Pure Dog Talk

Jaraluv Scottish Deerhounds: 7 Secrets to Success BIS & MBISS Ch. Jaraluv Keep The Faith, shown here at Eukanuba. Three-time consecutive national specialty winner -- 2002, 2003, and 2004. Ray and Jana Brinlee, Jaraluv Scottish Deerhounds, have a truly notable record. Breeding on a very limited basis since the early 1980s, they have produced a total of 94 dogs. Of which, 75 are champions of record and 11 are Best in Show Winners. A 12 percent ratio of BIS winners to puppies produced is remarkable in any breed, never mind an aloof, tousled sighthound. The Brinlees are world-renowned for producing a very identifiable style of Deerhound. They were selected as AKC Hound Breeder of the year in 2016. In this part one of a two part interview, Ray and Jana share what developed very organically through their time in the breed, which they have distilled into seven “secrets to success” for any breeder. Secrets to Success Imprint Experience, mentors Foundation stock Dedication and commitment Breeding plan P

Golden Retriever Breed Education with Michael Faulkner In honor of the Golden Retriever National Specialty, currently under way in Southern California, Host Laura Reeves visits with legendary judge and breeder Michael Faulkner. Actively involved with Goldens since 1969, Faulkner is deeply passionate about his breed. Primarily a hunting dog “This is the GOLDEN Retriever,” Faulkner said. “They have a coat of lustrous gold, they are a water dog, their form and function is to retrieve. “The standard says ‘primarily a hunting dog,’ moderate, to be shown in good, hard working condition,” Faulkner said “Yellow Wavy Coated Retrievers” The double coat protects and wraps the body, Faulkner said. Early historians talk about the development in Scotland of “yellow, wavy coated retrievers.” “Quite often when you’re judging my breed you’re going to see a coat that wraps the body and it may have a slight wave. That’s perfect. We love it when you can see the natural wrap and frame. The coat should never be curly, but wave i

Pyrenean Shepherd: Small, Smart, Rare Joni McKeown with Pyrenean Shepherds Pyrenean Shepherd fancier Joni McKeown shares details of this endangered herding breed from the Pyrenees mountains of France. The small herding breed accompanied the Great Pyrenees guarding the flocks that moved between the isolated and remote regions of the mountains and valleys. “When people come to shows, everyone thinks they are cute. They have a mischievous, funny sense of humor, and a really cute little head, but this is a working dog. It should not just be a pretty face,” McKeown said. A brindle PyrShep showing cording on the back half of the dog as is correct. From the AKC website: These tough, lean, and lively herders, famous for their vigorous and free-flowing movement, come in two coat varieties: rough-faced and smooth-faced. Roughs have profuse, “windswept” hair above the muzzle and a generally harsh coat; smooths have short facial hair, a finer-textured coat, and a slightly longer, pointier muzzle. Both varieties of th

Secret to Success with Owner-Handler Matt Palmer Missouri public defender Matt Palmer, with his Golden Retriever, on his way to winning Best of Breed at Westminster Kennel Club with his first show dog. The 2019 Secret to Success award goes to owner-handler Matt Palmer winning Best of Breed at Westminster Kennel Club with his first show dog. Host Laura Reeves gets up close and personal with everyone’s newest hero. A Missouri State Public Defender, Palmer discovered Golden Retrievers at the Kennel Club of Philadelphia dog show he visited on a whim. He took AKC's advice on how to find a reputable breeder, winding up with "great mentors, breeders who took a chance on selling a nice puppy to someone they didn't know." "It's remarkable the number of people who have “scaffolded me” in this sport," Palmer said. "People have been amazing. Everyone I’ve come across has helped me in one way or another." Palmer said his secret to success came when he was working his dog at a handling class. An instructor noticed the

John Buddie part 2: Respect, Reverence and Romance Master Breeder, John Buddie, Tartanside Collies, talks about the three "Rs": Respect of the individuals who went before, reverence of finding and holding these people in high regard, and the romance of the history and studying the lore of the breed. "If it’s all statistics and numbers and cut and dried, I think you burn out," Buddie said. In the second half of our interview, Buddie talks about maintaining virtues, the importance of selection and having heroes. "You can lose the existing quality in a line by not maintaining emphasis on virtues, especially when you are trying to achieve improvement in an outcross," Buddie said. "Don’t put so much emphasis on that new added characteristic that you lose sight of what you’ve worked so hard on to date" Outcrosses "You don’t always get the results you were aiming for until the generation after what you’ve done. The key is what you do with the outcrossed generation that makes or breaks you." Selection, selection, se

Breeding Rules from John Buddie, Tartanside Collies John Buddie with L to R - Ch.Tartanside Picturesque, Ch. Tartanside Audaicious (lying) Ch. Tartanside Arabesque, Ch. Tartanside Limerick Debut, Ch. Tartanside Aliage, Ch. Tartanside Imagination. John Buddie has spent a lifetime with Collies. His Tartanside family of dogs is world famous and widely respected. His Breeding Rules are a distillation of more than 50 years' experience and success. This is part one of a two part series. Buddie's original breed mentor gave him much of the knowledge he continues to share today. "This was mentorship in the days of letter writing, plus weekends spent doing kennel chores, brushing dogs, really hands on work," Buddie said. "When I asked a question, she would ask me a question to make me think." Spoon-feeding someone an answer doesn’t have the same impact as helping someone come to their own conclusion, Buddie observed. Buddie's "rules" are guidelines that are applicable across breeds and generations. *Leave the spor

Dogs Saving Cats: Livestock Guardians and Cheetahs Dr. Laurie Marker with one of the Livestock Guarding Dogs bred and raised by the Cheetah Conservation Fund to give farmers in Namibia safety for their flocks. My very special guest today is Dr. Laurie Marker of the Cheetah Conservation Fund. We discuss her work with Cheetahs and "dogs saving cats"... dogs as "emotional support" animals for Cheetahs raised in captivity, as livestock guardians for flocks in Namibia so the farmers don't kill the Cheetahs who might otherwise prey on their stock, even dogs tracking down "scat" for research. I first met Marker some 40 years ago when she was working in my hometown at the Wildlife Safari. What an incredible opportunity this conversation was! LGD Program began in 1994 “We decided to celebrate the program anniversary by naming 2019 the Year of the Livestock Guarding Dog. The program holds a special place in my heart. It has been incredibly successful at mitigating human/wildlife conflict not only in Namibia but acros

Poopy Happens: Puppy Diarrhea Causes and Treatments Puppy diarrhea can be serious and dangerous due to dehydration risks, says Dr. Marty Greer, DVM. While “poopy happens” is a pretty common issue in a litter of puppies, some causes are more serious than others. Causes of "bad potty" can range from the benign to the deadly and knowing which is which and how to treat them can be a matter of life and death. "I can't believe I ate the WHOLE thing...." Overeating is pretty common, particularly when puppies transition to solid food during weaning. "While nursing, the diarrhea is white in color, and the puppy is very hefty," Greer said. She strongly recommends dog specific probiotics during weaning, particularly Proviable or Fortiflora. "What do you have in your mouth?!" Eating inappropriate stuff like rocks, sticks, leaves is another common problem in puppies that can cause stomach upset and loose stools. Since puppies are curious and often investigate their new and expanding world with their mouths, it can also

The Winning Edge! Panel Discussion With the Masters Host Laura Reeves moderates a Friday Night Forum Panel Discussion on the topic of the "Winning Edge" with Judges Rick Gschwender and Pluis Davern and Professional Handler Bill McFadden. It is not the judge’s job to find a “diamond in the rough,” Reeves posits. “Polish your “gem stone” for your best chance of success.” Good habits Gschwender starts the discussion by asking the audience about their habits with the dogs they exhibit. “How many of you train your dog? Road work him? Take video to see what the judge sees? Clean their teeth?” Gschwender queried. “I see people all the time, they’re paying $30 to enter the dog and haven’t even cleaned teeth.” Gschwender adds, “Watch the judges. If you pay attention, you will see consistency in what they put up. You might not like it, but you will figure out what I like and come back and show that to me.” Motivated by motion Davern noted, in a fascinating observation, that people are *predators.* Which means “we are

Tricks Are for Show Dogs! Improve Focus in the Ring Show Dog Prep School founder, Vicki Ronchette, provides tips for training tricks to show dogs to help them focus and have fun. "Training tricks is fun," Ronchette said. "People and dogs enjoy it more than they do training traditional exercises. It is relaxing. And it's a good way for people to improve their mechanical training skills." Teaching a "bow" is a great trick for the conformation ring. Dogs get bored in the ring, Ronchette noted. Having a repertoire of tricks available helps dogs and exhibitors relax, she said. Bonus, the dogs and handlers having fun makes a good impression on audience and serve as crowd pleasers. Note the phenomenal success of the "sit up" by the Sussex Spaniel, Bean, at the 2018 Westminster Kennel Club show. Ronchette shared a few of her favorite "tricks" to teach clients that provide specific benefits to dogs and their performance. Touch! Target training is a favorite of Ronchette's. She trains the dog to touch its nose to

You ARE What You Eat and So is Your Dog Dr. Diane Brown, CEO of the AKC Canine Health Foundation, joins us again to talk about fascinating new research on the “gut-brain axis.” In other words, the microscopic bugs inside the dog’s body are being proven to interact with what’s going on in its brain. From the CHF Newsletter: “The adage “you are what you eat” may be more profound than we ever realized. A growing body of evidence shows a complex system of two-way communication between the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and neurologic system in humans and dogs. The link between GI health and diseases such as multiple sclerosis, autism, and epilepsy has been studied in humans. In fact, patients with celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease have an increased risk of developing epilepsy. Since the community of microorganisms that live in the digestive tract – known as the gut microbiome – plays an important role in GI health, what impact does it have on neurologic disease? AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) funded r

Cavalettis for Show Dogs with Vicki Ronchette Vicki Ronchette with her Lowchen. Show Dog Prep School founder Vicki Ronchette shares her tips and tools for using cavalettis to train body awareness, conditioning and more. Cavalettis, Ronchette said, are useful for a variety of issues. Dogs who pace, forge on the leash, need to know where to put their feet amongst other topics are well served by practicing with caveletti training. One of the most common uses is to build muscle memory to increase reach and extension, Ronchette said. “Most dogs love doing the cavalettis,” she added. Using simple, inexpensive materials, Ronchette provides direction for building and utilizing these obstacles in an exhibitor’s “tool kit” of preparing the dogs for the show ring. How To's and Why For's One of Ronchette’s most frequently asked questions is how far apart to set the poles for proper gaiting. She said she measures from the front toe to the back toe when the dog is in a comfortable stack. That is the “elementary” distan

Owner Handler Secrets to Success: Make a Plan and Be Consistent Remy Smith-Lewis, breeder, owner, handler of Portugese Water Dogs, shares the secrets that took him to the top, winning his National Specialty as an owner handler. Remy Smith-Lewis, winning best junior handler. Smith-Lewis said he did not come from a "dog" family. He was awestruck by his breed when the San Francisco Giants began using the dogs to retrieve balls that were hit over the fence. He started as a junior handler, worked for professional handlers Sally George and Bill and Taffe McFadden. He showed his first big winner to multiple Best in Show awards and a national specialty win before turning over the dog's career to the McFadden team to manage. "I was at a place in my career that I really needed to decide what to do and focus on it," said Smith-Lewis, who began his career at Google and now works for a new tech start up in the Bay Area. Remy Smith-Lewis handling his Portugese Water Dog to Best in Show at Del Monte Kennel Club under j

New Resources for Purebred Dog Enthusiasts Host Laura Reeves visits with two exhibitors, Cara Ryckman and Michelle Conroy, who have each taken huge steps to create resources to benefit purebred dogs and their people. These three 50something women with passion, dedication and a desire to “*do* something, not just complain” encompass close to 120 years combined experience in purebred dogs. Both Ryckman and Conroy saw voids in the world of purebred dogs and created ingenious ways to fill them. Spending their own time and resources, they have created a brand new social media ap (Ryckman) and a certification of breeders/rescues for the general public’s use (Conroy). Cara Ryckman - Social media gone to the dogs Cara Ryckman with her heart dog, GCH-S CH Hi-C Chanel Pearls and Ice at Terlingua. “Dogs are our life! This page and our site brought to you by Cara Ryckman of Terlingua Chihuahuas. I strive to create a friendly, positive, free social experience for people who love purebred dogs! This site was created as

Ireland Designates “Heritage Status” for Native Dog Breeds Sean Delmar, President Irish Kennel Club Sean Delmar, president of the Irish Kennel Club and Kerry Blue Terrier breeder, has just achieved the holy grail of “heritage status” for the nine native Irish breeds. Heritage Status JULY 16, 2019 I am pleased to announce that the 9 Irish Breeds have been granted National Heritage status by the Minister. This is a wonderful step in the future protection and development of our amazing Irish Breeds and comes after many years of representations by those committed to Irish Breeds. On behalf of The Irish Kennel Club I would like to specifically acknowledge the commitment of the following who put there heart and soul into making this a reality. Cathy Delmar, Eddie Burke, Vincent Flannelly. Sean Delmar, President “I thought there was a chance these breeds could go out of existence,” Delmar said. “I thought the Government should take some responsibility. We wanted to convince them these dog breeds are part of the pat