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Newsletter of the Doggy scene in Zimbabwe, with some articles and Show news as well.. |
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Articles published in this Newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor. Nothing may be copied unless the Editor grants permission.
Dates & News:
ZimDog News, can be accessed from: www.vanerp.net.
Zimbabwe Kennel Club:
The Zimbabwe Kennel Club office
will now only be open on a Friday each week, 14.00-16.00 CAT.
Local Shows and Fairs
Future shows:
5 April a fun show at the GSD Club, 17 May a Breed and Obedience show by
Working Breeds Club of Mashonaland and possibly 15 June Dj & Ob at
Kennel Club of Harare.
The German Shepherd Dog Club
They held their Open Show on 15
March 2009 and it was a very well run show with lots of prizes donated
by an old member of the club: Judy Spamer.
Entries were good. Beginners had 5 of which a GSD Club member won and
Bruce Freebairn came second with his dog.
Beginners 2 entries, first came a GSD Club member while Linda had to
withdraw from this test.
Novice 5 entries with a wonderful performance by Sam Fernandes and her GSD, coming into first place and Cherrie from the Kennel club came second. Class A had one entry Mary Ann and her Labrador, Class B one entry Ray Folcarrelli and Class C one entry: Gladys Little
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On a recent bird walking trip we went to Imire, although not doggy related it was a fantastic trip. Imire is not expensive and the food is just wonderful. We saw about 142 bird species of which 4 different raptors. We came across two of their ‘young’ Rhino’s. Gomo, the male is 7 years and Kamuchacha is 6. I am sure a lot of us read about the dreadful culling/poaching of two of their older Rhino’s, where one female was about to give birth to a baby a week later.Imire has been extremely successful in breeding and have had around 20 babies or more. In the wild they only produce one baby every 4 years, in Imire they have been able to get a baby every two years, an achievement as these black Rhino’s are near to extinction and so are ‘Royal game’ and are protected by National parks guards 24 hrs a day. |
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The other amazing sight is one Elephant that made a buffalo heard his ‘family’. They move together and follow the Elephant. This Elephant is also the ‘pack leader’ and has killed about 16 in the heard because of misbehavior. |
 Different ways to control your dog in the down stay on the pause table |
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 This was not asked for. The exercise was either over the drum or through the drum!! |
The BBC decision comes after both the RSPCA and the Pedigree pet food company withdrew support for the competition
The BBC has decided to scrap television coverage of Crufts dog show next year because it could not run the risk of a deformed or diseased dog becoming supreme champion.
The broadcaster demanded that 12 breeds linked to inherited genetic disease be dropped from the show as a condition for nightly coverage of the four-day event. After advice from a panel of experts, the BBC wished to bar from the screen the Clumber spaniel, basset hound, bloodhound, dogue de Bordeaux, mastiff, Neapolitan mastiff, Pekingese, shar-pei, chow chow, German shepherd, bulldog, St Bernard, Cavalier King Charles spaniel and Rhodesian ridgeback.
The uncompromising demands, which the Kennel Club refused to meet, came after the furore over the documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed on BBC One in the summer. This featured a prize-winning Cavalier King Charles spaniel with syringomyelia, a condition that occurs when a dog’s skull is too small for its brain. It also showed boxers with epilepsy, pugs with breathing problems and bulldogs unable to mate or give natural birth.
The BBC’s decision had been widely predicted. Some observers suggested that the future of the show was in jeopardy after the Pedigree pet food company withdrew its sponsorship.
Related Links
Ronnie Irving, the chairman of the Kennel Club, insisted that the show would go on even though he was unable to accept the “insupportable” conditions imposed by the BBC.
The club disagrees with the “at-risk breeds” list, especially as it is already revising pedigree standards for 209 breeds to be in force next year.
An independent inquiry into pedigree breeding is to begin shortly and judges for the next Crufts, at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, on March 5 to 8, have also been instructed to award prizes to healthy dogs.
The BBC is understood to have been on the brink of announcing that it was dropping Crufts for good, not just next year’s show, but held back because of the competition’s importance. A source said: “Dropping it is very much on the agenda if they do not rectify the problems.”
Senior BBC staff believe that it will bring Crufts back to the screen only if the RSPCA gives the Kennel Club its backing. The BBC and the Kennel Club are now involved in legal wrangling over whether another channel should be offered the chance to cover next year’s show. ITV, Channel 4 and Five are not interested.
The BBC, which has covered the event for 42 years, knows that the decision will disappoint many viewers. Last year’s highlights attracted an audience of 14.5 million.
Caroline Kisko, secretary at the club, said: “For 40 years we have had supposedly unhealthy dogs and now, when everyone is trying to sort out the problems, the BBC has decided to move away. They could have helped our case by promoting healthy dogs. It is very sad and we find it illogical.”
Mark Evans, for the RSPCA, said that the BBC decision reflected serious scientific and public concern.
NAIL TRIMMING
Hi jan cashel,
When was the last time that you trimmed your dog's nails? If you can't remember then his nails are probably too long by now...The elements can naturally wear down dogs nails, but the truth is that many dogs spend most of their time indoors, so their nails tend to grow too long. Overgrown nails curl around and can catch in carpets, furniture, clothing etc. If left unchecked the nails can grow long enough to penetrate back into the pad of the foot and cause your dog discomfort. So... you need to add a doggie manicure to your list of pet care responsibilities! But cutting dogs nails can be a bit tricky. The two biggest issues are learning how to handle your dog so he will be "still" long enough to cut his nails and making sure that you do not hurt him by cutting the "quick" inside the nail. The "quick" is within the centre of each toenail and it is the blood and nerve supply. Many of you have asked me about products that make this process easier and minimize the risk of hurting your precious dog. Well, there are a couple of new products in the market that do NOT cut but rather "file" the nail down a bit at a time. One of the products you will see advertised on TV is called PediPaws .I wanted to try PediPaws for myself because sometimes it is difficult to tell the product quality and actual results you get from this type of products. So I asked one of our veterinarians, Dr. Karin Szust, to try it on her 5 dogs. Dr. Szust came into the office this morning and told us that she really liked PediPaws. It did a good job on her dog's nails; the tool filed the nails nicely, was not too loud and did not overheat. Dr. Szust gave PediPaws thumbs up! I am VERY careful about the things I recommended to my Petplace readers, so I wanted to run PediPaws by one more test. I asked another member of the Petplace team, Angela, to bring in her dog (Zeus) so we could try PediPaws in the office and all see exactly how it worked. Zeus is a 75-pound Rottweiler mix, so if Zeus did not like the PediPaws he was going to let us know in no uncertain terms. To make matters worse, Zeus' nails were Black, which make the "quick" MUCH harder to find.
So what happened? Well I am happy to report that PediPaws worked great and Zeus got his nails trimmed (and Angela is happy!).So yes, after testing PediPaws I think that PediPaws is an excellent tool for trimming your dog's nails. It is also a great value at $19.99 (which is the lowest price I have seen on tools of this type). There is a webpage with a very nice video that shows how PediPaws works and a dog getting his nails "done". I encourage you to watch the video so you can learn more about PediPaws go to: pedipawsvideo.com
.Dr. Jon.
The feed and Authority Alert on melamine in animal food.
The F.A is going to have extra controls on Chinese products, which are … for animal feeds. Some time ago the F A found in an amount of Soya meal the poisonous melamine. This was planned to be used for making animal feed. It was already delivered to three mixing feed factories. It has been taken back. Melamine was used in China to hide the fact that they watered down the milk, to give it the look as if it was the normal milk. Thousands of babies became sick and some died. More melamine has been found in other milk used products in biscuits, chocolate etc. This could happen in S Africa too.
BLEEDING
Dear jan cashel
Last week, I stopped by the local emergency clinic and a gentleman and his wife brought in their dog that was "bleeding". They didn't know what had happened but there was blood everywhere. Literally, they were arguing about something and it was hard to get a good history about the dog. We initially thought he had been hit by a car. The dog had blood on his head, in his ears, in his mouth, his fur was covered. His vital signs were stable so we proceeded to try to wipe him down to find the source of blood. Believe it or not - it was from a cut on his foot. The dog had cut a big arterial blood vessel and proceeded to bleed for 3 hours before coming to the emergency clinic. The owners were hysterical. To make a long story short - the dog had lost a lot of blood. Many times when a dog is bleeding - it LOOKS like a lot of blood but it really isn't. In this case - it really was. We sedated the dog and sutured the wound. After surgery, we monitored his blood counts and they dropped so low - that he required a blood transfusion. We spoke with the owner more and they said the dog was in the yard and they noticed the foot bleeding but thought it would stop (3 hours prior) but it kept bleeding. The key lesson? As responsible pet owners we must know what to do if our dog is bleeding. It doesn't have to be fancy but effective. Keep your dog calm. When you see where the blood is coming from - get a clean cloth or towel and apply gently pressure on the wound. Don't use a tourniquet. Just gentle pressure and go see your veterinarian. I also strongly recommend that you keep a first aid kit for your dog handy. This weekend - take a minute and consider what should be in your dog's home to help him in the case of an emergency. Look at the list of what should be in a dog first aid kit and put it on your list the next time you are at the store. Keep your dog safe. If you don't know what to do - keep the number to your vet or local ER handy so they can help guide you until you can get to the clinic.
Until next time, Dr. Jon.