Two Short Films – Vela and Dexter

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Ain't no party like a Peanut Butter pool party!

Ain't no party like a Peanut Butter pool party!

A pair of (very) short film clips. The first is of Dexter doing his second story, dinner time, crate jump. The second film is a lucky capture.

The day before Vela went home, I’d told her new mom, Melissa, that Vela always had to have something in her mouth – very much like her Uncle Dexter, actually. Later that evening, I was out in the yard doing poo patrol. I’d put down the long rake type implement I used for scooping, and two seconds later I saw Vela bolting across the patio with it, a trail of fascinated puppies in her wake. I ran for my video camera, and caught her doing the same thing on her second pass.

That’s a mighty big pole to be carried by such a small puppy – I hope Melissa knows what she’s in for!

Added bonus: New puppy photos, including Peanut Butter pool party! The hot weather has Pickle, Pammy, Luke and PB hanging out in the wading pool, but no one loves it more than Peanut Butter, who’s been known to flop down and nap in there.

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Amazing Flying Frenchies

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A recent email exchange on the FrenchBulldog-l mailing list had one overwhelming sentiment – French Bulldogs, at least well made French Bulldogs, are not supposed to be able to do agility. To do agility, your French Bulldog would automatically have to be ten feet long and look like he’s wearing stilts. That’s an interesting sentiment, and it’s also a very common one. Even breeders who’ve been around forever believe that Frenchies can’t – and shouldn’t – do agility. Or, that if your Frenchie is built in a manner that will allow them to do agility, then they’re obviously not going to be conformationally correct enough to compete in the show ring.

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Quasi Hate Mail – I gets it

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Apparently my blog postings on changes to the weight portion of the Canadian French Bulldog standard struck a nerve with someone, because I received this in my inbox:

On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 9:06 AM, user wrote:

Do you think that maybe the reason you are so pissed off about LONG OVERDUE changes to weight in Canada is because your dogs can’t compete against the more robust dogs that win here regularly? THINK ABOUT IT.

Would you like some whine with that Frenchie?

Would you like some whine with that Frenchie?


Well, I did think about it, oh anonymous chicken shit free web mail user, and my answer is still “Umm, no. That has nothing to do with it”.

Itsy bitsy 20 pound Butters did just fine here in Canada quite recently (if just fine can be said to include multiple group placings, a group win, and a Best Puppy in Show, and all before seven months of age). Dexter is getting ready to kick Canuck Frenchie butt, and at 23 pounds of lunkheadedness, I expect him to do just fine as well.

My objections to the weight change can be summed up quite simply – grown ups don’t get to change the rules to be able to win the game. That was fine when we were kids, and our parents would say “Yes, sweetie. If you land on Park Place with hotels on a Tuesday, you don’t have to pay rent” just so that they wouldn’t have to watch us thrash around on the floor in a losing induced temper tantrum. As adults, if we can’t win the game with the rules that are in place, then we’d better just step up our game, or else take our cards – and our dogs – and go home.

Also, “robust“? Who the hell calls their dogs robust? What, they’re red wine now? I can just see the judge’s critiques –

“That brindle was robust, rich and earthy, with overtones of tannin and chocolate. He’d go nicely with a venison steak, and I awarded him my best of breed for it”.

Oh well, I’m off to stuff Leah and Pammy full of butter, so that they grow up to be hefty and robust little Frenchie girls. Dwight is on his own – and with his appetite, he’ll do just fine.

Puppies and parents

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Three of the pups have gone to their new homes – Vela, Po and Jacques.

Pix of Vela and her mom coming soon!

Almost all grown up..

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jacques

Hard to believe that the first of the puppies leaves this weekend. Pups at this age are wonderful – smart, playful, developing their full personalities. Pups at this age are also trouble – they’ve become adventurous, which can lead to some fun situations, and a LOT of mess.

Vela, Po and Jacques all venture out into the big world over the course of this weekend, off to learn how to be pets, rather than just members of a pack. Fortunately, Frenchies as a breed are very people focused – there’s no such thing as a people shy Frenchie puppy, at least not one that I’ve ever known. The typical reaction of a Frenchie to new people is “Yay, someone else to pet me!”. Trust me, they don’t even look back as they go out the door – the teary eyes are all on our side.

Bunny is quite ready for them to pack their bags and head on out – she’s had her fill of motherhood, and would like to get back to her place on the couch, thanks. Poor Bunny – she’s moulting again, just as she did with her last litter. Patches of her hair are thinned out and weedy looking. She looks moth eaten, and leaves clouds of white hair every where she goes. Sweeping the floor has become a game of trying to catch all the hair that floats around the room, without stirring up even more of it.

After the cut there’s a slideshow of all the pups outdoors, doing fun Frenchie stuff. Bye puppies – we’ll miss you!

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