THE GERMAN SHEPHERD SENTINEL

SEPTEMBER 2006 - NEWSLETTER OF THE

GSDC OF GREATER RALEIGH

Pat Embrey, Newsletter Editor

1390 Sanders Road, Benson, NC 27504

PH: 919-934-6232, E-Mail: VonRillca@aol.com

Website: www.gsdcofgrraleigh.org

SEPTEMBER MEETING INFORMATION

Board Policy on Dogs at Club Sponsored Events
September Meeting Information
August Meeting Minutes
Ten Dangers to Pets
Purina Alliance Program
GSDCA Board O Gram
Adding Vinegar to Bleach

BOARD POLICY ON DOGS AT CLUB SPONSORED EVENTS

The GSDC of Greater Raleigh welcomes your German Shepherd at our events, including meetings. However, the following rules must be followed:

Anyone with an aggressive dog (one that growls, snaps, or is in any way aggressive towards other dogs or people) must be muzzled.

Dogs will be free of loose hair and external parasites (fleas or ticks). Please brush your dog prior to bringing it to the meeting as we must clean up the room after we are finished.

For the safety of all members, guests and their dogs, it is strongly recommended that all dogs be kept up to date on their vaccinations. ALL dogs that are old enough, MUST have a current rabies shot.

SEPTEMBER MEETING INFORMATION

The next meeting of the GSDC of Greater Raleigh will be held on September 6, at 7:00 PM. This month’s meeting will be our annual picnic. Everyone is invited to bring a covered dish, and the Club will be furnishing Fried Chicken. Well behaved dogs are invited to come to the picnic. Entertainment will be provided with the help and ideas of Mary Bjelica. I hope that everyone will try and attend.

.Don’t forget the Police Dog Trials are held in Raleigh again this year at Cardinal Gibbons High School on October 18-21. Everyone is encouraged to come out and see the competition.

MEETING MINUTES

August 2, 2006

Program: Veterinarian Denis Marcellin-Little came to our club to talk about osteoarthritis in dogs. He is a vet surgeon and certified canine rehabilitation practitioner and splits his time between the NCSU vet school and the Animal Rehabilitation and Wellness Hospital. About 25% of dogs will suffer from osteoarthritis, usually as a result of degenerative joint disease and early diagnosis is key to the treatment. He talked about the value of getting plenty of exercise for your dog, especially trotting, jogging, walking on a variety of terrain, and swimming. Also play is valuable as the dog has to move different muscles for stretching and strength. Remember it takes about 10 minutes to warm up the muscles before the benefits can start to be felt. As your dog ages, you can treat pain with some medication but exercise is still very important. Also important is to not let your dog get too heavy, adding Omega 3 fatty acids to their diet, and using anti-inflammatory medication.

Meeting: Our club picnic will be held at our regular September 6 meeting at Millbrook Exchange Park at our regular time. It will be a covered dish dinner and fun social time and guests are welcome. Mary is working on our December dinner meeting plans and asks that members let her know which date is better, Dec. 6 or Dec. 14. The Christmas Party will be at Ragazzi’s on Glenwood Avenue.

Bill Pfeiffer reported on the Parent Club board meeting this past weekend. A Review editor is close to being named and should help with getting the Review out in a timely fashion. The AKC is trying to hold firm on a 50 dog limit for evening specialty shows- Bill recommends we write a letter to the AKC to ask that this rule be changed because of the success of our show this year. We can also request an exception to the rule for our next show. Also Royal Canin dog food manufacturer will sponsor 20 regional shows this year and Bill has put in a bid for our club to be one of them. A sponsorship includes $500 cash for a buffet and dog food for us to raffle off and dog food coupons to give out. Membership in the Parent Club is flat or declining slightly. The 2009 Nationals will be in Columbus, Ohio. The NC Vet School Dog Olympics on September 30 will include a free microchip clinic.

We are still working on selling our trailer to Bill.

Treasure’s Report: Sara distributed a monthly treasurer’s report and discussed how the insurance cost is prorated as a cost to the show. She also handed out a Final Show Report for this year showing total income from the 2005 show of $1,285.83.

TEN DANGERS TO PETS

Thought this was worth posting . I knew most of these but some were new to me . I sure most of our dogs have eaten some of these without adverse effects .
Having worked in emergency for numerous years and have seen pets given all kinds of foods and drinks. An easy rule of thumb, if it isn't particularly healthy for you, it most likely is not good for your cat or dog. Some pets will eat almost anything, so pet owners need to be careful or they could end up in the local emergency room. The following are ten bad things to give your pets.

1. Make no bones about it -- bones are bad for animals! Every year countless numbers of animals end up in the emergency room from being given bones by their owners, usually as a treat. The fact is that dogs are omnivores, not carnivores and most dogs and cats cannot tolerate bones. They can splinter or lodge in the intestinal tract with disastrous results, usually requiring surgery. They can also get stuck in their mouth or throat, which is just as dangerous. All bones are bad, including pork, chicken and beef. The next time you feel the urge to give your dog a bone, just make sure it's a milk bone or a nylabone. Your pet will love you for it.

2. Chocolate can be lethal to pets because it contains theobromine which causes increased heart rate, central nervous system stimulation and constriction of arteries. Clinical symptoms range from vomiting, diarrhea, restlessness, and excitability to cardiac failure, seizures and death. This can occur as quickly as four to six hours after ingestion. Baking chocolate is the worst because it contains the highest amount of theobromine. A potential lethal dose is only one pound of chocolate in a 16-pound dog. If your pet has gotten into chocolate you should contact your veterinarian immediately.

3. Alcohol is also very bad for cats and dogs. It doesn't take much alcohol to intoxicate a pet. Animals will stagger and bump into things, hurting themselves, and it also causes them to urinate uncontrollably. In high doses, alcohol will suppress the central nervous, respiratory and cardiac systems and can lead to death. It is best to just give your pet water.

4. Milk is also not good for animals because many of them are lactose intolerant and will develop diarrhea. Pets often lack the enzyme that is required to break down the sugar in milk and this can cause them to develop vomiting, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Even though they like it, especially cats, refrain from giving your pets milk.

5. Ham and other salty meats and foods are very dangerous to pets. In addition to being high in fat, they are also very salty which can cause serious stomach ache or pancreatitis. Also, large breeds of dogs that eat salty food may drink too much water and develop a life-threatening condition called "bloat." This is where the stomach fills up with gas and within several hours may twist causing the pet to die. Please avoid giving ham and salty foods to your pets.

6. Onions are toxic to pets. They contain allyl propyl disulfide, which damages their red blood cells and can cause fatal consequences in animals. They may become anemic, weak and have trouble breathing. The best thing to do if your pet ingests onions is to get them to the vet right away.

7. Caffeine is also bad for pets. It contains methylated xanthine that, like chocolate, stimulates the central nervous and cardiac systems and within several hours can cause vomiting, restlessness, heart palpitations and even death. So make sure your pets stay away from that early morning brew.

8. Avocados are also bad for pets. First, they are really high in fat and can cause stomach upset, vomiting and even a pancreatitis. Second, the pit is also toxic and can get lodged in the intestinal tract leading to a severe blockage, which may require surgery.

9. It may come as a surprise to many that tuna fish is bad for cats. Feline's heart muscle requires an amino acid called taurine to maintain normal strength and function. Regular tuna fish for humans does not have this amino acid and cats that eat too much tuna fish will develop heart problems. If you want to give your cats that taste of tuna that they love, just make sure it is tuna fish for cats which has this amino acid added.

10. The latest study has found that raisins and grapes can lead to kidney failure in pets. Small dogs can also choke on grapes so it is best to just make sure that your pets eat a will balanced diet that is formulated for their life stage.
For more information, please visit www.spcala.com.
Dr. Karen Halligan is Director of Veterinary Services, spcaLA

PURINA ALLIANCE PROGRAM

Lew Bunch, (President of the GSDCA)

Following is Lew Bunch's March 2006 article printed in the Review, this
article explains the Purina Alliance Program. Ya'll send in those breedings now,
ya hear?

How would you like to be the person responsible for finding out the cure for
cancer in the German Shepherd Dog? It actually can happen with your
participation in the Purina Alliance Program for the German Shepherd Dog Club of
America.
Last month I told you about the National Sponsorship Agreement we signed
with the Purina Breeder Enthusiast Group, sponsorship value is in excess of
$25,000 which includes cash donations to pay for all Futurity/Maturity Trophies,
the Wednesday evening Welcome Dinner, 500 Customized Tote bags to be
distributed to National Exhibitors, and over 500 pounds of Purina Dog Food, Coolers,
Director’s Chairs, Grooming Bags to be awarded to the National Winners and
all Junior Handlers. And that is just the first step in this wonderful
agreement with Purina.
The Purina Alliance Program is an enhancement of the Futurity Program which
has been in effect for several years now but I truly do not feel all of our
members realized just how important this program is for the health of our
Breed. Sure, we have all seen the large checks proudly displayed at the National
and the Victory Dinners but do you know what was involved in receiving these
checks? Didn’t think so and now I will explain the Purina Alliance Program
to you and if anyone has any question, please let me know because I want
every GSDCA Member to participate and just maybe it will be your participation
which triggers the Grant to find the cure for hemangiosarcoma, DM, or LS.
Wouldn’t that be wonderful. Here is how the Purina Alliance is structured:
Laura Gilbert, is GSDCA Coordinator for the Purina Alliance Program, Laura’s
email address is Purina _Alliance@aol.com_ (mailto:Alliance@aol.com) , her
mailing address is 2448 Johnstown Road, Chesapeake, VA 23322 and her phone
number is (757) 421-7854. Laura will be answering questions, collecting data,
sending reports to Purina and everything else required to make this program a
success.
Your participation starts with your nomination of a litter you have bred but
has not whelped yet. There is no cost for this nomination but a litter
number will be assigned and that litter will be entered into the first phase of
the Purina Alliance Program. You could wait until you know your bitch is in
whelp but the sooner you are entered into this program the more the GSDCA will
benefit. Data collected is NOT sold nor shared with any outside agency,
your privacy is important and totally respected. The form that Laura will ask
you to complete for this initial nomination is the date the litter was bred,
Sire and Dam’s name and Registration Number, Breeder’s Name, Address, City,
State, Zip, Phone, Email Address and Purina ProClub Number. Now before you
think that you MUST feed Purina Dog Food to participate in this program, the
answer is that you do not. However, If you are a member of the Purina ProClub
and if you do feed Purina Dog Food and if you do send in weight circles, you
can double the amount of payment Purina makes to the GSDCA IF you have
declared the GSDCA as the Purina Parent Club Partnership (PPCP) on your ProClub
Account.
Speaking of your ProClub Account:   How long has it been since you have
updated it? I bet we have some members who have not declared the GSDCA as the
PPCP so we are not getting credit for the weight circles they are submitting.
Take a few minutes, call !-877-776-2582 or go to the web site
_www.purinaproclub.com_ (http://www.purinaproclub.com/) to update your information and make
sure you have identified the GSDCA as your PPCP. Just for updating your
ProClub Account information you and will receive 500 Bonus Points credited to
your account, call or email them today. And of course you may also call this
same number to create a ProClub Account.
Back to the Purina Alliance Program, the next step in this process is for
you to contact Laura Gilbert and let her know that your litter has whelped, the
number of puppies in the litter and the Futurity Region that you reside.
You MUST report this to Laura BEFORE the litter is three months old, doesn’t
cost anything, just a phone call or an email to Laura. Might as well go ahead
and Futurity Nominate your now whelped litter, you will be supporting the
GSDCA Futurity System and the Purina Alliance Program. The GSDCA Futurity
Committee any improvements to the Futurity System including proposing a discount
for Futurity nomination fees if you are a participant in the Purina Alliance
Program but since that requires Board approval and the next Board Meeting is
not until April I cannot talk about discounts yet but I bet there will be
something to encourage your participation. Remember this is a Let’s Encourage,
Not Discourage Board.
Now you have completed two of the steps, you have nominated your litter
after it was bred, you have notified Laura that your litter was whelped, and now
it is time to enter a Futurity because we are assuming you have also Futurity
nominated your litter. It doesn’t matter which Futurity, just enter one of
them, maybe you will even win it but I guarantee you will have a good time
with all those other breeders who are showing off their puppies too.
The final step is winning that AKC Championship on that puppy you nominated
even before it was born, you have now completed the journey and here is what
you have generated for the GSDCA.
The Purina Alliance Payout is as follows:
$10.00 for each litter that has been nominated according to the above steps.
2.00 for each puppy in the nominated litters that are entered in a Futurity.
25.00 for each nominated puppy that completes their AKC Championship.
And for those of you that are members of the ProClub, the GSDCA will receive
an extra 10% redemption payout in addition to the 10% being paid by the
PPCP. So actually it is double the normal payout from Purina while your ProClub
payout is the same, you still recveive all the benefits and payouts too. I
will get to the projection figures in a minute but first I want to add another
piece of this total package, the PPCP.
The Purina Parent Club Partnership (PPCP) is the weight circle redemption
program that all of you who are ProClub members have been doing for years. You
feed Purina Dog Food, you clip the weight circles, you send them to Purina
ProClub and you receive checks for food, merchandise, gift certificates, vet
checks, and other items relating to our dogs. However, the GSDCA receives a
cash payment equal to 10% of the total value ProClub Members who have
designated the GSDCA as their PPCP. Anybody who claims affiliation with German
Shepherd Dogs contributes to this program. If you are also a participant in the
Purina Alliance Program, the cash payout from Purina increases to 20%. It is
that easy, clip and send in those weight circles and it might be your mailing
that contributes to finding a breakthrough for a certain health issue,
BECAUSE the funds Purina donates are paid as follows:
· Half of the Amount goes to the GSDCA to be used for:

o    Canine Health
o    Rescue
o    Education
o    Other projects that positively impact the well being of our Breed
The other half of the generated funds are donated to the Canine Health
Foundation (CHF) and hopefully everyone knows that for every dollar donated
directly to the CHF the American Kennel Club (AKC) matches that donation which
means that any amount donated to the CHF automatically doubles. Here is what you
contributed by sending in those Purina Weight Circles in 2005:
$13,207.23 – Directly to CHF
$13,207.23 – Matched by AKC
$13,207.23 – Directly to the GSDCA
$39,621.69 – Total Funds generated by redeeming Purina Weight Circles
Bet you didn’t realize those little Weight Circles meant so much. This is
totally in addition to everything redeemed personally by those who are ProClub
members. The Weight Circles control this whole Sponsorship and Alliance
Programs, and yes it is up to all of us to make sure we keep it going and
growing.
But wait, there is more, sorry if you are tired of reading all this but it
is so important and it is something we all can participate.
At the January Board meeting when Correy Krickeberg, the Purina manager who
is responsible for accepting and presenting this wonderful opportunity for
the GSDCA, showed the Board the slide explaining how we earned the $8,805.42
from the 2005 Futurity I was surprised that we only showed 31 Futurity
Nominated AKC Champions. Remember when I said Purina was willing to pay $25 for each
Futurity Nominated puppy that earned their AKC Championship? Well here is
the slide that Correy showed us:
2005 GSDCA Futurity Earnings
* Litter Nominations (448)    $4,480 ($10 per litter
nominated)
* Futurity Puppies Entered (764)    $1,528 ($2 per entry)
* Nominated Champions (31) $   775 ($25 per AKC CH)
* Futurity Weight Circles $2,022.42 (2,022,420 lbs x 10%)
* Total Futurity Payout $8,805.42
I looked at the slide and immediately thought there should be more AKC
Champions and more $25.00 checks. I said something to Gary who mentioned it to
Kris and Paul, we came up with 10 or so that probably were not on the list.
Then Correy made the following statement that Purina would be willing to go back
to 2002, the year the Futurity Program started and if there were AKC
Champions that were in the Futurity Program that had not been reported, they would
in fact let the GSDCA go back and collect $25.00 for each one who were in the
Futurity Program and who have finished their AKC Championship. So get ready,
Laura will be compiling a list of all those Champions, if you have finished
a puppy that was Futurity nominated, they did not even have to been have
shown in a Futurity, just nominated, then email, write or call Laura and give her
all the information, Dog’s Name, AKC Number, Futurity Litter Number, Date
Finished, Owner’s Name, Address, Breeders Name and Address.
At the International Kennel Club in Chicago, Purina announced their
contributions the Canine Health Foundation from all of the Breed Clubs who are
participating in the PPCP, came to over $400,000 and I think that is fantastic.
We have projected the GSDCA could earn in excess of $60,000 in 2006 if we
participate in the PPCP and the Purina Alliance Program at the levels we think
are possible. Please be a part of this exciting effort that just may result
in the discovery of the cure for the disease that will ensure your dog will
live a long and healthy life.
If you have any questions at all about the PPCP or the Purina Alliance
Program please contact me or Laura, we are ready to answer your questions.
Let’s Encourage, Not Discourage.
Lew

BOARD O GRAM

Written by Tom T. Mesdag

Edited and approved by Lew Bunch

Highlights of the July 2006 Board Meeting

The third regular Board Meeting of the German Shepherd Dog Club of America for 2006 was July 28 - 30 at the City Center Holiday Inn, Columbus Ohio.

Strategic Planning Committee

This Board workshop dealt with issues of membership, declining litter nominations, and the new Working Dog Sport. The thoughts, brainstorming and suggestions put forth could result in new and exciting benefits for the membership.

Corresponding Secretary Report: The Election Agent Selection Committee evaluated all proposals and recommended the Board select Election Services Corporation as the 2006 Election Agent. The Board voted to appoint Election Services Corporation as the GSDCA Election Agent for the 2006 Elections.

President's Report:

Royal Canin has joined Purina as a major sponsor of the GSDCA. Royal Canin will sponsor the GSDCA National Victory Dinner and also will support up to 20 GSDCA Regional clubs with cash and prizes for their show weekend. Thank you Royal Canin.

The Purina Alliance Program and Sponsorship of the GSDCA National and the GSDCA Futurities (donating all the trophies and hosting educational seminars) has been extended for an additional three years through 2009 with yearly financial increases equal to the increase in the PPCP which averages 30 percent each year.

The Board approved sending the Board O Gram via email to all members and Regional clubs with email addresses and to place the Board O Gram in the Review instead of mailing via the USPS for those who do not have email addresses. The realized savings are approximately $2,000 per year.

 The Annual Membership Meeting will have a microphone in the room for the membership to speak in an open forum to the Board.

 Pat Brown has agreed to design a permanent Show Booth for the GSDCA to be used in the Meet the Breeds Section at the Eukanuba Classic or National Dog Show. This traveling booth also may be used by Regional Clubs at their local fairs and public education events.

AKC Delegate Report:

The Working Dog Sport

The WDS program was approved by the AKC board at their meeting in May of 2006.

DNA

Support by the GSDCA for the AKC DNA program will add us to the list of 104 other parent clubs that have taken action to support DNA at their nationals. The American Kennel Club is offering a discounted DNA Profile program to all Parent Breed Clubs. Participating clubs will receive a special discounted rate of $30 per dog for all DNA samples collected at the National Specialty.

AKC new online Account services. This new feature allows breeders to maintain their dog information on the AKC web. They have provided a service that will keep all of your dogs and litters in one record. It also lets you keep up with "dogs of interest" that you do not own. The primary goal of this project is to launch a platform for future services. Record keeping is just one step in the process. All you need is an AKC account. Go to the AKC home page and click on "Create Account" located at the upper right corner of the home page. For help call AKC Customer Care, Telephone: 919-233-9767, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

National Specialty: Please refer to the Advance Brochure and the July issue of the GSD Review for further details.

The deadline to donate TROPHIES for the Lake St Louis National has been extended to August 15.

The GSDCA guest rules form that is at the reception desk of our host hotels each year will require a signature acknowledging that hotel guests who are affiliated with the National show in any way have read and understand the rules. AKC considers hotels/motels (and their grounds) that GSDCA has agreements with to be part of the show site.

If you fly United Airlines to or from AKC shows, call 800-521-4041 and use code 515sp. If you book your flight MORE than 30 days out, you will receive a 7 percent discount. If you book LESS than 30 days out the discount is 2 percent.

A microchip and DNA Clinic will be held in the stall area at the National Friday October 20.

Miguel Betancourt will be the official performance/candid photographer.

Agility: Members of the GSDCA who are interested in receiving information about GSDCA agility via email, should send an email to subscribe to this informational list to: GSDCA-Agility-subscribe@yahoogroups.com If you would like to support agility with a trophy donation or would like to donate your time to help GSDCA agility, please contact either Jane Jeter at j-five@webtv.net or Julie Degen at ejdegen@aol.com. Many trophies are available, First Place is $50, Second is $40, Third is $30 and Fourth is $20. Your name will be listed in the show catalog as a donor, or you may donate a trophy "in memory of" someone else. Trophy selection is based on a first request, first listed basis, so please list your first, second, and third choices. Also please consider allowing the donation to be used where needed if choices are already taken. Send trophy donations to Jane Jeter, 19 Aunt Molly Road, Hopewell, NJ 08525

Herding: Herding Advisory Committee (HAC) delegate to the AKC representing the GSDCA Herding Program, is Debby Pollard. Jean De Napoli is the alternate. The C Course-GSDCA National September 30 in Battleground Washington -Trial Secretary Barbara White gaelyncot@aol.com-402-860-5974

The Herding Trial for A&B course/Ranch Course will be Friday 10/13- Sunday, 10/15 at Wright City MO - Trial Secretary Barbara Witte. Instinct Testing - Tuesday Oct 17 (entries limited to 40) non-sanctioned Cost $45/r start time 10 AM - Location - Entries to be mailed to Sandy Moore; P.O. Box 13; Gardnerville, NV 89410 For more information contact Sandy at sandy@stockdog.com

Obedience: Anyone interested in stewarding for obedience at the 2006 National, please contact Dalene McIntire at 253-852-0605 or dalene.mcintire@verizon.net.

Trophy donations are still needed for the National this year, in particular the Obedience Victor/Victrix Trophy and High In Trial Trophy. There are a few class trophies available also. To donate an obedience trophy, please contact Linda Booker at 318-641-9877 or legatogsd@earthlink.net.

If you would like to submit an obedience article for publication in the Review, the editors have asked for more on this subject. If you don't feel you can write it that well, send me the information and I'll be happy to help you out. Send it to Dalene at the email address noted above.

Tracking Test

TRACK LAYERS NEEDED: Volunteer tracklayers are needed for the 2006 GSDCA National Tracking Test at Robertsville State Park and the University of Missouri - St. Louis.

PLEASE volunteer to be a tracklayer, contact Kathy Donaldson at MaximusMom1@sbcglobal.net. For everyone who is interested in Tracking, come on out and learn about this wonderful sport, your dogs will love it and you will enjoy the exercise.

National Show Sites: The Board approved The Champions Center at Clark County Fairgrounds, 4122 Laybourne Road, Springfield, OH as the site for the 2009 GSDCA National Specialty Show. Their web site is www.championscenter.net.

Review Editor: The Review Editor Selection Committee evaluated all of the applicants for the position and they recommended the Board offer the Editor position to Susan Casey. The Board accepted the recommendation of the committee and voted to offer the Review Editor position to Susan Casey.

Futurities: The Board approved a pilot program for the development of a new venue which is called The GSDC Regional Sweepstakes. This venue would occur on the same weekend as each Regional Futurity and would have classes for amateurs only. The winner of each Region would compete in Amateur competition at the GSDC National Specialty. The Futurity chair is to report back to the Board in October for review of the final draft.

HOST CLUBS, DATES, SITES AND JUDGES

2007 FUTURITY/MATURITY

Region 1

Northeast GSDC of Southern New Hampshire Site

Sun, June 17 Linda Bankhead Rochester Fairgrounds

Rochester, NH

Region 2

Mid-Atlantic GSDC of Northern VA Site

Monday, May 28 Martha Rinke Howard Johnson-South

Fredericksburg, VA

Region 3

Southeast GSDC of Louisiana Site

Sunday, April 22 Joan Fox North Park

Denham Springs, LA

Region 4

Great Lakes GSDC of Central Indiana Site

Sat. April 7 Gail Hardcastle Speedway 500

Moose Lodge

Indianapolis, IN 46224

Region 5

Mid West GSDC of the Quad Cities Site

Sat. May 5 Kathy Potter Airport Park

Indian Bluff Road

Moline, IL

Region 6

Southwest GSDC of Beaumont Site

Sun, March 25 Roberta Kindy Holiday Inn Midtown

Beaumont, Texas

Region 7

Southern Pacific San Bernardino/Riverside GSDC Site

Fri, June 8 Michael Metz Claremont Hotel Grounds

Claremont, CA

Region 8

Mid-Pacific Diablo Valley GSDC Site

Fri, June 29 Sandy Anderson Questa Park

Mountain View, CA

Region 9

Northwest GSDC of Washington State Site

Fri, May 11 Paul Root Carco Park

Renton, WA

Awards Committees:

Blanche Beisswenger Memorial Hero Dog Awards:

2006 PET HERO DOG AWARD: GSDCA members Glennon & Kelly Murphy nominate their dog RR Bar’s Kohle Schaferhund (COBY). COBY is credited with saving Kelly’s life.

2006 GOOD WILL AMBASSADOR HERO DOG AWARD: GSDCA member Marcia Hadley nominates Roberts Brianna Leigh C.D ATT, CGC TDI (Brianna). BRIANNA is owned by Helen T.Rockman, and her daughter Elizabeth A. Rockman. BRIANNA and Helen visit six Hospice patients at Friendship Village in South County every week.

2006 SERVICE HERO DOG AWARD: GSDCA member Dixie Whitman nominates REX-DO12, owned by his human partner U.S. Navy Petty Officer MA1 Chris Calloway. REX completed his basic training at Lackland AFB in Narcotics Detection and Patrol. REX and Calloway were deployed to Afghanistan in “Operation Enduring Freedom” in December 2005. During their six month tour, an excess of 10 tons of opium and heroin were found and destroyed.

Don Cliff Good Sportsmanship Award: Applications for 2006 are due by Sept. 1, 2006. Contact Kris Fasano at 515-278-1068 for further info.

Select Excellent Report: The Select Excellent pins have been mailed to the owners. These Selects have completed the requirements for Select Excellent.: Sel. Ex. Ch. Marquis' Here I Am V Surigo, owned by F. Susan Godek and Nancy K Godek; Sel. Ex. Ch. Scher-Lo's Rogue of Karizma owned by Adeline Scherz and Nathalie Lowe; Sel. Ex. Ch. Winaki Hanzel Apfelsine owned by Harolyn Van Avery and B. Katona. If you will be entering Best of Breed at the National, please be sure to get your paperwork in to Patty Szymczak for the Select Excellent Award.

Health & Genetics: $4,000 will be donated to Dr. Clemmons for DM research with the “Blood Cards” or FTA papers. The Blue Book for Health Issues will be published this year as hard copy and also will be available on DVD. Funding for these donations will be provided from the Purina Funds Account.

Education Committee: Development of the GSDCA Lending Library

1. Requesting donations of educational materials from the general membership that will be available to member clubs and individuals.

2. Addition of Gerald Roach, 1434 Uber Ave., Evansville, IN 47710 to the Education Committee. Gerald will be involved with the collection and dissemination of the educational material using the form which will be on the educational site in the GSDCA.org web site.

3. Please share your wonderful tapes that have been on your shelves with the new people in the breed so that they will learn from your expertise.

Judges Education Seminar: Wednesday morning Oct. 18 at the GSDCA National. All members are welcome to attend. Please look for the registration form at GSDCA.org.

A list of GSDCA judges who are willing to give educational seminars is provided on the education site. If your club is planning to have a program please consider these judges when making your selection. We are in the process of developing a list of programs that will be available for regional clubs to use at their meetings.

Legal Affairs: The GSDC of America Logo is a copyrighted logo. It cannot be used on any private web site. Use of same may result in litigation.

Membership Chair Report:

Membership Handbook: The publishing of the new Membership Handbook has been delayed but it is in the works and should be out soon.

Renewals: The Membership Committee, together with volunteering board members, followed up on members who did not renew their membership. We expect to increase the number of renewals by this action.

Welcoming Membership Committee: Regional mentors are now contacting new members, providing information, offering assistance and creating a point of contact for all those newly joining our club. We hope this program will increase membership retention in the coming years.

Golden Members: At the GSDCA National the Golden Members' program will recognize members who have supported our breed and our Club for a significant number of years.

Benefits of Membership: The Board was asked to review a comparison list of benefits enjoyed by members of the German Shepherd Dog Club of America versus benefits enjoyed by all. The committee recommends that some of our benefits be limited to GSDCA members only. Board members should review the list of benefits and make recommendations as to how we can increase the value of the GSDCA membership.

Parent Club Office: Notice to all Regional Clubs: The GSDCA Office has tri-fold GSDCA Brochures and Pocket Standards available on request. GSDCA Office; Laura Gilbert; 2448 Johnstown Road; Chesapeake, VA 23322. Phone: 757-421-7854. Email address is GSDCAoffice@gsdca.org. Please be sure to add this address to your club’s Premium List mailing.

Policy & Procedures: There are vast changes to report, including page indexing, numbering and further updating to the Policy and Procedures manual. It is now undergoing another major revamping and more corrections and inclusion of materials previously omitted. Mr. Michel Ebertin is helping to put a professional looking manual on line in PDF form and hopefully it will soon be ready for the membership.

Products Committee Report: Just a reminder to save your pennies and stop by to see Ann at the Products table. We have some new exciting products that can be used on the way to the show, at the show and on the way home from the show. A special thank you to the committee, Ann Mesdag, Patty Szymczak and Todd Vigor for finding these exciting items and especially to Todd for securing a vendor.

RALEEF: RALEEF will work with all Regional Clubs, put on an educational program and assist clubs in starting their own RALEEF-styled committee. Contact raleef@bellsouth.net.

Red Book Report:. Some people have not yet submitted information on their dogs. Committees may send Liz Leschhorn an article on their committee's responsibilities for publication. Deadline is Aug. 15.

Regional Clubs: DVDs of the 2005 Judges Seminar given by Dave Rinke at the National and recorded by Pam Stoesser and Ed Anderson were sent to all Regional Clubs. Additional copies of this wonderful educational tool are available by sending an email to Laura Gilbert at the GSDCA Office. There is no charge to GSDCA members for this DVD but copies are limited.

Search and Rescue: Our K9 Heroes has planned a special ceremony for September 9, 2006 at 6 p.m., Campbell’s Field Baseball Stadium, Camden, New Jersey. Many different types of service dogs and those who worked on 9/11 will be honored. For more information go to http://ourk9heroes.tripod.com. Those who are close to Camden please try and attend this event. The Board voted to donate $1,200 to honor these K9 Heroes.

Video: Please support the Video program of the GSDCA through your purchase of the VHS tape or DVD. Details are at: http://gsdca.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv. Relive the excitement if you were there, experience it if you were not, and study the top German Shepherds of the year at your leisure. The Video Committee is open to suggestions for improvements to the National Video, and will be expanding the class coverage beginning with the 2006 National. Anyone who would like to assist the Video Committee please contact John Ayotte ASAP.

The American German Shepherd Rescue Association: The AGSRA is a fund raising/educational organization. The funds we receive are used to advance the work of organizations rescuing German Shepherd Dogs. This meets our goal of protecting the German Shepherd Dog from suffering due to cruelty, homelessness, ignorance, neglect and misuse.

Working Dog Sport Committee: The AKC has approved the Working Dog Sport with regulations that are equivalent to the WUSV Schutzhund rules. The GSDCA is one of four breed clubs approved to host such events. David Landau was approved as the GSDCA representative to the AKC WDS Advisory Committee.

GSDCA-WDA Liaison: The 2006 North American Sieger Show will be at Purina Farms in Eureka, MO from Oct. 27-29. The GSDCA-WDA is soliciting contributions to help support the GSDCA Team at the World Championship in Denmark. Checks can be set to GSDCA-WDA Treasurer, Martylou Plinski, 245 Deerhill Dr., Bogart, GA 30622, and marked for the GSDCA World Team Fund.

VINEGAR INCREASES THE KILLING POWER OF BLEACH
By American Society for Microbiology

Adding white vinegar to diluted household bleach greatly increases the disinfecting power of the solution, making it strong enough to kill even bacterial spores, according to researchers from MicroChem Lab, Inc. in Euless, Texas, who reported their findings at the 2006 ASM Biodefense Research Meeting.

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) in the form of laundry bleach is available in most households. The concentrate is about 5.25 to 6 percent NaOCl, and the pH value is about 12. Sodium hypochlorite is stable for many months at this high alkaline pH value.

"Laundry bleach is commonly diluted about 10 to 25-fold with tap water to about 2000 to 5000 parts per million of free available chlorine for use as an environmental surface disinfectant, without regard to the pH value of the diluted bleach. However, the pH value is very important for the antimicrobial effectiveness of bleach," says Norman Miner, a researcher on the study.

At alkaline pH values of about 8.5 or higher, more than 90 percent of the bleach is in the form of the chlorite ion (OCl-), which is relatively ineffective antimicrobially. At acidic pH values of about 6.8 or lower, more than 80 percent of the bleach is in the form of hypochlorite (HOCl). HOCl is about 80 to 200 times more antimicrobial than OCl-.

"Bleach is a much more effective antimicrobial chemical at an acidic pH value than at the alkaline Ph value at which bleach is manufactured and stored. A small amount of household vinegar is sufficient to lower the pH of bleach to an acidic range," says Miner.

Miner and his colleagues compared the ability of alkaline (pH 11) and acidified (pH 6) bleach dilutions to disinfect surfaces contaminated with dried bacterial spores, considered the most resistant to disinfectants of all microbes. The alkaline dilution was practically ineffective, killing all of the spores on only 2.5 percent of the surfaces after 20 minutes. During the same time period the acidified solution killed all of the spores on all of the surfaces.

"Diluted bleach at an alkaline pH is a relatively poor disinfectant, but acidified diluted bleach will virtually kill anything in 10 to 20 minutes," says Miner. "In the event of an emergency involving Bacillus anthracis spores contaminating such environmental surfaces as counter tops, desk and table tops, and floors, for example, virtually every household has a sporicidal sterilant available in the form of diluted, acidified bleach."

Miner recommends first diluting one cup of household bleach in one gallon of