Check out Snickers! Snickers is a wirehaired Fox Terrier who came in lookin’ really fuzzy! Check out this little guy before our groomer Kelly gave him his great new haircut…

That is almost an unmanageable ball of hair! … Not for Miss Kelly, though! Check out this handsome dog after his groom!

He really looks like a terrier!

Do you have a beautiful dog that needs to be rediscovered under a pile of hair? Why not give Kelly a call today and talk to her about grooming? Summer’s the season! Give us a call today! (913) 709-1799!

~Sara

Our dog, Daisy, is a versatile. That’s right. A versatile is a kind of dog. It’s a category of breed. There are a bit more than a handful of breeds that fall into the versatile category.

Versatiles are relatively recent, young breeds. They were developed in the 1880’s when a democratic, populist sort of vibe hit Europe. Previously the aristocracy had dogs. After feudalism, and when a man could get a bit of land for himself, he could have a dog. This was a big social deal. Of course, he could afford only one dog. So this dog had to do everything. The breeders, or perhaps just the people, of each European country that hit onto this new level of freedom each developed their own version of a versatile dog. The Germans developed the German Wirehaired Poiinter. The French built up the Griffon. The Italians crafted their Spinone. And the Czechs got a Fusek. Hungary got the Viszla. (Several other famous breeds fall into the versatile category as well. The Brittany is the most popular. The Pudelpointer is a favorite among the aficionados of Germany. The Weimereiner qualifies. Plus a very few others.)

A versatile has to be a family dog, a guard dog (of the house and yard), a work dog (who can pull a cart or sled), a bird dog, a track-following fur dog, and a blood-trail following big-game dog. And a rescue dog.

These are somewhat fancy dogs. Good pups run $500 and are worth every penny.

I, too, needed a dog to do everything. After I learned about versatiles, I also learned about the breed Rescue programs. I made myself known to the clubs. Suddenly we were approached by a local club that had a GWP rescue in need. We went for it. A free elite dog!

Sadly, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. This once-fine dog was abused. As a result it was gun-shy beyond repair. I worked hard with our sweet Daisy, but she’s still afraid of sticks and things that hiss, too. But she’s wonderful. She was 1.5 years when we got her…and she had no name, or didn’t know it, anyway. Her owner was in the military and was sent overseas right when he first got her. All his big plans went to nothing and she was tied up in a backyard without attention.

She did respond amazingly to training of all kinds…except noise. We had a wonderful time learning. All the learning was really on my side. She was game to follow within minutes every time. …If I only knew enough to make it so she could see what I meant. That’s the trick of learning how to train a dog. In a year she learned 34 commands! She was great with sled-dog commands. She could track a scent trail. And she demanded 3-way variety fetches. …She had to be worked an hour a day. After her learning year, she needed a “simple” daily hour of high-energy action of some kind or another. She typically wanted to be worked out across her range of skills every day!

I learned that breeds that can do a lot MUST do a lot! It’s not optional! A capable breed will go NUTS literally if it isn’t used as its body tells it to be used. Basically, each breed should do what it was bred to do every day for an hour. Of course, some are more high-strung. Versatiles are often demanding. They’re big on eye contact. They know what you’re saying, what you’re doing. If you don’t fill your end of the deal, they’ll let you know about it.

We’ve had a wonderful 13 years since we first got Daisy.

…Just no hunting.

She was supposed to help feed our family. …Oh well!

Still…we’ve had amazing times.

Abyssinian Cat
American Bobtail
American Curl
American Shorthair Cat
American Wirehair
Balinese
Bengal
Birman
Bombay Cat
British Shorthair
Burmese
Chartreux
Colorpoint Shorthair
Cornish Rex
Devon Rex
Egyptian Mau
Exotic Shorthair
Havana Brown Cat
Himalayan Cat
Japanese Bobtail
Javanese
Korat
Maine Coon
Manx
Norwegian Forest Cat
Ocicat
Oriental Longhair
Persian
Pixie-Bob Cat
Ragdoll
Russian Blue
Savannah Cat
Scottish Fold
Siamese
Singapura
Snowshoe
Somali cat
Sphynx
Tonkinese
Turkish Angora
Turkish Van