August 2013

Potluck & Games — Monday August 19th at Allied Gardens Rec. Center at 6pm Dog Daze Deadline: the 3rd of the month.

Send Dog Daze contributions to Audrey Austin • Send information for the calendar to Bruce Barnett

CALMING DOGS CLASSICAL STYLEby Elaine Waldorf Gewirtz, from Natural Dog Magazine

When Sunny, a stray 2-year-old Lab-rador Retriever mix, entered the

Larimer Humane Society in Fort Collins, Colo., he growled and barked at staffers, Aggressive and unable to pass the intake evaluation, the 70-pound dog fell into the category of “unfit for adoption with pos-sible euthanization.” But thanks to the shelter’s practice of playing recorded ver-sions of Schubert’s Serenade and Brahms’ Intermezzo in A Major, in addition to using positive training techniques that refocus and relax the dogs, Sunny was adopted a month later. It’s true for people, and also for dogs: Mu-sic has soothing charms. Researchers acknowledge that music soothes the human nervous system, and new studies reveal that dogs have musical preferences and react to different types of music. Today, shelters, groomers, board-ing kennels, veterinarians and dog owners pump up the volume on their iPods, turn on the radio, and play CDs of classical mu-sic specifically designed to soothe pets, to create a calm and peaceful environment for dogs in their care. “Music is an important part of our every-day enrichment program that includes positive reinforcement and avoiding bore-dom,” says Jennifer Orme, director of op-erations at the Larimer Humane Society. “When potential adopters walk in, we want them to find quiet dogs who keep all four feet on the ground. The music helps the dogs relax.” Seven days a week during adoption hours, the humane society plays the music through a quality audio sound system. According to

Orme, once the compositions begin, it only takes about five minutes for the dogs to quiet down. “The only exception was one Redtick Coonhound who wouldn’t stop howling.” Orme says.

Country or rock and rollWhen Caroline vanderWyk of Pasadena, Calif., leaves Bree and River, her two 5-year-old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Re-trievers, and Sara, her 11 year old Dal-mation, she switches on her favorite mu-sic. “sometimes it’s rock, or just the TV.” VanderWyk says. “I believe it gives them a calming feeling as if someone is home, so they don’t seem to mind as much if I’m not there.”

Although many people leave the television or radio playing for their dogs when they leave them alone, according to researchers, the calming effect isn’t the same. Not all tunes produce the same results, so you can forget about playing Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog. Country, reggae or polka ditties. A 2012 study published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior conducted by Lori R. Kogan, Regina Schoenfeld Teacher, and Allen A. Simon, investigated how canine

activity was affected by three different types of music: classical, heavy metal, and classical music designed specifically for dog relaxation. “I feel strongly that shelters environments are stressful for dogs, and wanted to find something helpful and feasible to reduce anxiety and increase adoption rates,” says Kogan, a licensed psychologist and associ-ate professor at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo. The researchers observed 117 dogs at a shelter and boarding facility noting three behaviors, activity (sleeping, standing, or sitting), a vocalization (silent or barking), and body movement (shaking or not shak-ing). “We observed shaking because it’s a sign of canine stress and anxiety.” Kogan says. Over four months, the researchers played four popular selections of classical music with 121 beats per measure. They also played three selections of heavy metal with 131 beats per measure and one selection of classical music designed specifically for dog relaxation with 95 beats per measure. All were played in 45 minute intervals, in-terspersed with periods of silence, for three hours a day, three days a week. “The heavy metal caused the dogs to shake nervously, while classical music quieted them,” Kogan says, “During all the clas-sical music selections, they spent most of the time sleeping.” According to Kogan’s study, “these results are consistent with human studies, which have suggested that music can reduce agitation, promote sleep, improve mood, and lower stress and anxi-ety.” FF

I am so pleased to see so many members out training their dogs on Monday nights. Wow, the Rally class was so full it needed to be broken into two classes. I am really pleased to see so many new faces.

We have a fun meeting night coming up, held all outside! This is our annual pot-luck and dog games night this month. We will have an earlier meeting time for dinner say 6-ish with games to follow. Bring your own drinks, chairs, and eating tools and a dish to share. Of course, don’t forget to bring your dog. This is true pot luck. We don’t assign anything to anyone. If we have all chips and dips or des-serts, we will still enjoy the meal. In the past, we have always had a nice variety of foods, with all different courses. For those who work, come when you can. We can wait the games until you are ready. Please mark your calendars and come have some fun.

I received the paperwork for next year’s UKC obedience trial. We cancelled last year from lack of interest and lack of volunteers. Do we want to hold a UKC trial this year? If you want one, volunteer! We can’t think of holding a trial unless we have a chairman and a secretary. If we get these jobs filled, we can move onward. But, until then, I’m holding the paperwork.

The summer is fast fading with the sun setting earlier and earlier every week. Where does the time go?

Next month, we will have another pro-gram. I believe I will be giving a tracking talk and demo. Then again, we may have another speaker. Watch your Dog Daze for updates.

Audrey

Dog Daze is a monthly puublication of All Breed Obedience Club Inc., a non- profit obedience club serving San Diego County. Articles which appear in this paper do not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the subject matter by ABOCI. Articles may be quoted, provided credit is given to the author and Dog Daze. Subscription rate for non members is $15.00.

ABOCI Class Info: (619) 287-2211Dog Daze EditorAudrey Austin(619) 966-9977audreyaustin@cox.net

ABOCI OfficersAudrey Austin, President (619) 966-9977

Geri Demeglio, Vice President (720) 684-9298

Eleni Stevens, Secretary(619) 328-0723

Sarah Ball, Treasurer (619) 248-4701

Board MembersVickie Hill David Smelser (619) 561-6085 (760) 643-9469

Cathy Colley Louisa Golden (619) 442-2322 (619) 299-3506

Calendar EditorBruce Barnettbcbarnett36@gmail.com

Dog Daze PublisherKathy UptonCell (858) 837-1151uptonkathy@san.rr.com

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE AUGUST 2013

Tracking Dog Urban Test: Effective January 1, 2014

AKC licensed/member clubs eligible to hold TD tracking Tests will be allowed to apply to hold the new Tracking Dog Ur-ban (TDU) Optional Tracking Test. This test is designed to make tracking more accessible to clubs and exhibitors in an urban setting. If your club is approved to hold tracking events on any kind it is eligible to hold the TDU test. Judges eli-gible to judge TD events will also be eli-gible to judge TDU events. TDU events will be approved to be held on or after January 1, 2014 and clubs may begin ap-plying for the TDU events after August 1, 2013.

The fundamental features of the Track-ing Dog Urban Test are the dog’s ability to follow a track laid by a person under a variety of scenting conditions in an

urban environment and to find the arti-cles dropped by that person. This is an optional titling event. Clubs are not re-quired to offer this test and dogs are not required to earn the title to enter a TD, TDX or VST tracking test.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This test can be held in large neighbor parks, large enough to offer tracks. This opens up a number of sites that could not qualify for a TD or TDX track. Also, for handlers who are not physically capable of navigat-ing the difficulties of the field where TD and TDX tracks are held can now handle their dogs in a less physically challeng-ing setting. Effective January 1, 2014, mixed breed dogs listed with the AKC Canine Part-ners Program will be eligible to com-pete in AKC Tracking Tests!!! FF

AKC News

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NEW OTCH!OTCH Sporting Field’s Summer Solstice

UDX, OM3

Catherine Zinsky and her Border Collie, Dax, finished their OTCH at the Queen Mary All Breed Shows & Obedience Trials in Long Beach, Ca., June 30, less than a week after Dax’s 3rd birthday, go-ing HIT and HC as well. What a weekend!

Dax earned his UD title on January 26th, after which Dax began going straight to heel on many recall exercises, suggesting to Cath-erine that he wasn’t quite as comfortable as she would have hoped. Catherine pulled Dax and took 7 weeks off from further showing to regroup and stabilize her young Border Collie.

They began showing again in May, and by June 30th finished the OTCH title. To date Dax has earned 17 HITs, 10 HCs, and 3 perfect ‘200’ scores.

Both are going to take the summer off to catch their breath and just kick back. In Catherine’s estimation, Dax has earned it!

Photo by Ruth Anderson Barnett

Brags for August 2013

Photo by Rich Bergman

From Mimi Lorie After the ASCA Obedience and Rally Trial August 3 & 4, 2013

My two girls, Artemis and Chiara, qualified in EVERY THING at the Seaside ASCA Show which was held in a beautiful park in Encinitas. I might add this show had a HUGE turn out, and since most of

them were Aussies, the competition was tough.

On Saturday (OB) Artemis took 2nd place in Novice B with a score of 186 and Chiara (Covert Affair) squeaked by with a 173-1/2 which gave her a 4th place ribbon.

On Sunday, my Rally Queen Artemis took first place with a 96 (earning her another “star” award for any scores over 95) and she gets to add an X after her title. Chiara also qualified with a 71 as I had a 20 point deduction for a “do over” on the most com-plicated Rally Novice course I have ever seen. I might add that AKC only charges you a 3 point deduction on do overs AND this was on the “honor station” which, again, I might add does not even occur in AKC rally until you get to Excellent.

After the judge, Betty Fisher, explained how to do the honor station, Artemis zoomed though the course correctly, garnering first place. Chiara had to be the “trail blazer” for her mother (Artemis) and take all the penalties for so Artemis could finish her title in first place. FF

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From sniffing out bombs and weapons to uncovering criminal evidence,

dogs can help save lives and keep the peace. Now, researchers have uncovered how to improve dogs’ smelling skills through diet, by cutting protein and add-ing fats.

Such a diet, say the researchers, appears to help dogs return to lower body tem-peratures after exercise, which reduces panting and, thereby, improves sniffing.

The findings could change how detec-tion dogs are fed and boost their detec-tion abilities, says Joseph Wakshlag, as-

sociate professor of clinical studies and chief of nutrition at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Wakshlag, who collaborated with researchers at Auburn University, is presenting the findings at the Companion Animal Nutrition Sum-mit in Atlanta, held March 22-24.

The study, funded with a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, also found that detection dogs are more reli-able detectors than previously thought. The study is the first to be conducted in the world’s only detection dog research facility designed in conjunction with a military dog trainer. The Alabama facil-ity, which provides expert detection dogs to police and military forces, flushes out

fumes between tests, ensuring a fresh field each time.

“Previous studies from other facilities, which lack this feature, had suggested detection dogs signaling for suspect substances are about 70 percent accu-rate,” said Wakshlag. “The lower num-bers may have been due to study design flaws which our new study overcame. Dogs tested in the new facility signaled with 90 percent and above accuracy. We also found we can push detection perfor-mance even further with the right kind of food.”

Bucking conventional thinking, the group found that less protein and more fat in the dogs’ diet helped trained dogs perform better in exercise and detection tests. During an 18 month period, they rotated 17 trained dogs through three di-ets Wakshlag selected a high-end perfor-mance diet, regular adult dog food, and regular adult dog food diluted with corn oil. Measuring how different diets affect-ed each dog, they found that dogs eating the normal diet enhanced with corn oil returned to normal body temperatures most quickly after exercise and were bet-ter able to detect smokeless powder, am-monia nitrate and TNT.

“Corn oil has lots of polyunsaturated

fats, similar to what you’d find in a lot of nuts and common grocery store seed oils,” said Wakshlag. “Past data from elsewhere suggest that these polyun-saturated fats might enhance the sense of smell, and it looks like that may be true for detection dogs. It could be that fat somehow improves nose-signaling structures or reduces body temperature or both. But lowering protein also played a part in improving olfaction.”

Wakshlag designed the high perfor-mance and corn oil diets to have the same amount of energy from fat (57 percent). But the corn oil diet had less protein. 18 percent compared with 27 percent in the regular and high performance diets.

“If you’re a dog, digesting protein raises body temperature, so the longer your body temperature is up, the longer you keep panting and the harder it is to small well,” said Wakshlag. “Our study shifts the paradigm of what high performance diet can mean for dog. It depends on what you want your dog to do. A sled dog or greyhound may need more protein to keep going. But detection dogs tend to exercise in shorter bursts and need to re-cover quickly and smell well. For that, less protein and more fat could help.

P.S. Wonder if this applies to our won-derful tracking dogs?FF

MORE FAT, LESS PROTEIN IMPROVES DETECTION DOGS’ SNIFFERS by Carly Hodes, from Cornell Chronicle

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KEEPING SAFE IN THE SUN from Your AKC

When the sun comes out we all want to make the most of it and our pets are always eager to join in the fun. Yet, just like us, dogs can suffer in the heat.

When going for a long walk in the sunshine, it is important to remember that no matter how much they may run around, dogs are not inexhaustible. Be sure to stop regularly to let your dog have a drink, and walking near streams that they can paddle in will make sure that they can keep cool. The best time to walk your dog is in the early morning or late evening before the weather gets too hot. If your dog slows down and seems to want a rest, then let them lie in a shaded area for a while and cool them by pouring water on their necks, the pads of their feet, and their belly before continuing.

Summer is the perfect time to get the BBQ going, but this can hold all sorts of dangers for our pets. Dogs just love the smell of cooking meat but make sure they can never snatch anything as sizzling sausages can burn their stomachs when swal-lowed. Also dangerous are kebab skewers and cooked bones, which can splinter when chewed. Keep everything out of reach of your pet and make sure rubbish goes straight into the bin.

While everyone is having fun, it is easy to forget that your dog could be overheat-ing in the sun. Signs of heat stroke include (but are not limited to) excessive pant-ing, dark or bloody diarrhea or vomiting and rapid breathing.

Ensuring that they always have somewhere cool to sit and cool water (not ice water) to drink greatly reduces the risk of heat related illnesses, such as sunstroke. You can help your pet by placing cool wet cloths on his paws and around his head. Also, offering ice cubes for your pet to lick is a great cool-down treat! FF

HOW LAWN CHEMICALS AFFECT DOGSby Mother Nature Network

Do you take as much pride in your lawn as in your adorable pooch? A

recent study found that dogs exposed to lawn care chemicals can have a higher bladder cancer risk. Once contaminated with those chemicals dogs also can pass these chemicals to their owners, children and often pets in the house.

The study, published in Science of the Total Environment. found that the inci-dence of lawn chemicals in the urine of pet dogs was widespread even among dog in households where chemicals were not applied.

Researchers at Purdue University and the University of North Carolina applied herbicides to grass plots under different conditions (e.g. green, dry brown, wet, and recently mowed grass) and tested for their presence up to 72 hours after the lawn treatment

Some common herbicides specifically

2.4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2.4D) 4-chloro-2- methylphenoxyproploric acid (MCPP), and dicamba remained detectable on grass for at least 48 hours after application, and the chemicals per-sisted even longer on grass under certain environmental conditions.

In a separate study, researchers measured the concentration of these chemicals in the urine of dogs belonging to owners who applied and those who did not apply chemicals to their lawns. They found that

the chemicals were detected in the urine of 14 of 25 households before lawn treat-ment, in 19 of 25 households after lawn treatment, and in four of eight untreated households. Finding the chemicals in the urine of dogs in households there were untreated should be a concern for dog owners It indicates that the untreated lawns were contaminated through drift, or the dogs were exposed to the chemi-cals during walks.

How are the dogs being exposed to these toxic chemicals? They can directly ingest these chemi-cals from sprayed lawns and weeds or they can lick their paws and fur where the chemicals were picked up. There are guidelines for the application of her-bicides, but can you be sure that your neighbor has read and followed the di-rections on the packaging?

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Lawn Chemicals (continued from page 5)

In 2004, researchers from Purdue University (several of whom also worked on the current study) found that Scottish Terri-ers exposed to lawn and garden herbicides (specifically the

aforementioned 2.4 –0) had an occurrence of bladder cancer between four and seven times higher than Scottish Terriers not exposed to herbicides. Previously, researchers had found the Scotties were already about 20 times more likely to develop bladder cancer as other breeds.

This makes Scotties “sentinel animals” to researchers because they require less exposure to carcinogens before contracting the disease. Other dog breeds with a genetic predisposition for bladder cancer include Beagles, Wire Hair Fox Terriers, West Highland White Terries and Shetland Sheepdogs.

The implications of this study for human health are also fright-ening. These chemicals can be tracked inside the house and contaminate flooring and furniture. Dog owners may come in contact with the chemicals simply by petting or holding their pets.

How to avoid or lessen dog exposure to herbicidesDr. Tina Wiemer, medical director of the ASPCA Animal Poi-son Control Center, suggests homeowners always store, mix and dilute products in areas without pet access.

If your lawn is maintained by a company, Wiemer suggests that you inform them that you have a pet with access to the lawn, and ask for the company’s recommendation for how long pets should stay off treated lawns. In addition, Wismer recommends that homeowners obtain a list of the product names and EPA registration numbers to have on hand in case of an incident.

What can you do if you think your dog has ingested herbicides? “If a pet parent witnesses a pet consuming material that might be toxic, the pet parent should seek emergency assistance, even if the pet seems fine,” says Wismer. “Sometimes even if poi-soned, an animal may appear normal for several hours or for days after the incident.”

With proper applications of herbicides, the health risks to our dogs is mini-mal, but you can’t guar-antee that your neighbors or the lawn crew you hire will read then follow label directions. In your own home, consider alternat-ing when the front and back laws are treated, or better yet ditch your lawn altogether and plant a gar-den for yourself and your dog. FF

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AKC Agility Trials 8/3/2013 8/4/2013 German Shep. Dog Club of SD NTC Promenade, Point LomaClosing date (blank=N/A): 7/17/2013 Info: Lynda Tjarks: www.lyndatjarksagility.com

Obedience & Rally Show & Go 8/4/2013 All Breed Obedience Club Allied Gardens Community ParkClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: 8 a.m. to noon

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 8/10/2013 SW Obedience Club of LA GardenaClosing date (blank=N/A): 7/24/2013 Info: Sharon Licciardi, 38513 12th St. E, Palmdale, CA 92550

NADAC Agility Trials 8/10/2013 8/11/2013 Performance Dog Training Hourglass Park, San DiegoClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: Day-of-show entries OK. www.performancedogtraining.com/agility-events

AKC Agility Trials 8/17/2013 8/18/2013 American Chesapeake Club Rohr Park, Chula VistaClosing date (blank=N/A): 7/31/2013 Info: Lynda Tjarks: www.lyndatjarksagility.com

General Meeting 8/19/2013 All Breed Obedience Club Allied Gardens Recreation CenterClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: 6 p.m. Outside with fun and games.

NAFA Flyball Tournament 8/31/2013 INXS Otay Ranch Town Ctr., Chula VistaClosing date (blank=N/A): 8/1/2013 Info: Erika Heine, 213 Draft Way, Placentia, CA 92870

AKC Agility Trials 9/13/2013 9/14 & 9/15 Staff. Bull Terrier Club of Amer. Rohr Park, Chula VistaClosing date (blank=N/A): 8/28/2013 Info: Lynda Tjarks: www.lyndatjarksagility.com

Obedience & Rally Show & Go 9/14/2013 Hidden Valley Obedience Club HVOC training grounds, EscondidoClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: 8 a.m. to noon

General Meeting 9/16/2013 All Breed Obedience Club Allied Gardens Recreation CenterClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: Meeting starts at 7 p.m.

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 9/21/2013 9/22/2013 Santa Ana Valley Kennel Club Richard Gahr High School, CerritosClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/4/2013 Info: Bradshaw: Information to come

NADAC Agility Trials 9/21/2013 9/22/2013 Performance Dog Training Doyle Elementary School, La JollaClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/14/2013 Info: www.performancedogtraining.com/agility-events/competitions

AKC Agility Trials 9/21/2013 9/22/2013 German Shep. Dog Club of SD NTC Promenade, Point LomaClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/4/2013 Info: Lynda Tjarks: www.lyndatjarksagility.com

AKC Agility Trials 9/28/2013 9/29/2013 Aztec Doberman Pinscher Club NTC Promenade, Point LomaClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/11/2013 Info: Lynda Tjarks: www.lyndatjarksagility.com

U-Fli Flyball Tournament 10/5/2013 Catchers on the Fly RamonaClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/5/2013 Info: http://www.u-fli.com/tournlist.php

U-Fli Flyball Tournament 10/6/2013 San Diego Flyball RamonaClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/5/2013 Info: http://www.u-fli.com/tournlist.php

CPE Agility Trials 10/5/2013 10/6/2013 Agility Club of San Diego HVOC training grounds, EscondidoClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/25/2013 Info: http://www.agilityclubsd.org/trials/trials_100513_cpe.htm

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 10/12/2013 10/13/2013 Doberman Pinscher Club of Am. LA County Fairplex, PomonaClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/25/2013 Info: Information to come

Obedience & Rally Show & Go 10/13/2013 All Breed Obedience Club Allied Gardens Community ParkClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: 8 a.m. to noon

General Meeting 10/21/2013 All Breed Obedience Club Allied Gardens Recreation CenterClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: Meeting starts at 7 p.m.

AKC Agility Trials 10/26/2013 10/27/2013 Golden Retriever Club of SD NTC Promenade, Point LomaClosing date (blank=N/A): 10/9/2013 Info: Lynda Tjarks: www.lyndatjarksagility.com

Calendar of Dog EventsEVENT TYPE DATE(S) Addl. Day? CLUB

Keep your photo contributions coming so I can fill the blank spots

each month!Many thanks to Bobbie and Cathy this month

for their help with Dog Daze!

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