SUMMER ISSUE 2015 PAWS4FUN AGILITY

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1 We are Growing! DID YOU KNOW? FUN FACTS ABOUT DOGS MEET & GREET FIELD DAY SATURDAY, AUGUST 29TH HOW MANY CLUB AND FACEBOOK MEMBERS DO YOU THINK WE HAVE NOW? Q S AND TITLES CHECK OUT OUR MEMBERS ACCOMPLISHMENTS! PAWS4FUN AGILITY SUMMER 2015 ISSUE Type to enter text Meet and Greet - Field Day - SAVE the Date! Mark your calendars for the first Paws4Fun Field Day on Saturday, August 29th starting at 9am and ending around 2pm. We have plans for an enjoyable day for the whole family, including our canine pals. Meet your Board of Directors, the various coordinators, other members and students. (continued on page 2) Page 1 Do you need Dog Treats? Rose-Anne Gleiser s Nina s Favourite Dog Treats are human grade, preservative free treats that are being sold at K9-Kup & the Sept Trial. The profits are used to help buy new equipment!

2 SUMMER ISSUE 2015 Invite your friends & family to join us and watch the fun! Meet & Greet Raffle Prizes Also included is: - a BBQ with snacks and beverages, - training on trial volunteering positions, - surprise events and - the special event a mini fun trial! IF rained out - rain date will be Saturday, Sept. 5th The trial will have a Pre-Starters event for our Foundation students using K-9 Kup judging rules (no refusals are penalized), Starters and Advanced events, and a Masters Challenge event. Dogs and handlers of any level and experience can try out all events. There will be prizes! Registration will begin August 1 st and the registration form and waiver will be sent out to all members and students by , as well as posting on the website. Best of all, the whole day is free of charge, although you might want to purchase some raffle tickets for the 1 st prize of a beautiful handmade quilt donated by Bev Cooper and 2 nd prize of a lovely soft dog mat handmade by Kat Cranstone, plus 3 MORE prizes! All money raised from the raffle will go towards the cost of purchasing an A-frame moving wheel set (or two if we raise enough cash!). Be sure to bring chairs, shade for yourself and your canine pals, and water. First Prize Handmade quilt: Serenity Made and donated by Bev Cooper Second Prize Handmade dog mat by Kat Cranstone 3rd prize - CARO ($25) seminar working spot 4th prize - 2 Runs P4FA September 2015 trial 5th prize - P4FA water bottle Page 2

3 What was your guess for our current member number? and Facebook? We are now 45 members strong! Ten new members joined us this year with 23 students in six training classes. Our Facebook page continues to grow daily and we are now up to 132 members. Q s and Titles: Sam and Greg Martin earned their 1st Q in Steeplechase and 2 Q s in Starter s Gambles having just started trialling this year! (photo on left) Silver and Linda DeVerno got his Rally Novice title and his Agility Dog of Canada title (photo page 5). Annie and Maureen Lamb earned their 1st two Starter s Q s at the Paws4Fun June trial with a Q and best run in Jumpers and a Q in Gambles (Photo page 6). Lark and Lorna Gendreau earned 2 silver experts 1 in Team Relay and 1 in Verstility. (Photo page 8) Dune and Catherine Woolham earned a 1st place, a Q & title in Rats! Canada, becoming the first Labrador to title! Ross and Janet Kirk weathered the pouring rain at the Paws4Fun trial in June successfully obtaining his Masters Team Relay Dog of Canada, MTRDC and his EXS Bronze, Expert Snooker Bronze early July! (Photo page 5). Clarke and Janet Biggar have earned 7 Q s so far this summer completing his MADC title and earning his MJDC title (center photo). Ember and Tony Starratt finished her AGDC title with a Jumper s Q, placing first and getting best run. She also picked up 2 Snooker Qs, 1 Standard and 1 Gambles Q in Masters. Rex and Rhéal Nadeau earned both their AADC and AGDC titles in trials this June & July (photo page 6). Xochi and Tony Starratt have Q d all 4 Masters Standard runs they entered, plus 2 of 4 Masters Jumpers runs this year. Xochi is still running at 13! (bottom photo). Page 3

4 Can Rats! and Dogs have FUN? By Manon Brisebois On July 18 & 19th, Rats! Canada and Maple Myst Performance Training hosted the first ever sanctioned Rats! Canada trial, as part of the K9 SportFest events in Maxville Ontario. Historically, rat catchers and their dogs offered their services to farmers to control vermin, helping to conserve and preserve their grain consequently protecting the inhabitants from disease. The sport of barn and brush hunting uses the dog s innate ability to hunt vermin. The events are designed to demonstrate teamwork and maximize the dog s ability to work with his/her handler. While the dog must display his vermin-hunting ability by finding and marking rats, the handler must display his ability to read the dog s signal. The setting is barn-like or field-like and straw/ hay bales are used in the course build. Two events were offered on this July weekend: Brush hunting was offered in the morning, and Barn hunting was offered in the afternoon. Since this is a new association in Canada and no qualifying legs have been earned before the K9 SportFest event, only the novice levels were offered at the inaugural trial. Brush Hunting relies completely on the dog s ability to locate a live quarry. Brush Hunts are usually held outside in a wooded or fallow fenced area. The size of the area is dependent on the level of difficulty, so dogs competing at a higher level must search a larger area. Only one tube containing a live rat is used for this event. The tube remains in the same position for every team, and the handler is told where the quarry is before competing. The tube is totally out of sight, covered slightly in leaves or branches or straw. In this event, it is the judge who stops the timer when he/she considers that the dog indicates, in a satisfactory fashion, the presence of the rat. Two (2) minutes are alloted to find the rat. Barn Hunting involves teamwork between the dog and handler, and requires the dog s ability to discriminate odours and live animals. Barn Hunts are held either indoors or outdoors. The land or building used is defined by fences or walls. The size of the ring is the same for all levels of competition, but many tubes may be used. These can be empty, or contain either rats and/or rat litter. The tubes are partially concealed in bales of hay, though the tubes must be in plain view of the handler and the judge, being more or less visible depending on the competition level. The Team is alloted 2 minutes to find the rat(s). When the handler believes that his/her dog has found a rat, the handler stops the time by calling Rat! to the judge. Earning an instinct title in brush or barn hunt involves qualifying in your first or second ever sanctioned novice barn hunt or brush hunt runs. The sport of ratting is not as physically demanding as some other dog sports, and is suitable for most handlers. Rats! Canada is dedicated to making the sport accessible to handlers and dogs with physical limitations. (continued on page 5) Note: Rats! Canada is committed to the humane treatment of rats used at all Rats! Canada events. Rats are rotated out hourly or as applicable based on weather conditions and other factors. Rats are chosen and trained specifically for the sport and do not experience anxiety in the presence of dogs. The tubes used are built for dog AND rat safety according to specific rat care rules. Rats are not harmed in any way during or at the end of the trial; they return home be cared for and loved by their owners! Page 4

5 (Rats! Canada continued) The events in Maxville were very well received. A total of 166 sanctioned legs were run, with a total of 93 Qs handed out. Seventy-one (71) brush or barn hunt instinct titles were granted, as well as 8 best or reserve awards. We are looking forward to more fun matches and training events in the region, as well as Maple Myst s & Rats! Canada s next sanctioned trial, which is to be held in Cumberland, Ontario on October 17 th, Silver DeVerno Ross Kirk Did you know? Dogs are capable of understanding up to 250 words and gestures, can count up to five and can perform simple mathematical calculations. The average dog is as intelligent as a two-year-old child. In ancient China, an emperor s last line of defence was a small Pekingese dog literally hidden up his sleeve. Spiked dog collars were invented in ancient Greece and were originally designed to protect dogs throats from wolf attacks. The expression "three dog night" originated with the Eskimos and means a very cold night - so cold that you have to bed down with three dogs to keep warm. The phrase "raining cats and dogs" originated in 17th Century England when many dogs and cats drowned during heavy downpours of rain and when rivers burst their banks. Their bodies would be seen floating in the rain torrents that raced through the streets giving the appearance that it had literally rained "cats and dogs. Page 5

6 SUMMER ISSUE 2015 Rex & Rhéal Nadeau with Judge Kathryn Kaiser. Annie Lamb After a summer of K9-Kup events Paws4Fun is looking forward to our upcoming September AAC Trial! As always, volunteers are a must to make things run smoothly and we do give high school volunteers hours so if you know a teenager looking for hours you can register them on your behalf. The premium is scheduled to available online as of early August and early registration (both premium and volunteer) guarantees you a place at the trial. Greg Martin - Trials Director PAWS4FUN AGILITY AAC TRIAL SEPTEMBER 19 & 20, 2015 Judges: Starters: Kathryn Kaiser Advanced: Janet Lundy Masters: Shelley Price and Rhéal Nadeau COMING SOON - Keep an eye on the website for the premium posting! Page 6

7 SUMMER ISSUE 2015 Put on Your Thinking Cap Might YOU or someone you know make a great board member? We are approaching Annual General Meeting time for 2015 and we wanted to provide you with information well in advance such that you can put on your thinking caps and clear your calendars! The Paws4Fun Agility Club is calling for nominations to its Board of Directors for the following 3 positions, which must be filled for the club to continue to function. 1. President (current president is retiring and moving out to BC) but will be around until later next summer to mentor the new President, if required. 2. Treasurer: We use Sage50 software and have written really good instructions. If there is a financial or accounting whiz in the club, please step forward! 3. Training Director: Current Director's term is up and she is stepping down.nomination Forms will be available at a later date, however a description of roles and responsibilities of Board positions are currently available on the Paws4Fun Agility website (click here). Please feel free to nominate yourself and the Nominating Committee will second the nomination. Paws4Fun RALLY SEMINAR Date: Saturday, October 24th, 2015 Time: 1pm to 5pm Location: Kemptville Armoury, 25 Reuben Crescent Cost: $25 for working spot (there are 12 working spots); $5 to audit Contact: president@paws4funagility.ca to register for a working spot Clinicians Bev Hurst and Sandra Cumming will be presenting this seminar; both are CARO Judges. Page 7

8 Membership has its Privileges and Responsibilities When you become a member of Paws4Fun Agility: - You get to hang out with friendly and informative people. - You get a reduction in class fees, K9-Kup and sanctioned trial fees. - You get to use the rings at our fields to practice at no charge. - You can bring a friend to the fields to practice for a nominal fee of $7.00 and a signed waiver. Waivers can be found in the shed. - You get advance notice for K9-Kup and sanctioned trials. - You have a say in how the club is run. - You receive newsletters. In return you are asked: - To volunteer 16 hours annually. If you volunteer over and above you are eligible for a reduction in membership fees. - You are asked to move equipment so as to promote healthy grass. It is particularly important to move the tunnels, the bags to the fence line and adjust the ends so that rain cannot get in. - You are asked to consider being on the Board or taking on coordinator positions. These positions all have their membership dues waived. - You treat all fellow members with courtesy and respect. Thank you! Lorna Gendreau & Lark Dune Woolham and Catherine Page 8