Spinoni Roundup 2009 - A tribute to Asti
It’s been a busy weekend for us – Thursday evening I worked with the dogs a bit in the back yard, Friday evening we helped set up and walk in the Relay For Life, and then Saturday morning was up at 4:00 am to walk for a couple more hours before heading up to the annual Spinoni Roundup.
The Spinoni (or Spionone, however you want to spell it) is a rendezvous of Spinoni owners who purchased their dogs from a couple of Spinoni fanciers. We attended the roundup about 5 years ago when we first became interested in Spinonis, but this time we were official participants, with Elvis.
Spinoni Roundup 2009 - Where's the food?
The roundup began at 10:00 am and was attended by owners not only from neighboring states, but owners from Wisconsin who made the trip. It’s kind of hard to keep track of all the dogs, but there were abut 20 Spinoni and a couple of Wirehaired Griffons in attendance. Although a couple of thunderstorms and short cloudbursts rolled through, a large tent kept both the food and participants dry.
Elvis and his littermate, Spumante, recognized each other immediately and spent essentially the entire afternoon playing with each other. Another brother, Amigo, arrived later and we only had to chase them down once, when the trio took off and crawled under a neighbor’s porch to investigate.
Spinoni Roundup 2009 - playing keep-away with a stick
There was a lot of great information shared between the owners and I demonstrated a fluorescent cooling vest, which Glacier Tek sent me as a prototype for review. I contacted Glacier Tek last year about developing a hunter orange cooling vest for dogs to address two of my biggest concerns while hunting: 1- the dog’s visibility and 2- heat stress during early hunting season. The vests were well received and may become a new product from Glacier Tek.
Our lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with us, so we headed back home although another 10 owners were expected later on that afternoon and evening; if we have a camp trailer by the next roundup, we may make it a weekend affair. We also came back home with a big commitment.
An unexpected litter was born 3 weeks ago, and of course we had to see the puppies. To protect the newborns from any outside diseases and illnesses, the rule of the house is to wash hands and remove shoes before entering the whelping room. Them cute little guys took up a fair amount of our visit, and we selected a girl for Elvis. The litter comes from completely separate lines, so it will be a good mate for him. Now it’s a matter of waiting and anticipating her arrival.
Spinoni Roundup 2009 - Lola watches Elvis and Spumante
Tags: cooling vest, glacier tek, puppy care, spinone, spinoni
