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The Continental Kennel Club is excited to welcome 4 new clubs to the CKC Family.  If you are looking for ways to spend quality time with your canine companion, we invite you to contact one of the canine clubs below. For information on starting your own Canine Performance Event Club, please contact Crystal at the Continental Kennel Club.  Crystal can be reached via email at crystal@ckcusa.com or via phone at 1-888-252-8042 (ext 132).  The CKC Performance Events are a great way to get you and your canine involved in activities that promote good human and canine relationships. A complete list of ALL CKC Affiliate Clubs can be found by Clicking Here.

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Profile Dog Food - Understanding Animal Nutrition
The CKC would like to offer a special thanks to Profile for their
nationwide support of CKC Performance Events and Competitions.

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Flea & Tick: Information & Control

Fleas

Fleas are blood-feeding parasites that can be found almost anywhere in the world. The most common flea affecting both dogs and cats in the United States is the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. Adult fleas cause irritation and itching, and can cause flea bite anemia, flea allergy dermatitis (F.A.D.), and tapeworms in dogs and cats. Fleas will bite a human if an animal is not available, but do not thrive off of human blood. Flea bites can also cause itching and irritation for people.

Fleas undergo a complete metamorphosis like a butterfly or moth. Their life cycle contains an egg, larval, pupal, and adult stage. Warm humid conditions help the life cycle to proceed quickly. An average life cycle takes 3-4 weeks to complete, but can become protracted due to the pupal stage. At any given time during an infestation, the eggs constitute approximately 50% of the population, the larvae 35%, the pupae (cocoon) 10%, and the adults 5%.

A household flea infestation usually begins when adult fleas jump onto the pet, usually from an infested environment. Once on the pet the flea immediately begins feeding, mating, and laying eggs on the pet. The eggs are dislodged from the pet by shaking, scratching, and general movement, and fall to the ground. These eggs will hatch into maggot-like larvae that crawl downward, away from light to pupate (form a cocoon). Often this is deep in carpeting underlying furniture. An adult flea will then emerge from the cocoon to perpetuate the life cycle.

Flea Treatment Guidelines

Treat all pets within the household. A variety of products may be used to treat and/or to prevent fleas on your dog, cat, puppy, or kitten. Everything from topical liquid spot/stripe applications, shampoos, sprays, sponge-ons, powders, collars, wipe-ons, tablets, capsules, and injectables are available to help you achieve this goal. Best results are achieved with a product, or a combination of products, which contains both an adult flea killer (an adulticide), as well as an insect growth regulator (IGR), both with residual action.

Treat your pet's environment. Treating your pet for fleas may be only part of the solution to your flea problem. Premise treatment products are available in aerosol, powder, spray, and fogger formulations to help you create a flea free environment. Indoors, be sure to treat all upholstered furniture and carpeting, and especially those areas which may serve as hiding places for pre-adult fleas, like under beds and furniture, in closets, and along the periphery of the room (i.e. baseboards). Outdoors, clean up the site, remove organic debris, keep the lawn mowed, and wash, change, or treat pet bedding.

Ticks

Contrary to popular belief, ticks are not insects. They are actually arachnids, a group that includes spiders, scorpions, and mites. These blood-feeding creatures can carry many infectious diseases including Lyme disease, and transmit them directly to humans and animals through their bite. Ticks are usually divided into two classifications: hard ticks, which are found out in the open, and soft ticks that live in nests and burrows.

Hard ticks are more prevalent in the United States and cause greater damage to pets and humans than soft ticks. The most common hard ticks in the United States are the Lone Star Tick, the American Dog Tick, the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick, the Brown Dog Tick, and the Deer Tick. The hard tick goes through 4 life cycle stages: Adult, Egg, Larvae, and Nymph. Ticks usually require multiple hosts over a long period of time to complete their life cycle.

Tick populations usually surge in the early spring, well ahead of the peak flea season, which usually occurs in the late summer. A solitary tick can usually be safely removed with tweezers by grasping it carefully at the head (which is attached to the surface of the skin) and applying slow and steady traction. Try not to squeeze the body of the tick or handle the tick with your bare hands. Consult your veterinarian if you are not familiar or comfortable with the tick removal process.

Additional Tips to Avoid and Control Ticks

Avoid brushy, woody, and tall grass areas where ticks are usually found

Keeping your lawn well mowed and trees and bushes well trimmed may be helpful in reducing the local tick population

Remove organic debris from contact areas.

Products containing the repellent DEET are recommended for people, but not for animals.  Many different formulations of insecticides are approved for use on pets, including liquid spot/stripe applications, shampoos, sprays, sponge-ons, powders, collars, and wipes

Insecticidal foggers and sprays may be helpful in controlling ticks in the home and kennel.

This article was provided by www.ZodiacPet.com - a proud sponsor of the CKC Performance Events & Competions.

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"The Patterdale Terrier" 

Standard
OTHER NAMES:  Black Fell Terrier
ORIGIN: Great Britain
GROUP: Terrier
COAT: Short & Coarse
COLOR:  Chocolate, red, black, black and tan, with or without white markings on chest and under chin and on tips of toes
HEIGHT:  12 ½ inches or less
WEIGHT:  12-14 pounds

There is nothing more solid than the heart of a true working dog, whether it is herding, protection sports, hunting, or even sports such as fly ball.  There is in every breed, that one dog that you simply CANNOT deny, a true working dog.  The Patterdale Terrier (or Fell Terrier) is that dog.  Formed in the British Isles, weathered in the fells of Old England, and proven definite as a working dog still to this day, the Patterdale Terrier reigns supreme in the Terrier class. 

If you want an obedient, laid-back dog that plays well with others, then keep on looking.  Having a history of never being bred for companionship, the Patterdale Terrier is the last of a dying breed.  These little dogs were bred to be fierce, persistent and courageous.  Courageous enough to pursue quarry, such as ground hog, badger, fox, and even wolverine, to ground, and then, either make them bolt or extract the quarry themselves.  Heart, size and ability were the most important factors considered when the breed was being perfected.  The breeders cared not for plush soft coats or specific markings, nor did they care if registries recognized their dogs; their sole concern was the dog.  That is why today the Patterdale Terrier is one of the most unchanged and purest working dog breeds we know.  Not recognized by many registries, the breed has not been deteriorated by conformation standards.  The breed has remained practically the same for hundreds of years now.

In Old England, sheep farming was one of the biggest forms of income for many people.  Because they did not have the technology that we have today, the need for canine assistance was greatly needed.  The main threats to the farmers' herds were fox and stray dogs.  On a farm in England back in the 1700-1800's, you could find several types of dogs.  The farmers employed herding dogs, flock guards, hounds and terriers.  The flock guards protected the herd from stray dogs and anything else that would threaten it.  The herding dogs moved the herd and rounded it up for the farmers.  The hounds were used to hunt out any possible threats near the farms, but they were too large to go to ground.  That's where these little guys came in.  The Patterdale Terriers were the ones who did the dirty work (literally).  They went down into these animals' own dens, then they either extracted the quarry themselves or tried to make the animal bolt into the awaiting hunters and hounds.

Because they are not bred to strict standards, they are relatively healthy animals.  Grooming could be a hassle because they are naturally drawn to dirt and digging.  A bath every so often and regular vet visits for vaccinations should suffice.  As far as behavior, they tend to be on the dominant toward owners, challenging their authority and seeing what they can get away with.  They do NOT tolerate the abuse that a small child can put on them. In addition, it can be aggressive toward other dogs if not properly socialized.  Patterdale Terriers' prey drive is so finely tuned that they cannot be left alone in the same room with other smaller animals (kittens, hamsters, guinea pigs, etc.)  It is advised by many breeders of working Patterdale Terriers that they never be bred as companion animals; they should only be bred and sold as working animals to preserve everything that terrier men of the past have striven to achieve in the breed. 
 

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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 1450, Walker, LA 70785.

May's Theme of the Month
is
"Mother's Day Out"
(momma with her babies)

Get those cameras out and have some fun.

Congratulations.....

It happened again, the winner of April's Theme of the Month, "Hop into Action (Easter Themed)",
was too hard to decide, so we give you the top 6 finalists.

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A Mother's Day Poem from the Dog:
Author: Unknown

You feed me when I'm hungry,
You keep water in my dish,
You let me sleep on anything
Or in any place I wish.

You sometimes let me lick your hands,
or even lick your face,
Despite the fact I've licked myself
In every private place.

You taught me how to come when called,
You taught me how to sit,
You always let me go outside,
So I can take a s- stroll.

You'll always have my loyalty,
up to the bitter end,
'cause after all, it's plain to see...

You are a dog's best friend!

Happy Mother's Day

CKC would like to wish all mothers a sincere Happy Mother's Day.

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If you would like to submit an article for an upcoming issue or have a question for the editor, you can submit it via email to editor@ckcusa.com or mail it to:

Continental Kennel Club, Inc.
PO BOX 1450
Walker, LA 70785

Note: All articles & pictures submitted become property of Continental Kennel Club
and may be used at our discretion.

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Copyright© 2004 Continental Kennel Club, Inc. - No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission by the publisher.