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.

But, like, show dogs are an investment -- they're a business. Their owners love them, I'm sure, but there are breed-standard and financial implications to owning that critter. It's not strictly a pet; it's a pet with subtext.

If you just want a pet to play with, and don't care what it looks like, you're far less likely to select a pet that you know in advance will be prostrated without AC, or who wheezes when it breathes, or who is likely to flop over onto the floor from narcolepsy. All those people who bought Dalmatian puppies because they were cute got rid of them when they realized they're not really suited to be household pets.

I gottta learn to train good recall for Seabiscuit.

I have the sinking feeling that the entire universe is going to irritate me until I get a nap.

just about every school in the county cancelling because of the cold

Except mine, damnit. Stoopid online education. I bet the kids aren't doing any work! Why do I have to?!? pouts

Hippo birdies to the multitudes!

Craxy dog breeders make me sad. For several weeks, I drove past a billboard talking about the eeevils of puppy mills, and I think they found a picture of just about the most pathetic puppy evar. Depressing. Poor little things. And they can end up with all manner of issues.... Man, now I want to go adopt a puppy.

Puppy Bowl made me want to adopt a puppy.

I missed the Puppy Bowl. But the Biscuit did look sympathetically at the screen during the whimpering bits of the dog commercial.

Liese, in that Nature show -- the lady re-training the Beardie started "recall" right beside her. She called him -- when he paid attention -- she rewarded him. Her point? It's impossible to train recall when the dog is heading for the horizon line.

Often people will put a lounge line or laundry line on a dog so that he/she can be grabbed even when they've taken off - you know, until their recall is solid.

Also, not everyone who shows their dog is a breeder. Sometimes you have a dog that you show, for the breeder, but that way you know that the dog you're getting should have more of the characteristics that you are looking for in the breed you've chosen.

There's more to dog breeding than show -- there are obedience and agility trials, as well as more esoteric ones like flyball and dancing.