Re: Are our dogs related? Charlie does not have an otter tail - it is thick and heavy, but with a fault of obvious feathering underneath, and set too high, made even worse by his tendency to carry his tail extremely high anyway, and it's too long. : But I love it, because it's Charlie's tail. He doesn't care, feathering or not, it wags just as good. ;D ;D ;D
Re: Are our dogs related? A lot of show winners have a bit of feathering. And I reckon some of the ones that don't have had a lengthy rendezvous with a hairdryer. To me, a tail has a few dimensions: - length - thickness - straightness - carriage - how the fur lies And wagginess of course Tails that tick all the boxes aren't common. Also, they can carry the tail 'gaily' (ie somewhat up) but just not curved over the back.
Re: Are our dogs related? Rourke's tail sounds rather like Charlie's, it is too long and he carries it high, not a typical Lab's otter tail
Re: Are our dogs related? Since we touched briefly on conformity, is there a standard when it comes to ears? The parents of my two have ears that fold in different directions - the dad's ears fold so the ears naturally flop forwards, whereas the mum's ears sit more naturally to the side and back. Also, size-wise, I noticed today that their friend Alfie (from working lines, too) has much smaller ears, relatively speaking, than their parents. Speaking from a showing perspective, what does a "perfect" ear look like?
Re: Are our dogs related? When hung naturally it should look like a triangle (when viewed from the side), with the apex of the triangle pointing to the rear. If that makes sense!! If you gently hold the ear and use it to cover the eye the corner of the ear should reach to the inner corner of the eye on the same side - no more or less.
Re: Are our dogs related? [quote author=Oberon link=topic=10396.msg153905#msg153905 date=1428002552] When hung naturally it should look like a triangle (when viewed from the side), with the apex of the triangle pointing to the rear. If that makes sense!! If you gently hold the ear and use it to cover the eye the corner of the ear should reach to the inner corner of the eye on the same side - no more or less. [/quote] So....how many of us are now scrutinising our labs ears?? ;D
Re: Are our dogs related? And not too far forward, and hanging quite close to the head. For me, ears are an important part of expression - and expression for me is very important. You have to look at a Labrador's face and see a representation of the Labrador character. It's why eye colour (and shape) on chocolates matters to me very much.
Re: Are our dogs related? Heh, interesting. So the thing I'm naturally drawn to - ears hanging forwards - is actually frowned upon! Not that it matters one jot to me - I'd think mine were the most beautiful dogs in the world if they had cauliflower ears and an overbite - but it's still interesting to know what the standards are.
Re: Are our dogs related? Heavens, I never thought about ears!! I like a dark eye, though second Lab's are not as dark as I would have liked. But I still love him
I was having another look at this thread. Pongo's great great great great grandfather was Trenow Music Man. High fives, cousin @Oberon !
Hey! Rolo! We're cousins! My great great grandfather was Sandylands Gad-About! Love from Pongo PS here is a link to his picture - my mum says I look a bit like him.... http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w482/dgrigon/PhotoGadabout22_zpscynmz5aj.jpg
Hey Cousin Pongo! Thats fantastic!! Lovely to meet you!, You do look like your great great grandfather
Rolo has Poolstead Pretentious - so he is related to Obi and Charlie and Pongo via Package Holiday and Preferential (at the very least).
I can't pick out any relatives of Sophie. (but I haven't dug out her full pedigree to check, just going on memory). BUT I read the very first post on this thread and proudly announce that Edie, our GSD, is a Shadowsquad dog!!! And she is gorgeous!!