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NEWS
Bulletin
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April 2003 -
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IN THIS ISSUE: |
Profile Dog Food
- Understanding Animal Nutrition
We would like to offer a special thanks to Profile for their
nation wide support of
CKC Performance Events.
The most recent, substantial change here at Continental Kennel Club was the
introduction of our Pre-Printed Puppy Applications at the beginning of this
year. The response from our members has been very positive about this new
service. They are free of charge, less hassle, and easy to use. You
simply give us a call or submit a Pre-Printed Puppy Application Form and
provide us with your information, the number of pups in the litter, their birth
date and the parent's CKC numbers. You can even order them online by
Clicking Here.!! |
Last month was a very busy month for CKC Performance Events &
Competitions. Below is a list of a few of the events that were held
across the country during the month of March. You can find more information on
the other CKC Performance Events and Competitions, by Clicking
Here.
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Routine Vaccinations and Health Care
- from your Puppy to your Senior Citizen -
Are you a member or have you recently joined
Continental Kennel Club? Did you register your senior citizen? Is she
bred or has she recently had puppies? Have you recently purchased a new puppy
that is registered with CKC? If you can answer yes to any of those questions,
then this article will give some very insightful information about the care of
your puppy or dog. I am a Graduate Veterinary Technician working with CKC in
hopes of encouraging all CKC members and prospective members to learn all they
can about the care, treatment and health of their dog. This article will cover
all aspects of a canine's health, from a puppy's first visit, to the last and
routine health care done by the Veterinarian, Veterinary Technician or by
you.
For the first six weeks of life puppies are protected
by you, the owner, from extreme heat, cold and predators. The mother or Dam
provides the maternal antibodies that are found in the colostrum, or first
milk. This provides nutrients needed for growth and development. An antigen is
a substance that introduces a state of sensitivity or immune responsiveness
after a latent period and causes a puppy or dog to become sick. Antibodies are
substances that react with an antigen to protect the puppy or dog against that
certain antigen. Maternal antibodies are received from the mother, before and
after birth, and during the last six weeks after the puppy's birth. It is
because of the maternal antibodies that puppies do not need to make their first
visit to the Veterinary Clinic until they are six weeks of age..
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Eight Procedures to be Performed at a Routine
Office Visit
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1. A
general physical exam, recording weight and any abnormalities.
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| 2. Check for external parasites. |
| 3. Perform a fecal exam. |
| 4. Administer a de-wormer (This is
done even if the dog or puppy is negative for any parasites). |
| 5. Initiate Heartworm prevention
(one dose by weight for puppies and will recheck at each visit). |
| 6. Vaccinate. |
| 7. Advice will be given on
nutrition, grooming and health care of your puppy or dog and some Veterinary
offices may provide you with pamphlets about such topics. |
| 8. A health record will be started
or updated for the owner.
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A routine physical exam is a general look-over of the
puppy or dog to insure good health status. All systems of the body will be
checked and questions will be asked about each one. The skin and ears are
checked thoroughly for external parasites such as fleas, ticks, skin mites, ear
mites and ringworms. If any of these parasites are found, they must be treated
immediately to avoid spreading and/or causing secondary infection. The puppy or
dog must be started on prevention of these parasites or if already on a
prevention, it should be changed to a different dose or preventive. A fecal
exam is used to determine if your puppy or dog has any internal parasites such
as whipworms, roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms and coccidia. A routine
de-wormer such as Pyrantal is given regardless of positive or negative result
of fecal exam. If tapeworms or coccidia are present, other medications may be
administered and dispensed according to results and severity of infestation.
Heartworm prevention, which is determined by the puppy or dog's weight and
administered as a pill, chewable tablet or injection, is started at the six
weeks of age visit. It is given once monthly for the length of the dogs' life.
There are many different brands and effects. Some of the Heartworm preventives
have internal parasite de-wormer in them and some have external parasite
prevention in them. Many of the options will be available at your local
Veterinary Clinic and will be discussed with you by the Veterinarian or the
Veterinary Technician to determine the best one for your puppy or dog. Although
this prevention can be changed at any time, it must be given monthly to prevent
Heartworm disease, which is terminal for your dog. The following is a table
that shows the vaccination schedule of the Canine.
| Age |
DA2PL-PC /
(8-in-1) |
Kennel Cough |
Lyme Disease |
Rabies |
| 6 wks |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| 9 wks |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| 12 wks |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Annual |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
This standard
vaccination schedule is used. Many Veterinarians use their own discretion on a
routine vaccination schedule. Some do not give the Lyme disease vaccinations
until the ninth or twelfth week. Some do not give parts of the eight-in-one
vaccination until the ninth or twelfth week. Lyme disease vaccination is not
required, but is recommended. Kennel Cough vaccinations are recommended and
only required for boarding, showing and other events. Rabies vaccination is
required once a year in some areas, but other areas only require the three-year
vaccination.
Before the visit ends, any problems, diseases or
illnesses that arose during the visit will be addressed. This may include other
tests such as blood work, skin scrapings or other types of diagnostic tests.
Any questions that you may have can be discussed at this time along with other
useful information you can use such as prevention procedures of parasites and
other diseases, management of the new puppy, skin, ear and nail care, grooming
and nutrition. Before the owner leaves the office, a health record will be
started or updated for your puppy or dog. If a Rabies vaccination was given a
rabies tag and certificate will be given along with a date for a follow up
visit. Many clinics will send out reminders to bring in your puppy or dog,
which will help you keep up with when an appointment needs to be made.
Kami R. Guy CVT
This article is intended for
educational purposes and not to be interpreted as a diagnosis.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the health or well being of
your dog
please consult your local Veterinarian or Veterinary Technician.
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FEATURED
ARTICLE II
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The Pointing Lab, Fact or Myth?
By Joe R. Lock
President, Suncoast Retriever/Bird
Dog Assn.
When I first heard
of the pointing Lab, several years ago, I thought someone was either making it
up, or were terribly mistaken. I have been involved with hunting dogs,
including most of the pointing breeds, spaniels, retrievers, beagles,
foxhounds, and coonhounds most of my life, and I had never heard of, much less
seen a pointing Lab. After reading several articles by well known hunting dog
writers about the pointing Lab, I was still in disbelief and agreed with the
fraternity of conservative dog men who chided, "A bird dog is either a pointer
or a flusher. All retrievers are flushers, case closed!"
That fervent stance began to gradually subside after I
met CKC registered Prince Charles of Rocky Creek, known to all who love and
admire him as Charley. This big, high energy, yellow Labrador retriever has so
far earned 66 points in two CKC sanctioned hunt tests, on his way to a title in
the Novice class of the (would you believe it?) Pointing Lab Category!
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Charley
March 8, 2003
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When I bought Charley, I was not looking for a pointing Lab. In fact, there are
only a handful of breeders in the United States who intentionally breed Labs
that demonstrate the pointing instinct. I wanted a Lab that would find, flush,
and retrieve upland birds, and that could also retrieve ducks and doves. I
bought Charley when he was 8 weeks old, and began socializing him with all the
things of the world in which he would come in contact. This included toys.
I noticed right away, that as he approached one of his
toys, he would pause and stare for several seconds before pouncing on it. As he
grew, this stare or "point" lasted longer and longer. I thought this behavior
to be strange indeed for a breed that is supposed to boldly flush and not
point. Just to further satisfy my curiosity about this little anomaly, I
thought I would try the old pointing dog trainer's method of reinforcing the
pointing instinct by tying a bird's wing on a string on the end of a long stick
and dangling it in front of the pup. Charley pointed the wing!
I still thought this pointing thing would wear off
when he later got into real birds. Certainly when he saw real birds run and fly
he would try to jump in and catch them. When Charley was 4 months old, I took
him to a game preserve to introduce him to live quail. We planted a few birds
and let him have at it. He flushed the birds and never seemed to give a thought
to pointing them. We were happy and went on to complete the training.
Incidentally, Charley flushed and retrieved 10 straight quail that day!
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Joe Lock & Charley
December 7, 2002
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About a month
later, we set forth on our second outing. He did a great job in hunting and
seeking out the birds. This time however, he was not anxious to jump in on
them. The more birds he found, the longer he would pause before going in on the
bird. This pause became a bonafide point. I became very perplexed. Though this
pointing behavior would be fine for hunting, it would cause him to score low or
even fail in a hunt test. A flushing dog is expected to find the bird and then
go in and boldly flush. As the season went on, Charley's pointing instinct grew
so strong that now he would hold a point until I flushed the bird, just like
any of the pointing breeds. I realized that, want him or not, I had a pointing
Lab.
How did this pointing Lab
phenomenon come about? Any web search on the internet can give you tons of
information on the history of the Labrador retriever. Most of it is in
agreement that the breed started in Newfoundland and was used by fishermen to
help haul in nets and perform other various tasks. Labs were quickly adopted by
hunters to retrieve game and later were used to find game as well. Some
articles say that pointing dogs were occasionally crossed with Labradors. These
speculations were based on research and some common sense type theories. It
will probably never be known for sure as records of who begat who were rarely
kept. One probable theory that seems to have as much credibility as any is that
the pointing Lab can be traced back to the old Spanish pointer and that this
pointing gene resurfaces from time to time in present day dogs. By now you know
that I am not a geneticist and you are probably offended if you are one.
However, as simple as it may sound, if the pointing gene has been inherited
from the Spanish pointer, the whole concept of the pointing Lab is a little
easier for me to take.
But, do we need another pointing dog? The answer is,
why not? It is much more difficult to stifle an instinct than to nurture one.
If a Lab has the pointing instinct, then the trainer should help to develop it.
The CKC hunt test rules for retrievers and bird dogs have a category for
pointing Labs, and the rules set up for them are a little different than for
other pointing dogs. For example, the pointing Lab does not have to hold a long
point. The longer the better, but a minimum of 3 seconds for a Novice dog is
all that is required to pass the test.
The proponents of the
pointing Lab state that this dog is not a separate breed. It should be trained
and handled just like any other Lab. The only difference is that it points
instead of flushes. Charley is now 2 years old and his pointing ability is
excellent. He doesn't always lock up solid when he gets scent from a distance
like an English pointer may do, but when he points, get ready, the bird is
right under his nose.
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| Snapshot
of the Month |
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CKC would like to see your canine buddies in action! Each month we will pick a
theme and ask you to submit photos of your dog(s) relating to the theme of the
month. You can
e-mail or mail your snapshot ATTN: Snapshot of the Month, PO BOX 1627,
Walker, LA 70785. The winner will receive a custom made CKC
T-Shirt with their snapshot on the back. All we ask is that you please
include your name, address and daytime phone number.
April's Theme of the Month
is
"The Sporting Dog"
For "The Sporting Dog" theme we
would like you to submit pictures of your dogs participating in athletic
activities. (ex. agility, swimming, retrieving, hunting, etc..) We will accept
pictures of all breeds, shapes, sizes and colors.
Note: All pictures
submitted become property of Continental Kennel Club and
may be used at our discretion
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| CKC
Q & A |
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to Top
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E-mail your questions and comments about CKC and our monthly newsletter to
editor@ckcusa.com. In each month's newsletter we will have responses to
the most commonly asked questions.
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| Coming
Soon... |
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to Top
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In upcoming newsletters we will have a "Breeder Salute" where you can
nominate a breeder who is dedicated to bettering and preserving pure
breeds. We will also include a "Breed of the Month" where we will
dedicate a section of this newsletter to informing our readers about a lesser
known breed.
If you would like to submit an article for upcoming
newsletters, you can submit your article to ATTN: Newsletter, PO BOX 1627,
Walker, LA 70785 or e-mail to editor@ckcusa.com.
Note: All articles
submitted become property of Continental Kennel Club and may be
used at our discretion.
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NOTE: The
CKC Monthly Newsletter is available by subscription only. Your contact
information is secure and will never be shared with a third party.
Got a question? Or maybe you'd just like to say how much
you enjoy the Newsletter? Send your comments to:
editor@ckcusa.com
Copyright© 2003 Continental Kennel
Club, Inc. - No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express
written permission by the publisher.
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