The cost of dog showing

have been wondering how the price of gas has been affecting entries at dog shows. I spoke with a show chair for one of the kennel clubs in Florida who told me that entries have been down. When you consider the expense of showing, I often think that one is better off hiring a handler.

Handlers charge $75-100 per show plus entry fees. There is also a split charge for transportation. But when one considers that to drive to a dog show on a Friday, get a hotel and meals, pay entries, and do the work from sunup to sundown, having a handler doesn't seem like a bad idea.

As AKC says, "Showing is an expensive hobby, not a money-making venture. It’s a fun way to meet people with similar interests, participate in a sport with your dog and gain unbiased opinions about a dog’s breeding potential (although not all people that show breed their dogs).

Mostly, all that an exhibitor will win is a small ribbon. For some wins, a trophy or dog related item is offered. Cash prizes are occasionally offered for big wins, however these cash prizes do not offset the money spent to show a dog. In general, prizes won do not come close to the expense of showing when one figures entry fees, traveling & equipment expenses and all other expenses that go along with showing a dog."

Amen to that.

Easter weekend for the dogs

The dogs got some special treats for Easter weekend. Mother Hubbard dog treats in different flavors were the item du jour. Hoffa, the greyhound, has to eat natural food with no corn. Otherwise, she gets an upset digestive system. I prefer to spoil her a bit so that there isn't a chance of any problems.

The Labradors seem to love the Iams cookies. They have caste iron stomachs and nothing much seems to bother them. But they got to splurge on some Mother Hubbard peanut butter cookies for Easter.

Hope that your Easter weekend turned out to be a good one. The weather was nice, yet it was chilly enough that the dogs enjoyed romping around. The gnats are out though so I'm always grateful for a little wind.

Rowing in 40 knot gusts

I haven't blogged about rowing for a while. On Wednesday, the rowing group got together at City Marina and we set forth in a wild wind. We rowed into the Harbor with gusts at 40 knots! It was quite a wild ride.

When I'm rowing with some seas, I have to watch the oar because it's easy to catch a "crab". When that happens, your oar goes too deep and you can't get it back out before the boat moves forward. That can knock you off your seat which has happened to me when I first started rowing.

There were two guests from RI who rowed with us. One of them caught a crab and got knocked back a bit. They laughed about it afterwards. When racing in an eight, I've heard of people being dumped right out of the shell for catching a crab.

Anyway, it was a wild and crazy row. I can see that a Labrador or a Chesapeake would have to be very strong to bust through waves created by a 40 knot gust.

Do dogs get jealous?

I'm sure that I can answer "Yes" to that question. Take for instance, the interaction of Hoffa and Stella. Hoffa will visit her friend Stella for a couple of days. She gets to go to the beach, go to doggy park, and have all kinds of fun.

But when the two are together, Stella will gather up every toy and every dog bone that is around, hoard them and take them into her crate. There was one dog bone that I got at the grocery store. It was a large marrow bone with lots of meat on it. Stella wasn't interested in it at all. She sniffed it and walked away. So now over a week since the marrow bone was ignored, Hoffa comes to visit and Stella decides that she loves the marrow bone. She hovers over it. She looks at it with love. She guards it. And she won't even get in the van to go to doggy park because she wants to guard her marrow bone.

Is this doggy jealousy? It is to my mind a great example of how possessive dogs can be. And maybe it's just certain dogs and their reaction to guarding food and their crates. But it is also humorous. I have to smile at Stella's sudden interest in the marrow bone when Hoffa arrives on the scene. Aren't dogs just so like people sometimes?

Deacon gets a major!

I received word just now that Surry's Deacon Blue got his first major (a 3 pointer) today at the Lancaster Kennel Club show. Last weekend, he also got his first point by going WD.

I'm happy that he is doing well. Jenn Howard said that he is sometimes a goofy boy! Yep, he can be that. He's at that age of 15 months when NO seems to be his name. He has zero attention most of the time, wants to sniff everything, is instantly in love, and well...acts just like a juvenile Labrador male.

I'm just glad that Jenn and Rusty have him and will teach him some manners. He thinks that it's a free for all here at Surry. And at the dog shows where I recently showed him in February, he was a real handful. In fact, the English judge said that he was lovely but didn't do himself any favors by cutting up. Yep, that's Deacon. Points and training....hmm...wonder which one I like better?

Is spring here?

I'm wondering whether the last of winter is over. There isn't much winter to speak of anyway in South Carolina. Sometimes in March there can be ice but it appears that with warm days ahead, we may be getting into spring.

The flowers think that it's spring anyway. Daffodils have bloomed, the flowering shrubs are out, and the Labradors are enjoying lying about in the sun.

Now that the weather is warmer, I've enjoyed going to the beach. I try to take a couple of dogs each time. More and more people are also out at the beach with their dogs.

On this day, I met Rocky, the German Shepherd. Rocky is 10 weeks old and as cute as he can be. He enjoyed playing with the Labradors who seemed to recognize that he was a goofy puppy. There was a lot of butt tucking going on.

The dogs seem to enjoy meeting people and other dogs at the beach. If you get a chance, take your dog for a long walk on the beach. It's good for the human mind and great for the dogs too.

Interdigital cysts

I had an email from a Labrador that had "boil like" bumps between the toes. The bumps would rupture and there was a small crater in the center. I suspected that these were interdigital cysts.

These cysts are caused by pododermatitis and interdigital pyoderma. These have been extremely frustrating to treat successfully with any one approach. So the following is a list of things that have worked, with some notes about how they may be useful:

Mupirocin ointment (Bactoderm Rx)--can be put on the cysts and sometimes works well.

Metronidazole (Flagyl Rx)--strangely enough it can help with these cysts.

Doxycyline, like metronidazole, has worked well for a couple of dogs.

Fluoroquinolones (Baytril Rx, Dicural Rx, Orbax Rx, others) are the most commonly recommended antibiotics in the dermatology literature. These are broad spectrum antibiotics that generally penetrate tissue well.

Clindamycin (Antirobe Rx) is an antibiotic that has good activity against anerobic bacteria which seem to be involved in some cases of interdigital cysts. It is often used in combination with fluoroquinolones but can also be effective alone in some dogs.

Cephalexin ( Keflex Rx) is our general favorite antibiotic for skin disease. It can be used long-term to control skin infections. It seems to be among the safer of antibiotics, although no antibiotic is totally risk free. If there seems to be any response to cephalexin early in treatment we usually try it for at least three weeks.

So you may want to talk to your vet about starting with cephalexin and then move on to the other medications on the list, except that we often use cephalexin and metronidazole together rather than withdrawing the cephalexin. You can use fluoroquinolones last, mostly based on expense.

These cysts can come back so you may have to start the treatment again. You may want to consider keeping your dog indoors, if you have a kennel, while the antibiotics work. Sometimes there are things such as pollen that can cause allergies. Also, you may want to switch to a different food,especially one that is natural and does not have corn. I suggest one of the Wellness or Nutro foods.

New topical flea treatment

I've use Frontline Plus for flea and ticks for a while. I have also used Program which is a monthly pill that prevents formation of chitin in flea eggs and larvae, thereby killing fleas before they develop. Although Frontline still seems to be doing well for the dogs, I have read that long-term use of a particular product may reduce its effectiveness as fleas may become resistant. However, I haven't read any published papers to that effect for Frontline.

The other day when I went to the vets' office, I saw an ad for a new flea product called ProMeris. ProMeris is a spot on treatment, just like Frontline. It is only available through your vets' office. Fort Dodge who makes ProMeris established a veterinarian-only sales policy because it believes veterinarians should be pet owners’ primary source of information to help ensure the health and well-being of their companion animals. And it is new so there isn't much information on long-term effects.

The active ingredients are Metaflumizone that has never before been used to control fleas before. It attacks fleas’ nervous systems by blocking voltage dependent sodium channels, which results in paralysis and death of the flea. Amitraz, the second active ingredient in ProMeris for dogs, is a well-established tickicide and provides dogs with up to four weeks of tick control. Amitraz works by disrupting the tick’s normal nerve function, leading to reduced feeding and attachment, paralysis and death of the tick.

ProMeris for dogs effectively controls fleas and protects against re-infestation for up to six weeks, and may be used as part of a treatment strategy for dogs suffering from flea allergy dermatitis.

I'm not sure whether I'll switch to ProMeris or not. There are a lot of squirrels, foxes and opposums at Surry which makes for additional problems when trying to control fleas. So I need something that remains effective for the dogs during the flea season. Hopefully, Frontline will continue to be effective.

Is your Labrador overweight?

I occasionally hear from people who tell me that their Labrador is over 100 pounds. This is a lot of weight, especially for a Labrador. Being overweight puts a lot of strain on the joints and isn’t good for the vascular system of your dogs. In short, it shortens the life of your Labradors. How can you tell if your dog is overweight? They should have a waist that is visible. The waist occurs after the last rib and before the hip and stifle joints.

There are a couple of things that you can do to take weight off. One is to make sure that the dog gets regular exercise. Long walks of around 2 miles a day are ideal. Another thing to do is to reduce the amount of calories being given. That means you will need to reduce the amount of food being fed or perhaps switch to a food that has fewer calories such as a Light version of the food that you are feeding. Another method that I’ve used on occasion is the Green Bean Diet.

With this diet, you substitute green beans for up to 1/2 of your dog's food on a daily basis. In other words, if your dog normally gets a cup of food in the morning and a cup of food in the evening, you can give them 1/2 cup of dog food and 1/2 cup of green beans for the morning feed and do the same thing in the evening.

The type of green beans is important. Fresh beans are ideal but frozen ones that you buy in bulk will do. Don’t cook the frozen ones but put them in the microwave to thaw. As a last resort, use canned UNSALTED green beans. Use the liquid from the can to pour over the food and then add the beans.

There are a few other vegetables that you could use but be careful of the sugar content. Carrots are about the best if you care to mix some of them with the beans. Both will add a good deal of fiber to the diet and will make your dog feel full. I suggest that you watch his stool to make sure that he isn’t getting too much fiber!

Don’t be discouraged as the diet may take a while to work. Don’t give in and don’t give treats, except for pieces of carrot during the dieting period. Remember that these vegetables are good for your dog and will help with the weight loss program. A trim Labrador is definitely a more healthy one.

Cat adjustments

The new cats are getting more used to being at Surry. At first, it was hard with Isaac because he hid all the time. It appeared that he wasn't eating or drinking. I was worried. I moved him to a bathroom where there was no place to hide, except crouching in the bathtub. He's coming around and is doing better, eating much better, purring loudly and generally not being as secretive.

The Siamese kitten Esther is having fun. She runs and plays with toys, has an incredible purring motor, and has taken to Rachel.

Even Rebecca is adjusting to life without Abraham. She used to hide all the time but now comes out, purrs, and rubs against my legs. I think that loneliness has made her come out of her shell.

So things are starting to quiet down. I finally opened the card from the vets, Drs. Shong and Rockwell. I just couldn't open it at first because I knew that it was a sympathy card about Abraham. His ashes are back from the crematorium. I don't have my big black cat anymore but there are other cats and dogs who have my attention. Life moves on.

Hoffa and Labradors are good ambassadors

I've been taking Hoffa and a couple of the Labradors to various dog parks in the area. The James Island Park is really the best, now that there is a fence. I also like the one at Palmetto Islands County Park. It is large and there is a fence.

It seems that everyone who meets Hoffa the greyhound,Stella, Tobias, Clara, and any of the other Labradors falls in love with them. People are amazed at how fast Hoffa can run and how sweet she is. They always ask what breed the Labradors are because they aren't used to seeing the English type.

Dogs at the dog parks seem to have a wonderful time. Occasionally, there will be a growl but mostly everyone just runs about, getting dirty or muddy, and seeming to enjoy socializing.

People at the dog park are interesting too. Most everyone stands around looking at their dog and talking to others about their dog. People want to know about your dog but always speak proudly of their dog, almost like it is their child. In most cases, the dog is like a child to them.

I've come to enjoy the outings. I'm able to let Hoffa go and run to her heart's content. And by taking the Labradors along, they get to have a great time as well.

Deacon on the road

I made a decision to put Deacon out with Rusty and Jenn Howard for a couple of months. He is a nice boy and is at the age where he still looks good. His coat is nice and his movement isn't sloppy.

He was shown at the LRC of the Piedmont and placed first in his 12 to 18 Black Dog class under an English judge on Sunday. He is a hard dog to handle because he is crazy about the GIRLS! Deacon has discovered that there are lots of smells associated with females that drive him crazy. Consequently, he is focusing on quite a bit of things besides me.

So I thought that Rusty and Jenn would be able to get his head straight through lots of handling and dog shows. We'll see how it goes.

Handlers will definitely get him out there more than I am going to do. I've gotten to the point in life where I don't want to travel a couple of weekends a month to show dogs. Dragging crates in and out of buildings, walking dogs every few hours, and the general lack of sleep from staying in hotels is something that I'm glad to take a break from for a while.

I think that in the long run, considering the price of gas, entry fees, and hotel expenses, it will be less to put him out with a handler. And hopefully, there will be some beneficial results.

Kitties to love

Since Abraham died, I've been mourning his loss. No black cat to greet me in the morning, no kitty tail across my face when I'm fixing the dogs' breakfast. So I made a decision that I needed to adopt another cat.

Abraham came as a feral stray. I haven't seen any strays on Leadenwah in years. And believe me, if they were out there, they would eventually make their way to this house where they would receive the best food and have the best bed. Word would be passed--"Hey, check out Surry you furballs. It's where the good life is."

Anyway, I checked the paper and saw the Pet Helpers ads. I went there today with my cat carrier box. It was overwhelming. There were over a hundred cats in two rooms. Not in cages but just hanging out. Some were walking around, others were sleeping on high platforms or in beds.

I checked out several black males and decided to get Isaac. He is black and large and friendly. He has lived for 2 years at the shelter and needed a home.

But I also adopted another kitty. A seal point Siamese named Expresso who I'm going to call Esther. Esther is 2 months old and very playful.

So far, Rachael has hissed at Esther but they are dealing with it all. Esther just plays happily and ignores the hissing. Isaac has decided that he likes sleeping in the drawer of a workbench. Rebecca misses Abraham and is hoping that her new friend will decide to come out and play. It just takes cats a while to adjust. It took Abraham about 3 months before I could pick him up without being scratched. I'm patient and these cats have been well socialized. Isaac just needs a bit more time than Esther the Siamese who well...is a Siamese if you please or if you don't please.

So now two kitties have a forever home. Abraham must be purring away.

My beloved Abraham

Yesterday was a very sad day here. Abraham, my black cat, died from massive heart failure.

Abraham was special for sure. He helped me train all the puppies to accept cats. He would walk nonchalantly out into the yard when I had the puppies out and wait for them to approach him. He would tolerate all the puppy stuff unless they got a bit rough and then he would deliver a swat. Immediate respect was ingrained in the minds of the puppies. He never tired of puppies either. One would think that he would not want to be around a bunch of bouncing Labradors but Abraham always wanted to be there. In fact, he wanted to be everywhere we were. If I was working in flower beds, Abe would come over and flop down to watch. He loved to be with his humans more than anything.

Abraham came to Surry as a feral stray who looked as if he had been in a knife fight at a bad bar. His legs were ripped up and his neck had been bitten. I don't know what the other cat looked like but Abe was a mess. It took a while of feeding him before he became tame enough to touch. Eventually, I was able to lure him into a trap and take him to the vets. He was neutered (sorry Abe but it was best), checked over, given his shots and came home to live. He remained somewhat feral for a while. He would scratch or bite if the mood struck him. All the raging male cat hormones were still in his system.

But eventually, Abe became the most docile and loving cat. I could cut his toenails, have him curl up on my lap, scratch his tummy, and do anything to that cat. He was a special one. He would greet me every morning for his breakfast, would sleep in the chair all day, and generally followed me everywhere.

Abraham, we miss you. I wish that we'd had a chance to say Goodbye but maybe that wasn't necessary since we were always saying Hello to each other. Until later, Abe.

Happy Valentine's Day to the Dogs

Dogs deserve to know our love every day. But on this special day, how about a Valentine treat? Here's a good recipe for Peanut Butter Doggy Treats. Use a heart shaped cutter and you have the perfect gift for your dog's Valentine's day.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. peanut butter
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup fine cornmeal

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Beat together peanut butter and eggs. Gradually beat in oil and water until well-mixed.
3. In a separate bowl, thoroughly combine flour, oats, and cornmeal.
4. Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and blend well to form a dough.
5. Roll out the dough to approx. 1/4" thickness and cut into shapes, or just slice them into squares if you don't have cookie cutters.
6. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet, leaving about 1/2 inch between biscuits. Bake for 20 minutes until browned. Turn off oven, but leave the biscuits inside to "crisp". Once the biscuits have hardened, remove them and treat your dogs! Store the remaining biscuits in an airtight container.

Kidney infection in dogs

I noticed that Tilly didn't seem as active as usual, even though she is 13 years old. She seemed a bit lethargic and was having some urine incontinence. After she was shown in Veterans at the CSCLRC supported entry, I knew that she was not feeling well. She just wasn't perky at all and didn't want to be in the ring which is unusual for Tilly.

So I took her to our vet for a check up. Dr. Shong found that she had a kidney infection. We know that the kidneys are vital organs which maintain the balance of certain chemicals in your dog's blood while filtering out the body's wastes as urine. The kidneys also help regulate blood pressure, help regulate the production of calcium and phosphorus metabolism, and produce a hormone that stimulates red-blood-cell production.

The structural units that work as filters in the kidney are nephrons. The nephrons are susceptible to damage due to many causes such as poisons, aging, infection, trauma, cancer, auto-immune diseases, and genetic predisposition. If any of these occur the entire nephron stops functioning. Fortunately, there are millions of nephrons. If damage to nephrons occurs gradually and the surviving nephrons have enough time to hypertrophy, a kidney can continue to function with as few as 25 percent of its original nephrons.

When the number of functioning nephrons drops below 25 percent or when damage occurs too suddenly for the remaining nephrons to compensate, kidney failure occurs. There are two types of kidney failure. Acute kidney failure is a sudden loss of function that is sometimes but not always reversible. Chronic kidney failure is an irreversible loss of function that occurs gradually over months or years.

Dr. Shong suspected that Tilly had an acute problem. He did a blood workup and found that her levels of creatinine (a chemical byproduct of muscle exertion) were higher than normal. All of her other blood work was good, her joints were good, and her heart was good. He suspected that her infection would respond well to antibiotics.

Tilly was started on Baytril and has gotten much brighter and more like her old self. There is a lot of information about kidney disease in canines on the web. This site has a lot of information that may be useful.

LRC of the Piedmont

This weekend is the LRC of the Piedmont specialty. I spent the day at the specialty. I really like specialty shows a lot, and this has been one that I've been going to for many years. In fact, I think that I went to the first one held by this club and have only missed a couple of shows since then.

As usual, it means getting up at 6 AM, walking the dogs, giving a few cookies but no breakfast, and then showing in various classes. There is a little time to just sit down and relax but not much time for that. Most of the time, I have to walk dogs, make it to the ring in time for my class, and walk around to watch the other rings. It's also a great time to catch up with old friends and talk to people about their dogs and promising puppies.

Specialties mean that there is only one breed being shown, in this case Labradors. All breed shows have entries of every breed. There are many more all breed shows than specialties. The competition at a specialty is fierce because there are so many nice Labradors present. Today, Mary Wiest's lovely Beechcroft boy won WD and went on to take the Breed. It is really an unforgettable thing to win at a specialty. I won Best of Breed with my Ch. Surry's Interstellar Overdrive several years ago at this very specialty. It was a great moment to savor.

Hoffa's morning at the beach

Hoffa hasn't quite decided what to think about waves and surf yet. She has gone to Sullivan's Island several times, most recently with her Labrador pal Stella. Stella loves the surf and wades about. Hoffa finds the water a bit scary so today she had to be carried around the rip rap! She walked part of the way and then came to a screeching halt. She dug in her toes and said, "Nope, I'm not going around any more rocks or out into this chilly water". Her greyhound friends Cayenne and Cooper lie about in the water regardless of how cold it is.

I'm sure that in time Hoffa will learn to love the water just as her buddies do. Until then, I'm just glad that she doesn't weigh 85 lbs like the Labradors do!

Floyd has crossed the bridge

I got the word that Am.Can. Ch. Surry's Dark Side of the Moon crossed over the Rainbow Bridge today. He joins his dam Ch. Fernwood Miss Daisy and his sire Ch. Sugar Hollow's Can't Touch This. I'm going to include the message that I received from Orlando Fernandez who co-owned Floyd with Sheila Wheatley and with whom Floyd lived in Spain. I think that it says what everyone has felt when they have a beloved animal leave this life:

"It is with great joy and sadness that I write this letter to you, joy because of all of the years of joy and happiness that our boy Floyd brought to me, the wonderful memories and in fact all that he taught me with his ways.

Sadness because as we know time does not stop and he has become very fragile and weak, I thought that perhaps it would be a very symbolic thing to send him over to Rigger and the rest of his cronies up above on his birthday, May 31st. Well this is not going to happen, I have been looking for a sign from him telling me when its time and I got it last night, his tail is not wagging any longer....I have made a very painful decision to send him to my Rigger and the rest on Monday morning, I don't want him to suffer and I believe that from this point on he is. Age stopped being kind to him a few months ago and it has been a fast track downhill.

So to the both of you I thank from the depths of my heart for having allowed me to share my life with this wonderful being, and I know that he will always carry a special place in your hearts as well. I speak for Sheila as well.

Today I am very sad, Monday will be a bad day too, but I hope that shortly thereafter I will as I have with the rest of the clan that has let me, be able to rejoice and celebrate the memories that he left me with.

I will give him a hug for the both of you."

Greyhounds in Bed

I'm glad that I've not let Hoffa up on the bed after seeing the video above. It's a wonder that the bedspread isn't shredded after the whirling!

I've never let the Labradors in bed either. For some reason, I don't want to sleep with a snoring man and an 85 lb. snoring, shedding dog. There just isn't enough room! And those stiff Labrador hairs...well....what more can I say because I have a quirk...I iron my sheets! Can you imagine what would be worse for a sheet ironer than to have dog hairs in bed???

Just something to make you smile on this Friday!!