Val and Marlena met years ago. I think it was in Utah. Marlena helped Val during a difficult time in her life. After Val moved, they remained friends. Years later, discovering Marlena was going through some difficult times, Val returned Marlena’s generosity, insisting she move and live with Val. Val got her interested in dog shows. And the rest, as they say, is history.
This weekend Marlena did it! She handled Bette to Winner Bitch for Bette’s 12th point and Marlena’s first! These photos aren’t from this past weekend, but here’s Marlena showing Bette…
Congratulations Marlena!!!
Kunza at FleetFire Timbers 