Eurasier Walks - Mychett Woods & Richmond Park

Two walks have been held, the first in woodland at the Basingstoke Canal Centre, this is a regular location offering free parking and facilities including a café. In addition to the extensive paths through the woods, the canal offers opportunity for some splashing about and canine refreshment. There is also a campsite (open March to October), ideal in the warmer weather for those that wish to make a weekend of their visit and perhaps enjoy a boat trip – the Basingstoke Canal runs for 32 miles in total!

As always, it was a great opportunity to catch up with friends and for the dogs to explore the countryside; we were also joined by some prospective Eurasier puppy parents allowing us all the opportunity to enthuse over our fur babies. Unfortunately, this walk ended somewhat abruptly when Brigitte jarred her already injured back, and sadly she was unable to stay for a cuppa.

Our second walk was hosted by a much-recovered Brigitte at one of her favourite haunts – Richmond Park. It was a beautiful day and the meet was arranged for the Isabella Plantation which is a woodland garden within the park established in the early 19th century– originally a boggy area of the park and known as Isabell Slade, or Sleyt meaning bog and Isabel meaning dirty or greyish brown, referring to the colour of the soil. The dedicated parking at this location was much less manic than at Pembroke Lodge and the coffee van had a good range of refreshments. There was an excellent turnout of dogs including two super cute youngsters and of course their families and once again several prospective owners enjoyed the opportunity to see our dogs ‘in the flesh’ and find out more about our wonderful breed. The walk was not totally uneventful as Murphy decided he wanted to explore the garden area which resulted in the loss of Peter who had gone to look for him and then became lost himself !!

By Ann Winter

IFEZ (International Federation for Eurasier Breeding) for SEA

This October I travelled to Stuttgart in Germany to attend the yearly international meeting of the IFEZ member clubs. IFEZ is short for International Federation for Eurasier Breeding (Zucht in German, hence the Z). This is a collaborative organization that centres around a database which contains many thousand Eurasiers from the beginnings of our breed. The entries comprise the names of the dog and also all the available health data. This is an invaluable tool. Also, it is a network of Eurasier clubs word-wide who share a common philosophy of non-commercial, ethical breeding, in agreement with the Eurasier Philosophy, which is so central to our Association as well. They all share a dedication and feel a special obligation to care for the health and temperament of our beautiful breed. I was very pleased, and I am not ashamed to say, quite emotional, that after only a few months existence, SEA was accepted as an Associated Member of IFEZ and is currently the only active UK representative. We will do our very best to carry on working in the very best interest of our breed.

By Brigitte Mordan-Grimm

Vico - The New Kid on the Block

In October 2018, Caroline Allen and Brigitte Mordan-Grimm drove over to Germany to pick up their new import Vico vom Weiacherhorn.
They both instantly fell in love with the little man and his very cheeky nature. He now keeps Caroline’s dogs and family busy, when they try to keep him out of the water, as he is a real puddle duck.

Many thanks to his Swiss breeder Cornelia Suter for entrusting us with her precious boy.
The good news is that she has promised to visit!

Breed Health Symposium at the Kennel Club 2018

The Kennel Club holds a Breed Health Symposium every year, which I have found most valuable on many levels. The people who are invited to give presentations are very knowledgeable in their field and it is a great opportunity to network with other Breed Health Coordinators, compare notes, pick up tips as well as support each other – and put faces to names!
This year the focus was on cancer in dogs as well as skin problems. Both topics are sadly also very prevalent for many a Eurasier and their owner, so I was greatly looking forward to the day and keen to gain some new insights.
Dr Mike Starkey, Head of the Molecular Oncology at the Animal Health Trust gave us an overview in the manifestation of cancer as well as current treatment options and prospects on how to improve the life of affected dogs. Some aspects of current research were also touched on.
After a break we had a very informative as well as entertaining talk on common skin conditions. Dr Rosario Cerundolo discussed the most common skin problems in dogs, some clinical signs and symptoms (with some very instructive slides that some found maybe a bit challenging), as well as risk factors owners should consider to prevent their dog being affected by skin problems. Amongst many other aspects, I found it very interesting that food companies have started producing a purely vegetarian, low allergenic food, which seems to work well for some affected dogs.
A session on the many challenges of being a Breed Health Coordinator and the mentor scheme finished a very interesting day. Big thanks to the KC Health Group for organizing such a valuable and motivating day for us!
As you probably all know, I am very dedicated to my role as Breed Health Coordinator and will continue to ask you for your help and support also in the future!

If you would like more info on either the cancer topic or skin conditions, please send an email to alphaeurasier@gmail.com and I am very happy to share the slides with you and will do my best to answer any questions you might have.

By Dr Brigitte Mordan-Grimm, UK Health Coordinator for Eurasiers

From the Ashes a Mighty Phoenix arose

I must confess to a deep feeling of sadness having witnessed the dying throes of the previous incarnation of a club that was supposed to be the bastion of standards for our beloved breed. What has given me so much hope is that a group of like-minded individuals have put heart and soul into forming the Southern Eurasier Association and are all willing to be the stewards of sensible and practicable standards that should ensure healthy and happy dogs as well as ethical and fact based breeding. I do care deeply what our international, and particularly our German colleagues, think of us. We have been entrusted to take care of these fantastic companions and through educating our owners and mentoring new breeders we aim to uphold the sensible standards to ensure that we pass on well adjusted, happy and healthy puppies.

The majority of our owners are more than content with having a loving and happy companion at home. Therefore we should become the first port of call for advice or signposting to the most effective solution if they have any worries or concerns. Secondly, promoting group walks, events, fun days so that we can get together and share our passion. One thing we all have in common is our love and pride of the Eurasier and it is lovely to talk with like-minded people about this. The coming year still has its challenges but I am in no doubt each hurdle will be leapt, as I have seldom witnessed such enthusiastic people willing to rise to the occasion. We still would love to promote the Eurasier breed and that will entail discussions with the Kennel Club and public events.

The Willowfalls Girls

I would like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone who has joined our association and especially those who have helped shape and form the new committee. It is an association for our members. The committee is there only to facilitate what our members want. Please bear in mind what our furry non-voting members would want! That is simple. They would always vote for us ALL to have fun!

‘From the ashes a mighty Phoenix arose’

By Ian Cottrell, Chairman SEA