To protect dogs against certain diseases, it is vital that all puppies complete a course of vaccinations at an early age. The current guidelines from the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (2010) recommend that pups have 3 core vaccinations against distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus, all of which can be deadly to puppies and adult dogs.

A complicating factor in puppy vaccinations is that puppies born to healthy mothers have a “passive” immunity (maternally derived antibody) against these diseases for possibly the first 6 - 12 weeks of their lives. This means that vaccinations given during this period may not “take”.

To try and ensure the efficacy of vaccinations, many vets are vaccinating slightly later i.e. the puppy only gets its first vaccination at 8 weeks of age. The problem is that without proper testing it is not possible to determine whether maternal antibodies are still functional at this stage and so the recommendation becomes that puppies should not socialize or explore outside the home environment until they have had the second or third vaccination, sometimes as late as 16 weeks.

The very serious problem that results from such late vaccination schedules, is that puppies are unable to attend puppy classes or be taken out into the world to socialize until AFTER the sensitive or critical period for socialization is over (for most breeds this ends at about 14 weeks, but in certain sensitive breeds like German Shepherds, it can end as early as 10 weeks)!

From a behavioural/developmental point of view this can be disastrous as the puppy is less likely to accept new people, dogs and environments once this period is over and may develop nervous/aggressive problems that he or she may never completely overcome.

Until recently most puppies were vaccinated for the first time at around 6 weeks of age, this meant that the second vaccination could be done as early as 9 weeks (each one should be 3-4 weeks apart) and pups could start classes at around 10 weeks of age. WSAVA’s guidelines for vaccinations do mention this problem and admit that it would be acceptable for the 3^rd vaccination to take place at around 14 weeks of age (meaning that the 1^st could be at 6 weeks, the 2^nd at 10 weeks and the 3^rd at 14 weeks).

It is important as a dog owner to discuss these options with your breeder and your vet ahead of time to ensure that a vaccination course is started early enough to enable your puppy to be able to begin socialising while he or she is still receptive to new experiences. Don’t be passive about this important issue, as it really could affect the rest of your dog’s life.

Please note that vaccinations are important. Once the initial puppy course is finished, all dogs must also have a booster 12 months after the final vaccination. The current recommended vaccination schedule for adult dogs is every 3 years. It is irresponsible not to vaccinate - these diseases are all too real and kill many shelter puppies and unvaccinated dogs in disadvantaged areas on a regular basis.

To see the full report from WSAVA’S Vaccination Guideline Group for 2010 please go to http://www.wsava.org/VGG1.htm

On the 3rd December some of our members entered the KA Open Show held at Constantia Rugby Club. We would like to congratulate the following people and dogs on their achievements:

Bronze Canine Good Citizen
Teresa & Jess
Nicky & Garbo
Ola & Tshabalala (Chubby)
Darren &Busta
Liz & Kai
Joanna & Puddles
Ronel & Bella
Thozama & Tundra (Tears)
Siyanda & Mac (Tears)
Simone & Laska (Tears)

Silver Canine Good Citizen
Thomas & Tara (Tears)

Special Beginners Obedience
2nd Place - Marieta and Griffin

 Novice Obedience
3rd Place with qualification (95%) - Taryn & Rosie

The dogs that they have chosen  to work with are  mainly young “teenagers” that are often overlooked by potential adopters, because they are no longer cute puppies, but not yet mature adult dogs either. Training dogs in this age group can be quite challenging, but these men have proved that they have what it takes to make a difference in these dogs’ lives. The classes focus on preparing the dogs for the Canine Good Citizen Test which requires the dogs to be able to perform basic obedience exercises and be well- socialised.

For dogs that have often had poor experiences with people and are insecure, the training really helps to build their confidence and restores their trust in people. It also teaches them how to get attention in appropriate ways and have “good manners”.

Tears have already had many dogs pass their bronze level Canine Good Citizen and a few have even gone on to achieve the silver level. People lucky enough to adopt one of these dogs will find that they are already well-trained and socialised and that much of the initial hard work in this regard has been done for them. Of course, this does not mean that adopters should not continue with training!

The dogs being trained at the moment for their Canine Good Citizen are shown here below with their trainers. If you would like to adopt one of these dogs, please contact the Tears office at 021 7854482

Kommetjie Canine College Calendar 2012 is ready to order!

 Once again the calendar contains photos of all the dogs that have been involved in our training classes on a regular basis over the past year. The calendar is A4 in size and is printed on 300 grams gloss paper. The cost is R180 per calendar - paymnent must accompany orders. Orders must be in by the 18th October. A hard copy of the calendar can be viewed at training.

Please preview the calendar pages below and see if you can find your dogs!

1. When adopting a new dog from a shelter or a dog from another home or even an adult dog from a breeder, allow the dog time to settle in at your home and with your family before you expect it to cope with the rest of the world as well. The Open Paw dog rehabilitation programme advises that dogs adopted from shelters are not taken out for the first two weeks after they come home. Some of us may feel impatient to get the dog out and start doing things with him or her, but remember that a good start where the dog has the chance to adjust and build up confidence in its new living environment can help the dog to cope better when you do start going out for walks etc.
2. When walking your new dog, keep him or her on the lead until you are sure of their reaction to other dogs, people and strange noises. A dog that is unsure of itself may run off to get away from something it finds scary. Often when the new owner tries to call the dog back, the dog does not know or trust the person well enough yet to respond. If you are concerned that the lead might cause social problems when meeting new people and dogs, leave the dog on a long line so that the dog has the freedom to interact naturally, but you can get the dog back if a problem arises.
3. Don’t leave a new dog out in the garden at night or when you are going to be leaving the home for a while, unless the property is 100% secure and there is no way that the dog can escape. A new dog may be very stressed on its own and may try to escape in order to follow you, to try and find something familiar or just to explore.
4. Fit your dog with a collar and clear name tag with your contact numbers on it immediately. This will allow someone to contact you directly if your dog does get out and they find him. Also make sure that the dog is micro-chipped so that if the collar comes off he can still be identified by a vet or rescue organisation.

Remember that rescued dogs in particular can be nervous of a variety of things and so may be vulnerable to getting frightened, confused and lost. It often takes time for the dog to learn to trust you and to feel comfortable enough to come to you when it is frightened rather than run away. Training using positive reinforcement will help to build confidence and a bond of trust between you and your dog.

1. There are currently thousands of puppies (and adult dogs) sitting in shelters all over the country waiting for homes. Every puppy that is brought into the world takes a home away from one of these dogs.

 
2. Breeding healthy puppies takes effort and preparation. The parents must be checked for hereditary diseases and the mother and father must be carefully matched in order to produce offspring that are mentally and physically healthy.

 
3. Keeping an intact bitch until she is the correct age to breed can be troublesome as you will have to go through several heat cycles first where you will have to ensure that she does not get pregnant.

 
4. Keeping an intact male dog increases the risks of the dog developing certain hormone-related behavioural problems such as aggression towards other male dogs and urine marking in the home.

 
5. Finding the right homes for puppies is not an easy thing to do. You may have many people who want them, but how many will really look after the pups the way that you would like them to?

 
6. If your dog has any behavioural problems that seem to be related to his or her temperament, this makes them unsuitable for breeding as you are risking passing on undesirable behaviour traits to all the puppies.

 
7. Responsible breeding is costly. Pregnant and lactating bitches require increased amounts of food and special veterinary care, puppies must be de-wormed (usually once a week until they are homed) and vaccinated at least once. Registered litters must also be micro-chipped and registered with the kennel union - all of this costs money and if the litter is a large one the bill will mount up.

 
8. Responsible breeders will not home puppies until they are 8 weeks old. This means that they will be fed solid food for at least two weeks prior to being homed. This is also costly.

 
9. Responsible breeders know how to correctly socialise puppies until they are homed. A good knowledge of early canine development is essential for a good breeder.

 
10. Registered breeders will usually take dogs back if the new owners are not able to keep them or they experience serious problems with them. Would you be able to do this or would you be happy to see a puppy that you had brought into the world end up in a shelter or worse?

On the 10th July members of Kommetjie Canine College entered the KA Non-Championship show. We would like to congratulate the following people and dogs:

Bronze Canine Good Citizen:
Bronwyn & Rosie
Dolores & Suzy-Q
Cathy & Leo
Melanie & Shabba
Sasha & Mojo
Wendy & Ty
Karen & Lily
Chris & Sabre (TEARS)
Simone & Aaron (TEARS)
Thozama & Blondie (TEARS)
Thomas & Tara (TEARS)

Special mention must be made of these last four dogs who are currently sheltered at the The Emma Animal Rescue Society and who have been trained by their handlers who are kennel assistants at the shelter. These dedicated men have devoted many hours to training and caring for these dogs in an effort to make them more adoptable. The dogs have responded beautifully to the training and they have done everyone at TEARS proud with their excellent behaviour at the show. We would now love to find homes for these dogs with people who will continue with their training and help these beautiful dogs to reach their full potential!

We had a record number of 9 dogs enter obedience at the show as well and achieved the following placings:

2nd place special beginners - Karen & Juno

3rd place special beginners - Marieta & Griffin
2nd place beginners - Gavin & Tusker
2nd place novice - Taryn & Rosie

Congratulations as well to Cindy & Pippa for achieving their Silver Canine Good Citizen and to A-J & Jinx for getting 3 clear rounds in dog jumping and qualifications in all three.

On the 5th June 21 of our advanced class dogs were evaluated for the Silver Canine Good Citizen Test and 16 for the Gold Canine Good Citizen Test. KUSA judge Marian Ott was kind enough to give up her whole Sunday to be our assessor. She was thorough, but efficient and the day was enjoyable for all who participated.

We are very pleased that all of our 37 dogs passed their tests and achieved their certificates. Special mention must be made of the two TEARS dogs, Shadow and Anuq, who did their handlers Siyanda and Thomas proud on the day, showing that shelter dogs can indeed achieve great things!

Congratulations to:

Silver Canine Good Citizens:
Geraldine and Maverick
Cindy and Mascu
Charlotte and Seal
Thomas and Anuq
Siyanda and Shadow
Lisa and Misty
Grant and Tusker
Susan and Boo
Shelley and Luca
Shelley and Gila
Les and Noodle
Karen and Juno
Karen and Phoebe
Christo and Lucy
Debbie and Nika
Dorothy and Kelsey
Tracey and Zeus
Steve and Magic
Josephine and Belle
Patricia and Max
Kariema and Mushu

Gold Canine Good Citizens
Susan and Jessie
Carol and Jessie
A-J and Trafford
A-J and Saxon
A-J and Jinx
Sean and Mojo
Regan and Ripley
Marieta and Griffin
Inge and Kunto
Taryn and Rosie

Liz and Zula
Jacki and Max
Christine and Gemma
Tracey and Rocket
Rob and Lisa
Christine/Rosie and Roibos

To see more of the day, please have a look at the Silver and Gold CGC Gallery June 2011

If anyone would like to order photographs from the day, please contact Inge:  info@imprintphotography.co.za

It is quite rare though, for legitimate registered breeders to advertise on such websites. Most registered breeders don’t really have the need to advertise as they have become known in the dog community and so constantly have people phoning them looking for pups.

When you see an advertisement for registered puppies with “excellent bloodlines” on free websites, please do your homework very well and make sure that the breeders are who they say they are. While it is possible that you may have come across a good breeder in such a way, it is unfortunately also possible that you have come across a backyard breeder who is lying to you about the puppies’ parentage or a complete con artist who may request a deposit for the pup and then disappear with your money.

There are even very clever fraudsters out there who actually use the real names and pedigrees of existing dogs (owned by well-known, registered breeders) in order to attract the public to their adds!

Always do the following when checking out your prospective breeder:
1. If you have never heard of the person as a breeder, check with the Kennel Union or contact your local breed club and ask whether they are familiar with this person at all.
2. Insist on visiting the breeder’s home and kennels so that you can see what conditions the puppy is coming from and you can see how the person interacts with his own dogs.
3. Make sure that you get to meet and spend time with the parents of the puppies. This is should give you a good indication of the kind of temperament the puppies are likely to have as they grow up. (You can also check that the parents are in fact the dogs in the advertisement photos!). If the breeder will not allow you to meet the parents, this is a huge warning that something is wrong. Don’t allow the breeder to simply bring the puppy to your home - you will then have no idea what sort of environment the puppy came from and no clue what the parents are really like.
4. Don’t pay a deposit without having first seen the pups and parents on the breeder’s premises (the father may belong to another breeder, so you may have to make two trips). No good breeder would accept a deposit without having met you first and assessed whether you are going to be the right person to take one of his pups into your home.
5. Don’t take home a puppy that is under 7 weeks of age (preferably 8 weeks). Unfortunately many backyard breeders simply lie about the pup’s age, so if you think the puppy looks much younger than it is supposed to be (still very wobbly on its feet and eyes slightly unfocused) it probably is!
6. Make sure that you see the vaccination card (the puppy must have had its first vaccination) and proof of micro-chipping. Registered puppies have to be micro-chipped by the breeder.

You should not have to rescue your dog from its breeder! Please remember that supporting backyard breeders leads to many more animals being produced only to end up in shelters. If the puppies are in poor conditions, report the situation to the SPCA.

Jinx’s agility trainer, Jackie Duncan Smith, of Fish Hoek Agility Dogs kindly sent me the following news item:

JINX WINS THE TROPHY
The Jill Byren Trophy was donated to SADAA Western Province by Janet Sandel, in memory of Jill Byren - a very active young agility handler, who died tragically of a brain tumor. As Janet herself, has also since passed away, it is a very special trophy for all those that knew these two agility handlers. It has recently, once again, been presented as a floating trophy at SADAA shows to the Agility 1 handler and dog, who in the judges opinion, had the most deserving round. On Sat 5th February 2011, it was awarded to A.J. and Jinx for their perfect clear round and qualification in Agility 1.

Other results:

On the 19th February Rosie entered the KA Championship Show in the beginners obedience category. She qualified with 97 and received a first place rosette.