Recently in pet competitions Category
Meet Luc (pronounced "Luke").
Luc's not exactly a South Bay dog, he lives in Tehachapi.
But Luc really wowed the judges at this month's South Bay AKC show at North High School in Torrance. He was the highest scoring dog and highest combined scoring dog in obedience trials.
Next stop: the AKC Agility Invitational Dec. 13-14 at the Long Beach convention center. That's a pretty big deal -- it's national -- and open to the public if you want to go watch.
Owner Louise Fox Meredith's former border collie, Twister, won this event in 2003.
At six years old, Luc competes nearly every weekend somehwere. So far, he's earned 11 perfect scores which is really quite amazing. But it doesn't come easy. Meredith works with him for about an hour five days a week.
Meredith said coming to the South Bay is a special treat since this is where she lived up until about eight years ago (Manhattan Beach and San Pedro). But when she and her husband, Mike, got their first border collie, they headed for the country.
"We could see there wouldn't be enough room (in San Pedro) when the dog began bringing the garden hose all the way upstairs," Meredith told me.
Now they have about 100 sheep and seven border collies on about 20 acres. Sounds like an ideal life to me!
Her husband focuses on sheepherding skills and also competes.
As for Luc, he's pretty much your normal dog when he's not competing.
"In Luc's spare time he loves to play and run, but is also a very devoted companion who loves to cuddle with you on the bed or sofa."
Mike and Louise are headed north pretty soon, for three weeks of shows and sheepherding trials.
Lucky couple, lucky dogs.
It was all about dogs today. First up was first day of dog school for Rocket. Not much to report. The instructor, a lady named Barbara who has been training dogs for many, many years, told us what we can expect in upcoming classes. The real work will start next week.
Class is at the Kritter Korral in Harbor City. Next session is next Saturday.
There are an alarming number of small dogs in the class, so we'll see how distracted Rocket gets.
From there, I went straight to a Dog Show in Torrance. The event is held by the South Bay Kennel Club and is the only AKC sanctioned event in the South Bay.
There were hundreds of dogs there, but the one I was most interested in meeting was a bluetick coonhound -- the same breed as Rocket. I've never seen one before.
I looked around until I met Blue, who is a little smaller than my dog and has slightly different coloring, but you could tell they were the same breed. And when Blue started barking for no apparent reason, he sounded exactly like my pup.
Blue's owner is a lady named Dee Gunter of Yucca Valley. She's owned blueticks since 1972!
Dee told me that Blue was the very first bluetick to compete in such an event.
You can read about it in Sunday's paper.
And if you want to go to the dog show, it continues Sunday. It's free! They're holding it in the field at North High School in Torrance, 2620 West 182nd St.
Tell 'em Rocket sent you.
The only AKC licenced all breed dog show held in the South Bay will take place Saturday and Sunday in Torrance.
Hundreds of dogs will be there, including some breeds I've never heard of. including a dandia dinmont terror and three kinds of cocker spaniels.
There's also going to be a bluetick coonhound there. The only bluetick coonhound I've seen up close is my own, so it'll be interesting to see what another one looks like. I'm going to be there writing a story for Sunday's paper.
The event takes place starting at 8 a.m. both days at North High School, 3620 W. 182nd St.
Admission is free, but parking fees will be donated to the school's athletic department and band.
You can find the detailed schedules here.
If you see me, stop by and say hi.
OK, is everyone geared up for the Olympics??
Opening ceremonies are Friday and while it's true there are no pets competing in the games, a Web site called Petside stretches a bit to provide us with every possible pet-related angle there might be.
From "Meet the Olympians and their Pets" to "Asian Cat Breeds" and "Asian Dog Breeds," the site offers all kinds of features and videos.
My favorite is their side-by-side comparisons of Olympic sports & dog sports.
Take the personalized routines found in the gymnastics floor exercises (right). Now compare that to "Canine Musical Freestyle" where dogs perform to music with their handlers:
Other comparisons are made between agility and equestrian jumping, "Disc Dog" and the Olympic discus throw, doggie dock diving and the long jump, and flyball and hurdling,
About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.