Monthly Archives: May 2016

Quite a weekend!!!

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Glen of Imaal Terrier people certainly know how to exhibit!

Bath Championship Show caused a few eyebrows. BOB went to Romainville Rock On Ruby with Romainville Razzamatazz taking the Reserve so a nice double for Kathy. The eyebrows were caused in the dog judging when the Dog Ticket & Reserve went to two puppies over a Champion and a dog on 2CCs; it’s wonderful when judges cause the grapevine to hum and surely Lydia & Wendy won’t mind at all as their Pajantick Razamataz & Romainville Becks Blue at Zippor were the two boys with Green Cards. Thinking about it Quinn at 7 months is certainly one of the youngest, if not THE youngest, to take a CC.

In Finland Meomodo Fantabulous Amy was BB & BOB at Jarvenpaa All Breed Show with Marfidal Pleasant Surprise Best Dog. At Joensuu International Finnabair North American nebulon was BOB and Pearytail Bonnie B Goode Best Opposite. Placings were swopped for the Joensuu National with Bonnie B Good taking the BOB rosette & Nebulon Best Dog.

Abberann Torcan has been having a very successful few weeks with a Group 4 at Rock Island (IL) and at Oshkosh (Wisconsin). He then took 4 BOBs at Pontiac KC, Holland (Michigan) KC, Kalamazoo KC and Greater Muskegon. Kilkenny’s Across the Universe at Setanta was Best Opposite to him twice, Abberann Stars & Stripes Ruari once & Daulton’s Tupelo Honey of Galore once. Too late for last week’s round up came the news that Keadeen Boy Blue for Bluesette had got Gp1 OH at Bell Vernon KA and this week BOB at Spokane KC with a Gp4. A Gp4 was also claimed by Daulton’s Rory who also matched the OH Gp1 at Warren County KC. Tipperary Cora Countess of Grantham has been having one heck of a weekend in PA with five BOBs and four OH Group 4s and one OH group 3!!

Congratulations indeed!

From the EFG Health Coordinator

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PLEASE HELP THE ‘GIVE A DOG A GENOME’ (GDG) PROJECT!

As you may be aware, the AHT will soon be starting its search for the Glen of Imaal Terrier who is going to be whole genome sequenced.  NB. This Glen will be one that was bred and currently lives in the UK.

One of the sources for possible candidate Glens will be our DNA Archive … and we would like to encourage as many owners as possible to submit buccal (cheek) swabs from their Glens.

We are especially looking for older Glens that are healthy i.e. no known medical conditions … an up-to-date eye certificate would be an added bonus!  

However, ALL contributions to the DNA Archive, whatever the age, and from Glens that have health conditions as well as those that are fit and healthy are welcomed!

The EFG Health website has information about the DNA Archive and a video demonstrating how to take cheek swabs:

http://www.efghealth.co.uk/dna_archive.html

If you and your Glen would like to contribute to this invaluable resource, please contact Alison Seall, EFG Health Coordinator at glenarchive@gmail.com to request a swab kit: http://www.efghealth.co.uk/dna_archive.html#kit

Thank you very much for your support.

Alison Seall, EFG Health Coordinator

DOGS DIE IN CARS ON HOT DAYS.

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As the weather hopefully begins to pick up & we all look forward to the run of championship shows, here is a timely reminder ……..

Your dog is vulnerable and at risk during hot weather and the kennel club offers the following guidance to help guide you through the do’s and don’ts travelling to and whilst at KC licensed events.

• When travelling to a show please take a moment to consider whether the route to the show is on a busy holiday route, and leave earlier to avoid increased time in traffic jams.

• If your vehicle is not air-conditioned seriously consider whether travelling to the show is a good idea at all.

• The vehicle should be as fully ventilated as possible, and plenty of stops should be taken, with lots of water available to drink.

• Ensure your dog is not sitting in full sunlight. There should be plenty of free flowing air around the dog.

• When at the show, never leave your dog in the vehicle.

• Keep the dog in the shade – take your own shade for example a large umbrella and always have plenty of water available to drink so your dog stays well hydrated.

• Avoid your dog taking part in unnecessary exertion, or from standing in exposed sunlight for extended lengths of time.
Remember, if you feel hot, your dog is very likely to feel much hotter and dehydrated, and this could lead to dire results.

Please look after your dog’s welfare.

RSPCA Press Release

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THE RSPCA’s new chief has pledged that in future the charity will concentrate on the welfare and rehoming of animals and be less adversarial and political. 

  In an outspoken interview chief executive Jeremy Cooper apologised for past mistakes and said the charity’s past regime had dragged too many people through the courts.

  Mr Cooper has taken over from Gavin Grant who left in 2014, citing medical grounds, after an unsettled few years in office. 

  The RSPCA’s campaign against the badger cull had led to farmers feeling alienated, Mr Cooper said. The RSPCA wanted to be honest, to admit its mistakes and prevent them taking place again, he added.

  The charity has been criticised strongly in recent times, prompting a Parliamentary enquiry and a report which recommended swingeing changes in the way it is run. It is being decided currently whether it should be responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases.

  The RSPCA has been accused of putting too much store by and spending too much money on political campaigning and prosecutions far removed from the type of work it was set up to do. It has been labelled heavy-handed in the way it has treated some animal welfare cases and at times criticised by disaffected staff.

  As a result donations have fallen.

  “We’re going to be a lot less political,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we won’t stand up for animals, but we’re not a political organisation.

  “My style of advocacy is encouragement and dialogue. Previously, the leadership was too adversarial. If you want to shout and use rhetoric that’s fine but it isn’t helpful to anybody. 

  “It is not going to make friends and influence people. People won’t like you for it.”

  The RSPCA will investigate allegations of hunting taking place illegally, he said, but would pass its findings to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for decision. However, in a later statement the charity said it would reserve the right to proceed with investigations if the authorities failed to act.

 Rebuild morale

Mr Cooper praised the work of the charity’s staff and said he wanted to rebuild their morale, adding that he would like the good work the RSPCA does to be acknowledged.

  Now, he said, the charity would be looking forward, and concentrating on animal welfare, the prevention of cruelty, rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming. 

  “That is what we’re about,” he said.

  Afterwards, a spokesman said the charity remained ‘as committed as ever’ to speaking out for vulnerable animals. 

  “We make no apologies for our campaigning work which has resulted in the introduction and amendment of many laws to protect our pets, wildlife, farm animals and animals used in research, but we accept we got the tone wrong sometimes,” he said.

  “Likewise, we make no apologies for prosecuting people in instances where there is clear evidence of animal cruelty.

  “Following an independent review of our prosecution activity and in line with one of the recommendations of that review, the charity’s trustees agreed to change its policy and to pass suitable cases involving traditional hunts and suitable farm cases to the police for investigation enabling the CPS to prosecute if appropriate. However, we reserve the right to proceed with such investigations if the authorities fail to act.”

  The fact that the number of prosecutions had dropped highlighted that welfare was improving and educational messages were more available, he said.

  “We hope this trend will continue,” he said. “However, we do apologise for the specific incidents where we have got it wrong. As a charity we have limited resources and we are dealing with huge numbers of calls.

  “We apologise for past mistakes where an investigation wasn’t carried out to the standard we would hope, both for the animal involved and their owners. The RSPCA has and always will be committed to tackling cruelty to animals.”

National Terrier critique

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Glen Of Imaal Terriers

Thank you to National Terrier for the invitation to judge these breeds, it was a well run show with good quality in the breeds I judged. Thanks to the exhibitors for the entries & the sporting atmosphere at ringside, I enjoyed the day among the dogs & their supporters

MPD (2,1a)

1 George & Sullivan’s Romainville Becks Blue, good development so far on this impressive youngster, he has the skull to muzzle ratios, neck, body & chest coming through, he’s good at the rear with the muscle & true action front to develop, but goes well in side action.

JD (2)

1 Hannington’s Boudivella Oscar, interesting class with the first stronger & more substance at this stage, he’s longer, but has the power in head & skull, strong jaw & better front with a good chest & strong rear, moved to win;

2 Rogers’ Kingcottage Boogie On Basil, slightly smaller at present but of good type, head balanced to length, good topline & tailset, he moved well on side & rear action & carries a good coat, more to come as he develops.

PGD (1)

1 Alstead’s Golden Spurs, smart boy with the shape & balance, he has the head width developing, has the chest & body, though a little longer in loin, strong quarters & coat colour, he moves well on side & rear action, front to improve.

LD (4)

1 Withers’ Pajantick Star Trooper, impressive, strong, substantial wheaten boy with the typical head, skull, jaw & neck, he has a good front topline & shape with the tail & overall size, he’s well built through chest & loin with strongly muscled rearquarters, good on the move, he took it all before him today, great condition for CC & BOB;

2 George & Sullivan’s Romainville Jazz Man, liked this lad with the classic head, ear & eye, good neck, holds himself well in balance, would prefer a slightly better shoulder set, but he has the topline & rearend, just more to come in body & muscletone to challenge 1 in this excellent class;

3 Davis’ Donvaleset Rafferty at Viahninns.

OD (2)

1 Ashcroft’s Ch Romainville Typhoon, quality boy with the strength in head, skull & muzzle, he has the bone, body & substance, nice quarters & muscled rearend, not quite the topline today from withers, but he’s good on the move pushing all the way in the challenge taking the RCC today;

2 Sage’s Romainville Fast N’Furious at Wickholm, another lovely dog from this kennel with a classic shape, good typical head & neck, slightly longer in back than 1 with the croup & strong rearend, he moved well at his own pace.

MPB (0).

PB (2)

1 Rogers’ Jeonty Minnie Meme, very promising & stunning puppy with the balance & overall shape, she has the attitude, is good through head & muzzle, she has the power in jaw with strong teeth, I liked the front topline & rear muscle strength, she’s good on the move from all angles & took this class & BP today;

2 George & Sullivan’s Romainville Razzamatazz, loved the outline & overall type of this girl, she’s good in profile action, but not quite the front development yet of 1, she’s growing well at this stage with the chest & body to firm up, her time will come.

JB (0).

PGB (1)

1 Studd’s Wickholm Gone In Sixty Secs, smart girl with good proportions in head & body, she has the front & rise in topline to the tailset, a strongly muscled rearend & she’s good on the move with an easy action, accurate & true.

LB (2)

1 Hannington’s Romainville Uptown Girl, good type on this strong girl, she has the balance but a little longer in loin, she’s well filled in body with good proportions in head & muzzle, she carries the coat of harsh texture & won this class with the better movement today;

2 Ashcroft’s Romainville Moira, lovely wheaten girl of a better outline shape than 1, she has the power in skull & jaw, neck & tailset, carrying a little too much body weight today but OK on the move, with more to come in front action.

OB (3)

1 George & Sullivan’s Romainville Rock On Ruby, three quality girls in this class, the first a big strong powerful girl with the type in head, skull & muzzle, strong jaw & teeth of good size, she has the bone, strong front, depth of chest, rib, loin & tailset, she has good propulsion on the move, covers the ground with her strong drive at the rear, won the class & the close decision for the CC;

2 Seall’s Ch Bregorrey Madam Defiance, lovely, impressive for type & balance, good overall for size & performance, attracts in head, neck, topline & body, she’s good through although with finer bone, she has a strong rear & the easy action on the move, well deserved RCC, a worthy champion;

3 Sage’s Jeonty Lola May at Wickholm.

JEFF LUSCOTT

Please read if a Glen of Imaal owner

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Below is an email from the Animal Health Trust (Give A Dog a Genome). Glen of Imaal Terriers have supported the project and are now being asked for their input. It is of interest to Glen owners worldwide, but the dog chosen WILL be UK resident, this though does not stop anybody putting forward their thoughts.

The two Health Co-ordinators are Don Harley (donaldharley@virginmedia.com) and Alison Seall (efghealth@gmail.com) and these are the two people that replies should be sent to so please copy both in. They have to return the form to the AHT by May 31st so please make sure any thoughts are with them by May 25th at the latest. Feel free to cross post this to anywhere that Glen owners may read it.

I would like to thank you and your breed community for participating in Give a Dog a Genome (GDG).

We are now ready to start the next stage of the project, which is to select the dog whose genome we will sequence. 

The overall objective of GDG is to build a bank of genomes that will help us distinguish between DNA variants (mutations) that are neutral/benign and those that cause inherited disorders, in all breeds of dog.  To this end, we have two options;

  1. we could sequence the genome of a dog that is affected with an inherited disorder that is known to be a concern in your breed, in the hope that we can make some progress understanding the genetic factors that might underlie the disorder?, or
  2. we can sequence the genome of an apparently healthy, older dog

The amount of progress we can reasonably expect to make from a single genome depends on the complexity of the disease, the mode of inheritance of the disorder and the nature of the underlying genetic risk factors. 

For autosomal, recessive disorders that are likely to be caused by a single mutation it is possible that we could identify the causal mutation by sequencing the genome of a single dog, in the same way we used whole genome sequencing to identify the mutation responsible for a rare form of cerebellar ataxia in the Hungarian Vizsla:

  http://www.aht.org.uk/cms-display/genetics_gdg_success_stories.html

For more complex disorders, such as idiopathic epilepsy, we are less likely to identify genetic risk factors associated with the disease from a single genome, but the genome will provide data onto which future studies can build.

To enable us to make informed and appropriate choices for each breed we would like to know more about the health disorders that are currently of concern among your breed community and any evidence that may support this.

By gathering this information we will be able to make a decision on a breed by breed basis on whether it will be more valuable to sequence an older, healthy dog or a dog with a health condition you’ve highlighted to us. 

We would be grateful if you can please provide some basic information about the health conditions on the attached form and any evidence that indicates that these are significant health concerns for your breed (if any is available). Please also let us know if you are aware of any other research currently being done into the health condition(s) at any other institutions as our findings might be able to benefit these studies. 

Please complete the consultation with your respective Health Committees or equivalent, and anyone else whose input would be useful, and return it to us by 31st May 2016. 

If you require a longer time period, this is not a problem, but please let us know. 

We will collate all the information we receive and contact you again from July to discuss our suggestions for the dog we should sequence.  Prior to sequencing, for the majority of breeds, DNA from multiple dogs will be subjected to our standard quality control checks to make sure the sample is high enough quality to be sequenced and we will keep the identity of the dog whose genome we ultimately submit  for sequencing confidential.