Know Your Limitations

Know Your Limitations

One of Life’s lessons that isn’t always enjoyable is to not have expectations beyond your abilities.  The very act of admitting you can’t accomplish something can be very irritating.  I often tell my three sons that wisdom comes with age because it’s built on life’s experiences.  They always look at me and just smile.

When I was a teenager I had a horse and loved to ride whenever possible.  Riding in all kinds of weather either alone or with friends was great stuff.  Since the horse was pretty much bomb-proof we went everywhere.  It was cool to do an over the rump flying mount and the thought of injury never occurred to me.  With experience comes wisdom and limitations that go with aging.  Today my present horse and I have a much more limited agenda.

As a judge it’s been my pleasure to officiate at shows all over our country as well as Brazil and Canada.  There have been some scary plane rides and interesting trips to the airport to judge or speak at symposiums.  Here in Michigan, which can feel like the North Pole, winter travel can be a challenge for anyone.  As much as I enjoy judging Collies and knowing that most specialties take place in the winter, it’s still something I will no longer attempt.  Some younger braver judges will have to pick up the slack.

Back in the 60’s and 70’s when I was involved in breeding and showing the kennel housed 10-12 dogs plus puppies.  The grown dogs were thoroughly groomed each week generally all in one day.  There’s no way yours truly could accomplish that today.  My limitations have diminished and I hope I’m wise enough to know it.

During that part of my career in Collies I had a reputation as a superior groomer.  An old friend in Cincinnati, Lyman Wine, once wrote he wished he could “groom a Collie like George Horn, show a Collie like John Buddie, and judge a Collie like Gus Sigritz.”  I told Lyman that I though I showed a Collie as well as John, but wouldn’t challenge Gus as a judge!

Once at the Central Jersey Specialty held with Trenton K.C. I ended up with seven Collies to groom and show.  Some were dogs which were owned by others, but which I unwisely agreed to help out because they were my breeding.  Even back in those days of my youth it was a nightmare!  Specialty shows were my preferred arena for showing because of two reasons.  The judges were generally more knowledgeable  and the competition was top drawer.  You don’t learn to breed, train, or groom better by competing against wimps.  After that my preferred limit at shows was three dogs – a class dog, class bitch, and a special was ideal.  By carefully selecting the classes you had time in between to work on the others. Of course, if you took winners there was need for a friend to help with the overflow.

Having a litter (I seldom had more than one at a time) was a time consuming task.  Once the whelping room was ready the bitch required observing and temperature taking to guess when she would whelp.  The bitch needed to be introduced to the whelping area at least a week before due date, earlier if at all possible.  Though my preference was not to interfere unless needed it was still necessary to observe the whelping just in case.  At times it was whelp the litter, shower, shave and go to work.  Guess who couldn’t do that anymore??

There are folks who breed good Collies, but don’t have the time and/or skills to groom and train them well.  This is not, by the way, a grievous sin, but a fact of life.  Even though my preference was to show my own dogs it does not mean those who don’t are considered sub standard by this dinosaur.  Asking for assistance is much preferable to doing a lousy job just because you’re too stubborn to admit your limitations.  This is why we have handlers, isn’t it?

Life is full of decisions and many involve an honest appraisal of your own abilities.  Though we discuss things relevant to the dog game it certainly goes far beyond that sport.  Perhaps while we are appraising our ability to accomplish goals in dogs it would be apropos to remember it is just a sport.  It’s very easy to get so caught up in something (dogs are just one example) that we make it a matter of life and death.  Keeping things in perspective are one more of life’s lessons we all need to remember.

Setting goals is always a good idea.  Knowing what it takes to accomplish those goals is likewise very important.  You need to accept help if you need it or perhaps it’s necessary to modify your goals.  Just don’t forget to honestly appraise your abilities and be honest in knowing your limitations.

Think about it!

ADA GIULIANO

ADA GIULIANO

The Collie world has lost the gentle lady of Bellbrooke Collies.  Her light, like her voice, was soft, not bright and overpowering.  She was the quiet one of the Bellbrooke duo, allowing husband, John, to do the talking, to show the dogs, and later to be the judge.  Ada was eminently qualified to judge Collies, but could never bring herself to do it because she couldn’t bear to hurt people’s feelings.

Ada’s world revolved around family, friends, and Collies and she was careful to keep them in that order.  Bellbrooke did not finish the most champions or win the most shows, but their efforts spawned the likes of Marnus, Wayside, Gingeor, Tartanside, and all the lines that descend from them.

During the past holiday season we received our annual Christmas card from Ada.  I’m sure that next Christmas will seem poorer from not having that reminder of a friendship that spanned so many years.  Like her idol and mine, Steve Field, Ada Giuliano will have a place in my mind and my heart forever.  She and Johnny helped a young friend from South Jersey acquire a nine month old puppy who would become the stuff dreams are made of and the rest would be history.

Like one of her favorite Collies Ada will always be our “Bellbrooke’s Lil Darlin.”  Those of you who have been in the dog game a while know it speaks volumes when I tell you that I never heard any person speak ill of Ada Giuliano.  Rest in peace, dear friend.  You leave this world a poorer place for your passing, but a richer place for your having been here.

Things Do Change - Are Things Better?

Things Do Change – Are Things Better?

Back in the dark ages when I was breeding and exhibiting with some success it was my pleasure to be invited to speak at a number of symposiums.  Among them was Acconeus Collie College and parent club symposiums.  For some reason the interest in learning from successful people was stronger then and it gave people a chance to compare notes and ideas without being hampered by taking care of dogs as they did at shows.

It was normal for me to be asked to do grooming demonstrations or to speak about stud dogs.  No big surprise here since my dogs were always well groomed and my stud force headed by Ch. Gingeor Bellbrooke’s Choice ROM and his sons were among the best in the country.  As time went on and I was no longer breeding my topics slowly changed to things like “yesterday and today” as something more fitting toward a dinosaur.

My experiences at these events was a much a student as an instructor.  The people who I was privileged to hear included Steve Field, Gus Sigritz, Bobbee Roos, and Dorothy Long as well as many others with impeccable credentials.  Glen Twiford gave a great presentation at one national symposium showing the Wind-Call Collies herding sheep.  I heard an animal behavior Prof. from Purdue University named Eric Klinghammer, do a great presentation on wolves and how their behavior shows up in our dogs.  Long before being well known enough to be asked to participate as a speaker, I attended many seeking wisdom.

The folks you saw at these events were often people who you knew and had shared the stage with before.  Ted Paul was often the one chosen to be master of ceremonies.  Ted had a fine command of the Queen’s English and was always dressed in dapper fashion and did his homework.  He always had some stories about speakers he was introducing and in my case it was always something that pulled my chain.

Now Ted and I had known each other for some time and shown against each other as well.   When I was invited to speak at a national symposium in Jacksonville, Fla. and saw Ted was to be the moderator it was time for revenge.  I carefully prepared my remarks to fit my planned “Ted Paul Roast.”  Unfortunately my work went down the drain when Ted’s introduction made me sound like a cross between Sister Teresa and George Washington.  Oh well, win some and lose some.

A number of things that were part of my stud dog views may not be relevant today.  Things do change and you can judge whether it’s better or not.  Some things, however don’t change much in spite of the march of time and methods.  When selecting a stud prospect it still would seem appropriate to look in a family of quality.  Van Dyck used to say show me the stud and if I like him, I’ll look at his pedigree.  Do value a good background, but it’s hard to get a “silk purse from a sow’s ear!”

To be worthwhile as a stud you’ll want something good enough to appeal to other breeders.  To be used as a fairly young dog he has to be good enough to win or people won’t use him until his puppies are out winning.  The final judgment on a stud dog does revolve around his get, but if his quality is high, his chance of getting off to a good start increases by leaps and bounds.

It helps to have a stud with outgoing personality and good health history to go with the other prerequisites.  Years ago I read that one should never let a young stud prospect exercise with any dog that can dominate him.  Back then it was standard practice to do natural breedings and if a stud wasn’t well trained and eager you could spend a lot of time waiting for the mood to strike him.  It took some time, but I learned how to bring young studs along and my boys loved their work.  Ideally you would hope to start a young dog at about 9-10 months of age when he started to feel like a man and might hope to have an experienced bitch as a partner.

Today many breedings are done with A.I. using chilled semen or even frozen sperm of dogs long gone.  It may be a great way of preventing the spread of disease, but I don’t know how you judge a dog’s libido in such a case.  All my mentors fancied dogs with bold fearless demeanors who bred bitches with no hesitation.  They also fancied bitches who bred normally and willingly and carried litters of healthy puppies and nursed them after normal delivery.  It’s always been my opinion that we can change things about an animal’s appearance to suit a written standard, but when we fool with the basic functions needed to exist and reproduce we’re fooling with something best left alone.

Van Dyck used to laugh about people’s over-rating stud dogs by saying “who’s he by.”  Today with the use of multiple breedings sorted out by DNA it may be even more appropriate.

Think about it!