Book Review by Halima (with Alfie)

With Spring arriving (!) and the days getting longer, we can start to think about lazy days in the garden, reading a good novel. Here's a great one to get you started:

Second Chance by Elizabeth Wren -

Faced with a looming empty nest, a marriage that's gone a bit stale and the dreaded menopause knocking at her door, Deena Munger feels like shes completely lost her way in life.

To the astonishment and umbrage of her family, Deena decides to raise a Guide dog. Suddenly the introduction of 'Heloise' a playful, boisterous labrador puppy turns her world upside down.

This is a lovely easy read that will not only have you feeling sympathy for Deena, but will also make you laugh with the all too familiar 'ructions' of family life.

A great 'coffee break' book.

Halima

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What is Bloat and why do I need to know about it?

Bloat is a very serious health risk for many dogs. 

Recent research suggests its the second leading killer of dogs, after cancer.  It is frequently reported that deep-chested dogs, such as German Shepherds, Great Danes, and Dobermans are particularly at risk.      

If you believe your dog is experiencing bloat, please get your dog to a veterinarian immediately!  Bloat can kill in less than an hour, so time is of the essence.   Call your vet to alert them you're on your way with a suspected bloat case.  Better to be safe than sorry!

The technical name for bloat is "Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus" ("GDV").  Bloating of the stomach is often related to swallowed air (although food and fluid can also be present).  It usually happens when there's an abnormal accumulation of air, fluid, and/or foam in the stomach ("gastric dilatation").    Stress can be a significant contributing factor also.  Bloat can occur with or without "volvulus" (twisting).  As the stomach swells, it may rotate 90° to 360°, twisting between its fixed attachments at the esophagus (food tube) and at the duodenum (the upper intestine).  The twisting stomach traps air, food, and water in the stomach.  The bloated stomach obstructs veins in the abdomen, leading to low blood pressure, shock, and damage to internal organs.  The combined effect can quickly kill a dog.

Be prepared!  Know in advance what you would do if your dog bloated.

If your regular vet doesn't have 24-hour emergency service, know which nearby vet you would use.  Keep the phone number handy.

Symptoms

Typical symptoms often include some (but not necessarily all) of the following:-

• Attempts to vomit (usually unsuccessful); may occur every 5-30 minutes.  This seems to be one of the most common symptoms & has been referred to as the "hallmark symptom"
• "Unsuccessful vomiting" means either nothing comes up or possibly just foam and/or mucous comes up 
• Some reports say that it can sound like a repeated cough
• Significant anxiety and restlessness
• "Hunched up" or "roached up" appearance
• Bloated abdomen that may feel tight (like a drum)
• Pale or off-color gums. Dark red in early stages, white or blue in later stages
• Heavy salivating or drooling
• Foamy mucous around the lips, or vomiting foamy mucous
• Unproductive attempts to defecate
• Looking at their side or other evidence of abdominal pain or discomfort
• May refuse to lie down or even sit down
• May stand spread-legged
• May curl up in a ball or go into a praying or crouched position
• Apparent weakness; unable to stand or has a spread-legged stance, especially in advanced stage
• Accelerated heart rate

Causes

It is difficult to determine why bloat affects some dogs and not others, but it is thought the following MAY have an effect:-

• Stress
• Activities that result in gulping air eg rapid eating
• Eating dry foods that contain citric acid as a preservative
• Eating dry foods that contain fat among the first four ingredients
• Insufficient pancreatic enzymes, such as Trypsin (a pancreatic enzyme present in meat)
• Dogs with untreated Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) and/or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) generally produce more gas and thus are at greater risk  
• Dilution of gastric juices necessary for complete digestion by drinking too much water before or after eating
• Eating excess gas-producing foods (especially soybean products, brewer's yeast, and alfalfa) 
• Drinking too much water too quickly (can cause gulping of air)
• Exercise before and especially after eating
• Heredity
• Build &Physical characteristics.Having a deep and narrow chest compared to other dogs of the same breed

Reducing risk of bloat

• Avoid highly stressful situations.  If you can't avoid them, try to minimize the stress as much as possible.  
• Do not exercise for at least an hour (longer if possible) before and especially after eating
• Do not permit rapid eating. 
• Feed 2 or 3 meals daily, instead of just one
• Use a specially designed foodbowl to slow down eating
• Make meals a peaceful, stress-free time
• Feed a high-quality food
• Avoid excessive brewer's yeast, alfalfa, and soybean products
• Promote "friendly" bacteria in the intestine, e.g. from "probiotics" such as supplemental acidophilus. This is especially a concern when antibiotics are given since antibiotics tend to reduce levels of "friendly" bacteria.  [Note: Probiotics should be given at least 2-4 hours apart from antibiotics so they won't be destroyed.] 
• Don't permit excessive, rapid drinking

Breeds At Greatest Risk

Afghan Hound
Airedale Terrier
Akita
Alaskan Malamute
Basset Hound
Bernese Mountain Dog
Borzoi
Bouvier des Flandres
Boxer
Bullmastiff
Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Collie
Dachshund
Doberman Pinscher
English Springer Spaniel
Fila Brasileiro
Golden Retriever
Gordon Setter
Great Dane
German Shepherd
German Shorthaired Pointer
Great Pyrenees
Irish Setter
Irish Wolfhound
King Shepherd
Labrador Retriever
Miniature Poodle
Newfoundland
Old English Sheepdog
Pekinese
Rottweiler
Samoyed
Shiloh Shepherd
St. Bernard
Standard Poodle
Weimaraner
Wolfhound
Sighthouds
Bloodhounds

Home Made Liver Cake Microwave Recipe

HOME MADE LIVER CAKE MICROWAVE RECIPE

1lb Liver

1lb Granary Flour

3 Eggs

Herbs (optional)

1 teaspoon Oil

Splosh of Milk

Liquidise liver with the eggs, milk and a little oil in a blender.  Add the flour and mix well.  Put into a microwavable dish/cake tin and microwave for 10 mins on full power.  When cool, cut the cake into small pieces and freeze.  Remove from freezer and defrost as required.

Crufts by Robyn Armitage (Age 8)

Crufts is a brilliant dog show, especially if you love dogs like the people here at Barking Mad dog training school. If you go to Crufts you can go to a place called Discover Dogs, and you can see lots of dog breeds. In Crufts there are also cafes, dinner places and shops - and it’s so much fun! You can watch dogs doing shows and YOU CAN WATCH THE WINNER ON TV!

 My favorite dog at Crufts was the Pembroke Welsh Corgi. But here is a warning. On the floor at Crufts there is lots of dog POO! That’s horrible isn’t it!

 If you love dogs you should go to Crufts. I have heard Barking Mad do a yearly trip. So to all Barking Madders HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR TRIPS TO CRUFTS EVERY YEAR!

 I go to every, well nearly every, K9 KIDZ club, so I’ll look forward to seeing you there. I am the youngest one at the club but I came 3rd in the junior handler competition! It was tuff!

 This my dog Pud, and Me, before she even started at Barking Mad. She could win Crufts!

By Robyn Armitage

Age 8

Crufts Trip 2013

The Main Arena being set up for one of the agility competitions

Last Thursday a group of us went on the annual minibus trip to Crufts and a fantastic day was had by all. The club traditionally go on the opening Thursday and this year that was terrier and hound day. However, the show dogs are only a small part of the Crufts experience.

If you've never been to Crufts before then I can highly recommend a trip, at least once, to see what it's all about. The show is held in halls 1, 2 3, 3a,4 and 5 plus the NEC Arena so it covers a huge area. Each hall has a mixture of trade stands, selling just about everything canine you can think of, plus one or two show rings where the various competitions and displays take place.

Our visits are always very informal with club members going off and doing their own thing or wandering about in small groups. You can easily spend the whole day wondering the trade stands and spending your pennies (and most of us had several carrier bags at the end) or you can mix and match a bit of shopping with watching some of the competitions and displays. As the competition rings and trade stands are scattered throughout the halls there is always something going on.

 Some Barkingmadders get hands on with some four legged visitors.

We met these two on the Pets As Therapy (P.A.T Dogs) stand, not most non dog owners impression of a Rottweiler and such a lovely dog.

This was the Young Kennel Club ring in the middle of an agility competition.

The Young Kennel Club members also put on a great demo of what not to do with kids around dogs and how to react to certain situations and avoid getting into others. Very useful for owners and the general public alike and possibly the subject of a future article on the blog.

And on a bigger scale this was the Main Arena set up for the novice agility competition (the collies really fly through the weave poles).

There was a fair bit of this going on, apparently Spaniels can never get too much love!

There were also lots of competitions but I confess to spending more time adding breeds to my "want" list than taking photos but I'll include the one below taken at the Manchester Terrier competition, this was a new one on me but what fantastic looking dogs, like miniature dobermans.

Many thanks to head trainer Les for organising it, to Tom for driving the minibus there and back and my fellow Barkingmad Crufters for another great day out. Hopefully the above gives you a little taste of the day so why not join us for next years trip, watch out for the sheet to go up in the cabin later in the year and get yourself signed up, it's a great day out!

Richard

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