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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 Tuesday and Friday each week, 14.00-16.00 CAT.    

Hi All, It's Christmas time again-- That wonderful time of year I wish you the nicest things that Christmas and the New Year brings.  At a dress up "Doggy party" saw this doggy bring you its cracker for a lovely bang on New Years Eve!!  Best wishes and regards Editor

 

Here a lovely present from your dear friend. Lets hope you will get the best for Christmas and the new year

News:

Birthday party was given for Helen Brown, who turned 80 on 3 December. She was visited by various friends and Gladys had a wonderful spread for all at her sons’ house, where Helen was taken by her husband Doug. Many happy returns Helen!!

Greg and Shaunagh Shaw were attacked at their home at 3 in the morning. Two came in the house asking for money and took some jewels out of the save; Greg was bashed on his head and was treated in hospital. All are OK now, thank goodness. It seems that these thugs seem to know who has ‘saves’ or who might have money in their house.

We wish them all the best.

name: Barry Henderson
email: eleventhnov0@yahoo.co.uk

message: Not long now before Xmas is upon all of us and then New Year rises again.  Have been following your newsletters throughout the year and albeit there haven't been many shows, you have at least managed to have shows.  Our congratulations to everyone on making the effort and of course the winners. May we take this opportunity to wish you, ZKC Council, Show organizers, Competitors and their faithful four legged friends, and all those connected with the shows, all the best for the Festive Season and Success in the forthcoming Year.  Love from us all Barry, Meg and Robyn [not forgetting the daily groomed black & white cat Pumpkin]

name: ems
email: ems@arrocheyn-gsds.co.uk
message: hello

Hiya have a quick moment to have a write hope you are all well and surviving we haven't heard much for a while, well I have just had my right hand operated on for carpal tunnel syndrome and wow what a difference I am slowly getting there with gaining strength back in my hand now am waiting for my left hand to be done which is worse, cheynie has started year 2 at school my god cant believe she is 7 in January how time flies my baby is a little madam but full of life aari is at nursery so I have two days of absolute bliss with no him around on a Tuesday all day and a Friday all day but rest of the week mornings only just me xsara and the dogs at home now, diamond is coming up for nine months now cant believe how  time has gone by have a show on Sunday with her and then another one next Sunday her first big show so fingers crossed she impresses her judges della is due another litter 18th of October fingers crossed she is well and has no problems with the delivery I have retired!   my boy from show and stud he is a lounge dog with the old banyard girl kia as her hips are failing fast poor girl they are two oldies they  are both five now.

Well have to go and get the kids from school and need to get washing in before I go as it looks like it might rain

Love to all Ems

The Kennel Club of Harare

Their Christmas dress up and competition for all who came to participate and stayed on for the Braai. It was a tremendous success for all and fantastic what the organizers again put up for this day.

Quite few came and right you see the start of the musical chairs.
Dress up dogs and their handlers, some very special ‘outfits’!!
Above a real dressed up ‘Sheep’ and right ‘Old Scrooge’ walking around.
One of the groups and right the cart and passenger.

Hi jan cashel,

When you have a dog, there are things you should do and things you should NOT do! This can make a big difference to the way the dog turns out. Happy and confident adult dogs don't just "happen". They are the product of good decisions and correct treatment of the puppy from birth right up until the juvenile period (around 6 months of age). ¨This is a time when primary social relationships and emotional attachments develop between dogs and people, and between dogs and other dogs. Note that only half of this sensitive period has elapsed at the usual time for adoption, which is why it is so important for owners to understand the essentials of proper puppy socialization and training. How to raise a good puppy has been discussed almost ad nauseam by numerous authorities, though the message has still not penetrated to all new puppy owners. In essence, for training a new puppy, new owners need to concentrate on being patient and considerate while using primarily positive reinforcement with, if necessary, negative punishment (withholding benefits) as a consequence for any deliberate, unacceptable behaviour. But even informed owners sometimes fail to appreciate the absolute no-no's of puppy raising. Last month - I sent you an email about what you should NOT do with your pup. Today, I'd like to talk about what TO do. Don’t Expect Your Pup To Understand Sentences . It's okay to babble along to your pup as you care for it, just don't expect it to understand anything you're saying. It will only understand the tone of your address. Dogs can learn a number of word cues ("commands") - even hundreds of them - but they are just that, word cues. A pup can and should be taught at least a few words of human language. In English, "Sit!" and "Dinner!" are a couple that might be useful on occasion. But if you tell the dog, "Sit in your Dinner", the meaning is lost. Dogs do not have a language center in their brains like humans do, and they cannot fathom syntax. Use one-word commands when communicating. Say the word clearly. Say it only once. And say it with importance. Reward the desired response immediately. Do not use the pup's name when addressing it (unless the pup is at a distance). Do not repeat commands. Dogs hear even better than we do. Their "deafness" is usually not attributable to poor hearing. It is selective - they choose not to obey. Remember that if a dog does not respond to a verbal cue it should not be punished. The opposite of reward is not punishment - it is no reward. Don't Allow Young Children (Under 6 Years Old) To Interact With Your Pup Unsupervised . It comes as a surprise to many people to learn that children and puppies, though both cute, cannot be trusted alone together. Bad things can happen. Children are naturally curious. Often a child will do "something bad" to the pup by way of experimentation. In one case, a dog bit a child and the dog had to be euthanatized. On post-mortem it was found that the child had jammed a pencil into the dog's ear, snapping the end off after penetrating the dog's ear drum. If accidents like this are to be avoided, complete supervision is necessary. It's not usually the dog that starts the trouble, it's the child. If you can child-proof your dog, there should be no cause for concern.

Do Not Feed It Human Food: Do Not Feed It >From The Table. Puppy food is best for pups (AAFCO approved, is most desirable). Adding an assortment of human foods in who-knows-what quantities will not only detract from the optimal (proprietary) food but will encourage fussiness. Also, if the human food is fed from the table, you will wind up with a dog that mooches around the table at mealtimes, always begging for food. Start out the way you intend to continue. Set limits and be firm about them.  Make sure that you feed your pup a good quality food.  This is essential to his good health. Do Not Expect Love And Attention To Substitute For Good Puppy Parenting . Young pups are so adorable that it is very tempting to always give them all of the love and attention you possible can. But it is also important to set limits of acceptable behaviour. This is especially important as they go through the canine equivalent of "the terrible twos" at about 4-5 months of age. Bad behaviour, like excessive or hard nipping, should be punished by immediate withdrawal of attention (following sharp exclamation of a word like "Ouch" or "No-bite"). This is how puppies communicate their likes and dislikes to each other. Spare the "Ouch" and spoil the dog! DO NOT SUPPLY ALL THE GOOD THINGS IN LIFE FOR FREE . One simple rule is to make the pup work for food and treats. "What's work?" you ask. It's having the pup "Sit" or "Down" in order to receive food and treats (like Grace). This will make sure that the pup always views you as its true (resource rich) provider and, therefore, leader. Problems of owner-directed aggression downstream can be all but completely addressed by this simple measure. Don't give everything away. Insist on good puppy manners: Manners maketh the pup. DO NOT EVER GET ANGRY WITH YOUR PUP . Work hard to remind yourself, whatever happens, that this is a baby you are dealing with. If you lose your cool, you will act incorrectly, your puppy will think you have gone crazy, and you will lose its respect and trust. Be a good puppy parent. Think cool. Following these simple rules of what NOT to do can help create the dog of your dreams as opposed to a canine nightmare. The basics are the same as in child raising. Be fun, be fair, but be firm (the 3 F's) and set limits. Children are happier when their parents are obviously at the helm, and so are dogs. Dogs need strong leaders if they are to be model canine citizens. The moral of this story is, "As you reap, so shall you sow." Pay attention at the beginning and the rewards will be unimaginable. Until next time, Dr. Jon    

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