July 2011 Newsletter - Big Sky Epagneul Breton Gun Dog Club

Big Sky Epagneul Breton Gun Dog Club
Newsletter
Newsletter Date
July 2011
July 2011
Inside this issue:
Tails from the Field
1
Member Profile
2
Ask Butch
3
Sable Testing for the
Epagneul Breton
4
Photo Gallery
5
Some Thoughts on Breeding
6
Message from Ken
Bruwelheide
7
Recipe
8
Consequences of Spaying or
Neutering Your Gun Dog
9
Officers for 2011-2012
President:
Kenneth Bruwelheide
Vice President:
Peter Ward
Treasurer:
Fred Overby
Secretary:
Sherry Niesar
Newsletter & Web Site:
Peter Wax & Sherry Niesar
Tails from the Field by Lynda Kieres
To me, one of the special joys of bird hunting is experiencing ―the pup’s first bird.‖ Of
course we start early-on introducing the pups
to birds. What I’m talking about is pup’s first
REAL bird.
This past fall Chris and I were able to put
together a trip to Medicine Lake, Montana.
In October our schedules finally coincided
and the truck was quickly packed with dogs,
guns and gear and happily we motored off.
Now you have to appreciate the vastness of
our glorious state of Montana when you realize just how long the drive is from the southwestern corner of the state – to the far
Lynda & Jette
northeastern corner. Chris commented,
―You know, if we drove this long going the OTHER direction we would have
crossed THREE states and we’d be in Oregon.‖ But that’s okay – it’s worth
it.
Our cadre of dogs included 3 Pudelpointers; ranging from veteran Strike to
newbie pup Boudica with Allure somewhere in-between. The rest of the gang
consisted of six Bretons; including experienced dogs like D’Art and Fonzie
and of course Destinée. But then there were the ―pups‖ Jette, Juno and Envie. Our modus operandi was to hunt 3 dogs together : one team in the
morning; rotating to a second team in the afternoon; followed by a couple
hours of duck hunting in the evening. This went on for a full seven days.
The first epiphany occurred for Juno as we hunted down a small draw. D’Art
started getting birdy and sure enough locked on to a nice solid point. The
bird, a sharptail grouse, flushed and Chris took the shot. It looked nice and
clean as the bird dropped hard into some heavy cover. He released
D’Art ,who unfortunately didn’t get a good mark on it because of the tall
cover and the search began.
Continued on Page 11
Page 2
July 2011
Member Profile: TopperLyn Kennels - Lynda Kieres and Christopher Kieres
Christopher and I decided that ―French Brittanys‖ were to be
our hunting dog of choice back in 1998. Our passion for the
breed quickly developed and we enjoyed a few successes early
on: GRCH TAN TopperLyn’s United Front (AKA ―Kooter‖)
proudly owned by Kurt Stepaniak; and GRCH TAN Benit
Trinite du TopperLyn – AKA ―Trin‖ or more affectionately
―Boo-Pup‖ – who still lives with us. ―Boo‖ is one of only a
handful of EB’s who have earned a BEST IN SHOW in a
multi-breed UKC show.
Our interest expanded to importing and we had the great fortune to connect with renowned breeder Georgine WeberDierick from Belgium. While we waited (3 years in fact) for the
perfect pup – Georgine offered us the opportunity to ―rehome‖ a male she had previously sold to a couple in Finland who were going through a divorce. This was none
other than ―Beau de l’Hospitalier.‖ When Georgine asked me if I knew anyone who might be interested in a 16
month old male who was the Belgian Junior Winner and had received numerous other show placements; was Hip
rated ―A‖ – Good; as well as started in his field training – my response of course was ―That would be ME!‖
That was the beginning of great things to come. Beau was crowned National Best of Breed in 2005 and although
he had a short Field Trial career – his prowess and style in the field lives on in his sons and daughter: 4X NBOB
2X GRCHF GRCH TopperLyn Gallant Bodacious; CHF CH TopperLyn Fontay Azure Bo; TR CH TopperLyn
D’Artagnan; and National Best Male/Regional BOB and Field Trial Reserve Winner in the 2010 National Wild
Bird Open Solo, TopperLyn Fonzie (taking Reserve to none other than his litter SISTER ―Azure‖) in the barrage.
That ―perfect pup‖ finally arrived in October of 2004 and Chris and I decided to celebrate and take advantage of
the opportunity to go to Belgium to pick her up. CH Destinée de l’Hospitalier proudly rode home with us – in the
middle seat – and stole the hearts of everyone on board. Besides earning her Champion title in the show
(including ―Reserve Best Novice Puppy in Show‖ in several Multi-breed UKC shows; Destinée earned a
NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize III. However her real claim to
fame is - she still reigns as the ONLY Epagneul Breton in the
United States to successfully pass both the VJP (Spring Test) and
HZP (Fall test) under the strict requirements of the German
JGHV testing system. Her retrieve of drag track of a rabbit is still
legendary as the judges commented (after she had successfully
tracked and retrieved her 3# rabbit over a ¼ mile) ―Why did the
LITTLEST dog have the BIGGEST rabbit?‖
Our ―family‖ of EB’s has recently grown by a couple of newbies
– German import Fanny von der Falkenhof and domestically
bred Smith’s Falken à TopperLyn [AKA Hawk]. Hawk has already passed his TAN (at six months of age) and Fanny shows
tremendous potential as well. She’s one of the most athletic dogs
I think I’ve ever had the pleasure to own. Look for these two in
the near future.
July 2011
Page 3
Ask Butch
Our question this month comes from our friend from Georgia. Wallace has a robust but slightly unmanageable
Frenchy named Dakota. As Dakota's namesake implies, his name might mean "Wild Man" as most of my friends
from this region fits this bill. With that piece of trivia behind (where it belongs) Wallace asks:
"How can he stop his dog from jumping up and tearing his arms up?"
Wallace states that he has used the kneeing technique and busting his chops. I have trouble with the latter as my
mental image refuses to go past "pork" chops. Neither has worked for him so we're going to try another
method. But first there is a simple formula as to why some one would wait so long to correct this bad behavior. You can all measure this yourself. Take a tape measure and check your inseam. Now measure your waistline.
(You can do this in a secluded place). Then subtract the larger from the smaller number. If you're a one of the
chosen the inseam is larger. If you're like me it's the opposite and normally the amount of inches after subtraction
is equivalent to number of years it takes to correct this bad boy. So since it was impossible for some of us to correct jumping up because of the "Bend-Over Factor" at the puppy age we must use a different strategy. My proven
method might seam harsh but it does work and has been tested. When a dog jumps up and is at the height of his
vertical, grad both front legs and with a swift motion pull him up and push him backwards. If done correctly, he
will land on his back with a "THUD". Do not use a command! Do not even show emotion. Remember, a fifty
pound dog suspended in air weighs nothing so there should be no strain on the giver. You might appear awkward
but I guarantee this method to work. It might take three applications but he or she will be cured. Timing is of the
essence. If the dog seams heavy you might have waited too long to flip him backwards. Wallace we sure don't
want your arms looking like you went to the tattoo parlor with the needler having a bad case of the D.T.s.
Note: Most of you who know me, know that this article was not poking fun at my good friend Wallace but is
a chapter in yours truly. As I have conquered my handicap I do believe you can too. Till the cows come home
and I don't have to squeeze any more
Butch
Put Butch’s many years of experience to work for you. Don’t be shy and if you want your name left off we can make the
questions anonymous. Send you questions by email or snail mail to:
Butch Nelson PO Box 858, Denton, MT 59430 or hyaliteknls@yahoo.com
Page 4
July 2011
Sable Testing for the Epagneul Breton
In 2010 the CEB-US passed a very limiting
resolution on the breeding, registration and
confirming of epagneul breton’s that express
the coat coloration and pattern of sable. In
summary the resolution states:
dog carries the sable gene, this is how the sable
pattern would be expressed. If the dog does
not have the sable gene, the dog would then
likely be a black-and-tan or liver-and-tan. Dogs
that do have the dominant black gene "Kb/Kb"
or "n/Kb" can still have these genes, but they
1. There should be no purposeful breeding of
will not be expressed.
dogs exhibiting sable coloration.
Additionally if you wanted to test for E-Locus
2. There should be no further formal UKC
that causes the orange color, or B-Locus, that
registration of Sable Dogs.
causes liver color these test have been developed as well.
3. Sable is addressed in the UKC Standards
4. Sable dogs will not be eligible for awards in The cost is surprisingly reasonable. One company I contacted “Animal Genetics, Inc.
UKC licensed shows or exhibitions.
1336 Timberlane Rd - Tallahassee, FL
5. Sable dogs are discouraged from competing
32312, Toll Free: 866-922-6436” will do all
for field trial titles or TANs.
this testing for an initial cost of $40 and $25
for each additional test. So if you wanted to
6. There shall be no official confirmation of
test for Ay and Kb it would be $65. When you
Sable Dogs by CEB-US.
consider in today’s dollars a dog will cost you
A test has been developed to identify the genetapproximately $10,000 over a life time in food,
ics responsible for the sable coat pattern. The
care and equipment this might be a buck or two
test can determine how many copies of the
well spent.
"AY" allele the dog has. The Ay allele is responsible for the expression of the sable coat color/
pattern in Epagneul Bretons.
There is also a second test that can determine
how many copies of the dominant black allele
―Kb‖ a dog has. Breeding two dogs that are "n/
Kb" would produce a litter of dogs with a 25%
chance of expressing the agouti gene. If the
Sable puppies
Picture from: Brittany Color Genetics by- G. Coats
http://www.wyngold-brittanys.com/Brittany%20Color%20Genetics(2).pdf
July 2011
Picture Gallery
If you have a picture you would like to share with the club, please email it to Sherry at sniesar@msn.com
Page 5
Page 6
July 2011
Some Thoughts on Breeding By Peter Wax
Cock and Hen Inbreeding:
First Generation Hen to Cock ½ hen ½ cock
Second Generation Hen to son Cock to daughter ¾ hen ¾ cock
Third Generation Hen to grandson Cock to granddaughter 7/8 hen 7/8 cock
Fourth Generation Hen to grandson Cock to granddaughter 15/16 hen 15/16 cock
In the 5th generation you breed the 15/16 hen to the 15/16 cock.
Then, choosing the best hen(s) and cock(s) you begin again!
(Narragansett, The Gamecock, 1985, pp. 44-45). C. A. Finsterbusch.
Some truths to remember when selecting sire and dame for inbreeding:
1. Inbreeding increases the predictability of traits (both good and bad).
2. A breeder must select individual that are lacking in hereditary faults or bring disaster.
3. Breeding a son to his dam gives rise to offspring three-fourths of whose bloodlines are
those of the dam. This form of inbreeding is practiced when it is desired to secure all that
is possible of the blood of the dam.
4. Breeding a sire to his daughter or daughters successively increases the blood of the sire.
This form of inbreeding is practiced when the sire’s bloodline is desired to be preserved
July 2011
Page 7
Some Thoughts on Breeding - continued
and intensified.
5. Breeding a brother and sister is inbreeding which does nothing to improve an existing line
but it will virtually ―Set Type‖.
6. Inbreeders that cannot recognize for selection superior dogs for breeding inbreed failure.
The three foundation rules for selecting gundog brood stock:
1. Select for performance,
2. Performance, and
3. Performance.
To select for treating a disease or undesirable trait you “must” out-cross:
A recessive hereditary trait or disease, like entropin eye, can only be expressed in a homogenous pool.
The ―ONLY WAY‖ to remove this trait from your breeding program is to: (1) out-cross to a
trait free sire or dam making your pool more heterogynous, and (2) select only trait free individuals for the second generation.
In the case of a dominate hereditary trait (like sable coat) the process might take two or three
generations of out breeding to trait free individuals, testing the off spring, and breeding
back only trait free individuals before the trait is not only not expressed but eliminated.
Message from Ken Bruwelheide
Over the past several months, I have enjoyed serving as the club
president. The real success comes as the result of having great
help. Thanks to Janis who is by my side and to Karen, Butch,
Glen and Ann for their help with the field trial. Since all of you
are reading this note in our club’s newsletter, I offer sincere
thanks to Sherry and Peter for their talent and hard work with the
publication. I appreciate their dedication and if you do also, feel
free to send them an email to tell them so
Page 8
July 2011
Sweet & Sour Baked Beans
by Marlys Paugh (Karen’s Mom)
Ingredients
8 bacon slices fried until crisp
4 large onions cut in rings (I use 2)
1/2 to 1 cup brown sugar (I use 1 cup)
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1—15 oz. cans dried lima beans, drained (butter beans)
1 1# can green lima , drained
1 1# can red kidney beans, drained
1 1# 11 oz can New England style baked beans
Place onions, sugar, mustard, garlic powder, salt & vinegar in pan. Cook 20
minutes, covered. Add onions to beans. Bake 1 hour.
If you have a recipe you would like to share with the membership. Please send it to Sherry at
sniesar@msn.com for inclusion in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.
July 2011
Page 9
Consequences of Spaying or Neutering Your Gundog
By Peter Wax
Contrary to what the your local pound, city animal warden, The Humane Society, PETA, or
your non-hunting veterinarian might tell you
there is probably never a time that neutering
your male gundog is in his best interest and
probably never a time when spaying your female
before eighteen (18) months of age is in hers,
and even then it is a trade off. This is particularly true of a gundog that needs ever ounce of
healthy development in order to reach their full
potential.
from the adult sex hormones to stop growing.
These dogs can often be identified as taller,
more slender, lighter boned, narrower in the
chest with elongated narrow skulls - Think Castrato.
OTHOPEDICS: The abnormalities result in
alterations in body shape and dimensions particularly in the lengths of the long bones in
comparison to others. Dr. Chris Zink writes:
―For example, if the femur has achieved its genetically determined normal length at 8 months
when a dog gets spayed or neutered, but the
It is actually amazing that these groups have
tibia, which normally stops growing at 12 to 14
convinced such a large portion of the population that with a flick of a knife a doctor can im- months of age continues to grow, then an abprove on 200 million years of evolution. As if normal angle may develop at the stifle. In addiin that time mother nature hasn’t already put in tion, with the extra growth, the lower leg below
the stifle likely becomes heavier (because it is
the finest engines, drive trains and additives
needed for peak performance and longevity as longer), and may cause increased stresses on the
cranial cruciate ligament.‖
well as removed all the extraneous equipment.
APPEARANCE: Canines neutered or spayed The mature sex hormones are required for
achieving peak bone density in an adult dog.
before puberty have orthopedic abnormalities
resulting from the body not receiving the signals The abnormalities in bone lengths and density
explain why spayed and neutered dogs have a
higher risk of cranial cruciate ligament ruptures
and hip dysplasia.
CANCER: Reduced risk of cancer is often
sighted as a reason for castration, but in reality
the opposite is true. Granted no testicles no testicular cancer, but it really isn’t a significant risk
in the first place at < 1%. However spaying or
neutering increases the risks of splenic hemangiosarcoma by 2.2%, and cardiac hemangiosarcoma by five-fold.
Continued on Page 10
Page 10
Newsletter Title
July 2011
Consequences of Spaying/Neutering Continued From Page 9
A sad fact is that dogs neutered before a year of
age have a significant increased risk of developing osteosarcoma bone cancer (what a great
gift). There is also a common belief that removing the testicles will prevent or reduce the
risk of prostrate cancer. Unfortunately the evidence says neutering actually quadruples the
risk.
On the plus side of spaying, mammary cancer in
female dogs increases with each heat cycle, so
spaying would significantly reduced this risk.
BEHAVIOR: Turns out that spaying and neutering does affect behavior. Studies show that
spayed and neutered dogs have higher rates of
abnormal sexual behaviors, but more importantly to the hunter a higher risk of noise phobias (think gun shyness) and eating disorders
leading to obesity.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion it is not in a
gundog’s best interest to have it ―fixed‖ prior to
eighteen (18) months of age and after that only
the female benefits with a reduction in mammary cancer risk and in the convenience of
stopping her heat cycle (Not a small consideration) however even with a female gundog waiting until she is eighteen (18) months allows her
to physically develop properly and allows you
time to assess her ability.
The American Kennel Club Canine Health
Foundation found that in general, spayed and
neutered dogs are at greater risk to develop abnormal behaviors. The most common abnormalities in females were fear related and in males
The argument that the world is exploding with
aggression.
unwanted dogs is not going to be addressed by
ADDITIONALLY: Spayed dogs have infixing your French Brittany. French Brittanies as
creased the risk of urinary incontinence, rea breed are not part of the problem. The broad
cessed vulva, vaginal dermatitis, doubles the risk sweeping policies of canine sterilization should
of urinary tumors, increases risk of obesity, and not be applied. Instead, each dog and every
increases in infections and adverse reactions to situation should be evaluated and a discrete devaccines.
cision made based on sound science.
Neutered males have increased risk of urethral
sphincter incontinence, double the risk of hypothyroidism, triple the risk of obesity, quadruple
the risk of prostrate cancer and general increases in infections, adverse reactions to vaccines, and increased risk of geriatric cognitive
impairment.
Principle references:
Chris Zink DVM, Ph.D., DAVP., 2005. Early Spay-Neuter Considerations for the Canine Athlete. http://www.caninesports.com/
SpayNeuter.html, and Laura J. Sanborn, M.S. May 14, 2007. LongTerm Health Risks and Benefits Associated with Spay/Neuter in
Dogs. http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/
LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf
Tails from the Field - Continued from page 1
―You’re kidding – right?‖ ―It had to have dropped RIGHT HERE!‖ How many times have you uttered similar
words of frustration? Sure enough – it was GONE. Chris called in Strike to join the search and Juno joined the
hunt, clearly not sure what all the fuss was about.
All of a sudden I saw Juno flip around and you could almost SEE ―the light come on.‖ I just stood back and
watched as he spelled out the track, doubled back, rechecked, and then moved it forward. This went on for maybe
five minutes. Then suddenly he froze – his eyes got big and POUNCE – there it was, he had the bird. I laughed
out loud as Juno proudly danced at my feet with the bird in his mouth.
The next occasion was with Jette, Allure and Fonzie. We had crossed the road to scope out an area where we had
seen a covey of sharptail take flight earlier. Our thinking was there might be some stragglers still left over there.
What we were NOT prepared for were the six pheasants that got up instead. In one of those classic ―shoot from
the hip‖ moments a rooster zoomed past me from behind – I swung and down he went. I called Jette over. Right
away he realized the scent was HOT. He quickly located the bird, but as often can happen with pups, he was startled by both the size of the bird and the fact that it was ―less than pleased‖ with the situation. As he started to
grab for it the bird flapped him hard in the face and he jumped back. This was just the opportunity the bird was
hoping for and off he dashed. Jette regained his composure and he took off after it – hot on its heels. I was able
to watch the whole thing play out as I could see the bird ducking and diving through the grass. Jette was able to
make up lost ground and THIS time there would be no escaping. Another occasion for much celebration as he
too danced a jig around me with a mouthful of Ringneck!
As I said, these are the special moments
you recall – years later – when ―Pup‖ is
now grey in the muzzle and you are lounging in front of the fireplace with a nice
glass of wine, ―Pup‖ stretched out at your
feet. ―Remember your first bird that time
up at Medicine Lake?‖ Wag wag. ―Yeah
boss – that was awesome. I sleep now!‖
The whole week was filled with so many of
these special moments that I could just
about fill a book as each dog had their moment in the sun and reminded us just how
much fun it is to hunt with a good bird
dog.
Juno
Please Pay Your Membership
As you know, membership is due at the beginning of each calendar year. You are an important component of the
Big Sky Epagneul Breton Gun Dog Club. Your dues go towards important programs in dog training education,
trials and social events for club members and their dogs. I hope you will choose to renew your membership.
Please return the membership form on the back page of the newsletter and return it to Fred Overby.
Send dues to:
Fred Overby
c/o Overby Law Office,
101 E. Main Street, Suite C
Bozeman, MT 59715
Big Sky Epagneul Breton Gun Club Membership Form
Name_________________________________________________ 2nd Family Member ______________________________
Address_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Telephone ___________________________________________ Email ___________________________________________
Membership Category
$20 Individual Membership _____
$30 Family Membership _____
Make Check out to: Big Sky Epagneul Breton Gun Club
Return form and Dues to: Fred Overby c/o Overby Law Office, 101 E. Main Street, Suite C, Bozeman, MT 59715
Send General Correspondence to: Kenneth Bruwelheide,1406 Robin Lane, Bozeman, MT 59715
www.ceb-us.org
The CEB-US has a new web site. The site has been updated, organized, and hopefully
more user friendly. Give it a look and tell us what you think.
Join CEB-US Facebook page. If you have a Facebook page, request to become a friend, its that easy. You can post your pictures, hunting stories or
just events that you share with your Epagneul Breton.