Don’t Forget the Match on Sunday!

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We’ll be holding our annual AKC Sanctioned B Match this year on Sunday, October 20th, at the Gem City Dog Obedience Club, 1654 Springfield St, Dayton. The match is indoors, climate-controlled and food will be available.  (You can click on the image of the flyer to make it bigger.)

Pre-entries are $7.50 each and should be mailed to Gary Sinck, 725 Xenia Ave, Dayton, OH 45410 and must be postmarked by October 14.  Entries will also be taken on day-of-show, between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. (Day of show entries are $10)  Judging will begin at 12:00 noon.  Junior Showmanship will be judged first, followed by breed judging. There are three age divisions of puppy classes: 3-6 months, 6-9 months and 9-12 months. There are also classes for adult dogs who have not yet earned a “major” at an AKC dog show.  The match will culminate is Best Adult Dog in Match and Best Puppy in Match.

A few rules to be aware of:

  • Absolutely NO CHALK.  The facility is an agility club, with a specialized floor and chalk makes the floor very slippery, and could result in injury. If we catch you with chalk, we will ask you to leave. And we’d hate to do that, so please, no chalk. None. Nope, not even a smidgen.
  • No taped ears. This is an AKC regulation, and we are bound to observe it. They even go as far as to say that a judge is not allowed to judge a dog if the exhibitor removes the tape in the ring. So if your pup has taped ears, remember to take the tape off at home. We know they’re puppies, and the ears may not be “perfect” yet.
  • Professional handlers are welcome to handle their own dogs at this match. Client dogs are not permitted unless the client is on the end of the leash.
  • Entries MUST be on an official AKC entry blank. We have a downloadable one here (click the link). We will have entry forms at the match too.

The Judging Panel

  • Sporting     Larkin Vonalt
  • Hound     Skip Thielen
  • Working     Sylvia Jones
  • Terrier     Brad Reese
  • Toy     Brad Reese
  • Non-Sporting     Rick Mouser
  • Herding     Charlie Evans
  • Junior Showmanship     Dr. Tracy Leonard, DVM
  • Best in Match    Cindy Benson

A word about the “Ohio Virus”

Many of us in Ohio have been alerted to the presence of an unidentified virus that has stricken some dogs in the Cincinnati and Akron area. We have been in touch with the State Veterinarian who assured us that it would be safe to hold this match. (Unlike dog parks, which he has advised to avoid.) The Gem CIty facility is kept scrupulously clean; swept and mopped regularly. They know that the virus is spread by fecal contact, so we are asking you to be extra vigilant in picking up after your dog. The rate of contagion is very low– dogs in the same households have not been equally affected– and treatment of symptoms gives dogs an excellent prognosis.  Please know that if we believed that this match could endanger dogs in any way, we would not have gone forward with it. So come on out and have some fun. 

Directions

  • From US35: Take the N. Smithville Road exit and follow Smithville Rd. north all the way to the end. At the t-junction, turn LEFT.  Gem City Dog Club will be on your LEFT. It is set back off of the road, behind an auto-parts dealer. There are large colorful dog cut-outs on the building.
  • From Ohio 4: Take the Stanley/Findlay Street exit towards downtown. (South) (Left if you’re coming from Columbus area, right if you’re coming from I-75) Turn LEFT on First Street, which merges with Springfield St. Gem City Dog Club will be on your RIGHT. It is set back off of the road, behind an auto-parts dealer. There are large colorful dog cut-outs on the building.
  • From I-75: take the Ohio 4 exit. Take the Stanley/Findlay Street exit towards downtown. (South) (Left if you’re coming from Columbus area, right if you’re coming from I-75) Turn LEFT on First Street, which merges with Springfield St. Gem City Dog Club will be on your RIGHT. It is set back off of the road, behind an auto-parts dealer. There are large colorful dog cut-outs on the building.
  • From I-70, east of Dayton: Take the Ohio 4 exit. When you are nearing Dayton, look for the  Take the Stanley/Findlay Street exit towards downtown. (South) Turn LEFT on First Street, which merges with Springfield St. Gem City Dog Club will be on your RIGHT. It is set back off of the road, behind an auto-parts dealer. There are large colorful dog cut-outs on the building.Gem City Dog Club will be on your RIGHT. It is set back off of the road, behind an auto-parts dealer. There are large colorful dog cut-outs on the building.
  • From I-70, west of Dayton: Take the I-75 exit. Then get off on Ohio 4.  Take the Stanley/Findlay Street exit towards downtown. (South) (Left if you’re coming from Columbus area, right if you’re coming from I-75) Turn LEFT on First Street, which merges with Springfield St. Gem City Dog Club will be on your RIGHT. It is set back off of the road, behind an auto-parts dealer. There are large colorful dog cut-outs on the building.
  • CLICK ON THE MAP BELOW TO MAKE IT LARGER.

 

 

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Pet Blessing at Eaton’s Grace Lutheran Church October 5

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The Humane Society is sponsoring a “pet blessing” at the Grace Lutheran Church,111 Lutheran Drive, Eaton. Everyone is welcome.

Pastors Warren Reichert and David Matevia will perform the pet blessings on Saturday, Oct. 4 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Participants may drive into the church driveway with their pets, and they will beinstructed where to go for the blessing.

After the blessings at the church, there will be a blessing of the animals at the Pet Center, 951 S. Barron St., Eaton.

For further information call the Humane Society of Preble County, (937) 456-PETS (7387).

No Official Word on “Michigan Virus”

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An emergency medical clinic in Ann Arbor, Michigan spoke with reporters about incidents of an unknown virus they’ve seen in their clinic. Unfortunately, they linked it to to the “circovirus in Ohio,” even though it has different symptoms, no tissue samples have been taken from the Michigan dogs, the Michigan Veterinary Association has not made an official statement and there is no word from that state’s Department of Agriculture or state veterinarian. Oh, and it hasn’t been confirmed that circovirus even played a role in the death of dogs here in Ohio.

The symptoms in Michigan include extreme lethargy, vomiting and bloody diarrhea and a very short period of illness followed by death, 12-24 hours. In some instances the affected dogs’ owners had also been ill.  Even more alarming, the clinic also said that some dogs were asymptomatic, but necropsy turned up similar findings.

The thing is, this is just coming out of one vet clinic– and the statements have been made by a very young veterinarian, Dr. Lindsay Ruland (a 2009 graduate) and these remarks were picked up by the media– with everyone jumping to conclusions. We don’t know what these people saw in their clinic. They don’t know what they saw in their clinic, other than it involved an uptick in cases involving a parvo-like virus.

The advice remains the same. If your dog is ill, take the dog to the vet. There are no cures yet for affected dogs, but those that get early intervention make good recoveries.

In the meantime, just stay calm and wait ’till we know something more about this from a more reliable source.

Update from OVMA on “Ohio Virus”

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An update from the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association on the “Ohio Virus.” (There’s not much here, folks, sorry.)

“Beyond the initial reports involving eight dogs (four in the Cincinnati area and four in Canal Fulton), there have not been any confirmed reports to the Ohio Department of Agriculture of additional dogs becoming ill or dying from the canine illness of unknown origin. A few additional suspected cases have been submitted for testing; however, there have been no confirmed additional instances of the virus at this point.

While there has been some suspicion that the unknown illness is caused by a canine circovirus, that has not been confirmed. Information to date points to the possibility of at least some other factor or factors contributing to the illness. [emphasis added]

At present, how the disease initiated remains unknown. (note from FSCKC: this statement is directly contradicted by the State Veterinarian, Tony Forshey. I think we will go with his statement, rather than some clerk at the OVMA.)

There is no vaccine or other means of prevention currently known, other than following good hygiene and keeping your dog away from direct contact with the excretions of other dogs.

Symptoms of the disease include severe vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and lethargy or weakness. There are a variety of illnesses that can produce some or all of these symptoms, so their presence in your dog does not necessarily mean it has acquired this unknown illness.

All evidence suggests that owners who seek treatment from a veterinarian quickly from the onset of the symptoms significantly enhance survival and recovery. Without treatment, the time from initial signs of illness to death is believed to be only three to four days.”

So, we’re still spreading the same message:  if your dog comes down with these symptoms, see your veterinarian. Even if it is not the “Ohio Virus”, your dog is very ill and needs care.  Stay out of dog parks, and away from any other areas that contain pet waste.