You may have had a keeshond...recent trends in purebred dogs are towards minaturization. I HATE that because when you selectively breed for smaller size with no eye towards temperament or physical soundness you end up with neurotic unhealthy little dogs that are good for nothing...why breed tiny versions of big breeds?? It's just dumb, there are plenty of wonderful, stable small breeds if you want a small dog.
Huskies are going the same way...Kiba is about 23 inches at the shoulder (about as big as a husky ever comes these days) but the average Siberian these days (re: the ones breeders are heading towards because that's what wins dog shows) is less than 17 inches! Only little Sibes are winning on the east coast. 12 years ago, Kiba's grandmother was an international champion and the top winning bitch in the USA ( http://members.aol.com/aatuk/kutaar.htm )...go look, she looks just like him except for coat color. As of right now, Kiba is one of the last of her line because judges started switching to smaller winners and her line NEVER wins anymore because they're all the "wrong type" (nevermind that the breed standard allows Siberians to be anywhere between 17 and 24 inches at the shoulder...it's all about what's popular in the show circuit).
Rrrr! It just makes me angry because the "new" dogs are weedy and dainty and their heads look pointy and weak. Kiba's so lovely because he looks so solid and strong...why isn't ~that~ what judges like?? There's not a single person who sees him who doesn't comment on how beautiful he is...even Siberian fanciers are like "Wow...I've never seen a Siberian that beautiful...where'd he come from?" To which I say "Oregon" because the West is the last holdout for big healthy Sibes. I'm just lucky that his sire ended up in PA or I'd have had to order a pup from all the way across the country.
ANYWAY! My point is that Keeshonds from when you were a kid are probably a lot different from Keeshonds today. If her coat was full and soft and she carried a big soft foxy tail curled up tight over her back, and she had a definite "mask" around her eyes, she was a Kees. If her coat was a bit stiff, her body kind of square, and she had a solid square head (instead of a foxy face) she might have been a Norwegian Elkhound. They're similar breeds (both spitz-types, as is the Siberian so that's why they all have the "wolfy" thing going), but an Elkhound is a bigger more solid dog that was bred for hunting. The Kees was ever a companion (which is why they're so sweet and "bouncy" and good family dogs).
*sigh* I know...I went on and on. I just love dogs. One of my favorite subjects to "blah blah blah" about. This calls for my Final Fantasy "STFU" icon! ;-)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-01-10 10:13 pm (UTC)Huskies are going the same way...Kiba is about 23 inches at the shoulder (about as big as a husky ever comes these days) but the average Siberian these days (re: the ones breeders are heading towards because that's what wins dog shows) is less than 17 inches! Only little Sibes are winning on the east coast. 12 years ago, Kiba's grandmother was an international champion and the top winning bitch in the USA ( http://members.aol.com/aatuk/kutaar.htm )...go look, she looks just like him except for coat color. As of right now, Kiba is one of the last of her line because judges started switching to smaller winners and her line NEVER wins anymore because they're all the "wrong type" (nevermind that the breed standard allows Siberians to be anywhere between 17 and 24 inches at the shoulder...it's all about what's popular in the show circuit).
Rrrr! It just makes me angry because the "new" dogs are weedy and dainty and their heads look pointy and weak. Kiba's so lovely because he looks so solid and strong...why isn't ~that~ what judges like?? There's not a single person who sees him who doesn't comment on how beautiful he is...even Siberian fanciers are like "Wow...I've never seen a Siberian that beautiful...where'd he come from?" To which I say "Oregon" because the West is the last holdout for big healthy Sibes. I'm just lucky that his sire ended up in PA or I'd have had to order a pup from all the way across the country.
ANYWAY! My point is that Keeshonds from when you were a kid are probably a lot different from Keeshonds today. If her coat was full and soft and she carried a big soft foxy tail curled up tight over her back, and she had a definite "mask" around her eyes, she was a Kees. If her coat was a bit stiff, her body kind of square, and she had a solid square head (instead of a foxy face) she might have been a Norwegian Elkhound. They're similar breeds (both spitz-types, as is the Siberian so that's why they all have the "wolfy" thing going), but an Elkhound is a bigger more solid dog that was bred for hunting. The Kees was ever a companion (which is why they're so sweet and "bouncy" and good family dogs).
*sigh* I know...I went on and on. I just love dogs. One of my favorite subjects to "blah blah blah" about. This calls for my Final Fantasy "STFU" icon! ;-)