THE COCKAPOO TIMES THE NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS OF THE BCS

Transcription

1 THE COCKAPOO TIMES THE NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS OF THE BCS E mail admin@britishcockapoosociety.co.uk N E W S L E T T E R 5 WEB F E B R U A R Y HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! HAVE A GREAT TIME WITH YOUR LOVED ONES, ESPECIALLY THE FOUR LEGGED FURRY KIND! ARE YOU GETTING A PUPPY AT THE END OF FEBRUARY/MARCH TIME? We have been contacted by someone making a programme on dogs for BBC2 and who is looking for people to take part. The programme would look at the extraordinary relationship between man and man s best friend as we follow a number of households taking in a new puppy - and look at the lives of the puppies and their new owners. It will also reveal the science of dog development and discover what s going on in the puppies bodies and minds over the first year of their lives. It would involve some filming in participants homes. If you are interested please contact Anna on anna.johnson@rdftelevision.com or to apply to be on the programme contact puppies@rdftelevision.com. PLEASE MENTION BRITISH COCKAPOO SOCIETY IN ALL CORRESPONDENCE SO SHE KNOWS HOW YOU HEARD ABOUT IT IN THIS ISSUE PARVO VIRUS TASTY RECIPES FUN AND GAMES CALENDARS WE HAVE A FEW 2014 COCKAPOO CALENDARS AVAILABLE FOR JUST 7 PLUS p&p BARGAIN!!!

2 2 PARVO VIRUS We have all heard about Parvo Virus and it is something hopefully none of us will ever see in our pets, but not many know the signs and symptoms of it, or what causes it. WHAT IS IT?? Canine Parvo is a highly contagious viral infection that can affect unvaccinated adult dogs but most commonly affects puppies. It often leads to death. HOW IS IT CAUGHT? The virus can be found in the vomit or faeces of an infected dog. It can live on bowls, shoes, floors etc as well as the vomit and faeces of affected dogs and is spread by contact orally or nasally with the infected material. This means that it can be spread by hands, clothing etc that have come into contact with it. When pups are born, they usually get some protection against infection from the maternal antibodies if the Mum has been vaccinated and is healthy. If the Mum has not been vaccinated and has been in contact with the virus she can then pass the illness on to her pups who do not have the built in immunity to fight it off. It is possible that the Mum does not even show any symptoms of the illness but is just a carrier, passing it on to her puppies, and maybe other dogs too, without anyone knowing. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS Symptoms usually start being seen after an incubation period of between 3 12 days after exposure. Lethargy Loss of appetite Vomiting Diarrhoea Blood in faeces High temperature Low white cell count TREATMENT There isn't one single treatment for Parvo. Possible treatments are aimed at supporting the dog or puppy throughout the illness and trying to prevent further deterioration. This is done by :- Keeping the sick dog in strict isolation. Administering IV or Subcutaneous fluids with electrolytes. Anti- nausea and anti vomiting meds by injection >>>>>>

3 3 PARVO Contd Antibiotics might be given. Although they are not effective against any virus they are used to treat any bacterial infection that may be present too. Interferon has been found to have a good effect on some ill dogs, and is given intravenously.prevention Vaccination is really the main weapon against this illness. Anyone thinking of breeding should ensure that bitches are up to date with their vaccinations to minimise any risk to puppies. The puppies will get some antibodies from their Mums milk to help them keep this virus at bay but there is more to it than that. Maternal antibodies die down in the pups at a varying rate it can happen at any time between 7 16 weeks of age. Because of this it is impossible to know which puppy has protection from the Mum and which is at risk. To help keep the puppies covered against this disease they are given their first vaccination at about 8 weeks, with a booster a few weeks later. Until the second vaccination has been done, puppies should not be walked in open areas, where untreated or infected dogs may have been, but can be taken outside for socialisation as long as they are carried. TASTY DOGGY RECIPES DOGGY MEATBALLS INGREDIENTS 1/4 cup uncooked ground beef 1/4 cup dry dog food 3 tablespoons cottage cheese 2 tablespoons boiled sliced carrots Roll beef into 3 or 4 small meatballs. Add to a medium bowl along with dry dog food, cottage cheese, and carrots; Mix well together. Serve to your dog immediately. NB. Some recommend that dry and wet fog food should not be served together. If you do not want to mix them simply leave dog biscuits out and give your dog the tasty meatballs as a tasty treat.

4 4 GAME TIME!! TEACH YOUR DOG SOME WORDS! Get one or two of your dogs most favourite toys. Put all other toys out of the way, out of sight. Give each of the toys a specific name. Keep the names short and basic Monkey, Bear, Pig etc. Choose one toy, say the name and throw it so your dog can fetch it. Repeat it a few times and reward each time. Do the same with the second toy. Once you think your dog has got the names of the toys in his head, place both toys on the ground. Get your dog to sit/stay, then ask him to fetch one of them, using its name for identification. When he has that right, add in a couple of more toys and repeat the process. See how many names you can teach! TIDY UP TIME Well they make the mess, so only right they should clean up :) This can be a follow on from the WORDS game. Scatter a couple of toys on the floor, get your dog to fetch it. Say the command Put Away and encourage your dog to drop the toy in his toy box. Keep working on this until the dog understands what the command Put Away means and reward with high value treat. Gradually increase the number of toys you scatter out for your dog to put away. As your dog gets better at it you can challenge him a bit more. Put toys in different rooms, upstairs or outside and let him find them. To really challenge him you can work with a few toys and hide one or two so he has to find them. Don t forget to always use the Put Away command when playing this game and give plenty of praise and rewards. We have a few members who have new puppies at the moment so it might be useful to mention the importance of puppy socialization. Although puppies cant be taken out for walks until they have had all of their vaccinations it is really important that they get to see what is going on in the big wide world as soon as possible. Give your pup a day or two to settle into its new surroundings and then start teaching him what is happening outside. It is estimated that the most important time to socialize your puppy is in the first 3 months of its life. As you probably got your puppy when it was 2 months old you have just 4 weeks to gently teach it what life is about and give it the reassurance it needs. You wont be able to take it for a walk but you can take it out and CARRY IT! PUPPY SOCIALISATION Take your puppy everywhere you can. Shops, parks, buses and trains, in the car and school run, Let it meet men, women and children, take it to puppy socialization classes (some vets run these so worth checking) so it can meet dogs of different shapes and sizes. As well as the meet and greet side of socialization there are other things you need to teach it about. Things like BITE INHIBITION, CRATE TRAINING, and of course HOUSE TRAINING too are all things your young pup need to be taught by you. Please remember that ALL training should be done on a reward based regime. The methods of being the Alpha Pack Leader are outdated and shown to cause more trouble than cured and thankfully most people now believe in positive reinforcement, and rewards based methods. If you find a trainer using the outdated methods please walk away and look for someone better your dog will thank you for it! S e e m o r e o n

5 5 WHY RAISE MONEY FOR HEARING DOGS FOR DEAF PEOPLE? Some people may not be aware of why we raise money for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, and just how important these highly trained dogs are to the people who rely on them daily. There is a waiting list of about 5 years for people applying for a dog, during which time people with severe or total hearing loss sometimes struggle to cope. The charity has a breeding programme which produces some puppies every year, but these then have to be socialised, taken through the normal obedience training every dog needs, then taught how to alert people to various sounds and alarms and get matched to the perfect recipient adult or child. Throughout their training they are constantly assessed and observed to make sure they are the right temperament to become a working Hearing Dog. The training lasts about 2 years in total from puppy to fully fledged Hearing Dog. Once they are given to their deaf recipient, they are then supported throughout their life which costs about 50,000 per dog. THE STORY BELOW MAY EXPLAIN WHY WHAT AN IMPORTANT JOB THESE DOGS DO BETH, BISCUIT AND THE FIRE ALARM One day recently Beth, one of our members, was in the main living room of her house. She was home alone apart from her Hearing Dog Biscuit. Suddenly, Biscuit started to nudge Beth to get her attention and Beth asked her What? Hearing dogs are taught different actions for different alerts. If the phone rings, Biscuit would have walked to the phone to show Beth that was ringing, but when Beth asked her what was happening Biscuit immediately dropped onto her tummy an alert for the fire alarm! Beth went to investigate and when she opened the kitchen door found the kitchen full of smoke! She had forgotten to turn the grill off and the grill pan was close to catching fire. Fortunately Beth was able to prevent that happening. Without Biscuit s alert, Beth is in no doubt that the kitchen would have caught fire as she had no idea what was happening and can't hear smoke alarms. Beth is full of praise for Biscuit, who she has only had since last April. Biscuit was unfortunately attacked by another dog not long after Beth was partnered with her, and suffered serious injuries to her neck. Despite her injuries she continued to alert Beth to the phone ringing, etc and has shown what a fantastic Hearing Dog she is. WELL DONE BISCUIT, WHAT A BRILLIANT DOG!! It is to help other adults and children get partnered with a dog that will help with confidence and day to day living that we do our fundraising, and why we are look forward to building on our achievements in the future.

6 6 BETH AND BISCUIT Thanks to people who have registered with EASYFUNDRAISING and have helped us raise some more money for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People every time they do their online shopping. If you haven't registered yet, its easy to do and doesn't cost anything. Every time you do any online shopping at one of the many participating stores THEY donate a percentage of your spend to us. We then donate it to Hearing Dogs for Deaf People via our JustGiving page. Its that easy!! SEARCH THE WEB AND RAISE MONEY!! Every time you search the web using instead of your usual search engine, you'll raise half a penny for British Cockapoo Society. Search just 15 times a day and you can raise around 25 a year. It all adds up and every penny will go towards Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

7 7 MEMBERS DISCOUNTS DISCOUNTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR CLUB MEMBERS FROM PETANGEL GROOMING BRUSH 2 OFF RRP. CONTACT US FOR CODE BEFORE ORDERING DOODLES PET SHOP 10% OFF WHEN 10 IS SPENT. CONTACT US FOR CODE BEFORE ORDERING CLUB HOLIDAY IN DEVON 5% DISCOUNT OFF PRICE. CONTACT US FOR DISCOUNT BEFORE BOOKING WE HOPE TO ADD MORE DISCOUNTS FOR MEMBERS IN THE WEEKS AHEAD Well the winter is slowly going by and to prove it bookings are now being taken for the BCS Annual Getaway, held in Forest Glade Holiday Park in Devon this year. Some members have booked already and it is going to be great to get to meet up with you all and have a bit of a laugh. The site caters for those who want to camp in tents, take a touring caravan, a motorhome or want to book a static caravan and there are places nearby to let your dogs off lead for a good run. If you want to book, visit the Forest Glade website on this link Don t forget before you book to contact us for the code which will allow club members to claim a discount on the price. Look forward to seeing you there!