If there is one thing that animals have taught me, it’s that you need time, patience and the application of common sense. The second thing is people always like to share their opinions!
Someone asked me at a show if I apply my horsey principles to my hounds and the answer is most definitely yes. One rule I have is that after observing a foal at birth, I follow it’s progress closely for the first few weeks, and for the next two years I stand back and observe quietly and watch the foal form. In that two years, some days I look and think “OMG” we have ugly duckling syndrome today and other days I think “stunning.” The same applies to my hounds. I am visited here by those in the know and quick to judge on the day, because that is what they do. In fairness this can be very helpful, and with it comes the voice of experience too, but this is where first and foremost my time and patience rule comes into play. Because animals change and grow, (Pernille Monbergtouched on this growth pattern at the Society AGM), and not always in harmony and balance whilst it’s happening. Fingers crossed the growing stops on a “stunning” day, but not always.
We always talk about fit for purpose, conformation and movement. Yet there are those who are fit to catch the rabbit and those who aren’t. Some who take well to being shown and those who don’t. Some that grow into showing and some that grow out of it. The secret here is to know when your Wolfie is good enough to show, and know when it isn’t. The only way to gain experience is to travel that road, however “blindness” effects a lot of people with or without experience.
First and foremost Irish Wolfhounds are true companions and, for that reason, they are all beautiful and precious.