This summer, The Kennel Club made available online all Crufts catalogues from 1886 onward – “scanned and converted to PDFs for you to view, search, download and print off.”

Aside from the wealth of breed information, the catalogues are full of unexpected things. From 1913 to 1916 inclusive, they included “Hero Dogs.” This precursor of the Purina Hall of Fame honoured a variety of breeds for saving lives: “Bess, A Great Dane, Gave warning of a destructive fire…”; “Tudor, Retriever, Rescued a boy in danger of drowning…”; “Watch, a Collie, Was instrumental in driving off a ferocious gander…”

Under Regulations, we learn that “The Dogs will be fed and attended to free of expense to the Exhibitor during the Exhibition” and “Exhibitors may state in the Certificates the price at which they are prepared to sell their Dogs, and the Sale must take place if an offer be made to purchase at the price fixed… If not for sale, that should be stated.” Welsh Spaniel Corrin was offered for £1,000 – the equivalent of $150,000 today. Apparently there were no takers.

Photo by Julie Van Rosendaal

Well, we are looking at the last weekend of the summer. While this has traditionally been a sad time for me, this year I find myself yearning for the cooler temperatures of fall (this may have a lot to do with the fact that my apartment lacks central air). I can’t recall the amount of times I’ve said “I just want to wear hoodies and make soup!” but I’m pretty sure people are getting sick of it.

This Labour Day weekend may not be all it could be for you sun-loving types. At least here in Toronto we are expecting rain. I couldn’t be happier, I’ve got projects that need doing! If you are like me and would rather stay in and bake, craft  or read than head out to the beach, you should know that:

a) our vampire-like complexions are very trendy right now and

b) dogsincanada.com has a recipes section. Meaning that you can bake something yummy for your dog when you feel like baking, but lack an occasion. It will save you the sick stomach that comes from having to eat that entire sheet of lemon bars that you made when no one was home… trust me.

Our newest recipe is for Crunchy Chicken Parmesan Pretzels. Why not add it to your weekend project list?

Every week we highlight a different breed in our ‘featured breed’ box over on the main page of dogsincanada.com, but I want to go beyond that.

I have a definite soft spot for Italian Greyhounds, probably because I sometimes fantasize about miniature Salukis. There is just something so regal about them, it doesn’t take much to imagine them sleeping on silk pillows. But remember these little sighthounds are athletes, and you need to treat them as such.

I ran into someone walking an Iggy last night at the Canadian National Exhibit. Never one to pass up meeting a dog, I beelined for them and asked if it would be alright for me to pet it.

“If she lets you, ” replied the owner. Oh, the total aloofness of a sighthound just makes me love them more! Upon explaining that I too, was a devotee to sighthounds, the I.G. in question decided I must be alright and even gave me a lick.

Is there anyone out there who is also enamored with this breed? Or any proud owners out there? Let’s chat in the comments section.

For more info, see our breed profile of the Italian Greyhound, or this video featuring Italian Greyhound breeder, Naomi Kane.

Photo by Dean Palmer

As the afternoon in the park was drawing to a close, I found a soft patch of grass and settled down with ‘Vinnie’ to listen to Cheri DiNovo speak. As always, she was eloquent and moving. She urged us to keep fighting, but to not let ourselves be guided by hate, but rather by love.

Paul, my co-worker and fellow dog lover, turned to me and asked if I could even imagine someone coming to take Vinnie away. I’ve forced myself to think of this scenerio many times, if only so I can empathize with the victims of BSL. It never gets less painful to think about, my heart always aches. I think of shadowy officers at my door, coming for my dog and hatred boils up inside of me. My dogs are my family, and as long as I am good to them, no one should have the right to take them away. I was raised to believe that as long as you are a good, responsible person, you shouldn’t be made to suffer at the hands of your elected representatives.

Good dogs deserve to be with their good owners. Bad owners don’t deserve dogs. This is what I want the laws to reflect. I love my country and I love my province, but these unfair and purely reactionary laws make me profoundly and deeply disappointed in my government.

Please join me and others to fight for what is right. Write a letter to your MPP, join the DLCC, attend a rally. Dog owners can make a difference, just let the love you feel for your dogs be your compass.

Usually, when the two set off in pursuit of a furry critter, it doesn’t end to well for the target. Quite the opposite is the case when the critter happens to be black and white and stomps its feet on the ground right before turning around and… well, you know.

It’s going on close to two weeks since Jazz and Ocho decided to take on a wee skunk that was in the backyard, later described as “really cute” by my partner who at least had the good sense to run away when the skunk turned its back to him. Unlike certain other members of the household.

We’ve been down this road before and thankfully as a result I had some skunk repellent in the house because, as I can say from experience, the longer you delay the inevitable baths and pourings-on of de-skunking products, the worse matters get. There are home remedies (I’ll post one below,) but for my money the commercial products are more effective and, let’s face it, in the midst of the post-spray chaos of dogs (and people) freaking out, grabbing a bottle of something ready-made is a lot easier than whipping up a concoction in the kitchen.

In any case, Ocho usually gets it the worst, which really comes as no surprise to anyone who knows him. He is a clown, an explorer and as far as I can tell has not a lick of common sense when it comes to picking fights. The last fight of memorable record involved Ocho taking on a huge buck in a forest preserve. That decision ended with Ocho in the creek, gored through the groin and a very pissed off buck chasing Ocho, Jazz and I out of the forest. Skunks are not quite so dramatic, thankfully.

This time, it was Jazz who seemed to get the worst of it, a fact I attribute to her blindness because she is usually much more wily than that. But get it she did and never have I seen a more unhappy Basenji diva. Between the skunking and the subsequent baths - truly, the water ritual was more torturous for both than the spray; Basenjis and water don’t really mix - she was beside herself.

September has arrived and while I’m still a bit nervous in the yard at night, history tells me that the month of the skunk is over. The only real surprise of this year’s skunking is that, two weeks past detonation I find myself actually almost liking the vaguely skunky smell of Jazz’s head when I kiss her. That and the opportunity to call her new names, like Miss SkunkyPants and Skunkaroo has been perhaps the only upside to this year’s incident.

Perhaps with now going on 14 years of skunkings, the ability to find the silver lining is just that much easier.

Here is a widely-known home remedy for skunk odour removal, though I do recommend having a ready-made commercial product on hand if there are skunks in your area:

I pulled into my parents’ driveway with the reunion already in full swing. I entered the house like I always do, with Denver in tow. Denver trotted into the kitchen ahead of me and was greeted with a chorus of screams. My long-lost cousin’s doughters, it seemed, were terrified of dogs.

I quickly tucked Denver away into the gated-off dog room and went back to the car, figuring I would leave the puppy in her crate in the basement and sneak away for play sessions with her.

I was walking up the back steps when I heard another commotion coming from inside the house. I heard yells of “She’s got a puppy!” though this time they sounded decidedly excited. As soon as I opened the door the two young girls asked if they could hold her. I replied, confused “You like puppies?” I know it seems like a dumb question, but it didn’t compute to me that someone could be afraid of dogs but be totally taken by a puppy. My ‘couslets’ spent the rest of the evening fussing over and loving the happy puppy. Leading me to an inevitable conclusion: Puppies are magic.

Think about it. I mean, what was the real reason the cold war never became an actual war? Many historians would tell you it’s a number of reasons, but they’d be wrong. The real reason is because Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev gifted the Kennedys a puppy (a space puppy). Could you ever wage war on a guy who gave you a puppy? Didn’t think so.
So the next time you find yourself facing a particularly tricky situation, bring a puppy with you. Trust me.

Speaking at the rally will be MPP Cheri DiNovo. There will also be some fun to be had: Music, vendors, family activities, Canine Good Neighbour Testing, an agility course, contests  and prizes are all part of the plan. Plan on stopping by the Dogs in Canada booth for some freebies and to meet some of the bully-loving staff  and staff dogs.

Please plan to be there. As dog lovers we have to unite and let our government know what our Ontario includes all dogs!

Okay, raise your hand (in the comments) if your planning on going!

The Martha Stewart Grooming Tote is $19.99, with the grooming tools sold seperately ($7.99-$22.99)

I have a major lifestyle crush on Martha Stewart. Everything she does is beautiful. Best of all, she shares a common love of dogs. I could spend hours in front of the computer screen, studying the fantastic projects in the dog crafts section of MarthaStewart.com.

But, for the less crafty (or time-strapped) among us, fear not! Now you can give your dogs the gift of style by shopping Martha’s new line at Petsmart.

Here are a few of the new products  available from the Petsmart website, (in U.S. prices):

These little fellows retail for $9.99.

How cute are these? Just when I think I’ve picked a favourite (the squirrel) I get a closer look at another cutie (the elephant). These crochet Squeak Toys are sure to look as chic on your couch as they would in your dog’s mouth… if you can stand to actually let him chew on one.

Food Scoops $6.99 for the 1 cup, $7.99 for the 2 cup.

You can turn meal time into a stylish event with these lovely dot-painted scoops.

Looking fancy!

Showing off some cool clothes in a booth

A Chinese Crested meets the adoring public at a club booth

A puppy, tuckered out

A Long-haired Weimaraner! I was a total dog dork about spotting one in real life. Here she is on the move

And her pretty face

Meet 'Babooshka,' this sweet girl is up for adoption. I may have shared a hot dog with her.

Are you a fellow dog dork? Read this article to learn more about the Long-haired Weims. For information on adopting Babooshka, head over to the Monstars Mastiff rescue site.