The Pack Leader



	THE PACK LEADER February 2000 Newsletter Puppy Obedience Classes have started at the Pet Hypermarket, Sandgate Road Virginia on Sunday mornings. For information and bookings phone Penny on (07) 3865 3967. Internet Sites Veterinary Archive: www.vetinfo.com/dogarchive.html The site contains information on specific diseases and complaints with helpful information and advice towards treatment. There is also an area where questions have been asked and answered on topics. Trialing Update Our continued participation in the year 2000 has been noted with three of our group competing in the CD Novice ring. New to the trialing ring this year is Monica Krueger with her Standard Poodle, Eddie and Tony Collins with his German Shepherd, Beau. Both competed at the Logan All Breeds Dog Obedience Club Sweepstakes Trial on Saturday 19th of February. Kirsty Morgan and her Staffordshire Bull Terrier India also participated. India suffered a very painful Green Ant bite to her left rear foot during their event costing her a certain 190 plus score. India showed true spirit obeying most of the commands regardless, a real credit to Kirsty's commitment and working dog ethics in training. Their award of first place for the event with a score of 183 points helped to overcome India's discomfort and boosting Kirsty's pride. Monica and Eddie did equally will considering the usual first time nerves. All in all their score of 177 points for their first Sweepstakes and taking second place award. Tony and Beau suffering first time nerves performed very well to their credit. Beau on the night, somewhat out of the norm unfortunately made a few mistakes, the errors (although small) resulting in a disappointing final score for Tony. Saturday 26th February saw the Sunshine Coast Dog Obedience Club’s first Sweepstakes trial on their new grounds at Bellinger Park. Our group was again represented in the Novice ring by Kirsty Morgan and India accompanying Tony Collins and Beau. Again Kirsty and India put on a superb performance, their routine drawing applause on completion from the audience. A near perfect performance with a score of 194 points. Congratulations Kirsty and India. Tony and Beau’s routine later in the evening was most impressive leaving no club in the mind of those present they were out to achieve, the audience again applauded their performance on completion. A smile on Tony’s face on leaving the ring said it all. A score of 185 and his first qualifier was something to be proud of. Twenty four supporters from our group sacrificed their Saturday night to encourage the competitors. The enthusiasm for our entrants who achieved first and second place was much appreciated Kirsty ended the night personally thanking all present for their support. Adding to the night was the celebration of Jeffrey Allan’s birthday. A little shy to make it known as any young man may be, he was suitably embarrassed when the group burst into a hearty song of happy birthday. Much to the annoyance of others it seems. A cake was shared at the end of the night. Ross Allan made a formal presentation to Peter Mario for his achievement of his CDX title. The presentation of an impressive trophy with equally words of praise from Ross brought to mind similar experiences, ”GOOD BOY PETER”. Dogs & handlers should never go unrewarded or uncorrected. In-house competitions Our own competitions take place on 26th March at the Beerwah Sports Ground commencing 2pm. Competitors are invited to bring family and friends. A BBQ hot plate is available for those wishing to have a B.Y.O. barby and drinks. Competitors for level 3 are reminded to hand in their entry forms two weeks in advance to allow time to arrange trophies. Nutrition Tip Add raw egg yolk to your dogs dinner once or twice a week, it will make the coat shine. Note some dogs cannot digest the white of eggs and may make their motions loose. Know your dog Heartworm prevention is necessary to avoid infection. The microscopic sized baby worms are transmitted by mosquitoes from an infected dog to an unaffected dog. The worms lodge in the heart and will grow killing your dog in time. If your dog is not on prevention it is necessary to have the dog tested by a Vet’ before commencing prevention. Displays Displays will be performed on the 15th April and the 28th April, at the Sunland Shopping Centre and Caloundra Street Festival respectively. Further details will be available in next month’s newsletter. Understand your dog Recently an incident occurred reminding us that dogs, as descendants of the wolf, has still retained its ancient instincts. A family was in the habit of feeding their little rug rat type dog under the table at meal times and the dog ate the scraps dropped by the kids. One day the toddler crawled under the table and the dog attacked lacerating the child’s face causing a scar that will last a lifetime. Remember that dogs don’t do anything wrong, they are born to follow their instinct. The dog was given the position as pack leader and the puppy came into its eating area without permission. The pack leader has a duty to reprimand. The owners were at fault for regarding the dog as a four legged human or cuddly toy. Canine cop you later Sydney police are hunting a cat burglar who specialises in robbing homes in the city’s inner west. He is said to speak in a posh upper-class English accent. How the police know this we’re not sure. Maybe he asks his victims if they’d mind awfully if he helped himself, or tells them what a jolly nice experience it was robbing them. Well the boys in blue had him cornered. A police dog was ordered to bring him to justice, But during the pursuit, the dog stopped to copulate with a passing bitch on heat. The lads were unable to keep up and the posh-talking fellow escaped. Melba understands, the poor animal is in the um, dog house and in disgrace. It is further understood the cops are a little sensitive about the story emerging. Rottweiler breed description In the native Germany, this breed is still referred to as the Rottweiler Merzgerhund, (Rottweil Butcher’s Dog). In the past it worked as a draught dog delivering the meat. It has also been used as a hunter of wild boar and a trusted cattle dog. Some fanciers believe that the Rottweiler is a descendant of the early German Shepherd dog, while others consider that it’s ancestor was to the Tibetan Mastiff brought as a guard by Roman soldiers. Certainly this dog was prevalent from the Swiss canton of Argovie to the Nacker and Rottweil districts to the south of Wurttemberg, where the Romans had had military camps. During the First World War, the Rottweiler proved it self to be an intelligent police dog and guard. It was recognised by the American Kennel Club in 1935, and the breed was introduced into Britain by the late Thelma Gray of the famous Rozavel Kennels in 1926. Surprisingly, another 30 years were to pass before the Rottweiler was given a separate register by the British Kennel Club. An inexperienced owner should consider carefully about keeping this breed. Considerable time is needed to devote to its training. The Rottweiler is a large, courageous dog that makes an excellent companion-guard and responds to kind but firm handling. It needs space and plenty of exercise. It also needs daily grooming with a bristle brush. Class: Working Dog. Size: Height 60-69 cm bitches 55-63cm. Coat: Medium length, coarse and lying flat, with undercoat on the neck and thighs. Colour: Black with clearly defined tan or deep brown markings. Quote from “The New Knowledge of Dog Behaviour” by Clarence Pfaffenberger. The dog family to me, is the most interesting family in all animal life outside the family of man himself. In many ways he is much like man, so much so that we can sometimes study our own behaviour best by studying the behaviour of dog’s, especially puppies. This is true because a dog’s behaviour toward his human family owners is so much like a child toward his own family. A puppy’s behaviour toward his own mother, and her behaviour towards him, are very similar to the child’s behaviour toward his mother and the human mother’s behaviour toward her own child. Ross’s Kennel Trials Mike has given an enthusiastic coverage of the recent dog trials leaving me little to say other than my congratulations to the competitors. I make the point that once a dog and handler are well prepared for their trial it is not a matter of qualifying scores, but a question of the points earned at the time. It is very nice to get a title - but the real buzz is hitting the heady scores of the 180’s and above. Achieving the 190’s is certain to cause a sleepless night from the self satisfaction. Pack rules My instructors and I continually push the importance of observing the rules of the pack, and with good reason. We save literally dozens of dog’s lives each year when owners have lost control of them due to bad behaviour including dog and human aggression, and the next step is euthanasia. One of the major steps in correcting the problem is putting the pack structure in place where the owners are seen clearly by the dogs as ”The Boss.” In fact I was attacked six times and bitten four times in a three month period recently whilst working with human aggressive dogs. Our emphasis on these rules such as dogs not permitted on couches, chairs and beds or always fed after you never before, may seem trivial to the average dog owner, but they are vital to a dogs good behaviour. In fact, we make it dear to our obedience trailing competitors that should it be discovered that they are breaking the rules of the pack, we will no longer train them. Instructors spend a great deal of time with competitors helping them to achieve in trials, and we insist they take the training as seriously as we do or go somewhere else for training. An incident was brought to my attention and deserves to be shared on the subject of feeding dogs. A dog was given a piece of bread from the table at a recent BBQ. (Not from the owner) Apart from the fact that dogs should never be fed from the table, this particular dog had an allergy to wheat products. The result was that the dog’s skin became red raw and it tore itself to pieces for the next four days. New Instructor As most of you know, Peter Maria joined us as an instructor recently. Peter has a long and impressive background in the working dog field. He commenced his training as a seventeen-year-old with the Fijian Corrective Service Dog Squad. Peter is a veteran of numerous prison riots and the tracking of escaped criminals under terrible weather conditions. He was also awarded the highly prized ”Baton of Honour” award for excellence. Peter, a former professional boxer and highly graded martial artist took his competitive spirit to the dog obedience trailing arena last year qualifying in C,D & CDX. He is now entering the Utility Dog trails. Peter has been requested to return to Fiji for a short period to assist in the training of Prison Dog Handlers. If you notice Peter missing for a time you know that the Prison Service is benefiting from his vast experience. Class closing The Cooroy Monday evening classes close on April 23 for the winter. The Thursday morning classes continue as usual. Shirt patches Jeffery Allan wants it made known that orders for the dog patches for our shirtsleeves are being taken by him and money to be paid with the order. Helper Kylie Browne has been assisting the instructors with the Buderim beginner’s classes, as well as giving up a great deal of her leisure time attending obedience trials to support competitors. A beautiful lady whose unselfish efforts are greatly appreciated. .............. ... ................. ................ ................ ................ ................. .................. ................. ............ ............ ...... ..... .................. ............. .............. ...........