THE PACK LEADER
July 2001 Newsletter

In-House Competition Results 23-6-01
Level One
Samantha Hazelgrove & Curly Coat Retriever Cross "Red".

Level 2
Parry O’Brien & German Shepherd "Sam" (Bluemax Sammy)

Level 3c
Mariska Herbert & Border Collie "Tajah" (Kirbyholme Sirtajah)

Level 4
Tony Collins & German Shepherd "Saber" (Labron Royal Salute

Security Assessments
Level 1
Monica Krueger and Standard Poodle "Eddie"

Level 2
Tony Collins & German Shepherd "Saber"
Tony Collins & German Shepherd "Beau"

Caboolture Dog Obedience Trials 7-7-01
UD:
1st place: Monica Krueger & Standard Poodle "Eddie" (Jurado Teddy Brown CDX) – 192pts
CDX: 
1st Tony Collins and German Shepherd "Beau" 193pts
2nd. Monica Krueger and Standard Poodle "Eddie" 193pts.

State German Shepherd Trials 14-7-01
CDX: 
1st. place: Tony Collins & German Shepherd "Beau" 196pts. Also awarded the "Award for Excellence"
Congratulations to Monica and Tony on the Caboolture Trial. They tied for 1st place on 193pts in CDX. Tony won on a count back.
Congratulations also again to Tony for his achievements at the State German Shepherd Trials. Tony has now won the "Award for Excellence" in the German Shepherd Specialty Trials for two years in a row.

Displays - Guide Dogs Day Out.
We will also be representing the Guide Dog Training Centre in a display at "Guide Dogs Big Day Out", Brisbane City Botanical Gardens on the River Stage Complex, 1pm on Sun.26^th Aug. The day includes games and entertainment for your dogs and a $10 registration fee per dog bought to the festivities. Also numerous prizes such as an overseas holiday.

New Web Site domain name
Our new web site domain name is www.rossallan.com . Whilst the web site is still under construction there is a lot of material existing, as well as copies of previous news letters.

Next In-House Competition
The next in-house will be held at the Beerwah Sport Grounds on Saturday 1-9-01commencing 1pm. Interested persons please inform Jeffrey. There is a small fee of $5.00 for levels one & two. And $10.00 for all the higher levels.

Training tips
Please remember :-

1. The dog has an inherent desire to please the pack leader - Four legged or two legged. Quite simply, the dog is a pack animal and you’re part of its pack. The pack must have a leader, if you don’t provide leadership the dog will and does. Should you be still having problems getting the pack structure in place see me about purchasing a copy of Val Bonnie's book, "Who’s the Boss". An excellent book on the subject.

2. Keep the training simple. Dogs are hunters and scavengers by nature, no dog makes another dog sit, drop, stay etc, that is our idea. Obedience training is not natural to a dog, so the introduction to any new exercise must be kept simple and introduced in a pleasant manner. You can start a new exercise in a manner that is too hard and cause big problems by confusing the dog resulting in it cowering or rebelling against you. If you start too soft you can always get firmer if you realize the dog understands the exercise but is being lazy with you.

3. Repetition. Dogs learn and remember by repetition. Regular short sessions throughout the week rather than one long session every few days.

4. Praise. Never drop the praise. It is like working with a child, continually rewarding it for good work. If the pack structure is in place and that is, you’re the boss, the dog has an inherent desire to please you and that is your base level for training. Unless you have the dog’s respect the training is always difficult. The praise comes from you (the respected leader) and not bribery such as food tit bits. There is always discipline in the dog and wolf packs, and no pack leader bribes for good behaviour, it punishes bad behaviour.

Trivia
Information obtained from Collins Pocket Dictionary on Dogs.

Hearing
A dog’s hearing is much sharper than man’s and their ears are much more mobile.
Dogs can hear high-frequency sounds inaudible to humans and have a greater sensitivity to sound than we do.
Research has shown that a dog can pinpoint the source of a sound within six hundredths of a second.

Scent
Smell is the most highly developed sense in dogs. A dog has about 200 million scent receptors in its nose as opposed to humans who have 5 million.
The region of a dogs brain which registers smell contains 40 times more cells than the equivalent area in a human brain.
A dog’s nose is moist in order to help it capture scent. Scents carried in the nasal secretions are passed to the nasal membranes, which are lined with sensory cells leading directly to the olfactory bulb of the brain.

Taste
Dogs have fewer tastebuds than humans, 2,000 compared to our 10,000.
A dog’s oesophagus has a thick lining which allows it to swallow large, solid food.

Please Note
We are no longer involved with obedience classes with the Guide Dog Training Centre of QLD. At present we are fulfilling our obligations to people who have paid for lessons through the Centre, on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at St. Paul’s School, Bald Hills.
We still conduct Sunday morning training classes at Nudgee College, Virginia, as well as Beerwah, (Wednesday mornings) Buderim (Monday evenings) and Cooroy. (Thursday mornings)

Health
A dog’s teeth and jaws are designed to kill its prey and also to rip and tear flesh from the victim. Dog’s don’t chew as we do but swallow whole. When a dog uses its powerful jaws in a biting action the 42 teeth take a razor sharp effect. Keeping a dog’s teeth, mouth & gums healthy doesn’t take a lot of time or effort, & the rewards both to the dog & the owners wallet is certainly worth it!
Puppies are born without teeth. The baby or milk teeth appear between 3-4 weeks, with the permanent teeth beginning to bud in the 4th month. It generally takes two months for the dog to complete the second dentition, & this is usually a time of pain.
for the puppy & frustration for the owner, as the 42 new teeth start to take their toll of anything the puppy can get a hold of.
Please don’t demand too much of your puppy during the time when the permanent teeth are coming through. Try not to overexert them when playing, or let them get too excited or frightened. They are after all, still learning about this life stuff.
With age, certain health circumstances or poor nutrition, tartar will forms on the teeth & reaches the gums, causing the gums to recede & producing toothache. Pockets will then develop causing bacteria which makes the breath smell & produces pus around the necks of the teeth. It’s at this point that the tartar needs to be removed by a veterinary surgeon. This is a costly business & one that takes a lot out of a dog, with the need for a general anaesthetic.
A great solution would be to prevent tartar developing in the first place. Tartar is made up chiefly of calcium salts which come from the saliva.
Dog biscuits alone are useless in preventing tartar. Raw bones should be provided at least 3 times a week. Please remember never to use pork or any meat product that is not fit for human consumption, & to always use raw bones. Cooked bones will splinter in either the mouth, stomach or gut, with fatal consequences. For all of you who are weaning your dogs onto fresh, raw fruit & vegetables -no onions (anaemia) or cabbage (wind) please!! (for obvious reasons), keep on with the good work. Raw carrots, apples etc, go a long way to helping keep your dogs mouth & gums in good health, & please… no snacks in between meals & NO SWEETS. These do a great job of causing dental caries in the animal. By the way, did you know that chocolate can be fatal to dogs?
If you have any questions regarding dental/oral health for your dog, please give me a call or email me: eholland@powerup.com.au or come & have a fee free consultation at Nudgee from 8.30 on Sunday mornings. I would also like to remind you that there are homeopathic medicines which are not expensive which can help your dog in many disease conditions of the mouth, including the removal of tartar, discolouration of teeth, loose teeth, defects in enamel, bad breath, gingivitis, dentition & for correcting disorders in dental development. Unfortunately premolar defect, a condition known to breeders, cannot be treated as the tooth buds are missing, a problem due to inbreeding.
Stay happy & healthy…naturally

Elaine Holland Homeopath Natural Therapist 70 Glenora St. Wynnum (07) 3396 2876