GUNS CHOICE - CFTCcftc.org.za/PDF/2013-august_guns_choice_newsletter.pdf · 4th O M’aman Artemis NHR (Artemis) Kobus Le Roux Lab B 2.5 COM Ch. Kinndell Black Knight NHR FQ (Jabu)

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GGUUNNSS CCHHOOIICCEE AAUUGGUUSSTT 22001133

President: Mr G Eva Vice President: Mr W Clifford Officials:

Mrs P Griffiths (Chairlady) [email protected] Mrs L Dimech (Secretary) (co-opt) [email protected]

Ms D Fabian (Treasurer) [email protected] Mrs I Tibenham (Game Stw) [email protected]

Mrs N Napoli (Trophy Stw) [email protected] Mrs T Winter (HPR) [email protected]

Hon Life Members: Mr E Meyer; Mrs P Carter &

Mrs. H Kessler

Patrons: Ms D Fabian; Mr. M.Gie; Mrs S Fraser; Mr J Van Heerden; Mrs H Kessler

EDITORIAL

This is a bumper issue as there is so much to catch up on. The July trials are now behind us and we hope everyone enjoyed them. The very small committee put in a lot of hard work as did many other club members. Of course all the results are listed in the newsletter. A last ditch test in August was to prepare for the September trials. We were up to our knees in mud and water, heaven knows what it

would have been like a week later. All the retrieves would probably have been water blinds. Results and photos further down in the newsletter. Photos submitted for the test and trials were kindly given by our budding photographer Margaret Rose. It is always a joy to have articles from Bill our Vice President – now living in paradise up north. We also find out how he has settled in. We had to catch up with all the news. We will be flocking to Barrydale to test ourselves in the last trials of the year, and

after that a few months

of rest and enjoying the

summer. That’s if it ever comes. Enjoy your dogs

Dale Fabian-Editor [email protected]

Congratulations to Boris and Brenda

Vossgatter on the birth of their third daughter “Charlotte Siouxie” born August

Welcome to our New Member: Dr Dorland and his two GSP’s

Stuka and Eva

Also to those members who gained their Sahr titles in the last few months:

Walkabout Isle of Skye - Lisa Dimech - NHR

Special thanks once more to our Sponsors

MSD Animal Health – Intervet (Pty) Ltd IQRetail Software packages. Inqaba Biotech Animal Genetics

RGBC – Famous Grouse Indy Oil Canine Hydrotherapy Animal Talk Roseryal Kennels Bone Appetit Cylnor Pharmacy Sharbara Traders Beyond Branding Hund Charlotte Rhys

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Trouthaven – Dwarsberg wines K9 Pet Foods Organix Rope World -Journey’s End -Bob Martin

Page Sponsors: Bill & Judy Clifford -Dale Fabian

Pat Griffith -Sarah Fraser Paul & Lisa Dimech - Stiaan and Annerie Brandt

OOOvvveeerrr ttthhheee rrraaaiiinnnbbbooowww bbbrrriiidddgggeee –––

Some of our members had to say Goodbye to their beloved pets in the last few months.

Pat and Shani

Dale and Pilot

Di Holman and Odin

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

Dear Members

Well, the CFTC retriever field trials for the year have come and gone.

My very grateful thanks to all who helped to make these trials so successful

Firstly, I would like to thank our very small committee who all worked very hard in a very short time. Without the help of Sarah, Henry, Kobus and Margaret and Colin we would have

been stretched very thin indeed – Thank you!!

I can’t mention by name all who worked with us to make a success – all the Judges, Field Trial Managers, Throwers, Guns, all those who helped with catering and keeping us warm with tasty soup on cold wintry days – Thank

you.

A very special thank you to Mike Holman and Alan Kloeck who flew down at their own expense to fulfil their judging contracts. And to all who entered their dogs – congratulations to those who were awarded places and prizes and to the handlers and

dogs who improved their retrieving skills. As far as the actual trials went, we had a few niggles and a few giggles here and there and some sleepless nights but generally all went very well.

And so now it is on to Barrydale for the last trial of the year. Good luck to you all and please bring some silverware back to the Cape.

Chairman

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RESULTS OF

KKEENNNNEELL AASSSSOOCCIIAATTIIOONN

FIELD TRIAL-JULY 2013

Place Name Handler Breed SAHR Guns points choice

Juniors 1st Zaniri’s Spin on a Dime Mini (Imp Can) Cooper Gboyega Songonuga GRetr D 2.5 2nd Walkabout Itasca (Breeze) Elaine Walker Lab B 2.5 Yes 3rd Kingsdale Purdey (Purdey) Warren Venter Lab B 2.5

Maiden 1st Quillquest Aventurine of Heavenscent FQ (Timba) Heather Hallauer GRetr D 2.5 2nd Ravenside Tanfoglio of Snowpine NHR (Tanner) Michelle Emin Lab D 2.5 3rd O M’aman A. K. of Snowpine NHR (AK) Chris Emin Lab D 2.5 4th O M’aman Artemis NHR (Artemis) Kobus Le Roux Lab B 2.5 COM Ch. Kinndell Black Knight NHR FQ (Jabu) André Thuynsma Lab D 2.5 COM Bardale DB Navajo of Mountainacres (Kestrel) Sarah Fraser Lab D 2.5 COM Ravenside Foxy Lady NHR (Foxy) Peter Kempin Lab B 2.5 COM Bardale DB’s Legacy (Jazz) Dale Fabian Lab B 2.5 COM Zaniri’s Spin on a Dime Mini (Imp Can) Cooper Gboyega Songonuga GRetr D 2.5 COM Walkabout Itasca (Breeze) Elaine Walker Lab B 2.5 Yes

Novice 1st Kilifi Spice of Life of Lymond (Kintore) Terry Watson GRetr B 5 2nd Tinvane Lowly Fleet of Whistlestop (Havock) Mike Hoy GRetr D 5 3rd O M’aman Artemis NHR (Artemis) Kobus Le Roux Lab B 5 Yes COM Ravenside Foxy Lady NHR (Foxy) Peter Kempin Lab B

Open

1st Ch. Ft. Bardale DB’s Best Friend (Cougar) Boris Vossgätter Lab D 20 Yes 2nd Ch. Ft. Whistlestop Haytor GMHR (Dart) Mike Hoy GRetr D 20 3rd Ch. Ft. Merryway Idris (Imp UK) GMHR (Kell) Guy Harwood GRetr D 20 4th Ch. Ft. Snowpine Kimbe-Lee GMHR (Kimber) Michelle Emin GRetr B 20 COM Tinvane Lowly Fleet of Whistlestop (Havock) Mike Hoy GRetr D

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RESULTS OF

CCAAPPEE FFIIEELLDD TTRRIIAALL CCLLUUBB

FIELD TRIAL-JULY 2013

Place Name Handler Breed SAHR Guns Points choice

Puppies 1st Bardale DB’s Forever Free (Sprite) Sarah Fraser Lab B 2nd Zimzala Dream Princess (Leia) Nerina Napoli Fcoat B COM Gavalat Evening Kisses (Ranger) Hélène Kessler GRetr D COM Sarkhomba Zedoary (Zed) Mariann Wilson GSP

Juniors 1st Walkabout Itasca (Breeze) Elaine Walker Lab B 2.5 Yes 2nd Walkabout Skye (Skye) Lisa Dimech Lab B 2.5 3rd Walkabout Ilse of Eley Annerie Brandt Lab B 2.5

Maiden 1st O M’aman Artemis NHR (Artemis) Kobus Le Roux Lab B 2.5 2nd Quillquest Aventurine of Heavenscent FQ (Timba) Heather Hallauer GRetr D 2.5 3rd Ravenside Foxy Lady NHR (Foxy) Peter Kempin Lab B 2.5 Yes 4th Ravenside Tanfoglio of Snowpine NHR (Tanner) Michelle Emin Lab D 2.5 COM Bardale DB Navajo of Mountainacres (Kestrel) Sarah Fraser Lab D 2.5 COM Walkabout Skye (Skye) Elaine Walker Lab B 2.5

Novice 1st Tinvane Lowly Fleet of Whistlestop (Havock) Mike Hoy GRetr D 5 Yes 2nd Ravenside Foxy Lady NHR (Foxy) Peter Kempin Lab B 5

3rd O M’aman Artemis NHR (Artemis) Kobus Le Roux Lab B 5 COM Ch. Kinndell Black Knight NHR FQ (Jabu) André Thuynsma Lab D COM Savajam Jurra (Wagby) Peter Kempin ESS

Open

1st Ch. Ft. Bardale DB’s Best Friend (Cougar) Boris Vossgätter Lab D 20 Yes 2nd Ch. Ft. Ravenside Bluemoon Of Snowpine GMHR(Boss)Chris Emin Lab D 20 3rd Ch. Ft. Snowpine Kimbe-Lee GMHR (Kimber) Michelle Emin GRetr B 20 4th Ch. Ft. Merryway Idris (Imp UK) GMHR (Kell) Guy Harwood GRetr D 20 COM Ch. Ft. Whistlestop Haytor GMHR (Dart) Mike Hoy GRetr D COM Pareora Lawdy Ms Clawdy WHR (Clawdy) Jenny Smith GRetr B COM Bardale DB’s Triumph of Walkabout FTA WHR (Tess) Elaine Walker Lab B

ALL TRIAL & TEST PHOTOS KINDLY TAKEN BY MARGARET ROSE

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CFTC AND KA JULY TRIALS

I had hoped to get an article on the field trials by

Dave Tweddell, but after a few reminders I don’t

think there is one forthcoming. So a few words on the Novice stake that Dave set.

Helene and I had a most amusing and

entertaining time judging with Dave and we

enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Dave of course doing all the hard work, while, we two ladies only

lifted our hands to write down scores.

We started off in the good old fashion style of the 70’s and 80’s of walking up over new ground for

every retrieve. Guns walked on the left and dogs

and handlers walking up in the field with a

deepish ditch between dog and bird.

This retrieve over we moved up to the second

series which consisted of a long walk up around some trees with a deep single

pigeon saluted across the field amongst rocks and then a short walk on with a surprise guinea coming up from under a shelf of ground. On one occasion the

guinea flew off to the other side of the hill 150-200m. Although a ’no bird’ call,

Havock was given the opportunity to go and fetch it. This he did with great aplomb

and earned himself Gun’s Choice. Even the Guns got a good lesson from Dave as

to how to aim to shoot the guineas with greater success.

Another series of a single pigeon shot into a

field of long crop through a fence caused quite

a lot of hunting and dear Artemis persisted way beyond anyone could ask of her. A blind

was set in the opposite direction through some

reeds and this put off the handlers more than

the dogs.

We ended the day with a duck shoot over the

narrow dam. As Dave said some people made

it difficult for themselves by trying to get the

dogs to take angle entries across the water instead of just getting the dogs across in a straight, shortest line and then handling them over to the hidden duck. Once

on the other side the dogs picked up scent easily.

A really good Novice standard stake and one of our spectators (namely Alan Kloeck) wanted to cry with envy that he had left his dogs at home. Alan was unable to

come down by car at the last minute and had left his dogs behind. He had to fly

down, for which we are truly grateful.

Entertained with jokes at roll-call and prize giving Dave also put a lot of effort into

the Open stake. We were warned that there was a new rule out whereby in the

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second round handlers would be

required to change dogs and run the

other competitors dogs. However, I

think by the end of the day he was passed tired. He also co-judged in

the Maiden stake, really working

himself every minute of the

weekend.

Thank you to everyone for helping

to make the two weekends, fun and

enjoyable. Dale Fabian.

A rather wet Maiden Stake

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Results of August Test Puppy Stake (Game) 1st Montana – Dale Fabian 2nd Sprite – Sarah Fraser 3rd Annie – Annerie Brandt

Gun’s Choice: – Montana

(Sydney Too enjoying the sun)

Maiden Stake 1st Raven – Ray Bacon Gun’s Choice: Dakota – Dale Fabian Novice Stake 1st Lola – Wayne Ackhurst 2nd Timba – Heather Hallauer Guns Choice – Timba

The two judges Irene & Elaine pointing out the retrieve to the two nitwits Dale and Wayne – Novice Stake. Open Stake 1st O’Malley – Irene McCulloch 2nd Tess – Elaine Walker Gun’s Choice – O’Mally

Stuka taking a line with Rooies

Puppy Leia

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DOWN WIND A Column of news from FTLC and KUSA and Committee

From FTLC: The changes to 5C

Retriever were approved by Fedco and are effective Jan 2014. Dr Kloeck asked all Clubs to take cognisance of the Rules pertaining to the handling of Game at field trials, and to ensure that all

Rules are strictly adhered to. Mrs Wynne informed the meeting that Mrs Estene Trollope was now qualified as an ‘A Panel’ judge and Mr Hannes Oberholzer as a ‘B

Panel’ judge. (Mr Oberholzer had been proposed by the WRC for nomination to the B-Panel). Mrs Wynne to write to KUSA to update the List of Field Trial Judges, and to Mr McKerchar to update the field trial database.

Importance of proper procedures in applying for a licence for a trial With respect to the HPR Trial held in June 2013 and all these matters addressed by KUSA, it is concluded (as per KUSA) that this June HPR field trial cannot be recognised as an official KUSA event. There was no licence issued, no schedule received and a Non-approved Entry/indemnity form was used. No points or qualification awards can be claimed from this trial or be used when applying for any KUSA titles.

Facebook Comments - Mrs Hoar confirmed

that TFTA had submitted a complaint to KUSA but that it was unlikely that this matter would be attended to by the Disciplinary Committee before 2014. Mrs Hoar also confirmed that TFTA had written to the people who had posted comments on Facebook about the field trials. Mrs Wynne

confirmed that WRC had also written to the person who had posted the derogatory remarks.

From KUSA: At its meeting on 8 August 2013, the Federal

Council decided unanimously that it was in the interest of the Kennel Union to appoint an interim Executive Committee to serve during the period preceding the effective date of the amended Articles, i.e. 1 February 2014. Five persons have been appointed by the Federal Council to serve on the interim Executive Committee under an appointed

interim Chairman. Letters of appointment will be sent to the appointees and an announcement of their names will follow shortly. At a Special Meeting convened for this purpose on 7 August 2013, the Federal Council of the Kennel Union of Southern Africa adopted unanimously a resolution to amend the Articles. The amendments covered by the resolution appear below and they shall shortly also be circulated to all affiliated clubs. Subject to the provisions Article 40.2, the amendments become effective on 1 February

2014. By virtue of the powers vested in it by Article 6.1, and notwithstanding the provisions of Article 16.2.4, at its ordinary meeting held on

8 August 2013, the Federal Council, with immediate effect, made the following

appointments, the persons concerned to discharge their duties and responsibilities during the interim period: Mr DA Thompson – Chairman of the Federal Council (Executive) Mr GR Eva – President (Non-Executive) The Federal Council further decided to charge

Mr GR Eva with certain specified duties and responsibilities for which he will receive a monthly remuneration under a fixed-term contract of employment, terminating on 31

Wellington and Sydney smiling in the cold

December 2014. The contractual arrangement with Mr Eva shall provide that his term of office as Non-Executive President also ends on 31 December 2014. The Secretary of the Kennel Union, Ms Sheila Thornberry, and the General Manager, Mrs

Pascale Midgley shall, also with immediate effect, report to the Chairman of the Federal Council.

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The members of the Federal Council fully embrace the new management structure of the Kennel Union and look forward to supporting the Chairman of the Federal Council and the President in their future endeavours to promote the Kennel Union

nationally and internationally and to ensure its

future prosperity.

From the Committee: Discussions already started on getting sponsorship early next year as most

companies would have finalized their year’s budget by then. There was also concern that trophies are not being brought back in time and in a good condition. Some committee members are feeling the burden of having to do so much for the club. Therefore there is a need for more people to

come forward and sit on the committee and share the burden. The main responsibility over the trials was carried by only four ladies. It is one thing to help over the trials and another to carry the load of putting on an enjoyable trial. If there are not more people willing to come forward onto the committee there may not be another trial next year. So think about what you can do to keep the club going.

In Defence of Dogs Bill Clifford (CFTC Vice President)

A few Christmases ago my youngest daughter Jessica bought me a book called “Making

Animals Happy” by an American Professor of Animal Science, with the rather intriguing name of Temple Grandin. Jessi knows I like “scientific” stuff and our mutual love of animals and especially dogs made the book a winning present for “Dad”. As many of you

will know, the Clifford clan only discovered the delights of Canis Lupus Familiaris a few years ago and, along with owning four of the lovely creatures we have been reading about them and learning from friends with more experience ever since. How to explain dog behaviour was the challenge and the thread that seemed to flow through every conversation and every lesson was that dogs are descended from wolves, and wolves are pack animals with alpha males and alpha females and all that stuff. Within the pack each wolf seeks dominance above all else and everything Fido does can be traced back to that. So, we learned all about going through

doors first, overtly controlling the food supply and, when our two German Shepherds fought, it was up to me as “pack leader” to sort it out. And then I read the book by Temple Grandin and an alternative seed was sown. That was, as I said, a few years ago. On arriving in Scotland I hurried to the local

bookstore for a new fix of reading material and came across a book titled “In Defence of Dogs”, by John Bradshaw. He is the Director of the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol and has spent much of his life studying dogs, their behaviour, and the details of their lupine ancestry. He is also a

self-confessed “dog-lover” and his writing, in this book, is a delightful combination of rather sterile, evidence-laden academic argument and mushy doggy anecdote. The book was first published two years ago and is, therefore pretty up to date, and, fascinatingly, wholly aligns with the ideas in the Temple Grandin

book.

Bradshaw’s primary argument is that basing dog behavioural theories on the traditional “wolf-pack” argument is wrong and, moreover, is wholly unfounded for two pretty fundamental reasons. Firstly, he argues, and this is where Temple Grandin provides total support, wolves themselves aren’t actually dominance-driven pack animals when in their natural environment. And secondly all the evidence which has been put forward concerning wolf behaviour concerns American Timber Wolves and these are not the ancestor of the modern dog. The latter point is simply

a matter of genetics. The dog genome has been fully decoded and it turns out Fido is a descendent of the Siberian Grey Wolf, a totally different DNA line to the much-observed

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Timber Wolf. And when the original studies of wolf behaviour are revisited it seems all were conducted on wolves in captivity, where individual dominance is indeed the driving force since, mostly, the wolves came from different families. More recent work on wild

wolves shows they actually organise themselves in large families (rather like Orcas and their pods, in fact) and “dominance” is merely about parenting, with individuals staying with Mum and Dad quite late in life to help bring up the pups and the young ones almost never challenging the old wolves for control. So, in the context of understanding dogs, the traditional model is based on the wrong wolf in the wrong circumstances. Strike two!!

So, what does Bradshaw offer in place of the winner-takes-all life of the captive wolf? Well, he acknowledges that, a wee while ago

(maybe 10,000 years?) a wolf wandered into a human settlement somewhere and it was love at first sight. But, beyond that simple nod to the DNA, he mostly tries to explain dog behaviour not by studying wolves, but by studying dogs – what a sensible idea!! He presents the results of a host of studies, both performed by his own Institute and all over the world, alongside anecdotes about dog intelligence, senses and intuition from his own experience and that of his colleagues and friends. He tackles issues like “does a dog feel guilt?”, “are we right to define dog emotions using only those emotions we feel?”, and

“what is the dog’s true response to this or that training routine?” One chapter ends with the delightful sentence “If the Inuit can have fifteen words for snow, maybe dogs can experience fifteen kinds of love.” Yes, he’s a scientist but he’s also a softy!

There are pages and pages analysing the

dogs’ sense of smell, with quite a few references to “well-trained gundogs”. He discusses not only dog body language, of course, but also how dogs might interpret our body language, why they tend to follow a

human hand pointing to something (think food bowl) and how and when puppies develop their social skills. He addresses the thorny subjects of aggressive attacks on humans, inbreeding in pursuit of pedigree perfection and the apparent emphasis placed on

appearance which, he claims has stripped some breeds of many of their body-language capabilities (for example French Bulldogs and Weimaraners cannot raise their hackles, he says, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels exhibit almost no visual canine signals at all). The book closes with a chapter headed “Dogs and The Future” in which he worries that; inevitably, modern life will exclude the dog as being inconvenient to our brave new world. Maybe a dog “app” on our cell phones will be the more acceptable replacement? It would be a lot cleaner and could be easily updated and changing breeds would only take seconds. But then maybe the cell phone itself is enough

of a pet for the truly modern human? (Apologies for a degree of personal bias here)

The book’s title arises from Bradshaw’s belief that recent changes in human attitudes and behaviour have made it hard for dogs to adapt – we live in cities, we leave home all day, we walk on streets and the vast majority of us don’t herd sheep or hunt. If our dogs aren’t what we want (as a species) then it’s mostly our fault, because in Canis Lupus Familiaris we have the most adaptable and, in some ways, capable creature on the planet. Bradshaw asserts that, uniquely, dogs can form bonds,

not only with other dogs but also with several other species, including, thank heavens, homo not-so-sapiens. Indeed, he keeps coming back to the idea that the unique thing about the relationship between dog and man is, well, its uniqueness. (He also studies cats, by the way.)

Whether you are a died-in-the-wool pack-dominance follower or a follow-the-modern evidence disciple, a breeder or a buyer, a hunter or a shepherd, this is a book to read. It will open your eyes to even more wonders of the dog world through the research of one of the world’s top animal behaviourists. It’s an easy read.

As a final comment I would add that Bradshaw’s book asserts quite clearly that the “scientific community” has accepted all of this for several decades but the dog-training and dog-owning world has, by and large, yet to

change as a result. (He takes issue with Cesar Milan and his training techniques, for example.) While I was writing this review, our beloved Editor, Dale, mentioned to me the

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work of Ray and Lorna Coppinger. Bradshaw describes their seminal book “Dogs”, written almost ten years ago, as “one of the few readily accessible accounts of social behaviour in dogs, drawing on up-to-date science”. I am too inexperienced to pass comment on which

view of the dog world is correct but I would say that the more modern “scientific” view aligns more closely with the behaviour of my four-leggeds than anything involving wolf-pack-dominance. If you read “In Defence of Dogs” you must come to your own conclusions.

“In Defence of Dogs” by John Bradshaw, Penguin, ISBN 978-0-14104-649-5

TTThhheeeyyy’’’vvveee BBBeeeeeennn TTThhheeerrreee,,, TTToooooo – Jason Smith (RJ) Even the pros had to start somewhere, and there probably isn’t anything we amateurs see with our dogs that the people who get paid to do this sort of thing haven’t experienced themselves countless times. And though we all accept this, it can be reassuring to hear it

from them personally as a way to let us know that we aren’t alone as we stumble along getting our dog ready for the season. I absolutely loathe the cliché ‘been there, done that’, but I don’t really know how else to say it. Take heart: It might be one of the safest bets of the planet to say that every single professional retriever trainer has been at the precise spot you’re at in your dog’s training, or has seen the positively puzzling predicament your dog just presented. So let’s hear what they have to say about the worst mistake they made with their first dogs. Rest assured, my friends: They have been in our shoes.

AMY DAHL

“The biggest mistake I made with my first retriever, a chocolate Lab named Shasta, was to take credit for all of his accomplishments, failing to recognise what a unique dog he was. Of course, I made a lot of the standard rookie mistakes too – I threw far too many dummies

for him, drilled him excessively on obedience, punished him for things he couldn’t possibly understand; repeated handling pattern ad nauseum; and didn’t introduce birds until he was over a year old, at which time his response was to lift his leg over the duck. ‘Shasta weathered all of these mistakes plus my ham-handed force fetching. He was talented and forgiving, learned fast, and taught me to love training him. He could mark, remember, put on a smart hunt for a bird, and line and cast precisely in challenging conditions. Probably anyone could have trained him, but I mistakenly concluded that I

must be a pretty good trainer, I can’t spend much time in regret over this error, because it led eventually to my becoming a professional trainer, as well as to my meeting my husband to-be John. Later dogs have taught me the mistake I made and have both taught and required me to improve my training skills.

‘I made another big mistake in thinking that the method that worked on my first dog would work on my second. Shasta was a bit of a knucklehead. You had to get his attention, and then he could learn anything. ‘Getting his attention’ usually meant being physical. My

second Lab, a black female, was more sensitive. I think the unneeded corrections I gave her probably kept her from achieving her potential.

‘I have learned from every dog I have trained, but sometimes I look back with nostalgia on the time when it all seemed so easy – when I

had a genius dog and didn’t know any different’

JOHN DAHL

‘All of us who have trained many dogs have made a fair number of mistakes in the process. Some of these errors

can be chalked up to a bad, if educated, guess. Others are a

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product of ignorance, which is excusable if it doesn’t go on too long. Most of my early and biggest blunders were made as a result of buying into hyperbole set forth in retriever breed descriptions. For one, I assumed that Chesapeake retrievers had

unlimited resistance to cold water. To my dismay I discovered that’s not the case. The result of this folly was my nearly losing a couple of fine young Chesapeakes in several dangerous cold water hunting situations. It took me two near losses to wise up to the fact that no dog is immune to the cold. Since that time I have made a concerted effort to minimize the time spent in ice water by all my retrievers. I have spent about equal hunting time with Labs and Chesapeakes and see no appreciable difference in cold hardiness. I have hunted with some tough Goldens, too, and at their best, they measure up to any

retriever in ice water. Most of my other derailments had to do with pushing dogs too fast – piling on triples before they were secure with doubles, stretching the blind retrieves to the point at which maintaining control was nearly impossible,

etc. They say some of us mellow with age. I hope that’s true in my case, and that I have learned if anything to keep things on the easy side in the interest of developing confidence and proficiency in my dogs.

VICKIE LAMB

‘Barely a teenager, I had a book to aid me – Training Your Retriever, by James Lamb Free

– and very little else. With no clue where to buy any training equipment, I stumbled on a

metal coach’s whistle in a sporting goods store quite by accident, and found a few white plastic boat bumpers in a marine store to use in training. Eventually those were supplemented with

some homemade fire hose bumpers. I would say that my biggest mistake was in not finding someone experienced to train with to help me establish a standard. My first dog was not exact in her obedience and often broke to shot. However, she showed her intelligence: Usually she waited to see if a bird was falling. In training – this translated to birds when we were really hunting – she would drop those big awkward bumpers, sometimes several times per retrieve and would only deliver to my general vicinity. Sometimes that meant in water or reeds, sometimes the bottom of the boat. The plus

side was that she would stop on a whistle, which sometimes required a half-dozen whistle blasts, and she would take fair casts, particularly if they were towards the direction she wanted to go. Then the fateful day arrived when I went to a

gathering at a sportsmen’s club and watched a hunting dog trainer work his Lab. As I watched that dog sit still and mark multiple hand-thrown canvas bumpers thrown in pretty high cover, I had to learn more. The hook was set.

Our overworked Judge – David Tweddell

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Our Journey to Scotland began quite a

while ago. The other dogs and I

had become

quite used to having lots of

people walking

around our house and garden for about an hour at a time, talking to Mum and Dad and

then going away again. I noticed that often the house was a lot cleaner and tidier before such people came to visit, but I didn’t understand why so I just kept my counsel. After ten years of living with two-legged dogs I had come to realise that it’s often best just to let them be, well, human, and not try to understand everything they do. They’re not sensible and straightforward like we are and, sad though that is, we just have to put up with it and enjoy the times when they can be fun, like proper dogs. Anyway this pattern of behaviour suddenly changed and the same two-leggeds came back to see us a few times

and then there seemed to be a time when they were all happy together, these strangers and Mum & Dad, and then it all went quiet. Nobody came to visit any more.

At our regular weekly council meeting, Elsa said she had noticed that Mum & Dad had been spending a lot of time looking out over

our stoep at the view of False Bay and walking around the garden. We wondered then if some big change was about to happen. Dad took me out for a couple of walks just on my own, like in the old days before the others had arrived; that was nice, of course, but that also made us feel a bit uneasy about the immediate future. Then came the big day. First Dad went off in the car with all our beds and huge amounts of food. Now, I know he doesn’t like proper food like us, so I wondered what he was going to do with it all. Then, when he got back Mum & Dad loaded us up in the trusty Subaru and off we went. They

seemed very quiet on the journey and then, as soon as we got onto what Dad calls the R44 I knew we were off to see Auntie Amanda and Uncle Willem at Zimzala. We’d been there before when our humans had been on holiday and we liked it a lot so, although it wouldn’t be the same as home, I did my best, as head dog, to keep everybody positive on the journey.

As soon as we arrived at Zimzala, Uncle Willem showed us all into our room, a delightful arrangement with en-suite facilities and our own beds already waiting for us and we all ran around checking out the histories of the recent occupants. I never have

understood how humans can just check into a hotel room without having a good sniff around the skirting board to check the mail. So much easier than all those computers and stuff they lug around with them, poor dears. Of course, Mum and Dad had to go and we all kicked up a fuss just to show we love them (they expect it, I think), but it was getting close to dinner time and Uncle Willem knows just how I like my kibble so we settled down for our first night. Sasha was a bit sad; she had a difficult life until she came to join us at Westpoint and Mum’s going off so suddenly was a shock for her, but the team pulled together so we

settled in quite well. I wondered how long their holiday would be this time.

A couple of weeks passed by and then a truck arrived at Zimzala. Were we going home at last? It seemed not, but the truck’s delivery was for us – presents!! Four huge wooden crates had arrived and in a day or two Auntie

Amanda started visiting us each evening, playing with us and getting us to spend some time in these crates. The two Shepherds were very keen (they like an ordered life and I think the symmetry of the crates impressed them) but Lucy and I took a bit more persuading. Quite soon we realised that it would be rude for us not to accept Auntie A’s treats so we too got into the crates, just to be nice to her. It seemed to suit everybody and we Goldens do like to keep people with treats happy. After a short while we were spending each night in our crates; they were very comfortable and it was a bit of fun. But I

remained sceptical, after all, time was moving on and there was no sign of Mum & Dad.

Several weeks passed by and then one Friday morning (I know it was a Friday because of the scratch marks I made on the wall of our room) who should arrive to see us but Uncle Faure of Strand Animal Hospital. Dad has

always said he is a very fine Vet indeed, but I just know him as one of my favourite humans. His treat supply seems endless and he is always susceptible to a few flutters of my eyelashes! Anyway, all four of us spent a happy time with him while he looked us over, gave us some tablets to eat, which were quite yummy, and did that “Top-Spot” thing that Dad usually does. Uncle Faure then seemed to spend a long time scratching bits of paper with his pen. (You humans just don’t realise

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how much noise that makes, you know! And I shall never understand why apparently intelligent creatures have to spend so much time and effort just in order to record information. Why can’t you just learn to wee on the ground like we do? It transfers

megabytes in seconds!) Anyway, Uncle F eventually left and we settled down to our daily routine at Zimzala.

It was Monday 22nd April and we woke as

usual expecting

breakfast in our room. It never turned up, which is

most unusual at Zimzala, where the in-room service is usually excellent. Lucy was pretty fed up. She gets very hungry overnight because of her pancreas problem and she was suggesting that we stage some sort of protest. I held an impromptu council meeting and we were just about to take a vote when the truck appeared,

the one that had brought our crates. Suddenly things were happening very fast indeed; we were in our crates and being loaded on to the truck and before we could muster as much as a woof we were heading south along the R44. Elsa and I were wondering what was going on, Sasha was a bit scared and Lucy was, well, Lucy was still moaning about breakfast. After only a relatively short journey we arrived in a big, big building with lots of strange noises and smells and a nice lady called Toinette took some photos of us in our crates. (Dad tells me that she sent them to him just before we

left and it comforted him greatly. I was a bit annoyed though, because my hair needed a brush and I hadn’t had a chance to adjust my makeup for the photo.) Then there was another truck ride and we were moved into another sort of building. It was strange and sort of sausage shaped. None of us had any idea what it was, but someone was tying our crates to the floor of the building and there was lots of talking and banging and crashing as other boxes were moved into this strange building. It could have been really scary but we were in our crates and we knew they were safe places – Auntie Amanda had helped us think of them as safe and we trusted her a lot. Time went by (Lucy noticed there was no dinner either) and the door of the building was closed. It got quite dark inside so we all

settled down for a nap after the excitement of the day. Little did we know that the excitement hadn’t even started.

I was dreaming about chicken pies when a strange sort of loud whining noise began.

Lucy asked if it was a food processor, but Elsa said it sounded more like a motorbike to her. And then, weirdest of all, the

sausage-shaped building began to move! Sasha was worried, bless her, and we all did our best to calm her down as the building bounced up and down, just like our car on a rough road. Then we seemed to be going faster and faster and, all at once, the movement changed and the building seemed to be flying through the air. (I know that’s a really silly idea, but I am only a dog!)

We passed a reasonable night. It was nice and warm in the strange moving building and

our crates were as comfy as always, so we didn’t fret too much. I hoped that, if Mum & Dad were also somewhere in the building, they had such nice crates to sleep in. I didn’t let the others know, but I was missing Mum & Dad a lot by then and wishing we could all be back at home together. Then the building began to lurch around a bit and seemed to be going slower. We all woke up with, of course, Lucy asking about breakfast. None came and then, while we were all discussing our feelings about this peculiar experience there was a loud crash from below us and the building started bumping up and down like a car on a

rough road again. It was starting to get difficult to remain calm and show leadership for the benefit of the others, so I was very glad when the building stopped moving at last and the door opened. Golly, the air was cold and fresh and wonderful. There was no sign of Mum & Dad, though.

After performing the whole routine in reverse we were back in a much

bigger building

and a nice man was taking us out of our crates one-by-

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one and doing what Uncle Faure had done only a few days ago – all that poking and prodding stuff. Then I heard him talking while holding his ear-warmer up to his head. (You know those things that humans use to keep their ears warm or something like that. I’m

not quite sure what they are, but humans seem to need them a lot these days.) He was saying things like “Customs at Heathrow” and “Fully cleared and ready to go” and I’m sure he used Dad’s name – his kennel name of “Clifford” rather than his call name of “Bill”. Anyway, it was nice to get out of the crates for a while but then, before we could say “Lord Tweedmouth” we were put back inside them and headed off again for another short truck journey - and then, oh boy, did we have fun.

Some really nice folks gave us breakfast and let us run around a field and stretch our legs. It was heaven. Of course it would have been nice to have seen Mum & Dad, but everyone was so friendly and, well, they had food, so immediately became our best chums. After an hour or so of fun and play we were then loaded into our crates again – well, Elsa and Sasha went in theirs but Lucy and I went into smaller crates, something to do with the size

of the van. A new Uncle, named Paul, said hello to us and off we went. This time it was

just like being in the car back home only we

couldn’t see too much, so quite a lot of the

journey was spent

snoozing and dreaming about maybe seeing our very special two-leggeds again sometime soon. We had a few stops to stretch our legs and, well, you know, and then we were on a very windy road and it was getting dark again.

The van stopped and Uncle Paul reversed it carefully into what appeared to be quite a

confined space. He got out and started to talk to some people nearby. Lucy asked me who they might be and was it likely they would have any dinner for us. I listened very carefully and then, before I could control it, the biggest bark I have ever done in my life shot out through my mouth, and then another and another and another. Those voices were unmistakeable. Bark, Bark, Bark, Bark. It was them! It was Mum & Dad. I was the last one to be let out of my crate and by then I

was in no mood to be messed about with any more. I went up to Dad and made it very clear that we were NOT going through that rigmarole again and, oh yes, I was jolly pleased to see him too.

Our first night in Scotland was a bit disturbed. We all dreamed of flying buildings and we all had to check regularly that it really was

Mum & Dad in the bed, just like old times. While I was lying awake I remembered all of the really kind people that had made our journey so easy, Auntie Amanda, Uncle Willem and Auntie Marguerite of Zimzala, Uncle Faure of Strand Animal Hospital, Auntie Toinette of Global Paws, Uncle Paul of Airpets and the nice man at Heathrow Customs who cleared us into UK so promptly that we managed to get to Mum & Dad the same day that we arrived at Heathrow.

The Highlands are great. The weather is colder than Somerset West, but that’s OK if you have a “designed in Scotland” fur coat. There’s lots

of new stuff to sniff and Dad lets us burrow under all sorts of vegetation and rocks without fretting over us. And the place is absolutely jam-packed with Golden Retrievers. But they are kind of odd – when you look at them, they

go “Baa” rather than “Woof”. Maybe we all need to learn Gaelic?

“The Right to Roam” by Jade Dad has asked me to tell you about the Land

Reform (Scotland) Act

2003. I mean, how paw-

wrenchingly boring can you get? But getting treats is important so

here goes……..apparently this thingy (law?) means that I can take Dad and the other guys walking almost anywhere in Scotland as long as he doesn’t chase the sheep and I make

16

sure we all act responsibly. It’s not like in England and Wales, Dad says where there is a strong law of trespass. All I know is that we are getting

pretty awesome walks now and Dad doesn’t get all worked up when Lucy wanders off to get filthy and poke around in the muddy fields. Mind you, he does tend to get worked up when he has to wash our feet on returning from the walk! At long last, after spending what seemed like forever staying in temporary kennels, we have now moved into our new home. It’s a lot smaller than the old place in South Africa, but

its loads of fun. We have a new garden to dig up (helping Dad, of course) and there are loads of new smells everywhere. Elsa had her 11th birthday recently and we are all amazed at how well she is. The

damp weather here seems not to have had any bad effects on her arthritis and she loves to

chase Lucy around the garden. Lucy and I usually go for a long walk with Dad first thing in the morning and often we start out along a track laid along the route of an old disused railway. It crosses the main road at one point and Dad always makes sure we practice our kerb drill, even though the roads are much quieter than in Somerset

West. Along with Elsa’s birthday, it was Dad’s too about a week ago. Lucy and I went off with Mum and Dad and Auntie Leona (she went with us to your champagne breakfast a few months ago and is pictured on your website being licked by Uncle Ray’s Raven) to a nice restaurant near the sea. Mind you, everywhere is near the sea here, or near a loch (I think that’s what they call it) and, oh boy, does it rain a lot. I guess I now know

why Lord Tweedmouth designed us the way we are, up here in Scotland all those years ago. Anyway, Dad had one of his favourite “seafood platters”, full of all sorts of strange

beasts; all caught locally, Dad said. He got quite silly at one stage and started posing with

what he called “Lily the Langoustine”; Mum took a picture (she was a bit silly too, if I recall

correctly). I took a dim view of it all, especially since I wasn’t allowed to try any of it. I tried

every trick I know but all to no avail; it was back to a bowl of kibble when we got home. It’s a dog’s life, you know! One of the nice things about being up here is that we do this restaurant thing quite a lot. There are many places that don’t mind us going with Mum and Dad and we often go

shopping with them in Oban, the

nearest town. The High Street is always full of other dogs and we spend

lots of time being stroked and fussed over by passers-by. Unfortunately we aren’t allowed

in most of the shops – especially the ones that smell best, like the Kitchen Garden, where Dad gets his cheese. Although it’s great here, and we have new chums like Uncle Hugh the postman and his dog Brodie, we do miss our SA friends a lot. Lucy says “hi” to Auntie Juno and hopes the visits to Silver Oaks are going well – I miss that too. I’m told that we will be trying to get involved with a similar organisation up here soon – if we do I’ll tell you all about it. And of course, Dad wants to find out about local field trialling if he can. But first he has to get a place ready for Mum’s chickens. I’m not too pleased about that,

because I am told we won’t be allowed to chase them and they’ll be able to run about the woodland area next door without Dad going along.

I suppose we do have our freedoms though, so I won’t complain. Mum’s brother came to stay with us a few weeks ago and they all started to throw big shiny balls around on the grass. Whenever

any of us went over to smell what it was all about we were told off and they muttered something about safety. Just confirmed my belief that, lovable through they are, humans

17

are really very strange indeed – imagine, it, chucking shiny metal balls around and looking oh-so-serious about it. Elsa said she thinks

it’s a ritual they started in France

(where the poodles come from) called

pétanque. Funny

Oh well guys, I’d better sign off now. There’s a rumour of a walk soon and Lucy and I need to get the car ready for Dad. He got us another Subaru, but I don’t think he likes it as much as the one we had in South Africa. He said something about too much fancy electronics and not enough horsepower. What on earth have horses got to do with it?

Humans really are odd. Talk again soon!

A Few more Field Trial Photos.

18

CLUB PINS

CLUB BADGE – R80

CLUB BEENIE – R80

CLUB SCARF – R80

Please contact NERINA on

082 417 7160 or e-mail to

[email protected] to obtain any of the above

items