Congratulations to Cliff Shrader and Tasha, Andre Guerin and Alleah!
I have posted both a link and a PDF download of the article on a separate web page.
Congratulations to Cliff Shrader and Tasha, Andre Guerin and Alleah!
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Multi-Champion Red Top's Klatjofs (left) is pictured going Best Male at the Helsinki Winner show this past Friday, December 13. Father to my Viljo, 5.5 year old "Svante" is owned and handled by Tia Eskelinen, Kennel Cadium, Finland. This win earned Svante the title Helsinki Winner 2013! Congratulations to Tia and Svante! Thank you, Tia, for sending the very nice photo today. Speaking of very nice photos, a wonderful album of Svante photos can be found on Tia's website. Ornberget's Jubilee (right) was Best Female and Best of Breed at this show. Owned and handled by Jill Rhodin of Sweden, this makes Jubilee also "Helsinki Winner 2013."
Incidentally, Jubilee is great-great granddaughter of Nick v Dorndorf L. Imported to Sweden by Marie Gadolin in 2002, he lives with Linda Mellberg. Nick produced just five litters, but he is in the pedigrees of many longhairs in that part of the world. I like the Dog Food Advisor web site and have recommended it to a lot of people. Including co-workers and even folks looking at dog food in pet supply stores and Walmart. I also tell them that if the choices seem bewildering, a quick easy way to get some notion of quality is to look at the first two ingredients. If the first two ingredients - three is even better - are meat and/or meat meal from identified sources of meat, it is likely that they are looking at one of the better kibbles available there. There's more to it than that, of course, but it is a great place to start. Interestingly, the big chain pet supply store in town carries virtually none of the better foods. Thankfully, the little mom and pop shop does.
Dog Snobs has an amusing and insightful article: The Types of People That Do Agility.
Have a humorous look! There is a very good, pro-breeder article by Susi on the DogKnobit blog. This is how it begins. Not long ago, I had a conversation with a couple of women at a pet blogging convention where the majority of attendees tilted in favor of shelter and rescue dogs. Many had come with their own reclaimed dogs, and of them I thought, “Good for you!” In my estimation, the majority of shelter and rescue workers do God’s work, and the people who take in these dogs are angels. But I've also learned that with the exception of people affiliated with breed clubs, most in the shelter and rescue world are woefully misinformed, if not ignorant about the world of the purebred dog owner and breeder. This article is not new but it is well written and insightful. Have a look.
There is a page on the Dog Show Scores website with a summary of statistics for 2012. Included are all-breed stats for Obedience, Rally, and Agility, broken down by Numbers Entered, Numbers Qualified, and Qualifying Rate per class. I can only imagine how much work goes into compiling and maintaining such a database!
It is interesting to see these statistics. If nothing else, it gives greater appreciation for the efforts and accomplishments of those who participate in these performance sports, especially in some of the more advanced classes. Also interesting are the numbers showing that the 8" agility dogs have higher Qualifying rates in both Standard and Jumpers than dogs of the other five height divisions. And the 8 inchers very nearly have the highest Q rate in the FAST classes, too. The subject of feeding dogs is one that may be lumped into the category "I asked 100 people and got 100 different answers!" I am occasionally asked what and how I feed my dogs and the following is my reply. It does NOT mean that I necessarily think that feeding twice a day, raw feeding, different supplementation, or other ways of managing canine nutrition are wrong! We all do according to what we believe is good for our own dogs, fits our own lifestyles, and agrees with our own experiences.
I feed my adult dogs once daily and give them a good dog food, often with some fresh food (meats, eggs, fruits, vegetables) mixed in. They also get a biscuit now and then as an extra. The foods that I buy are nearly always various 4- and 5-star foods as rated and recommended by dogfoodadvisor. Another site that I like is dogfoodanalysis which rates foods on a 1-6 star scale. I say "various" foods because I practice rotation feeding. Meaning that every time I buy a dog food, I select something different than what I got the last time. I may feed a dozen different foods in succession before my dogs get one of those same foods again. This is because, just as is true for people, a variety of food covers the dogs better nutritionally than consuming the very same stuff all the time. A side benefit is that I have no concerns about the dogs being sensitive to changes in their diet! Interestingly, I have found that some of the pet supply superstores do not sell the better and best dog foods. I go to the much smaller We Lov Pets store in town to get those foods because the great big pet store does not carry them. Some of the brands that I look for are Instinct, EVO, Nutrisca, Innova, Taste of the Wild (which can also be found at Tractor Supply), Wellness, Solid Gold, Before Grain, Pinnacle, Earthborn and Nature's Variety. We Lov Pets does not always have all of these brands so I pick and choose according to what is on the shelves at the time. Additionally, all of these brands have a variety of formulas so there are always a number of options. I usually feed the food dry. I might add chicken. Some liver. An egg. Greens. Carrots. Cabbage. Or apple. Taya likes bananas. Sometimes I will add some water, especially warm water on a chilly day. I also like to add water when we are traveling to increase the dogs' fluid intake on the road. When we are home, I add salmon oil every day. And I often (not always) give a bit of powdered pro-biotic and/or a multi-vitamin. It is no big deal that they don't get these things when we are away. As for feeding puppies, I let their mothers wean them with very little interference from me. Whether the mother weans them at five weeks or at nine weeks is fine with me. Then, three or four times a day, they get the same food mama gets. Gone are the days when very mediocre dog food made the more nutritious puppy food better for puppies. Today, the better so-called puppy foods can be "too much" of a good thing and have resulted in negative developmental consequences for some puppies and their breeders. I went to a couple of Pat Hastings seminars years ago and her photos and documentation convinced me of this. I have not fed puppy food for a dozen years. So here is an observation about another food that I have been interested in but have not used before and that is Fromm. I have looked at Fromm but not bought it because the store always seemed to have it in the small and very large bags. For my four dogs, I like to buy the 15-20 lb bags. Last time I went, however, they did have Fromm Gold Adult in a medium-size bag and I bought it. I have been seeing for several days that, while some dry dog foods cause the dogs to drink a lot of water after they have eaten, Fromm does not. I am favorably impressed by this and have placed Fromm high on my list of preferred dog foods. Viljo's breeder Tia Eskelinen in Finland asked if I would scan and send Viljo's Field Champion certificate to her. Tia said she wanted to forward it to the Finnish Kennel Club and ask that they add the title in their database. The Finns have a wonderfully detailed and user-friendly pedigree database! Having received the certificate from AKC last week, I was able to scan it for Tia. I sent it to her yesterday.
The very next day, US FTVA is included on Viljo's page on the Finnish Kennel Club website! US of course for United States. FT for Field Trial. VA for Valio which Tia told me today is the Finnish word for Champion. Viljo. Valio. How appropriate. Viljo. Valio. There's a strong connection between the two in my book! : ) I am in the process of getting young Taya, born in Denmark, registered with the American Kennel Club. While I am at it, I thought I would post the specifics on how to accomplish this. Maybe the information will be helpful to someone.
NOTE: "Effective for imported dogs registered on or after March 1, 2006, any imported dog registered with the AKC must have an AKC DNA profile prior to registering its first litter whelped in the United States." As I did with Viljo, I am going to get the DNA profile on Taya now, while I am registering her, instead of waiting months or years to do it. Okay, so here are the instructions. To get the DNA profile: 1. Click on the link http://www.akc.org/dna/certify.cfm 2. Click "Order DNA test kits" at the bottom of the page 3. A new page will come up with two products. First one is a prepaid kit for $35. This is the one I ordered. They will send it to me, I will collect the sample with the cheek swab and return it to AKC. Second option is a kit that AKC will send you for free but then you must submit $40 when you collect the sample and return the kit to AKC. 4. Return the DNA test kit to AKC together with the completed Registration Application, see 1-7 below. OR you can just do the registration (1-7 below) now and do the DNA profiling another time. The reason I like to send both together is because "for dogs individually registered at the time the DNA sample is received by the AKC, the DNA Profile Number will be added to that dog's registration record, and will appear on all Registration Certificates and Pedigrees issued in the future." I also just want to get it out of the way. To do the registration: 1. On the American Kennel Club website, go to the Foreign Dog Registration Application. 2. Print the PDF form and fill it out according to the specific instructions included with the form. 3. You will need to include a check, money order, or charge card information for the processing fee of $50. 4. You will need to include a *photocopy* (not original) of the foreign registration certificate. 5. You will need to include a *photocopy* (not original) of the official pedigree issued by the foreign kennel club. 6. You will need to include two 3x5 color photographs of the dog. See "Required Attachments" on the Registration Application for more specifics on photo requirements. 7. Send the completed application with $50 fee and attachments to The American Kennel Club, PO Box 900058, Raleigh, NC 27675-9058. I have ordered the DNA test kit and it should arrive in a few days. Then I will collect a sample of skin cells from the inside of Taya's cheek using the swab from the kit which I will send with the registration application and appropriate fees to AKC. I have one computer game addiction. Just one! I don't play it every day but I play it a few times a week, usually with tea after walking my dogs.
It is Word Bubbles at Lumosity.com A few months ago, my goal was 2000 points. Then it went up to 2500 points. Three days ago, I scored 3090 points, my first time over 3000. Today I played again and scored 3060. 3000 is my new goal (!) but I'm not likely to reach it often. There's a lot of luck involved with the three letters that are presented but it's fun. It is supposed to be a game to improve "verbal fluency." We'll see. There are other fun free games at this site, too, but I like Word Bubbles best. If you want to check it out, know that you do not have to create an account to play several of the games. Whenever the create account window opens I just close it again and I'm good to go. Here is an, um, interesting website. I got as far as Page 9 before calling it quits.
awkwardfamilypetphotos.com Page 9 contained my favorite of the Awkward Family Pet Photos to that point. Half way down the page is a glamour shot of seven people and something like 31 dogs. (YOU count em...!) What is wonderful about this photo in my view is how they got that many little dogs to ALL sit, stay, and pose so beautifully! |
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February 2015
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