Portions of the Ontario provincial “pit bull ban” law have been struck down;

An Ontario Superior Court Justice has struck down parts of the province’s controversial pitbull law.
The legislation, which bans the breeds outright in Ontario, has been bitterly opposed by advocates who claim only irresponsible owners are to blame for problems with the dogs.
The court ruled two key parts of the law, including the definition of what a pit bull is, are unconstitutional. And the jurist found using a veterinarian to prove a dog’s breed also violates the law.
Despite the outcome, the Attorney General – who pressed so hard to get the new legislation passed – insists 99 percent of the rules are still in place and that the vast majority of the law stands.
“This means that the law continues, which means no more pit bulls in Ontario,” contends Michael Bryant. “No pit bulls sold, bred or imported into the province of Ontario.
“People should continue to leash and muzzle their pit bulls; pit bulls are banned are in Ontario, and that has been upheld by the Ontario Superior Court.
“Pit bulls remain banned, the purebred definitions of pit bulls are banned, anything substantially similar to those purebreds are banned.”
But it appears the lawyers for the other side are far from satisfied by this judgment.
“We saved ‘pit bull terriers’ but not the other breeds,” a statement from Clayton Ruby’s law firm reads. “We made it impossible for the Crown to prove its case with a piece of paper signed by a veterinarian.”
They vow to continue to appeal until they get the law quashed or changed.

It sounds as though the judge gave at least a partial nod to common sense. In addition to the obvious problem of “banning” a breed that doesn’t have a legal definition, veterinarians are generally not trained or qualified to make precise breed identifications. There are hundreds of recognized breeds of dogs, and many appear identical to the untrained eye.
Unfortunately, the article notes that bans against the named CKC recognized breeds are still in effect. This is both ridiculous and ironic – both breeds are few in number (there were only 5 Am Staff litters born in 2006 in Canada) and to the best of my knowledge, there has never been a recorded bite by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Continue reading →

ABC News;

ABC News has learned that investigators have determined that a rodent-killing chemical is the toxin in the tainted pet food that has killed several animals.
A source close to the investigation tells ABC News that the rodenticide, which the source says is illegal to use in the United States, was on wheat that was imported from China and used by Menu Foods in nearly 100 brands of dog and cat food.
A news conference is scheduled for this afternoon by experts in Albany, N.Y., where scientists at the state’s food laboratory made the discovery a week after a massive recall of 60 million cans and pouches was issued.
The chemical is called aminopterin.

Menu Foods is located in Emporia, Kansas.

I’ve been home just over 24 hours now, and the road fog is finally starting to lift.
To review – the show circuit began on September 21st with shows in Bozeman and Helena, Montana. I finished Sunday just after noon and headed for La Crosse, WI.
Note to hunters – approximately 4 million mule deer gather after dark along the shoulderless edges of Hwy 212 between Lame Deer and Belle Fourche. Perhaps they enjoy the sound of screeching tires, perhaps they’re just trying to catch a glimpse of their splendid racks in the mirrors of passing cars – whatever the case, shooting them should require all the effort of rolling down a window. Please consider doing so.
I arrived in LaCrosse Monday night, where I picked up my friend and co-driver Mary, (along with two more dogs for a total of 8) to continue on to the Monroe, Michigan shows. After showing finished Sunday, we hit the road again for a 10 hour trek to some place in Maryland northwest of Baltimore, where we stayed with friends. After a two day “break” grooming dogs and doing laundry, it was on to Philadelphia, where the four days of shows that are the “high point” of the trip are held in three inconvenient, outdoor locations in the countryside north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
We employ the usual techniques to help the miles go by. The most effective, of course, is trashing your dog show enemies. There’s also Rush and Sean Hannity, swilling Mountain Dew, arguing over what constitutes a good road tune (I became hooked on Dire Straits this trip, much to Mary’s dismay) and when things get really boring – teasing the dog in the top crate.

Montgomery County Kennel Club is the world’s most important show for terriers – winning Best In Show at “Montgomery” is arguably more important for us than winning the more heavily publicized Westminster. It’s also often one of the coldest and wettest – though the showers and wind we endured this year paled in comparison to the nearly 10 inches of rain that fell in 2005 that washed out one of the show sites.
The dogs did well. Everyone in the van placed in the ribbons each day, with dogs of our breeding in the top awards every show save one.
We were packed and on the road by 6 pm, arriving back in LaCrosse Monday evening. A 4:30 am morning ensured I crossed the border into Saskatchewan before the Port of Northgate closed. I overnighted at the family farm, then it was just other 5 hour hop to Delisle with nothing left to do but housecleaning, unpacking the van and getting up to date on three weeks of mail, bills and the work waiting for me.
All of that is to help explain why blogging will be slow for a day or two. My energy levels are pretty low.
I didn’t take a lot of photos along the way this year – the interstates aren’t known for their scenic qualities. But I did stick the camera out of the window near Bowbells, ND. on the way home. Those who live on the northern plains will recognize the indigo blue clouds that blow in with the first cold front – I call them “winter clouds”. They signal the end of autumn, and are particularly beautiful when contrasted against the clear turquoise sky and golden stubble fields.



(Click the images for a larger version)
Here’s another that better illustrates what I mean, though this was taken near Regina a few years ago.

One photo didn’t turn out – it’s the one of the tripmeter on the van that reads 9,397.3 km. That’s 5,828.03 miles for our non-metric friends.
I’m glad I have a week to rest up before I head back.
Someone asked about more dog pics – this one was sent along by a friend. A ring shot of my puppy, “Diesel” – Am.Can.Ch.Minuteman Locomotion, who was First Award of Merit at Hatboro KC.

One of “our”* guys invited a few friends along to celebrate Easter.

Thought I’d share. (Congrats Connie!)

“Are we there yet?”

I’m knee deep in dog showing at the moment – doing very well, I’ll add. But the nature of the beast means I’m up far too early and much to late to even get online, much less blog. With a few minutes to spare this evening, thought I’d check in and let you all know we’re still alive, and as of today,the little guy looking wistfully out the truck window is another 5 points closer to his American Championship title.

I was up at 6:30 this morning because I knew the first thing I had to do was shovel a foot of snow from not only the sidewalks and driveway, but about 600 sq feet of dog run. Then, I loaded a half dozen puppies into the truck to drive over 30 miles of snow-packed iceway, hung around the University while they drew blood (genetic research) on the unsuspecting,but happily co-operative little dears.

Afterwards, I loaded them all up again for the drive home – so I could again shovel a foot of snow from the sidewalks, driveway and about 600 sq feet of dog run. And, as I was already in the swing of things (so to speak) I dug out a “maze” in the deeper snow of their exercise yard. They’re out there right now chasing each other around, looking for all the world like abominable snow schnauzers. I think I need a nap. And a masseuse.

update – Arctic vortex to delay spring??? Argh!!

Trouble on the trail. Several teams are long overdue at their checkpoint on the Yukon Quest 1,600 km sled dog race.

Rookie Whitehorse musher Saul Turner and Alaskan mushers Phil Joy, Jennifer Cochran and Yuka Honda have yet to reach the checkpoint at Central after leaving the Mile 101 dog drop Sunday evening. Some have taken more than 15 hours to complete what should be a five-hour leg.
They’ve been bogged down on the Eagle Summit by a white-out and blizzard-like conditions.
Officials sent out snow machines and planned to send out spotter planes Monday morning to look for the teams. However, the planes were grounded and at least one snowmobile was forced to turn back because of poor weather conditions on the summit.
[…]
“I can’ t remember last time I was that scared or out of control, it was absolutely insane,” said Lance Mackey, who won the Quest last year.
“I would not be surprised if someone wasn’t killed out there today,” said veteran champion Hans Gatt.

Keeping all our fingers, and all our paws, crossed for their safe return.
Update – They’ve been found and at least some have been airlifted out – the report adds that Randy Chappel’s missing team has also been located.
The Yukon Quest website is reporting the same.

(SDA – where dogs and politics intersect.)

As the regular readers here know, I’ve been out on the road for the past two weeks attending dog shows. First – let me thank my guest bloggers for filling in. They do it as a favour and without their posts the page would go blank after a few days. I owe you guys!
I’ve a few photos to share to provide a glimpse into the type of gypsy lifestyle we’ve been leading during this trek. To give our European readers an idea of what is entailed in driving from Saskatoon to Philadelphia, I’ve overlayed a map of England over Saskatchewan, to provide a sense of scale.

The black line represents the route which took us through Fargo, Minneapolis, La Crosse (Wisconsin), Chicago to Monroe, Michigan shows for Sept 29, 30 and Oct 1, before reloading and heading to New Jersey for Morris and Essex the next Thursday, followed by Hatboro, Devon and Montgomery County Shows in the Philadelphia area. The show sites change location each day, meaning that after showing, we have to repack all the equipment, the dogs and get the stuff to the next day’s site before the premium areas were gone. Most of the trip we functioned on around 4 hours of sleep a day, plus whatever naptime could be extracted when not taking one’s turn driving.

And of course, sometimes there are glitches. (Luckily, we had it back by the end of the day.)

We did enough winning to consider the trip an overall success. I’ve gathered up a few photos – which will have to do for now. The trip home was a 40 hour run, and as most of our days started at 5 am, it’s going to take a few days to regain my blogging coherence!

Grooming area at Hatboro. On the table is the puppy, Minuteman Stray Cat Strut who was winners dog that day for 5 points.
The shows are all outdoors – in the mud, as it turned out. In fact, with a reported 8 inches of rain falling on the site, the Saturday show at Devon was cancelled. The “main event” Montgomery County was touch and go, but as luck would have it, the rain moved on by Saturday night and the site dried sufficiently to go on with the event. The pictures do not do justice to the depth of the mud, especially in the aisles where dogs were carried back and forth between the grooming tents and the rings. Several of the rings were so wet that straw was brought in and laid down over the mud.

High style in the Scottie ring at Montgomery.

“Sparring” in the Bred by Exhibitor class at MCKC. That’s me at the left with Minuteman Halcyone, who won the class and went reserve. And below with my 10 year old Veteran, Am.Can.Ch.Benalta Batman ROM.


The last four dogs shown were from our “family” – behind Batman is Am.Can.Brz.PanAm.Ch.Beauideal Minuteman Smoooth, Am.Can.Ch.ToMar’s The Fix Is In who received an Award Of Merit, and his sire Am.Ch.ToMar’s Dream Fixer.
Finally, a couple of scenery shots from the drive home – the remnants of a huge snowstorm that hit North Dakota while we were away, and flocks snowgeese – millions of them – in the Outlook, SK area.


As many times as I’ve driven across the continent on these “suicide runs”, I never tire of it.

The dogs of Great St. Bernard Hospice are no more.

In an age of heat sensors and helicopters, the dogs have became obsolete and the 12 pups are being raised to ensure the purity of their ancient pedigree.
“It’s a shame,” said Marie-Helene Sbai, as she and her boyfriend shook the rain off their coats in the museum’s entrance. “It’s the entire dog’s heritage that no longer exists. It’s clear that they weren’t really rescuing people anymore.”
St. Bernards, raised by the hospice’s religious order since the 17th century, are credited with saving some 2,000 pilgrims traveling between Switzerland and Italy over the centuries.
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A St. Bernard was last used in a search around 1975, said the friars. Upkeep of the gentle, slobbering beasts was expensive and time-consuming. So the dogs were sold.
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In April, two foundations were created to care for the dogs and build a museum in their honor. The Barry of the Great Saint Bernard Foundation, which bought the dogs, was set up in January with $656,000 donated by Christine Cerletti, a singer in the northern Swiss city of Basel. It is named after a St. Bernard that lived in the monastery from 1800 to 1812 and helped save more than 40 people.
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A second foundation created by former Geneva banker Bernard de Watteville and his wife, Caroline, is building a museum 22 miles away in Martigny, at the foot of the pass on the Swiss side where the dogs have spent winters for the five decades since their rescue duties began to dwindle.

This is really no different from the fate of many breeds whose jobs have become obsolete. Why a museum would be necessary for the “preservation” of the monestary’s dogs is unclear, as none are required for the ex-wolf-hunting Borzoi or the Emperor-less Pekingese.
Unlike the traditional museum piece, however, dog breeds are “living history”, and while breed type and temperament traits are sometimes modified to suit demands of the show ring and modern lifestyles (as in the stabilzation of temperaments in the once “sharp” Doberman Pinscher), most breeds still bear strong resemblance, as well as uncorrupted genetic pedigrees that trace back to the times of their working ancestors.
It’s one of the reasons serious breeders in all species pay such close attention to what seem to the untrained eye to be minor “beauty” points. The small details of breed type, like set of ear and shape of eye, colour details, coat texture – are often important indicators that the genetic history of these animals has been preserved intact for another generation.

The ASPCA blog is reporting efforts in pet rescue from the disaster zone, including the rescue of 75 dogs from the Superdome;

Don’t believe everything you hear. The ASPCA has investigated allegations that family pets in Louisiana are being taken from their owners and shot. We have found absolutely no truth to this widely circulated rumor. According to reliable sources, one dog was shot and killed after he tried to attack an officer. There is no order to shoot animals unless they are endangering law enforcement officers. You can help keep a volatile situation from becoming even worse by checking out rumors before passing them on.
You may have heard the rumor that evacuees in Louisiana are being ordered to abandon their animals. In some cases, they have had to leave their animals but there are many animal rescuers in the area. The Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine has assured us that every effort is being made to reunite animals and people.

The website has contact numbers for those who have found or want to report stranded pets.
As a footnote: if you’re inclined to help, research the foundation you give to carefully – animal rights activist groups like HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) and PETA are political entities more concerned with promoting legislation and are not animal rescue or welfare providers. Private rescue can be equally dodgy. It’s probably best to stick with the ASPCA or contact your local kennel club.

This from a friend, via an email list;

Yesterday at the World Show in Argentina rabid Dogo fans did not like the BOB selection made by the Judge. They went after him with knives(Saturday the crowd favorite who lost went up to the Judge in the ring and punched him in the nose). Two men, standing at ringside, threw two canisters of tear gas into the Dogo ring causing panic and many injuries. (The site was set up like The Garden). Many, especially Americans, thought it was a terrorist attack. You can just picture owners and handlers trying to get to their dogs to get them out of the building. To add insult to injury the police shut the main doors, locking in many people who, in panic and pain, went through the plate glass windows to get air. Many people were taken to the hospital, many dogs went to the vets, some dogs had bad eye injuries as well as lung involvement and a few dogs died at the scene.
The FCI banned the Argentinean Dogo from shows for two years and took away all awards given during this weekend. Too little too late, in my opinion. They were aware of the danger before the show but did nothing about it. Since the dog is the country’s favorite they allowed them to enter for $20.00 per entry instead of $120.00 like the rest of the dogs so over 100 were there. The fanciers are like rabid soccer fans. The FCI then went on to finish the show after airing out the building late that afternoon (under the threats of more violence) with over half the entry missing, not the proper thing to do, IMO.
We were fortunate, our handler had just returned to the grooming area so was able, with a little help, to get the dogs out without harm to their eyes, nose or lungs, she was not as lucky.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“In the meantime the judge is back home safely. I think he will not forget this adventure. At home he told another judge how all this started. At the moment he announced the BOB, the losing person gave order to his dog to attack the judge. Luckily he is quite a sportive man and could jump on the judges table to protect himself and then it went on as described ….
I know this judge because he also had judged xxx some years ago and usually participates at all the shows in Austria. He is a Dogo breeder himself and the president of the Austrian Dogo club.

I went to the World Show in Rio De Janeiro last year – for a show of its size and distinction, I have never seen such a mess. Poor organization, overheated dogs dying, blatantly political judging. And I was at first astonished – then relieved – to discover that there were armed guards overseeing the show site, and that my hosts (whose personal kindness and hospitality was unmatched) had in their employ their own armed driver.
This story doesn’t actually surprise me much.

We’re back in Saskatchewan (though I’m overnighting at the family farm and will finish the last 5 hour leg in the morning) – a round trip of over 3400 km since Wednesday, with a 5th wheel in tow.
I don’t have access to a graphics program on this computer, but if you click here and look at the map, the distance travelled began a little bit below the first “a” in “Canada” and ended just above the first “s” in “United States”.
Why? Because I needed a single point on one of my dogs to finish her American championship title and Vermillion, SD was the closest, soonest place I could find to try to win it. (Which she did, yesterday morning, with a couple to spare.)
The actual time in the ring? About 5 minutes.
So, next time someone tries to convince you that there is no greater waste of time on the planet than blogging, you can argue authoritatively that “Why yes – yes there is!”.
And that you know of someone so gifted with a talent for wasting time, that she manages to pursue both.

Via Cosh, a bizarre blog entry from a woman who is agonizing over having put down their English Setter after it put 40 stitches in the face of her husband. The post is too lengthy to fisk in its entirety, but I’ve chosen some key points; (note: link now dead)

Since late last summer Pony snapped twice at children who approached her unexpectedly when she was lying down, and once at me when I was wrestling with her on the floor. Until the first incident last August, we had been completely certain that she was flawlessly trustworthy with children and adults alike, and we’d taken her into the homes of friends who had children and encouraged kids in the park to pet and play with her if they showed an interest.

I wish I had a quarter for every time I witnessed completely clueless people encourage strangers to approach dogs that were telegraphing that they really would rather they didn’t. If you’re a typical pet owner with your first or second dog, there’s a 95% probability that you miss or misinterpret most of your dog’s communication signals.

We told people about the breed and that Pony was tolerant and good-natured (if a bit aloof in comparison to a Retriever or a Labrador), and they should have no qualms about approaching and touching her whenever they liked. When she barked and scratched at our friend’s son last summer it was an enormous shock and completely rattled our foundation of trust in her.

The dog was an English Setter. English Setter colour is “extreme white”, with coloured ticking in a genetic pattern that resembles that of the Dalmatian. This is important – the all-white colouring is thought to be the result of a gene that creates a deficiency of neural crest cells, which differentiate to function in several ways – some important, some not. One of the important functions is the development of the brain and nervous system. The least important function is to produce melanocytes, the cells that create pigment in the skin and coat. If the neural crest cell deficiency is extreme, the dog will be unable to create significant areas of pigment, resulting in white hair coat, with pink skin underlying it.
Why is this relevant? Because if there aren’t enough neural crest cells to produce pigment creating melanocytes, there may not be enough for the development of nerves required for normal hearing. This problem is so well known that many breeders test hearing (BAER testing) as part of the veterinary screening protocol before sale. For this reason, it is suspected that (like Dalmatians, Jack Russel Terriers, white Bull Terriers, etc.) that a percentage of English Setters are deaf, or partially deaf. (Which may explain why they seem so tolerant of their own incessant barking.)
So, go back to the top and reread the comments about the dog’s snapping when being approached unexpectedly – the context changes a little. Later in the post, she describes the dog’s “hairy eyeball and some serious stubbornness”. While it’s quite possible that this dog had normal hearing, it is not unexpected behavior from a deaf dog.
Then, she made another innocent error – she consulted “dog experts”.

Continue reading →

Via Cosh, a bizarre blog entry from a woman who is agonizing over having put down their English Setter after it put 40 stitches in the face of her husband. The post is too lengthy to fisk in its entirety, but I’ve chosen some key points;

Since late last summer Pony snapped twice at children who approached her unexpectedly when she was lying down, and once at me when I was wrestling with her on the floor. Until the first incident last August, we had been completely certain that she was flawlessly trustworthy with children and adults alike, and we’d taken her into the homes of friends who had children and encouraged kids in the park to pet and play with her if they showed an interest.

I wish I had a quarter for every time I witnessed completely clueless people encourage strangers to approach dogs that were telegraphing that they really would rather they didn’t. If you’re a typical pet owner with your first or second dog, there’s a 95% probability that you miss or misinterpret most of your dog’s communication signals.

We told people about the breed and that Pony was tolerant and good-natured (if a bit aloof in comparison to a Retriever or a Labrador), and they should have no qualms about approaching and touching her whenever they liked. When she barked and scratched at our friend’s son last summer it was an enormous shock and completely rattled our foundation of trust in her.

The dog was an English Setter. English Setter colour is “extreme white”, with coloured ticking in a genetic pattern that resembles that of the Dalmatian. This is important – the all-white colouring is thought to be the result of a gene that creates a deficiency of neural crest cells, which differentiate to function in several ways – some important, some not. One of the important functions is the development of the brain and nervous system. The least important function is to produce melanocytes, the cells that create pigment in the skin and coat. If the neural crest cell deficiency is extreme, the dog will be unable to create significant areas of pigment, resulting in white hair coat, with pink skin underlying it.
Why is this relevant? Because if there aren’t enough neural crest cells to produce pigment creating melanocytes, there may not be enough for the development of nerves required for normal hearing. This problem is so well known that many breeders test hearing (BAER testing) as part of the veterinary screening protocol before sale. For this reason, it is suspected that (like Dalmatians, Jack Russel Terriers, white Bull Terriers, etc.) that a percentage of English Setters are deaf, or partially deaf. (Which may explain why they seem so tolerant of their own incessant barking.)
So, go back to the top and reread the comments about the dog’s snapping when being approached unexpectedly – the context changes a little. Later in the post, she describes the dog’s “hairy eyeball and some serious stubbornness”. While it’s quite possible that this dog had normal hearing, it is not unexpected behavior from a deaf dog.
Then, she made another innocent error – she consulted “dog experts”.

Continue reading →

The White House has welcomed a new arrival.

President Bush and his wife, Laura, got a new pet on Thursday, a Scottish terrier puppy named Miss Beazley. The puppy, a gift to the first lady from the president for her 58th birthday in November, was born on Oct. 28. The puppy joins the Bushes’ other two pets: Barney, another Scottish terrier, and a black cat named India.

Two scotties, one cat?
Uh oh…

NBC5.com reporting from the Nevada State Fair:

“The dachshund 50-foot sprint is an annual event. This year, there were so many entries that sponsors held a trial heat before the finals. Once they separated the dogs from the puppies, the real racing began.”

They’re off!

“The winner got $250 and a trip for two — which includes the wiener — to San Diego to compete in the national finals.”

I’d add something here, but sometimes, you just can’t improve on the original.