Got Buttermilk?

The most frequent memory of my fathers' mother is that of her churning butter, and the sweet/sour creaminess of the leftover buttermilk.
Buttermilk today is most often made with bacterial cultures and skim milk, making it a good substitute for yogurt and it has been a staple in my dogs' diets for years.
I once attended a long dog show circuit where Parvo was rampant. At that time, the vaccine had not been brought to market and there was little we could do to protect our dogs from this devastating man made disease.
My vet, Mark Ingram D.V.M. (recently named best Holistic Veterinarian by an area pet magazine) had told me that the disease could not take hold if the friendly bacteria count in the intestinal tract was high. We had traveled up to the Ravenna dog shows and were outdoors where I hoped the fresh air would make it less likely that the disease would spread, but it was not to be. For some of my friends and competitors, the ride back south took days and days because of stopovers for emergency fluids and treatments for Parvo.
Some of those dogs never made it home. It was a heartbreaking time, I recall spending hours on the phone offering condolences and entries at the shows dropped dramatically for fear of contracting Parvo. My own dogs and those I showed remained safe and I attribute that to buttermilk. At the shows, I would give small drinks of buttermilk all day long, mixed with slippery elm tree bark powder, it was a cooling pick me up for the dogs on a long hot circuit. And the dogs came home as healthy as they left.

I still give buttermilk daily as it helps balance the bodys' ph and adds beneficial bacteria. Buttermilk is more than an ingredient in ranch dressing and corn bread, it is an inexpensive way to enhance your dogs health. As you can see, Puff really loves his morning bowl of buttermilk!

David Frei,Angel on a Leash, and the Westminster Finale

Most of you are familiar with David Frei as the analyst of Westminster Kennel Club all breed dog Show. 2010 marks David's 20th year with the club. Dave has been around the dog show world a long time. I remember when he was an Afghan Hound exhibitor and a great ambassador of goodwill at area dog shows.

Dave took all that positive energy and put it into Angel On a Leash. http://www.angelonaleash.org/
People love dogs and it is that power of love that makes therapy dog work so healing for the sick, elderly, and handicapped. My own dog Buddy was a Canine Candystriper and I can attest to the great feeling one gets from training a dog you love to give to others. Therapy organizations like Angel on a Leash have brought a real professionalism into this rewarding charity work.

If you are considering making your dog a Therapy Dog, lay the foundation now with proper obedience training and get your dog certified as a Canine Good Citizen.

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/program.cfm?page=3


Then research Therapy Dog training and certification in your area...

http://www.midsouththerapydogs.org/



On another note, congrats to Lori and Chanel for their big Hound Group win at Westminster last night. The Hound Group rocked with all girl dogs in the top 3 positions!

Watch breed judging from the 2010 Westminster DogShowhttp://video.usanetwork.com/features/westminster_dog_show/toy_group/v1201774
Most people are only aware of the group and Best In Show judging as it is all that is on TV, but watching the breeds is very educational. I recommend that you study your favorite breed as they are the best of the best and you can learn to identify sound movement, conditioning and grooming from watching the experts.
Tonight Puff and I will be watching and rooting for our old friends and favorite breeds at the Westminster finale...

Flavored Freezer Pops for Pups

When we traveled extensively in summer to dog shows we often took this summer treat along to help cool off the dogs. Souxsie, pictured above, especially liked them. With the weather turning really hot now I thought I would share this with you....
Using low sodium or preferably, sodium free chicken broth,diluted way down with water or unflavored Pedialyte, pour into an old fashioned ice cube tray and freeze until ready to give to your dog.
That's it,really simple, and really fun for your dog on a hot summer day. I only give one cube at a time.
If you are not sure how much to dilute the chicken broth, remember that chicken broth is very rich and can cause some dogs to have a runny stool. For a large dog I use a teaspoon per cube but you will need to use your best judgement as you know what your dog can tolerate. Your dog will still know the chicken broth is in the cube as dogs can smell down to one part per 700 billion. Turkey or beef broth, even lamb, can be substituted. Just be sure you are not giving them a heavily salted broth. And no MSG!
Pedialyte, if you choose to use it, is wonderful for restoring electrolytes lost in the stress of summer heat. (With your vets' APPROVAL, it is also great for dogs waking up from anesthesia, or an illness like parvo when they have trouble keeping water down).
Dogs seem to enjoy chasing the ice cube around their bowl and the cost of course, is mere pennies...

Crufts, a Veritable British Institution

Am I the only person who thinks it odd that Eukanuba is a sponsor of Crufts and yet James Serpell, a major contributor to the recent hoopla surrounding the BBC's decision to not broadcast Crufts, is an advisor to the Iams Pet Food Company?

In case you missed it, the BBC aired a documentary created by animal rights extremists called Pedigree Dogs Exposed. It is pure sensationalism and contains many, many, many twisted facts that border on outright lies.Serpell is a major factor in this BBC doc as is a Stephen Jones, who, when wiki'd appears to be an atheist....and they have the nerve to equate dog breeders with Nazi's?...phew, I smell something.

That being said, you can still watch Crufts, it is more than a conformation show, there is agility,freestyle obedience to music, flyball and more.You can watch it at Crufts TV,http://www.cruftslive.tv/ or follow along on twitter (search KCLovesdogs), see some fabulous pix on flicker http://www.flickr.com/photos/thekennelclub (some of them are posted here)or on youtube,http://www.youtube.com/OfficialCrufts and if you go to youtube, check out the vendors too.

You may be surprised that on CruftsTV you can watch the show live for free but have to pay to get into the archives...not surprising since the BBC took away their main source of income.Income that helped pay for a lot of dog owner education....

Dogs,Horses,Oprah and Crimes Against Nature

Oprah Winfrey once consulted me about the care and handling of an Afghan Hound puppy she had purchased. I can certainly understand her attraction to this beautiful dog of the desert.She is a well known Arabian Horse fancier and the Afghan Hound it would seem would be a perfect fit.
It wasn't...The Afghan just wasn't suited to her lifestyle and living conditions.The Golden Retreiver as we all know was.
Many people fall in love with a particular breed of dog and try to force it to fit their lifestyle.This is wrong and a great injustice to the dog.
My very good friend Katie raised the superstar race horse Cannonero.After he was shipped out of the country to stand at stud she turned her focus to her other love, dogs.Specifically Salukis and Irish Wolfhounds.Katie said that raising these two breeds was just like raising horse colts...they had all the same needs.Fresh air, sunshine and lots and lots of running to build strong bones and soundness.
These are necessary requirements for any puppy. But the giant breeds need this absolutely without question. If the average Lab puppy exerts the energy to run fifty miles a day, how much space do you think you need for a giant breed?Twice that....so bringing that Saint Bernard,Wolfhound or Mastiff puppy into your 628 sq ft apartment is not going to work. There is simply NO WAY possible that you can raise that puppy to reach it's full HEALTH potential both physically and mentally. Let me repeat...THERE IS NO WAY POSSIBLE THAT YOU CAN RAISE THAT PUPPY TO REACH IT"S FULL POTENTIAL BOTH PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY!!! Without adequate excercise (i.e. free running all day) your giant breed puppy will not develop proper bone structure and musculature, and will develop painful joint issues.
Another friend, tried to raise a Mastiff puppy in a house with no fenced yard but access to running a couple times of day...he grew up so unsound from his bones being big and his lack of musculature underdeveloped he was euthanized at age five because he was in pain from being so unsound.
Yes, bad breeding accounts for unsoundness but it only contributes fifty percent. The other fifty percent is environment.
Responsible breeders can account for the genes but it is up to the puppy owner to provide the correct environment,anything less than what your breed needs is ANIMAL ABUSE.

Yes, I said ANIMAL ABUSE.It is very hard for me to watch people attempt to fit a square peg into a round hole when it comes to their puppies....Because they LOVE this breed they think they can make it work....well guess what people...YOU CAN'T!!!
If your breed of dog was designed to walk across acres of land to patrol for poachers on the Squires Estate and all you can provide is a postage stamp sized yard and a trip to the dog park then you are abusing your puppy by stunting it's natural development and causing a crime against nature. And yet I see people do this all the time...it drives me INSANE.
I once officiated as dog judge at a Specialty match in Atlanta and I could tell when I was judging the puppies which ones were raised in a correct natural environment and which ones were not,just by running my hands over them.
One puppy in particular was a stunning tri-colour imported from England and was winning Specialties from the get go. The crowd was STUNNED when I dumped this undefeated puppy in my judging. His musculature was horrible and his owner would scarcely let him run because she was afraid he would get hurt.
Instead I put up a so- called backyard dog of no particular great pedigree but who was raised in the correct environment and was both beautiful and SOUND in structure.
I took a lot of flack for that judgement at that show.A whole lot.
As fate would have it, the backyard dog who had never previously won anything went on to become a top specialty winner and the expensive English import who was not allowed proper excercise because the owner coddled him grew up to be an unsound dog with no adult show career.
Now having said all of the above,Oprah and my friend who euthanized her crippled dog, still could have had the dogs of their dreams without great changes to their lifestyles.
How you ask?
By adopting older dogs of their favorite breeds.
Yes, you can have that Mastiff in your 628 sq ft apartment!
An older geriatric dog would be quite happy to retire in your cozy little apartment home. He or she would not require any more excercise than an amble around the neighborhood 45 minutes twice a day and then a really cushy bed to lay in afterward. (cause we know how beat up those Mastiff elbows get) Older dogs of your favorite breed are often free from dogshow breeders who can use the room for that promising showpup they just bred and are thrilled to place their older retired show dog in a home where he can be spoiled with lots and lots of love and attention.
Check with your favorite breeds parent club for breeders who place retired show dogs as well as breed rescue groups.
Yes you can have the dog breed you love, just don't try and force a puppy into an unnatural situation, OK? It's a form of abuse.