Web Site Excerpts from the Quarterly Newsletter

August 2000 - Issue 19

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2000 CWVC Specialty Show Winners
The Prez Sez by Penny Honetor
Breed Rescue Update by Becky Smith
CWVC Member Interview:  Sue Prim & Agility  by Penny Honetor & Susan Prim
Gone But Not Forgotten by Susan Wyrembek
Vizscellaneous
Caught Red-Headed by Pat Erickson
Lending a "Hand" by Comet
Don't Worry, I'll Get It! by Becky Smith
2000 Spring Hunt Test Report by Penny Honetor
DNR Hunting Dog Seminar
Health Articles (Wasp Sting Warning, Canine Brucellosis, Onions & Dogs) 

2000 CWVC Specialty Show Winners

The Prez Sez

by Penny Honetor What an exciting time to be a part of this club! Our membership is at an all time high as we get many new members and retain our long-term members. It's great to see new people join committees, help at events, and even join the Board - and I'm thankful for all our knowledgeable tenured members who provide wisdom and guidance, an invaluable club resource. In my first couple years as a club member I was not particularly active - I just plain liked reading Becky's newsletter and enjoyed getting to know some members. Then I decided to go to a meeting, next a Fun Day, then started helping out at our events and pretty soon you couldn't keep me away. I look back and wonder how this happened. Was it because Zoe's breeder and ex-CWVC-Prez Joy Sonsalla encouraged me to try new things? Was it because I had so much fun working with all the friendly, enthusiastic CWVC volunteers? Was it because I liked doing things with my 2 Vizslas, Zoe & Neela? Was it because I love working on the computer? If this were a multiple choice test (ooo, nervous flashback to school), then the answer would be (e) All of the Above. No one has tons of time on their hands, but helping out at even one event per year would help tremendously. The more support we have at our current endeavors, the more likely we will be to add new or additional events or even enhance our existing events. With that said, I realize that it is hard to volunteer for something on short notice, so one of my goals as CWVC Prez is to facilitate the setting of event dates and soliciting the needed Chairpersons, Secretaries and Coordinators a year in advance. And with 1) tenured members available to help new volunteers, 2) the talent pool & enthusiasm of our entire membership, 3) earlier notification of volunteer opportunities, and most importantly, 4) the gorgeous CWVC Annual Award plaques as incentive, I'm looking forward to seeing familiar (I was going to say "old" but caught myself!) and new faces at our upcoming events and on committees such as Breed Rescue which is in urgent need of additional foster homes and committee members.

Breed Rescue Update

by Becky Smith CWVC Breed Rescue Web Page  Breed rescue has been VERY busy the last couple of months. Between Michigan and Wisconsin, I have worked with seven dogs, ranging in age from about 9 months to 7 years. As of now, there are two dogs available for adoption. Rusty, an 18-month-old male who was left at his vet in Michigan, is being treated as he is heartworm positive. He is doing well and once healthy, will be ready for re-homing. When his owners took him in for neutering and discovered he had heartworm, they decided they did not want him anymore. Rusty is in foster care with Sue Branch in Michigan. He is housebroken, crate trained, and knows sit and down. He is submissive and has not shown any aggression. If you know of someone interested in Rusty, please contact me for Sue's number. The other dog available is a female around 2 years old who is in foster care with Lee Dosier here in Wisconsin. Lee has had the dog since October as she had some problems that needed to be worked through. Lee feels she would make a nice family dog, but is high energy, and will definitely need a "job". He says she is a good hunter. If you know of anyone interested in this little girl, I'll be happy to help you get in touch with Lee. In addition, Teresa Gimbut, an Illinois CWVC member, has been fostering Baby, a young female who was left on a vet's doorstep. Teresa has done a tremendous job with Baby, but there is still a long way to go. Baby will be going into long term foster care out East and will not be available for adoption for probably a year or so as there is much rehabilitation to be done. Baby is being handled through the VCA rescue program, but Teresa deserves a huge pat on the back and thank you for all the efforts she has put in. Recently I was notified of an 8-year-old in Northern Minnesota whose owners have been forced to move into an apartment and cannot keep her. She is obedience trained through CDX work. If you know of anyone looking for an older dog, please have them contact me. I believe the dog will probably be returned to the breeder but I'm sure he'd appreciate help in placing her.

CWVC Member Interview: Sue Prim &

by Penny Honetor Seeing her success first-hand at agility trials, I was excited to interview my co-editor, Sue Prim on her agility life . Here's a primer on agility title acronyms: AKC NA - Novice Agility, NAJ - Novice Agility Jumpers with Weaves (JWW); OA - Open Agility, OAJ - Open Agility JWW; AX - Excellent Agility, AXJ - Excellent Agility JWW. UKC AgI - Level I; AgII - Level II; U-ACH - Agility Champion, U-ACH-X - Agility Champion Excellent. U-AgII CH Sargas' Victorious Daybreak NA CGC Who are your dogs and what are their agility accomplishments? Sue: Victor (U-AgII CH Sargas' Victorious Daybreak NA CGC) is 6 years old and was my agility guinea pig. He has his UKC AgI and II titles and also got his AKC NA title before he decided he wanted to retire. He has, however, recently discovered that agility is not as bad as he once thought. Faye (U-ACH BISS CH Nyircsaszari Fény of Daybreak OA NAJ CGC) is 4 years old and in spite of having many "blonde" moments, has managed to get quite a few agility titles. In addition to her UKC AgI, AgII and U-ACH titles, she has 1 qualifying score toward her U-ACH-X. In addition to her AKC NA, NAJ and OA titles, she only needs 1 more qualifying score each for her AX and OAJ titles. We also compete infrequently at NADAC trials and she has 10 points toward her Novice level title. Grace (U-AgI Nyircsaszari Daybreak Hercegnö NA NAJ CGC) is my 2-year-old and the first of my dogs to actually pay attention at outdoor trials. She just began her agility career this last January and has her UKC AgI, AKC NA and NAJ titles and one qualifying score toward her AKC Open Agility title. And last but not least is Harold, my 7-year-old English Springer Spaniel. He is a bit overweight so jumping is not his strong suit, but he can do tunnels and tables like nobody's business. How did you get started in agility? Sue: Victor had just finished his Championship and we were looking for something else to do so checked out the agility program at Four Paws Training Center in Antioch, IL. That was five years ago and now I'm training and trialing my third dog in agility and plan to do the same with my new puppy. I am currently a member of WAG (WI-IL Agility Group). What are your favorite aspects of agility? Sue: I enjoy the competition, the thrill after a really good run and the pleasure of working with your dog as a team (when he/she decides to listen to you!) But most of all I enjoy the people I have met and the friends I have gained over the years. Do you have advice for getting started in agility? Sue: Find a training facility that has competent instructors and safe equipment to work on. Train indoors as well as outdoors. Use positive training techniques and practice as much as you can. Don't begin competition until both you and your dog are ready. Know your dog, what works for some dogs may not necessarily work for yours. And most importantly make sure that you and your dog have fun. How do Vizslas compare to other breeds in agility? Sue: Most Vizslas I have seen absolutely love agility. Their enthusiasm and willingness to please enable them to do well, therefore successfully competing with other breeds, including Border Collies. How have you trained and prepared for trials? Sue: In addition to weekly classes at WAG and private lessons with Deb Hansen in Burlington, I also have a lot of my own equipment (thanks to my husband, Steve) and try to work on it at home as much as possible. We also practice at the WAG training facility and attend an occasional fun match.    Would you like to see the CWVC hold an agility trial? Sue: I think our club has enough members involved in agility at this point to put on an outstanding trial. By holding our own trial, not only would we be making money for the club, we would be furthering our reputation for holding quality events and would also be helping out the agility community by providing exhibitors with another trial in the area. What are your other dog accomplishments? Sue: Both Victor and Faye have their AKC championships and the three V's are CGC's (Canine Good Citizens). Faye has many Best of Breed awards, a Best in Specialty Show win and a Group placement in spite of me being her handler. What are your future dog plans? Sue: My immediate plans are to finish Faye's AX, OAJ and U-ACH-X titles, then I'll decide if she will continue on in agility or switch over to obedience training and competition. I will continue to show Grace in agility, begin training for obedience competition and possibly go into hunting. Victor may or may not come out of agility retirement to work on an NAJ or an OA. And if that isn't enough to keep me busy, I will be keeping a puppy from Faye's recent litter, so he or she will need to be trained and shown. What is your most memorable agility moment? Sue: Faye's first qualifying run at the Excellent level. She had run a perfect course and when we finished, the timer informed us she didn't notice that the stop watch wasn't working. Yikes!! That meant we would have to run the course again and I for one was not sure that we could duplicate it. Luckily for us a friend had taped our run and the judge was kind enough to use that to figure our course time and we ended up with a 3rd place.

Gone But Not Forgotten

by Susan Wyrembek Shortly after the CWVC Hunt Test in May, I received a call about a Vizsla puppy stolen in Milwaukee. I asked our new members if they would share their sad story to raise our awareness of this not-so-uncommon situation... I've grown up with animals all my life. Over the last 15 years, I have gravitated to cats simply because of my work schedule. However with the entrance of Ken into my life, the subject of having a dog became a two-year discussion: "Do we want to tie ourselves down?" "Do we want to make that sort of commitment?" "How will the aging cats adjust?" " If we were to get a puppy - what breed?" etc, etc. (Some of you may be able to relate to these conversations!) Ken was perhaps the most reticent of the two of us, but the discussions continued. My daughter and son-in-law, Tracey and Kyle Shimek, introduced us to Vizslas. I fell in love with the breed. Ken, however thought they might be a bit "hyper" for us "middle-agers". Not to be deterred, I started looking. Many times after seeing an ad in the paper, I would call only to find out that all puppies were spoken for. A couple of times, either the breeding/rearing conditions or the quality of the puppies turned me off to purchasing. Finally, I found what I had been looking for. The mother and grandmother were on site - beautiful dogs with great dispositions. The environment the puppies were initiated into was superb - a large family in which the puppies were kept in the house and handled and socialized from the beginning and good lines for either show or field. Tracey and Kyle came along for the ride and ended up adding Phoenix to their fold. We visited the home twice before finally bringing our "baby" Cleo home at 7 weeks of age. She was quick to endear herself in spite of the sleep deprivation both Ken and I suffered. While earlier Cleo was quickly touted as "my" dog, it became evident that Ken was really her "master". At 14 weeks of age Cleo was housetrained, slept through the night, would sit, stand, stay, sometimes heel, and terrorize my cats. The last exercise was an unexpected diet plan for one of my overweight cats! She had even flushed a bird in Ottawa Park after the CWVC Hunt Test was over. She loved everyone. One afternoon, Ken took Cleo into our fenced backyard. It had been rainy all morning and the sun finally erupted from the clouds. Cleo loved the sun and just did not want to come in. Ken left her basking in the grass (she was not tied up) and went inside to get coffee, fix a long line and make a couple phone calls - maybe 15-20 minutes lapsed. When he returned to the backyard, Cleo was gone. He quickly canvassed the area to no avail. We called the police and filed a report. After speaking with the police, we surmise that someone came near the fence which borders an alley - she ran over - they reached over the fence, grabbed her and were off in a vehicle within minutes. The fence is a 4-feet-high metal see-through fence. There was no evidence of the gate being opened. The latch opens from the inside and is difficult to close. The difficult part for us to come to terms with is that we probably will never really know what happened. We went through what we thought to be appropriate avenues to find her - flyers with her picture to area businesses, schools, light posts, area vets, animal shelters, internet, ads in the paper and door-to-door within the neighborhood. There simply was no sign of her. Local vets speculated she probably was already out of the state. We did receive a couple phone calls, but no real leads. Interestingly enough, some of the callers' descriptions of the dogs weren't even close. It is difficult to describe the emotions one experiences through an ordeal such as this. Feelings range from excruciating sadness (We've lost our treasure - a part of our family.), anger (How dare someone do this!), regrets (Could we have done anything differently?), frustration (How can we find her? - Have we done enough? - Why did this happen?) and resignation (We've done all we can do - she's gone!). We're still into the healing process. A higher non-see-through fence with locks will be installed. We have made arrangements with the breeder for another puppy from the next litter (probably a Cleo II). If all goes as expected we should have our new "baby" by mid-October. The decision to get another puppy did not require a lot of thought. We found ourselves with more free time on our hands than we ever felt was possible! Perhaps the most distressing thing is that we must keep our thoughts away from what might have been Cleo's fate. We can only caution those who think - "It can't happen to me." After speaking with the police and area vets, it's obvious that "puppy napping" is more prevalent than one would care to acknowledge. Statistics indicate that once a dog has matured, there is less likelihood of something like this happening. If the breed is unusual, however, this may not be the case. If anything has been learned from this tragedy it is Do not leave your puppy unattended anywhere - anytime!

Vizscellaneous

This is a new column featuring "misc"ellaneous information about CWVC Members and friends. Things you can share include special trips, human or canine new family additions (not litter announcements) and losses, or anything you would like to share with the club. Oakleaf blows in from MN Mark & Becky Smith are proud to announce the arrival of Oakleafs Runnin' Down a Dream. "Thomas" (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for those of you who are not rock-n-roll fans) is out of Linda Kelly's female, FC/AFC Triad's Keepsake of Oakleaf, JH and CH Upwind Chas'n My Jason. He joined our family on July 2. Dynamos Down South Carole & Phil Stout, CWVC members from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have been instrumental in founding a new club: South Louisiana Vizsla Club (SLVC). As the CWVC tenured members recall, this is no easy task. Carole is the editor of their well-done quarterly newsletter, "Vizsla Views". Phil created a web site: http://home.att.net/~SouthLouisianaVizslaClub/SLVC.htm. With their constitution and checking account in order, the SLVC (with Carole & Phil's) has already sponsored a Fun Day (hunting and agility work & demos), held a conformation and obedience Fun Match (with more scheduled!), attended a private bird dog training session with Lou Gleber in preparation for holding a future SLVC seminar, hold & have scheduled monthly Board and Member meetings for the rest of 2000, scheduled fun Field Trials and Hunt Tests, are planning a VCA-sponsored Field Trial and have begun organizing a Christmas Party! Wow! Wild Ride What a wild ride Max and I have had this spring season. We started in Florida and ended in Michigan. Max finished both his Open Field Championship and his Amateur Field Championship. Twelve placements with 4 blues, 4 reds, 2 yellows, 2 whites. Seven of the stakes were open to all breeds and five were Vizsla only stakes. Four placements, including one blue and one red, were from trials put on by other breeds. We even won a money stake worth $252 at a German Wirehaired trial! In between doing this, Max fathered his first litter consisting of seven boys and two girls and I learned to pull a horse trailer behind a 34 foot motor home. So here he is world! DC/AFC Maximum Strider, SH. Bred, owned, trained and handled by Wanda Berner. Editor's Note: Our sympathies to Wanda whose mother recently passed away. Jinx or Omen? Fresh on the heels of the CWVC Best in Specialty Show win in May, Kathy & Jeff Engelsman's "Ralph" was ready for the Vizsla Club of Illinois Specialty Show in July. The day before the show, the VCOI Specialty Chair, Kathy Harmer, showed Kathy E. the beautiful Best of Breed Award, a stained glass Vizsla, hoping Kathy E. wouldn't notice the little typo on the engraved plate which she planned on having re-engraved later. Though concerned that seeing the award ahead of time had been a jinx, Ralph went on not only to win Best of Breed/Best in Specialty Show, but the coveted Best in Show! Imagine Kathy E.'s surprise when she realized seeing the award was not a jinx but an omen, as the typo on the engraved plate was "Best of Breeds" which perfectly captures the essence of a Best in Show. Kathy E. has requested the plate be left as is! Never a Dull Moment On May 20, 2000 Jason Waldron and Polly Poulos brought home their new puppy which we named Rainey (see photo below). Her breeders were Sharon Misiak (Sunnyside Vizslas) and Gwen Tomlinson (Vizion Vizslas) and she is out of CH Vizion's Blue Buoy CDX TD (owned by Greg and Julie Sjullie) and CH Vizion's Storm on Sunnyside (owned by Sharon and Carl Misiak). As of now, we're still working on her AKC name. Buckley was unsure at first of our new addition. The first day he loved her, the second day he looked as if to say, "when is she leaving?" But now the two are best buddies. Buckley is now back to his normal self after two months stumping the vets. In the beginning of May he developed a limp in his back leg. After several weeks of x-rays, a joint tap in both knees, two month's worth of anti-inflammatory tablets, "rest" (how can a Vizsla rest, especially with a Vizsla puppy around?) and a round of blood work it was determined he had the beginnings of a tick infection. The funny thing is that we had told the vet when we first brought him in that he had had a tick bite in the leg that originally was limping. Because he had not shown any of the other signs of a tick infection, they didn't think it was a possibility. After spending $1000 over a span of two months, it turns out the $20 antibiotic prescription did the trick. We're happy to have our boy back to his old self.

Caught Red-Headed

by Pat Erickson When Jesse (Shawnric's Red Rebel CD OA NAJ) was only 6 months old, she could not yet be trusted alone in the house. I was going to take a shower and rather than put her in the crate, I brought her in the bathroom with me with the mandatory toys to keep her busy. About half way through the shower I heard strange noises outside the shower door. I hurried through the rest of the shower and opened the door to find she had stuck her inquisitive head through the wastebasket swing top and couldn't get it out (we had that type of wastebasket because our dalmation was a tissue eater and anything else that was in the basket!) The feeling of this on her neck made her freeze in place, and she looked so funny and pathetic I ran to get my camera and was able to get a picture for posterity.

        Members on the move...
CWVC Members Horsing Around

On June 17-18, 2000, a few CWVC members attended a "Gaited Horse Clinic" conducted by Lonnie Kuehn-Cameron. The clinic was held at Kasper Farm in Franklin, Illinois. It was intended to give the riders a better understanding of how gaited horses work. Lonnie gave group instruction on riding, tack, shoeing, and general care of gaited horses. She also provided one-on-one instruction. I personally learned a great deal, as I'm a new horse owner. However, many of the clinic's participants said that it was enlightening. Lonnie's knowledge and sense of humor made the day go by so fast, it seemed to be over just as it was starting. Other CWVC members attending included Lyn Frank, Brian Hesgard, Wanda Berner, and John Seyer. Many of the folks that you see at weekend field trials were also there. It was a good time to learn and enjoy some time with your horse and friends. I would like to thank Tony Ordonez for arranging this clinic. The people had such a good time; they were talking of the "next" one on Sunday afternoon!

Lending a "Hand"

by Comet I live in a big house with my mother, Dawn, my "little" brother, Sky, my nanny, Anna, and our two humans. We like to help our humans as much as we can. We can tell whenever there are guests coming to stay. We make sure we help clean the bathroom. Sometimes humans can be a little slow, so we help them out. The night before the guests come, we find some REALLY strong coyote poop. Anna is the best at this game. She's a Husky/Shepherd mix. She and I try to find the BEST, BIGGEST poop. We roll and roll and roll. Sometimes, Mom joins in too. I think Sky's too young to catch on just yet. Anna is really lucky because the poop sticks in her hair. Then the humans decide to wash us in the guest bathroom, because its nearest the back door. They wash and wash and wash. We shake water and poop all over the walls. That way the humans will have to clean and sanitize everything for their guests. Again, Anna has an advantage with all that hair. When she shakes, an inch of water cleans the floor. The human's don't even have to mop. They use the drying towels and just like that, the bathroom floor is clean ! You'd think those humans would be a little more appreciative of our efforts. We don't even get "cookies" when we help with this job. <hrrumph> Human's Note: Comet, Dawn and Sky are Vizsla's who live with John and Ginger Tierney. They have "helped" three times in the manner Comet describes.

Don't Worry, I'll Get It!

by Becky Smith Jennie has always been able to figure things out. At 7 weeks old she figured out how to climb up the X-pen and out to meet us at the top of the basement steps when we came home from work. At eight weeks, she figured out if she shook the X-pen hard enough with her paw, she could unhook the cover we had put on it to keep her in so she could use her previously learned climbing skill and meet us at the top of the stairs when we came home from work. And as a young adult, she knew there was absolutely nothing that could stop her from getting a rawhide if she really needed one. We buy rawhide bones in bulk and keep them in a deli bucket with the lid on. At our old house, that bucket was stored under the basement steps. Every time I would go down there, Jennie would open the bucket (and they are NOT easy to open) and help herself to a bone. Finally, Mark decided enough was enough. He took a 12 pack of soda and put it on top of the closed bucket. The next time I went to the basement, Jennie decided she needed a rawhide. She raced down the steps ahead of me but stopped short when she saw the bucket. "Who put that soda on there?" she was thinking. "Not a problem," was her other thought as she simply pushed it off with her head, opened the lid and took her rawhide!

2000 Spring Hunt Test Report

by Penny Honetor Though torrential downpours occurred both before and after, we again had beautiful weather for this year's AKC Hunt Tests held May 20-21, 2000. And good thing - we had another very large entry (91) and so needed to get a punctual start. Thanks to the wranglers, judges, Chair Kathy Ruhland and CWVC volunteers, we started both days on time. Some interesting facts: We had about 17 Vizslas entered each day. 39% of the total entry was GSPs, 37% Vizslas, 10% Gordon Setters, 10% Brittanys and a Weim and Pointer. 57% of the owners were from Wisconsin, 33% from Illinois, with Michigan, Ontario, Indiana and Texas represented too. The youngest dog? A 7-month-old Vizsla. Oldest? 8-year-old Brittany. The Versatility of the Vizsla was evidenced by the CWVC Specialty Show Best of Breed (Ralph) and WD/BOW (Toldi) Vizslas running (and qualifying!). One female GSP, Princess, owner trained and handled by Sid Rhodes from Michigan, earned her Master Hunter Title - 2 weeks BEFORE her FIRST birthday! Greg Hedien, a CWVC Hunt Test judge for the past 3 years, actually got to run his Vizsla "Cleo" in our test since he was not judging this year. Kathy and I had a great time again and want to thank those of you who helped. In addition to gunning and marshaling, Jim & Joanie Melicharek coordinated the Steak Dinner and solicited some nice freebies for the volunteers with extras used in a surprise raffle for our entrants. Joy Sonsalla and Kim Barker coordinated the breakfasts and lunches. Yes, we offered HOT breakfasts both days thanks to the newly-electrified shelter. We had many volunteers braving the ticks to plant birds; run scoresheets; line & gallery marshal; fill water tanks; gun and the countless other tasks that everyone just pitched in to do when they needed to get done. Congratulations to CWVC members who earned legs or titles: Frank & Martha Lacko, "Toldi"; Mike Carter, "Blue"; Joy Sonsalla & Bill Quandt, "Reesa"; Inge Siggelkow, "Emma"; Jeff & Kathy Engelsman, "Annabell" & "Ralph"; Tom Berner/Howard Manard, "Chuck"; Kerry & Cheryl Brimmer, "Smoke"; Mark Anderson, "Rusty". Thanks to other Vizsla owners for supporting the CWVC Hunt Test: Mark & Becky Smith; Kyle Shimek; Cheryl Lykowski; Cheryl Peterson; Cathy Cook; Greg Hedien. Judges: Saturday-Junior; Sunday-Master & Senior:   Steve & Ron Richardson Sunday-Junior; Saturday-Master & Senior:   Rano Wells, LeRoy Greffin Results (Entries/Qualifiers):                      Junior        Senior      Master Saturday         21/11            7/2           19/5 Sunday           19/9              5/3           20/3 Unlike last year, we had to rent horses ($830), but we still made a nice profit on the Test and Steak Dinner:       Revenue: $3216  -  Expenses: $2516   =   Profit: $700 A detailed Income Statement will be routed at the August 5 meeting. Kathy and I are already talking about next year (she's already reserved birds!), and we'll be passing around volunteer sign-up sheets at upcoming events and meetings or you can contact Kathy directly. If anyone is interested in being the Hunt Test Secretary for 2002, let me know and we can share the job this year. Computer skills (MS Word, Excel or Access) and Email are pre-requisites.

DNR Hunting Dog Seminar

Sunday, August 27, 2000 - Ottawa Field Trial Grounds, Eagle, WI Your Vizsla points butterflies, bunnies, and bugs. Maybe even flashlight beams. Wanna find out if that natural pointing instinct works on birds too? The third annual Hunting Dog Seminar is scheduled for Sunday, August 27, 2000 at the scenic Ottawa Field Trial Grounds located 9 miles south of I-94/ Oconomowoc and 5 miles north of Eagle, WI on Highway 67. Registration begins at 8:00am, and the seminar starts at 9:00am. The Seminar is open to pointing, retrieving, and flushing breeds with separate trainers and training areas for each group. The $20 registration fee includes an informational talk by the DNR on grounds usage and permit requirements, demos, group and personalized assistance with your dog, field work on live birds, and a hunting training booklet to take home. Lunch will be available on the grounds for a small fee. Parking fees are waived for the day. The seminar is geared towards those new to hunting, but everyone is welcome. The pointing dog trainer is Mike Kindler (he does a great job!) Things to bring (if you have them) are blaze orange, long training line, water for your dog, and lawn chairs. Tell your friends. For more information or to register or volunteer, see the CWVC web site.

Health Articles

Note: All dogs may not have the same reactions to drugs, and risks and benefits must be weighed. As with all information (or many times, misinformation), always verify or discuss your concerns with your veterinarian. Wasp Sting Warning Condensed from a Lab Rescue List Email (A person's account about their Lab follows.) We were in a panic over 3-year-old Gentleman George's sudden death. If the necropsy would have shown life threatening or disabling genetic defects, his father would have been neutered immediately. His mother is already spayed and is retired to a love-filled therapy dog life. Two wasps (rather, their remains) were found in his stomach and the tissue samples showed that when he swallowed them, they went down fighting, as there were wasp stings in several places at the very back of his tongue, down his throat all the way down his esophagus. The report states that anaphylactic shock from these wasp stings appears to have brought on the chain reaction leading to heart failure. It was also reported that the anaphylactic shock can cause the dog's body temperature to spike very high, very quickly (his at time of death was 109°F), thus leading to the stroke. Dissection of heart, lungs and other major organs showed that they were healthy and normal before the stings. This tragedy was so hard for us to handle and we had to have answers. We had to know why he stroked out and had heart failure so suddenly, when a little over an hour before, he was silly, playful and romping about, as we were packing the last items needed to take with us in the motorhome. Canine Brucellosis Reprinted with permission by Marion Coffman Brucellosis has been recognized as a disease of domestic farm animals for many years, but was not considered a significant problem with canines until the increased incidences of abortions and reproductive failures became apparent in the late 1960's. Dogs became infected after the bacteria penetrates the mucous membranes of the mouth, eye, or vagina. The organism lives intracellularly and locates itself in tissues which are isolated from the immune system thus the infected dog does not maintain an antibody titer even though he is harboring the organism. The disease may also be spread after abortion or whelping, by nasal and oral contact with aborted puppies or their membranes. Newborn puppies can become infected by their dam's milk, although most puppies have already become infected while they are still in the uterus. Dogs with brucellosis will not usually show any signs or be seriously ill. The bacteria can live in a male's testicles and prostate gland where it will cause infection and sterility, spreading the bacteria in both his semen and his urine for many years before showing any obvious signs. A semen evaluation done early in the course of the disease, will show abnormal sperm and long-term therapy has been successful in some cases. Without the antibiotic treatment the scrotum may become enlarged due to fluid accumulation, the dog will occasionally bite or lick at the area due to pain and irritation from the infection, and have pain when ejaculating. Males infected for a long time may have small soft testicles, kidney problems or damage to the nervous system. Some may show signs of uveitis, an eye problem, with pain, spasm of the eyelid, reddening of the blood vessels of the conjunctiva, and resistance to light. Infected females may abort puppies between 49 and 59 days of her pregnancy. Or she may carry the litter to term and have both dead and live puppies whelped. Most puppies born live will die within the first few hours and if there are live puppies, they will show swollen lymph nodes, fever, and convulsions. These puppies are a major source of infection for future generations of dogs and MUST be neutered or spayed. An abortion may go unnoticed due to the dam ingesting the dead fetus but she will have a grayish-brown discharge lasting as long as six weeks. Brucellosis should be suspected whenever a bitch fails to conceive after an apparently successful breeding. Serological testing has shown to be the quickest and most common way to diagnose canine brucellosis. The two most common tests are RSAT (rapid slide agglutination test), and the TAT (tube agglutination test). The RSAT is a quick inexpensive test that can be done in your veterinarian's office and negative results to this test are quite accurate. It can detect the infection in animals as early as two weeks after infection. As many as sixty-five percent of the dogs that may test positive with the RSAT test actually do not have the disease after a second test by the TAT method due to the cross reactivity of the test with other bacteria such as the bordatella bronchiseptica, which causes kennel cough. Attempts at any form of immunization from brucellosis have not been successful to date and the only control is elimination or isolation of any infected dog and long-term therapy of streptomycin, gentamycin, and tetracycline combinations. Onions and Dogs Reprinted with permission by Marion Coffman This flavor-packed bulb can cause big trouble in your pet's diet. They flavor our soups, salads and hamburgers. They're healthy as well as tasty for us. But onions are not benign when is comes to our dogs and cats. Unlike people, dogs and cats are especially sensitive to onions: fresh, cooked, dehydrated - even in the form of onion powder. And although onion toxicity has been recognized by veterinarians for more than 50 years, unaware pet owners frequently feed onions to pets as part of table scraps. The oil in onions is the culprit. It is an oxidant that affects hemoglobin, the substance that carries oxygen, in red blood cells. The abnormal hemoglobin molecules clump and attach to the walls of the red blood cells, forming what is known as "Heinz bodies". The affected cells are then destroyed by the spleen, producing anemia. Although the Heinz bodies can begin to appear within a day, it can take several more days before the symptoms appear. Symptoms can be rapid breathing, lethargy, a faint heart murmur, and pale gums. And of course, anemia. The good news is that the condition is self-correcting - as long as the dog does not continue to eat any more onions. Once the anemia occurs, the bone marrow responds to replace the lost red blood cells. If the dog is only given fluids to prevent organ damage, even without any other treatment he should be back to normal blood levels and energy within 10 days. However, this problem should not be taken lightly. If your dog has ingested onions, it is best to contact your veterinarian immediately. Cats are even more sensitive to onions. One study demonstrated that baby food seasoned with onion powder produced both Heinz bodies and anemia in cats. Animal size counts. It doesn't take much onion to produce a toxic effect in a small dog or cat. Since no precise safe amount has been established, the best advice is to avoid onions entirely.

End August 2000 "The Paw's Print" excerpts

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