Finally a Contest Us MUTTS Can Compete In!

We are halfway through the big Big BIG Dog Show at Westminster. All of those beautifully coiffed, brushed, clipped,combed, trained dogs representing the best of the best of their breed.  This photo is an example of a beautiful new breed entry for 2012, the Xoloitzcuintli.


Yawn........ we see them every year.  But what about us MUTTS?


As anyone who’s befriended one us mutts knows, we’re generally intelligent, friendly, even-keeled pooches. Most of us are well trained people-pleasers who are just as likely to lead you across obstacles to get Timmy out of the well as our pure-bred cousins. That said, there hasn’t been anywhere for us to display our quirky cuteness and abundant skills until recently.

For years American Kennel Club dog shows were the place for only pure bred pooches to strut their stuff but just one year ago this month the AKC opened its agility and obedience competitions to us MUTTS!  Now, as part of their Canine Partners program, mixed breeds and their human partners all over the country are participating in all kinds of events like AKC Rally, Agility, Obedience, and a fun new event called Coursing Ability.

While each club’s participation in the AKC Canine Partners program remains voluntary, for over a year now AKC clubs all across America, long the upscale country club of “purebreds only need apply”, have been opening their doors to all dogs and the humans who love them. Mutts have been entering, and sometimes winning over their full-bred competitors, in American Kennel Club-sponsored shows. Can you believe that? ROFBOL!

Humans aren’t really fond of change it seems. They sometimes find the same 'ol same 'ol so comforting that change can be a very long process but, with Agility the fasting growing AKC sport, I see this year’s growth of mixed breeds competing in AKC clubs as just a paw in the door. In fact us mutts can now apply for the AKC Therapy Dog title too! Someday us MUTTS will be allowed to compete in all events.  So, if you’re an all American dog, ask your human to check out the AKC Canine Partner Program, get involved in competitive dog sports and help foster dog equality.


As for me, I'm seriously thinking about starting the Eastminster Dog Show for us mutts and mixes. Purebreds could not qualify to enter our show. BOL!

While you're here why not enter your email for my monthly drawing for a chance to win an Up Country Inc product for your dog or cat. Just go to the top of my blog and enter for the contest.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter. I tweet as @GotMutt who woulda thought?

Miracle Mutt Survives Three Weeks in a Rabbit Hole

Bilbo

Talk about dogged determination! Bilbo, a genetically challenged dog from the UK, was stuck underground for 20 days before finally making his way out. Of course, it comes as no surprise to us that this amazing dog is a mutt.

  

As this story explains, Bilbo was out for a walk with his family when he decided to chase a rabbit into a 10-inch-hole. Perfectly understandable! Unfortunately, though, he got stuck inside the network of tunnels and couldn't get out.

Firemen thought the tunnel might collapse if they dug into it, so the family was told they would have to wait for Bilbo to find his own way out. That day, and for weeks later, they tried to lure him out with food and other familiar scents, but he was obviously stuck, because none of that worked.

His family had given up by the time Bilbo finally emerged. Luckily they had plastered the village with "missing" posters. The person who found him recognized him from the posters and called right away to alert the family. Bilbo had lost a lot of weight, was caked in mud and had trouble breathing. Fortunately he has been gaining weight and is now nearly back to his full health!

So in this season of celebration we have decided to make Bilbo an Honorary GenChan®* because he exemplifies the definition of a GenChan and GenChan Standards. Additionally Bilbo has the gritty determination that every GenChan has and that is to never let anything get them down!  Read Bilbo's story here.

*GenChan - The first all encompassing breed for mutts and mixes. A humorous acronym for the genetically challenged dog.

Drawing WINNERS for June, July, August - Quick Open and see if it's YOU!

And the Winners are: 


June -  laddi1003@earthlink.net
July -   hucklebeary37@hotmail.com
August - Heartprints Pets
Congratulations! Click on the collars and you will link to the UpCountry Inc catalogue. Choose any quick release collar that you would like to have and make sure you choose the correct size for your dog or cat. Send your choice to Reba at rebamjr@yahoo.com by Friday 9/16/11.  Make sure you include your name, address, collar model number and name and size.


For those of you who did not win this time, please be sure you verify that you submitted your email address via the verification email that Feed Burner sent to you. 


Wishing you a barkin' good week!


Reba Messina
Pedigree/Medigree GenChan®


*Monthly drawings are awarded quarterly. Winners must respond to notification of their win within 5 days of notification, or by the date in the notification, in order for their prize choice to be included in the next company order. Drawing prizes sent to addresses within the 48 contiguous states only. Winners cannot win more than three times in one 12 month period. All questions regarding drawing rules should be addressed to customerservice@doggypaddleproducts.com .

Animal Domestication, Foxes and Me - See for yourself!

Fox or Me?

More than one person has told my Mom that I look like a Fox from the back!  Well, here's a fascinating story from National Geographic. It turns out that some researchers tried to compress 15,000 years of breeding from foxes to dogs in just a few years, and they succeeded. In only nine generations they were able to breed a fox that was friendly to humans.

That's interesting enough, but it gets better. Here's a quote from the story:

Selecting which foxes to breed based solely on how well they got along with humans seemed to alter their physical appearance along with their dispositions. After only nine generations, the researchers recorded fox kits born with floppier ears. Piebald patterns appeared on their coats. By this time the foxes were already whining and wagging their tails in response to a human presence, behaviors never seen in wild foxes.

We just think that's amazing. The only thing they were breeding for was friendliness to humans, and they got floppy ears and coats that were more of a mixture instead of being all uniform.

Fox

Me

So may be there is something to what those researchers came up with.  There's a little fox in all of us MUTTS!  Nothin' wrong with being Foxy right? BOL!  Why don't you send pictures of your foxy tails to  me. I'll post them on my blog and we can vote on the tail that looks most like a fox and the winner will win a new foxy collar from Up Country! The Foxy Tail drawing will run from Sept 3 thru Sept 10th.  Send your Foxy Tails to customerservice@MyGenChan.com.  Photo needs to be taken from the posterior position and be clear. Be sure to include your name and email address so we can contact you!