Newsletter of the Northeast Border Terrier Club

Transcription

1 The Border Times October Newsletter of the Northeast Border Terrier Club Northeast Border Terrier Club Minutes, Goshen CT, September 23, 2018 President Linda Parker called the meeting to order at 12:30 PM. Motion to accept the minutes from the last meeting as published on the website was made by Ruth Ann Naun and seconded by Ann Steinbacher. Motion passed. President s Report: Linda reports she has survived thus far and thanks the group for their support. Secretary: The 2018 Directories are here, please pick yours up. Treasurer: A hard copy of the report was distributed. The club balance is 12, as of 9/21/18. Motion to accept the Treasurer s report made by Amanda Pough and seconded by Merris Williams. Motion passed. Committee Reports: Trophy: Jane Stephenson asked what sort of items the group would like for trophies. The group consensus is useful Border Terrier themed items are preferred. Supported Entries: Theo Congdon is not here today; hopefully he s recovering speedily from his recent injury. Linda Parker brought up the winter shows in Wildwood NJ, we typically request support for the Saturday and Sunday shows. The BTCA has a strict rule that paperwork needs to be submitted 6 months prior to the show date and these 2 shows are still pending approval. We will donate trophies without BTCA support. Old Business: Advertising: Placing ads to boost entries and help the all-breed clubs who work with us and our supported entries was discussed. Theo Congdon shared with Linda Parker that advertising on Infodog would not be cost effective. Given how few people purchase catalogs, suggestion was made to give each club a cash donation instead of purchasing a catalog ad. Additional suggestions included putting our supported entry show list on Facebook made by Victoria Chalut and putting our supported entry show list in a Borderline ad made by Liz Faber. Motion made by Ruth Ann Naun to donate $50 with our thanks for each show that hosts our supported entries. Seconded by Lisa Sauer. 1 nay vote, 1 abstain, motion passed. Preferred judges list: A committee made up of Theo Congdon, John Parker and Marg Pough will be updating our preferred judges list over the winter. New Business: Nominating Committee: Volunteering for the committee are Ruth Ann Naun, Liz Faber, Ann Steinbacher and Barbara Wood. Meet the Breeds: The meet the breeds event held in conjunction with Westminster KC dog show will be February 9th Everyone who has participated has enjoyed it immensely. If you are interested in helping contact Susan Friedenberg at sweetpeaslick@yahoo.com. BTCA Specialty 2021: Linda Parker reports that if there are no applications to host the 2021 Specialty it will be held at Montgomery County KC as per BTCA policy. There was great interest in returning to our area for a Specialty expressed by individuals from other parts of the country at the Colorado Specialty in early September. Agreeing to explore possible sites are Barbara Wood, Linda and John Parker, Holly Woodward and Debbie Lawton. If you have any suggestions please contact any of these individuals! Ruth Ann Naun gave a brief presentation on the AKC PAC. They are truly invested in supporting candidates who are pro dogs. They carefully assess any candidates they support. It is a very meaningful use of your political campaign donations. Ann Steinbacher thanked the group for the gift of a Danish Border Terrier mug she received as outgoing president. She enjoyed working with this group of individuals. Motion to adjourn made at 12:59 PM made by Ann Steinbacher, motion passed. Respectfully submitted, Holly Woodward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Next Issue Deadline, Feb, 1, 2019

2 The Border Times October NBTC Treasurer's Report Sept. 21, 2018 Saturday, January 19, 2019 after breed judging, at the Boardwalk KC shows, Wildwood, NJ Check at ringside for the location or check the website closer to the date for location. President's Notes The Northwestern Connecticut Dog Club show in Goshen always is a cheerful introduction to the Fall. The weather cooperated and gave our little brown dogs a taste of the climate they were which they were bred. Congratulations to all the winners. The day was beautifully capped off with our club meeting and luncheon. Our thanks to Liz Faber for organizing this event. Her special decorating touches and attention to detail set the perfect background for a multitude of fabulous pot luck offerings. It also give our members time to share with one another, always a plus. The Club will meet again in Wildwood, NJ in January at which time a committee consisting of Holly Woodward, Barbara Wood, Deb Lawton, John & Linda Parker will present a report for suggested sites for supporting the BTCA Specialty in either 2021 or The Club can then determine if they want to move forward with a proposal to the BTCA. John and I were able to attend the 2018 BTCA Specialty in Greeley, Colorado. They had an amazing site and an excellent turnout. The Specialty Committee obviously put in a great deal of time and effort to be able to achieve such a successful event. Our Northeast Border Terrier Club presented well and competitively in all events. My personal favorite was the Otter head competition. There is something special about seeing hundreds of BT s from performance and conformation entries lovingly held in the arms of their exhibitors all gathered together. What a gift we have in the both the BTCA and NBTC, great dogs and people! Hope to see you in Wildwood. Linda Parker NBTC President Balance $12, Total Deposits Sweepstake $12, Total Expenses H.Woodward,gift mug (41.91) S.Demers,flowers, JoAnne Enos (68.10) B. Selber,National Specialty (250.00) Total ($360.01) Balance as of $12, Respectfully Submitted, Rebecca C. Gurley, Treasurer, NBTC NBTC offers prizes for Borders that qualify in regular classes at certain AKC Earthdog Tests. This past August the GBAEC held 4 tests and these are the results. Congratulations to the qualifers and all those who entered. Fortune s I Don t Get Down Like That, Mary Downs, 4 Q s Malice Bleue Ma Barker, RN , Kara McCarthy, 4 Q s and a Junior title Bandersnatch A KISS From Me To You, Michelle McCafferty, 3 Q s and a Junior Title Bandersnatch Defiant, Margaret Pough, 3 Q s and a Master title Sunkist Red Hot Chili Pepper at Spring Cove, Marion Shaw, 3 Q s Redgate s Ember s Firelight, JoAnn Enos, 2 Q s Tye s Last Hurrah, Linda Parker, 1 Q Thanks to Nancy Goldman for sending me the info Membership Renewals Due January 1, 2019 Renewal form is on NBTC website,

3 The Border Times October STRAW POLL RESULTS BORDER TERRIERS ENJOY BARNHUNT! By Louise Traska Contributing Editor Lynn Hettinger How can you not enjoy a performance activity that have moments where you simply must smile/laugh at the antics of your Border Terrier?!?!?! For example, at a recent barn hunt trial as our Border Terrier, Ben, was searching the bales for the rats, the next thing I see is just his hind end sticking out vertically between 2 bales of straw with his tail wagging up a storm. He was determined to get to the rat in terrier style of marking the tube from the top rather than the easier, front approach. As we ve come up through the levels, I m learning to read Ben pretty well as to when he s marking a tube or is trying to tell me that there are no more rats for him to find. I just love watching his enthusiasm for the sport grow with each trial! However, as many of you know who participate in performance events, just when you think everything is working like a well-oiled machine, your Border Terrier will do something to keep you humble. Forinstance, in another recent trial, Ben reminded me that this is his game and not mine because he has the nose and I m just the human. At this trial the rats were being housed against a wall several yards away from the ring, but this did not deter Ben from going over to the corner closest to where the rats were being housed and kept air scenting due to how the air conditioning was causing the air to flow, or so I thought. I, of course, called him away from that ring corner a couple of times and asked Ben to check the rest of the ring for rats. After I was sure that he had checked the ring thoroughly and had found 3 rats, done the tunnel and the climb, I then turned to the judge and confidently declared clear (indicating that no other rats were to be found). As I m saying clear to the judge, Ben zooms to that forbidden corner that I kept calling him away from and guess what?!?!? He was very enthusiastically marking a tube telling me that there was a rat there just at the same moment the judge was telling me that there was 1 more rat to be found. Humble pie anyone?!?!?! I just love our boy, Ben! Just to give a quick overview of barn hunt, barn hunt trials will have dogs entered in an introductory level, which is Instinct, and then the remaining titling levels of Novice, Open, Senior and Master. The empty, litter and rat tubes are perforated PVC tubes, all are similar in appearance and have one end that is vented and the other end contains a screw on/off cap for access to the inside of the tube. Please note that the rats used in barn hunt are domesticated pet rats and are not harmed during training or trials and are switched out frequently. At the instinct level there are 3 tubes laid out side-byside uncovered on the ground which contain: 1 tube with a rat, 1 tube with litter and 1 empty tube. The team has 1 minute once the dog is released from the start box to find the rat tube and for the owner to call out rat when he/she thinks their dog has marked the rat tube. The course is made up of either straw or hay bales. There is a simple straight tunnel

4 The Border Times October made up of bales as well as bales stacked up to 2 bales high, but the dog does not need to do the tunnel nor the climb (put all 4 feet on a bale) at this level in order to qualify. A dog earns an Instinct title and qualifying ribbon for one successful run. Once a dog has earned a Novice title, it can no longer compete in Instinct. The first regular level is the Novice level where more bales are added and the tubes are now hidden in the fluff which is on top of the bales, spaces between 2 bales, under an access ramp or literally fluffed straw/hay piles on the floor. The dog must do the tunnel, a climb and find 1 rat tube in 2 minutes after being released from the start box. There are 3 tubes in the ring for this level 1 empty tube, 1 litter tube and 1 rat tube. No false calls are allowed on calling a tube that is either empty or contains litter. The dog can do the climb, straight tunnel and find the rat in any order. In order to obtain the RATN (Rat Novice) title, the dog must earn 3 qualifying scores. The Instinct title is not recognized by the AKC, but for all other titles earned at the higher levels, there is a form and fee that can be submitted to the AKC to have the title officially recorded to your dog s AKC record. As your dog progresses from one titling level to the next, the time allowed is increased in each level, the climb remains a constant, but the number of rats to find increases as does the number of litter tubes and the tunnel goes from a straight one to one that has one 90 degree turn in it, to a tunnel containing no more than the maximum of five 90 degree turns. Aside from the Instinct and the 4 titling divisions, there is also the super fun Crazy 8 s category. Your dog has a mere 2 minutes to find as many of the 8 rats as he/she can and earns 10 points for each rat found, but your BT must do the tunnel and climb in order to earn 10 points for each for a final maximum score of 100. If your dog fails to do the climb and/or tunnel they are each assessed 20 points off the score of found rats but you must have a final result of a positive number. You are allowed 1 false call, but it is also a 20 point deduction. As you accumulate points from these runs at trials you can earn Crazy 8 titles. If you re not quite certain this is something you d like to do, attend a barn hunt trial. Many of the exhibitors will be more than happy to answer any questions you have regarding the sport. Another introduction to the sport would be through a local dog training facility. As the sport gains interest, more training facilities are now offering barn hunt training classes. The Greater Boston Area Earthdog Club is holding their annual Howl-oween Barn Hunt Trial in Gardner, MA on Friday, October 26th, Saturday, October 27th and Sunday, October 28. Come on out and watch or join in the fun! If you d like to participate in a trial, you do need to register your 6 month or older Border Terrier with Barn Hunt and obtain a registration number. Registration/payment is done online at and the onetime fee is $30. The only thing you will need to know is the height at your dog s withers as dogs are placed in three groups according to height in either small (under 13 ), medium ( ) or large (over 18 ).

5 The Border Times August The Barn Hunt website, will be able to answer any and all of your questions regarding barn hunt and is a wonderfully organized, detailed site. There is also an official barn hunt Facebook page along with regional groups and facilities that host training or trials. If you have any general questions regarding joining the barn hunt fun, please feel free to contact me at kltraska@comcast.net This is yet another performance event that I love to dowith my Border Terrier not only for the opportunity to have funwith my BT and learn from him, but also because of the comradery of the exhibitors. Come join in the barn hunt fun!!!! Barn Hunt with a Border Terrier Merris Williams Barn hunting with a Border Terrier is a fun adventure! I have a breed ring Champion Border Terrier, Fitty, who has his agility Master Excellent title in both jumpers and standard, but recently you d never know it. If you know agility, you know that the dogs have to do tunnels in both jumper and standard courses. Well Fitty has done hundreds of tunnels in his agility and barn hunt career, but at a recent barn hunt trial you d think he d never seen one in his entire life! At this particular trial Fitty would not enter the tunnel at all so I knew he needed a refresher course in tunnels. I brought him to a barn hunt training class to help remind him of how to do tunnels. Apparently his genetics had taken a vacation as well as no earthdog genes surfaced to remind him of tunnels either. At the training session, Fitty would enter the tunnel but would plant his royal self somewhere in the bowels of the tunnel and bark and bark and bark and would not come out. The trainer and I both tried various treats (cheese, meatballs, etc) to cajole him to exit the tunnel. We even went so far as to block one of the entrance/exit so that he would have to complete the entire tunnel. Finally, on the 6th try Fitty remembered how to do a tunnel. Mission accomplished! Fast forward to a barn hunt trial in early August and we enter the hunt space, I ask Fitty to do the tunnel, which he happily does and completes three times over! Border Terriers are always a joy to work with and will always keep you smiling and honest. From the Editor Once again, thanks to Louise Traska and those who worked with her to present a most interesting article about a sport Borders and their owners enjoy. Thanks to Merris Williams for her article, too. As usual I'm again asking for stories, articles, photos, etc. The more items I can include in this newsletter the more interesting it becomes for everyone. Since this newsletter is electronic only if you take candid images at an event with your cell phone please feel free to send them along. The old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" is still true, and its' a great way to share the experience with those who can't be there. Remember to check the website, often for updates about coming events, etc, Jean Clark, Editor & Webmaster borderbrae@gmail.com or jeanclark414@gmail.com

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