HEALTH-TESTING YOUR EURASIER

Why should you heath-test your Eurasier, even though s/he seems completely healthy?

Well, there are lots of benefits from health-testing, not just for your own dog but also for the breed as a whole.

·       It is important to know the state of your dog’s joints so that if there are problems, you can adjust your dog’s life accordingly and allow it to enjoy it to the full.

·       Your dog will also benefit from you knowing whether they have developed, or are in the process of developing, any conditions such as hypothyroidism, so you can act swiftly to ensure your dog maintains the best possible quality of life.

·       You may have promised your breeder to undertake health tests as part of your puppy contract.

·       Testing would have the additional benefit of giving your breeder a good insight into the health status of their breeding stock, so that they can best ensure they are producing healthy puppies.

·       You may have already paid a health-deposit that would cover much of the cost.

·       Finally, your club’s Code of Ethics might require the parents of your dog to return good health results in their puppies before they can be bred again.

Hopefully you will agree that our wish is to breed dogs that will, to the best of our knowledge, have bright futures and live long and healthy lives. If so, you would certainly expect your breeder to have undertaken all the recommended tests on the mother, and the stud dog owner to have done the same on their male. These results do give us a lot of information, but this really is the minimum. The more we know about the health of the relatives of dogs that are being bred, the greater is our knowledge of what is likely to be carried by the parents of a litter. This is a bit like in humans, when diseases in close relatives increase your risk to develop them. Therefore, even if you have no plan to breed your dog, please, please do get your dog health-tested; it’s important in so many ways!

• What can you do VERY easily and (usually for FREE) – at any visit to the vets: 

    Check: patella (for luxation), eyes (ectropion, entropion and distichiasis/double eyelashes)

• What can you do EASILY (cost about £120)– at any visit to the vets: 

    Check: Patella, eyes, a LARGE Thyroid panel (including TgAA antibodies)

• If you can, please get your dog’s large joints (hips and elbows) checked as well. 

    This will need SEDATION only and not anaesthesia (!) and could cost from £350 - £500, so         shopping around is a good idea

FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE, PLEASE SEND RESULTS TO YOUR BREEDER AND OUR BREED HEALTH COORDINATOR (for entry into the international Eurasier health database, unless you ask for it to be kept confidential)

All the recommended/required tests are also listed here: https://www.southerneurasierassociation.co.uk/thinking-of-breeding

Our recently published ‘Looking for a puppy’ page on the SEA website can give you more information on health deposits and health-testing in Eurasiers, as can the dedicated ‘Health’ page. However, we have a vast range of experience within our community of members and our committee, and we are all willing to help where we can. If you have questions about health-testing, health deposits or anything else, please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

At the upcoming AGM, there will be lots of opportunity to chat about health tests, so please come and fire away!  

Boo & Charlotte

Before Boo came to live with us, I decided - determined as I was to be an excellent dog owner – that I would read lots of books on the subject. I don’t recall their titles now, but my memory of them was that their advice varied from ‘all you need to do is love your dog and everything will be ok’ through to ‘you must completely dominate your dog as they thrive in hierarchies and woe betide you if you are not the alpha dog in your pack’. If you knew me, you would know which of these I would incline towards. Let’s just say, I love to love. 

I was beyond excited that Boo was going to be our puppy. I say ‘our’ but to be honest, she was to be mine. My husband Gary was very willing to go along for the ride, but the deal was that she would be my charge. I was to be her owner / companion / teacher / best friend. And I don’t think I’ll be ruining this story to note that in the end she was, of course, all those things to me.

I will never ever forget the day we went to collect her. We had met her a few weeks before and she was cute beyond measure. Beautiful, and daft, and glorious, and a total heart-melter. Anyone who’s met a Eurasier puppy will know exactly what I mean. I felt honoured and excited – and was armed with all my reading. And I was also aware that we were about to take her away from her mum. I was thrilled and over the moon, but I felt for her. 

 

I felt for her all the way home, while she cried and climbed under the car seats and peed repeatedly on Gary’s lap. (I’m the designated driver in our household) I felt for her while she cried for her mum and siblings that first night, so forlornly, I almost drove her back to Brigitte! And I continued to feel for her while we slowly got to know each other and became increasingly entwined. Me and my Boo. And Boo with her Charlotte. (I know that second statement may sound trite and anthropomorphic, but that is how it felt.)

 

There were times when her judgement was way off. Like when she would charge at other dogs in the park no matter how large and quite obviously unfriendly they were. (A phase, thank goodness.) And there were times when my judgement was way off. Like when I thought I might prefer it if she didn’t sleep in our room! 

She chewed shoes and wallets, and I thought no dog would be so stupid as to run up to horse and nip at its hind legs. Our efforts to walk each other on a lead reduced us both to tears I think, and I definitely cried in those first couple of weeks, when she resolutely refused to let me go to the loo without destroying something in my brief absence. There were times I wondered what on earth I’d done, and there were times when she probably thought the same.  One Saturday quite early on I remember spending the whole day cooking homemade food for her, only for her to sniff at the bowl and walk off. I could disappoint. And on a few occasions, she did too. But my god, I loved her. I absolutely adored her. And as any wise dog owner will tell you. It’s never them that’s the problem, it’s always you. 

 

She continued through all the years to be utterly beautiful, adorably daft, yet gloriously wise, always a complete heart-melter – and also a wonderful mother herself. 

And….. well, I think I might stop there. I’m afraid we know how this story ends. And the hole in my life left by her absence continues to be as wide and as deep and as true as the love I felt for her. In the end, that first book was right. And my, how lucky am I to have been Boo’s Charlotte. 

Walks to Build Bonds and Increase Calm Behaviour

 By Barry Woods ('Mr Bones')

 A few years ago, my Eurasier, Balthazar, was the most challenging adolescent I’d ever encountered. A real handful! Recently, I was delighted when we were complimented on how nicely he responded to me. I believe these improvements have come about by consistently bringing fun interaction into our walks. 

 

I recommend thinking of a walk as containing four quadrants that increase responsiveness, promote calm and build a great bond between you and your dog. These quadrants are interspersed liberally throughout the walk, don’t worry about focussing on each one individually. 

 

I tend to teach new activities at home with fewer distractions, then gradually take them outside to quiet locations. You’ll find that once your dog really understands what’s going on, and has had lots of practice, the techniques will become second nature in new and stimulating environments.

Games with You

Devote time on the walk to playing with your dog, finding games that they love. I avoid high-arousal games that release extra adrenaline, such as repetitive ball chasing. This is because adrenaline is a stress hormone that impairs learning and prevents our dogs from making good choices! They are far more likely to run off, ignore you, chase wildlife when already amped up on adrenaline.

These are some of the games that we play:

 

Find It! – Simply scatter treats into the grass and ask your dog to “Find It”, praise for finding them. Sniffing and seeking lowers adrenaline and releases calming endorphins. It is highly enriching and also tiring. When your dog understands the “Find It” cue you can make the game more difficult. Ask your dog to find one treat, when they’re searching for it throw a second so they can’t see where it lands. Praise for finding the first then immediately ask to “Find It” so they need to use their nose to locate the second. Don’t interfere while your dog is searching, only help if your dog stops and looks to you for assistance.

 

Cheesy Trees – amaze your dog with your ability to find the amazing trees that grow cheese! Mild cheddar is great for squishing and sticking. I squash three small pieces around a tree at slightly different heights to encourage my dog to search up and down. Recall your dog and then give the “Find It” cue. You’ll be surprised how your cheese finding skills start to improve your dog’s recall.

 

Doggy Parkour – we know how our Eurasiers love to climb. Encourage them onto tree stumps or benches, lure them up with a treat if necessary. Teach them to jump over logs by following a treat initially, put it on cue, “Over!”. Eventually work on your “Wait” and then cue them “Over!”. Dogs under 18 months shouldn’t be encouraged to do too much jumping as their growth plates won’t have closed. We can teach them to commando crawl under benches by asking for a “Down” and then luring them along while in that position.

 

Hide ‘n’ Seek – pop behind trees when your dog isn’t looking, wait for them to notice you’re no longer there and then call them. You’ll find they start checking in a lot more often when they realise you can disappear! 

 

Fun Training

Be sure to put some fun training into your walk to build value for when you really need it. Keep it light, remember training is something we do WITH our dogs, not TO our dogs. It should be enjoyable for both of you.

 

Recall – scatter lots of mini-recalls throughout your walk, especially when your dog is most likely to succeed. Reward highly then tell your dog to go play again. Don’t make the mistake of only using recalls to call your dog away from fun, this will make your recall toxic. Avoid asking your dog to sit when they return as you will then be rewarding the sit, not the recall.

 

Wait – build lots of value in your waits outside. Start in very low distraction environments. You may need to just build some duration before even trying to move away. I love to join up our skills so will combine waits with recall, or call my dog into heel position and reward for walking to heel, or simply return to him to reward for remaining still. 

Can you teach my favourite, a stand/wait? I love working in the stand position, when dogs are on all four paws they’re more likely to do something undesirable.

 

Spin/Twist – lure your dog in a circle with a treat, reward when they complete the circle. Repeat this a few times, then move your empty hand as though you still have a treat in it. When the dog completes the circle reward from your other hand. You have now taught a spin to a hand signal. Teach a twist by turning the dog in the other direction, you don’t want a dizzy dog!

 

Distance work – when your dog really responds to the three positions outside, (sit, down, stand), then try giving your cues one step further away from them. Once successful, try two steps away. Over time build your distance so your dog learns to respond when you’re a couple of metres away.

 

Settle

Spend some time just sitting and relaxing, read a book, look at your phone, check out from your dog. We want them to learn to be calm while you’re busy doing something else. Teach them to settle close to you by keeping them on lead. I often just step on the lead. You may have to reward calm behaviour intermittently at first. I do this by just placing a treat without looking at my dog. I try to do this when he’s not looking at me as I don’t want the exercise to be about anticipating food. As always, set your dog up for success. Start teaching this somewhere quiet. I start all of my training at home before taking it to different locations, gradually increasing distractions.

 

Let a dog be a dog!

Our final, and highly important, quadrant is to simply let a dog be a dog. Give them time to sniff, take in their environment, explore, run off-lead, visit new locations. Watching my dog doing what he enjoys brings me most joy on my walks. 

SEA ONLINE FUN DOG SHOW 2022 - RESULTS

Best In Show:  Golden Oldies – Annie

Reserve Best In Show:  Mission Impossible – Murphy

 

Lovely collection of photos of ‘pups’ having a great time.  Hard to choose – but I had to make decisions – so these are the pics in each category that I kept going back to!   Frankly they are all winners and show the bond we have with our lovely dogs.

 

Beach Babes: 

All the pics in the section were a delight.  There were many that I would like to hang on the wall – but I had to narrow it down to three.

1.     Annie – a stunning head shot – I loved the focus on the sandy face and the water and sand shimmering.   Lovely dog and lovely picture

2.     Winter – footprints in the sand.  Great photo somehow bringing together the day at the beach.

3.     Umka and Alyssa – It takes two – a delightful  shot demonstrating ‘teamwork’!

4.     Lottie

5.     Umka

 

Crazy Hair Day:

 

1.     Luca – channelling the famous multi-coloured ‘coos’ – I loved the patience on the Eurasier’s face which says ‘companion’ in the best possible way.

2.     Lux – Made me laugh out loud!  Technically very good to catch the droplets – but the expression was the clincher!

3.     Iris – a very fetching ‘neckpiece’ demonstrating the ability of the coat to attract all sorts of vegetation!  Model looks very content with the result and obviously enjoyed the process of collection.

4.     Umka and Alyssa

5.     Murphy

Early Birds and Night Crawlers:

 

1.     Lumen and Lux – Great composition and captured the moment – which can be hard. Rocks, sea, dogs with smiles – what more could you ask for?

2.     Enzo – very evocative and rather touching – capturing the quiet moment.  In years to come this picture will conjure up all the memories of a day well spent.

3.     Lottie – A very happy pup!  There is a joy here that speaks to the relationship between the subject and the photographer.  Made me happy.

4.     Lux

5.     Kai

 

Fur-ever-Fur-iends:

 

1.     Kodi and Jip – captures a moment of pure joy – and I couldn’t resist it.  

2.     Della and Friends – made me laugh – the happy expressions on all three faces 

3.     Pippa and Luca – Loved the expressions and the obvious bond between this ‘odd’ couple.

4.     Iris and Molly

5.     Della and Friends

Golden Oldie:

A lovely collection showing the joy that our older dogs bring.  I loved them all.

1.     Annie – The intense gaze, the kind eyes, the slight ‘silvering’ come together to produce the most lovely close-up.  I would love to be looking into that dear face.

2.     Bubbles – a happy, relaxed and totally unselfconscious Eurasier – and you just want to (very gently) get down to rub that tummy!

3.     Sheeba – the joy of movement.  This babe doesn’t let age slow them down.

4.     Mishka Boots

5.     Winter

Handsome Fellow:

A clutch of handsome fellows – all deserving the accolade

1.     Luca – what a hunk!  There is a chap who doesn’t need to be told he is handsome – he knows it!  

2.     Lux – the ability to still look like a handsome hunk even when caught in the rain.

3.     Vico – A very handsome fella indeed – relaxed and yet conveying a sense that ‘all is well’. 

4.     Lumen

5.     Enzo

 

Mission Impossible:

1.     Murphy – a wise dog knows when to beat a retreat!  Doing it with dignity is not so easy!

2.     Enzo – there is a delightfully ‘manic’ quality to the way this Eurasier is celebrating the day and the freedom of the beach.

3.     Umka – That is quite a leap – and exquisite form.  Agility talent.

4.     Mishka Boots

5.     Della and Friends

Pretty Lady:

1.     Forest – what a pretty girl making an even prettier picture!  A delightful capture with the wild flowers and grasses.  Charming.

2.     Della – How could you resist that face?  A beauty.

3.     Winnie – Looking for treats to put in her basket?  Lovely girl.

4.     Della

5.     Iris

 Top of the Pups:

All puppies are ‘cute’ and all of these are totally beautiful – so again, my choices were made by how many times I had to return to a picture!

1.     Lux – A picture that shouts ‘puppy’ – cute and full of mischief.

2.     Iris – the ‘mask’ stage – so beautiful.  This pup so intense and serious and full of enquiry.

3.     Lumen – I’m looking at you …  This is just  such a typical puppy pose of a pup that wants to be in the centre of things.

4.     Willow

5.     Vico and River

Winter Wonderland:

1.     Umka – made me laugh out loud!  Do you know it’s wet out here?   

2.     Iris – the joy of snow!  Perhaps a mouse under there …  Certainly enjoying the day.

3.     Sheeba – The patience needed when hunting squirrel … They always seem to think that if they wait long enough their quarry will come to them.

4.     Kodi

5.     Winter

 

The Rainbow Bridge:

No placings in this section – each and every picture represents the love, companionship and joy that our dogs bring to us and how the heartbreak of loss transmutes into the warmest of lovely memories. 

 

 

Thank you for asking me to give my opinion – I loved going through all of the pictures.

 

Penny Roberts

DOBO - FUN FITNESS FOR YOUR DOG

By Moira van der Heijden
Dobo is a sport that combines exercise and having fun. Some exercises are done on an egg-shaped Dobo ball, some on balance discs, and some on half balls. 

Dobo exercises are 

suitable for healthy dogs aged 5 months and over and can be practised by dogs of any size. The dog should never be forced, but all exercises are done at the dog’s pace and will. Dobo should always be enjoyable for both the dog and the handler. It include moves for both the dog and the handler, and some are done together. The aim is to improve balance, body coordination skills, muscle strength and encourage stretching. Most Dobo exercises include several muscle groups working together. Even seemingly static movements are designed to make the muscles work hard. In this article I concentrate on the dog’s part of Dobo, but by doing these exercises, humans get the benefits, too. Even something as simple as standing on a balance disc improves a large muscle group and your balance. Dobo exercises are particularly good for midriff, and they improve balance and posture.
 
Why Dobo for Dogs?
Dobo exercises improve a dog’s concentration skills. You can not balance on wobbly things if you don’t concentrate! The exercises are also fun to do, so the dog learns to follow your lead. The exercises improve a dog’s agility, balance and coordination skills; they strengthen the muscles – strong muscles support the sporting dogs, and tone the show dogs. The exercises also help the dog to stretch itself and help reduce muscle tension, and, doing these together supports and improves the dog-owner relationship.
 
How to Get Started?
Remember, the aim of Dobo is not only to exercise, but to have a good time with your dog. This is not serious training; it’s meant to be light-hearted and fun. Dogs enjoy exercise, and they enjoy doing things together with their humans. Usually it only stops being fun if people get too serious. This is your time together, enjoy it!
There are a couple of basic rules: Dogs must be well and fit; any illnesses and injuries must heal before you can start. If the dog has structural flaws or problems, it’s best to consult the vet before starting. Never force the dog, the dog can always decide whether to do the exercise and stop if he chooses. Initially, about 15 minutes should be enough. The ball must always be supported either by holding it against the wall, or between the handler’s legs. Dobo is not a competition sport, there is no pressure for success. Please note, that even fit dogs will need to build up gradually, as they use a variety of muscle groups, and the deep muscles are not usually regularly exercised. Although dogs naturally like Dobo, use plenty of easy-to-swallow treats as rewards (please make sure the dog has access to water). Remember to warm up before training; a 15-minute walk and doing a figure of eight through the legs, twists and turns, gentle stretching (never forcing) are good ways to warm up.
 
The Ball
To start with, the dog should get familiar with the ball, learn to lift his front paws on the ball, and maybe jump over it. When the dog is ready, he can climb onto the ball and adopt any position he finds comfortable. We can only train dogs on the ball when they feel safe and secure on it.

The Balance Discs and Half Balls
First, we teach the dog to place his front paws on the disc, followed by placing his back paws on the disc. The discs we use at Dobo are slightly larger and wobblier than regular discs. A Yoga or pilates balance board can be used, too. They are firmer, and therefore allow some moves that could be difficult on a wobbly surface. The same exercises can be performed on the half balls. The dog can also be taught to have all feet on balance discs or half balls. Using the half balls on this exercise allows the handler to place them accurately to encourage a natural and balanced standing position. This is also good practice for show dogs to learn to hold the stacked position.
Whenever you do any of these exercises, please keep an eye on your dog ensuring not to tire him too much. Allow breaks between exercises, and don’t forget to cool down after training.

Tricks
Some tricks can be performed during Dobo training. Giving paws: front and back; in sitting and standing position; lying on the side; bowing; figure of eight through legs; walking backwards, etc. Tricks are also fun to teach and can provide entertainment on a rainy day.

Dobo at the AGM 2022
We are planning to provide you an opportunity to try Dobo at the AGM. If you want to give it a go, please bring a flat collar and normal lead (not a flexi) and plenty of easy-to-swallow titbits/treatos. Remember that this is all fun and not serious business; some dogs are naturals, others take more time to learn, there is no pressure to achieve… Simply enjoy your dog!

DOBO - The Beauty of Dog Balance - experienced by a Eurasier

Cojanne is a Eurasier owned by SEA member Giò Taddei, who takes Dobo classes with her teacher, Siria Palazzo, a 3* degree instructor in Italy. Siria wrote an article for the Italian Eurasier Club newsletter in 2021, and Giò has kindly shared it with us.

Dog Balance, also known as ‘Dobo’, has a lot of physical benefits, but it also helps emotionally. That’s right. It is a discipline that is truly suitable for everyone, dogs of all ages, of any size, of any breed, or otherwise. 

I have had and am lucky enough to work with Cojanne, a wonderful Eurasier female, a breed still not very common in Italy. 

Cojanne at her DOBO class

“Cojanne, what struck me when you entered the gym, in addition to your beauty, which is unquestionable, was your gaze, which had so much distrust, but was also open to a lot of curiosity so as to understand where you were, what were all those coloured balls, and to me, as I was moving and handling the gear.

Carlo, your owner, presented you as a dog wary of people, reluctant to do new things; especially if you don’t like them, and don’t see the point in them. From there I said to myself: “A new experience begins for both of us”… 

You approached the Dog Balance Fit for the first time, and I was confronted with a breed that I had never worked with before. There, we were tuned from the first moment; we had given ourselves space to get to know each other, understand each other, and like each other… And then, off we go, we started working. 

The beginning of our work started right from the baseline, I built you low, ad hoc proprioceptive sensory paths to put you a little on the edge, and try to figure out your body knowledge, your skills, your temperament, your challenges and your ways of overcoming them. You used your physical abilities and intelligence to face everything, but avoided what you did not like; and I, more stubborn than you, knowing that you could do it without any problem, I urged you to persist until you got over that mistrust. 

Every new Dog Balance Fit lesson with you has always added progress, each time increasing the difficulty, so that you bring out the best skills and knowledge of your body, where you must focus on yourself, your movements, and your trust in me. 

What you take home at the end of each lesson is great results, because you face new things; first with your hesitant approach, but then you put your distrust aside, you believe it, and you know you can do it. Not only do you perform the proposed exercise, but you also perform it very well, as you have since the first moment, bringing home really good results. 

I really believe that the Dog Balance Fit is also helping you to deal with different things in everyday life, managing situations that bring you unease, and you overcome them with the skills you have acquired, and the greater self-esteem that this wonderful discipline gives you. 

We still have a long way to go, and new challenges to face together.”

By Siria Palazzo, Cojanne's DOBO trainer

A Day amongst Top Dogs at CRUFTS 2022