Unbe-sodding-leivable!

[DogsBestFriend]

I took a wander around a local country show today. I walked away in disgust at the prat showing off his dog's herding ability in the showring, preaching pack theory as a safe of Indian Runner Ducks scuttled this way and that, clearly terrified in the noisy environment.

Then on to some idiots who were showing off guinea pigs. God knows why they were, but they were. They had a guinea pig petting area for children; nothing wrong with that but why the feck they asked the children to sit on high boxes instead of insisting that they sat on the floor whilst holding tiny, wriggling baby guinea pigs I don't know. Drop one and the poor sod would have broken limbs or a broken back. As for the wisdom of encouraging people to have baby guinea pigs at all, when they appear to be the latest fad and the species are rapidly taking over rescue space just as Dallies did when 101 Dalmatians came out, don't get me started!

Then I fussed a gorgeous, soppy Staffie girl who was taking the air with her owner. All was fine, owner and I chatting merrily, me and DD fussing daft Staffie, until some passing idiot grabbed her child aside as if Staffie were a fricking lion and started to berate the poor Staffie owner for being a Staffie owner, berate the Staffie for being a Staffie and berate them both for having the temerity to breath the same air as her PFB.

I'm thinking of moving county in the hope of finding a better class of country show!

I'm used to the latter.

Small world though as I know the bloke you mean with the Indian Runner ducks. It was before my understanding of pack theory being a load of tosh so I didn;t pick up on that... but I got the impression he loved his dogs. Even those I know whose dogs sleep on their beds still trot out the mantra of them being pack leader. They will catch up in the end. I think they are just being a parent to their dogs in terms of giving boundaries, but don't know it and regurgitate what they think others think

Just to check - was he Scottish?

I think he was actually! Useless me, I was so pissed off that I walked off quickly in a strop! Little fella, dark hair, sounded like he was a double glaxing salesman. :o

Ring any bells? :)

Dog was lovely, little doubt he loves her, but those poor bloody ducks! :(

(May be very biased here, this is a duck mad household for some odd reason though we have never owned them, and Indian Runners are my favourite. Peculiar creatures!).

GLAZING! Not glaxing! Dunno what a double glaxing company is, it sounds extra-terrestrial!

The one I saw definitely has an engaging manner, shall we say, although I recall he is a farmer and his dogs are working dogs on his sheep farm. He worked with 3 of them when I saw him a year or so ago. As I understand it, he went into it after uk sheep farming started it's decline. There is another scottish one out there, according to Google, but the one I saw (the one on the link) was at least as tall as me and I'm not far off 6' so couldn't say he was a little fella!

Whoever it is, I agree in hoping the ducks aren't stressed by it though.

The guy we saw definitely wasn't the one on your link. Smaller, slimmer. I just wanted to go in there and get the poor ducks out!

I did suspect it couldn't be the same one - I spoke to him for a while before the show and he did seem to care.. and certainly loved his dogs. I can't find his website now, but it is far more professional than the one I have found. The one I saw worked the ducks in batches to give them breathing space... and the dogs seemed to herd properly from a distance too. It's always sad to see people profiteering with no thought to the animals involved.

I've seen a scottish bloke with runner ducks at a country fair on the isle of man, think he does the rounds? They ducks weren't too impressed from memory!