Doggone Etiquette —

A Doggone Valentine

By Bardi McLennan

A Word to the Dog:

More holidays! No matter who you were rooting for, no doubt you had a great time with all the excitement and food on Super Bowl Sunday (especially the food!). There are more sports events coming up, but the next holiday is called Valentine’s Day in honor of a loving Saint. People send each other “love-me” messages written online, on cards, on candy hearts, on cookies, on cakes … well, you get the idea. You dogs might get an extra hug or a few treats (with or without love notes). Show the people in your life what a loving friend you are so they’ll know YOU are truly their best and very special Valentine. 

A Word to the Dog’s Owner:

Face it! We dog owners all know that the best Valentines only come from our dogs. It’s the special look our dog gives us when we’re feeling low, or maybe it’s when we get the pleading ‘let’s play’ paw on our knee. Or, most likely it’s just because the dog is always our 100 percent uncritical best friend. Plus all the endearing things that make us smile and easily forget the wagging tail that cleared the coffee table. If you (and the weather) are up to it, take Rufus for a real dog walk this weekend. Given their “druthers” dogs truly enjoy the stopping, sniffing kind of investigative walk — broken up every now and then with a seemingly self-important, nose in the air, trot. If you and/or the weather are not up to such activity, take advantage of the holiday (no school Monday) to get the kids involved with their dogs.

Speaking of children, the Junior Showmanship classes at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show (which we told you about last week) will take place this coming Monday and Tuesday. More than 150 boys and girls from 9 to 18 years of age, who qualified at dog shows nationwide throughout the past year, will compete. The winner of the final event (on Tuesday the 16th) will be the Best Junior Handler in the United States!

Each Junior handler is judged on how well he or she presents the dog to the judge in the ring, how well the dog behaves for the handler, and how well the handler follows the judge’s instructions. The dogs themselves are not judged, but these young handlers groom the dogs to look their very best. From a dog lover’s standpoint, the bond these kids have with their dogs is obvious, and a warm pleasure to see.

In addition to many trophies at this prestigious show, these Juniors are competing for Scholarship Awards of $3,000 to $6,000! Parents, please take note! This is definitely not just walking the dog! It often starts as a childhood hobby which can lead all the way to a career in various areas of veterinary medicine including research valuable to all animals, even extending to us humans.

It’s an exciting event for the young people entered, for their proud parents and for all the youngsters watching who would like to be in that ring one day. If you can’t make it in to New York City to see it all, from the Champion dogs in the breed rings to those aspiring Juniors, be sure to catch it on TV or at www.westminsterkennelclub.org.

Another huge active sporting event begins this weekend — the 2010 Olympic Winter Games! Not much in it for dogs, although I had one dog that would have chased a hockey puck through the TV screen given half a chance! Come to think of it, she was good at soccer, too, but outdoors. (Maybe more ideas for the kids and their dogs?)

Enjoy this holiday weekend by doing something extra with your dog. That might be a different walk from your daily one, or just having Rufus curled up near you to watch logs burning in the fireplace, or to watch ski jumping from Vancouver, or the dog show in New York on TV. You will know the special bond that lasts a lot longer than any Valentine.

Until next time – BE GOOD!

- Bardi

Bardi McLennan bred, trained and showed Welsh Terriers for 30 years, during which time she wrote a monthly column on canine behavior in Dog Fancy Magazine. In addition to contributing to numerous dog publications, she has written 15 books on dogs, the latest being Rescue Me!, which received the ASPCA Humane Issues Award in 2008.