Dana, I think it's safe to say you can always use the English-language plural of a common word in English.

I remember there was some PBS thing about dog breeds a couple years ago, and aside from falling over laughing at the inbred tendency of some small breed of dog (mini Pinschers? Something that considered itself fierce) to come down with narcolepsy, the main thing I brought away from that discussion was how stupid it is to breed a pet for looks.

Show dogs aren't exactly pets, I mean -- if you are sticking your finger regularly in your pet's cooter, I don't want to know about it -- and pets seem to be a side effect of show dogs, rather than their own niche in the world of dogs.

But, like, who out there will breed a critter for health and behavior, and not give a shit what it looks like? This pretty much already happens with cats, inasmuch as nobody expects good behavior from a cat.

Every show dog I know is a pet. (And they're bred with a whole hell of a lot more attention to health and temperament than a lot of breedings.)

I am bored and cold and bored.

We always just called these beagle-bassets and they were pretty common where I grew up mainly because our extended family had both beagles and bassets and they'd occasionally be mixy.

You could collect them and sell them for 10s of 1000s of dollars!

I have to say that every showdog I know is a pet and has alot more basic obedience and attention paid to it than most other dogs. (People I know who show their dogs have them living in their house and tend to have higher standards for manners in their dogs than the average person. They also tend to have several dogs so manners are that much more important.)

And show dogs are by definition well-trained, right? Your average pooch isn't going to behave well under show circumstances.

I'm finding that article slow going, not least of all because the pictures look like uncomfortable photoshops.

I hab a code. Well, allergies, but I don't think there's any funny congested way to say allergies. addergies.

Anyway, the timing's great, because I have nothing to do over the next two weeks! t /sarcasm

I'm feeling the desire to stab people in the face. And it really isn't their fault, except that it is.

Anyway, the timing's great, because I have nothing to do over the next two weeks!

Christ, I need to figure out what we're doing next weekend.

I'm thinking about taking a 1/2 day today and leaving at 12:30. I'm exhausted, my cold is totally kicking my butt today, I have cramps, and I'm worried about my cat (even though I'm sure she's okay). I just want to go home and curl up with a heating pad until the vets call and tell me I can take her home.

Well, showdogs are required to adhere to a pretty minimal standard of behavior but just to get the dog to the show, get it groomed etc, implies that it has experience in being driven around in the car, standing on the grooming table, being bathed and dried and combed, having it's nails clipped. It has to know how to walk on a leash, stand to be examined, and hopefully -- stand and look pretty for the judge. It can't display aggressive behavior to other people or dogs, it shouldn't be afraid of different floor surfaces, it will become familiar with and indifferent to a variety of loud noises that you don't usually hear at home.

But the basic manners I refer to are: not jumping up on people when they come to the door, not rushing out the door when it's opened. Jumping into the crate in the car on command, waiting for a command to leave the crate - that sort of thing. (All of which are very useful for regular non-show type dogs.) And a good recall is important for the safety of the dog. Any dog.