THE WAG MAG
The Dog School Newsletter
May/June 2014
Easter has come and gone and we trust you all had a peaceful Easter week-end. Notwithstanding the public holidays, school holidays and numerous recent Championship dog shows, it has been a busy time at The Dog School with dog training lessons every week end.
Well done to all The Dog School members and their dogs that participated in the Championship Working Trials and Companion Dog, Championship Breed and Carting and Championship Obedience and Agility and Dog Jumping Shows that were held over three consecutive weekends. It was great seeing out-of-town friends and competitors again and also meeting new friends. A huge thank you to all the organisers, the judges, (some from Port Elizabeth, some from other provinces in South Africa and those from overseas), the stewards, the sponsors and last but not least the competitors and their dogs for all helping to make the shows enjoyable and successful. Congratulations to all the prize-winners.
Two handlers from KwaZulu Natal were the overall winners in the five Dog Carting Championship shows that were held from 4 to 6 April. Renate Haussmann with three of her dogs achieved the highest points in Standard Senior, Mini Senior and Standard Novice with Jethro, Mein Schatz and Forrest respectively. Eleanor Gow and Leda took the Honours in Mini Novice. Well done to you and your dogs.
The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.
Samuel Butler
Important Invitation
You are all invited to attend the KUSA Open Show hosted by the Western Suburbs Dog School, Nelson Mandela Bay on Sunday 27 April 2014 to be held at The Dog School, Kabega Park.
Entries accepted on the day from 07:30 and the show starts at 08:00.
There will be Obedience classes starting with Elementary Beginners followed by Pre-Beginners, Beginners, Novice and Classes A, B & C. This is the ideal chance for the new handlers and dogs to experience their first show with the bonus being that it is held on familiar grounds. Then stay and watch the more experienced dogs doing their tests.
There will be Agility (Contact and Non-Contact) as well as Dog Jumping.
The Novice and Senior carting dogs will also be competing.
Please come and support your Dog School, and bring your family and friends too.
Refreshments will be on sale.
Do phone Joan or Mike if you need any more information (041 360 2528)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Canine Companion
An unusual sight greets visitors at the Life New Kensington Clinic in Johannesburg. It’s Ben, a rather large and very fluffy golden retriever. You’d think Ben is one of the residents by the way he’s made himself at home in the wards, but he’s more than that – he’s a member of staff; a canine cross between a companion and a therapist. Life New Kensington Clinic is the only hospital in the country with a resident dog therapy unit. It’s run by Charlene Kruger, a case co-ordinator at the hospital, who also breeds and trains dogs. “I already had twenty dogs when I first started working here five years ago,” she says, “and I’d see these little old ladies just sitting here. When we chatted they’d say they didn’t know who was looking after their dogs at home, so I began to ask why we couldn’t look at having dogs here.’
Jean Butler, the hospital manager at life New Kensington, initially refused, since the hospital is a sterile environment – but Charlene persisted, arguing that dogs are cleaner than humans and suggested swabbing them with sterile solutions to ensure they were free from infections. As a dog lover herself, Jean agreed, and eventually Life Healthcare’s health and safety department gave the go-ahead for this unusual experiment. The first trials involved a variety of breeds; not all of them successful. “Once we brought in a friendly Rottweiler, but all the staff disappeared – we didn’t see them for an hour,” Charlene remembers. Then she brought in a deaf Schnauzer puppy. “Everyone was very sympathetic as we took the dog around the wards because, just like them, he had a disability.” But golden retrievers proved the most popular, and when Charlene conducted some research, she confirmed that dog therapy using golden retrievers is common in several other countries.Now she tells heart-warming tales of how the dogs have helped revive comatose patients, offered comfort to those who have had traumatic experiences, given people a new will to live, or motivated patients to move by grooming or walking the dog nudging at their hands. Ben has been joined by Duncan, and the two move from
patient to patient. They're at their best when a therapist is treating a patient who requires rehabilitation, including people recovering from head injuries, stroke victims and quadriplegics. “The dogs are a tool that therapists can use,” Charlene says. “The dog is responsive, which encourages the patient to do more, and instead of 15 minutes of boring weights, you have an hour of enjoyable movement. You see people battle with their co-ordination, but in time they get it right.” The dogs make therapy more enjoyable and less like work and the patient’s desire to pet or groom the dog sees them moving in numerous ways without consciously thinking about it. The miracles don’t stop there though. The dogs have also helped accident victims learn to walk again. When a person tries to walk after an injury, they may concentrate on themselves so much that it almost builds up a mental barrier to success. But when their attention shifts to the dog, their subconscious takes over and walking becomes a remembered action.
Charlene has studied animal therapy and animal behaviour, as well as anatomy and physiology. She says that her knowledge of what is possible makes her sorry that New Life Kensington Clinic is the only in-house dog therapy centre in the country. ‘It’s so beneficial to the patients, but in South Africa, people are blinkered. It’s very common in other countries, but here there is still a fallacy that dogs carry disease.” While Charlene has asked Life Healthcare about rolling out dog therapy at other hospitals, it’s not been possible yet. “You have to find somebody in another unit who can handle dogs and understands human and animal psychology. I’d love to set up a breeding programme and train service dogs for the health care industry,” she says. Given proper training a dog can conduct many of the tasks a human carer can. They can be taught to help people take off their shoes, socks and trousers, and how to open a fridge and fetch items from it. “The only thing we can’t teach them is how to make tea,” she jokes. “Imagine how much more independent dogs could help patients become, while making their lives so much fuller. There’s not much incentive for an old person to take a walk by themselves, but with a dog, it becomes so much nicer.”
The above article appeared in the Autumn 2013 edition of Lifemagazine that is published by Life Healthcare, and we thank them for allowing us to use the article and photos in The Wag Mag.
Visit the Manderston Canine Academy to read more about Charlene.
Dogs on the Titanic
Apparently there were about 12 dogs on the Titanic when it hit an iceberg on 14 April 1912. They were not listed anywhere so the correct number is not known. The Titanic had luxury kennels and a mini dog show had been planned for 15 April. Although there were not enough lifeboats for everyone on board it is surprising that a Pekinese and a Pomeranian were rescued.
There is also an unconfirmed story that appeared in The New York Herald dated 21 April 1912 about a black Newfoundland dog named Rigel that also survived. His owner, First officer Murdoch did not survive and apparently Rigel swam for about 3 hours in the icy water looking for his master. However, in seemingly typical Newfoundland-fashion hesaves the occupants of a lifeboat. Another vessel, the Carpathia, was moving slowly looking for survivors but the passengers on the lifeboat which was drifting towards the Carpathia’s starboard bow were too weak to shout a warning. Rigel's loud barking as he swam ahead of the lifeboat attracted the attention of Captain Rostron who immediately ordered the engines stopped. The passengers and Rigel were taken safely aboard and one of the crew of the Carpathia adopted Rigel.
Travelling with your dog
We do not all go on ocean cruisers with our dogs, but we regularly take them in the car with us. We insist that our two legged children wear their seat belts while travelling, but what safety precautions do we take for our four legged children?
A car traveling at 30 mph can result in a 60-pound dog (such as a medium-sized Boxer or a smaller Labrador Retriever) crashing into the windshield, seat, or another passenger with an impact of 2,700 pounds, according to Bark-Buckle UP, a pet safety advocacy group based in San Diego, California. The risks, of course, increase at higher travel speeds
Additional dangers posed by unrestrained animals include distracting the driver, or escaping the vehicle and causing a collision on the road. In addition, keep in mind that if the driver is perceived to be in danger after an accident, a protective dog might fend off would-be rescuers.
As canine companions go along for the ride, dogs need to be strapped in, too -- to protect everyone.
Even car companies are getting into the act. Volvo offers an optional, factory-installed cage. Subaru has a gate preventing pets from entering the main passenger area, and Saab has a metal cargo guard in some car models. (Not sure if this is available in South Africa). However, various safety restraints for dogs are available in South Africa.
Smile-a-while
Q. How do you stop a dog barking in the back seat of a car?
A. Put him in the front seat.
Please forward news, photos or items you would like to be included in The Wag Mag to Elizabeth at
Remember to likeThe Dog School (Don’t blame it, train it) Facebook page and also Dog Carting SA
THE DOG SCHOOL
is conveniently situated in the
Western suburbs/Kabega Park area
For more information contact: Mike or Joan at 041 360 2528
Website: