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NEWSLETTER – WINTER 2012 Welcome to your Winter 2012 newsletter. In an effort to keep costs to a minimum this is the first newsletter to be sent by email so we would love to have your feedback. For those members who don’t have email access they will of course receive a paper version and please contact Club Secretary Sue Hancock, secretary@slovakianroughhairedpointerclub.org.uk or call 01727841296, if this is your preference as well and we will post one out. We will be writing to all our members in the New Year to invite them to renew their membership. We value our members and appreciate that we need to represent value for money so subscriptions are being reduced to £7, single membership and £10, joint membership. The Committee has undergone a number of changes this year but those of us involved are committed to spreading the word about this wonderful breed, if you know of any fellow Slovak owners who aren’t members, please encourage them to join!

At the beginning of the year we had plenty of opportunities in the diary to promote the breed but unfortunately, as we all know, the weather had other ideas. The big shock was the cancellation of the CLA Game Fair at Belvoir Castle in July so all fingers are crossed for next year, 19-21st July at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire. The Club had a strong presence at Crufts, including an appearance by Ansona Dazzle on TV and most recently we have spent two days at Discover Dogs in Earls Court, London. A Fun Day was held in July jointly with the Weimaraner Association in memory of our late Treasurer, Mick Heap and the Club also ran another hugely successful Working test in August, please read on for further details.

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Thank You, Julie

Our long standing Secretary, Julie George-Ainscough stepped down this year and we would like to take the opportunity to thank her for all her hard work, energy and passion for the breed.

Sandra Rowbury and Stewart & Shelly Egerton have also decided to step down and they will all be missed.

The committee is currently made up of: Secretary - Sue Hancock

secretary@slovakianroughhairedpointerclub.org.uk 01727841296

Chairperson – Tania Dynowska

01376749849 Treasurer – Dee Fletcher

01273880741 Membership Secretary – Richard Hancock

memsec@slovakianroughhairedpointerclub.org.uk 01727841296

Working Secretary – Colin Fletcher

worksec@slovakianroughhairedpointerclub.org.uk 01273880741

Committee – Trisha Grime

01254264384 Committee – Caroline Wright

01993832976 Committee – Lissa Fynn And finally…we are delighted to welcome Colonel Kevin Bingham as our new Club President. The Club AGM is due to be held on Saturday 11th May 2013 and we currently have vacancies for the Committee. If you would like to get involved please let us know, meetings are held every few months in Hertfordshire and we would delightedly welcome anybody who wants to help us celebrate the breed and get stuck in!!

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Despite the weather causing a number of cancellations we have had another busy year where we have promoted the breed at many events and throughout the country - next year will be even busier and we already have special events planned.

FUN DAY This was held jointly with the Weimaraner Association in memory of Club Treasurer, Mick Heap who tragically died in January. The event was held on 29th July 2012 at the home of Gillian Burgoin near Grantham.

Visitors were invited to take part in different disciplines including agility, working and showing and could also take part in a Clay Pigeon shooting competition. Thank you to those that attended we hope you enjoyed your day.

MIDLAND GAME FAIR – Lissa Fynn

Midland Game Fair, Weston Park, Telford 15th and 16th September. Gunner (Stormdancer Swell) and Dash were representing the SRHP breed in the Gundog Pavilion. There was a wide variety of different Gundog breeds ranging from retrievers, all varieties of spaniel, HPRs and setters. Our aim was to promote the breed and inform the public about why we love our Slovaks, provide information on their hunting ability, temperaments and their suitability as companion/pets. Gunner and Dash behaved beautifully, they loved the atmosphere of the Game Fair, all the different sights and sounds and the attention they received in the Pavilion.

They then had to take part in the Gundog Parade, and walk nicely by our side (a.. real achievement for anyone who has a Slovak will know).

(contd.)

Slovaks On Show!

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After a full day on the stand (Gunner and Dash took turns, and were given breaks at 2 hourly intervals, ‘you can only look cute and behave nicely for so long, Mum!’). Then it was time for some retail therapy 'gundog style'. Gunner got a fabulous pheasant dummy from 'Sporting Saint' to help him get used to having feathers in his mouth and a new gun dog lead.

We then went around sampling the foods on offer, free food is heaven to a Slovak, and it was hard to get him away from the liver treats.

Gunner needed to work off some of those treats, so we headed down towards the Scurries. I felt pretty confident Gunner would do brilliantly on these, so I entered him for all 5! Big Mistake!!! Gunner decided he wanted to do all 5 at the same time, jumped all the dividing fences, stole a retrieve from a gorgeous Labrador, who was in line for the fastest time that day. Oh the embarrassment. But the stewards were quite understanding and suggested I should show him how to do it. Well it ended up with me jumping all the fences getting the retrieve, giving it to Gunner only for him to run off again and be caught by a kind member of the public. It was like something on 'Are You Being Framed'. The public loved it and gave him a round of applause, as I red-facedly told the steward 'we would be back on the Sunday', the look of dismay on his face was fabulous. We then headed back to base camp (Colin and Dee’s magnificent tent and trailer) for a fabulous and well deserved barbecue!

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DISCOVER DOGS – Richard Hancock

This was held on the 10th & 11th November at Earls Court One in London.

A huge thank you to Mike & Julia Kerby who brought Lukas and Mike and Karen Shepherd who came with Merlin on the Saturday to join me, Sue and our bitch, Ida.

On Sunday, Sue & I took Dab and Ida along and were joined by Tania Dynowska, her son, Scott and their Slovak bitch, Keeva. We were extremely busy on both days and have subsequently heard from the Kennel Club that the attendance was their highest ever at over 30,000 visitors!

The Kennel Club in their wisdom had decided to place the dogs alphabetically, we were between the Sloughi (an Arabian Greyhound) and Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier so a large part of the day was spent telling people what a gundog was, then what an HPR gun dog was before we could then get on to talk about a Slovak!

We had a brilliant couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed talking to people, not to mention the shopping!! If you love your Slovaks and could talk about them for hours then why not volunteer to man the stand with your Slovak for a show or Game Fair?

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Something to while away those long winter evenings, see how many of the things below have been tried by your Slovak………………..

1 Chase the neighbour’s cat up a tree, circle it and bark hysterically

2 Hike up Snowdon with my owner and reach the summit

3 Ride in the back of a pick-up with the wind in my ears

4 Having a ride on a boat

5 Be a product taster for a dog food company

6 Sample the Christmas Turkey first

7 Sleeping a lot and getting into my favourite ‘Doggie Yoga’ positions

8 Staying in a swanky dog friendly Hotel and sleeping ‘in’ the bed

9 Catch a burglar and lick him into submission

10 Chasing and barking at seagulls on the beach

11 Finding the biggest stick in the world and knocking my owner over,

12 Digging up a fox hole and pretending to be ‘deaf’ to owners frantic shouts

13 Walks in the woods and chasing anything that moves!!

14 Having my own Sofa or chair

15 Going camping and sleeping under the stars

16 Having a barbeque and checking the chicken is cooked properly

Slovak Bucket List

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17 Going to a Doggie event and sampling all the ‘organically’ sourced treats!

18 Having a go at Flyball

19 Being a ‘star’ in a dog food commercial

20 Sleeping in my owners freshly made bed

21 Playing ‘chase me’ games with all my doggy friends

22 Having my ears and head licked by my special ‘doggie’ pal

23 Jumping round an agility course

24 Giving Ceasar Milan some tips on training!

25 Chomping on a big Knuckle bone and burying it in the garden for later

26 Breaking into the fridge and raiding all the contents

27 Clanking the pots and pans in the middle of the night and waking the whole household

28 Being the first to greet visitors at the front door

29 Starting up a Neighbourhood watch from the living room window and barking loudly at anything or one who walks past

30 Blackberrying and Scrumping Apples

31 Go mad in the snow

32 Sleeping on a sheepskin rug in front of a real log fire

33 Eating all the treats off the Christmas tree

34 Being told I’m a ‘clever dog’ at least 10 times a day

35 Doing a ‘track’ and finding all the articles

36 Legs to lean on when I need some comfort

37 Face licks at spontaneous times

38 Running into waves in the sea

39 Disrupting a cricket match by running onto the pitch and stealing the ball

(contd.)

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40 Eat raw chicken wings everyday

41 Have a doggie Birthday Party and invite all my doggie friends

42 Have my own newspaper or magazine column

43 Rolling in fox poo or anything dead that really, really stinks!!

44 Win a fastest Sausage eater competition

45 Be a Hero by saving another animal or human

46 Learn something new every day

47 Have my own private woodland and lake

48 Be a therapy dog for a day

49 Swimming in the sea

50 Be loved every day for as long as I live

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SRHP Club Working Test This year's Working Test was again held at Riverswood on the beautiful Balcombe Estate in West Sussex on August 11th and was a huge success. Everyone attending enjoyed a fun, testing and rewarding day out with their dogs.

Whether an experienced handler or a novice or complete beginner, there was a class for everyone; and many participants enjoyed receiving advice and tuition from judges and experienced handlers.

Entries of Slovaks were down this year with only four taking part, fingers crossed we will have more entries next year, we would love to see you show the GSP’s just how good a Slovak can be!

Those that did take part were well received by the judges and attracted some favourable comments, special mention must go to Mark Dando with Luger (Brakabreeze Ludvig) who was awarded the shield for best Slovak on the day – well done Mark. Full results can be found on the Club website. The Club would like to take the opportunity of thanking Working Secretary Colin Fletcher, who together with his wife, Club treasurer, Dee organized a fantastic day. Thank you to all our judges and helpers, who travelled from far and wide, for their expertise and willingness to not just judge but to share their knowledge which was much appreciated. And finally to the Committee for all their hard work on the day.

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BRAKABREEZE LUDVIG aka Luger Born 25/03/11

Owners: Angela and Mark Dando Sire: DASKO Z MILHOSTOVSKYCH POLI Dam : DANGVORD DIDO at BRAKABREEZE As HPR owners we made the decision that a

SRHP was to be our next dog after reading an article on the breed .

As we wanted to work our new dog, we then

had to find a kennel/breeder who worked their dogs. We were recommended to contact Liza Brown at Brakabreeze, who’s bitch Slovak, Endi was in whelp.

Liza was very particular who she would let her

pups go to, and grilled us rigorously regarding our suitability to own one of her dogs. After a few phone conversations and visits to see her and the pups, we were very pleased to get the ok.

We particularly wanted a male and as there were only two in the litter (one docked and one not)

and because we were going to work him, we chose the docked one. We collected him at 9 weeks old and were warned that he was the vocal one in the litter.

He fitted in well at home with our 2 GWPs and we found him to be a very calm puppy.

Our First Slovak by Mark Dando

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Within two weeks he was attending puppy socialising classes, which we would recommend to any new owner.

At 6 months old we started Luger’s gundog training. He

showed a natural ability at this young age and was very quick to learn new things. He was attending classes every fortnight and then once a week. During the summer we started training Luger ourselves in the evening as well, for about 30 minutes at a time, any longer than that and he would lose interest. Luger attended a water training day with the WCGB and learnt to swim.

At 17 months old Luger was entered into puppy class at his

first working test run by the SRHP club. Since then he has been entered into two more working tests, and is now in novice class due to him being over 18 months old.

Quite frustratingly Luger hasn’t always performed as well in the working tests as he does whilst

training. This is probably due to the amount of distraction, but we feel the experience is an essential part of the learning process.

Luger’s training is continuing as he still has lots to learn. We find it

very satisfying to watch Luger as he learns new skills. You can see that he really loves working and is eager to please. Whether it be working, agility or any other activity that exercises the brain as well as the body, we feel that this breed needs to be stimulated. Luger is now competent enough to attend pheasant shoots as part of the beating line and it is great to watch him work as you can tell how much he loves it.

Luger is now 20 months old and is not the calm puppy he once was despite a five mile walk every day. He is still very vocal when bored or excited and can be a difficult teenager at times and in need of a lot of attention but he is a confident, outgoing dog who gets on well with other dogs, adults and children and is a pleasure to own keeping us amused with his zest for life.

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HPR Training Days were held on 8th and 9th November 2012 and four Slovaks were lucky enough to get a place on this intensive two days training with Andy Cullen from Loachin Gundogs based at Alnwick in Northumberland. The training sessions were held in Battle, East Sussex.

The Slovaks: Luger (Brakabreeze Ludwig) and handler Mark Dando. Luger is 19 months old and was awarded best Slovak at the SRHP Working Test, Balcombe 2012.

HPR Training Days by Lissa Fynn

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Tati and handler Rupert Caxton Tati had a difficult start as her litter was rescued by the RSPCA and this is her 3rd home. Rupert has only had her for 7 weeks and this was her first formal gundog training. She was absolutely phenomenal, picking things up so quickly.

Aoife (Rosetinted Arucana) and handler Nick Cattell. Aoife (for those whose Gaelic is a little rusty, it's pronounced ‘ee-fa’) and Nick took part in the Slovak GWT and their debut created ripples amongst the judges who declared her one of the most naturally gifted HPRs they had ever seen.

Gunner (Stormdancer Swell) and handler Lissa Fynn. Lissa is keen to fulfil Gunner’s working heritage and, as well as arranging the training, also attended some of Andy's courses in Northumberland. We're sure some of Gunner's innate ability helped persuade Andy to venture into the deep south of England. Over two days the handlers were shown by Andy how to successfully train their dogs to retrieve, both narks and blind, retrieves with shot, water retrieves, stop whistle, steadiness exercises and hunting into the wind.

The training was hugely interesting and highly enjoyable for both dogs and handlers. It was a joy to see the Slovaks showing what they are capable of and doing what they were bred for. We look forward to seeing these dogs winning some working tests in the future. Cracking dogs all of them!

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Handstripping This is just one option for keeping your Slovaks coat in tip-top condition - many of us just give them the occasional bath! Stripping or Hand stripping is the removal of ‘blown’ or ‘dead’ hair from the coat of a non-shedding dog by using the fingers or a stripping tool. A hard wiry coat has a cycle where it starts growing and then sheds when it has reached its maximum length. handstripping co-ordinates the shedding and makes room for new coat to grow. The pulling out of dead hair is not painful for the dog and will improve the overall appearance of the coat. You can hand strip the dog yourself, by just gently pulling out the dead hair or find a groomer that offers the ‘handstripping’ service. But the process is long and time consuming and many dog groomers do not offer the service. You may be advised to ‘clip’ the dog, but be aware that the use of clippers can damage the double coat as clipping will take it right back. It removes the longer coarse part of the coat and it may not grow back! A soft coated dog will be the result also the colour of the coat may be affected. Another benefit of ‘handstripping’ is that your Slovak will smell loads better as all the ‘dead’ hair is removed.

This is Classic Dreams Bald Eagle aka’ Wici’ who was hand stripped by his owner highlighting the expression, eyebrows and beard.

Health Matters

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Bloat The Slovak is a 'deep chested' breed and in common with other HPR's can be at risk of Bloat. Below is a guide to recognizing the symptoms to give your dog the best possible chance of recovery. Reducing the risk is the main way of preventing bloat but sadly it can occur any way particularly in an older dog. If you have any suspicions at all get your dog to the nearest vet as soon as possible and pre warn the vet that bloat might be the issue.

Risk factors are: Once-daily feeding Exercise after eating Consuming large quantities of food and/or water Being underweight Rapid eating Stress

On the next page you will find a chart that explains what to look for and the actions to take in a handy, full page, cut-out-and-keep format.

The Club is keen to know of any illness or ailments your SRHP may have had or is currently being treated for and would kindly ask that a health questionnaire is completed and forwarded to Dee Fletcher, Club health representative so that we can continue to monitor the health of the breed. All information given will be treated with the strictest confidence.

A form can be downloaded and printed from the Club website, under the health section.

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Mike Shepherd and Merlin entered a "Dog most like their owner" competition....They came 2nd!!

Merlin has been a very busy having taken his Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Award and passed the Gold!

It's not all in the field...

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Ire Sh Ch Achouffe Fantome C.D.Ex, aka "Purdey"

I am delighted to be able to say that Purdey has now gained her first Working Trials qualification, C.D.Ex, under I.K.C. Rules.

The initials stand for Companion Dog Excellent. It is the first of the 4 working trials stakes and the only one that there is no tracking involved. In Ireland a dog has to qualify on 2 occasions in each stake in order to be able to put the initials after their name. Just a brief explanation on what qualifying actually means....like 3 day eventing in the horsey world, there are 3 different section in working trials. There's Nose work, which is comprised of tracking and searching; Control which is comprised of heel work, send away, retrieve, gun test and a 10 minute down stay with the handler out of sight; Agility, which comprises a 6ft scale, 9ft long jump and a 3ft hurdle. A dog must qualify with at least 60% of the marks in each section and at least 80% overall to gain an Excellent qualification. This is what makes it so difficult, it's no good being brilliant in 2 sections if you don't have enough marks in the 3rd section!

The Control section is the one that we have been struggling with for a while now, in particular the Down Stay. Trying to persuade a Slovak with no hair on her undercarriage to lie down on cold wet ground and remain there for 10 minutes while her owner disappears out of sight, has understandably not been an easy task! But hopefully, we have turned the corner now and she has started to understand what is required. To add to her C.D.Ex, she got the first of her U.D. (Utility dog) qualifications last weekend. This she did in style, winning the stake and also wining the award for the best U.D. track. So hopefully it's onwards and upwards from now on!

Trialing Times by Anne Collen

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If there's anyone looking for a fun activity to do with their Slovak, they should try a bit of tracking. They have just so much natural ability and enjoy using their noses so much, it's a shame not to give them some kind of an outlet. Since Purdey has appeared on the trials scene here, she has impressed all with her scenting ability. Last year she won the annual award for the most consistent tracking dog of the year and I have just heard that she has won the same award for 2012. She was the only dog to complete every competition track, finding each and every article. This is quite an achievement! She has also won a second award this time, for the dog who has won the most Best Track prizes. So, to say that I am very proud of my little Miss Purdey would be an under statement indeed! We hope to come over to the UK to do a few trials and also compete in Agility next year, would be great to see a few more Slovaks having a go!

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We are already planning some events for next year and would love to see as many of you as possible:

Saturday 23rd March - Slovak Spring Walk, Ashdown Forest, Sussex We will be hosting an organised walk with games along the way for you and your Slovak to play! All Slovaks and their families are welcome, entry will be free for Club members and there will be a BBQ at the end of the walk. More details to be announced in the new year. Saturday 11th May - Club AGM To be held in Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire Saturday 15th June

- Slovak Summer Spectacular! Venue to be announced. A day of fun and games for all Slovaks and their families (both human and canine). Club members will benefit from reduced entry. Saturday 3rd August

- SRHP Club Working Test Our fifth Working test organised by our Working Secretary, Colin Fletcher and to be held again at Balcombe, West Sussex

and finally ... dates for your diary

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MMMEEERRRRRRYYY CCCHHHRRRIIISSSTTTMMMAAASSS TTTOOO AAALLLLLL OOOUUURRR MMMEEEMMMBBBEEERRRSSS!!!!!!

We would love to feature stories about your Slovaks and what they get up to.

Please send any Slovak features to Club Secretary, Sue Hancock at secretary@slovakianroughhairedpointerclub.org.uk and we will endeavour to feature them in the next newsletter!