FAQ
The following questions are the most commonly asked ones when I am out and about, or in the chartrooms.
I. Dog Questions II. Ask the Author
I. Dog Questions
Riley’s so cute! What kind of dog is he?
The most common assumption is either a German Shepherd cross, a wolf cross or a Corgi cross. He’s not any of those as he hails from the land of stinky fish in a can. Riley is simply a Swedish Vallhund, and where I go, he goes.
What kind of dog was Tod?
Tod was a Shiba Inu who didn’t meet the CKC standards, even with his pedigree, and found another life purpose: exterminating vermin, stalking birds, and guarding the family household.
Why did you choose a Vallhund?
I didn’t. Actually, I didn’t know anything about the history of the Vallhunds, all I cared about at the time was a match in personality and lifestyle. I could had easily gone with a Pembroke Corgi from another breeder in Alberta or an Australian Cattle Dog from a local farm fifteen minutes drive from Vancouver somewhere in the Fraser Valley, or a blue heeler-collie mix from my parents’ hometown close to Dawson Creek. What is important to me is to have equal footing with a breeder. A guide, not a know-it-all, was needed in my life.
So I didn’t choose the breed, I chose the breeder and since I need mentorship from someone, Riley’s breeder is perfect for me since she didn’t come across as an up-tight authoritarian; but still highly knowledgeable. Maybe once I gain confidence in raising a dog by myself, I will become a breedist [a spin on "racist."]
Why primitive hunting dogs?
Although my experience is limited to the culture of wapiti and moose, where in Alberta it is illegal to bring a dog along, even leashed, there is still a lot of fond memories of whacking around in the brush with a Shiba Inu leading the way in the Northwest Territories, the Peace and northern B.C. Often he would look to the trees to show the owls, birds, grouses and pointed where all the fishers, martens and hares were. He knew all the best fishing spots and fended bears. Although he never listened, he was a good hiking companion with well-developed intuition whether it’s for bird-watching, fishing or just sticking it out. I miss that— many of the dogs nowadays are too handler-orientated.
Do you participate in a sport?
I hike, I rock-climb, I go fishing and is planning to add kayaking to the list. What better place to do these other than the gorgeous Pacific Northwest?
Oh, you means dog sports? I am waiting for Riley to solidify his bones, put on the mass and strengthen his ligaments before entering him in a sport. He got the potential for a lot of things: agility, flyball, herding, disc dog, ratting, birding, tracking and field retrieve to name a few. It’s just a matter of figuring out which has the most useful skills for me to utilize.
Why do you write about breeding?
When I jumped into the world of breeding reptiles with wet-feet, I was naive and held onto beliefs didn’t make sense to me now but once did back then. Granted, I am still uneducated about many things. We must look from all sides, take on burdens of our own responsibilities and be willing to accept our consequences, then make our own decisions based on what we know. We owe it to ourselves at least that much. That is why I write.
II. Ask the Author
How did you do the footnotes?
Easy. Check W3C’s “Links in HTML Documents” under Section 12.2.3 for more information. For other elements such as subscript, superscript and small, check Section 5 under W3C’s “HTML: The Markup Language“.
What citation format do you follow?
Generally, I try to follow the Chicago Manual since it’s the format I know best in my discipline. I am not a strict observant since the blog is for self-education and is something I enjoy doing during my spare time; so one might expect a change in formatting from time to time at my disposal.
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