💥 Quinte Canine Newsletter - October 2018 💥

October Newsletter!

Welcome to Quinte Canine's newsletter. This a great place to be the first to know about upcoming classes, dog events, student brags and get fun and informative training information.

In this issue: Upcoming Classes, Finding a Breeder - Part 1, Super Sniffer Success, Upcoming Community Events & More!

Letter from the Editor

Dear friends,
Now that we are all back to school and summer has ended, we are gearing up for the holiday season. Yes we said it, the 'holiday season' including Quinte Canine's Annual Holiday Pot Luck! This event takes a great deal of planning and preparation so we are hitting the ground running to prepare. It is being held on Thursday December 13th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at our Belleville location with the invitation and RSVP details to come soon so stay tuned. The popular annual tradition is not only a great time to celebrate another year of success and fun but also get to know your fellow students better while sharing a laugh and supporting the Quinte Humane Society!
Fall also means back to school! Not just for the 2-legged ones but for our 4-legged ones as well. Classes are filling for October and November quickly so be sure to register soon to avoid disappointment. We have also opened up our December class (27th) for registrations. Time to get back to class!
Your friend,
Yvonne Ferguson, CPDT-KSA, CTDI
Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge & Skills Assessed, Certified Trick Dog Instructor,
Behaviour Consultant - Quinte Canine

Upcoming Classes!

Basic Scent Detection - Level 1

For any dog with a nose! The dogs in this class learn to search and find target scents in hidden locations. Students build confidence to work up to competing with their dog in the Sport Detection Dogs Association trials. This is a great class for dogs of all ages, breeds, special needs and personalities and helps to provide great mental stimulation! $100+HST ($113 including HST).

Belleville - 5:45pm - Thursday December 27th, 2018 (Dec 27, Jan 3, 10, 17, 24 & Feb 7 - no class Jan 31 2019)

Basic Scent Detection - Level 2
For any dog who has completed Basic Scent Detection Level 1! $100+HST ($113 including HST).

Belleville - 7:00pm - Thursday December 27th, 2018 (Dec 27, Jan 3, 10, 17, 24 & Feb 7 - no class Jan 31 2019)

Intermediate Scent Detection
For dogs who have completed Basic Scent Detection Level 1 and 2. We will continue to build interior rooms while learning exterior and vehicle searches. $100+HST ($113 including HST).

Belleville - 4:30pm - Thursday October 25, 2018 (Oct 25, Nov 1, 8, 22, 29, Dec 6 - no class Nov 15)

Novice Trick Dog
Novice Trick Dog classes are designed for any dog and people friendly dog! Absolutely any age, breed(s) and abilities can learn some fun new tricks! Learn over 25 tricks in this class. All dogs that complete the Novice Trick Dog Class are eligible to receive their Novice Trick Dog Title (NTD).. $135 +HST ($152.55 including HST) which includes the trick dog title fee.

Trenton - 8:15pm - Tuesday November 13th, 2018 (November 13, 20, 27, Dec 4, 11 & 18) - just 1 space left!

Registration
To register for any of the above classes visit: https://www.quintecanine.com/registration
Once payment is made and the registration form has been received, we will process your class enrollment and send you an email with all of the details and class handouts.
Previous students: if you have completed a registration form in the past you do not need to complete one again unless your information has changed or this is a new dog. Please just email us to register.

Classes are limited in size to provide dogs and handlers with maximum learning opportunities. Because they are limited they often fill quickly. In the very rare case a class does not fill with the minimum number of participants (50%) we may choose to postpone, reschedule or cancel classes. Should this occur, we will provide the option to participants to apply their class registration fee toward the postponed or rescheduled class, an alternative class or provide a full refund.

Finding a Breeder - Part 1
Health Testing - Screens, Genes and What at All Means
by Yvonne Ferguson, CPDT-KSA, CTDI

As follow up to last months article on breeder guarantees, this month we hope to help you in the journey to find, not just a breeder, but the right breeder. Moving forward this month we hope to help educate you on the importance of health testing within a breeders program and how it may effect you and your puppy one day.

Having a healthy puppy who turns into a healthy dog for many more years to come is the goal of puppy buyers. With as many health concerns in dogs in today's world as there are human health concerns, working with a breeder with the same goal is of utmost importance. A breeder who completes top health testings as a minimum shows you they may want the best for your puppy, even after it has gone home. Genetic health testing can range from heart and eyes to hips and elbows (to name just a very few) and having a puppy who has a greatly reduced risk of displaying issues can not only save you and your dog emotional and physical pain and suffering but also save you form some very high veterinary bills.

A breeders website looks good, the parents are well titled (more on this in a future issue) and the reviews are top notch. The breeder even lists the dogs as "health tested". Who would not want a puppy from health tested parents? But the important information to review is what health testing has been done? The term "health tested" is far too broad to use. Maybe the breeder had their dogs blood work run and in that very moment all came back within normal levels, that is technically "health tested". But this kind of health testing, although good, is not enough. Also not good enough, is the breeder explaining that their breeding dogs are healthy and show no signs of issues. If genetic diseased came with a big red flag above the dogs head, we would be fine but the truth is these diseased often do not always show up until later in life or even not at all. A dog who is passing genetic disorders onto their offspring, may themselves never show signs or symptoms of the issue, but their offspring may. This is not a chance we hope most are willing to take.

Genes for all disorders are already in existence and often can be seen in all breeds of dogs. The more common to your specific breed is what you will want to look for. Make sure your breeder is completing testing for top recommended disorders, with additional testing done by a breeder outside of these is a bonus. There are hundreds of veterinary disorders that can be passed from parent to puppy. So how do you know which health tests to look for from a breeder? The AKC (American Kennel Club) has compiled a list of some of the breed specific testing’s that should be completed: CLICK HERE. As well, the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) who collates and disseminates information concerning orthopedic and genetic diseases of animals provides a similar list including testing requirements and optional tests available. The OFA’s Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) Program website can also be searched by anyone to review testing that has been completed and publish on dogs. Visit their website HERE. Other testing centers are Paw Print Genetics/Canine Health Check, Embark and PennHIP.

Some tests can easily be preformed with a DNA test (cheek swab) which are becoming less and less expensive in today's world. Other tests can cost hundreds of dollars to run such as the highly recommended hip and elbow radiographs in many breeds. A responsible breeder is one who takes advantage of testing available and does at minimum the recommended test of the breed. With the costs of testing you can see why the price from a responsible breeder is higher than those who do not test. Responsible and ethical breeders are concerned about the health and lifelong well being of the puppies they produce and are willing to invest in their breeding program, as you should be in your future companion.

Even with all of the recommended testing we will never completely eliminate genetic disorders in our dogs. There are just too many disorders, many which have no reliable test, and some we don’t yet know even exist. With this said, some disorders such as hip and elbow dysplasia may show in a dogs who’s parents have beautiful radiographs. Environmental factors contributing to dysplasia play a large role in the joint health long-term which is why an ethic breeder will do everything possible to educate the puppy buyer about this. Careful understanding of dog matching, testing, disorders and how they effect dogs overall health and risk of contractions, is why breeding dogs should be left only to responsible and ethic breeders.

Farrell et al. make this key point:

"Doing a genetic test and subsequently eliminating an individual from the breeding population may not be the best strategy, as by targeting a particular allele at one genetic locus for removal from the gene pool of a particular breed, breeders may in fact increase allele frequencies of genetic variants on alternative haplotypes at the same, or a different locus, that are recessively deleterious. In addition, by eliminating some animals from breeding, a reduction in the effective population size will occur, thus risking higher levels of inbreeding, potential founder effects and genetic bottlenecks. in essence, by correcting one problem there is a chance of inadvertently creating a new one."

Farrell LL, JJ Shoenebeck, P Wiener, DN Clements, and K Summers. 2015. The challenges of pedigree dog health: approaches to combating inherited disease. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology 2:3; DOI 10.1186/s40575-015-0014-9

Super Sniffer Success!

Another amazing trial was held in Belleville September 8th and 9th thanks to our judges, volunteers, competitors and dogs! Not only did we have great weather but we also had a great time! One big winner was the Quinte Humane Society! With our raffles and draws, along with donations we raised $700, coming in as our largest trial donation to date! Thank you everyone who entered and donated! Well done everyone and we look forward to seeing everyone in the springfor some more sniffing fun!

Quinte Canine Student Titles
Mike & Dyna - SD-S-SP (Scent Detection Started Special Designation)
Mike & Dyna - SD-A-SP (Scent Detection Advanced Special Designation)
Diane & Skye - SD-S-SP (Scent Detection Started Special Designation)
Ben & Laurie - SD-S (Scent Detection Started)

Quinte Canine Student Extra Q's to add and Special Awards

Trial Day 1 - Started
Mike & Dyna - 1st Place Overall Started, 1st Place Interior, 1st Place Exterior
Diane & Skye - 2nd Place Overall, 2nd Place Interior, 2nd Place Exterior, Judge's Choice
Laurie & Ben - SD-S, 1st Place Containers
Laurie & Chaz - 3rd Place Interior, 3rd Place Exterior
Terri & Jazz - Started Containers (still in classes)
Brenda & Sam - Started Containers (still in classes)

Trial Day 1 - Advanced
Ulla & Arko - Advanced Containers, Advanced Interior, Advanced Exterior, 1st Place Working Containers, 3rd Place Working Exterior
Bonnie & Oliver - Advanced Interior, Advanced Exterior, 2nd Place Working Interior, 3nd Place Working Exterior
Katherine & Abby - Advanced Containers, Advanced Interior, Advanced Exterior, 2nd Place Working Containers
Colleen & Rhody - Advanced Containers
Kelsi & Roxy - Advanced Containers, 2nd Pl Amateur Contianers
Beth & Willow - Advanced Container, Advacned Interior, 1st Place Amateur Containers, 1st Place Amateur Interior
Stephanie & Kenzie - Advanced Working Exterior
Rose & Matilda - Advanced Containers, Advanced Interior, Advanced Exterior, 1st Place Overall Working, Judges Choice
Marylyn & Jessie - Advanced Containers, Advanced Interior, Advanced Exterior, 2nd Place Overall Working
Laurie & Ben - Advanced Exterior, 1st Place Amateur Exterior

Trial Day 2 - Advanced
Yvonne & Thunder - Advanced Containers, Advanced Interior, Advanced Exterior - perfect score of 200/200, 1st Place Working Container, 1st Place Overall Working, High in Trial
Mike & Dyna - 2nd Place Overall Advanced Amateur, 1st Place Amateur Container, 1st Place Amateur Interior
Laurie & Ben - Advanced Exterior, 1 Place Amateur Exterior
Stephanie & Kenzie - Advanced Container, Advanced Exterior, 3rd Place Working Containers
Katherine & Abby - Advanced Containers, Advanced Interior, Advanced Exterior, 1st Place Working Interior

Trial Day 2 - Excellent
Ulla & Arko - Excellent Container, 1st Place Excellent Container Amatuer, Judge's Choice
Bonnie & Oliver - Excellent Container, 3rd Pl Amateur Container
Marylyn & Jessie - Excellent Container, 2nd Place Working Container
Colleen & Rhody - Excellent Container, 1st Place Working Containers

These amazing Super Sniffers should be very proud of their humans! Way to go teams!

Quinte Canine's fall Scent Detection trial was not only filled with success but some great hardware and titles! Along with the amazing Quinte Canine students (aka the Super Sniffers), we have many great other moments to share. To start with we want to congratulate Saturday's High in Trial, Sue & Marshall of Mono and Sunday's High in Trial, Thunder with a perfect 200 out of 200 score (Yvonne handled this dream-of-a-dog). We also celebrated Mark with Logan from Ottawa's SD-CH (Champion), Diane and Milo from Amaranth's SD-MACH (Master Champion) and Sandra and Miller from Mirabel, QC. 's SD-MACH and John with Cutter of TAMSU's SD-MACH!! Thank you again to everyone who made the weekend a success including our judges, Doug Teeft of Nova Scotia and Paul Dyer of Ontario, our volunteers, students, competitors and donors!

Quinte Canine Super Sniffers also attended the DareDali Scent Trial in Kingston on September 29th! A beautiful day was met with smiling faces and fun!

Quinte Canine Student Titles

Kaylee & Tina - SD-A-SP (Scent Detection Advanced Special Designation)
Ben & Laurie - (Scent Detection Advanced Special Designation)
Roxy & Kelsi - (Scent Detection Advanced Special Designation)

Quinte Canine Student Extra Q's to add and Special Awards

Kaylee & Tina - Highest Advanced Exterior, Highest Overall Advanced Amateur
Abby & Katherine - another Advanced (all three) toward higher titles
Kenzie & Stephanie - Advanced Container & Advanced Exterior
Rhody & Colleen - Advanced Container & Advanced Interior
Matilda & Rose - Excellent Container and Excellent Exterior
Oliver & Bonnie - Excellent Exterior