Poor things..

Hormonal Filly

Hormonal Filly

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Worked away at a country show on the weekend. It wasn't to hot which was a bonus for the dogs, only 18/20 degrees over the weekend but heavy rain for most of it.

I was absolutely amazed at how many tiny puppies were made to walk around all day, at a HUGE show. Labs, Spaniels, Terriers, Alsatians and all of which were under 16 weeks when I heard them speaking or asked how old.
One was 11 weeks! Came onto our stand and the poor, adorable soul fell asleep within a few minutes, owner didn't notice then decided to look at another isle so dragged the poor puppy along the floor. His comment 'well at least he'll be tired later' and then proceeded to tell me the pup was 11 weeks old and had been at the show since 8pm (was now 2pm). I gave the pup some water, of which he was parched, and he was dragged off. I saw the same pup at 5pm just as the show closed.. still walking.
I kept my mouth shut, as I've learnt its not worth saying anything it only gets nasty but did offer to look after them for a few hours if they wanted a nap. Non took the offer.

All of the puppies I saw looked exhausted and terrified. I am sure they all looked lame, although I'm not surprised. Soaking wet too, a few shivering. One spaniel I didn't ask the age, but in all honesty he looked no more than 10 weeks old. Shaking, crying because the owner was making it sit next to the clay shooting and no more than a few foot away. He didn't pick the poor pup up, it was more than terrified. I had to walk away. I wouldn't doubt that will be gun shy when its older.

Isn't there a rule how long a puppy that age should be exercised for? I felt so helpless and it was quite upsetting.
 
The Game Fair? I too was appalled at the number of pups. Even a lot of adult dogs looked tired/fed up/stressed. I know everyone on here says their dogs love large gatherings but I am sure most of mine would hate it.

And the number of petrified dogs bveing made to stand by the clay shooting was dreadful. Do people not recognise the sounds of stress? One dog was wagging it's tail which was rammed between it's legs, while panting hysterically and whining and licking it's lips. I was standing next to it's owner and said' Your dog looks worried?' and she said 'Oh he's fine, he just hasn't heard it before'.
 
We took our Rottweiler pups to Bramham on the Thursday, so a quiet day, the day after they were allowed to go out by the vet, after vaccinations. It was a warm day, we had water and dish with us and we made sure that they sat in the shade, in between walking around, a bit. They absolutely loved meeting lots of people and now that they are 6 years old agricultural show-type outings are their favourite pass time.

If it had been raining we wouldn't have gone. They were there slightly less than 4 hours, they had their lunch in the car park and were back home for their next meal at 6.00 pm. I don't see any benefit in taking them out and about when its wet, or in taking them shopping but I do advise people to take pups to such events in order socialise them and teach them to be dog-neutral, rather than letting them run around with other puppies.
 
I haven’t been to the Game Fair for years (used to go every year) and it was always like that - a dog was everyone’s must-have fashion accessory. I used to find that the attitude of a lot of people there (not all by any means!) was that these are working dogs so they can treat them like commodities not animals....
 
Actually, we once took the Rotters, aged about 3(?) to a Summer Fair fund-raising event at the Dogs' Trust. It was horrendous! Dreadfully busy, with stalls so close together that dogs were bound to come nose-to-nose as their owners looked at the stalls, every-one was funnelled into a narrow gap to get to the area where food was being served. Just as you got to the narrow part there was an incredibly loud sound system playing 'music'. One of our dogs clamped her tail between her legs and obviously hated the experience. We took them away, as soon as we could get back to the car. We won't repeat that mistake!


I wold have expected a dog oriented organisation to think about the invited dogs' comfort at such an event but they didn't:confused:
 
Pearlsasinger said:
We took our Rottweiler pups to Bramham on the Thursday, so a quiet day, the day after they were allowed to go out by the vet, after vaccinations. It was a warm day, we had water and dish with us and we made sure that they sat in the shade, in between walking around, a bit. They absolutely loved meeting lots of people and now that they are 6 years old agricultural show-type outings are their favourite pass time.

If it had been raining we wouldn't have gone. They were there slightly less than 4 hours, they had their lunch in the car park and were back home for their next meal at 6.00 pm. I don't see any benefit in taking them out and about when its wet, or in taking them shopping but I do advise people to take pups to such events in order socialise them and teach them to be dog-neutral, rather than letting them run around with other puppies.
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Personally I would not expect a 12 (?) week old pup to be engaged for a 4 hour period, that is just me though. Mine seem to sleep an awful lot when young.
 
I hate to see any dogs at shows no matter the show or the age of the dog. I was at a show this weekend and the ring i was at was beside the walkway...so many people with dogs on extendable leads letting them walk into the ring then pulling them (by the neck) back when a horse was coming, a few loose ones who did whatever they wanted, one little chihuahua sitting trying to ball itself up into a rosette and a fair few sitting in cars/trailers barking. Whats the point? Im not really a dog person so maybe i just don't get it...
 
Clodagh said:
Personally I would not expect a 12 (?) week old pup to be engaged for a 4 hour period, that is just me though. Mine seem to sleep an awful lot when young.
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No-one expected them to be engaged for a 4 hour period - we really are not stupid. They had plenty of time to rest in the shade while we sat and watched the dressage in short bursts, then when they woke up, which pups do *a lot*, they don't sleep for hours at a time ime, we walked them to another vantage point and settled them again, in the shade, so that they could sleep. I can assure you that we have had dogs all our lives, Labs mostly but also JRTs, and BCs as well as crossbreeds and Rottweilers - we know exactly what we are doing and if the pups had been uncomfortable we would have taken them home, in an air conditioned car, sooner.

They learned that we don't play with other dogs when on the lead, that it is pleasant to be fussed by strangers and that we can relax and fall asleep/rest anywhere where the humans say its safe.
And in answer to a point in an different post, I can't bear extending leads and would never use one.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
No-one expected them to be engaged for a 4 hour period - we really are not stupid. They had plenty of time to rest in the shade while we sat and watched the dressage in short bursts, then when they woke up, which pups do *a lot*, they don't sleep for hours at a time ime, we walked them to another vantage point and settled them again, in the shade, so that they could sleep. I can assure you that we have had dogs all our lives, Labs mostly but also JRTs, and BCs as well as crossbreeds and Rottweilers - we know exactly what we are doing and if the pups had been uncomfortable we would have taken them home, in an air conditioned car, sooner.

They learned that we don't play with other dogs when on the lead, that it is pleasant to be fussed by strangers and that we can relax and fall asleep/rest anywhere where the humans say its safe.
And in answer to a point in an different post, I can't bear extending leads and would never use one.
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I did say it was only MO. Lots of people agree with you, too. ;)
 
It is not just shows. I was at a meet and greet with the greyhound at Pets at Home on Saturday. There were puppies everywhere. One chap was proudly telling me how rare and expensive his new 11 week old puppy was. He had got it the day before from a couple of hundred miles away. He was buying bowls, food, collar, lead and toys for it. He was also expecting it to walk round the store with him without a lead or collar. Whilst he was paying for his items it wandered off to the door which being automatic opened so it went out. He then told us how clever it was as it was off to find his car. There was a very busy car park with lots of cars cruising looking for a parking place. It was suggested that he went and picked it up before becoming a very expensive ex pet.

It had cropped ears, was castrated, had a hernia and no vaccinations. He reckoned it had been imported from America. The lady at the counter advised him to ask about the hernia when he took ot to the vets for its vaccinations. Going by the look on his face neither event would happen.
 
Clodagh said:
I did say it was only MO. Lots of people agree with you, too. ;)
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Indeed you did but you suggested that our pups were expected to be engaged for 4 hours, which was most definitely not the case, as I explained.

Rottweilers are known to be a fear aggressive breed, we made a conscious decision to socialise the pair of them as soon as possible, They had already had opportunities to mix with other family dogs, so knew how to behave around adult dogs, when off the lead. This paid off, they are happy confident adult dogs who can be taken anywhere and relied upon to behave appropriately. And they thoroughly enjoy a day out with us, except unfortunately to the Dogs'Trust, as I explained above..
 
Goldenstar said:
I do take my pups out and about .
I carry them most of the time it’s a good excuse I love carrying puppies
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When mine was a pup, he came to the show I was working at. He had a wee and then was carried, just for socializing but never for more than 15 minutes as he was knackered just by seeing so much going on. I would of never taken him for the entire day and expected him to walk.

I do think its a show off thing..
 
Don't understand why anyone takes any age dog to a show at all, sure they could find a dog sitter for a day. Mine would hate it and much rather stay at home or with my parents.
 
Megan V1 said:
Don't understand why anyone takes any age dog to a show at all, sure they could find a dog sitter for a day. Mine would hate it and much rather stay at home or with my parents.
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If the wether is suitable most of my dogs have come to shows with us and seemed to enjoy it, I am not really a shopper though and tend to watch the displays or sit round catching up with people having a chat.
 
Megan V1 said:
Don't understand why anyone takes any age dog to a show at all, sure they could find a dog sitter for a day. Mine would hate it and much rather stay at home or with my parents.
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twiggy2 said:
If the wether is suitable most of my dogs have come to shows with us and seemed to enjoy it, I am not really a shopper though and tend to watch the displays or sit round catching up with people having a chat.
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It's a case of knowing your dogs! The Rotters have always loved it but we never shop with them, if one of us desperately needs to buy something the dogs stay with the other person/people. Both dogs enjoy meeting new people and going to new places, because they have been brought up to be confident in such situations.
If they got flustered at shows they wouldn't go with us.

Considering that there are plenty of people on here who take their dogs to dog shows/agility classes etc, which can be just as busy as any of the shows that our dogs have been to, it seems rather strange to think it would be better to leave them at home with a dog-sitter instead.
 
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Pearlsasinger said:
Indeed you did but you suggested that our pups were expected to be engaged for 4 hours, which was most definitely not the case, as I explained.

Rottweilers are known to be a fear aggressive breed, we made a conscious decision to socialise the pair of them as soon as possible, They had already had opportunities to mix with other family dogs, so knew how to behave around adult dogs, when off the lead. This paid off, they are happy confident adult dogs who can be taken anywhere and relied upon to behave appropriately. And they thoroughly enjoy a day out with us, except unfortunately to the Dogs'Trust, as I explained above..
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I have a regimes Rotti X, I got her when she was two and she barks when worried. We have small BE event locally, my tactic is to take her for an hour, we have a short walk. An ice cream, where she see other dogs and I get to sit down and chat and a coffee. The best bit is trying to get a 50kg dog in a portalooo and they are sat beside you.
The next year repeated it and she was much more relaxed. So I go for quality not number of hours.
They love a trip in the van but we never go out for long
 
Pearlsasinger my dogs love being out and about walking the mountain , woods or beach and also love meeting other dogs and people but so often i see dogs at shows who just look miserable and often scared by the noise and crowds and I know my dogs would hate being there so I don't take them. I can honestly say i have never seen a dog look completely at ease in a show other than stall holders dogs.
 
Well you obviously never saw mine! We do choose our shows carefully, though! We take our dogs to Agricultural shows that have dog classes, would your prefer those shows not to have dog classes? I would have thought that the noise of Crufts would have been enough to put most dogs off but they seem to manage.

The only 'event' that the Rotts have been to that wasn't a good idea was at The Dogs Trust, which had been set up to be too noisy with bottlenecks. We soon took them away again.
 
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Taking my Cocker to a country show soon to compete in the gundog scurries and working test, providing it's not too hot. He's at a stage in training where he needs to be pushed on and work through distraction, and these classes are a great tool from a training point of view.
I try to support these classes as it's a bridge between the shooting community and the general public and anyone is encouraged to have a go so they can learn wer'e not all blood thirsty posh yobs!

I don't really bother with the shopping unless gundog supplies!!
 
I will take ours to a local country fair for the scurries. I need some new dummies but they can come with me to buy those. :-)
I will take a Granny to hold the one I am not running.
 
Sadly most of the dogs that I see being dragged around the big horsey events such as Chatsworth or Badminton/Burghley look throughly fed up, if not actually distressed. Maybe they are ok for the first couple of hours, but after that they’ve had enough.

I know that various HHOers insist that their dogs enjoy these events, well, that’s great, but don’t you notice all the other miserable dogs, too? I feel particularly sorry for the old dogs.
 
I’ve taken my dog to shows plenty of times, although not when she was a puppy. I used to take her for short trips to the village shops then. :) I wouldn’t take her if it was too hot or raining but her favourite thing is people. She’s happiest when there’s loads of them and they are giving her attention (she has a special cute face reserved for such occasions to make sure people notice her!) I’m always very aware that she’s smaller than us and crowds might worry her, so we avoid those as much as possible, as well as walking around for hours on end.

My old dog is would have hated being near so many people so she always stayed at home.

In answer to the poster above, yes I do notice miserable dogs and have the same thoughts as you probably. You shouldn’t just take your dog just because you can. You should actually know whether your dog enjoys it first.
 
My hound was very nervous her first Burghley - on a Thursday. So hubby and I took it in turns to sit quietly with her back at the car for a couple of hours then came home for her sake. Now we struggle to keep her out of the car. We never take on the Saturday just too busy, but she loves a wander on the Thursday and Friday. Now she's approaching 10 we'll watch her v carefully for signs of fatigue and head back to the car and home as soon as she needs to go. She enjoyed an amble at Belton. But I got v pee'd off with a friend of MiL's who dragged a v young springer pup round Belton all day.
I always thought puppies should only be exercised for a few mins each day a couple of times. Then building up by 5 mins a week? But that doesn't seem to occur to some people the strain on young joints and bones :(
 
I hate seeing dogs dragged around all day at shows. All they can see is a sea of legs. What angers me the most is when people take them in the heat. Last year I was at NFS and there was a Labrador there who was in a right state with its owners pouring bottled water on him to try and cool him down. Its disgusting.
 
meleeka said:
I’ve taken my dog to shows plenty of times, although not when she was a puppy. I used to take her for short trips to the village shops then. :) I wouldn’t take her if it was too hot or raining but her favourite thing is people. She’s happiest when there’s loads of them and they are giving her attention (she has a special cute face reserved for such occasions to make sure people notice her!) I’m always very aware that she’s smaller than us and crowds might worry her, so we avoid those as much as possible, as well as walking around for hours on end.

My old dog is would have hated being near so many people so she always stayed at home.

In answer to the poster above, yes I do notice miserable dogs and have the same thoughts as you probably. You shouldn’t just take your dog just because you can. You should actually know whether your dog enjoys it first.
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Exactly, as the owner you need to know your dog and use a bit of common sense but equally, as the reader, you should not automatically assume that the dog-owner wants to spend their time doing the same things that you do when you go to a show. We only take ours on quiet days and stay in the less-populated areas of the show-ground, we take them specifically for socialisation training and then because they enjoy meeting new people - you would be amazed at the number of people who want to make a fuss of Rottweilers.

We are now planning to take the pups to a local agricultural show, the 2nd weekend in September, if the weather is suitable, because it is unlikely to be crowded and there will be other dogs there, so that they will learn to be dog-neutral quite naturally.

If we want to go shopping, we leave the dogs at home. That is why when we go to the GYS we peruse the timetable very carefully and plan our shopping around the classes that we want to watch. GYS doesn't allow dogs through the gate and it far too busy to take them, they would get trampled on and hate it - there are no 'quiet areas'.
 
I do think there are shows and there are shows. Most country fairs/shows have been nothing compared to badminton/burghley and there seems to be more county shows not allowing them now.

What gets me at burghley is the people going into the members to eat and leaving their dogs tied to the other side of the fence because they aren't allowed in.
 
ester said:
I do think there are shows and there are shows. Most country fairs/shows have been nothing compared to badminton/burghley and there seems to be more county shows not allowing them now.

What gets me at burghley is the people going into the members to eat and leaving their dogs tied to the other side of the fence because they aren't allowed in.
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That is most definitely something we would NOT do! We take ours because we want to spend the day with them, not because we want to tie them up to a new fence:rolleyes:
 
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