The Monthly Newsletter of the Capital Dog Training Club, Inc.

Obichaff June, 2009

Volume 65 Issue 5

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Is It A Bo Dog? No It’s A Portuguese Water Dog

Benita Bottom

Since the President and his family announced the introduction of Bo the Portuguese Water Dog (PWD) to their household, the breed that was almost extinct in the 1970’s is receiving much fanfare. Like all owners devoted to their breed, PWD owners and breeders want to emphasize the importance of responsible dog ownership and make sure those seeking a PWD puppy understand the time and attention their new canine family member will require. The Portuguese Water Dog Club of America (www.pwdca.org) has released a statement on responsible dog ownership and breeding. The PWDCA is an excellent resource to find in-formation on the breed and information on breeders who have performed the recommended health tests (Cardio, CERF, Optigen, Hip, GM1) and are registered with the PWDCA. The origin of this intelligent mid-sized working dog is the coast of Portugal where they lived on working boats and were taught to herd fish into nets, to retrieve objects including broken nets, and to act as a courier from ship to ship or ship to shore. They are loyal to those that

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Obichaff is published monthly, except in January, for the benefit of members of Capital Dog Training Club. Members are encouraged to submit articles that would be of interest to other members. All submissions to Obichaff must have the author’s name. Previously published mate-rial must include permission from the publisher to use the material in Obichaff. The Editor has the right to edit for space, content and tone. If significant changes are made (i.e., more than just for clarity, punctuation, spelling, etc.), the editor will give the author an opportunity to review the edited article. Material published in Obichaff does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editor or of CDTC. Newsletters of other clubs may quote any part of this publication, provided proper credit is given and a copy sent to Capital Dog Training Club.

2009 Board of Directors President Spencer Harrill cdtcprez@gmail.com Vice President Paul Rosbolt paulrsbolt@aol.com Secretary Benita Bottom-Svitchan bbottomsvi@comcast.net Treasurer Dianne Harab dharab@yahoo.com Training Director Jennie Larkin tychocand@yahoo.com Assistant Training Director Abigail Carter abigailcarter@yahoo.com Training Secretary Patti Miller patti@patti-miller.com Trial Chair Burton Goldstein burton@bgcommunications.com Trophy Chair Jane Weisemann jane468@earthlink.net AKC Delegate Joyce Dandridge Justus6@attglobal.net Obichaff Editor Linda Lombardi ObiEditor@gmail.com Members at Large Shirley Harry robodobe@msn.com Shellie Goldstein Shellie.a@verizon.net Doris Koskos koskosd@verizon.net

from the editor….. Linda Lombardi

Your Editor submits this issue for your con-sideration with some trepidation. Everything that I have written in the last few months that touched even vaguely on the subject of the First Puppy has been subject to some kind of a curse. Stories cancelled at the last minute, errors needing public correction, editors writ-ing in to complain, extended email argu-ments… It’s been enough to make me want to hang up my keyboard, if I could only think of yet another career change to undertake. Yet, I forge on, unable to think of a way to refuse a request to write a column about new puppies that makes explicit reference to the puppy in question, and printing an article about Portuguese Water Dogs in the issue you hold in your hands. Wish me luck, but if later on you see me sticking pins into a voodoo doll of a PWD, please, fans of the breed, don’t take it person-ally! It’s just that Bo who’s got it in for me!

You can help this pug get a cookie…. Or you can turn the page

Every time you submit a contribution to Obichaff, this pug gets a cookie. Look at those sad eyes. Won’t you help?

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look after them and are alert guards with a propen-sity to bark and alert owners of visitors and the un-usual. Their heritage as retrievers also makes them very mouthy puppies. Most breeders are very cau-tious when placing a PWD puppy in a home with small children since puppies think small children are tug toys and should not be left unsupervised with very small children. Some claim the PWD is a hypoallergenic breed. While they have non-shedding qualities, no undercoat and a profuse curly or wavy coat they do re-quire hours of brushing and grooming. You will find them in retriever and lion clips with coat col-ors of solid black or brown; as well as, black or brown parti-coat or Irish with white markings. As an energetic, working and intelligent breed these are not apartment dogs unless you take them on frequent walks and activities. They like to run, play and swim. They excel in obedience, rally, agil-ity and tracking. Crating is recommended for training puppies, but not for extended periods of time. So owners who work and have puppies must make arrangements for someone to walk and play with their dogs during the day while they are away. When breeders get calls that a PWD needs to be re-turned and re-homed most often the cause is lack of time and attention to properly integrate the dog into the household. They will become deconstructionist if they are left to amuse themselves. This breed is contagious and their devoted owners come in all shapes and sizes. Successful PWD owners integrate their loyal companion(s) into their daily lives with walks, runs, companion and perform-ance events, swimming, boating, sailing and just hanging out.

Devoted CDTC PWD owners include Pam Marshall, Shirley Blakely and me. Pam is a PWD Water Judge and has the most ex-perience with the breed. We all feel Obedience training is a requi-site for this breed and the foundation for all companion and per-formance work. Please contact us if you have questions about the PWD like why do some have that funny hair cut, health testing, coat maintenance and what this jolly dog with the happy tail is really like to live with.

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Announcements Pepper Guzman’s new email address: perfectpooches@comcast.net CDTC Awards Dinner On Tuesday, July 14, CDTC will hold its annual Awards Dinner. This is the same night as our monthly general membership meeting. The dinner is open to all members, family and friends (No dogs). 6:30-7:00 - Social gathering 7:00 - Dinner 8:00 - presentation of awards and instructor gifts. Food will be provided. Cost is not yet determined. I will put up fliers and send out an email notice with cost and more details as soon as they are available. Jane Weisemann Trophy chair Summer Obedience Run Thrus We will be holding obedience run thrus on Sunday, June 7, July 5, and August 2. The format will be the same as the winter run thrus. Doors open at 7:45 am Utility and Open registration 8:00 to 9:00 am Judging starts at 8:30 am Novice registration 11:30 am to 12:30 pm Novice judging starts in first available ring after 11:30 Fees: $7.00 per dog; $5.00 each additional entry for the same dog. Preregistration fees: $6.00/$4.00 Second runs as time permits after all first runs in a class are done. We need volunteers to run these events. A sign up sheet is on the bulletin board at the club. Volunteers get a free run. No experience is needed for most jobs. It's a great way to learn more about competitive obedience and to observe other trainers. Jane Weisemann Run Thru Coordinator

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Notice The Editor is trying to compile a list of people who do various jobs for the club, at the suggestion of Joan Adler. If you’re in charge of anything that it would be useful for other members to know about, please contact me at obieditor@gmail.com and I will add you to the following list. Thanks! Club Historian: Joan Adler Webmaster: Deb Jackson Key system manager: Shirley Harry Keeper of the Hard (Non-electronic) Building Key: Donna Cleverdon Keeper of the Yahoo mailing lists: Shannon Hall CGC/TDI test coordinator: Shannon Hall Online membership roster: send updates to MarciaBresson@verizon.net New member applications: Marian Hardy Training Secretary Patti Miller handles registration for lower- level classes Training Director Jennie Larkin handles class scheduling and registration for upper-level classes Ordering Collars, Gentle Leaders, and Puppy Kindergarten Books: Alice Hathaway Maker of Leashes: Jerusha Gurwin Montgomery County Fair demo organizer: Sandi Atkinson Volunteer points coordinator: Doris Koskos

BRAGS Dom and Charlie Arthur owned by Rich Moody and Christina Hume recently earned new titles: Dom, handled by Rich Moody, earned both his RAE2 and UKC U-ACH titles. U-ACH, U-CD, Ch. Winfree's Dom Perignon CD, RAE2, WD, NA, NAP, NAJ, NJP, NAC, CGC. Charlie Arthur, handled by Chris Hume earned his Utility dog (UD) title. Many thanks to friends Shirley Harry & Marcia Bresson for guidance and encouragement. U-AG2, U-CDX Ivywood What's the Commotion? UD, RAE3, WD, AX, NAP, AXJ, NJP, NAC, NJC, FDCh., CGC

Announcements continued…. I am the one who plans & coordinates Capital's annual demo of dog sports at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair in Gaithersburg, Maryland. We started our "show" in 1993, so this year will be our 17th! As usual, I am looking for club members who want to be a part of the demo to show off what they and their dogs have accomplished in obedience, rally, and agility training at Capital DTC. The date is Saturday, August 22, 2009. Sandi Atkinson

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Gwyn Jones I have been involved in the dog world, off and on, since about 1973. I started training dogs as a teenager, when I joined a local dog 4-H club and got my first puppy, an Irish Setter. We worked in conformation, Junior Showmanship and obedience. In my early thirties, I helped handle German Wirehaired Pointers and PBGVs in the show ring. When my husband and I got our first puppy, Jake, a Gordon Setter, I thought I would work with him in obedience and perhaps the field, but the day job and other commitments got in the way. As a result, we had one of the best trained dogs in our neighborhood, but he was not a competition dog. We lost Jake to old age in 2004. In 2006, Pete, our terrific Golden Retriever pup (my husband has always wanted a Golden) came into our lives. Pete and I have been “in school” together since Puppy Kindergarten, and I look forward to years of working and playing to-gether. I would like to see how far we can go in obedience—possibly a UD. We have dabbled in field work, which he really seems to like, so a Junior Hunter would be my goal. I would also like to train in agility—I love the athleticism and teamwork, and it looks like the dogs and handlers have a lot of fun. My hobbies include backpacking/hiking, music, running and cy-cling.

New Members

Melitta Carter I started training at CDTC with my standard poodle Cino (Capuccino Macchiato Rosato) in January 2008. This was my first experience of se-rious dog training, following a year of fostering greyhounds. After com-pleting Suzanne Miller’s Basic class, I spent quite a few months in Joan Adler’s sub-novice class and then Brook Holt’s Novice class before Cino got his CD in October last year, followed by his RN title this April. We are now working on Open skills. I have so enjoyed meeting new people and learning dog-training skills that I have now started training my daughter’s year-old shih-tzu, Ella (Ella Fitzgeorgie). She is so laid back she tends to go to sleep in class, but I am persevering! Outside dog-training I spend much of my time volunteering with envi-ronmental organizations, trying to garden organically and with native plants, oh, and spending time with my family, too.

New member profiles compiled by Lois Kietur

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Bernice Rose I started my dog training 35 years ago with unregistered poodles, attained “dog club” CDs on them and showed them briefly in conformation. I began training my lab, Hunter, in obedience four years ago, and we are now ready to start going to trials. Since Hunter is now 7 ½ years old and had an ACL operation four years ago, I will start with fun matches and go from there. I also recently adopted a 7 year old lab/chow mix, Charlotte, and would like to train her to the beginner’s level in obedience. For the past three years I have been volunteering every other Saturday at the Canine Fit-ness Center in Crownsville. I originally started going there to rehabilitate Hunter through swim-ming. Through Cleverdog (Donna) I learned about CDTC, which I had not realized was practically in my back yard! I’m presently working as the director of membership services for The American College of OB-GYNs, and enjoy reading and going for walks in my spare time.

New Members

AKC Obedience Regulations Numbers Game By Sandi Atkinson Test yourself on your knowledge of the AKC obedience regulations. To what do these numbers refer? (It's OK to refer to the Regulations booklet if you don't know the answers right off the bat.)

60 days 6 months ½ to 2½ 3 or more 170 200 1 minute 3 minutes 5 minutes 15 minutes 30 minutes 45 minutes 12 noon 2” 2” wide, 8” long 4”

6” 8” 16” to 24” 28” to 44” 36” 48” to 72” 2’ 3’ 4’ 5’ 6’ 8’ 10’ to 12’ 10’ 18’ to 20’ 20’ 30’ x 40’ 35’ x 50’ 40’ x 50’

I, II, III, IV, V, VI 3 10 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th 7 dogs/hour 8 dogs/hour 9 dogs/hour 50 percent

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Some messages about why YOU should volunteer to assistant teach a class at Capitol The Value of an Assistant I know how to teach a basic class; I've been doing it for a long time now. BUT contrary to popular opinion, I do not have eyes in the back of my head! I don't know that the friendly little mutt with the inexperienced handler is making eyes at the somewhat re-active young GSD and is about to get snapped at, because it is happening behind me. I don't know that the reason the toy poodle is dancing around on her hind legs is because her person is waving the food way up in the air above her head; I didn't have the time to figure this out because I am busy explaining to the class as a whole how to train "sit". I don't have time to baby-sit the handler with the overly protective young rottie because I have 9 other students to teach. That is what an assistant is valuable for! Can you keep an eye out for potential dog-on-dog issues and remind a handler to keep the leash short and their dog's eyes on them? Can you show a beginning trainer how to lure a down? Can you share your own story of struggling with a wild young dog to calm a frustrated handler? Assisting is fun! All the good feel-ing of helping others learn to train their dogs with none of the aggravation of lesson plans or the nerves of center stage. Assist a class and you will feel good about it. Shannon And from the editor… some reasons why you should volunteer to assist at puppy kindergarten You may think you don’t know enough, but you’ll see how much you know, when you see how bewildered most of the students are. So don’t worry about whether you’re up to it. You’re embarrassed sometimes when your own dog’s not quite under control… you will laugh about what you thought counted as ‘not under control.’ You’ll learn new stuff about how to teach and how to train, because every teacher teaches differently. Even (although of course this NEVER happens here!) if the teacher isn’t great, because then you learn something about how NOT to do it. You get to check out a bunch of dog breeds that you might not otherwise know much about. (Which may mostly remind you what a brilliant choice of breed you made - what were some of these people thinking?) It really does feel good to help the students, who are usually so overwhelmed, and often the solution is so simple. You get a chance to make life better for a dog and a human. I am not the big-hearted type who likes to help people, but still, somehow this works for me. Finally, PUPPIES! You get to hang out with puppies without the huge bother of actually having one.

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Book Review by Donna Cleverdon The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski A friend recently handed me this book and said “Best read I’ve had in years.” The book is about a family that breeds and trains dogs. The only child of that family is Edgar, a 10 year old who was born mute. Edgar, our eponymous hero, can read, hear, and is otherwise quite normal save his lack of speech. His parents, Gar and Trudy, also seem quite normal. They are loving and close, and function as each other’s best friends, along with Edgar’s special dog, Almondine. They live in rural Wisconsin on a farm, and run a breeding kennel. The dogs from this kennel are unique. They are a breed referred to as “Sawtelle” dogs, because the originator or their kind was Edgar’s grandfather. He chose his breeding stock not by breed or pedi-gree, but by phenotypic qualities he admired: smarts, curiosity, guarding aptitude, faithfulness, etc. Much of the action centers on the family business which is breeding, training and selling the dogs. The dogs are raised from pups to young adults, trained thoroughly to basic and some more advanced commands and sold to people all over the country. Because of the training, they are able to ask quite a considerable sum for each dog. Everything is fine until Edgar’s paternal uncle, Claude, arrives at the homestead, fresh from prison. His crime is un-named. Tensions build between Gar and his brother until the sudden death of Gar. Edgar doesn’t trust Claude’s motives, all the while he watches Trudy find solace from her grief with her brother-in- law. Edgar takes to the road with three pups that he has been charged with raising and training. The boy and the dogs have adventures and eventually, Edgar realized he must return home. The homecoming precipitates a devastating conclusion, that reveals, if not the motive for a crime, at least the method, and in attempting a vengeful redemption, Edgar brings down not only the object of his hatred, but himself and others. I did enjoy reading this book, but I still have quibbles about it, and I cannot call it the best read I’ve had in years. It is well written. The characters are vivid and well developed, but I was not satisfied with what nebulous information we received regarding Claude. We never find out Why, only how. Perhaps we should be satisfied with the Shakespearian nature of it all and not reach for psychological explanations. A villain is just a plot device and all. Sorry, not for me – I gotta know WHY! Ulti-mately, is feel it is a shame to punish the reader with a tragic ending that provides little catharsis. I felt particularly annoyed that the author leaves Trudy completely bereft for no reason. She looses eve-rything through no flaw or fault, only cruel fate. All that aside, it is an interesting discussion of vari-ous notions/ideals/theories of dog breeding, and at times very thought provoking.

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Class Schedules

Time Class Instructor Ring MONDAY 10-11:30 a.m. Freestyle TG Ely 2-3 6-7:15 Open LaDieu 2-3 6-7:00 Rally, 6/29-8/17 Daniel 1 7:15-8:05 SN Adler/Dwyer 1 8:15-9:15 Utility Adler 1-2 8:15-9:15 Novice Golec 3 8:30-9:20 AB, 5/11-6/29 Hall TUESDAY 6-6:50 AB, 6/30-8/18 Crawford 7-7:50 Basic, 5/19-7/7 Harringer 7-8 Novice Merchant 1 2nd Tues. 8-10 Club Meeting S. Harrill entire bldg WEDNESDAY 12-2:30 Ob. Skills TG Spodak 1-2 5:30-6:30 SN Larkin 6:30-7:20 Basic, 5/27-7/15 Atkinson 8-9 Agility (Intro) Carter 1-2-3 THURSDAY 9:30-10:30a.m. SN Adler 1-2 9:30-10:30a.m. Novice Holt 3 11:30-12:20 Basic, 5/28-7/16 Goldstein 6-7 Novice Gurvin 1-2 6:30-8 Utility (no UD dogs) Harry 1-2 8-9 SN Dornak 3 8-9 Open Harry 1-2 9-10 Open Nappier 2 FRIDAY 10:15a.m-12:30 Freestyle Ely/ Kirschenman1-2-3 1-4 (approx.) Building CleaningS. Harrill entire bldg 7-8:30 CCI* Hathaway 3 *Canine Companions for Independence – training dogs to assist people with disabilities SATURDAY* 7:30-8:20 PK, 4/18-6/13 Melchior 10-10:50 PK, 6/30-7/18 Zarnowski 1:00-1:50 Conform, 5/2-6/22 Sutton 2-3 6:30-7:30 Beg. Flyball Lindberg 1-2-3 7:30-8:30 Flyball team practice Dwyer 1-2-3 SUNDAY* 8:30-10 a.m. Freestyle Guzman 1-2-3 2-5 Building rented; no members may enter 4-5 Agility (Intro 2) Carter 1-2-3 5:15-6:15 Agility (Competition) Pearson 1-2-3 6:30-7:30 Agility (Beginner) Maloney 1-2-3 7:45-8:45 Agility (Handling) Laurent 1-2-3 *See Building/Event calendar for other scheduled events!

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Class Schedules

Day Dates Time Instructor

PUPPY KINDERGARTEN Sat. 4/18-6/13 7:30-8:20 Melchior Sat. 5/30-7/1 10-10:50 Zarnowski

BASIC Tues. 5/19-7/7 7-7:50 Harringer Wed. 5/27-7/15 6:30-7:20 Atkinson Thurs. 5/28-7/16 11:30-12:20 Goldstein

AB Mon. 5/11-6/29 8:30-9:20 Hall Tues. 6/30-8/18 6-6:50 Crawford

SUBNOVICE Mon. C 7:15-8:15 Adler/Dwyer Wed. C 5:30-6:30 Larkin Thurs. C 9:30-10:30a.m. Adler Thurs. C 8-9 Dornak

NOVICE Mon. C 8:15-9:15 Golec Tues. C 7-8 Merchant Thurs. C 9:30-10:30a.m. Holt Thurs. C 6-7 Gurvin

OPEN Mon. C 6-7:15 LaDieu Thurs. C 8-9 Harry Thurs. C 9-10 Nappier

Day Dates Time Instructor

UTILITY Mon. C 8:15-9:15 Adler Thurs. C 6:30-8 Harry RALLY Mon. 6/29-8/17 6-7:00 Daniel

CONFORMATION Sat. 5/2-6/22 1-1:50 Sutton

AGILITY Wed. 5/6-6/24 8-9 (Intro) Maloney/Carter Sun. 5/3-6/28 4-5 (Intro 2) Carter Sun. 5/3-6/28 5:15-6:15 (Comp.) Pearson Sun. 5/3-6/28 6:30-7:30 (Beg.) Maloney Sun 5/3-6/28 7:45-8:45 (Handling) Laurent

FREESTYLE Fri. C 10:15a-12:30p Ely/Kirschenman Sun. 8:30-10:00 a Guzman

TRAINING GROUPS Mon. C 10-11:30 Ely Wed. C 12-2:30 (Ob. Skills) Spodak

FLYBALL Sat. C 6:30-8:30 Lindberg/Dwyer

OUTSIDE GROUPS Fri. C 7-8:30 CCI, Hathaway

BUILDING CLEANING Fri. C 1-4 approx. S. Harrill

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Obichaff The Monthly Newsletter of Capital Dog Training Club of Washington, D.C., Inc.

Linda Lombardi Editor 2758 Garfield Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20910-1813

Clubhouse phone: (301) 589-2583 Information phone for the public (refers people to Capital’s website): (301) 587-K9K9 Obichaff email: ObiEditor@gmail.com Yahoo! group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cdtc/ Clubhouse calendar: http://www.cdtc.org eCommerce site: http://www.CapitalDTC.blogspot.com Capital Dog Training Club (CDTC), a member club of the American Kennel Club, is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1938 to promote the sport of obedience training through classes offered to its members and the general public. We offer obedience classes from puppy kindergarten through competition obedience. We also offer classes in agility, canine freestyle, flyball, conformation, tracking and rally.

CDTC offers a variety of other activities for dogs and people, including matches, trials and seminars on dog-related topics.

Capital has a fully matted indoor, air-conditioned facility in Silver Spring, Md.

Originators of Brace and

Graduate Novice classes

Important Dates at Capital

June 9 GENERAL MEETING July 14 Awards dinner