Conformation

I had no idea what that was. None. It turns out that Conformation is the shape or structure of an animal, in this case, a dog. Judges run their hands along the sides and legs of the dog to assess their shape and structure and see if they meet the breeds’ ideal.

There are several types of different dog shows, some are for agility, some for hunting and some, are conformation. In those, the dogs compete for the Best in Show and earn points towards their championship papers.

The cool thing, for someone like me who’s just a little dog-obsessed, is that you can go to these events and see virtually every breed of dog ever imagined, polished, prepped and looking their absolute best. Imagine! Every kind of dog. Ever!

So, of course, that’s on my to-do list. But…how do I find those dog shows? Well, here’s one nifty little webpage: www.canuckdogs.com. There, you can find shows under any province and type of dog or type of show. If you live in the US, here’s a different but just as useful site for you: www.akc.org/sports/conformation.com. It has the same shows but just in the States.

So, what is my trusty hound doing while I am researching all this online? She’s super busy protecting us from nasty intruders, of course.

The days are just packed.

Why…

My dogs eat dirt.

It’s not like they don’t have kibble to eat, they do and it’s good kibble too. Like most doggie parents, we’ve tried every type of dog food from the B.A.R.F. diet to cooking for them, to the super-expensive, to cheap. Finally, we’ve settled on ours and they love it, so all is well. Until they eat dirt.

I don’t understand it. A dog’s nose is something like 500 times more powerful than a human’s. Dirt doesn’t exactly smell great to me. With their powerful nose, it must smell even worse to them. So, why eat it?

They eat it from the plant inside my office. It’s a delicacy they simply can’t resist because every day, the poor plant has less and less dirt. I keep refilling the pot but there’s no keeping up with my two hungry akitas. Now, the roots are starting to show and soon, the plant will die.

I’ve tried explaining things to them and tried positive reinforcement with treats. Nothing works. Apparently, good cheese doesn’t have the appeal that dirt does.

Maybe they’re missing a nutrient.

Maybe they’re trying to tell me something.

Maybe they have prairie dog DNA in those fancy CKC pedigrees of theirs.

(credit: zooborns.com)