BCGR Our committee member Debbie entered her little daughter AJ and her long-suffering Rottie in the Junior Fancy Dress. With their gorgeous Witch and Wizard outfits, they stole the contest! G oldfields held the Christmas Open Show on Sunday Nov 29th – and what a lovely day it was! The atmosphere was very festive with Christmas music being played in the background. I was there along with a few other ‘Boxer’ ladies... and the reason we attended the show was not just to indulge in the festive spirit (and it was a gorgeous day for the family, with fancy dress and fun events as well as the show classes) but all of us had young Boxers unused to the show ring. In my case, my newly acquired 14-month-old boy, Zeno, who I want to show in the new year, needs acclimatising to and training for the show ring. In the case of Monique and Sally, both seasoned Boxer breeders and exhibitors, their Boxer babies have just got to Puppy class age, and need a relatively unstressed environment to get used to all the noise, hubbub and strange behaviour of everybody (including their owners!) at a show. Brenda, new to the showing scene herself, also brought her 6-month old Boxer puppy along to get him used to things. It was a good opportunity for socialising the youngsters as well as practising their show training with them. A pup may stand beautifully when home alone, but has to learn to do the same when there are lots of distractions and other dogs around. After the main showing was over Lucy, Sally’s daughter, (now quite the expert handler, which is a huge bonus) helped us with the pups and managed to get them to look pretty good for the camera. Now if they can look like that in the ring.... If you have a youngster you think you might like to show, open shows are a great starting point. The heavy competition is absent... the whole “vibe” is more relaxed. The judges understand that they will have owners whose show “know-how” is a lot less than perfect, bringing their novice dogs into the ring. They will be much more tolerant of bouncy or shy behaviour on the part of the entrants (and here I am referring to the dogs rather than the humans, but hey, you never know) and will give a promising youngster a chance. A young dog finds itself in a confusing situation at a show, inundated by so many new sights, smells and other dogs of all ages and sexes – some friendly and some not so, surrounded by crowds of humans and general activity. It’s an awful lot for any dog to cope with. However, after a couple of shows, when they know Mum or Dad is never far away, most dogs start to really enjoy all the attention and it’s a real confidence booster for both canine and human... it’s all about “getting to know the ropes”. The Fancy Dress competitions were a huge hit, as you can see here – and we are seriously considering entering a Boxer team next year! – Chiz Judge (Ed.) Our ‘kids’ posing for the camera. Top left: Brenda’s Shaka, 6 mnths; bottom left: Sally’s Riley, 5 months (she was short- listed to the top 8 of 21 puppies, not a shabby start to her career); below center: my Zeno, 14 months – a complete novice, but learning; bottom right: Lucy with Sally’s Keston, 13 mnths, in the Junior ring, standing beautifully! (They were short listed in the top 3). We are missing Monique’s little Ditto, a real cutie – but we’ll see her photo in the next issue, by which time we might all know what we’re doing. The Three Wise Retrievers with their shepherds and below, the Adult winner: The Egyptian queen and her elegant greyhound retinue. 8
Transcript
B C G R
Our committee member Debbie entered her little daughter AJ and her long-suffering Rottie in the Junior Fancy Dress. With their gorgeous Witch and Wizard outfits, they stole the contest!
Goldfields held the Christmas Open Show on Sunday Nov 29th – and what a lovely day it was! The atmosphere was very festive with Christmas music being
played in the background.
I was there along with a few other ‘Boxer’ ladies... and the reason we attended the show was not just to indulge in the festive spirit (and it was a gorgeous day for the family, with fancy dress and fun events as well as the show classes) but all of us had young Boxers unused to the show ring. In my case, my newly acquired 14-month-old boy, Zeno, who I want to show in the new year, needs acclimatising to and training for the show ring. In the case of Monique and Sally, both seasoned Boxer breeders and exhibitors, their Boxer babies have just got to Puppy class age, and need a relatively unstressed environment to get used to all the noise, hubbub and strange behaviour of everybody (including their owners!) at a show. Brenda, new to the showing scene herself, also brought her 6-month old Boxer puppy along to get him used to things. It was a good opportunity for socialising the youngsters as well as practising their show training with them. A pup may stand beautifully when home alone, but has to learn to do the same when there are lots of distractions and other dogs around.
After the main showing was over Lucy, Sally’s daughter, (now quite the expert handler, which is a huge bonus) helped us with the pups and managed to get them to look pretty good for the camera. Now if they can look like that in the ring....
If you have a youngster you think you might like to show, open shows are a great starting point. The heavy competition is absent... the whole “vibe” is more relaxed. The judges understand that they will have owners whose show “know-how” is a lot less than perfect, bringing their novice dogs into the ring. They will be much more tolerant of bouncy or shy behaviour on the part of the entrants (and here I am referring to the dogs rather than the humans, but hey, you never know) and will give a promising youngster a chance.
A young dog finds itself in a confusing situation at a show, inundated by so many new sights, smells and other dogs of all ages and sexes – some friendly and some not so, surrounded by crowds of humans and general activity. It’s an awful lot for any dog to cope with. However, after a couple of shows, when they know Mum or Dad is never far away, most dogs start to really enjoy all the attention and it’s a real confidence booster for both canine and human... it’s all about “getting to know the ropes”.
The Fancy Dress competitions were a huge hit, as you can see here – and we are seriously considering entering a Boxer team next year! – Chiz Judge (Ed.)
Our ‘kids’ posing for the camera.Top left: Brenda’s Shaka, 6 mnths; bottom left: Sally’s Riley, 5 months (she was short-listed to the top 8 of 21 puppies, not a shabby start to her career); below center: my Zeno, 14 months – a complete novice, but learning; bottom right: Lucy with Sally’s Keston, 13 mnths, in the Junior ring, standing beautifully! (They were short listed in the top 3). We are missing Monique’s little Ditto, a real cutie – but we’ll see her photo in the next issue, by which time we might all know what we’re doing.
The Three Wise Retrievers with their shepherds and below, the Adult winner:The Egyptian queen and her elegant greyhound retinue.
8
Flame’s list of winnings for 2009 include:
• Best Puppy & RCC Bitch, Vereeniging & Districts• Best Puppy Working Group & RCC Bitch, Roodepoort & Districts• 3rd Puppy Working Group & RCC Bitch, Transvaal Midlands• 3rd Puppy Working Group, Witwatersrand Kennel Club• 3rd Puppy Working Group & CC Bitch, Pretoria Kennel Club• Best Puppy, Eastern Districts Kennel Club• 3rd Puppy Working Group & RCC Bitch, Natal Working &
Herding Breeds• Best Puppy & RCC Bitch, Highway Kennel Club• Best Puppy, Northern Tshwane Kennel Club• 4th Puppy Working Group & CC Bitch, Working & Herding Puppy of the Year Qualifier, Working & Herding Breeds Golden Reed• 1st Junior Bitch, CC Bitch & Res. Best of Breed, Durban & Districts• 1st Junior Bitch, CC Bitch & Res. Best of Breed, Pietermaritzburg• 1st Junior Bitch, CC Bitch, Goldfields Kennel Club• Best Junior, RCC Bitch, Res Best Junior Working Group, Sasolburg Kennel Club• 1st Junior Bitch, Res Junior on Show, Boxer Club Gold Reef Ch Show• 1st Junior Bitch, RCC Bitch, TKC • 1st Junior Bitch & Junior Dog of the Year 2009 qualifier, SA Ladies PLUS a whole lot of Open Show wins... and we’ll leave it here as we’ve run out of space!!! A fantastic first year of showing, Flame!
B C G R
9
I would like to thank Erna Faber the owner of Maroelani Kennels for such a beautiful little girl. I have never owned a Boxer before. One day I started helping Erna to show her Boxers. I enjoyed it so much that I said if I have enough money I would like to buy one. Then Erna came up to me and asked me if I would like to co-own Flame with her and I said yes. I have not enjoyed myself as much as I have with Flame, she is a real show girl. I have never seen a Boxer mix with other dogs like she has. Sometimes I think she thinks she is a Rottweiler x Australian Shepherd! Her best friend and ‘sister’ is a blue merle Australian Shepherd. Her so called ‘Dad’ is a Rottweiler male who is nearly 11 years old.
I recall the day when she was about 5 months old; we were at a show and we put all the puppies in a play pen. There were three Australian shepherds and Flame and when Erna put two of her Boxer sisters in, she looked at them as if to say, “Who are you guys? Stay away from me and my sister and brother!” Then she sat in front of her Aussie friends and just looked at the other Boxers. To this day she is not too keen on other Boxers, even when we have a get together with her sister Ocean.
She plays so much with the other dogs. At the moment she is staying with my 3-year-old Rottweiler male and I don’t know who is naughtier.
Flame is an exceptional Boxer. She loves people, especially children. She has done more than I ever expected of her, gaining most of her CC and Group wins under overseas judges. She stays with my mother, Anita Bodenstein and when she starts playing up my mother will always say to her “Flame, I don’t like Boxers!” Flame stops what she is doing and is as good as gold after that. Mom loves her really. She is a dog in a million and I can’t wait to get a male.
I would just like to say thank you so much Erna for such a lovely girl and the Boxer Club Gold Reef for awarding Flame “Boxer Puppy of the Year 2009”.
Debbie Erasmus
Congratulations toMaroelani Olympic Flame
Ch. Thasrite Red Bull x Ch Maroelani Vanilla Ice
Puppy ofthe Year
B C G R
10
Above & left: Sally’s Chiswick ‘J’ litter; Just a Rumour, Jacinth and Jazz Time – (Issy x Dinca)
Erna’s Maroelani ‘T’ litter, below
11
B C G R
– better known to us as “Dinky”.
What a privilege it has been to own this bitch; she was always a wonderful showgirl and she proved that when she came out of retirement two years ago to show at the SA Ladies Championship show. Not only did she win the Breed Veterans class, but she also took an RCC, the Group Veterans and then took third in the June Pretorius Challenge under Milo de Alcrudo, from Spain.
She walked into the ring and said “Hello! I’m back!” and then proceeded to run around it with her handler Martinique, as if she owned it.
Martinique handled Dinky from when she was just six months of age, and together they achieved an incredible record. Dinky was the first bitch to win four Championships in a row of the then Transvaal Boxer Club (now Boxer Club Gold Reef), all under overseas judges. The first win was at only ten and a half months of age. That following year she also won the first Northern Free State Boxer Club Show in the September, so in all she won a total of five Best in Shows at specialist clubs.
A tribute to“Dinky”
Right up until August, when Dinky passed over, she still loved to go in the car for a drive. She would always sit in the front seat with her seat belt on and would have everyone staring at her, while she remained oblivious to them and looked straight ahead as if to say “Peasants!!! What do they know? Of course you need a seat belt on in the car!!”
Her brother Zorro never achieved as much as he should have, but he remained her faithful companion to the end. They still had their odd spats though, when she would not let him into their sleeping area and then he would call to us. She would listen to us when we told her to let him in!
Her movement in the ring was sublime and all who knew her loved her attitude. Fortunately, we were able to
breed a superb male, “Dinca” from Dinky and an imported male “Inca”, so we still have him to remember her by and to keep her bloodline going. She was truly a wonderful animal and we all, including Zorro, miss her very much.
When we returned from holiday last August to find that Dinky had died, I was devastated – no-one can have any idea how much I miss her. I will love her until the end of time.
by May OosthuizenChé-Jane Boxers
Martinique and Dinky in action!
Dinky – portrait above and with her best friend, brother Zorro, below.
B C G R
12
A Boxer Christmas song – (so it’s meant for cold weather, but it’s still pretty good).
MARKING UP MY WINTER WONDERLAND(to be sung to the tune of
“Winter Wonderland”)
Dog tags ring, are you listenin’?In the lane, snow is glistenin’.
It’s yellow, NOT white,I’ve been there tonight,
Marking up my winter wonderland.
Smell that tree? That’s my fragrance.It’s a sign for wand’ring vagrants;
“Avoid where I pee,It’s MY pro-per-ty!
Marked up as my winter wonderland.”
In the meadow Dad will build a snowman,Following the classical design.
Then I’ll lift my leg and let it go man,So all the world will know it’s mine-mine-
mine!
Straight from me to the fence post,Flows my natural incense boast;
“Stay off of my TURF,This small piece of Earth,
I marked it as my winter wonderland.”
George Oosthuizen with little Suzie (Maroelani Sea Breeze), the new addition to the Ché-Jane kennel. Isn’t she just the most beautiful baby? And just in time for the big birthday and Christmas. What a precious gift! We look forward to her debut in 2010.
Bathing, Brushing and Bouncing!➤
B C G R
The SA Boxer Breed Council is a body to which all KUSA-affiliated Boxer clubs in South Africa belong. It has an informative website which will be of interest to all Boxer lovers. Visit www.saboxer.co.za
13
Raisin / gRape toxicity waRning Laurinda Morris
This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet.
My patient was a 56-pound, 5-year-old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30am and 4:30pm on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1am on Wednesday but the owner didn’t call my emergency service until 7am.
I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn’t seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me – had heard something about it, but anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give IV fluids at 11/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.
The dog’s BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5pm and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a litre of fluids. At this point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care.
He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn’t control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220 ... he continued to vomit and the owners elected to euthanase.
This is a very sad case – great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handlers. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.
Onions, chocolate, cocoa and macadamia nuts can be fatal, too.
IMPORTANT: Please read this before you give your dog Christmas cake as a treat, it could be lethal.
Membership renewal for 2010Annual membership fees:Single R75Couple R100Pensioner R40 Pensioner family R60Puppy membership (where a new owner’s membership is registered by the breeder on purchase of a puppy) R20
Banking details: Boxer Club Gold Reef, ABSA Westgate, a/c no. 10-3222-1218. Fax payment details & proof of deposit to: Madeleine Spengler 012 325 6676 or email them to [email protected]
B C G R
14
2010 Boxer Club Gold Reef
Non-Championship ShowHeld under the rules and regulations of the Kennel Union of South Africa
Sunday 21 February 2010 Goldfields, Boeing Street West, Bedfordview
Judge: Marion Brown All purebred Boxers are welcome Classes: Child Handlers & Junior HandlersBreed: Baby Puppy, Minor Puppy, Junior, Graduate, SA Bred, Veterans, Open, Champions Best Puppy • Best Junior • Reserve Best in Show • Best in Show
Bitches in season will be allowed in the breed classes, but please have due consideration for the other competitors. Mating of bitches within the precincts of the show is forbidden.
Puppies under 6 months can be entered in Baby Puppy.
All competitors and visitors attend the show entirely at their own risk. The committee and members of Boxer Club Gold Reef accept no liability whatsoever. All exhibitors/handlers are personally responsible for the control of their dogs at all times and shall be held liable for any claims that may be made in respect of injuries which may arise from or be caused by their dogs.The committee reserves the right to appoint another judge should the abovementioned be unable to officiate.
Club Officials:Chairman: M Oosthuizen, Vice Chairman: D Erasmus, Secretary: E Faber, Treasurer: M Spengler, PRO/Media: C Judge, A Bodenstein, M de Lima.
RIGHT OF ADMISSION RESERVED
A Word about the Judge ...
Marion Brown has long been involved with the breeding and showing of Bernese Mountain Dogs and has always been most supportive of the Working breeds. She is one of the sponsors of our 2010 calendar, and contributed a beautiful portrait of her young dog, Hamisch. (See another gorgeous photo of him below, just perfect for the festive season!). Thank you so much for your support and for judging our Open Show, Marion!
