Thirsty work

It's hot in Menton at the moment and this lovely Old English Sheepdog is happy to have a cold drink.

Crufts 2016

For those of you interested, Crufts - the biggest dog show in the world - starts tomorrow in Birmingham.  This is what thousands and thousands of exhibitors will be doing in preparation and what I used to do for many years including judging there in 2006.  Good luck to all my friends who exhibit their dogs, and especially the Old English Sheepdogs!

(This is the tail of Sjaak Nelleke's dog when they visited the Monaco dog show one year).

Pretty in Pink

Yesterday we saw Poppy's tail. Here is her adorable face with one dark eye and one blue eye.  In the old days the shepherds called am Old English Sheepdog 'wall eyed' when it had one eye of each colour and believed the dog would never go blind. Maybe /probably a myth.

I have a feeling she knows she's pretty, don't you? As I said, yesterday, Poppy lives in Holland and is on the French Riviera for a series of dog shows known as the Riviera Circuit - Monaco, San Remo and Nice - three shows in three different countries which gives dogs a chance of getting various international titles.

Poppy's Tail

Today is the first day of Monaco's annual dog show.  This is an Old English Sheepdog's tail getting a little trim.  Come back tomorrow and I'll show you the other end and her beautiful face! She's called Poppy, lives in Holland and won Best Bitch at Crufts this year - no small feat in the dog world.

Gorda - the dog from the past...

It's so unusual to see an Old English Sheepdog around here. Gorda is 10 years old and lives in Menton and so do I yet had never seen her before - or had I?

Gorda was born in Italy and lived there for much of her life. Now she lives with her owner's mother. She's got some spinal/incontinence problems that are mostly solved with medication.

Funnily enough years ago I used to look after an OES puppy called Gorda, who belonged to an Italian guy in Monte Carlo --- I wonder if it's the same Gorda? It was about eight or nine years ago so the timeline works. I wish I'd thought of it and asked.

P.S. I found this old snapshot of Gorda as a puppy - taken in 2001. I think it's her! Don't you?

Bella the Bobtail

You don't see many Old English Sheepdogs in the south of France, so when I saw this one sitting with her owners outside a restaurant, I had to take a photograph. 'My' breed after all - one I'd loved, bred, shown and judged for years.

So meet Bella, 6 years old and living in Frankfurt, Germany - on a visit to Menton.

Update on Mistral and Mia on Postcards from Pension Milou today.

The Obama Dog

There's a little bit of a cheat here because this dog isn't a Riviera Dog - but he could well be. Blue, a nine-month old Old English Sheepdog puppy, lives with his owner, my best buddy Candy, in Ohio. Candy visits Menton often - so let's imagine she's put Blue on the plane with her!

I just couldn't resist showing you Blue's new collar - photo taken by Candy, of course, and no prizes for guessing her politics. This gorgeous collar (click to enlarge smaller photograph) was designed by Candy's oh-so-talented, artist friend, Laura R. Joseph. You can see more of Laura's beautiful work by clicking on her website.

Monaco Dog Show - Cuddled up

Lots of exhibitors keep their dogs in cages when they are not preparing them for the ring or showing them. The dogs are used to it and it's a sanctuary from the chaos of the exhibition hall and the owners know their dogs are safe.

Here you see two Old English Sheepdogs. These made the long journey from Holland - one a champion and one a puppy - both girls. How's this for togetherness?!

Bilbo

No, he hasn't broken his leg. This is Bilbo, an Old English Sheepdog, who became a Riviera Dog for a couple of days. He lives in Barcelona and came to the Riviera to compete in a dog show, just across the Italian border, in San Remo. He and his owners, good friends of mine, stayed here for a couple of nights. Here he is on the lower terrace.

And he won - so he's now an International champion! And the socks? That's to keep his feet clean prior to the show.

Waiting for the bus?

I've listed this dog as an Old English Sheepdog although it's certainly only partly that - near enough tho for the purposes of this blog. I don't know if it's a he or a she but what a lovely dog - patiently waiting for the owner inside the Menton bus station, on a rather hot summer's day.