Thursday, April 9, 2015

Things That Go Out of Fashion




So many things go out of fashion. I’ve never been a fashion maven. I know very few women wear long skirts or jumpers anymore. Jellies, those transparent plastic shoes that were popular at one time are gone, and so are light up sneakers, rubber bracelets, butterfly clips, scrunchies, Bling bling, shell necklaces and wearing bandanas according to one site I visited.

Not dealing with fashion, the Volkswagon Beetle that made a brief comeback didn’t last long as the cool car to buy.  Boom boxes are out and so are Beanie Babies, Pokeman, Silly Putty, Mood rings, and Pet Rocks, as well as a whole list of once popular singers, actors and TV shows.
I even saw on one site putting up flags outside our homes is out of fashion. When was the last time you saw antimacassars on the arms or backs of chairs and sofas?

What brought me to this topic is an article my daughter sent me, “Five Out-of-Fashion Dog Breeds This Vet Misses” by Dr. Marty Becker. The following is from his article with my comments added.


Irish Setters: I used to see a lot of these bouncy red dogs in my practice. I know the rub is that they’re too energetic and not the brightest bulb on the light string, but the ones I used to know were great family dogs who loved to be around people and really wanted to please. I miss their smiling faces and the feathered tails that never stop wagging. (A woman in one of my book clubs had to drive five hundred miles to get one.)





Scottish Terriers: These stylish, strong-minded dogs can be difficult to handle, since they are terriers through and through. In my family we’ve loved a lot of terriers, including our forever-missed Wire-Haired Fox Terrier, Scooter, so I understand some of the challenges. These days I’m more likely to see a Scottie on a Monopoly board than on an exam table.
 (I think the last time I actually saw one was when I was a kid.)




Collies: When Lassie is in, so are Collies. Otherwise, their size and the challenges of their massive, beautiful coat no doubt put many people off. And that’s a shame because a good Collie, while not likely to be saving Timmy from the well every day, is a great family dog – smart, loving, and always keeping an eye on his flock. (I can attest to that.)




 Brittanys: I suspect that as hunting has become less common as a sport, the breeds so closely associated with the pursuit have fallen out of favor. And that’s unfortunate, because the Brittany is a dog that can do more than just hunt. The Brittany’s compact size makes him a good match for an active family, and he’s a natural at modern-day canine sporting events such as agility.
(I haven’t seen one in years, either.)


 Cocker Spaniels: These little bird dogs were top of the heap for decades, the most sought-after of all purebred dogs. Their reign at the top of the American Kennel Club rankings finally ended with a wave of Poodles. I still see a fair number of Poodles – and even more Poodle-oodle-mixes – but Cockers are relatively rare. And that is a shame, because like the Irish Setter, these dogs are sweet, beautiful and full of fun. (A good friend of mine had one. Darling dog.)

Dr. Marty Becker goes on to say he loves all dogs and cats, but he misses these out-of-fashion dogs and feels one movie or TV show featuring them will bring them back as popular dogs again.

Molly and I at my patio . I'm writing in my journal.
 I’ve been in love with collies since I was a kid and read books by Albert Payson Terhune; Lad, a Dog, The Further Adventures of Lad and Bruce, long before TV and the Lassie series. It also was from my mother telling me stories of Fuzzy, the collie she and her siblings had. My first collie was a stray that I found when I was sixteen. Most of my collies over the years were strays, or from an ad for a free collie. That’s before they went out of fashion. After being without a dog for fifteen years, I answered an ad for a stray collie. I only had her three months when she came down with encephalitis and died.






I searched ads for another collie and finally found a six-week old collie puppy quite a distance away. She was too young to be separated from her mother, but the woman had sold most of the litter with only two puppies left. She wasn’t asking very much for them. I settled on the little female. Molly was a sable and white collie and such a joy. However, shortly before her fifth birthday, she developed grand mal seizures and pills didn’t stop them for long. When she had one that paralyzed her hind quarters, I had no choice but to have her euthanized.





Yes, she has a lot of fur, but it's silky and beautiful.
I wasn’t ready for a new dog although it wasn’t long before I wanted another collie. After checking websites for rescue collies, I gave up since they were either quite elderly or had serious health problems and most hundreds of miles away. A breeder of collies who lived fairly close had an eighteen month old tri-color female. She didn’t show well so she was willing to sell her. That’s when I got Twin Cities Born to Dance, aka Maggie. Maggie has a different personality than Molly, but is an incredible joy to me. Molly eagerly ran to meet everyone who came. Maggie holds back to see if they’re friendly or I welcome them. In fact, I realized that was why Maggie couldn’t be a show dog. She would have been nervous in large crowds. Maggie has come a long way since those days, but not enough to prance into a ring with head up. Not that I ever wanted to show a dog anyway.

Maggie and I ready to head for our daily walk.
Like the doctor above mentioned, collies are smart and loving and their coat isn’t that hard to take care of, although I have to admit she does bring in a lot of twigs, pine needles, and leaves and also burrs in the fall. I probably should brush her every day, but I don’t. When I do start to brush her, she flops over on her back with all four legs waving in the air. I get her groomed every three months, and the groomer and her helpers absolutely love her because she’s so sweet. Yes, my sixty pound Maggie is a good dog - fun, playful and a nosy neighbor who keeps an eye out from the front window on what’s going on with the two neighbors across the street. She barks to tell me if eighty-three year old Margaret is coming or going down the driveway, or if either neighbor is getting company. She also keeps an eye on the bird feeders in the back to let me know when squirrels, rabbits or chipmunks are raiding them. Would she come to my defense if someone broke in? Probably not, but who knows. Like the vet said, it’s a shame collies are out of fashion.

What has gone out of fashion that you miss?


If you have a dog, what breed is your favorite or do you preferred mixed breeds?

19 comments:

  1. I am the dog maven where I work. Among other things Newlin Grist Mill is a dog park. We have several Scotties and Westies who come regularly. A collie or two visit from time to time. King Charles club has meets there, but no Britanies. I have yet to see an Irish setter.

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  2. I miss conversation at meals. Everyone is thumbing their phones.

    ~ Jim

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  3. Cocker spaniels and Irish setters disappeared by the eighties. In Atlanta, it was all about golden retrievers and coonhounds. In Cincinnati, it's golden doodle mixes with a rare white golden retriever thrown in. I'm sticking with standard poodles, too smart for their own good, energetic, and family oriented (who gets the couch?)

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  4. I miss good appliances that didn't have a short shelf life and many cosmetics that I used and loved, which were taken off the market.

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  5. Beautiful photos, Gloria! I like mixed breeds. My favorite dog was a cockapoo.

    I'd love to see respect and civility come back into fashion. And sending real letters instead of emails.

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  6. E.B. I tend to keep appliances for long, long periods of time, and my old standby, Cover Girl, still exists, but then I never went for fancy stuff. :-)

    Kara, mixed breeds are usually healthier and live longer. My first collie wasn't pure collie. I agree about real letters. I still send some, but not as many as emails, unfortunately.

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  7. I don't miss a thing, why bother, everything comes back. Saw in fashion news that slim jeans are out and bell bottoms (yuck) are back this year.
    No, why bother missing things. Technology is on the fast track, hard to keep up, but I do remember in the 50s and 60s wishing for all of it, so now that we are starting to get it, move on, I say.
    NO PHONES AT MEALS. Have a sign printed up.
    Who buys a dog because they are fashionable? Too weird.
    Patg

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  8. Now that I think about it, I miss so many things. Handwritten letters. Sturdy appliances. My waistline.

    As for dogs, I'm a sucker for Corgis. My first died tragically at 10, and the one I have now is a robust 5 year old. We also have a rescue dog, who looks very much like a dark red golden retriever. If I had my way, I'd probably own an army of Corgis (we'd conquer the world with cuteness), but I balance my desire for a purebred with having a rescue, too.

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  9. I miss civility, or even plain old good manners. So many people don't even say "thank you" any more.
    Letters, conversation, phones with cords (so you don't lose them), computers that don't change your words with spell check….
    Boy do I sound like an old codger!

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  10. Pat, when my daughter and I were walking on a paved trail around a lake, a woman with two large standard size poodles passed us. The way she was dress and walked with her nose in the air, made us feel that she indeed bought those dogs only to make a statement, but I think most people do for other reasons like because they like the temperment of that particular breed.

    Gayle, I've been in love with Corgis, too, even though I've never had one. Tasha Tutor has or had them, and I might have gone with that breed before I got my collie before Maggie, except it's also one of those breeds that are rarely seen. In a way, my Maggie is a rescue because if I hadn't bought her, she would have stayed a kennel dog only for breeding purposes.

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  11. Shari, there's nothing I like better than getting a letter in the mail, even a brief thank you card. As far as phones, I still have a land line as well as a little Tracphone.I'm always misplacing the Tracphone as well as the land line phones that are on chargers if I take them off their chargers to talk. My computer while I'm working with Word, flashes words that are misspelled, but it doesn't do it when I'm online. Sigh.

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  12. For years my daughter wanted a Brittany Spaniel. Instead, she and her husband got a Rhodesian Ridgeback, which is a huge, powerful dog. She is now wishing that she had gotten the spaniel. My other daughter got a rescue Lab/pit blend. You know who ends up doing a lot of dog-sitting.

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  13. Grace, my son wanted a German Shepherd puppy when he was a teenager and brought one home from a litter someone he knew had and wanted to give away the puppies. Like you, I was the one who mostly fed him and he went with me on my daily walks in the woods so the dog bonded with me rather than him. The only thing that made me nervous with that dog is that he didn't like small children.

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  14. I love mixed breeds, aka "Heinz 57" If I were to afford a purebred I do love the sweet eyes and face of a King Charles Spaniel. My favorite thing about any dog is that sigh of contentment after they curl around and 'round and lay down. Priceless. ~ Laura Byrnes

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  15. We had a mixed collie when I was a kid and my parents had several cockers later on, lovely companions, all. I didn't realize they'd fallen out of favor.

    Fortunately, my favorite breed is always in plentiful supply at our local shelter...an American Mixed, a.k.a., a mutt.

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  16. Laura, maybe some day you'll get that dog you want, but for now you can come visit Maggie for love as often as you want.

    LD,I've always heard mutts are the best, but I think a lot of it depends on what kind of a mix it is. My very first collie wasn't a purebred. In our area about the only ones I see advertised at our rescue center are pit bull mixes or rottwieller mixes, and I don't want a dog that could be aggressive. I know not all are, but I wouldn't want to chance it.

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  17. Love the dog pictures!

    We have a goofy labradoodle named Hamish (we thought he looked like Hamish Macbeth of the Scottish mystery series, with reddish curly hair flopping in his eyes.) He's a rescue, pulled out of a shelter by a Lab rescue group the morning he was to be put down. We also have a Heinz 57, tending toward some type of Northern breed, a real dog's dog, who we got from a program at the Zanesville, Ohio prison.

    Over the years, we've had German shepherds from Seeing Eye (retired or flunked out), a rescue mastiff who only knew two things--don't "go" in the house and don't take things off the table, which was head height for her,) a not very bright but extremely well-intentioned Rottweiler, and a few other unidentifiable rescues. When our kids were little, we had Newfoundlands, which were excellent kids' dogs.

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  18. KM, you've had quite a selection of different dogs. I haven't had only collies, but they have been my dog of choice. I only paid for the last two. The others were rescued, found or I answered an ad because the owners didn't want them anymore.

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  19. I never had a dog growing up, but I have one now and I always will. My first was a shelter dog that was the cutest thing ever. Unfortunately, he came to a bad end early. I still cry thinking about it. Then came the Brittany, who was sweet but not very bright. I used to hide behind the bedroom door and call her. She'd run up and down the hall, in the bedroom, out, into the other bedrooms, but she never found me. I doubt she would have made a good hunting dog. But I loved her dearly. A few dogs later, and I have Bogie, a shih tzu/lhasa mix, who is the dog love of my life. Dogs are the best.

    As for what I miss most, my good auto mechanic and cleaning lady. Neither has gone out of fashion, just out of my life for one reason or another.

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