The First Virtual Eurasier Walk

by Becky Mayer-Esaw

for the video: https://www.facebook.com/beckymayer27/videos/10222624438704286/

Because we had to cancel our walk today because of the lock-down due to the Corona-virus situation, we had a very different walk. It was the very first of its kind. The virtual Eurasier walk. Blue was so excited to meet his cousins and half brother Wolfie . They greeted each other with a sniff and a twirl. The excitement extended when Luca, Iris, Sif and Cato turned up. The dogs ran, leaped and did playful barks greeting each other like long-lost friends. Rex and Bella turned up with River; they sniffed the air taking in the forest around them. River looked quite shocked when Blue jumped into the stream and splashed about. River did not appreciate getting wet. Sheeba, Gustav and Annie quietly walked to the waters edge showing that the Eurasier also has a calmness about them. Looking regal was very much in vogue. Gabbi and Ludo bounded amongst the leaves making the most beautiful rustling sound.
The magic of our virtual walk is that our cousins from across the Canal joined us. Chevalier, Grietje and Rifka. And of course language was no barrier, these dogs have that deep understanding of each other. Just one look and they were in the middle of full play-bow. Every dog stopped when Mishka Boots arrived late. She strolled up to the pack, nose in the air and had the look of “yes these eye brows are real, no blading for this gal”. You could see hearts appear in the eyes of the boys as she strutted her stuff.
It was a successful walk Bubbles and Murphy were fast asleep as soon as they got home. 

'I hope you enjoyed this little made up story. I’m sorry if I missed anyone out. It’s taken me best part of a day to put the photos in once place'.    Becky

The Updated Eurasier Standard (FCI)

click here: The text of the updated Eurasier Standard 291

Update from the UK Breed Health Coordinator

Dear Eurasier owners and breeders,

Some years ago, a French research group published a study of GLAUCOMA in Eurasiers, as there was a small aggregation of such cases in France, and presented their findings at the IFEZ conference that year. If anybody is interested, I am very happy to send them the PDF file. We have, to my present knowledge, only a very small number of cases of this problem in the UK population of well over 1000 dogs, so you will probably all agree that even though it is distressing for any affected dog, we do not need to really consider it a major health issue in our breed at this point. However, it is worth keeping an eye on it in the future. To this effect have I asked my fellow Breed Health Coordinators and other KC representatives and researchers about the situation in their breeds, and this has yielded a wealth of information, which I am planning on writing up in a separate article.

Another, certainly more relevant health topic, HYPOTHYROIDISM, has drawn the attention of IFEZ (International Federation for Eurasier Breeding) again, based on a recent article saying that Eurasiers seem to have lower active thyroxine levels than other breeds. A team of IFEZ representatives, including myself, has constructed a form, which has been sent out to all our colleagues to be filled in, and we are hoping to have some results available by the end of the year. I will, of course, keep you posted.

When submitting the yearly HEALTH REPORT to the KC, I have requested the genetic test for Dandy Walker Like Malformation to be added to the Assured Breeder Scheme and am awaiting further notice on the matter. I believe most, if not all, Assured Breeders are doing it anyway, but it will be good to have it down as a recommendation or requirement.

It was very disappointing that neither of the 2 KC registered clubs, UKEC and ESUK have circulated my letter and request for collaboration and support for a BREED HEALTH SURVEY to their members, which I sent out last summer. In this context, I would however like to thank the Southern Eurasier Association committee and members for their continued support. Because of this situation, I decided to put a good part of my efforts into the IFEZ thyroid project this year. I do, nevertheless, plan to undertake a UK Breed Health Survey in the near future with the help of the KC.

 

Wishing you and your dog/s much health and happiness, and please do send me any health results you get for your dog/s,

Dr Brigitte Mordan-Grimm

UK Breed Health Coordinator
alphaeurasier@gmail.com

Short minutes of the 2019 IFEZ Conference 2019 - with some important news for the UK

Beat Kempf, President of Eurasierfreunde Schweiz (EFS), as the current President of the International Federation for Eurasier Breeding (IFEZ), greeted those present at the IFEZ meeting with a short statement on the fundamental intentions of IFEZ.

The initial main part of the conference concerned information and questions about innovations and problems of the IFEZ members:

In a first round of discussions, the IFEZ clubs presented the changes in personnel in the committees of their clubs. Even if in some cases there have been many changes, it is very positive to note that it has been possible to get younger people to adopt an active role in a Eurasier club.

The questions and problems surrounding the membership of the Eurasier Society UK (ESUK) in IFEZ (now dormant for a year) were discussed and evaluated in detail. As the requirements of IFEZ have not been met for more than 12 months, a final reasonable period for fulfilling these obligations was decided by the full members of IFEZ. ESUK will be automatically excluded on the scheduled date if the multiple requirements have not been met by then.

Since the English club "ESUK" did not fulfil its obligations as an IFEZ member by 20/11/2019, the IFEZ President Beat Kempf sent a notification to the club committee, dated 23/11/2019, that the Eurasier Society UK, following the vote of the IFEZ full members, is, with immediate effect, no longer a member of IFEZ and must stop advertising IFEZ in any communications or advertising.

The new homepage of the IFEZ is almost finished and is very successful. After the latest revisions, it can be activated safely at the beginning of 2020.

The conditions under which club officials could participate at meetings via Skype was discussed.

A second main part of the conference was again devoted to a variety of topics about the Eurasier:

The moderate changes in Standard 291 presented by EKW (in co-ordination with KZG and ZG) and approved by VDH, are again to be considered for approval by the FCI.

Underactive thyroid is one of the autoimmune diseases that have a large hereditary component and develop gradually. Various thyroid values are tested in all clubs for as many animals as possible, but is mandatory for the breeding dogs. The problem of comparability of reference values of different laboratories was discussed. Not all clubs can use Biocontrol as a laboratory. An assessment of all previously recorded anonymized values is highly desirable.

Other health issues addressed were: epilepsy and the problem of correct diagnosis and recording; ways to prevent the popular sire syndrome IFEZ-wide; meaningful genetic tests; and state of genetic diversity in our breed.

The discussion of all these topics was lively and engaging!

Information was also exchanged about regulations such as different breeding fees and health deposits, and puppy prices were compared and discussed.

From January 1^st, 2020 the presidency of the IFEZ passes to the Eurasier Vereniging Nederland (EVN).

After working through the usual formalities, there were many interesting, exciting chats about Eurasiers during the evening of the meeting, as well as on the Friday evening and Sunday morning. This large, international group only meets in person once a year. Throughout the year, communication is usually only possible by phone or email. It was an all-round successful meeting for the good of our beautiful breed.

Gisela Aach, IFEZ Secretary
Translation: Brigitte Mordan-Grimm

The IFEZ meeting (International Federation for Eurasier Breeding) in Stuttgart/Germany

  by Ian Cottrell, Hon Chairman SEA, Willowfalls Eurasiers   

I like planning, I love planning and having contingencies to the plan if the plan doesn’t work. So when Brigitte invited me to attend the IFEZ meeting in Stuttgart, I jumped at the opportunity and set about, well you know, planning. In the various conversations I thought it was for a day and a half, so over the Saturday and the Sunday morning. I was not going to go all the way to Germany without seeing something other than the inside of a hotel and booked an early morning flight so I could have a mosey around the town before meeting everyone for dinner on the Friday night. I had researched which S Bahn (Railway) to catch and how much it was going to be. A few weeks in advance I printed off all the tickets I would need. The plan was impeccable!

In my head I was catching the 21:30 coach to Heathrow on the Thursday. Pottered around, had a nice bath and a lovely dinner and doing my final check of the passport and paperwork and saw that it was the 19:30 coach I should have caught. Oh Bum!  I did manage to get to Heathrow Via Victoria and arrived at 00.30 on the Friday morning. My plan was to catch the free tube service between terminal 3 and terminal 5. Followed the endless walk to the free tube and found that stopped running at midnight. Retraced my steps back to the bus station and eventually found that the free bus ran all night so hopped on. On the very helpful Heathrow website it did say that “Areas have been designated for passengers to rest, lights would be dimmed etc” The website lied. The only chairs available had been specifically designed to offer no comfort whatsoever and actively encourage people to move on. As for the dimmed lighting, well I have been in operating theatres that have been darker. No chance of sleep then, crack on!

The flight over was great, no problems on the S Bahn and arrived in the City at 10:30 local time. Pulled the straps of my rucksack tight and went mooching. I did a lot of mooching. Stuttgart has one of the longest shopping precincts I had seen. Must have been close to a mile long and not one shop was open. It was a German Bank Holiday and boy do they take their Bank Holidays seriously! Plan A, had me eating sausage and chips with mayonnaise from the kiosk that was right outside the rail station. I don’t know exactly when they had started the station redevelopment, but the first casualty was that kiosk. Had to settle for Currywurst and a bread roll. Oh well I had been 31 hours without sleep so head to the hotel and get my head down.

Rail travel in Germany is cheap and on time. Caught the S Bahn to the University and then it was only a 2km walk to the hotel. In my research it proudly proclaimed that Stuttgart University S Bahn station is one of the deepest. I can attest to that as the escalators had been switched off. All I was missing was a Sherpa and oxygen for the accent. Having Google mapped the area I knew that I headed North from the station, get into the woods and hang a left. What a lovely forest and sooo big. At the 30 min point I should now be looking at the entrance of the hotel. Nope, just a lot more trees. Time to get the mobile out and look at the map. Walking back and forth to orientate myself a very nice German couple came to my rescue. They knew the area and set off through the vegetation and I went sliding down inclines like I was skiing. The conversation was about Brexit so I couldn’t escape it even over there. Finally, time to get to the room and have a coffee and some sleep. Unpacked bag and tried to put the adaptor into the circular electrical socket and it wouldn’t fit. It possibly would have if I had been in The USA or Australia. There was a distinct lack of kettle and no beverage making. Down the two flights of stairs back to reception. I could have as many coffees as I liked in the lounge area and they sorted me out a replacement adaptor. With only a few hours before Brigitte’s arrival I decided not to nap and pottered around.

Right on time Brigitte arrived, in a whirlwind of greeting everybody and being introduced to about a trillion people we had sat ourselves down and I treated myself to a large glass of the house red. Everyone was lovely and all had at least a few words of English and I truly felt welcomed. The dinner was excellent, but now at the 38 hours without sleep point, my brain was a little mushy and I decided it was time to head to bed. 

To sleep, perchance to dream. Four hours after laying in bed, Oh, that feels strange. Oh, that’s not good. Normally I have the constitution of a horse, not on this occasion, Delhi Belly effectively wiped out any more chance of sleep, so the rest of the night was spent watching the German equivalent of Money from Nothing.

Decided the best thing was to avoid food for a day. Saturday 09:00 we gathered in the large room and the IFEZ meeting started. My German stretches to counting to a few hundred, getting a room, getting fed and basic directions. I can understand a little more but get hopelessly lost when the conversation is fast and about technical points. Fortunately, Brigitte was my Babel Fish and I loved the way after someone had been speaking for 10 min she condensed the meaning to me in a short sentence. I was actually having fun stringing the few words I understood into what I thought they were speaking about and bobbing happily when Brigitte relayed what it was actually about, and I had guessed correctly. 

Everyone was afforded the opportunity to contribute, and they did with passion. I may not be fluent in the language, but you can still glean a great deal from tone, inclination and pitch. The knowledge and experience around the table was immense and I am terribly proud of Brigitte, who is obviously held with great regard and was asked to undertake a study on behalf of IFEZ. Having so many nations represented it was a mini United Nations. I suppose the overriding impression I was left with was that collectively they wanted to be as inclusive as possible and not cause any upset. At 18:45 the meeting was declared closed and I asked Brigitte if the start time was 09:00 the next day. She stated it was finished and this year was only held over one day (which, in all fairness, was in the agenda she had sent out) . The look on my face must have been priceless.

With calm resolve I retired to my room and thought that it would be moderately easy to re arrange flights with the world’s favourite airline. The 19:30 flight back to Heathrow was the only time that day that BA was visiting this part of Germany. Oh Bum!

Sunday, I checked the forecast and it was cloudy with only a 40% chance of rain. Knowing that the town was probably still closed I had the choice of a walk round a local lake with a charmingly entitled Bears Castle or do something else. It was only a 14 km walk to the airport so decided on that. A great way of seeing a different country and a productive way of wasting time.

Arrived back early into the UK and the extra ordinarily helpful ladies at the coach station were adamant that I would have to wait for the coach I booked at 22:30. That pulled into the final destination at 00:45 on the Monday and my darling wife had parked the car 200 yards down the road. The God’s had one last jest with me, the rain was so heavy that in only a short space of time my waterproof jacket and clothes became drenched.  

Today I bought a blue duffel coat, a red floppy hat and had a sign made. It reads .....

PLEASE LOOK AFTER THIS BEAR  – Thank You.

This, I decided, was the safest form of any future travel.  

Ian Cottrell, Hon Chairman SEA, Willowfalls Eurasiers   

Eurasier Walk Mytchett Woods, October 2019

Having arranged a walk in September only a relatively small number were able to attend so a further date was agreed for 6^th October .

The preceding week it was fair to say the weather was mixed, and as we approached the weekend there were concerns. However, I was determined the walk would go ahead and hoped for a good turn-out. (I secretly had a little word with the weather gods Zeus & Quora and asked them to be kind to us). Amazingly, the day dawned bright, and a fantastic array of Eurasiers with their families turned up, along with several would-be owners wanting to meet the breed. As always, we created quite a talking point amongst the many dog owners enjoying the café, as we waited for everyone to arrive, with someone even correctly identifying the dogs – something of a first!

We all had a lovely walk through the beautiful woodland bathed in bright sunshine, except for Grande Dame Pamina, who is a bit slow these days but thoroughly enjoyed all the fuss and treats before and after. Whilst we avoided the canal , the recent rains had created some huge puddles in which many of our fluffies found great delight racing and chasing and generally having fun.

Among the throng of about 20 dogs, of all ages and glorious colours, two pupsters also attended their first Eurasier pack walk, Ida and Ludo, who were completely unfazed by the crazy behaviour of their full-sized ‘cousins’. Another first was Thatcher going off lead, but not ‘off piste’ and as always, Blue gave his all – he is a boy whose mantra is ‘I just wanna have fun’!

Our walk terminated with a return to the café for refreshments for those that wanted to linger a little longer and enjoy some home made Eurasier-shaped biscuits (check out our Merchandise page to buy the Eurasier cookie cutter!). I think it is fair to say the walk was a great success. Thank you to all those who came along and we look forward to seeing everyone again soon.

Murphy, Bubbles & Ann

Photos: J. Cowdock

Annual General Meeting & Fun Day 2019

Despite the rather inclement weather we had a wonderful turnout for this year’s AGM at Lewknor Village Hall. It’s always encouraging to meet up with new owners and ‘owners in waiting’ at these events and I would like to extend a personal thank you to all the owners of Danni’s puppies who made the journey with their ‘babies’; it was great to see you all again!

Our Chair, Ian Cottrell, opened the formal AGM by outlining the enormous progress SEA had made over its first year, and thanking our members, and in particular our Vice Chair Brigitte Mordan-Grimm, for all they have done to make this enterprise such a success. Brief reports from the Secretary and Treasurer were followed by a vote in favour of adding a requirement to DNA-check all breeding stock for Dandy Walker Like Malformation to our Code of Ethics. Brigitte rounded off the Meeting with a summary of her activities as the Kennel Club’s Breed Health Co-ordinator and our representative for the International Federation of Eurasier Breeding (IFEZ).

After the AGM, a break for lunch was followed by a short, mercifully rain-free walk, offering a chance for both dogs and humans to stretch their legs and, though a few dogs came back slightly muddier than when they left, they enjoyed the chance to let off some steam! On our return Tracy Cottrell treated us to a very informative demonstration of ‘Shaping’, a training process by which you can teach your dog a new behaviour by breaking it down into easily achievable steps. At the end of the demonstration there was an opportunity to practice the technique with your own dog, which was thoroughly appreciated by dogs and owners alike.

A hugely enjoyable day ended with a well-supported Raffle with a seemingly endless supply of prizes donated by our generous members (many thanks to whoever donated the Duck chews, they went down very well with my old girl who is eating very little nowadays!).

Finally, could I just say, that ideas for events, or indeed anything else that could be included at our next AGM, are always welcome.

Caroline Allen

Photos: Cowdock, Mordan-Grimm