Show Dogs Die Tragic Deaths from Heatstroke

This post is not about Lhasa Apsos but relates to any breed or mixed breed dog. I'll catch you up on the antics of Belle, Mira, and Breaker, as well as my weekend at the class reunion another day.

By now, most of you will have heard about or read about the AKC handler from Missouri who returned late from a dog show and left the dogs overnight in her van, only to find them dead or dying when she checked them in the morning. This tragedy makes all dog lovers sick at heart. If you have not read the story, here is a link.

www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/191EDA28F711396D862575DF005870EC?OpenDocument

Seven beautiful show dogs (an Akita, a Dalmation, a Malamute, 3 Golden Retrievers, and a Siberian Husky) died horrific deaths because the handler their owners entrusted them to had poor judgment.

This is not a news flash! Animals should not be left in a vehicle when the weather is hot. Common sense and multiple print and radio/TV public service announcements warn us consistently about the dangers. Yet each year, pets die because their loving owners decided to leave them in the car while they ran into the store for "just a few minutes!"

Anyone who has ever gotten into a closed car on a hot summer day realizes how hot a car can get – and how fast it can happen. Heatstroke can also happen to dogs housed outdoors, dogs accompanying their owners on walks, trail hikes, or to parks and carnivals. Most people are unaware that dogs are more susceptible to heatstroke than people are.

The American Kennel Club offers information regarding heatstroke:
Early Stages:
• Heavy panting
• Rapid breathing
• Excessive drooling
• Bright red gums and tongue
• Standing 4-square, posting or spreading out in an attempt to maintain balance

Advanced Stages:
• White or blue gums
• Lethargy, unwillingness to move
• Uncontrollable urination or defecation
• Labored, noisy breathing
• Shock

Actions to take if your dog begins to exhibit signs of heatstroke:
Immediately try to cool the dog down by
• Applying rubbing alcohol to the dog's paw pads.
• Applying ice packs to the groin area.
• Hosing down with water.
• Allowing the dog to lick ice chips or drink a small amount of water.
• Offering Pedialyte to restore electrolytes.

Interested readers may want to read "Heat Stroke and Malignant Hyperthermia in Dogs and Cats" for more information.

Many people think it is no big deal to leave the dog in the car if they roll the window down slightly. The sight is not uncommon. You can drive into any WalMart parking lot and see dogs locked in cars in all kinds of weather.

Many people think it is no big deal to leave the dog in the car because they are just going to "run right into the store and back." After all, what can happen in 10 minutes? Good question. Illness and death if the conditions are right.

If you leave your dog in the car, you should read the results of a small three-day study on outside temperatures versus temperatures inside cars, found at MyDogIsCool.com. You may decide not to leave your dog in the car the next time you are tempted to do so! Remember, he is at the mercy of the owner he loves and trusts to take care of him. You betray that trust every time you close the car door and leave him inside the car on a hot day.

Understand that a dog's entire body is covered with hair and that the normal body temperature for a dog is 101-102 degrees. Because dogs do not sweat, their temps rise quickly, much faster than a person's temperature rises because we sweat and our sweat helps to cool our bodies. Dogs pant – and their panting adds heat and humidity inside the closed vehicle. Once a dog's temperature exceeds 104 degrees, evidence of heatstroke occurs. Three degrees higher and you have a dog that will probably die unless quick, heroic actions are taken.

With the hot humid summer we are already experiencing in the Midwest, a good thing that can come of the tragic deaths of these seven show dogs is that the publicity and resulting wake up call may prevent other dogs' deaths at the hands of loving but careless owners.

Joyce

Our Belle

Apologies to readers who have been checking for a new entry for a couple of weeks now. We've had company and I've been so busy at work that I just have not had time to write.

Tonight I want to tell you about Belle, our five month old female puppy that was born on Christmas morning. She was one of five puppies from the Connor x Flame litter. Her call name "Belle" was given her because shortly after birth, all the puppies were given Christmas names. There was a Nicky (for St. Nicholas), a Christmas Spirit, a Decker (Deck the Halls), a Holly (Happy Holidays), and Christmas Bells (Belle). You can see her photo at age 3 months at the top of the page.

"Belle" is also fitting because she is a very pretty puppy. She is a red sable color and has the cutest face.

So, now Belle is nearly 6 months old and it's time to enter her in her first show. I decided I did not like the name Christmas Bells for her AKC registered name. What to do? Oh my, the brainstorming and the tossing back and forth of suggestions ... all rejected for one reason or another. This is hard!

One great resource for names is the Jockey Club Registry website. https://www.registry.jockeyclub.com/registry.cfm?page=namesrch&rand=813&init=&CFID=3773956&CFTOKEN=54018630
There you will find many many names of horses. Hopefully you'll find something to inspire you, especially at the last minute when your own creative juices have dried up. I am so angry at myself. After all, I put off naming her until the last minute and it was so unnecessary. I've had MONTHS to do it! I just know that as soon as I mail that registration paperwork to AKC, I'm going to have a flash of inspiration and come up with something unique and just perfect.

Belle is also the epitome of "stubborn." She could be the icon for "stubborn" next to that word in the dictionary. She refuses to walk on the lead! At home (under supervision) she runs and plays in the family room wearing a lead. No problem. The cat often picks it up and tugs it. No problem. But if a person picks it up, the brakes go on, and she sits sweetly and just looks at the person as if to say, "Nice try!"

Outside she does not budge. No amount of coaxing works. However, if I pick her up and walk up the street to one of the neighbors' driveways, she will hightail back to our own driveway as fast as those Lhasa legs will travel. Then she sits down and refuses to budge. As I said: "stubborn!"

Training has been a frustrating experience, to say the least. I finally started taking her to a training class in Peoria on Tuesday nights. Peoria is a 90 minute trip each way, so I have to leave by 5:30 to make the 7:00 class. It lasts an hour but generally I don't make it home until close to 10:00. The sacrifices I make!!! LOL

The first two nights of class Belle did what she always does when someone is holding her lead. She either sits and freezes to the spot, or she puts herself in a pretty stack and stands there. Lovely...but not what I'm going for at the moment. So she stood (or sat), watched the activity and processed what was going on. On the third night, she came out of her crate excited to be there. A breakthrough! She actually walked on the lead, with lots of coaxing with treats and a flat rat. Last night she was so-so, but we seem to be making progress.

So, I'll try to keep you updated on Belle's progress. Her mother, Flame, was so easy to train and show. She was the perfect show dog. She did what I wanted and did it well. She showed herself off and was finished before I knew it. Not Belle. She seems to be a throwback to her Grandma Secret (Ch. Joyslyn's Secrets of the Heart), who also refused to walk on the lead. What I hope is that Belle repeats Secret's performance, because Secret saved it for the show ring. At her first show, I put her on the floor, said, "Let's go." And she did! She took Best Puppy that day and a 2nd place in Puppy Group. The next day, she won a 3 point major! Maybe Belle is saving it up for the "real deal." I can only hope!

By the way, since she is such a pretty puppy and because her call name is indicative of a beautiful woman and in honor of her similarity to her grandma, her name is going to be Joyslyn's Beauty Secret. It'll sound great with the word "champion" in front of it one day!

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you.

Joyce

Results from Bloomington

The Memorial weekend shows in Bloomington, Illinois, were all I'd hoped for. As I mentioned before, the show site is wonderful -- plenty of parking, lots of grooming space, air conditioning, large grassy areas for exercising dogs, a variety of vendors, carpeted rings with nice wide aisles so ringside tables could be set up.

Three of the days there were majors in both sexes, 3 points in dogs and 4 points in bitches. Monday the points dropped by one in each sex.

We started off the weekend in good form. Breaker won the 9-12 puppy class. He is just 9 months old, and it was his first time in that class. Then he won the 3 point major by taking Winners Dog! It was upped to 4 points when he took Best of Winners! Way to go, Breaker! And many thanks to judge Porpora! Was I excited! You bet!

I wish I could say Breaker's luck continued. Sadly, no more points were added to his total, but he did take Reserve 2 of the other 3 days.

Mira was a challenge. After behaving so well in the ring at the Rock Island shows, she decided it'd be fun to misbehave at these. She didn't seem to realize MAJORS were at stake. She just wanted to have fun and goof around. She took 2nd in her class the first 3 days. By Sunday, she was hopping on her back legs half way down on the "down and back." She WANTED that CHICKEN in my pocket. Needless to say, on day 4 there was no chicken in my pocket! That day, Mira won the Open class and went on to win Winners Bitch and the 3 point major. She now has 8 points.

It was one of those weekends where the points got passed around. A different dog won each day. A different bitch won each day. One dog and one bitch finished. Others, like Breaker, earned their first points. A good weekend.

Best of all, it was a gathering of Lhasa friends who love the breed and are proud of their dogs. The sportsmanship was great, as were the conversations, kidding, and laughter.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you!

Joyce

Breaker and Mira in the Show Ring

I was suffering from "dog show withdrawal" and am okay now that I've had my most recent "fixes!" Prior to the first weekend in May, the two dogs I'm now showing were last shown 2 months ago. We were entered at a show in March, but the winter weather stopped us from attending.

My gold male (Joyslyn's Heartbreaker, AKA "Breaker") is being shown in the puppy class. He'll be moved up to 9-12 this coming weekend. The black female (Karlyn Joyslyn Who's the Fairest, AKA "Mira") was shown in puppy class at the beginning of May but she has coat to the floor already and is very showy so I've moved her to Open class. She'll be a year old on June 10. She is pictured above at age 10 months.

We've shown the first two weekends in May and have a 4-day show coming up in Bloomington, IL over the Memorial Day weekend. That is always a lovely show – lots of grooming space. The majority of the rings are carpeted. Nice!

At the Badger shows in WI at the beginning of May, the dogs were happy to be at the show but not really sure what was expected of them. They'd been away from the ring too long, I guess. Breaker was "on" both days and he really did well for it being only his second show weekend with 2 months between shows! He was the only one in his class so he got blue ribbons both days. I couldn't have asked him to show better. Saturday he took Reserve Winners Dog. No such luck on Sunday, but it was not because he didn't show well.

Mira was another story altogether. She took 2nd in her class (of two!) both days. Saturday she showed well. Sunday she just got goofy. My friend Jane who had to hold her for me outside the ring first had to put up with Mira barking at Breaker and me while I was showing him. Then Mira decided to do a little ringside table cruising! Finally, when it was her turn to go in the ring, she shook her head at least every 10 steps, lagged behind me in the most aggravating manner, managed to stand still for the table exam, and then refused to stand still on the floor as the judge was doing his final decision making. Finally, I couldn't help laughing. What a little minx! I decided to try a different lead for the shows in Rock Island, IL!

Mira's new lead worked like a charm. She took Winners Bitch both days. Saturday she also took Best Puppy as well as BOW and BOB (no specials were entered). I showed her in Group for the practice and it was there that we discovered that she would "turn it on" for grilled chicken, henceforth to be her bait of choice! Then it was right into Non-Sporting Puppy Group where she placed Group 4. On Sunday she took Winners Bitch and Best Opposite Sex. She now has 5 points. I'm very pleased with Mira and thank my friend Karen Schlais for letting me have the only black girl in Ashley's litter!

As for Breaker, he showed well on Saturday and got another Reserve. Sunday, something spooked him as we went around the ring. He didn't drop his tail but he needed some recovery time, which the judge didn't give him. She was right on him before I even had him stacked on the table. I wish whoever mentored her about judging Lhasas would have discouraged her from grabbing them by the moustache to hold their head still as she went over them. It was not a good experience for Breaker.

Last Tuesday I took Breaker to a training class to see if he was going to spook out again. He did not – and I was so thankful! He seemed to have a good time, for which I was grateful since we had to drive an hour and a half each way to go to class.

Wish us luck at the Bloomington shows this weekend! There are majors in both sexes, something we don't see much of around here anymore.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you.



Joyce

What's In It For Me (WIIFM)

If you know me and you are reading this, you know that I am a member of the American Lhasa Apso Club (ALAC) and have been a member for a long time. If you read my website and are reading this, you probably learned from the information on the website that I am an ALAC member. If you have no clue who I am and just stumbled upon this entry then I'm proud to tell you that I belong to ALAC!

At a recent show, I was winding my way through the crowd around the group ring trying to find a good vantage point to cheer a friend who was about to enter the group ring with her Shiba Inu special. I nodded to the handler who was preparing to take the Lhasa into the ring, wished her luck, and said hello to a man standing nearby who then stopped me to complain about ALAC.

It seemed he had allowed his membership to lapse and was irked that he could not just pay dues and automatically re-join the club. He wanted to know why he was expected to reapply (because the club By-laws say so!) and why he had to pay an application fee (it's part of the application process). I might add that the application fee costs less than one show entry!

He said he was upset because the club was "doing nothing." It "wasn't the club it used to be." He didn't like the club magazine; he thought the voting for the specialty judges was rigged, and he couldn't say that he ever got anything out of the club. Hmmm…so why did he want to be a member? I didn't ask that question because it was one of those situations when it's better to just stand and listen since nothing I could say would change his mind.

What I did say was that, as with any other activity in life, a member got out of a club as much as he/she was willing to put in. I'm pleased to say that I stopped short of paraphrasing Kennedy's famous, "Ask not.." line, but it certainly seemed appropriate.

Members who are lackadaisical and prefer to cause problems rather than to contribute to the club's welfare are not helping the club grow or fulfill its purpose. Evidently it is more satisfying to them to complain than to contribute time, talent, and energy to make the club a better one. The current Board members, Officers, and Committee Chairs are always looking people who are willing to help. Right now, a slating committee is seeking members who would be willing to serve as a Director or an Officer. If someone wants to see changes, the opportunities to become a change agent are here!

I joined ALAC in 1975. In 1984 I was elected to serve on the Board of Directors, then in 2003 to serve as Vice President. I'm also Chair of the Membership Committee (1986) and of the Breeder Education Committee (2004). I'm proud to have helped shape the club over the past 25 years. Is ALAC perfect? Not at all...and none of us in leadership positions will claim it is! Is there room for improvement? Always!

This October in Carlisle, PA, ALAC will celebrate 50 years of National Specialties. It's a good year to remind ourselves that the club exists to preserve and promote the breed, as well as to educate its members and the public about our wonderful breed.

Life is good when you have a Lhasa Apso to love you!

Joyce

What Happens at Dog Shows Doesn't Stay at Dog Shows!

Anytime friends or family get together, people are bound to reminisce. Recently we began talking about "most embarrassing moments at a dog show." The stories abound. Everyone has one! At one of my first shows both my dog and I were very nervous. My Lhasa Bo often anticipated what I was going to do next. Once his habit got us in trouble when, in my anxiety to remember what I was supposed to be doing and to do it fast, I knelt down on the floor beside him to stack him and whipped the lead around my neck so hard that, instead of draping around the back of my neck and down the left side of my chest, it went AROUND my neck! So when the judge gave the command to "take 'em around," Bo (who was sure he knew what was coming next) took off as soon as I started to rise from the floor. The lead tightened around my throat and I literally choked! Red-faced, gagging, I grabbed for the lead in an attempt to loosen it and get some breathing room. Of course, I was mortified while my friends watching outside the ring exploded in laughter and Bo gave me a disgruntled stare when the lead went taut and pulled him up short, giving him a little choke too I guess! After that I was always very cautious about what was going on with the lead. Of course, that was 35 years ago and just last summer I got the lead tangled in a necklace I was wearing and ended up ripping off the necklace so I could get the lead from around my neck and walk the dog into the ring! And then there was the time it got caught in one of my earrings..

Often there are times when an exhibitor just cannot wait to get out of the ring! One of my friends tells the funniest story about how her pantyhose starting slipping as soon as she walked into the ring. She finally had to reach inside the waist band of her skirt and hold them up. That time I got to be outside the ring laughing – and hoping it would never happen to me!

At a show this past weekend I saw a young woman trying to bait her dog as she went around the ring, alternating her right hand holding up her slacks then holding the bait out for the dog. All who were watching were waiting for those slacks to fall. There was a lot more suspense over that than over which dog was going to win the class! I'm positive that handler was thrilled when she was able to walk out of the ring.

We've all been there – buttons pop, zippers split, pants fall, slips slip, bra straps break, skirts tear up the back seam, a heel comes off a shoe. The sexy little handler who likes to show her cleavage gets a shock when a boob pops out! (or maybe she planned it that way???) The judge says "go down and back" and the handler does a triangle. People slip and fall or trip over a dog…

Which brings me to a favorite story, one of those "I wish I would have been there stories," although the friend who witnessed it told me that someone somewhere has it on videotape. In my mind's eye I can see it happening so clearly that I'm afraid if I saw it on video I'd be disappointed. Imagine: a Lhasa ring back in the late '80s/early '90s when there were actually a lot of Lhasas being shown. The ring is lined with Lhasas and their handlers. The ring next to it is full of some kind of terrier breed and handlers. The Lhasa judge says, "Take 'em around" and off go the Lhasas. A Lhasa handler, sporting a dark brown wig, takes off with her Lhasa and BOOM, for whatever reason, down she goes to her knees and catches her fall with her hands. Her head snaps forward. The crowd gasps. Her Lhasa takes off. The WIG goes flying – you guessed it – into the terrier ring! A sharp-eyed terrier sees it coming, pounces, grabs the wig, and shakes it as if it is a gigantic rat needing to be killed. I know it seems cruel not to be concerned with the fate of the poor woman (She was not badly hurt – except her pride) but wouldn't you loved to have seen the expressions on the terrier judge's and handler's faces as that dog swooped in and grabbed that wig?

Keep smiling...it's only a dog show!

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you!

Joyce

My Puppies and the Dog Show

I was suffering from "dog show withdrawal" and am okay now that I've had my most recent "fix!" I'm showing two puppies right now, an 8 month old gold male (Joyslyn's Heartbreaker, AKA "Breaker") and a 10 month old black female (Karlyn Joyslyn Who's the Fairest, AKA "Mira"). Prior to this weekend, Breaker and Mira were last shown 2 months ago. We were entered at a show in March but the winter weather stopped us from attending.

I wish I could write that both puppies showed fantastic and won all kinds of ribbons. No such luck. Breaker was "on" both days and he really did well for it being only his second show weekend with 2 months between shows! He was the only one in his class so he got blue ribbons both days. I couldn't have asked him to show better. Saturday he took Reserve Winners Dog. No such luck on Sunday, but it was not because he didn't show well.

Now, Mira was another story altogether. She took 2nd in her class (of two!) both days. Saturday she showed well. Sunday she just got goofy. My friend Jane who had to hold her for me outside the ring first had to put up with Mira barking at Breaker and me while I was showing him. Then Mira decided to do a little ringside table cruising! Finally, when it was her turn to go in the ring she shook her head at least every 10 steps, lagged behind me in the most aggravating manner, managed to stand still for the table exam, and then refused to stand still on the floor as the judge was doing his final decision making. Finally, I couldn't help laughing. What a little minx! Perhaps this coming show weekend will be a better one for her! We're going to try a new lead!

Wish me luck!

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you.

Joyce