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The purposes of The Poodle Club of America, Inc., are to create, foster and promote interest in Poodles by encouraging their breeding in accordance with the Standard of the ideal Poodle. To this end, to endeavor to make the Standard of the ideal Poodle better known so the best interests of the breed may be advanced. Also, to encourage the exhibition of Poodles at all-breed and Specialty Shows and at Obedience Trials. The Poodle Club of America publishes a quarterly newsletter entitled The Poodle Papers, editor, Leslie Newing.
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The Poodle Papers
The Poodle PapersOfficial Quarterly Newsletter of The Poodle Club of America
Fall 2009
(Bibelot’s Cherod Tinsmith ex Kalchan’s Maggie Of Sforsilken) Breeders : Susan Radley Fraser and Debra J Drake.
Bibelot’s Tolka Hands Up MH (Ten), co-owned by Jack Combs andMia DiBenedetto and handled by Jack.
Congratulations to the First Poodle ever to Qualify AT the AKC Master National!
Photo by Robert Emerson
The Poodle Papers
Coming SpecialtiesP.C.A. AFFILIATE CLUB SHOWS
* Note this listing comes from Helen Lee James
* Note: If your show is not listed, please contact Helen Lee James at [email protected] I list only the shows that she sends me the information on. If the listing is not complete, please contact Helen Lee. Leslie
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December 4, 2009 Poodle Club of Massachuetts Designated Classes Ladies Dog ClubDecember 4, 2009 Hub Poodle Club Breed- Helen Lee (supported Entry)December 5, 2009 Hub Poodle Club of Orange County Judges- Scott WolfeDecember 6, 2009 Hub Poodle Club of Orange County Judges- Kent Delaney(supported Entry)December 7, 2009 Hub Poodle Club of Orange County Judges- Bill Cunningham(supported Entry)December 11 & 12 09 Poodle Club of Lehigh Valley Carol Reisman Obed 12/12/09 John D Landis Dec 9th Poodle Club of America-Lee Canalizo(SE)Dec 10th Poodle Club of America -Sue Ellen Rempel (SE)Dec 11th Poodle Club of America- Lydia Coleman Hutchinson(SE)Dec 12th Poodle Club of America - John Shoemaker(Toys) Frank Sabella(M/S)
2010January 8, 2010 San Bernardino Riverside Poodle Club William SheltonJanuary 21, 2010 Columbia Poodle Club Joe Walton Chris Primmes Obedience/Rally, Sweeps Christie SmithFebruary 12, 2010 Poodle Club of Central Indiana Rick Weyrich Designated classes at Hoosier Kennel ClubFebruary 21, 2010 Poodle Club of Hawaii Andrew Mills Obed. Betty BraskMarch 10, 2010. Poodle Club of San Antonio Eugene Blake Obedience Michael Chestee Rally Elizabeth McCarthyMarch 17, 2010, Heart of America Poodle Club, Thomas CarnealApril 2, 2010. Key to the Sea Poodle Club - conformation only Dennis KniolaApril 3, 2010 Key to the Sea Poodle Club Sharon Redmer, Breed, Obedience & RallyApril 10, 2010. Poodle Obedience Training Club of Greater New York Obed. Betsy Baird and Kathleen Walker Rally, Dawn L Martin
PCA Yahoo Group for Affiliate Clubs: PresidentsofAffiliateClubsandAffiliateClub Secretariesareaskedtosignupforthepcaaffiliate-club list o n line on the Yahoo Groups. Please take the time to sign on to get fast and accurate information about PCA and PCA events for your clubs. Go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=pcaaffiliateclubFMI - Contact Helen Lee [email protected]
May 7, 2010. Panorama Poodle Club of Mt Spokane Norman Patton Obed Larry TannerMay 14, 2010 Enchanted Poodle Club AM Show Dr Robert Smith PM Show Mrs. Polly SmithMay 21, 2010 Poodle Club of Central Indiana Judges TBAMay 21, 2010 Mid Michigan Poodle Club AM Show Scott WolfeMay 21, 2010 Mid Michigan Poodle Club PM Show Nancy HafnerMay 27, 2010 Greater Cincinnati Poodle Club AM Show Mrs. M. Aizcorbe Obed Mrs DL Allen PM Show Luis Aizcorbe (no obedience)July 8, 2010 Poodle Club of Southern California A.M. show, Clay WilliamsJuly 8, 2010 Poodle Club of Southern California P.M. show, Karen Graham, New Zealand
Does your Affiliate Club take pride in mentoring new people to the Breed?
Let us mentor someone new to the Breed today!
The Poodle Papers
2008-2010OffiCerS & COmmiTTeeS
President:Jack MacGillivray1st Vice Pres.: Glenna Carlson2nd Vice Pres.Helen Lee James
Corres. Sec.: Peggy McDill [email protected]. Sec.: Joan ScottTreasurer: Scott OlundVariety Representatives
Toy:Nancy HafnerMini: Luis Aizcorbe
Standard.: Michael Wahlig
Publicity: Joan McFaddenAKC Delegate: Mary Ellen Fishler
Show CommitteeChairperson: Glenna Carlson
Assistant Chairperson: Arthur ForanPerformance Events
Obedience Chairperson-Ann MandlebaumPerformance Events Agility Chairperson-
Debbie WestWC/WCX Working Certificate Chairper-
son- Joyce Carelli
Public Education CoordinatorNancy Hafner
Judges EducationNancy Hafner
Affiliate Club Council:Hlen Lee James
PCA Foundation:Exec. Director Tom Carneal
PCA Foundation: Coordinator_ Mike Wahlig
PCA Poodle Rescue Central: Sally Poindexter
Poodles in America:Editor:Betsey Leedy
Breeder Referral:Poodleclubofamerica.org
Connie Green-314-997-2711
PCA Home PageLisa Wolfe
PCA InformationHal Kinne
The Poodle PapersLayout & Graphic design
Editor: Leslie NewingEmail: [email protected]
PCA Email [email protected]
The Poodle Papers Official Quarterly Newsletter of The Poodle Club of America
Fall 2009
President’s message:
Page 3
Hello Friends:
As this year comes to a close, what a relief to have finished the bylaw amendments and have them out for a vote. It was quite a job taking the ideas of many, consolidating the most appropriate into proper form, and most tedious of all, getting AKC’s approval before submission to the members. Hurrah….done! By the time you read this, the results of the vote will probably be known.
That said, the Club finds itself as busy as ever, ramping up the work level in preparation of many upcoming events and projects.
The 2009 PCA Regional is well into the final stages of readiness thanks to Mary Olund and her many volunteers. What a pleasure to delegate an assignment to a volunteer who can be counted on to take responsibility and get the job done. We hope you all take a break and come to warm Long beach in December!
Lisa Wolfe continues to make improvements to our Website, and is planning some signifi-cant design changes in the coming months. We anticipate expanding the use of the Online Store to include PIA books, Rescue Donations, Foundation donations and just about all other items PCA sells.
The 2010 National is well under way under the experienced hands of Glenna Carson, her assistant Art Foran, and many other volunteers. Now is the time when planning is at its peak, and everything is under control and in capable, dedicated hands.
PIA volume XI has been a stumbling block, due in no fault to its experienced editor, Bet-sey Leedy. We had an unfortunate experience with one of the volunteers which resulted in the loss of several of the Standard ads. We have several new recruits to assist in gathering missing information and to help bring the volume to completion. The Club appreciates your patience and understanding in this unfortunate situation. On the brighter side, acco-lades go to Deb Parisi, who has completely computerized the pedigree section of the book. Her program should result in the elimination of misspellings and incorrect names in the pedigrees. Volume XI will be out in hard copy no later than the April 2010 show.
No time is more appropriate than now to again thank the MANY volunteers who keep our Club moving and alive. All that we have accomplished, and all we are now, is due to the imagination and hard work of dedicated volunteers who donate their limited personal time for the betterment of PCA.
Sincerely,Jack MacGillivray
The Poodle Papers
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Roster Update Form
First Name ______________MI ___Last Name___________________Home Address:__________________________City_______________State___ZIP___Work Address:__________________________City_______________State___ZIP___Phone:H: (__) ___-_______ W: (__) ____-________C: (__)___-_________Fax: (___) _______Email:___________________________________Kennel Name: _________________________________________________________Affiliate Club ______________________ Variety(s) S T MOther ____________________________________________________
“I prefer to conduct Poodle Club of America, Inc., business by electronic Mail.”
Signed: ________________________________________________________
Return to: Peggy A. McDill 24922 Las Marias Lane Mission Viejo, California 92691-5119
The Poodle Papers
National Specialty 6
Affiliate Club News 8
Camp Gone to the Dogs , Joyce Miller 17
Legg Calve Perthes Disease at Clemson University. 19
Working Poodle 22
Choosing an Agility Prospect , Joann Neal 25
Vaccine for Canine Influenza Virus Expected to Help Prevent Outbreaks, Purina Pro care 27
P.C.A. Rescue 31
Meet the Breeds ,Cindy Crawley 32
P.C.A. Foundation News 34
In Memoriam 42
A.K.C. Delegates Corner 46
New Hope for SA Poodles, Joyce Miller 50
The AKC Master National, Mia DiBenedetto 54
Poodle Papers!Deadline for the next newsletter is feb 15 th. Please get your articles to me by that date. Anyone who has an interesting topic that they would like to see in the newsletter, please feel free to email me at [email protected]
Leslieeditor of The Poodle Papers
PCA is not responsible for any statements or claims made by its contributors. PCA reserves the rights to edit all copy and make editorial comments where necessary and deemed appropriate by the editor. PCA reserves the right to refuse items submitted for publication. Written permission must be received and granted by PCA in order to reprint any editorial ma-terial. Contributors reserve all rights to their articles and permissions must be granted by them for reprint purposes. © 2007 Poodle Club of America
What’s Where
The Poodle PapersOfficial Quarterly Newsletter of The Poodle Club of America
Fall 2009
Page 5
The Poodle Papers
Page 6
National Specialty
Agility News for 2010I hope you all have wonderful Holidays full of family, friends and of course poodles. They certainly have a way of adding something extra special to any occasion.
For those of us who are unlucky enough to live where it will snow soon if not already, we should be thinking of little games to play in our homes to add focus and fun to our train-ing. Our poodles really get a kick out of new tricks and games and even something as simple as a hand touch can be turned into a focus game, and then lots of playing.
Our judge for this upcoming new year is Carol Mount from New Jersey. We are also hoping to offer FAST this year as and extra class with a special price to help you all come out and play.
Again Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and a safe winter season.
Debbie West
Theme for 2010
IT’S MAGIC
Obedience/Rally at PCA in April
We are making some pretty big changes to our Obedience Trial offerings for 2010! Those of you who follow such mat-ters have seen a huge drop-off of entries in Obedience Tri-als at all-breed, specialty and stand alone events across the country. AKC has begun to respond by broadening its list of non-regular classes, some of them now leading to titles, to appeal to a wider exhibitor audience.
PCA plans to take advantage of these changes by offering all of the Obedience classes available in the AKC Rule Book and encouraging you, the exhibitor, to enter more classes by drastically reducing the entry fees for non-regular classes. While entry fees for all titling classes remain the same ($35 first entry/$26 additional entries of the same dog), entries in all other offered classes are just $15. In Brace and Team the $15 rate is for the entry in its entirety – not for each individ-ual dog. This fee also applies to Rally Novice Brace where the fee will also be $15 for the Brace, not each dog.
It is my hope that those of you who have not considered making an Obedience or Rally entry will look at the offer-ings, think about your Poodle’s capabilities, enter a class or more on Tuesday and start working toward the goal of hav-ing some fun together at our National Specialty Obedience or Rally Trial.
For those who already plan to enter, think about adding one or two of the non-regular classes to your more “seri-ous” goals of competing in Novice, Graduate Novice, Open Graduate Open, Utility and Versatility or, if you are currently working toward Rally titles, how about taking a fling in the Obedience rings? – you may find that your training in Rally has, indeed, prepared you and your Poodle for Obedience.
Our judging panel for 2010 is: Susie Osburn and Bernie Brown judging Obedience and Marilou McKloskey judging Rally
See you in April,
Ann Mandelbaum, Obedience/Rally Chairwoman
ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
The Poodle Papers
Page 7
•New E mail address for Alice [email protected]
2010 AKC Canine Health Founda-tion Charity Golf TournamentTuesday, January 19, 2010Southern Hills Plantation Club 4200 Summit View DriveBrooksville, Florida
Beverage Cart Sponsor:Wayne and Jean Boyd, Hoover Grove Great Pyrenees
Hole Sponsors:Greater Gainesville Dog Fancier’s Association, Inc.Jupiter-Tequesta Dog Club, Inc.Scottish Terrier Club of Tampa BayTampa Bay Chihuahua Club
Round of Golf and Party: $150 ContributionDon’t miss this opportunity to play the only Pete Dye Championship course in the Tampa Bay area.
Party Only: $30 ContributionParty includes a buffet dinner.
2010 Florida Classic Cluster Judges Receive Complimen-tary Party Admission!!! (Judges must RSVP by December 15, 2009)
1:00 Shotgun Tournament Start 5:30 pm After Party Begins
Notes from Glenna:It is almost time for the wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We have many things to be thankful for - our friends, our Poodles, our country. Lets all remember how fortunate we are and say a special blessing for those who cannot cel-ebrate with us. NEWS FOR PCA NATIONAL: PCA - IT’S MAGIC has been selected as the theme for 2010. We are as excited about this theme as any we have had - think of the decorating ideas - think of the magicians - think of a white Toy Poodle being pulled out of a black top hat! I can hardly wait! Our judges panel is complete! Jack MacGillivray has agreed to judge Junior Showmanship. Having PCA’s pres-ident preside over this event is very special to me and I hope is a memory that will be cherished by the participants. Thank you, Jack, for joining the judging panel! And a name from the past of many of us - David Lewis, Se-attle, WA,- has agreed to judge Veterans Sweepstakes. Da-vid successfully handled his own Ch. Oakgrove Heavenly Days and other Oakgrove Standards in the 1970’s as well as dogs for Frank Fretwell and Susan North. He is currently having fun and success with Corgis and Shepherds. It will be such fun to see David again and do a bit of reminiscing. A wonderful addition for 2010 will be the non-regular classes offered in Obedience and Rally - these at a reduced entry fee which, hopefully, will be very attractive to exhibi-tors. Ann Mandelbaum, our Obedience Chairman, has her own article telling all about the new classes in Obedience and Rally. Not to be outdone, Agility will offer classes in FAST - these are events that are especially fun to watch. We continue to be enthused about our new host hotel, the Hampton Inn and Suites. It is so nicely appointed and the staff is most cooperative. Many other hotels in Salisbury are generously giving PCA monitors rooms, and here is one of the issues you can help us solve. I cannot have hard working PCA members in these monitors rooms if I do not know where they are staying. So, please, if you are a PCA member with a position during National, please let me know where you will be staying so I can have monitors in all of the hotels. Thanks so much.
Please remember: You have received a copy of the by-laws. Carefully read the document and have your vote in by the required date - December 1, 2009. I look forward to seeing many of you in Long Beach - and Salisbury in April. Hugs to all. Glenna Carlson1st Vice-PresidentNational Show Chairman
The Poodle Papers
Page 8
Affiliate Club News
From Great Lakes Poodle Club2009-2010 Officers President - Betty ZarazaVP - Sharon FreundCorresponding Secretary - Carol CargleRecording Secretary - Karen KorabTreasurer - Charisse Bruno Board of Directors Carlos SantosKathy StefanskiJean EremoLarry Page
Submitted by:Karen KorabGreat Lakes Poodle Club
Recording Secretary 847-671-6499
Notes from Helen Lee James:It has been a full and very busy year. Many of our special-ty clubs have been hard-pressed to hold quality events and carry on the desirable and badly needed programs for their members.
One bit of advice to all of the show chairmen: Monitor your contract and relationship with the manager of your show site. There have been several instances of clubs believing that they had their show site and date cast in stone only to find out that there have been changes in management with corresponding changes in dates and services.
Previously I requested ideas from affiliate clubs for money-making projects to help fund the club’s activities. One of the best I received came from Great Lakes Poodle Club sent to me. It is printed below.
We hold an all breed obedience correction match once a year. If we can get the training center to rent we may try to do it more often.Saturday mornings work best.
It takes 10 people to run.
Match Chair/Secretary (handles pre-entries, the entry table and money) a Club Member, 3 Judges (Novice, Open & Util-ity) (members & friends),9 Stewards (members & friends) (judges and workers run their dogs for free),1 training center with equipment to rent (highest cost item),3 rings (Novice, Open & Utility) ,Sandwich platter from Subway to feed the workers (about $50) Some address size adhesive labels for ring numbers Entry forms and pens,Small white boards or paper to use as an entry tracking me-dium for the table stewardsFlyer with entry blank is updated and emailed to a core group of exhibitors and distributed at training center
Judging Begins at 11:30 a.m. (takes about 3.5-4 hours)No Walk-Ins after 1:00 p.m. Fees: Pre-Entry $7 ($6 for second entry of same dog); Gate Entry $8 ($7 for second entry of same dog) Classes offered: Novice; Open; Utility Enter Early! -- All classes are limited to 30 entries
Pre-entries are acknowledged and emailed an approximate ring time so people come in, run their dogs and leave.This helps keep the parking lot and crate area clearThis is amazingly simple and we would be willing to share details and “instructions”. We are always surprised at how easy it is and how few of us it takes to earn extra money.
Our members are required to provide volunteer services to the club to qualify for inclusion of the Breeder Refer-ral list, annual award plaques and discounts at our annual Health Clinic. (info on the Health Clinic to follow in an-other email)
Profit runs about $300-$400. Entries were down a tiny bit this year, but the temperature and humidity were sky high on our match date.
Karen KorabRecording SecretaryGreat Lakes Poodle Club of Chicago
A similar service could be used for a grooming clinic depend-ing upon space and the number of instructors available. To be successful, all dog clubs should have a budget and be run like a business if the needs of our sport and our breeds are to be met.Please, share your ideas with us and tell us how you have solved the problems.
If you need an overview of the approved future Poodle Spe-cialties, go to the PCA website and click on “Affiliate Clubs” You can then navigate to a calendar which will list all of the approved specialty shows and, where the information has been provided, the names of the judges.
I do my best to keep the current information supplied to Lisa Wolfe who has done such a wonderful job updating the cal-endar for us.Helen Lee James
The Poodle Papers
Page 9
From : Poodle Club of TulsaHi Leslie,Thought you’d like to see The Poodle Club of Tulsa’s booth at “Woofstock” in Tulsa, OK. “Woofstock” is a celebration and showcase for all the rescue clubs in Tulsa where current rescues can be seen and adoption processes started. We’ve done rescue now for about 20 years, and average about 50+ poodles a year.
We’re also taking our “Send In The Clowns” booth idea to AKC’s Canine Experience Day on September 20 in Enid, OK--with a different slant--breed specific education.
You may use any of these pictures you’d care to--several of them show the other participants’ booths, and the size of the gathering.Best,Mary Yeakey, President, Poodle Club of Tulsa
The Poodle Papers
Poodle Club of Massachusetts Working Certificate/Working Cer-tificate Excellent event, By Mia DiBenedetto
The Poodle Club of Massachusetts held its WC/WCX event on Saturday September 12, at the home of David and Betsey Kilmartin, in Glocester, R.I.
Rain was the order of the day but the poodles didn’t seem to mind the showery weather, and the rain certainly didn’t dampen the spirits of the handlers. The weather probably kept some of the spectators from coming by but we are in New England and have proved over again, we are a hearty lot! Competitors came from as far as Ohio and upstate New York to run their dogs in an excellent set of tests.
Land Series
Test judges Paul and Mary Rose Brin of Smithfield, R.I. set up four very nice series for the poodles. The land series for the Working Certificate event was two singles set on the side of a hill, with the first mark coming left to right over a stone wall, and falling just in the corner of the field along a small brook into a change of cover. The second land mark came right to left over another stone wall, falling just inside the corner of the field into light cover. Dogs ran diagonally down the hill to the marks with great enthusiasm.
There is no question that the award for the “biggest heart,” had to go Ready, Watch Me, Pamina, call name Mina, a toy poodle owned and handled by Betsey Kilmartin. Weighing just 4 pounds, this little dynamo marked both birds easily, and put her entire self into her retrieves. Mina managed to get the duck (which was twice her size and weight) up the hill from the first mark, but came up just short on the sec-ond. What a gal—she really tried with all her might, but the weight and size of the bird proved too much. The applause from the gallery was outstanding and well deserved!
The land series for the Working Certificate Excellent moved to a second field, which offered different challenges for the more experienced dogs. The first mark was launched from the woods over a stone wall. The launcher was completely hidden from view offering a very realistic hunting scenario. The bird was launched from left to right over a stone wall into cover. The second bird came right to left, again over a stone wall into cover. The dogs again ran from the top of the hill, down into the field below. Each mark had three changes of cover to challenge the dogs.
Land series over, everyone moved to the barn for some much welcomed New England Clam Chowder and Clam Cakes
provided by our hosts the Kilmartins. Poodle people sure know how to eat, there was chicken salad for the non-fish eaters, and one of the PCM members made the most amaz-ing Poodle-Decorated cup cakes I have ever seen! Lunch over, it was on to the Water Series for more.
Water SeriesThe Working Certificate water series was very straight for-ward. The first mark was thrown from the shore right to left into the corner of the pond. The second mark was thrown left to right into open water.
The Working Certificate Excellent marks were similar with greater swimming distance into the water with angle back throws.
Nineteen poodles were entered into the WC/WCX event. Six out of 10 poodles passed the WC test and in the WCX, two of nine poodles earned Working Certificate Excellent awards.
Entries represented Ohio, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.Despite the weather, the enthusiasm support-ing the poodle as a working retriever was perfect! Many in the gallery were first-time viewers to hunting poodles and I heard lots of cheering and admiration from all.
Qualifiers for the 2009 Poodle Club of Massachusetts WC/WCX event. From left to right: Handler Pat Rose with Harper & Olivia; Handler Richard A. Cal-lahan with Sky; Handler Danielle Rouleau with Wigeon and Ru-ger; Judges Mary Rose & Paul Brin; Handler Jack Combs with Ten and Handler Denise Herman with Lucy.
Page 10
Cont. on page 12
The Poodle Papers
Poodle Club of Massachusetts 2009
Photos by Luchi Gay & Mia DiBenedetto
Page 11
Cont. on page 12
The Poodle Papers
I would like to thank the Poodle Club of Massachusetts, es-pecially President Mary Lebet and WC/WCX Show Chair-man Judy Schwerdt for their continued support of working poodles. Our hosts Betsey and David Kilmartin created a paradise for us as the test grounds were magnificent! Thanks also should be awarded to those participants and guests who helped with the set-up and take down of the test.
WC/WCX Judges Paul and Mary Rose Brin, of New Eng-land Retrievers, worked tirelessly setting up and preparing for the tests. They put the handlers at ease, and worked to explain each scenario, giving everyone the benefit of their experience with training retrievers.
Both judges expressed excitement at being a part of the poo-dles ‘early’ field work and Hunt Testing in the U.S. and say they were thrilled to see so many smiles on so many faces.
This event showed the diversity of the poodle. The test shows the retrieving abilities of the dog and the versatility of the breed.
Thank you to all handlers and their poodles! We hope you enjoyed the day.
Congratulations to the Working Certificate winners:
JO Whirlwinds Majormajormajor UDX2,OMI, SH, WCX, Call Name: Harper, M, Standard 02/02/04, Breeder: Patricia Rose, Owner: Patricia Rose , Wadsworth,OH 44281CH Poo’Pla’s Lagavulin Sky, Call Name: Sky, M, Standard, 12/12/2005 , Breeder: Claudia A. Straitiff , Owner: Richard A. Callahan, Holden, MA 01520When the Gunsmoke Clears, CGC RN, JH, WC,WCX, Call Name: Ruger, M, Standard , 2/19/04 Breeder Arlene Mills, Owner: Danielle Rouleau & Ross LeBlanc, Athol, MA 0133Napoli Oneacmepoodlekit UDX, WC, Call Name: Olivia, F, Standard 02/05/01, Breeder: Judy Burgoyne, Owner: Patri-cia Rose, Wadsworth, OH 44281Stoney Brook D.WC, WCX, Call Name: Lucy, F, Stan-dard,10/30/2000, Breeder: Sandra Cointreau Levine, Owner: Denise Herman, Stanfordville, NY, 12581UKC CH Tintlot’s Classic First Stop, CD, RN, CGC,VC, WC, Call Name: Wigeon F, Standard, 08/13/05, Breed-er: Gloria Ogdahl, Owner: Danielle Rouleau , Athol, MA 01331
And congratulations to our Working Certificate Excellent winners:
JO Whirlwinds Majormajormajor UDX2,OMI, SH, WCX, Call Name: Harper, M, Standard 02/02/04, Breeder: Patricia
Rose, Owner: Patricia Rose , Wadsworth,OH 44281
Bibelot’s Tolka Hands Up MH, Call Name: Ten, F, Standard, 05/06/06, Breeder; Susan Fraser & Deb Drake, Owner: Jack Combs & Mia DiBenedetto, Wickford, RI 02852
2009 ESPN Show Dog Championship
Date Day Time (Eastern) Broadcast Network Show12/6/09 Sunday 5:30pm - 7:00pm Re-Air ESPN 2 Oklahoma City
Date Day Time (Eastern) Network Show2/6/2010 Saturday 8:00pm - 11:00pm
APLAKC/Eukanuba National Championship2/6/2010 Saturday 11:00pm - 2:00am
APLAKC/Eukanuba National Championship2/7/2010 Sunday 12:00pm - 3:00pm APLAKC/Eukanuba National Championship2/13/2010 Saturday 4:00pm - 7:00pm
APLAKC/Eukanuba National Championship2/18/2010 Thursday 8:00pm - 11:00pm
APLAKC/Eukanuba National Championship2/18/2010 Thursday 11:00pm - 2:00am
APLAKC/Eukanuba National Championship2/21/2010 Sunday 3:00pm - 6:00pm APLAKC/Eukanuba National Championship3/1/2010 Monday 8:00pm - 11:00pm
APLAKC/Eukanuba National Championship3/1/2010 Monday 11:00pm - 2:00am
APLAKC/Eukanuba National Championship
Page 12cont. from page 10
The Poodle Papers
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Greater Milwaukee Poodle Club Working Certificate and Working Certificate Wrap up. First off…I want to say THANK YOU to all the folks that helped at the GMPC WC/WCX. Our tests this year were held at Wern Valley Sportsman’s Club, a beautiful shooting preserve in Waukesha WI . The club house really added to the event this year and we were very thankful for it with the weather we had believe me! Pepsi Gilson and Toni Raden… and all the folks that gave all the donations of all the food, what can I say…GMPC does food great, the layout looked like a smorgasbord! The field workers were super! Many had not done this type of thing before, and were willing learners, as they had to learn how to use a Tangelo Tosser, a type of a sling shot device that threw the birds into a nice arc, with the tap of a foot, instead of a heave of an arm. The folks in the blinds also had to blow a duck call and shoot a blank load from a single shot, shot gun. Sounds easy…at times…but for those new to the game, it is can be very difficult, and then you have to hide behind a blind and not make a sound until the dog gets the bird, so as not to distract the dog…and do this in the mist/rain and wind… LIKE I SAID the workers were super!All also seemed to have a good time too, and that is im-portant, because camaraderie in the club is what makes this event special. Breed, Obedience, Agility, and Field people all coming together to play in the mud to help maintain the breed’s inborn instincts of a working dog. GMPC has always been supportive of performance pro-grams in the breed, and that is so important to maintain an all around dog. Bev Duerst was our Chief Marshal, Susanne Nash and Ann Helm were her assistant Marshal’s and also had a turn in the field at the gun stations. John Pittman, Jean Lazarus, Rosane Aman, Sally Flunker, Andrea Nepras, Lora DeSombre, Karen Slack, Guy Schaal, Deb Sadjak were in the field working and my set up guys were Pete Radnek, Crazy Mike, and Dennis Slack who helped with the setup tear down and field education of the workers. I hope the heck to not have forgotten anyone! We had 3 photographers too! Alissa from www.Pet-Person-alities.com
Shot photos as did John Carelli, (Dee is now calling him the Photography god!) and our own Dee Schaal did a good job with the “human interest” side for our GMPC website ( www.greatermilwaukeepoodleclub.org ) We had a nice entry of 17 poodles and 24 runs. There were 11 WCX entries, and 13 WC entries.We had 5 states represented as well, North Carolina , Texas , Minnesota , Michigan , and Wisconsin . All the dogs entered were standard poodles, as were the set up dogs, test dogs and the pick up dogs.So we had an all poodle review! The dogs that ran test were accomplished poodles and each was introduced by Bev prior to running their test dog assign-ment, sort of like a “parade of field dogs”. The accomplished test dogs were: Int CH&UKC CH HRCH UH UCD Call Me Ragtime Char-lie UD RE MH MX AXJ NAP NJP AAD JHD WCX VCX (Charlie)owned/handled by Jacquelyn Taylor CH Carlyn’s Neon Moon JH WCX (Chip) owned /handled by Joyce Carelli And Gary Scoval’s two dogs: HR Cosmic Mountain Scout SH, WCX ( Scout)And HR Cosmic Lakeland’s Le Beau SH, WCX, CGC (Beau)
Left to right: Judge Jean Granger, Ed & Melissa Wojciechowski with Kodi & Pearl, Cheryl & Antony Newman with Lambeau and Josie, Jaci Bowman & Woodie, Libby Erickson & Rider, Lin Gelbman with Tye & Cache, Gary Scovel & Callie, Jacquelyn Taylor with Jazz & Pasa, and Judge Doug Ken-nedy.
Cont. on page 14
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Page 14.
The weather cooperated and waited to down pour, during the lunch break when every one was inside, so that worked!The misting in the morning gave the feeling of a true hunting scenario, the light mist and wind that duck hunters think is great, as it gets the birds moving to nicer places, and during that time, the hunters hope they pass in front of their guns!Then the drying out in the afternoon, again was nice, all in the temperatures in the high 60’s, to pushing 70. The Judges, Jean Granger, and Doug Kennedy were thought-ful and fair with their setups, and their judging. Those that didn’t bring home a ribbon that day know what they need work on, those that did, should be proud of their ribbon as the dogs deserved it. The land marks were down a rise, first bird landing in very light cover, generally visible from the line, the second bird down, was at a 90+ degrees to the right of the first and a shorter mark falling into deeper cover, of a hay field that was cut 2 weeks ago, of mixed grass and alfalfa with the alfalfa having a growth spurt due to the rain we had the last week, so it was taller then we needed but the short grass between it made the marksdo-able.The same fall areas were used for the WCX and the WC, with the line moved up for the WC.There was some handling on the marks this year, but the dogs that marked well did well, and didn’t need the help.The dogs that relied on their noses to the birds had some trouble as the wind was in the blowing and swirling mode that caused some problems as the weather kept changing throughout the morning as the front moved through, which did change the test from what was originally set up…Mother Nature likes to do that sometimes and I guess that is why these things are called TESTS!We also had a bunch of barn swallows that were diving for bugs, that did distract a few dogs marking as well. The water marks were in a pond with several cuts into the banks, first bird being launched off from the left, second from a point to the right. The handler stood in an opening between some trees that prevented the dog cheating the bank and gave the marks a picture window effect, most of the dogs were successful on these marks, and it was all pretty much swimming water to and from the marks. After the tests were done we returned to the clubhouse for the ribbon ceremony with rosettes, duck bands and this year, I did some congratulatory certificates for the dogs that passed. We have been doing this for the new title winners at the GMPC Specialty and All Breed Obedience and Rally trial we host in June and they are well received, and use them
for our Parade of Champions at our Spring Specialty ( did I mention we are a busy club) so I thought why not here! After that we gathered with the qualifying dogs for a photo, and the 5th GMPC WC WCX was history…BUT the hunting poodle weekend was not done yet!Two of the handlers headed back to Minnesota, one to judge a hunt test, and the other to run in one on the next day…the rest went to the Badger State and WisIll Hunting Retriever Test at the Bong Rec Area, and many came home with passes and titles in all 3 levels of testing there…the Poodles out-numbered the Chesapeakes and Flat Coats at this weekends tests, and mostly because of the GMPC WC/WCX bringing them into the area on Friday a win win for all!Now for the nitty gritty… WCX Passes: 7 passed out of 11 HRCH Ben-Cher’s Kodiak Brown Bear SH WCX (Kodi): Ed Wojciechowski CH Lemerle Silk Cashmere JH WCX(Cache) Lin Gelbman Tudorose Lambeau WCX (Lambeau) Antony Neuman Int&UKC CH HR Osea Que Pasa CD RE SH NAJ HCT WCX(Pasa)Jacquelyn Taylor SHR Ben-Cher’s Proverbial Pearl JH WCX (Pearl ) Melissa Wojciechowski Tudorose Great Anna Stuart(Josie) Antony Newman Tudorose Blk Forest Calla Lily WC CGC( Callie) Gary Scovel WC Passes: 8 passed out of 13 Tudorose Lambeau WCX (Lambeau) Antony Neuman CH Lemerle Silk Cashmere JH WCX (Cache) Lin Gelb-man SHR Texas Rock’n Jazztime (Jazz)CD,RE,JH,MX,MXJ,AD,AJ,PJ3,PS2,PK2, WCX (Jaz) Jacquelyn Taylor Tudorose Great Anna Stuart(Josie) Antony Newman CH Lemerle Silk Tie (Tye) PP11734303 Lin Gelbman Int&UKC CH HR Osea Que Pasa CD RE SH NAJ HCT WCX (Pasa) Jacquelyn Taylor
cont. from page 13
Cont. on page 15
The Poodle Papers
Swags Runs Smooth As Silk CDX RN JH(Rider) Lizabeth Erickson CH UAgl Autumn Hill Oakwind Express RN NA NAJ FN AD SJ SG SS WC (Woodie) Jaci Bowman JACI BOWMAN GMPC 2009 WC/WCX Coordinator and Secretary
Judge to the left, Jean granger, to the right Doug Kennedy, Handler Jacquelyn Taylor, dog is Int&UKC CH HRCH Osea Que Pasa CD RE SH NAJ HCT WCX.
Antony Neuman and Tudorose Lambeau WCX.
L-R Pete Radnek (set up) Susanne Nash ( asst. mar-shal) Jean Granger (judge) Doug Kennedy(judge) Pepsi Gilson ( Chair) Gary Scoval, Jaci Bowman (secy) Joyce Carelli ( behind Jaci, you can see her head sort of LOL) and Helen Scoval...
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From : Poodle Club of Central California
‘Grooming for Beginners’ Poodle Club of Central California offered this groom-ing seminar in August, aimed at not just Poodle owners, but owners of any dog. This public education/outreach program
was a demonstra-tion-only semi-nar. Second Vice President Cheryl Braswell and De-Witt Bolden (much appreciated volun-teer) demonstrated the basics needed for all owners to be able to groom their pets, whether pure bred or mixed breed. The dogs used for their dem-onstrations were Miniature Poodles and a Shih Tzu in
pet trim, and as expected, these had outgoing personalities. With two grooming tables set up, these experts showed types of equipment and demonstrated how and when
to use each. They offered suggestions for safe sur-faces that would work for home grooming when the owner does not want to invest in a grooming table. Basic tips for care of nails, ears, and teeth, which are so important for the health and hy-
giene of our dogs, were carefully explained. Although no dog was actu-ally bathed, Cheryl and DeWitt had a large bucket filled with products and supplies, and the purpose of each was discussed. Several types of hair dryers were demonstrated. Participants received a written overview of the information cov-ered in the seminar plus a list of supplies and sources. All attendees expressed appreciation for the very practical presentation and the ques-
tion and answer clo-sure. Our Miniature Representative, Kathy Poe, Chairperson, was an equal partner in all of the planning for this club event but was unable to actually be a presenter due to a new litter. This event will be listed as part of our AKC ‘compliance’ requirements for ap-proval of the 2010 specialties, but the in-tent is to offer it again,
in a different area of the San Francisco Bay Area as there is obviously a need for this information. There is a possibility that it may be offered at a grooming shop so an actual bath can be demonstrated. We recommend that other affiliate clubs consider this type of outreach to the public as a way to share our expertise and improve pub-lic opinions about us and our sport.
Sally Vilas, President Poodle Club of Central California
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Happy Campers
By Joyce MillerPhotos by Steve Surfman
The 22 Poodle Campers that attended the Fall II session of Camp Gone to the Dogs take time out of their busy schedule to pose for a group shot.
Of the 135 dogs that attended the Fall II session of Camp Gone to the Dogs in September 2009 at Stowe, Vermont, there were 22 Poodles, the largest group of the 37 breeds represented. This camp is perfect for the versatile Poodle, with classes in all levels of agility, CGC prep-aration, competition obedience, doggie square dancing, flyball, freestyle dancing, jump chute, K9 disc, lure coursing, rally, recall, tracking, and tricks and games. The June Camp (AKA “The Big Camp”) in Marlboro, Vermont, adds dock diving, herding, hunting, and swimming to the schedule.
cont. on page 18
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Poodle Campers that attended the Fall II session of
Camp Gone to the Dogs 2009
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Page 19•Following is information on a study for Legg Calve Perthes Disease at Clemson University. Many people over the years have asked if there was a study for this.Please take the time to contact Alison Starr if you can help her with this study. I hope many Poodle Breeders will help in this study. Leslie
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Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease Study at Clemson University
Alison N. Starr, Ph.D.Research Assistant Professor
Clemson University51 New Cherry St; 319 BRC
office: 864.656.0191fax: 864.656.0393
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Working PoodlePage 22
For more information:“If you are interested in learning more about Tracking or how to get started in Tracking, contact Carol Pernicka at [email protected]” “The rules and guidelines for participating in the WC WCX can be found on the PCA website. If you are interested in learning more about the WC WCX or starting ba-sic retriever training, please contact Joyce Carelli at [email protected] or Linda Miller at [email protected]” THANKS EVERYONE. Claudia *photo by Jon Carelli
PCA April 2010“Want to see if your Poodle has instinct for retrieving? Check out the WC WCX Premium for more info. on how you can participate in an informal fun session conducted by the Working Poodle Committee at PCA 2010? “
PCA will be conducting an informal Field Aptitude Evaluation for anyone who wants to partici-pate during the WC/WCX test day in April. There will be a separate one page “flyer” included with the PLs. No need to sign up in advance - bring your poodle (any size) and sign up the morn-ing of the WC/WCX. We’ll explain the rules for WC/WCX, work with each dog (and owner) to see if they have the instincts and aptitude for field work. I know lots of folks are curious -- here’s the opportunity in an informal setting to see what their poodle will do with toys/bumpers/birds. Should be a fun experience!
Joyce Carelli
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PCA Specialty 2010 “OUT-DOOR EVENTS” UpdateSubmitted by Claudia Straitiff
Tracking and Hunting events just can’t be held indoors – so our team looks forward to good weather in April 2010! Please note that the AKC corresponding calendar week for PCA is one week later this year – and that means seven days closer to the sun!
We are always looking for volunteer help at these events. If
you would like to help out at Tracking, the Hunt tests or the WC WCX tests, please contact the chairmen or secretaries of the events for more information. More information will be available in the Premiums.
To our already existing committees and volunteers AS AL-WAYS we thank you for supporting our and our Poodles’ passion – playing outdoors!
POODLES’ NOSES TO THE GROUND AT PCA TRACKING DOG TEST!
It is “eight days of play” at PCA beginning with Tracking on Friday, April 23, 2010 in Elkton, MD. This year we will be adding Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX) events to our test in addition to the Tracking Dog (TD) events. The test will be limited to Poodles only. There will be 6 TD Tracks and 3 TDX tracks.
If you have been waiting to make the draw for a TD or TDX in your local area to no avail, we encourage you to enter at PCA as it is for Poodles only. [In the event that the number of entries exceeds the test limits, a random draw will be held on April 8 to determine test participants]. If one part of the test (TD or TDX) doesn’t fill and there are alternates for the other, tests may be substituted on a 2 (TD) for 1 (TDX) ba-sis.
The Tracking Tests will be held at the Fairhill Natural Re-source Management Area, Parking Lot #3 in Elkton, MD. The test site is about two hours (for those of us who drive faster ~ a little shorter) north from Salisbury. Joan Scott, PCA Board Member is the Chair for the event this year and Joyce Lindloff is the Chief Track Layer. Carol Stone is the Tracking Test Secretary.
Last year was the first year that the PCA Tracking Test was offered and the response by exhibitors and the gallery was enthusiastic. Having held our first test, we are now able to offer the next level of difficulty for trackers which demands more advanced nose work by the Poodles. We know that many tracking Poodles are working hard to get certified so that they can enter the event and we’re looking forward to watching them follow their noses to the glove at PCA!
For those that would like to come watch these marvelous Poodles of all sizes, we offer transportation from the main site to the tracking areas – and there are folks all around to explain the event.
If you’d like to volunteer to be a Tracklayer, (you’ll be need-ed both Thursday AND Friday), please contact Joyce Lind-
cont. on page 24
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loff, Chief Track Layers at [email protected]. You can get more information regarding test details by contacting Test Secre-tary, Carol Stone at [email protected].
HUNT UP SOME FUN AT PCA HUNTING RETRIEVER AND WC WCX TESTS
The AKC Hunting Retriever Test and the PCA sponsored Working Certifi-cate (WC) and Working Certificate Excellent (WCX) events will return to Salisbury, MD on Saturday April 24 and Sunday, April 25, 2010. Anat-idae Farm, the location for the events, enables easier access to test specta-tors and participants as well as con-venient parking for all.
This is a very special site and we are pleased to be invited back by Frank and Teri Durham who own Anatidae Farm. The Farm is conveniently located a mere 20 to 25 minutes driving time from downtown Salisbury. Directions and times of the events can be found in the Premium lists – but the events go all morning and usually end in the mid afternoon – so come on out and join us to see Poodles perform one of their historical tasks – bringing back the ducks for their owners.
The judges, Dave and Peggy Bauman, are already expressing their excitement at be-ing asked to judge the Poodles. Dave and Peggy are committed to making this an ex-tra special weekend for everyone involved and want new and experienced handlers alike to enjoy the experience.
The AKC Hunting Retriever Tests will be held on Saturday and will feature Poodle exhibitors in the Junior, Senior and Master Hunter venues. Our new format enables a first time participant or spectator to un-derstand the progression of skills needed to achieve these AKC titles. The tests will begin with the land elements of the Junior Hunter stake and will proceed to Se-nior and Master levels. After land elements are completed, the participants move to the water elements of the same stakes in the same order.
On Sunday – more Poodles – participate in the Working
Certificate (WC) and Working Certificate Excellent (WCX) tests. These tests are sponsored specifically by the Poodle Club of America and generally are a lot of fun for everyone involved.
Poodles retrieve ducks on both land and water – strutting their stuff and proud to be part of the day. They just love when you come out to cheer them on – so join us rain or shine at the Ana-tidae Farm.
Wondering what retrieving is all about? In case you get the bug to test your dogs skills at retriev-ing, on Sunday at the WC WCX test site we’re planning an infor-mal opportunity for folks to see if their Poodles have the instinct for birds and retrieving. The WC WCX Premium list will carry more detail about the opportu-nity. We hope you can come!
Contact Joyce Carelli (WC WCX Chairman) at [email protected], Linda Miller (Hunt Test Chairman) at [email protected], or Claudia Straitiff/Dana Stewart (Pro-gram Directors) at [email protected] for more informa-tion.
* Photos by Steve Surfman
cont. from page 23
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* Photos by Steve Surfman
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CHOOSING AN AGILITY PROSPECTPoodle breeders and owners are fond of saying that their puppies or dogs would make great agility dogs. For breed-ers who have never trained and campaigned an agility dog, “great agility prospect” can be translated into “not show quality.” For the poodle owner who has not trained an agility dog, “he’d be great at agility” means the dog jumps on and off the furniture and on guests with enthusiasm. Although either of these might well be a great agility dog, the real cri-teria in judging a prospect comes down to mental and physi-cal soundness and that quality we call “drive.”
Starting with physical soundness, obvious requirements are good hips and knees. In the adult dog, hips should be x-rayed and examined by a professional to rule out hip dysplasia. If buying a miniature or standard puppy, buying from a breeder who OFA’s their breeding stock increases the chances of get-ting good hips in the offspring. Especially in toy and minia-ture poodles, luxating patellas are common. Knees should be nice and tight, with no squishy popping sounds when the joint is manipulated. Severely bad knees can even be diag-nosed in puppies by a knowledgeable veterinarian. If start-ing with an adult dog, having hips and knees checked before starting agility training can keep a trainer from wasting time with a dog that may not be able to hold up to the rigors of jumping.
Although many dogs which compete successfully in agility do not have the soundest builds, agility trainers should have some knowledge of desirable conformation. “Good angles” in the shoulder and rear end are important. This refers to the angles made by the leg bones when viewed from the side. Front legs should come out from under the dog at the deepest part of his chest, and not appear to come out from under the chin, when viewed from the side. The shoulder blades should lay back into the back, and not be angled up into the neck. Angulation in the rear ideally should be adequate without being over-done, as is often seen in standard and toy poodles in the breed ring. Dogs whose hocks extend in an exagger-ated way well beyond their rumps, when viewed from the side, and those with “sickle hocks” (many dogs have both) are generally weaker in the rear, and don’t have the fast ac-celeration and quickness in maneuvering that make for great agility dogs. Ideally, the rear pastern should be perpendicu-lar to the ground when the dog stands naturally (un-posed). In a dog with “sickle hocks,” this bone is angled under the dog when he stands naturally.
A nice long stride, and not short choppy movement, will make the dog more efficient with his movement. Some have
described good movement in a dog by saying that you could “set a glass of water on his back” when the dog trots, and not spill any. This indicates good “shock absorbers,” which good angles provide. Some dogs, due to their short stride, give the impression of moving very fast because there is a lot of activity when they run, but they are deceptively slow.
Excessive width between the front legs and “pigeon toes” (feet turned in) are particularly undesirable traits, and are “widely” seen in toy and miniature poodles in the breed ring. Wide elbows are easily felt by running the hands, perpen-dicular to the ground, down the sides of the dog’s shoulders. Elbows shouldn’t be felt when doing this. Wide fronts often translate into shoulder strains and soreness in the agility dog, as the shoulders get quite a pounding in agility. In modera-tion, narrowness between the front legs, some “easty-westy” (toes pointing away from each other) in the front or rear legs, and “cow hocks” (the hock joints close to each other) are not in and of themselves bad traits for an agility dog. They gen-erally make the dog quicker in direction changes, not only in running courses, but in doing weave poles.
The agility prospect should be able to see well. While a veterinary ophthalmologist can determine if a dog is blind, or has some progressive eye disease such as cataracts or pro-gressive retinal atrophy, he cannot determine if a dog has good eyesight. Conditions that can be diagnosed and cor-rected in humans, such as near- and far-sightedness, cannot be diagnosed in a dog, but they definitely exist. These con-ditions are one of the leading causes of stutter-stepping, or taking off too soon or too late when jumping. The dog can see the obstacle, but just can’t determine exactly how far he is from it, leading to lack of confidence in his take-off point. Many act a bit frantic in their jumping. These dogs may compensate by jumping higher in order to clear the jump, but they lose time doing this, and it puts more strain on their bodies over time. Faulty depth perception can sometimes be observed in puppies—they jump up on a step and miss and hit their chins, or take a big leap to jump over a door facing, and land on it instead. Puppies are clumsy, and one incident shouldn’t lead to a diagnosis, but I’ve had a couple of toy poodles with this problem, and this behavior could be observed at an early age.
Another trait I like in an agility dog is physical sensitivity. In puppies, this can be determined by pinching the skin be-tween the toes or the ear flap with finger nails, and seeing if the puppy jerks the foot or head away or cries out. Some dogs are notoriously “tough.” This can play out in a dog that doesn’t mind knocking bars down and perhaps bailing off the highest obstacles—he doesn’t feel it or doesn’t care. They can also be insensitive to correction, which means the trainer has to work a lot harder for the same results.
cont. on page 26
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As far as being good at agility, it doesn’t matter a great deal whether the dog has an out-going personality or not. So long as the dog is not overly fearful of, or aggressive towards, people or other dogs, the good agility dog usually gets ex-cited about doing agility and eventually starts ignoring ev-erything but the obstacles and his handler. I prefer a friendly dog just because that is the type of dog I like to live with, but a dog that is reserved with strangers and doesn’t care for other dogs can do just as well. I would certainly avoid a psycho dog that is disabled by fear or aggression towards people or dogs, but a reserved dog that simply does not care for anyone but its own family can do fine. Dogs that are extremely fearful of loud sounds will have a harder time at agility. The teeter IS going to bang, the PA system is going to crackle, dogs are going to bark, and people will holler at agility trials. But many sound-sensitive dogs are very good at agility—they get excited enough about it to tune out the noise. A side note about sound-sensitive dogs: they never seem to mind their OWN barking!!
On a doggy personality scale of very needy to extremely in-dependent, I would err on the side of needy. It is harder to get the independent ones to pay attention and respond to the handler’s directions. The independent ones tend to want to make up their own course, go investigating sights and smells, or just leave the ring if it suits their fancy. When looking at a litter or assessing an adult prospect, the needy ones fol-low a person around and seek attention. The independent ones usually wander off to investigate their surroundings. I like boldness (meaning not wimpy—a dog with courage), as they are less tentative when doing contact equipment, and are more forgiving of correction and our blunders as agil-ity trainers/handlers. However, boldness has its drawbacks. These dogs are equally happy jumping off the top of the A-frame and forgetting to wait for the teeter to go down before leaving, so training and maintaining contact criteria is harder in the bold dog.
The last factor that a great agility dog has is an intangible quality we call “drive.” It is “the need for speed.” It is that quality that causes a dog to give its all—100% all the time. It might be the most important quality, and the hardest to identify in a prospect. The opposites of “drive” are lazi-ness, lethargy, or being laid-back. Great drive can make up for deficiencies in build and general temperament. When I have a litter of puppies, I watch for certain behaviors that will give me a clue as to a dog’s drive. The puppy that is in the biggest hurry to go outside or come in might have drive (or it might just be very dominant!) I stage “puppy races” where I have the litter with me at one end of the yard, then I “dash” (those who know me must take this with a grain of salt) to the other end of the yard, and see which one gets
to me first. The puppy that is not interested in playing the game, or is fastest getting AWAY from me, is not the one I want!!! That puppy would be too independent to suit me. The fastest puppy in the litter may not be the best agility dog. The fastest puppy which uses his speed to cooperate with me is the one I want. Prey drive is an integral part of the drive we want in agility. I roll a toy out in front of the puppy, or drag a toy on a rope around for the puppy to see. The puppy I want races after it and pounces on it, and it’s icing on the cake if he heads back my way with it. I don’t want the one that saunters over to check it out. I want a puppy or dog that can be enticed to play tug-of-war. Being able to use toys as “targets” in training is valuable, as is being able to dissipate stress, rev the dog up, or reward the dog with toy-retrieving and tugging. Dogs that run back to the handler to grab a toy and tug ARE running back to the handler—a much-needed skill! That being said, a great agility dog doesn’t need to be “revved up.” They blast off the start line because they love to go, go, GO!
Agility as a sport encompasses a wide variety of skill levels, both in the dogs and in the handlers, and can be enjoyed by serious competitors as well as weekend “duffers.” Many dogs which will never be “great” at agility nevertheless ben-efit from it. Many dogs gain confidence when given an ac-tive job, and it is great exercise for both dogs and people. The social aspect of meeting friends for training or for an agility weekend is incentive enough for many people to be fans of the sport. So, this article on choosing an agility dog is not meant to dissuade anyone from giving agility a try, but might help breeders selling dogs to agility trainers, and trainers looking to “upgrade” their agility experience with a more competitive dog.
Joann Neal
cont. from page 25
ABRAHAM LINCOLN:
And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
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Vaccine for Canine In-fluenza Virus Expected to Help Prevent Outbreaks“Dukes Up,” a young black-and-white Greyhound, was on track to becoming a racing champion in April 2005, when a sudden, terrifying outbreak of canine influenza struck Dairy-land Greyhound Park in Kenosha, Wis., where Duke lived. Over a two-week period, 1,200 dogs at Dairyland were ex-posed to this highly contagious virus.
“First, two Greyhounds started coughing,” says Jenifer Barker, D.V.M., senior state veterinarian for the Wisconsin Division of Gaming. “The coughing gradually went through all the kennel buildings. For the majority of dogs, a cough was their only clinical sign. However, of the 950 dogs with an active cough, 27 developed high fever or pneumonia.”
Duke was one of the dogs with pneumonia. His cough be-came moist and congested, and was accompanied by 106-degree fever. Duke developed a bloody nasal discharge, and after being treated with a broad spectrum antibiotic and in-travenous fluids, he improved within 24 hours.
“I didn’t think he was going to make it,” Barker says. “Dogs in other locations that had acquired severe secondary infec-tions with the influenza usually died within 24 hours from hemorrhagic pneumonia and septic shock.”
Duke, along with all the dogs at Dairyland, did pull through. In 2008, he retired from a racing career and was the last “in-fluenza dog” at the race track to be adopted into a home.Linda Cliffel, the intake coordinator at Greyhounds Only Inc. in southeastern Wisconsin, coordinated Duke’s adop-tion. “Duke never had any lingering damage,” she says. “You would never have known that he was so sick.“
Discovering CIV The canine influenza virus (CIV) was discovered in the Unit-ed States in 2004. A new preventive vaccine for CIV, devel-oped by Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, became available last June. It is expected to help control outbreaks.
Cynda Crawford, D.V.M., Ph.D., clinical assistant professor of shelter medicine at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, had been tracking severe respiratory outbreaks at Greyhound racetracks throughout the country. “We had our first real occurrence in Jacksonville, Florida, in January 2004,” says Crawford. “This was our opportunity to dissect what was going on with these mysterious respiratory outbreaks.”
Eight of the 23 dogs monitored by Crawford in Jacksonville died. Crawford’s team collected samples from the infected dogs and consulted with Edward J. Dubovi, Ph.D., profes-sor of virology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dubovi’s team isolated a virus in the collected samples that was new to dogs. Dubovi and Crawford worked closely with experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion (CDC) in determining that the Jacksonville dogs were afflicted with canine influenza, a type A influenza, subtype H3N8 virus.
The CDC performed the molecular characterization of the influenza virus from the sick racing greyhounds. The mo-lecular analysis revealed that the virus had evolved from the equine influenza virus.
“The discovery was novel because this is one of the rare ex-amples of the transfer of an entire influenza virus from its natural host, the horse, to another host, the dog,” explains Crawford. “The final blow was that this virus was easily transmitted among dogs. It had adapted over time so that it no longer needed the original host to spread.”
Crawford and Dubovi initially felt that the virus was unique to the racing Greyhound population. However, ongoing sur-veillance identified thousands of non-Greyhound dogs with CIV in 30 states and the District of Columbia.
The virus isn’t breed- or age-specific, but “setting specific,” in that it impacts dogs that live or work in close proxim-ity to large numbers of dogs, Crawford says. Examples are dogs living in shelters, boarding and training kennels, or pet shops, or those that frequent grooming salons or day care centers.
CIV infections have been documented in thousands of dogs, and Dubovi and Crawford are concerned that the virus could become pandemic. “We’re dealing with a virus that has adapted to dogs through a series of mutations,” Dubovi says. “If the virus continues to circulate in dogs unchecked, it’s like trying to predict pandemic flu. The possibility exists that the virus will become more adapted to dogs. Consequently, the virus could spread even more frequently than it does cur-rently.”
Canine influenza virus is considered an emerging disease, making dogs of any breed, age or vaccination status suscep-tible to infection due to a lack of pre-existing immunity. The virus has an incubation period of two to four days before clinical signs appear but is highly contagious before signs
cont. on page 28
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New Poodle JudgesMr. Wayne Harmon-Minneapolis, MN
Mrs. Marilyn Dromgoole-Berkeley, CA
Mrs. Cindy /Vogels-Greenwood Village, CO
Ms Susie Osburn- Las Vegas, NV
Mrs. Anne Savory Bolus- Apison,TN
Mr. Carl Yochum-Memphis, TN
appear. The peak shedding period, when dogs transmit the virus, is from day two to four, though viral shedding may continue for up to 10 days.
CIV is spread by aerosolization of respiratory secretions, or by its hallmark cough. It also can be spread by direct con-tact with infected dogs or contaminated inanimate objects. Though there is no evidence of transmission of the virus from dogs to humans, dogs can become infected by people moving among infected and uninfected dogs without proper precautions.
For many years, CIV was confused with Bordetella bron-chiseptica, more commonly known as kennel cough. Ken-nel cough was a natural diagnosis, given the explosive onset of the coughing signs within a short period. According to Crawford, about 80 percent of influenza-infected dogs have clinical disease, and 20 percent are subclinically infected. Exposed dogs must be considered an infectious risk, regard-less whether they show signs of respiratory infection.
The cough is usually not the dry cough associated with Bor-detella. Dogs infected with CIV typically develop a moist, congested cough that can last from 10 to 30 days.
“In most dogs, the clinical signs are relatively mild,” says Lesley King, director of the intensive care unit at the Univer-sity of Pennsylvania Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
“If the virus primarily attacks the upper respiratory tract, most dogs will simply develop a nasty cough that can go on a few weeks and then gradually clear up. However, in the ICU, we see a subset of dogs that develop pneumonia caused by severe viral infection of the lungs, often with secondary bacterial infections.”
Ten to 20 percent of dogs, regardless of breed, age or health status, may develop secondary pneumonia, Crawford says. These dogs usually require hospitalization. Overall, the mor-tality rate for canine influenza is less than 8 percent; how-ever, in dogs with pneumonia, some studies have indicated it is as high as 44 percent.
New Preventive CIV Vaccine Unfortunately, CIV cannot be distinguished from other ca-nine respiratory diseases based on clinical signs alone. “The most important part of the diagnosis process is going to be a health history,” says King. “Is this a dog that has been ex-posed to CIV by being boarded at a kennel or placed in a shelter? The majority of animals that I have seen with ca-nine influenza have a history compatible with potential ex-posure.”
The best approach for diagnosis of canine influenza is col-lection of nasal swabs and serum samples, similar to those gathered by Crawford in Florida. The swabs are used for detection of virus in acutely infected dogs, and the serum samples are used for detection of CIV-specific antibodies as a confirmatory test. Swabs should be collected from the nose and throat of dogs with clinical signs for one to three days to coincide with peak virus shedding. Positive results are most likely correct, but negative results may be falsely negative due to critical timing of swab collection with peak virus shedding.
No specific treatment exists for dogs infected with canine influenza virus. The American Veterinary Medical Asso-ciation recommends treatment that is largely supportive. Conscientious animal care and nutrition help dogs build an effective immune response. The nasal discharge, which most likely represents a secondary bacterial infection, is quite of-ten treated with a broad spectrum antibiotic. In the more se-vere form of the disease, pneumonia usually responds best to hydration via intravenous fluids and a broad spectrum an-tibiotic.
CIV has proved to be highly contagious, so all dogs thought to be infected or exposed to the virus should be quarantined from other dogs. “Infected dogs are contagious for up to 10 days, so a 14-day quarantine counting from the first day of
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clinical signs should be sufficient,” says Crawford.
A preventive vaccine for canine influenza virus, made from the inactivated virus, was released last June. The vaccine will aid in the control of canine influenza virus infection, type A, subtype H3N8.
Studies conducted by Intervet/ Schering-Plough Animal Health indicate that the vaccine can reduce the incidence and severity of lung lesions, as well as the duration of coughing and viral shedding. The vaccine is recommended for healthy dogs at least 6 weeks of age, and it can be given annually as a component of existing respiratory disease vaccine protocols to ensure more comprehensive viral protection.
“Not all dogs should be given this vaccine,” cautions Craw-ford. “This is a lifestyle vaccine that is probably best-suited for dogs at risk for exposure to the virus — those frequently boarded or housed in group facilities. Vaccination should also be considered for dogs that live in communities where canine influenza outbreaks have been reported. Increasing community immunity by vaccinating more dogs will help stop transmission of the virus.
“The vaccine may not be appropriate for a housedog that stays at home and goes for walks around the neighborhood, but we are a mobile society and our dogs frequently travel with us. If you are traveling to an area where CIV is preva-lent, then the risk for exposure increases and warrants con-sideration of preventive measures such as vaccination.”
Despite Crawford’s suggestion that the vaccine should not become part of the annual vaccination regimen for all dogs, she is optimistic that the vaccine will help keep canine influ-enza under control and limit its transmission from facility to facility and community to community. “I’m hopeful that the vaccine will be put to good use and help dogs everywhere that are housed in kennels and other environments with large numbers of dogs,” she says.
Editor’s Note: Please note that canine influenza A subtype H3N8 virus is different from the influenza A subtype H1N1 virus (swine flu) that affects humans. Humans are not at risk for contracting canine influenza virus.
SidebarSigns of Canine Influenza Virus“All dogs are susceptible to the canine influenza virus (CIV),” says Edward J. Dubovi, Ph.D., professor of virol-ogy at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. “It affects dogs of all breeds and ages. Fifty to 80 percent of exposed dogs will show some signs of the flu.”
Clinical signs of CIV include:• Green nasal discharge;• Persistent, moist cough that often begins late at night; and • Low- to high-grade fever.
Some dogs become lethargic and may experience loss of ap-petite. Dogs with the flu may cough for up to 30 days. Veteri-nary researchers recommend that owners call their veterinar-ian at the first sign of coughing.
Dogs in shelter facilities, boarding and training kennels, day care centers, veterinary clinics, or pet stores are at highest risk for CIV exposure. Cynda Crawford, D.V.M., Ph.D., clinical assistant professor of shelter medicine at the Uni-versity of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, says the influenza virus can live on surfaces of dog dishes, toys and even kennels for up to two days, on clothing for one day, and on hands not properly washed for up to 12 hours.
Crawford suggests that owners do not bring dogs that poten-tially have been exposed to the virus to public gatherings. Avoid taking them to dog classes, groomers, day care centers or dog shows. “The dog may not appear ill, but he could be infected, and thus could expose many other dogs to the virus” she says.
SidebarQuarantine Steps for Handling a CIV Outbreak
The Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medi-cine and the University of California-Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program stress the importance of proper outbreak management to prevent the spread of canine influenza virus in kennel and shelter environments from the greater canine population. If an outbreak occurs, infected animals should be put in quarantine and isolation to help reduce virus dis-semination. Steps of adequate isolation include:• Assign limited, designated staff to enter quarantine/isolation area;• Staff should wear separate jumpsuits (full clothing coverage), gloves, boots or shoe covers. Clothing can be cleaned by washing with detergent at normal temperatures;• Foot baths may be used, but should not be consid-ered virus-proof; • Maintain separate areas for cleaning, feeding and treatment supplies; • Keep ventilation as separate as possible; and• Be sure dogs have separate kennels and do not share common air space.
After a 14-day quarantine and isolation period, facilities
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should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
Sources: University of California-Davis Koret Shelter Medi-cine Program and Iowa State University College of Veteri-nary Medicine.
*Used with permission from the Purina Pro Club, Nestle Pu-rina Pet Care Poodle History
Submitted by Sharon Finney
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P.C.A. Rescue
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Meet the BreedsMy First experienceCindy Crawley
The AKC’s Meet the Breeds event was held on October 17 and 18 at the Javits Center in New York City. Poodle Club of America was very well represented both days with miniature and standard poodles and their owners in atten-dance. Over the course of the two days, 36,000 people paid $10 each to see 160 breeds of purebred dogs, 41 breeds of purebred cats, more than 100 vendors, several speakers and demonstrations including agility and conformation.
By the end of the first day, it seemed as though we had spoken to every single person who walked into the Javits Center. The people were curious, friendly and respectful; most asked our permission before they touched our dogs. The poodle good-will ambassadors included two white standards, one in show coat!, a black standard, two white minis and a black mini. Coin-cidentally, all the poodles on Saturday, the day that I was there, were bitches.
The booth was a pipe-and-drape affair, fronted by two draped eight foot tables where the poodles held court. The back wall of the booth’s drapery was covered with post-ers of poodles retrieving, doing agility, and in conforma-tion competition. A brochure which detailed the PCA breed standard and provided information on how to find a repu-table breeder and purebred rescue had been prepared and was passed out to interested individuals. Our supply of bro-chures was quickly exhausted.
We wore buttons made up for each of us in the booth which read “Just say NO to designer dogs!” These buttons gener-ated quite a bit of discussion between us and the lay public. Although some “got it” conceptually, many of them wanted to know why we were against designer dogs. Although we repeated ourselves time and time again, the repetition was worth it as we made the case against designer dogs to so many people. Most were ultimately convinced by our argument, although one woman walked off seeming to be a bit miffed. Maybe she owned a ‘doodle.’ The buttons were very coveted by people representing some of the other breeds that are frequently bastardized, the Lab and Golden
people in particular.
We were so very busy in the booth that we scarcely had time to visit the other booths. I saw just a fraction of what was there on my way in and out of the building. I never did see any of the cat exhibits. I saw a few high-end vendors, in particular one booth that sold gorgeous collars and leads adorned with Swarovski crystals and another that displayed beautiful shoes with dog designs on the toes.
From what I was able to see, all the booths were occupied with both human and canine representatives Some of the breed folks dressed in costumes that reflected their breeds; the Pharaoh Hound people were decked out in Egyptian gowns and headdresses. Some of the Terrier folks got into the Wizard of Oz mode with Dorothy, ruby-slippers and all, and the Tin Man in attendance. (Here is a quiz – what breed of terrier was Toto? Find the answer on the last page ). The Black Russian Terrier folks had a mosque turret decorating their booth, while the Labrador Retriever people had a big bed in theirs. The best “look-alike” representative of a breed had to have been the woman who had parted her hair high on top of her head into two fly-away pig tails. I laughed out loud when I looked down at the fluffy white dog on lead with her, with its high set fly-away ears perfectly mimicked by her hairdo. I wished for a camera. For the life of me, I cannot remember what rare breed she claimed this little dog was.
In the booth, we talked to people about “tiny teacup” poodles and “Royal” standard poodles. It seemed that everyone’s grandmother once had had a “teacup” toy. We explained that no such size poodle existed and that often these terms are fancy buzz words for expensive pets. We agreed with all the people who said that poodles were very smart dogs. We explained the ”fancy show clip“ to anyone who asked. We encouraged people to use the AKC or PCA website to find a reputable breeder or to find a purebred rescue if they wanted a dog, rather than the many random Internet puppy broker websites.
I arrived, having driven up to New York from Baltimore that morning, at 10:30, missing the start by thirty minutes. The next time I looked at my watch, it was 4:15. The venue closed promptly at 5PM. The poodles had done their jobs as goodwill ambassadors perfectly. Of course. My Rosie got a double cheeseburger on the Jersey turnpike, curled up in her crate and slept soundly all the way back to Baltimore. It was quite an experience and one that we would gladly do again.
The answer to the Wizard of Oz question is: The author, L. Frank Baum did not specify ”Toto”’s breed in the book, The Wizard of Oz. In the movie, “Toto” was played by a female Cairn terrier.
The Poodle Papers
Meet the Breeds 2009 • October - New York City
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© Leslie Newing 2009
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P.C.A. Foundation News
WIN A SCOOTER @ PCA 2010
Take a chance on winning this terrific mini-scooter and support our Poodle Foundation fund raising efforts! Drawing to be held at PCA. You don’t need to be present to win. Your entry receipt provided by return mail. Checks should be made out to the Poodle Club of America Foundation.
Please send your check to:Nancy McGee
208 Crosbytown Rd.Quitman, GA 31643-5795
Tickets $50.00 per ticket* Note shipping in the Continental USA only.
MANY THANKS FROM THE POODLE FOUNDATIONSUPPORTING BETTER HEALTH FOR THE BREED WE LOVE
Tickets $50.00 per ticket
The Poodle Papers
Page 35PCA FOUNDATION SEMINAR VIDEO:
POODLE TEMPERAMENT
Spooky, silly, nasty or bouncing-off-the-walls. We’ve all heard about (or met!) poodles who might fit such labels, but we also know that good poodles can’t be topped as canine companions. So how would you describe proper poodle temperament? How might it differ from other breeds? And how important is heredity versus environment in shaping temperament? How about color differences? Sex differenc-es? How can we improve temperament through our breed-ing programs? The 1990 Poodle Club of America Foundation annual semi-nar featured these and other questions in a wide ranging discussion on poodle temperament. Del Dahl moderated a panel of respected breeders including Pat Deshler (Deshler Miniatures), John Fowler (Summermist Standards), Joan Scott (Wissfire Toys) and Glenna Carlson (Ascot Standards). After a short presentation by each panel member, Del opened the floor to the audience. The resultant exchanges were fasci-nating—and fun as well. For example, as breeders weighed in on sex differences in temperament, Joan Scott said, “If you get a male puppy during the housebreaking phase and he has an accident, you find it right in front of you in the hall or by the door. If you have a female, trust me, you won’t find it till you do spring housecleaning!”
You can experience this discussion yourself, with its wisdom and thought-provoking ideas in DVD (two VHS copies still available at press time) for $20 (add $3.00 for foreign orders). Send orders (check, MC or VISA) to Allen Kingsley, 3311 Kingfisher Ln., Denton, TX 76209. [email protected]. For an order form, see The Poodle Papers, Summer, 2009 (pg. 33-34), www.poodleclubofamerica/pub2. Watch upcoming newsletter issues for highlights from other seminar videos.
submitted by Pat Forsyth and Nancy McGee
UPDATE ON PCA 2010 SEMINAR AND HEALTH TESTING
PCA FOUNDATION SEMINARTuesday, April 27, Wicomico Civic Center, DaNang Room
9:00-9:30 a.m. Registration9:30-10 a.m. Introduction and Foundation News 10 a.m.-noon and 1-2:30 p.m. – What Everyone Needs to Know About Canine Vaccines and Vaccination Programs. Our featured speaker, Dr. Ronald D. Schultz, is Professor and Chair of Pathobiological Sciences at the School of Vet-erinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Schultz is widely recognized for his expertise and research in immunology and vaccinology, and he’s an excellent speaker! During the day, we will also have updates on PCA Foundation-supported poodle health research and a brief session on planning for the welfare of our dogs if they should outlive us.
TESTING OFFERED AT WICOMICO CIVIC CENTER
• April 27: Blood draw for ongoing research at the University of Missouri (epilepsy) and NIH (size/form/growth and cancer genetics). NIH is also seeking samples from white female Standard Poodles 5 years old and older for a new DNA study to help determine why whites don’t get the toe cancer sometimes seen in black Standards. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.• April 27: OptiGen prcd-PRA testing. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.• April 28: CERF clinic. $30 pre-paid. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (pre-registration information below)• April 29-30: (tentative) Texas A&M heart screen-ing for atrial septal defect in Standard Poodles. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (pre-registration information below)• VetGen DNA test kits for vWD will be available all week at a reduced cost of $99, with OFA registration for $7.50.• AKC DNA test kits will be available all week.
To pre-register for CERF and heart clinics, contact Tom Carneal at [email protected], 660-582-4955 or 25904 State Hwy. EE, Maryville, MO 64468. Pre-registration deadline is April 1, 2010. Walk-ins are welcome at the show if clinic slots are available. Submitted by Pat Forsyth
ANNIE DILLARD:
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
The Poodle Papers
News From OptiGen
During the 3rd quarter of 2009 (July 1-September 30, 2009) OptiGen tested 36 Dwarf Poodles for PRA, 123 Miniature Poodles for PRA and 102 Toy Poodles for PRA. The breakdown is as follows:
Total Dwarf Poodles tested - 36Normal - 17Carrier - 19Affected - 0
Total Miniature Poodles tested - 123Normal - 102Carrier - 21Affected - 0
Total Toy Poodles tested - 102Normal - 63Carrier - 37Affected - 2
*the US comprises 25% of the total number of Poodles be-ing tested this quarter.
Countries testing this quarter include: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom and USA.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.
Sincerely,Becky IddingsAdministrative Support Associate
OptiGen, LLCCornell Business & Technology Park767 Warren Road, Suite 300Ithaca, NY 14850
phone: 607-257-0301fax: 607-257-0353email: [email protected]: www.optigen.com
AKC CANINE HEALTH CONFERENCE
The AKC Canine Health Foundation 2009 National Parent Club Canine Health Conference was held Oc-tober 23-25 in St. Louis. This unique event, spon-sored by Nestle Purina PetCare, offered presentations by leading scientists on the latest advances in canine health research, as well as breakout discussions on is-sues critical to breeders, such as “Genetic Tests: How to Interpret Results and Incorporate Them into Your Breeding Program.” The PCA Foundation will sum-marize conference highlights in The Poodle Papers and on the PCA Web site’s Foundation page.
DNA test kits for vWD are available now for $100.00
Payable to The Poodle Club of America Foundation.
Please send your check to:Nancy McGee
208 Crosbytown Rd.Quitman, GA 31643-5795
Important Notice for Customers Ordering DNA Based Tests !!!
The FTA cards which are used to collect the DNA sam-ples for laboratory processing are currently out of stock and back ordered. The manufacturer is unable to pro-vide an estimated ship date. As a result, the OFA is tem-porarily suspending accepting any new orders. As soon as we get a firm ship date, we will post the information and resume order processing. Orders already accepted and in the queue will be processed as soon we receive the FTA cards. We appreciate your patience during this delay.
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The Poodle Papers
Submitted by Tom Carneal
American Kennel Club News Article
AKC® Announces Enhancement to Full Litter Registration Process
Date of Article: November 17, 2009
The American Kennel Club® is pleased to announce the en-hancement of its Full Litter registration option which allows breeders to register all puppies in a litter to themselves for a reduced fee. For no additional fee, AKC will now allow breeders to assign the limited designation to a dog after reg-istration through the first transfer. The dog must have been first registered through the Full Litter Registration process. All breeders of the dog have to agree to add the limited des-ignation.
“By utilizing Full Litter Registration, breeders are not only getting the best value for themselves, they are contributing to the long term well being of the American Kennel Club by registering all the puppies in their litter,” said AKC Vice President of Registration David W. Roberts. “In addition, new puppy owners will know they are bringing home an AKC registered puppy.”
Breeders can also request limited registration when the ini-tial application for registration is submitted. As an additional enhancement these new transfers will receive a complimen-tary 60-day trial of the AKC Pet Healthcare Plan if not pre-
viously activated for the dog. The trial plan offers coverage for unexpected accidents or illnesses up to $1,500 ($500 per incident).
Breeders who register a litter using Full Litter Registration between now and December 31, 2009, will also receive a special $20 pedigree discount coupon to apply towards their next purchase of an AKC-Certified pedigree. The coupon will be sent to breeders after the completion of their Full Litter Registration.
AKC first implemented the Full Litter Registration option in 2006 at the request of AKC breeders who wanted the op-tion to register a litter and all its puppies in one easy step. This benefits breeders by eliminating the individual litter puppy fee, reducing puppy registration fees and providing discounted pedigrees for each puppy in the litter. Full Litter Registration also offers breeders a 35 percent discount on registration fees (based on litter of five puppies); a stream-lined process to complete the entire registration; and the ability to select each puppy’s name, ensuring kennel names are used correctly.
The Full Litter Application and the Application to Designate Limited Status can be found at the following links:
AKC Full Litter Registration ApplicationApplication to Designate Limited StatusFor more information please contact AKC Customer Service at [email protected] or 919-233-9767.
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The Poodle Papers
“All PCA Foundation Seminar videos are now available on DVD. To give you a better idea of the wealth of knowledge and wisdom offered by these seminars, the PCA Foundation will be publishing some program highlights in the Poodle Papers. The Fall issue will feature POODLE TEMPERAMENT, the panel discussion on improving temperament through our breeding programs. Panelists included respected breeders Joan Scott, Pat Deshler and Glenna Carlson, with Del Dahl serving as narrator.”
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1. FROM THE WHELPING BOX TO THE SHOW RING A panel of three breeders discuss their methods in preparing a Poodle puppy for the show ring. Panelists Mrs. Arlene Scardo, Miss Betsey Leedy, and Mrs. Kadelia Hamilton. Panel is moderated by Mrs Debby Cozart. $20.00
4. 1990 DOG JUDGES ASSOC. PRESENTATION ON THE POODLE: An exciting presentation on the Poodle from the judges perspective. Presented by Mr. Frank Sabella and Mr. & Mrs James Clark. $20.00
5. 1990 DR. ELAINE ROBINSON on PINPOINTING OVULATION: This video tape will be exceptionally valuable tool in any serious breeding program. $20.00
6. POODLE TEMPERMENT PANEL: A discussion on improving Poodle temperament. Panelists include John Fowler, Mrs. Joan Scott, Mrs. Pat Deshler, Mrs. Glena Carlson. Narrated by Del Dahl $20.00
8. THE POODLE POSITIVE: A Judge’s Workshop with Mr. & Mrs. James Clark. You do not have to be a judge or aspire to be one to gain a lot from this tape. $20.00
10. PROGRESSIVE RETINAL ATROPHY:Dr. Gustavo Aquirre discussed PRA in Poodles $20.00
12. BREEDING A GREAT POODLE (TWO TAPES)Dr. George Padgett speaks on Poodle traits; comparing inbreeding to out crossing and line breeding; risk factors in pick-ing up faults; calculating good and bad genes; helping each other with our breed. $35.00
13. POODLE TYPE: Dr. Jacklyn Hungerland and Mrs. James Clark discuss what makes a Poodle. $15.00
14. ASPECTS OF REPRODUCTION: Dr. Edward Feldman discusses reproduction and the Poodle $15.00
16. HEREDITARY DISEASES IN POODLES : Dr. Fran Smith speaks on hereditary diseases in all Varieties. A breed-ers guide to genetic diseases. $15.00
17. ORTHOPEDIC PROBLEMS IN POODLES: Dr. E.A. Corley, discusses orthopedic problems in hips,stifles and el-bows as they relate to all varieties of Poodles. $15.00
21. CANINE MALE REPRODUCTION: Dr. Autumn Davidson discusses reproduction semen collection and managing the high risk delivery. $15.00
22.SUCCESSFULLY BREEDING THE INFERTILE BITCHDr. E. Robinson discusses breeding the infertile bitch. $15.00
24. 1998 SEMINAR -- GENETIC DISEASE ANALYSISJerold Bell discusses genetic disease analysis. $15.00
27. 2001 “ BREEDING STRATEGIES”Dr. John Armstrong and Dr. George Padgett discuss “Type” casting, establishing a line, role of DNA mapping in making breeding decisions. $20.00
cont. on page 41
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28. 2002 PCAF SEMINAR -- WHICH PUPPY TO KEEPMrs. Pat Hastings leads us in an interactive seminar in solving the puzzle of “Which Puppy to Keep” $20.00
29. 2002-UPDATE ON SKIN & COAT OF THE POODLEDr. Robert Dunsten, Texas A & M, Presents a prelude to a new study of Sebaceous Andenitis in Poodles $20.00
30. 2003 PCAF SEM. “RAISING THE SHOW PUPPY”Mrs James Edward Clark leads a panel of prominent Poodle Breeders who express their views on “The Successful Raising of a Show Puppy” $20.00
31. 2004 “ GENETICS FOR POODLE BREEDERS” Dr.Jerold Bell discusses how breeders should use the advances in dog genome research in making breeding decisions. $20.00
32. 2005 “ANNE CLARK on POODLE PEDIGREES”Mrs. Edward Clark discusses various aspects of Poodles and their pedigrees. $22.00
33. 2006 “POODLE DISEASE UPDATES” Dr. Thomas Graves discusses the research, testing, treatment & management of key genetic diseases. $22.00
(Please circle the tapes desired) 1 4 6 8 10 12 13 14 16 17 21 22 23 24 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
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Page 41cont. from page 40
The Poodle Papers
In MemoriamPage 42
Donna Ryan SattlerPoodle Artist
The Mardi Gras Poodle Poster Artist of PCA 1995 Regional in Baton Rouge, La.
Poodles Plus Booth Artist and Friend Donna Ryan Sattler of Nashville Indiana died 6-27-09 of ovarian cancer at age 44.
Leaving a loving husband and seven children and one grand-son, her parents and three sisters and one brother many niec-es and nephews and a community of friends. She loved to attend The Poodle National and meet all of the Poodle World in The Poodle Plus Booth and painted everyone’s poodle on clothing. There are lots of jackets, shirts, ties and purses with her autograph art work . She would always say “ENJOY IT” Enjoy her Art work as much as she enjoyed doing it. She also had a Standard Poodle who was the Herding Poodle for her kid’s 4-H Sheep however, he slept at the end of her bed at night. . Memorial contributions maybe be made to the Brown County 4-H Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 7, Nashville, Indiana 47448 in the memory of Donna Ryan Sattler. .She was a believer in keeping children busy with animals of all kinds and was a 4-H leader for years. Submitted by Nancy Hafner
Deborah Mackay MurrayGlory
Debbie left us on September 7, 2009, less than one month after being diagnosed with leukemia. She had been a vibrant participant in the dog show sport since her child-hood, as her mother, Gloria Mackay, was a well known Stan-dard Poodle breeder, with the prefix ‘Glory’. My husband (Bob) and I were new Poodle owners in the 60s and gradually became aware of this mother-daugh-ter team at the shows. After we moved from Miniatures to Standards, a friendship developed. Memories of events and laughter at the long ago PCA Regionals in Oklahoma and Dallas and Olympia come to mind. Away from dog shows, she and her husband, John, were welcoming hosts. She was an excellent cook and an equally excellent seamstress who made many of her dog show clothes (they had pockets where she wanted them!). Attendees of many Poodle Club of Central California match-es have fond memories of the meltingly good brisket with ‘Broncbuster Bar B Q sauce that Debbie prepared. Debbie knew Poodles! She knew pedigrees, she knew structure, she knew grooming. She had a good eye for a dog, and was realistic in her evaluation of dogs - her own or others. And she was generous about sharing her knowl-edge and experience with other exhibitors, as expressed by friends (below). After her mother’s death, Debbie moved from Stan-dards to Toys, and teamed up with Martin Gregory to breed many beautiful Toy Poodles. She was an efficient manager - for entries, schedules, grooming spaces, etc, and used all of her skills effectively with Martin. They were a team we enjoyed seeing at shows. Because her illness and passing were so sudden, those who knew her have been devastated. I issued an open invitation for ‘Poodle People’ in our San Francisco Bay Area to also share some remembrances . Sally Vilas
Jeanne Prouty: Some thoughts about Deb Murray and her mother, Gloria Mackay. I first met them in 1969 when my first Standard Poodle died at age 10 and I needed another one immediately!Into our home came Glory A Go Go and many more years of good times, dog shows, membership in PCCC, Persian Cats, cat shows and lasting friendships. Because of Deb I now have a wonderful Toy Poodle. Thank you Deb.
Linda IngramWillamarais
Cont. on page 43
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Kathy Poe: Memories --- it is so hard to think of memo-ries of Debbie because it is so painful. Memories of Debbie also bring back memories of Gloria. Gloria, Debbie and I came on the poodle scene about the same time. One of my early memories of Debbie and Gloria is meeting them on the way to dog shows. They were driving their old green Land Rover like they were at the Indy 500. My Mother and I were driving our old brown station wagon, ‘The Brown Bomber’. Down the road we went - the only thing on our minds was getting to the dog shows. Memories of the Oklahoma PCA Regional, with Gloria , Debbie & Jeanne Prouty:After a long flight to Oklahoma, we went to the van rental place only to find that the van Gloria had rented was not working. The guys wanted to rent us a big moving van with a hydraulic lift. Picture four women and a couple of dogs in a van big enough to hold a house full of furniture driving into a dog show.We settled on a small moving van, with front seat only. Deb-bie & I were elected to do the driving; Gloria called us Mario Murray and Parnelli Poe, and we had those two best seats because we could see the countryside. Gloria and Jeanne, in the back, had no windows and no lights; all they saw in Oklahoma was the dog show and the Holiday Inn. Recent memories of Debbie are from the last time we were in New York for Westminster. The first thing that Debbie, Denise Wilson and I wanted was to go to La Mai-son Du Chocolate, a very very good chocolate shop. it was definitely three kids in a candy store, and after we bought more chocolate than any of needed, we went to FAO Swartz. Debbie was an avid doll collector and she really looked for-ward to seeing the doll collection there. We had a great day in New York, just hanging out together - three ‘girls’ in New York. The night before we were due to leave New York, Debbie and i decided to go down to the bar and get ‘A’ Cos-mo. We had so much fun, just talking. At that moment in time we were two friends, sisters, soul mates, enjoying life, enjoying the moment. It was great. Just the other day, my brother told my sister, upon hearing of Debbie’s passing, that he had had a crush on Deb-bie many many years ago. For some reason I can’t get that out of my mind. It seems to bring home how young we were and how much time we spent together. And yet, had no idea the effect we had on each other’s life. Now time has passed. Debbie is gone and I only wish I could tell Debbie what my brother said.
Anita Antink: I first remember meeting Debbie Murray the day I took my Afghan puppy to an All-breed show at Peacock Gap Country Club in Marin. It was our first AKC show, and I was totally unprepared. Debbie’s mother, Gloria, offered me a space in her shade. I was really thankful for her kind-
ness in giving us shade that hot afternoon, and a table to use. Later, I worked for Gloria and Debbie as a groomer. Debbie came from a long line of strong women. When I first worked with her, her great grandmother, who she called Grandma was still alive. Her grandmother Rena owned a resort in the Delta, and her mother Gloria was a sin-gle mother with three children. Gloria owned and operated a kennel and grooming shop in Concord, while also establish-ing herself in Standard Poodles. In all the years I knew them, Gloria was the most flamboyant. She was lively and funny and good company for all. Debbie was very bright, but more reserved, and always honest. She was Gloria’s faithful right hand. She accompanied her mother to all the shows and set up and took down the equipment. She spent long hours grooming the Standards and always appeared so graceful do-ing so. In addition, she handled the dogs when needed and did a fine job. Those who show Standard Poodles know the hard work that goes into keeping their coats. Behind the scenes, it was Debbie who bathed and brushed dry all of the dogs in coat every week without fail. When they had a dog who won the variety, Debbie would often give it a fresh bath and dry before the Group judging. Debbie didn’t seek the limelight, but it was her hard work and dedication that made it possible for her Mother to glow. Each of these women left us too soon, each one younger than the last. I can’t believe she is gone. Janet Collins: Debbie: Fond memories of....making it possible, by doing all the difficult grooming work, for me to personally show and finish “Cash”; ... squiring me around on my first Lud-wig’s Corner PCA trip;....routinely coming over to look at and help evaluate baby puppies and for always being there to lend a helping hand. Many memories, many thanks.
Stephanie Gomez: Debbie Murray and her mom, Gloria MacKay were the first two “Poodle People” Janet Collins in-troduced me to when I stepped onto the grounds at the Santa Rosa fairgrounds in 1992 to show my first Poodle, ‘Touche’. Two of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure to know. Through the years, Debbie always had a sweet hello for me; always asking how I did at my last obedience trial and true heart-felt praise for me and my dog’s accomplish-ments. I shall always remember her with her apron on under the canopy, grooming away on the next poodle to show. I will miss her - how lucky I am that she passed through my life.
Peggy McDill: Debbie was welcoming and kind when Bob and I bred our first litter. We bred to a son of Ch Glory Great Scott, who Debbie finished from the BBE class. I still do topknots in the “Debbie” way.
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Michelle Shultz: Some of the things I most remember about Debbie: Debbie always took an interest in helping me to be a better groomer and also a better handler. I think she must have loved the challenge but I also think she helped because she was generous with her time and knowledge and it was one of the ways she gave back. Forefront in my memories of her are the many times I would have a standard prepared to go into the ring, I would walk by her in the setup or at ringside and she would always say “That’s good, come here let me show you something.” She would always do a little something to a topknot, silhouette, spray up, pattern. She would always explain what it did and it was always better. I am so thankful that she took interest in me and will miss hearing “come here I want to show you something”. Debbie was funny and had a good sense of humor. We all know she was a serious competitor and very focused at the shows. Back at the setup of SCVKC one year she was grooming toys in the center of a large communal grooming area out under a big pavilion. I was set up next to her and we were all going about our business. I hear her yell at someone across the way “Allen”! and think nothing of it. I hear her yell again, but louder this time “Allen”. Now I’m looking around and trying to see who she is starting to get irritated with. In the direction she is yelling stand my husband Steve and Tim Brazier talking about who knows what and some other people in the general area. Now Debbie is really angry and her face is getting red and she yells again for Allen. I think, oh, poor guy is really going to get it now. I risk it and ask, Debbie, who is it you are calling? She says that husband of yours and he is ignoring me and looking right at me. I said my husband Allen? She burst out laughing and said, oh I mean Steve. Then she yelled for him which got the correct response as she needed help holding a dog or moving something. For a long time after that she would call and ask how is “what’s his name” or call him by whatever name she chose when she would see him. Anyone who could laugh at herself at a dog show is my kind of friend!
American Kennel Club News Article
Dogs Who Rule the Literary World
Date of Article: November 17, 2009
-- American Kennel Club® & AOL’S PawNation.comAsks Dog Lovers to Cast Their Vote Now For the Top Dog Story --
From the adventures of the cute Vizsla puppy who grew into a 24-foot dog in Norman Bridwell’s children’s book series Clifford the Big Red Dog to Odysseus’ faithful dog in Hom-er’s Odyssey, young and old alike love to dive into stories about dogs. But which canine dog story ranks the highest?
In celebration of its 125 Anniversary, the American Kennel Club and AOL’s PawNation.com ask America to weigh in on their favorite dog stories. The nominees for most famous dogs of literature are:
Clifford The Big Red Dog – The tiny Vizsla puppy who grew to 25 feet in the children’s book series written by Nor-man Bridwell.Spot – The black and white Cocker Spaniel pet featured in the Fun with Dick and Jane book series created to teach chil-dren how to read.Old Yeller – The fictional story, based on the novel by Fred Gipson, of a Mountain Cur dog. The book was adapted in 1957 into a Disney movie.Marley & Me – The New York Times bestselling autobio-graphical book by journalist John Grogan that portrays Gro-gan and his family’s life during the 13 years that they lived with their rambunctious Labrador Retriever Marley, and the relationships and lessons from this period.My Dog Skip - An autobiographical book by Willie Morris that tells the tale of a boy and his Parson Russell Terrier dog in a small southern town that teaches about family, friend-ship, love, devotion and bravery.Big Red – The story, based on the novel by Jim Kjelgaard, of an Irish Setter who would rather run through the woods than be the perfectly-trained and groomed show dog his sports-man owner wants and the ten-year-old orphan boy who cares for and helps Big Red rebel against his owner’s strict disci-pline.Argos – The faithful dog of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey.Cujo – The Saint Bernard in the horror novel by Stephen King.White Fang – The main character in Jack London’s book of the same name. White Fang is the story of a wild Wolfdog’s journey toward becoming civilized in Yukon Territory, Can-ada, during the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th century.Which dog in literature will be victorious? Visit http://www.pawnation.com/category/akc-top-125-dogs to cast your vote and make your “bark” heard.
cont. from page 43
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A.K.C. Delegates CornerPoodle Club of America Delegate Report - September 2009 The September 15, 2009 Delegate meeting was held in New-ark, New Jersey. Unfortunately, due to having an accident on the way to the meeting (fortunately not car but physical) I missed the first day of committee meetings because I was in the emergency room. But after checking with other Del-egates at the Parent Club Committee I perceived that most of the discussion pertained to the Realignment of the groups and the presentation on the current proposal on the potential new Grand Championship title. Thanks to Daniel Augustus taking off work I made it to the actual Delegate Meeting on ‘Tuesday. (The emergency room visit relayed broken bones in my shoulder, a torn ro-tor cuff and cracked hip, needless to say I could not drive). I made the effort to get to the meeting because there was supposed to be a final vote on the group Realignment. The Board of the Poodle Club of America had instructed me to vote against the realignment. Also, September is the month the Delegate Standing Committee elections are held and I needed to vote. At the Delegates Forum there was a presentation of the pro-posed Grand Championship title, presented by Alan Kalter, AKC Board Member; Darrell Hayes, Vice President of Dog Show judges; Robin Stansell, Vice President of Event Op-erations; and John Wade, Director of Judging operation. After months of discussion, panel presentations, numerous mailings pertaining to the why and wherefores of proceed-ing with the Realignment Committee’s proposal, the Del-egates referred the rule changes necessary for the proposed realignment of the Groups back to the AKC Board. This was because, besides the rising dissension among Delegates, there were several Parent Clubs who had changed or did not want specific group placements. We were informed that it would come back to the Delegate body for a vote at the March, 2010 meeting. (Since then, the AKC Board of Di-rectors at their November 9th and 10th , 2009 meeting; as recommended by the Realignment Committee, voted that when the Group Realignment proposal is brought back to the Delegates for a vote in March, 2010, it will recommend that it be postponed indefinitely.) From information I have garnered, in my opinion, this does not mean this issue has gone away. The Realignment issue will continue to be fine tuned. (i.e. breed placements and varieties will be investi-gated, the possibility of achieving the proposal one group at a time, just waiting to a later time when it becomes more of
a necessity, and when it is more fiscally responsible for both show giving clubs and the AKC.) There was another vote taken that can effect the Poodle Club of America and its affiliate clubs. The Delegate body voted to change Chapter 3, Section 5, of the Rules Applying to Dog Shows. It was amended to permit the optional division of the 12-18 Month Class, effective July1, 2010. The change is, Clubs may further divide the Twelve-to-Eighteen Month Class into two age groups consisting of twelve months of age and under fifteen months, and fifteen months of age but under eighteen months. The decision to use the option is up to the individual clubs. When the rest of the business was dealt with the first read-ing of the Grand Championship proposal was…Read on pro-posed amendment to Chapter 3, Sections 1 and 15, of Rules Applying to Dog Shows - Dog Show Classification which would allow for awarding Grand Championship points to Best of Breed or Best of variety of Breed, Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed or Best of Variety of Breed, Select Dog, and Select Bitch, and to chapter 16, Sections 1-7 of Rules Applying to Dog Shows - Championship and (a new) Grand Championship Awards which would allow for the creation of awards for the above listed titles. This will be voted on by the Delegate body at the December meeting in Long Beach, CA. I have included some information given to me as the Delegate pertaining to this issue. There are things to consider. The name Grand Champion envisions a dog with a title meaning more then champion but, it is my understanding that this can actually be accom-plished without winning over another specials (especially in breeds with low entries). Wouldn’t something like Cham-pion Select be a better option? Also, since class dogs are not eligible for Grand Champion points will judges then be discouraged to not put up class dogs for a breed or variety. The whole point of this change is to encourage people who would like to continue showing a specials animal but don’t because there is already a predominant winner currently be-ing exhibited. I already have received suggestions requiring CHIC numbers, and there were delegates who felt at least a CGC should be required. After reading the information sent to me, if you have any other thoughts on this issue please feel free to send me comments. Mary Ellen FishlerDelegate to American Kennel ClubPoodle Club of [email protected]
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Grand Champion Highlights
· All Champions of record that are eligible to be entered in Best of Breed competition, are automatically entered in competition for points toward the “Grand Champion” title when they are entered in the Best of Breed class at a dog show. There are no additional entry fees or cost to exhibitors for participation in this competition at AKC events.
· Dogs and bitches that have earned their Championship and are moved up to the Best of Breed class would be eligible to compete on the day.
· All eligible exhibits entered in the Best of Breed class will compete and judging will be concurrent with traditional Best of Breed judging.
· Best of Breed, Best of Opposite Sex, Select Dog and Select Bitch can earn “Grand Champion” points at AKC All Breed, Limited Breed or Specialty events.
· The judge will award Best of Breed, Best of Winners, Best of Opposite Sex, Select Dog and Select Bitch. Judges may withhold any awards at their discretion.
· For eligible Champions, the Best of Breed (BOB), Best of Opposite Sex (BOS), Select Dog (SD) and Select Bitch (SB) winners can acquire points toward the “Grand Champi-on” title. A maximum of four dogs may be awarded “Grand Championship” points.
· Best of Breed winner will receive the highest number of “Grand Champion” points available regardless of sex. Best of Breed “Grand Champion” points are based on the total number of dogs and bitches competing in the breed or vari-ety using the point schedule for the individual dog’s sex.
· Best of Opposite Sex winner will receive Grand Champi-onship points based on the total number of dogs defeated of the same sex. The Select Dog and Select Bitch will receive points based on the total numbers of dogs defeated of the same sex. Best of Breed or the Best of Opposite Sex will not be included in this computation.
· Best of Opposite Sex point computations may be equal to the Best of Breed winner but in no case will they exceed “Grand Championship” points awarded to Best of Breed. · Best of Breed winner will receive the highest number of “Grand Champion” points available regardless of sex. Best of Breed “Grand Champion” points are based on the total number of dogs and bitches competing in the breed or vari-ety using the point schedule for the individual dog’s sex.
· Best of Opposite Sex winner will receive Grand Champi-onship points based on the total number of dogs defeated of the same sex. The Select Dog and Select Bitch will receive points based on the total numbers of dogs defeated of the same sex. Best of Breed or the Best of Opposite Sex will not be included in this computation. · The existing schedule of points and divisions will be used to calculate “Grand Champion” points. “Grand Champion-ship” points will be awarded based on the number of eligible entries exhibited. All class exhibits and champions in breed or variety competition present will be counted to compute “Grand Champion” points.
· “Grand Championship” entries will not affect the annual computation schedule of points assigned to each Points Di-vision.
· The existing schedule of points and divisions will be used to calculate “Grand Champion” points. “Grand Champion-ship” points will be awarded based on the number of eligible entries exhibited. All class exhibits and champions in breed or variety competition present will be counted to compute “Grand Champion” points.
· “Grand Championship” entries will not affect the annual computation schedule of points assigned to each Points Di-vision.
· Once an eligible dog or bitch has accumulated 25 “Grand Champion” points with three majors under three different judges and at least one point under a fourth judge, it may be designated “Grand Champion” and receive an AKC en-hanced certificate indicating they have completed the neces-sary requirements for the title. · “Grand Champion” title holders will continue to accumu-late points towards a future “Grand Champion point system after completion of title (Top 25, 50 or 100 by Breed, and Group). · Any dog who completes its Grand Champion title will re-ceive an invitation to the AKC/Eukanuba National Champi-onship.· Winners Dog, Winners Bitch, Best of Winners, or non-reg-ular class winners, are not eligible to compete for “Grand Champion” points.
· There will be no “Grand Champion” points awarded when all competing Champions of Record or move-up dogs are defeated by a class dog or bitch receiving the Best of Breed award.
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· If the Best of Opposite Sex winner is the Winners Dog or The Winners Bitch, neither the Best of Opposite Sex nor the Select award for that sex will be eligible for “Grand Cham-pion” awards.
· Any exhibits found to be ineligible for “Grand Champion” points would have those points disallowed administratively by the AKC. If Best of Breed is found to be ineligible, all Grand Champion points awarded will be administratively disallowed for Best of Opposite Sex, Select Dog and Select Bitch.
Grand Champion Question & Answers (Q&A)Q) What is a Grand Champion?A) A Grand Champion is a champion of record that has com-pleted the 25 points required beyond the traditional require-ments for a Championship and focuses on competition at the breed level. Q) What dogs are eligible to be awarded Grand Champion-ship points?A) All Champions of record that are eligible to be entered in Best of Breed/Variety competition as well as dogs and bitches that have earned their Championship and are moved up, would be eligible to compete on the day. Q) How many dogs are eligible to be awarded “Grand Cham-pionship” points?A) A maximum of four including, Best of Breed, Best of Op-posite Sex, Select Dog and Select Bitch. Q) Is a separate entry form and entry fee required for Grand Championship competition?A) No, all eligible dogs entered as well as those moved up to the Best of Breed/Variety class are automatically eligible to compete without additional fees. Q) When will judging of the Grand Championship class take place?A) Since the Grand Championship is not a separate class, judging is concurrent with the traditional Best of Breed/Va-riety judging. Judges will award Best of Breed/Variety,Best of Winners, Best of Opposite Sex as well as Select Dog and Select Bitch. Q) What are Select Dog and Select Bitch and how and what are they awarded?A) The Select Dog and Select Bitch are similar to Awards of Merit in that this dog and bitch are next best as far as the
quality of the dogs in competition. These awards are selected after Best of Breed/Variety and Best of Opposite Sex. How-ever the Select Dog and Select Bitch are eligible for Grand Championship points. Q) Grand Champion points, what are they and how are they determined?A) Grand Championship points are similar to the current points awarded, however they can only be won by dogs & bitches that are eligible to be entered in the Best of Breed/Variety class and are based on the existing schedule of points and divisions. All of the class entries, champions, move ups in breed/variety competition present will be counted to com-pute Grand Championship points. Q) Last week in Region 2 there were 28 Doberman entered, 7-11-(3-7) and my specials bitch won Best of Breed, how many Grand Championship points would she have been awarded?A) She would have been awarded 5 points as all of the Dober-mans (28) in competition would have counted as the same sex and in Region 2, 26 bitch’s results in a 5 point major. Q) My specials bitch is already a Champion of record. What does winning a 5 point major mean?A) It means she has started on the path to becoming a Grand Champion as she will need to have three majors under three different judges, with at least one point under a fourth judge and a total of 25 points to become a “Grand Champion” of record. Q) How will I know when she becomes a “Grand Cham-pion?”A) The American Kennel Club will send you an enhanced “Grand Champion” Certificate when all requirements have been completed. Q) Can my specials Doberman bitch continue to compete when she becomes a Grand Champion?A) Yes, she can continue to compete. Q) If a class dog/bitch wins Best of Breed/Variety will they be awarded Grand Championship points?A) No, class dogs/ bitches as well as winners of non-regular competitive classes are not eligible for Grand Championship points. If the Best of Breed/Variety winner is a class dog/bitch or from a non-regular class there are no Grand Cham-pionship points awarded for the breed/variety that day. Q) If a class dog/bitch or non-regular class winner is award-ed Best of Opposite Sex over eligible dogs in the Best of Breed/Variety class will they be awarded
cot. from page 47
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Grand Champion points?A) No, as in the previous question they are not eligible for Grand Champion points, however the Best of Breed/Variety winner and the Select winner of the same sex are eligible for Grand Champion points. EXAMPLE OF AWARDING GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP POINTSShow in Region 2 Breed: Dobermans Entry: 7-11-(3-7) BOB: Bitch Special 5 points, defeated all Dobermans in competition, total of 28.BOW: Not EligibleBOS: Dog Special 3 points, defeated all Doberman dogs competing, total of 10. Select Dog: Dog Special 2 points, defeated 9 Doberman dogs.Select Bitch: Bitch Special 3 points, defeated 17 Doberman bitches. POINT SCHEDULE 1 Point 2 Points 3 Points 4 Points 5 PointsDogs 2 6 10 14 24Bitches 2 10 17 20 26
Grand Champion Title ConceptDear Delegate, The Grand Champion Title Procedure will be presented at the Delegate Parent Club Committee Meeting, the Delegate Dog Show Rules Committee Meeting, and the All Breed Delegate Committee meeting on Monday, September 14, 2009. In addition, the concept will be presented at the Del-egates’ Forum on Tuesday, September 15, 2009. The Grand Champion title concept is an effort to provide our exhibitors with an additional venue to participate in with dogs that have obtained their Championships while assisting AKC Clubs with increasing their entries. It will continue exhibitor participation and camaraderie in our sport while emphasizing breed judging by recognizing quality and breed type. The development of a “Grand Champion” concept is consis-tent with the ongoing objective to encourage the exhibition and, ultimately, the breeding and registration of purebred dogs. It is also consistent with the structure of exhibition at other livestock events. This Grand Champion concept proposal parallels and is an
extension of the traditional system to earn an AKC Champi-onship title on a dog. It is simple, similar in format to that used to finish a dog, and, because it focuses exclusively on competition at the breed level, it will add minimal time to the current judging process. While the “Grand Champion” concept does require a rule change, it would add a new dimension that offers exhibitors enhanced participation for an additional conformation venue to compete in at this time. The “Grand Champion” title bar is set higher, but not out of reach for the average exhibitor to obtain in a reasonable time period. This concept provides the Best of Breed, the Best of Opposite Sex and Select Winners the ability to accumulate “Grand Champion” points. All Breed, Limited Breed, and Specialty Clubs, Superinten-dents and AKC will realize additional revenues due to the increase in entries while exhibitors participate with one en-try fee for both Best of Breed and “Grand Champion” title competitions. This concept should not only provide revenue increases, but insert new excitement and quality of achieve-ment. The fancy will be able to participate in a new venue with realistic expectations that are obtainable. In summary, the Grand Champion Program’s attributes in-clude: o Keeping people competing beyond the championship level and recognizing dogs of quality in breed competition o An opportunity for additional recognition without having to campaign and advertise heavily o Keeping the people coming back to shows to enjoy the sport and people in it and the camaraderie offered o Increasing the emphasis of the breed – it highlights breed competition o Increasing entries for clubs
cont. from page 48
ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN:
Love life and life will love you back. Love people and they will love you back.
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New Hope for SA PoodlesSebaceous Adenitis may be the cruelest of all diseases to plague Poodles, as it robs this elegant breed of its distinctive and luxuriously thick, curly coat. As breeder and PCA mem-ber Sheree Melancon points out, “What is a Poodle without hair?”
SA was Sheree’s worst fear, a fear she was forced to face with her very first litter. She had her promising black puppy Fah So groomed for PCA in 2005, which left him with an in-flamed face and swollen eyes that lasted for the whole week. Being at PCA gave Sheree the best opportunity to talk to others about testing breeding stock in general and SA in par-ticular, as she started to suspect that her boy had SA and not an allergic reaction as her regular vet thought.
What Sheree admittedly knew about SA back then was very little, and she was not well-informed about testing. She test-ed the dam and sire of this litter for hips and eyes, which she had thought were the most important problems in Poodles. She waited until the dam was 3 years old and the sire was 4, thinking that SA would appear by then.
“What I had heard was that SA wasn’t as bad as it used to be,” Sheree says. She heard conflicting things about the test. “When you asked people about testing for SA, they were reluctant to do it because they felt that it was not an adequate test. Most of the time, the comment was that they didn’t have a problem with SA.”
Sheree feels lucky that she made friends and found mentors at that PCA. She took their recommendation of having the sire and dam biopsied for SA; both tested clear for SA. From the test results, she would have bred them anyway. There were no red flags to warn her.
Fah So was 10-11 months old when he starting showing symptoms of SA. Of the whole litter, Fah So was the only one to fight being clipped, and he hated having the dryer on his face and feet. Such sensitivity is typical of SA dogs. A few months before PCA, the puppy counter-surfed and gobbled up 80 tablets of Sheree’s fragrant Armour Thyroid. She rushed him to the vet, who pumped his stomach and ran thyroid tests. No ill effects were found.
Several weeks later, Fah So’s handler noticed a couple of sores on his skin along with matting, which may have been coat change. He kept having ear problems, from which many SA dogs suffer. Then, at PCA, his facial skin and eyes were extremely inflamed.
Back home in Houston, dry skin appeared on his face in
spots, and soon there was flakiness on his face and feet. An eye specialist found his eyes to be fine but noted that what-ever his skin problem was, it was severely acute. The regular vet insisted that it was not SA and prescribed Prednisone, which cleared up the ears but did nothing to relieve the flaki-ness and itching.
Sheree spent hours on the computer, going through the OFA website. That July 4th weekend, she looked at his pedigree online but did not find any affected dog close to him, only half-sires and half-dams generations back. Still, she cried the whole time. As she explains, “I cried because, in my gut, I knew he had it.”
Up until the end of July, Fah So had severe flaking on his skin but only some hair loss. His condition would deterio-rate suddenly and dramatically after a routine bath left him with bald spots down to the skin on his chest, back, and ears. Handfuls of hair had fallen out in clumps. “The sad thing with Fah So was that he would appear to get better, then he would have a break-out, and each time, it would be worse. This is the lie SA does. He would grow some hair, and when I would bathe him, it fell out in the tub. I cried every time it happened,” Sheree remembers.
He was tested and diagnosed with SA by August. Heartbro-ken, Sheree cried for three months. “You know that they are never going to be okay,” she says.
Taking a bad situation and making it worse, traditional vet-erinary medicine can not offer a successful cure or treatment plan for SA, unless the dog develops a secondary skin infec-tion, in which case antibiotics are prescribed. An unfortu-nate number of vets have no working knowledge of SA; they don’t even consider, much less recognize, SA when a Poodle presents with chronic skin problems.
The expensive shampoos from the vet did not help. A skin specialist prescribed a short duration of high doses of Vi-tamin A orally and use of a propylene glycol spray. Sheree liked the idea of propylene glycol, a ubiquitous ingredient in moisturizers as it hydrates by attracting water molecules, but was concerned with the impact of such high doses of Vitamin A on Fah So’s liver. On her own, she had bloodwork done, which showed that his liver levels were acceptable, but on the high end of normal. She decided against the Vita-min A protocol.
Because of the lack of veterinary protocols for SA, dog own-ers have had to come up with their own out of sheer neces-sity. Traditionally, the home treatment plan is the use of oil baths, usually mineral oil, which Sheree found “horrific.”
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As she describes it, oil was all over the place, and the dog picked up dirt everywhere, a real problem for a dog with skin problems. Getting the oil out of the coat was another quan-dary. She soon concluded that oil baths were not compatible with Fah So’s field training, since Sheree was adamant that he “have a life.” Stopping these baths was not a difficult decision to make; she did not find that these treatments were all that helpful. She explained that the mineral oil molecule is too large to easily penetrate the dog’s skin.
Sheree was haunted by the reports of severely affected dogs whose exasperated owners had no other alternative than to put them down. She was afraid that one day she, too, would have to consider euthanasia as the only humane option if she could not manage his condition and keep him comfortable.
Sheree was determined to find something to help her dog. A groomer, who had a relative of Fah So and was unaware of any SA in the background, advised Sheree to rinse him with an apple cider vinegar dilution to alleviate the itching. From past experience with show horses and cattle, Sheree knew that apple cider vinegar cleaned the skin well and neutral-ized the skin so that bacteria could not thrive.
Her research revealed that black people often have a tendency to have weak sebaceous glands, so Sheree found beauticians experienced with black hair to find out how they treated dry, flaky skin. She started using several recommended products but had the same problems of attracting dirt and oiliness get-ting onto everything.
She knew that a successful treatment “needed to feed the skin what it doesn’t have,” but serendipity would lead her to that goal. As a licensed massage therapist, Sheree must con-tinue her education annually for license renewal. She was particularly interested in a course on essential oils, hoping that it would help in the pain management of her newly-di-agnosed fibromyalgia. She not only found relief from her pain but also became excited about the possibility of using essential oils to treat Fah So.
She struck gold with her second experiment, this time with a lavender-based coconut oil, which has since been improved to include other essential oils. Sheree mentions that before penicillin, lavender was used widely and was a staple for medics in World War I. She explains that although the seba-ceous glands do not work properly in SA dogs and may have even disappeared, the hair roots remain and need nourish-ment, which the sebaceous glands would normally provide. This coconut oil formulation is “bio-identical to what the sebaceous gland produces.” The oil feeds the skin; the lav-ender prevents infection and gives the skin the ability to fight off staph, which is a difficulty with SA dogs.
She was also looking for an unadulterated handmade soap as a cleansing base to get Fah So clean. She started selling goat’s milk soap, although she thinks that a handmade shea butter soap would work fine as well. The soap cleansing was followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse, then an application of the essential oil blend.
No one who sees Fah So now would guess that he has SA. I had been told about Fah So and made a point of being in-troduced to Sheree at the hunt event at PCA in 2008. When I told her I wanted to meet her SA dog, she gestured to the jet-black dog at her side. His thick coat was cut down into the sporting clip seen on most hunting Poodles. Surely she misunderstood me. I asked again, with the same reply. Soon I was petting him, with wonder at what I was seeing and feeling. Within minutes, I had ordered her treatment kit and dared to hope that it would be as successful for my girl, Ni-kita.
For those who have not had a Poodle with SA, such feelings must seem maudlin. SA is a deviously difficult disease, as it follows a different course not just with each breed but with each dog within a breed. Yet, if there is a constant about SA, it’s that heart-broken dog owners are reduced to tears many, many times.
I had taken Nikita to four different vets, looking for an ex-planation of her hair loss, itching, and flaky skin. A cocker spaniel breeder advised me to have her thyroid checked, but two of the vets dismissed that idea, as she was neither over-weight nor lethargic. (Since then, I have been enlightened by Dr. Jean Dodds that, as the master gland, a malfunctioning thyroid can produce dozens of symptoms besides those two. Blood work would later reveal that Nikita did indeed have hypothyroidism.)
It was a question posed by a Poodle groomer, breeder, and handler that finally led me to the answer. Beth Paynter asked me why I wasn’t bringing in Nikita for grooming, along with our white boy whom she groomed regularly. As I explained the miserable condition of her coat that now looked moth-eaten, Beth’s face became more and more serious. She told me that it sounded like SA and gave me the contact informa-tion for the vet who performs the skin punches at the Watc-hung Mountain Poodle Club health clinics. As Dr. Karen Dashfield efficiently took the biopsy samples from Nikita’s back and affected areas, I asked her if she thought it was SA. She just looked at me. I knew then. And prayed she was wrong.
A few years before Nikita’s diagnosis, I had met a Poodle with SA through a chance meeting in another neighbor-hood in my town. As I was walking out to my car to bring in a sheet cake, I encountered a couple walking a dog whose
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breed I could not tell. At first glance, it almost looked like a sighthound. There was something familiar about the dog that made me ask the couple about its breed. As the dog shyly came up to me, the woman told me that this was a Standard Poodle with SA. I tried to say something encouraging and petted the dog, which had the saddest eyes I had ever seen. After the meeting, I rushed into the house to scrub my hands, fervently hoping that I would never have to deal with SA.
While waiting for the report from Dr. Ann Hargis, I told myself, over and over, that knowing what was wrong with Nikita was better than not knowing, no matter what the di-agnosis was. I lied. I was lunching at a lovely restaurant in Manhattan, when my husband called to read me the report that had just been faxed to our office. I heard the term “af-fected” and burst out crying in that hushed room.
My own research about the disease was discouraging, but I was helped tremendously by advice and support from Mar-ion Banta, Kathryn Foran, Kathleen Reilly, and Gayle Rob-erson. An all-breed groomer, Kathleen gave Nikita a new hairstyle that looked more like a terrier clip than a Poodle’s, but it looked good on her and helped camouflage her coat’s shortcomings. I insisted that Nikita’s ears be kept as long as possible, especially since her tail, which was the canine ver-sion of a bad comb-over, had to be shaved. Losing her once lush bottle-brush tail was very hard for me. Nikita’s nick-name, Her Royal Curliness, now seemed like a cruel joke.
The cyclical nature of SA demands constant monitoring and fine-tuning of any treatment plan. Just when I thought I had the disease under control, she would have another outbreak, and I would have to scramble for a new regimen. I went through medicated shampoos and all sorts of conditioners like water. In the beginning, I tried the oil baths. Because of my own sensitivity to petroleum products, I did not use mineral oil or its derivatives. I tried several different oils like olive and grapeseed, diluted to ease the problem of getting the oil out of the coat. After a few months of torturing my dog and myself, I gave up on oil baths. The initial treatments had helped her skin condition by loosening the scales and le-sions, but her coat remained sparse. What little hair she had was mostly straight, wavy at best, and very dry. Her once solid black coat was now shot through with coarse white hairs, giving her a salt-and-pepper look.
Like that couple I met, I would have to field people’s ques-tions about her breed. It didn’t make matters easier that she was compared to my other Standard, who is a fabulous white boy from Whisperwind-My Deer lines, with coat to burn. One person asked if she were a labradoodle; luckily for all concerned, this happened when my husband took her to the park, and I wasn’t within earshot.
By then, I met and brainstormed with others with SA Poodles through the online lists of SA-Addisons Yahoo Group and Poodle Support Group. I tried the few treatment plans that were suggested. I boosted her immune system with various supplements, including the Chinese herb formula of Wind Toxin. She was tested for allergies; already on a raw diet, grains were eliminated from her diet, including treats. In-stead of yearly vaccinations, both dogs were titered. Acu-puncture, chiropractic, and kinesiology helped Nikita, but changes in her condition seemed inevitable. There were many times when I would not want to bathe her, because I never knew when handfuls of her hair would fall out.
She was going through a particularly nasty outbreak when I met Sheree out of sheer desperation. I just wanted her to have a full coat of hair, but seeing Fah So, maybe, just may-be, she could become my beautiful Curlie Girlie again. Af-ter a month of using Sheree’s treatment, I thought I noticed Nikita’s coat becoming blacker. Was I seeing what I wanted to see? Then, without prompting, a friend commented on how black her coat had become. Soon, hair was growing in, even on her tail, and it was curly! It was nothing short of a miracle. Her vets and groomers have been amazed by these results.
The treatment is not a cure and must be followed vigilantly. Nikita still has outbreaks occasionally with some coat thin-ning, especially this past fall when she was bothered by al-lergies. However, she has not had that typical SA moth-eaten coat since she started this treatment.
Nikita is not the only success story. Berkely, another Stan-dard with SA, now has so much thick hair that he has to be groomed regularly, just like a normal Poodle. This treatment has also helped an Addisonian Standard with thin coat and skin irritation issues. Right before the deadline for this ar-ticle, Sheree received a wonderful email from someone she met at PCA last year. The treatment is clearing up her dog’s bald spots on his back and head.
Sheree insists that she is “in no way an expert on SA” and recommends everyone to test according to PCA guidelines. In an email, she relates what this SA experience has taught her as well as the questions it has raised:
“Telling people that you have SA, or any disorder, in your bloodline can be a double-edged sword. In some ways, I have paid a price for telling about Fah So. On the other side of that sword, telling and asking questions is the best thing I ever did, and I do not regret it. When Fah So tested affected, I was not sure what to do. I felt that talking about it and being open was what I should do But the heartbreak I was feeling was very overwhelming. I had little understanding of SA and
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a lot of questions. I was lucky that I had made friends and mentors at PCA the year Fah So broke out with SA. I needed guidance and the answers to many questions. Like, do you breed Poodles that have full or half-siblings that are affect-ed? Do you breed a sire or dam who have produced affected offspring? We need to tell other breeders and puppy buyers of the problems in our Poodles. That way, they can make an informed decision on the risk they are willing to take in buy-ing or breeding into your line. Breeders coming together and having an open discussion is the only way to get a handle on genetic problems. Many full and half-siblings never have SA or pass it to their offspring, or do they? There are big holes in the information on SA. I feel that we have these gaps be-cause SA is a mystery in many ways. It is hard to track and hard to test. When you have a disorder like SA, I do not think it comes down to simple genetics. It seems that SA has a trigger. Most breeds are affected differently, and each poodle seems to display symptoms in different ways. We need to have a better test and better information. I think as breeders we have pushed SA aside just a little for problems that have graver consequences. People need to know that SA is still there. This year, I have talked to 3 people that have put their Poodles to sleep because they could no longer deal with SA. I am sure Fah So could have had this same fate if I had not come up with the oil treatment.”
As for Fah So, he has indeed had quite a life, despite SA. “When Fah So received his Junior Hunting Title, he had little hair. He had bald spots and was bleeding from run-ning through the tall grass. I ran one test each weekend and not the usual two tests back-to-back because his skin and coat had become so fragile,” Sheree recalls. Fah So has since earned a WC and a WCX at the bronze medallion level.
I must note here that I have no incentive to promote Sheree’s treatment other than to alert the Poodle community to a suc-cessful option. Her treatment kit of goat’s milk soap and es-sential oil blend sells for $100, and will last several months.
For more information, please contact Sheree by email ([email protected]) or phone ((832-212-1306).
Before picture: The quality of this photo of Nikita as she was in the bathtub awaiting the first treatment is poor, but one can see the following in her coat: sparseness; flakiness; SA lesions and scales; the straight or somewhat wavy, dry hair; and the off-color.
This is how 11-year-old Nikita looked last June at a tracking class.
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BERNICE JOHNSON REAGON:
Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.
The Poodle Papers
The AKC Master National Oct. 25-Nov.1 Manheim, TexasWritten by Mia DiBenedetto
History was made at the 2009 American Kennel Club Master National Retriever trial.
Bibelot’s Tolka Hands Up, MH became the first Standard Poodle ever to Qualify at the AKC Master National.
Known by the call name Ten, this 3-year-old bitch is owned by Mia DiBenedetto and Jack D. Combs of Wickford, Rhode Island. Ten was bred by Susan Fraser and Deb Drake of On-tario. Ten is trained and handled by Jack D. Combs.
The Master National is a hunt test conducted under the rules and regulations of the American Kennel Club Hunt Test pro-gram. The Master National is open to any Retriever breed, Irish Water Spaniel, or Standard Poodle which, between August 1, 2008 and July 31, 2009 accumulates a total of 5 qualifications in its first 7 attempts in the Master category from a MN member club.
The Master National experience was thrilling for Jack and me. It was our first time attending this national event and we could not have received a warmer welcome and it was the most exciting canine event we have ever attended. The gal-lery could not have been more supportive of the poodle.
While there may have been some snickering when Ten first came to the line, after the first two Series, spectators actually came from the other Stake just to see “the white poodle” run. Everyone was routing for her, and Ten loved the atten-tion and seemed to thrive on the applause.
There were 387 entries in the 2009 event, including Lab-radors, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Flat Coat Retrievers, Irish Water Spaniels and 1 Standard Poo-dle.
This year’s event was held in Giddings Texas, October 23, through November 1, 2009 and consisted of Four Test Series
over seven days. Dogs advanced through the series only if they received a qualifying score on each test.
But the Master National is so much more than retrieves, birds and blinds.
The MN began with a spectacular Opening Ceremony. The
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National Anthem was sung by a member of a local Retriever Club while an equestrian precision drill team presented “The Colors” (flags for the United States of America, the State of Texas, the Master National Retriever Club, the Christian flag and the 4-H flag). The youth team made a grand entry and delighted the crowd of over 100 including AKC representa-tives, sponsors, local dignitaries, handlers and guests. The emotions ran high and I saw quite a few participants dry a tear as a single rider paraded the American Flag around the arena.
The Handler’s Welcome Dinner was next where the official running order was selected. This was no ordinary random number draw. All handlers were asked to stand up. Then much to the delight of the crowd a retriever was sent to a pile
of bumpers. Each bumper represented a range of numbers (for example 140-149). As a range of numbers were selected handlers sat down and only the final range was left standing. At that time the dog was sent for a single number and that became the Starting dog! The entire evening was full of fun, and helped the anxious handlers to relax before their first day of the competition.
Not to be outdone, during the week there were two other parties open to all those at the MN. At the parties many handlers, who don’t see each other during the hunt test sea-son, reconnect with their friends at this event. Many new
friendships are also made here. Dogs are competing against a standard and not each other, and for this reason, I think the camaraderie among the group is exceptional!
The Four Series
The entries are divided into two Stakes (A and B), with both groups running the same series of tests but in different order. There are two sets of judges but the same two judges fol-low your dog through the entire four Series. Dogs advanced through the series only if they received a qualifying score on each test.
Extreme weather conditions made this year’s event difficult for many dogs. Heavy rains and winds made scenting and
visibility difficult.
The judges named each Series and as you can see from the descriptions from the Master National web site, this was one challenging event!
Series 1, named the “Snake Pit, was a triple with the flyer deep and thrown first then a dead bird station in the center and finally another dead bird station thrown left to right with goose decoys located deep of the fall area. The flyer and middle station were each thrown in the same direction of right to left. The stations were well separated. The center sta-tion has a small round pond in the test. The station was located behind the pond and thrown toward the outer edge. The pond was on line however a cheat around the left edge would not be “bad” however a cheat would put your dog out of position to easily come up with the bird.
Series 2, known as the “Blondes,” consisted of a triple with a flyer, two dead bird stations, a blind that appears to be under the arc of the go bird and finally an honor. The blind which cut the corner of the pond had a line between the flyer and dead bird station located at the end of the pond.
The line was up a ravine about 20-yards from the waters edge, the first bird down was a long memory bird across the pond and thrown left to right to the back side of the dyke. The flyer was a bit shorter and shot right to left and finally the short bird a wipe-out bird was thrown close to the line of the flyer and over the line of the first bird down. A blind was run between the flyer station and long memory bird and under the arc of the wipe-out bird. After the line work was completed there was an honor behind and to the left of the working dog.
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Series 3 was called “Severed Limbs,” and was supposed to be a land triple, using all pheasants with a flyer. The first bird down was a right to left, angle back thrown from heavy concealment into a pocket in shrubs at about 115 yards. The next bird was a flyer right to left angle back into a deep slot at about 130 yards Dogs that were too far left tended to be pulled into the first bird station. The third bird was a pheas-ant thrown right to left angle back at about 82 yards.
But the rain came from the South mid- morning in sheets with heavy gusting winds and quickly changed that scenario. The tests went on with another deluge in the afternoon. The wind changed to the North and the temperature dropped 20 degrees in what seemed like a minute and the rain came in sheets.
The tests only stopped long enough for the gunners to see where to shoot. The live gunners at days end were standing in a foot of mud yet there were surprisingly few no birds. This test was quickly renamed a “River Runs Through It”. With the huge amount of rain encountered the dogs crossed running water on all 3 of the birds for this land test.
Series 4 was called “Go-Cat-Go.” A walk-up water triple with a flyer, a double blind and finally an honor. The work-ing line was about 10-yards from the water’s edge and the first bird down was thrown left to right and landed in front of a small group of trees. Directly across the pond, the second bird was thrown right to left and landed at the water’s edge. Finally the go bird, a duck flyer, was off to the right, 90 de-grees from the middle bird. After picking up the marks, dogs were asked to run a land blind located to the front and left of the second mark and then challenging water blind was run between the two dead bird stations.
It was a demanding series of tests. And there definitely is a bit of “luck” involved as we saw many good dogs go out due to unusual circumstances. While the judges try to make the tests all the same for all 400 dogs, time of day, weather and wind has its effects.
The MN is an exhausting and anxiety-ridden week but it was an opportunity of a lifetime for Jack and me. The camara-derie among owners/handlers was incredible. To compete with so many magnificent working dogs was truly a dream come true!
We encourage other poodle owners to try and qualify their dogs so they too can become a part of the Master National experience. Our thanks to everyone for their support and congratulations.
We think Ten did the Poodle World proud!
Westminster info!Top 5 in each variety that get invitations!
TOY POODLESCH Cache’s Lady Olivia De PlataCH Cache’s Lord GraysonCH Forever Master Of The GameCH Smash Jp Moon WalkCH Tropical’s House Of The Rising Sun
MINIATURE POODLESCH Alegria ShamusCH Amity Mystical Horizon’s Heaven SentCH Campostela The Perfect StormCH Divine No Doubt DeagraCH Splash Di Caprio
STANDARD POODLESCH Bar-None Dawin Travelin’ ManCH Dawin SpitfireCH Donnchada Sweet DreamsCH Hillwood Dassin De-LovelyCH Randenn Tristar Affirmation
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REGIONAL TRIVIA
POODLE COUNTS 200926 POOD TOY 12-8- 4-223 POOD MIN 6-10- 2-547 POOD STD 11-19- 13-3 1 VET DOG
COMPARED TO PHILADELPHIA CENTEN-NIAL SPECIALITES
POODLE COUNTS 198467 TOYS 23-28-8-5 (JUDGE LYDIA HUTCHINSON) 2 VET DOGS 1 STUD DOG 1 BROOD BITCH
91 MINIS 224-47-13-7(JUDGE EDD BIVIN) 1 VET. DOG 1 STUD DOG
95 STANDARDS 27-45-12-8(JUDGE MAXINE BEAM) 2 STUD DOG 3 BROOD BITCH
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