A-Z Challenge 2014 - 'X'

X - Crossbred; Sprocker, Labradoodle, Cockapoo

When I first met Gus I thought he was a Spaniel but his owner said he was a crossbreed resulting from the mating of a Springer Spaniel female with a Cocker Spaniel dog. That gave me the idea of what to include unde 'X'.

Sprocker Spaniel - Gus (6 months)

Of course you may obtain a Sprocker in several different ways by crossing:

• Springer with a Cocker
• Springer with a Sprocker
• Cocker with a Sprocker
• Sprocker with a Sprocker

It's not surprising then that they occur in a variety of colours, weights and heights.

If you are looking for a dog that does not shed its hair you might look no further than a dog like Milly. She's a -

Labradoodle - Milly

The Labradoodle results from crossing a Labrador Retriever with a Standard/Miniature or Toy Poodle. The term Labradoodle first appeared in 1955 but was not popularised until 1988.

In Australia they were trained as Assistance Dogs for a time.

A group of Labradoodle Assistance Dogs

Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway and Crown Prince Haakon, heir apparent to the throne of Norway own a black Labradoodle.

Spaniels and Poodles get around a bit because an English Cocker Spaniel crossed with a Poodle (Miniature or Toy) produces dogs like the one we met earlier in the Challenge under P (for Pippa)

I meet her almost every day.

Cockapoo (Pippa)

She's a hypoallergenic dog too.

A-Z Challenge 2014 - 'L'

L- Lhasa Apso, Labrador Retriever

I hadn't met a Lhasa Apso until one moved into my village last year. Lhasa Apsos originated in Tibet where they were bred to guard Buddhist monasteries  and warn of any intruders. They may be classified as non-sporting dogs but Billy always seems to be having fun,

Lhasa Apso; Billy waiting to cross the road.

Every time I meet him he always has that grin and a twinkle in his eye.

The next four dogs have all appeared on my blog at one time or another. Collectively they were known as 'The Gang of Four.'

'The Gang of Four' - Gem, Sam, Jack and Maxie

Sam, Jack and Maxie were Labrador Retrievers; Jack you met in this year's challenge under 'J'; Gem will appear later under 'M'.

The story of the two Golden Labs, brother and sister, Sam and Maxie, appeared as 'The Dogs of Troy' here. 

The 'true-life' tale of 

Sam - Golden (Yellow) Labrador

"When darkness falls" appeared in the UK publication "Dogs Monthly" in June 2012. [I really should post the article on my blog after the Challenge is complete.] Sufficient for the moment to say that when Sam was 11, he went blind. He had sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS).

Of course this entitled him to special treats like this:

Sam cleans out a peanut butter jar.

Maxie made it to a different UK magazine for a different reason and that's something that will appear in the Challenge under the difficult letter 'Q'.

Just last week I met two, 5 month old, Golden Labrador puppies in my village that reminded me of Sam and Maxie when they were young, except they are better behaved!

Golden Labrador puppies - Duke & Alfie; 

Just don't ask me which is which. Apparently Alfie has a black mark on one of his ears, but you would have to examine four ears closely to identify him that way. Perhaps that's why they wear different coloured collars.