New Herding titles for SAWHDA dogs

This weekend, CKC Herding trials, hosted by the Rottweiler and Australian Cattle dog Clubs, were held  at Phantomridge Farms in High River. Our Southern Alberta Working/Herding Dog Association was well-represented at the trial.  And what a great time it was. The weather was good,the stock was perfect for all levels of competition, the food was amazing, the prizes were wonderful and everyone pitched in to make the days' events move smoothly and quickly. 
Our judges, Shelley Fritzke (BC) and Barb Davenport (USA) were very impressed with the quality of herding presented this weekend.  


And those of us who attended came away with huge smiles on our faces and hope for a bright future in the world of CKC herding. 


Joan Michaud had two of her Belgian shepherds, Dani and Dex entered in the trial. She reports,  


"What a nice turnout for the CKC Herding trials this weekend! Prizes were great and everything really organized. Very proud of my 2 boys today!!! Dani was in Herding Tested and Dex in Herding Started. Dani earned his HT title in the 2 trials I had him in Saturday. Morning trial was his best, afternoon one I stressed him out too much but we worked through it and he got the job done. Seems a huge hunk of sheeps wool was better than wanting to listen to mom yell "lie down".... So Dani is now Windmar's Fandango HT (leg on pre-novice and leg on Rally Novice). Dex , my started dog, had a decent run this morning but we had issues and I know it was the handler causing the problems:)) His first run was 80.5/100 Q and his second run was awesome and fast! Course mom cost him some points off with handling skills but he got quite a few elements with a perfect score:) 90/100 with a 3rd place finish out of 13 Started dogs!!! Sunday, we picked up our last leg and so, Ch. Windmar's Dex Treme, CD, RE, HIC, can add HS to his list of credentials. "


Lore Bruder and her cardigan Welsh corgi,  Daisy Mae,  whipped around the course like gazelles, (well, maybe not gazelles, but fast) as Lore raced from obstacle to obstacle with sheep and Daisy in hot pursuit. The technique worked 4/4 trials and we think Lore should put out a herding video entitled, "Dog aerobics for arena herding".  East Dawn Victory Ridge HT, was indeed victorious and added the Herding Tested title to her Obedience and  Rally Obedience titles.


Hunter, German shepherd dog owned and handled by Judi Snowdon, had a blast at the trials. He gained more and more confidence with each of his four runs in Herding Tested and came away with with his HT title, a ceramic sheep bank (piggy bank) and a fluffy sheep toy that grunted its little bah, bah, as Hunter played with it in the van almost all the way home from High River to Lundbreck.  Ch. Shadowbar's Pardon My Dust, completed his  Herding Tested title in style qualifying 4/4 trials. 


The three breeds mentioned above are not "eye" breeds, in that, unlike the border collies, they do not use "eye' to control and move sheep and they do not crouch down to move the sheep.  They are considered 'upright' breeds and herding with these breeds is somewhat different. For example, when a German shepherd enters the arena, the sheep are on guard and wary far earlier and they automatically display more anxiety than when a border collie enters.  The sheer mass of the dog and the fact that it moves upright is enough to cause the sheep to move away sooner and more quickly.  The German shepherd moves with a fluid trot most of the time, switching to high gear as needed, so once the sheep become accustomed to it, things can settle down. But it takes some of the ten minute time limit to accomplish this.
The Belgian shepherd, on the other hand, is large enough to worry the stock, plus it moves with a jump start and a burst of motion that requires much fore-thought on the part of the handler to maintain a calm flow during the run. The cardigan Welsh corgi, because of its short stature, has to remain engaged with the sheep at all times as it needs to pace its energy and use its capacity to move quickly only as necessary.  All these breeds differ from the "eye" breeds as well as from each other in their herding styles.  Yet each of them showed that over the hundreds of years that they have been in existence, they have retained their natural herding ability.




Congratulations to all of you, and happy herding in the future! 


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                                  Judges Shelley Fritzke, and Barb Davenport with Judi and Hunter

Prizes, Qualifying ribbons and score sheets 

                                                    Lore and Daisy Mae on the ready. 

Dr. Jean Dodds Seminar

Jean Dodds, DVM Seminar

on Canine Health Issues

sponsored by the Flathead Kennel Club of Montana

Continuing Education Credits Available

When: August 4, 2012 – Lecture starts promptly at 9 am - 5 pm/ Lunch included

Where: Hampton Inn, 1140 US Highway 2 West Kalispell, MT

Registration: Check-in starts at 8am – Register EARLY to reserve your space!

Fees: $75 if paid before July 1, 2012; $80 after July 1, 2012; Same day registration: $90

Questions: Vicki Olsen, 406-253-3971, vlo48@hotmail.com website: http://flatheadkennelclub.com

Dr. Dodds received the D.V.M. degree with honors in 1964 from the Ontario Veterinary College. She accepted a position with the New York State and there began as a Research Scientist and culminated as Chief, Laboratory of Hematology, Wadsworth Center. Later she also became Executive Director of the New York State Council on Human Blood and Transfusion Services. In 1986 she moved to establish Hemopet, the first nonprofit national blood bank program for animals.

Vaccine Issues - 9 am – 10:30 am

Modern vaccine technology has permitted us to protect companion animals effectively against serious infectious diseases. However, the challenge to produce effective and safe vaccines for the prevalent infectious diseases of animals has become increasingly difficult. Animals of certain susceptible breeds or families appear to be at increased risk for severe and lingering adverse reactions to vaccines.  

Nutrition - 10:45 am – 12:15 pm and (resumes following lunch break) 1 pm – 2 pm

Wholesome nutrition is key to maintaining healthy immune function and resistance to disease. Discussion will focus on the basic ingredients and trace vitamins, minerals, and immune-balancing nutrients that promote healthy endocrine and immune function as they apply to health and disease.

Thyroid Disease - 2:15 pm – 5:00 pm

Hypothyroidism is the most common endocrine disorder of dogs, and up to 90% of cases result from an autoimmune disease that progressively destroys the thyroid gland (autoimmune thyroiditis). Once more than 70% of the gland is destroyed by this process, classical clinical signs of hypothyroidism appear. Because the condition is heritable, it has significant genetic implications for breeding stock.  Accurate diagnosis of the early stages of autoimmune thyroiditis offers important genetic and clinical options for prompt intervention and case management. However, it is often difficult to make a definitive diagnosis.

Confirmations will be made by email, unless you include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Name (s) ____________________________________________________________________________________

Organization/Dog Club/Vet Hospital _______________________________________________________________

Address__________________________________________________ City __________ State ______ Zip ______

Phone____________________________________________________Email______________________________

Continuing Education Credits (6.75) - Please check here □

I have enclosed _____ for the one-day registration fee for _____ people.

Mail registration with checks made payable to: Flathead Kennel Club of Montana PO Box 2547 Kalispell, MT 59903

Seniors' Week Celebrations

Last week was Seniors' week and our Due South dog group visited Crestview Lodge in Pincher Creek to
offer some canine entertainment.  Our presentation was met with great enthusiasm on the part of the residents.  Despite the cold wind, the dogs managed to provide lots of entertainment and some laughs, too.

We hope to return to do our square dance sometime later this summer.
Practice for demos every Monday evening at Shadowbar at 7:15 p.m. New members
welcome.

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SAWHDA Fun Day at Shadowbar Shepherds Saturday, June 23rd!!

9:30 scent hurdle racing

10:00  relay sprints, barrel racing

10:30  rally O obedience (course set up)

11:45  arm and pedal flyball

12:15 obedience 

12:30 draft dog work 

Refreshments on hand.  

Non-member drop in fee  $5.00 payable at the start of the day.

Members free.

Hope to see you there!!!

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Hall of Fame Winner

I am not certain that you would call this news, but on June 8th, the winners of the Best Buddy contest met at the Alberta Royal Museum in Edmonton for a preview of the Wolf to Woof summer exhibit which will run from June 9th to September 16th, 2012.  Thirty winning photos and stories were chosen from over 250 entries to represent 3 categories:

Hall of Fame,  Hall of Shame,  and Best Friends Forever.  The photos and the stories that accompany them are on display as part of the large exhibit. 

Shadowbar's Tuxedo Rose, a German shepherd owned by Judi and Darryl Snowdon, of Lundbreck, was chosen as a winner in the Hall of Fame category for her work in the Humane Education Program at Isabelle Sellon School in the Crowsnest Pass. 

Rose accompanied Judi daily to school where a student with spina bifida learned to handle Rose in competition obedience from a wheelchair as part of her Humane Education project.  After many weeks of practice, this student and Rose entered

and obedience fun match and passed their obedience test with 186/200.  It was a memory this student will not forget.

A caricature of Rose still adorns the wall outside the counsellor's office at ISS. 

As part of the presentation at the Alberta Royal Museum, winners were provided with a wonderful, framed, matted photo of their dog and their story and they were asked to 'pay the news forward' by placing the picture and story in noted public places to encourage families to travel this summer to see the wonderful exhibit, Wolf to Woof, the story of dogs. It is definitely worth the trip. 

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                                           www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/events

                                  Rose and Judi 

Medicine Hat Dog Show Results

What a terrific weekend for SAWHDA members!  Qualifying scores, new titles, wins in the breed ring, too.  And a very well-run show made it even more of a pleasure. 


The Cardigan corgis were there in force.
  
Lore Bruder's corgi, Daisy, won the High in Class award in Novice obedience both days with scores in the 190's  and picked up points in the breed ring as well.


Lore's  young male, Remmington, was Puppy in Group all three days and also racked up the points in the breed ring. Thanks, Lore, for letting me show this handsome kid in the Best Puppy in Show ring. 


Amanda Labadie's corgi, Pixel, was High in Class in the Open A ring, picking up a second 'leg' 
towards her Open title.


Darryl Snowdon's sheltie, Drummer Boy, finished his Excellent Rally title with 98/100 &High in Class on Friday and stayed to play on Saturday, ending up with a perfect score of 100.


My German shepherd, Swazye, finished his Excellent Rally title with 97/100 & second place to Drummer on Friday and got to relax the rest of the weekend.  


Castle, owned by Mountain HIgh Shiba inus of Skookumchuk, BC, soon to be co-owned by me, :) took High in Advanced Rally B every day with scores of 98, 99, and 100 to gain his
Rally Advanced title.  On to Excellent!


Ryder, Sharlet Caroe's GSD, picked up two more 'doubles' towards his RAE VI title, with scores in the 90's in both Advanced and Excellent B. 


Beckett, shiba inu owned by Mountain High Shibas, handled by Deb Golding, went Best of Breed all three days, and Best Puppy in Group on Sunday taking her to 5 points.
Thank you, Amanda, for being there and making our schedule conflict disappear by taking
Beckett into the breed ring.  Whew!  Such a relief.


Heather & John Bolen's poodle took the High in Class in Rally Advanced A on Friday.


Congratulations are in order to all of us as we have begun our summer dog show adventure in good form.  Thank you to the Medicine Hat Club for all their hard work to put on this show.


FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WISH TO DO SOME TRACKING/SEARCH FUN ON THE LONG WEEKEND, JOIN US SUNDAY AT SHADOWBAR STARTING WITH NEWBIES AT 9:30 A.M. AND MOVING ON TO THOSE WHO HAVE HAD SOME PRACTICE RIGHT AFTERWARDS.  EMAIL shadowbr@telusplanet.net  to let us know if you can attend.

Ta Da!  Jeff and Cheryl Popoff have a new German shepherd puppy from Ontario's Timberline Kennels.  Her name is Ena which means (passionate, fiery) and she is, according to Cheryl, a very busy, busy, super-outgoing, nosey bundle of energy.
Brenner thinks she's pretty special, too, and has welcomed her to Tawnashee.
We'll hear more about Ena as she grows, we are sure.


Kudos to Marilyn Lee for gaining  pledges for the Lion's Walk for Dog Guides coming up this weekend in Pincher Creek.  Marilyn sat at a pledge table in Walmart from 10:00 - noon and her group raised almost $400 in pledges which was then matched by the Walmart!!!  Wow!


News from Shadowbar Shepherds has it that Hunter Dude may make his debut at sheepherding this weekend.  Judi has been seen in the Running Shoe aisle of our local store trying on running shoes with grips.



Lore Bruder's sheep herding facility is looking great.  The corgi pups  will head for High River this weekend to try out Phantomridge's sheep.  We are hoping for nice weather for the event.


Joan and her dogs Dez and Dex will be practicing as well.


Carol, Nikki, and Maureen are helping out at the Berner Booth at Pet Expo this coming weekend. Please take the time to say hi to them if you are at Pet Expo.  Theirs will be the booth  where people are having the most fun!  (Remember Maureen training chickens, last year?) 


Tracking tonight if the rain holds off..... can't wait.


Planning some carting/draft  and tracking practice on the long weekend in May if anyone wishes to join us at Shadowbar.  Send an 'e'.  Nothing formal. Just a 'gathering' on one of the days. 

Check out this show lead all the way from Australia... with bling!

Okay, enough said.  Let's get out there and enjoy our dogs!


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