At long last, I’ve made my peace with the fact that I’m a dog person. I grew up with lots of cats, and I do genuinely love kitties, but I’ve turned out to be more of a dog person. So, true story: I was going to cover the Best In Show winner of Westminster yesterday, but I glanced at Westminster’s Instagram page and I literally lost 30 minutes out of my day because I was just looking at the PUPPIES. Seriously, do not click the link to Westminster’s Instagram unless you want to lose part of your day. And you really, really do not want to follow that up by looking at the American Kennel Club’s IG.
Anyway, the Best In Show winner was surprisingly enough NOT a small dog. C.J. the German Shorthaired Pointer won! I had an English Setter for years and CJ reminds me a lot of my old dog. Is CJ the cutest, most cuddly dog ever? Not really, but he looks like a sweetheart. I bet he’s a lot like my English Setter – protective, slightly paranoid, prone to wanderlust and in need of a good couch. Also: his spotted paws!!!! OMG. I kind of want to squeeze them.
Here’s C.J. on Good Morning America yesterday. You’d think Michael Strahan had never interacted with a dog before.
God, please, stop me. I can’t help but post dog Instagrams!!!
Photos courtesy of Instagram, WENN.
My father-in-law has a German Shorthair and he’s the smartest, cutest guy. Yay CJ for the win!
My first pet was a GSP (my dad trained her as a champion hunting dog) and she was the sweetest, most lovable dog I could ever had asked for.
It’s been nearly 30 years since she left us but I still have a soft spot in my heart for the breed. Yay CJ!
I had one, too! He was nuts! His name was Barney and I still miss him.
Mom was a barmaid in the 70s and her “tip” was this OOC GSP. When my brother and I met this spastic leaping jumping bug eyed dog….lil hearts floated out of our chests! We loved that dog. “Rescue” 70s style. I have another shelter GSP now for my children…our girl is both soulful and energetic. Ttl lover. Not a dog for everyone as they need LOTS of activity- that’s how they end up given away too often 🙁
They’re handsome, intelligent dogs. I love the way their hind legs are positioned when they walk. However, they are not my fave breed–not by a longshot.
Kitten: My in laws have two. One year they drove from Florida to Virginia to hunt. Long drive. Upon arriving home, Willow the short hair was napping and I said oh you had such a long trip and chomp……she bit me right through the nostril. Quite an event. I wouldn’t let them punish her because she was tuckered out and I invaded her space. Oh I do have a story for every occasion!
Holy crap, Nancy. I was bitten by a Goldie when I was 11 so I feel your pain.
I’m always a bit skittish around dogs because of that.. I mean, I love them but they’re animals and animals aren’t always predictable.
Dumb old Goldie, that memory chasing you around your whole life, hence the name Kitten! Lol
I am NOT a dog person. Dogs intimidate me and I’m at a loss for how to interact with them usually. But a friend of mine grew up with German Shorthaired Pointers, and ever since I was little they made me feel comfortable. I’m the kind of person where if I know a dog and the dog is gentle and doesn’t jump all over me I can come around to it.
She had several of this breed over the years and every one ended up being a friend to me, due to their gentle and patient nature. Love this breed!
I grew up watching a family friend go for runs past my house with pointers. I had never seen one before – they’re not all that easy to find in NS. I immediately was in love. They were so athletic and pretty looking and so smart. Once we’d bought our house, we started looking for a puppy because we’d both grown up with dogs, and wanted to have our own. I found a pointer breeder – my husband was leaning towards terriers and had never seen a pointer before – so we went to look at the kennel, planning on looking at a few other breeds after. I think we were there for about 3 minutes before he was like “we need one of these dogs”. The owner was out in the back yard throwing a chuck-it ball for the dogs, and just seeing them running around, he was hooked. He hadn’t even seen the puppies yet.
Love it!!
Patricia, I’m sorry you’re afraid of dogs. I just wanted to tell you a hint that someone told me after a friend’s dog kept biting me. Don’t make eye contact, touch, talk to or try to interact with a strange dog. Just ignore it. I was coming in my friend’s house and speaking to the dog and trying to pet her the first two times I met her, and she nipped me both times. Another friend, who raises dogs, told me that well socialized dogs are fine with that, but a dog with issues will see it as a threat, especially eye contact or reaching out to touch. So I ignored her, and eventually she got used to me and we are friends now. Sorry if you already knew this.
Thanks for the advice! I’ll try it.
The hardest part usually is dog owners who take personal offense if I’m not all over their dogs. I was bitten by two dogs as a child, both unprovoked. So I take my time and I’m reticent. Dogs are fine with it. People are the ones who get weird! Lol.
Your friend who made the point about the behavior of a well-socialized dog is 100% correct. Exposure to many, many people in the first four months or so of life is critical for a patient and tolerant pet.
That said… Shelties forever!!!!! http://www.norcalshelties.org/SheltieColors/GoldSable.jpg
I am sorry you’re afraid of dogs – maybe you had a bad childhood experience, or your parents didn’t like dogs? A few years ago, a couple I know invited me, my husband and our Golden Retriever to spend a day at their cottage. They have three kids (then aged 4, 6 and 10) and the kids were absolutely petrified of the dog, even though she is the sweetest, gentlest dog imaginable and just loves kids. No matter how much I tried to reassure them, they kept as far away from her as possible.
Golden’s are so sweet. I can warm up to a dog once I get to know them, once I spend some time around them .
Being bitten really stays with you. It just makes you feel like you have to be careful.
I just want to snuggle him… I have a coonhound and I love floppy eared dogs 🙂
This is one of the only times you should never use the word meh. Doggies and kitties are never meh. I love all dogs and this one is a cutie. I’m surprised though to see that his balls are still intact. Most people seem to be in favor of neutering unless they plans on breeding.
Agreed. All kitties and pups are cute in their own way.
V4real, I’m pretty sure in order to compete, the dog cannot be altered.
They don’t neuter or spay show dogs because they make a lot of money breeding them. I have Airedale Terrier and his parents were champions and when I got him as a puppy I had to sign a contract that I would not show him, breed him and had to neuter him. The breeder wanted to make sure the quality of his breed line stayed pure. That’s the way they operate with show dogs.
A champion should be kept to stud- champion bloodlines are important to continue. Not only the best physical traits, but (maybe more importantly) the best temperamental traits, as well.
Our not so “meh” GSP was abandoned by her first owner because she is gun shy. We have had our soulful sweetheart since she was found wandering and put in a shelter at age 3. Fast forward six years later, we all fought for her to survive a major illness. As the sister to my human children, I have to say the “meh” was insensitive
@Jack Daniels is my Patronus YAY, another coonie lover, that makes me happy
What a cutie <3
He is missing a top hat.
I did not know there was a Westminster Instagram page. I now know what I’ll be doing for the rest of the day…
I was glad CJ won. Hooray for the hounds!
Seriously, this helps bring attention to larger breeds and may help with adoptions. My vet told me a lot of people tend to want dogs 30 pounds or less (as a preference, not always necessity).
Larger dogs are real dogs.
ALL dogs are real dogs. Puh-lease do not body shame smaller/toy dogs. Haha
I too prefer larger dogs–but small dogs can be cute and have personality. They can also be angry ankle-biters. It just depends…
My dream dog is a Bernese Mountain Dog. I see them often in the city and it makes me wonder how anyone could have enough space for all that dog!
Man are they cute though…
My best friend has 2 Berners. They are so sweet and cuddly. We have 2 Scotties and a Cairn. Scotties are big dogs in a little dog body.
I have a Lab and a rescue Great Pyr, and have always had a larger dog. Just how it worked out.
The Great Pyr now seems smaller to me than when I first met him. He’s a giant teddy bear.
let’s hope people look to rescue to get those larger dogs instead of large scale commercial breeders/pet stores/puppy mills (especially the hounds who are as plentiful as pitties in the south where hunters treat them like throwaway dogs)
THERE WILL BE NO MEH’S!
Pointers are wonderful and so smart and lovely (when they’re not eating your Christmas tree). I was SO excited when I saw that CJ had one – once I’d seen he’d gotten best of breed I thought he might get group – he is STUNNING. I didn’t expect best in show, but I’m so excited that he got it.
That being said – I hope it doesn’t cause too much of a surge of people getting them. They are NOT for the faint of heart. They’re super active, super smart, and if they’re not tired out properly they will destroy every single thing you love.
We call Juno the Grinch Who Ate Christmas because of the tree incident.
But look at this face! http://tinyurl.com/gv7e8pg and her sassy face: http://tinyurl.com/hzabjrf
Oh, Erinn, she is beautiful. You can’t stay mad at that face, even if it ate your Christmas tree.
Agree completely that people need to find a dog that works for them. Hunting dogs can run for hours, and need a lot of off leash exercise that many people can’t or don’t want to provide.
You can’t – even after finding the damage she just looks up at you with those big eyes and pouty face and you just sigh and move on. I always feel so bad in winter because we’ve been getting hit with a lot of snow, so we can’t get her out running as much. Last winter our yard was covered up to her stomach for weeks. She’s bored, so if she gets into something, I understand. We just hit a warm patch, and most of the snows melted off, so once I’m home from work today, I’m running her until she’s sick of it.
T”hat being said – I hope it doesn’t cause too much of a surge of people getting them. They are NOT for the faint of heart. They’re super active, super smart, and if they’re not tired out properly they will destroy every single thing you love. ”
“Agree completely that people need to find a dog that works for them. Hunting dogs can run for hours, and need a lot of off leash exercise that many people can’t or don’t want to provide. ”
The same can be said about Siberian Huskies. They are working dogs and they must be properly exercised. A happy Husky is a tired Husky. They are great escape artist. I have seen videos of Huskies climbing fences to get away. And unless extremely trained you can’t walk them off leash; that instinct they have will make them run. A friend of mine who has a husky has a GPS on him. He has run away at least 5 times. Thanks to the GPS she was able to locate him. I still advise her to not let him run off leash unless he is in an enclosed space like the dog park we take them to. I have a 1 year old Siberian husky and he is everything to me. I’ve been training him since he was three months. He knows all the commands but at times he still does what he wants to do. They are a very stubborn breed that is full of energy. A lot of huskies end up in shelters because a lot of people didn’t research that breed before they got one. They are just so in awe of their beauty and get them because they are good looking dogs.
So cute Erinn! I run long distance and I have a GSD who runs with me ( I run in very remote areas) and it’s so true, the herding/sports breeds are a powerhouse of activity- easy to train though.
They are amazing. And they seem to just thrive on showing you what they can do. I caught my husband teaching her to jump up and walk on her back legs when he said “Dance!”. Scary smart.
Sweet dog.
The sweetest. As tiring as it can be to have a high energy, intelligent dog, it’s worth it. She’s a giant sook, and just looks at us like we’re gods. I’ve never had such a smart dog in my life. Unless we get a rescue next, I don’t think I could stray from a pointer.
Absolutely adorable.
OMG STOP IT.
This is just too much cute for me.
That’s a face you can’t help but love.
Good grief, she is adorable!
NOTHING meh about this dog!! He is a winner! Just beautiful and he seems to have a great personality, some of the show dogs can be really snotty, but he seems really sweet!
He’s a beautiful dog. We had English setters growing up, and I think they are much prettier, but maybe I’m just partial to longer haired dogs and their beautiful fan tails. CJ is certainly handsome, though. After reading about those idiots carving up the park, I think I’ll just go look at puppies.
We had an English setter and lab growing up. Love the big sporting dogs. I have come around to some of the smaller breeds though but just watched a chihuahua growli g at its owner when she tried to brush snow off its paw. Reminded me that I’m not partial to all of the small dogs lol.
From childhood, we had Pointers, English Setters, Black Labs, Airedales, Wire Hair Fox Terriers, and a Dalmatian. Over many decades, of course!
Now I have a lovely, perfect little sable Sheltie that I just adore.
It’s a nice dog, but I hate seeing dogs with cropped tails or cropped ears and hope this practice dies a death. All the pointers I know have great natural tails.
Completely agree. Tail and ear docking are illegal in several other countries, and I wish it was the same in the U.S. I don’t think a dog with a docked tail can be in a British dog show.
Not over a certain age, I believe. Docking and cropping are illegal here in Ireland too- although it is a recent law. It’s wonderful to see boxers, rotties, dobermanns all trundling about with their tails. Totally changes their look and expressions too.
My friend has a Great Dane and the contract he signed with the breeder says no cropping of any kind allowed.
If every breeder simply followed her lead, maybe we wouldn’t have this issue….
I had to have my dog’s tail docked for medical reasons. He had happy tail syndrome and kept breaking his tail repeatedly. It wouldn’t heal correctly and was becoming necrotic. I cried buckets, but he didn’t care. Of course, it was done thru surgery with anesthesia.
@Rachel-I just googled Happy Tail Syndrome. Had no idea such a thing existed! I can see why you were sad but obviously, it was the right move in his case.
Aw now I’M happy just thinking of doggy tails wagging. Cute 🙂
My parents have a Weimaraner, which are similar to GSPs in both body and function. His tail is docked but not as short as some Weims and GSPs. The main reason for docking their tails is that it prevents the tail from collecting burrs and foxtails while out hunting and prevent injury for wagging it while moving through brush and tall grass. The breeds of German and Eastern European origin like the GSPs, Weims, and Viszlas have a wider tail than their English or French counterparts.
One of my dad’s former bosses had a pair of GSPs that were trained hunting dogs. He said they were also great companion dogs and all around pets. They were loud snorers and claimed their spot on the couch at his feet while at home.
The Weim is a pet and not a trained hunting dog because my dad doesn’t have the time or inclination to hunt. When we moved to South Dakota, we were asked if he was a trained bird dog. My mother’s response was he knows how to hunt for women’s underwear and pick tomatoes.
I think this is nonsense really- no offence intended- foxhounds, beagles, setters, pointers and retrievers and labs and spaniels -basically all field and flushing dogs- have long tails and are not docked. One does not cut off an appendage in case of injury, but because of injury- and this is incredibly rare. The truth is it’s fashion and tradition that causes dogs to be mutilated thus, which is why so many city dogs and pets are docked and cropped. And it’s such a shame as slicing off a dog’s tail really affects how he or she communicates.
As far as the cropped ears, it does depend on the breeder. I’ve seen a number of Great Danes, Boxers, and Dobermans with floppy, natural ears. The floppy ears make them seem more friendly and approachable, especially with Dobermans. I also think that their purpose is to be companions and pets rather than police or military service animals.
We have two GSPs and they are such awesome dogs. So incredibly sweet and gentle and terrifyingly intelligent. They are two of the biggest snugglers on the planet, too. I wasn’t crazy about the breed but my hubby really wanted one and they totally won me over. It was exciting to see that a GSP was the winner!!
Did you see the short video of the Leonberger that was trying to serve himself some treats DURING the competition? He was so cute! Of course he did not win, that hungry one.
If I could have a Leonberger, I would.
There was an alarming lack of pugs on that site, but some super fluffy poms made up for it
They look like teddy bears, don’t they?
Yes! My little prince (r.i.p.) looked and acted just like a teddy bear!
Dr. Mantis, I see that you are my kind of dog person! I, too, love pugs. But to me there is no MEH dog, they’re all special and wonderful.
I collect blankets and towels for animal shelters. They’re always in need. (Just putting an idea our there for all you animal lovers!)
Meh. I’m always in love with the working dogs, and anything shaggy- including long haired German Shepherds.
Though this dog seems to have a very sweet personality and a cute face, I’ve seen German Shorthair Pointers with better body proportions in some of the wealthier Boston suburbs. I’ll admit, I was shocked he won the whole thing.
C.J. is a gorgeous animal. It is a nice change to see a German short hair win.
Stunning dog.
I was so happy for the owner/breeder/ handler of CJ- she just radiated shock and amazement at the win! Sigh- still waiting for a Basset Hound BIS!
All animals are beautiful. CJ is sexy and he knows it.
I used to tell my Westie she was beautiful and she would look at me pityingly as if to say “I already knew that.”
I’m more of a cat person because I’m overwhelmed by the crazy ammount of energy some dogs have. But I do love dogs, especially Samoyeds. And CJ is gorgeous!
CJ is fab! I have a GSP and they are, indeed, always in search of a good couch! Lovebugs! He is wonderful and I’m so glad to see this breed excel.
He’s glorious. What a beautiful boy. I love Westminster–it’s a wonderful pageant that celebrates our ancient friendship with dogs!
I can imagine how exciting this is for GSP owners.
My younger Scottish Fold is supposed to be “show-quality” but I don’t think he’s cut out for modeling. He’s naturally rebellious and anti-establishment.
I saw that interview Kaiser. When Michael was holding the lead, and the dog reacted to something off camera, I thought he was going to hang that poor puppy! Ugh. I’m still not over it.
CJ is stunning!
I have GSP cross. There are a lot of them in shelters, because GSP’s require a lot of exercise, so many escape and the humans don’t retrieve this. I know this from having worked in humane societies. On PETFINDER, there are lots of GSP and GSP crosses needing homes.
Mine is crossed with a collie, and he is the most beautiful, well-behaved, sweet and smart dog! Mixes tend to be healthier and live longer. GSP is a great contributor to the genetic swirl!
He has a GSP head and collie colours.
Gorgeous dog! I was afraid of dogs until I was five. My mother gently introduced us to a dog from a rescue, not a pet shop. I learned not to be afraid. We always had rescue dogs.
The same issue came up with one of my daughters. We did the same thing. We got an Australian Shepherd. The girls were there for evey step of the process. They are adorable, funny and smart. Plus since they are from a line of working dogs for farms, it was hilarious how he gently herded the girls. He thought that the 3 year old to be a baby animal. He always made sure that she was safe. She wants to be a veteranarian.
Of course he has big dog syndrome and still considers himself to be a lap dog at 75 lbs.
The funnier part, which is recommended, was adopting him as a puppy so our Maine Coon cat wouldn’t see him as a rival. The had the older/younger sibling rivalry. Btw, re: breed shout out – it is amazing how many have are in shelter or rescue groups.
An Aussie won the Westminister agility trophy. His name is Holster. You have to watch the video to believe how amazing it was. Aussies rule!
Those eyes! What a gorgeous dog.
I grew up with GSP and was so excited when I saw one had won. They are the smartest, sweetest dogs and if I had room I’d get another.
Boston terriers forever!! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3360566/The-dog-goodj-vibrations-Happy-Boston-terrier-goes-frenzy-DANCES-owner.html
And oh yeah…I guess the GSP is an okay dog too…( wink)
Aw, I grew up with a Boston terrier. He was not right in the head, to put it nicely, but a total sweetie. He was the runt of the litter and was going to be put down because he was mentally off and sickly, so my parents took him. We had to hide the basketball, because he would put his front paws on it and dance forever until he was overheated and collapsed. He was obsessed with that basketball.
I’m conflicted. I love dogs, and so I do enjoy the show of seeing the different dogs. However, from a Biological perspective…I also kind of hate dog shows. All dog breeds exist because of inbreeding and any time you buy a “pure-bred” dog you are buying an inbred dog. Inbreeding in dog’s is so severe that their genome has shrunk down to that equivalent of an endangered species (obviously they are not endangered but their genome has the same amount of gene loss that you would expect from a species that is). Not only that, but there are LESS (WAY LESS) known genetic diseases in dogs compared to humans, but their prevalence is THOUSANDS of times greater in dogs than in humans.
Why? Because even though most breeders *claim* to breed for healthy/happy animals the truth is they are all breeding to an arbitrary standard known as “The Breed Standard”. These standards contain ‘rules’ like “the ideal snout for this breed should be 2.5″ long” or have these proportions, these colours, whatever. When you breed for appearance and breed family members (uncle to neice, cousins, etc) over and over to achieve these arbitrary standards, you are slowly destroying the animal by concentrating down the genome.
Don’t you ever wonder why large breed dogs are plagued with hip dysplasia when it’s rare in wolves? Or why EVERYONE knows a dog that needs daily medication or surgery to survive. Though I love the variety of dogs and their individual traits…breeding dogs to standard is a terrible practice. We should be breeding dogs for health, longevity and happiness. What we are doing to these animals isn’t right. I have a mutt and even she isn’t free from genetic issues (torn cruciate ligaments in both back knees, a problem common in dog breeds that were bred to have straighter back legs, in her case, from her rottweiler half).
I know we love our breeds but we need to give up this practice for the sake of dogs.
. . . and 1/7 purebred labs in the US have CNM
IDK about Westminster but the AKC is a non-profit that has a mission to protect dogs and yet their actions, and the breed standards for dog shows have only served to encourage breeding that’s changed the look of dog breeds in a bad way over the years. Not to mention is supported by the poor animal husbandry of puppy mills
OMG, I want to cuddle with that Newfie so much! Look at that FACE!!
He’s cute! But I’m a German Shepherd person through and through.