Oct 16, 2008

What dog is that?

G'day Dog Lovers

For the past couple of days I haven't been propped in my usual position in the Dogs Life office. Instead, I've been out at the DogsNSW headquarters at Erskine Park learning about different breeds of dogs.

DogsNSW puts on 2-day workshops to help with dog breed identification. The course is often taken by people like Animal Control Officers, Council Rangers, Vet Nurses and other people who work with dogs on a day-to-day basis. I decided to go along to brush up on my canine knowledge.

The course was full-on and by the end of it my head was just bursting with information. I honestly didn't realise the sheer number of breeds there are in Australia (and all their different behaviours and characteristics). I even got to see some dogs I've never come across before - I met a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever who was just beautiful!

The course also covered temperament testing and featured an in-depth look at the differences between Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Bull Terriers and Pit Bull crosses.

It was a fun and informative couple of days - the only problem now is trying to remember everything I learned.

3 comments:

Pup_87 said...

Hi all, just wondering if anyone knows of anyone in Melbourne who runs similar seminars or courses to this? I'm very interested in joining one...

Anonymous said...

Hi Tim- Glad to hear that you got out and saw some wonderful - and different - breeds. I've been buying your mag for a while now, and while I enjoy many of you articles and stories (esp the vetrinary based ones) I have to say that in terms of pics, there is a bit of a limitation in range - lots of bassetts, goldens, labs, boxers and staffies, but not too many of some of our lesser known - but certainly gorgeous - dogs. I have two Finnish Lapphunds, a breed that is relatively new to Australia but (in my humble opinion) a great breed for our lifestyle - how about a few pics of these guys? Or maybe a Hamiltonstovare, or Pumi, or Munsterlander...the list is pretty long! Aside from the collection I'm sure you have already (from your rare breed series) I'm sure new pics are available from breeders, clubs etc- or even to a call out to dog lovers with rarer breeds(like me!). If the aim of DogsLife is to both entertain and educate, it would be great to see this premise supported moreso in the visual part of your mag...(and maybe one day, on your cover!)

Laura - Editor said...

Hi terrimac,

That sounds like a fair comment to me. Our image library is full of pics of the breeds you mentioned simply because they are the most common dogs out there. It's much easier to get a photo of a Labrador than it is of, say, a Large Munsterlander.

I'd love for any dog lovers out there (yourself included) to send in their hi-res dog pics to be added to our photo library. We're always looking for more pics - not just run-of-the-mill portrait shots, but any dog-related photos.

It's important to mention that we do require copyright of images to be signed over to Universal magazines.

What do you reckon? Send me an email at dogslife@universalmagazines.com.au if you're interested.