24/12/08

We'd like to wish all our friends a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year.

08/12/08

We are thrilled to hear that Bluebelle (Powerscourt Zara) [Riondel Venture to Powerscourt x Powerscourt Paint Splash] who passed her P.A.T dog assessment in August is now regularly visiting a home for handicapped people with learning difficulties. Bluebelle's owner Sue, tells us the clients and the staff really enjoy Bluebelle's visits.

We are very proud of you both and our other dedicated P.A.T dogs.

Owners give a great deal of their valuable time to visiting those less fortunate than ourselves and the dogs bring a great deal of pleasure to everyone they meet!

The amazing thing about the dogs is their ability to offer unconditional love in what can sometimes be difficult circumstances and their ability to modify their behaviour. They know who will benefit from their quiet presence, who would appreciate a gentle nudge and indeed who would appreciate a full blown cocker style greeting!

P.A.T dogs have to have a 100% sound temperament and be "bomb proof" as the people they work with can often be unpredictable and there is no room for dogs who are nervous or aggressive etc.

In these times of so much anti-dog publicity it is good to know that P.A.T dogs are true ambassadors for the canine world.

27/11/08

Margaret rang this morning to let us know that Blackberry (P. Adriana) passed her Gundog Training Level 2 last night and her Kennel Club Good Citizen Gold award. Well done Margaret and Blackberry, we are very proud of your achievements.

20/11/08

Not much news lately so I thought I'd share some photos of Bramble. Like all our dogs, Bramble has always been good natured and tolerant of just about anything that comes her way! Bramble was always our "surrogate" Mum, any animal that needed a love could always snuggle up with Bramble!

Bramble lives nearby with our friend Alison (and the cats and occasional RSPCA foster dog). Thank you Alison for taking such good care of Bramble and for the photos!

17/11/08

We had to say goodbye to one of our dear "friends" today.... the price we pay for loving them is nothing to the price we pay when we have to part with them.

They say memories are golden
well maybe that is true.
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.
A million times I needed you,
a million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you
you never would have died.
In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place
no one could ever fill.
If tears could build a stairway
and heartache make a lane,
I'd walk the path to heaven
and bring you back again.
Our family chain is broken,
and nothing seems the same.
But as God calls us one by one,
the chain will link again.
Author Unknown

07/11/08

We managed to get Teddy to sit still long enough to take a quick photo - here he is looking very regal!

02/11/08

I was judging cockers today for Coventry (Foleshill) Canine Association. Thank you to the society for the invitation and to the exhibitors for the entry.

Two very happy girls with typical merry attitudes! Congratulations to little "Lacey" for putting her best foot forward in the group, it was a long day for one so young and she did both her owner and myself proud! Critiques

01/11/08

Margaret sent me this photo of Blackberry (P. Adriana) performing a well executed retrieve on one of her gundog training days. Such a heavy weight for a little girl to carry!

31/10/08

Happy 2nd Birthday to Meg and KT! Looks like you were both spoiled girls!

13/10/08

We have just returned from a wonderful holiday in Egypt. How lovely to feel the warmth of sunshine! The coral reefs and fish of the Red Sea are amazing, so pretty, colourful and interesting.

No trip to Egypt would be complete without seeing the Pyramids so we flew to Cairo for a "day trip" to visit the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza and then went onto the Egyptian Museum to see the artefacts from the Pyramids and of course the majestic death mask of the young king Tutankhamen.

30/09/08

We are pleased to report that we received "Normal/Clear" prcd-PRA test results from OptiGen today for our two youngsters Maggie and Juno.

27/09/08

We had the pleasure of celebrating our good friends Rosemary and David's 50th Wedding Anniversary today. Pip aka Tartlet (P. Parting Gift) and Phoebe aka Floozy (P. Pure Magic) look after Rosemary and David at their home in nearby Ludlow!

26/08/08

More birthday's today! Wishing my beloved Toby and Rosie a very happy 10th Birthday.

25/08/08

Happy 8th Birthday to our darling Archie! I can't believe how quickly time has flown by.

19/08/08

I don’t normally use my news page to “vent my spleen” or to provide an insight into my thoughts, however tonight I’m making an exception!

Having watched tonight’s BBC programme “Pedigree Dogs Exposed”, I like many people I’m sure, was deeply saddened and distressed to see the suffering of the dogs portrayed in the programme. No caring dog breeder/animal lover wishes to see dogs/animals in distress and the sight of these poor animals was tragic. There is no excuse for breeders to knowingly breed from dogs who have a high risk of producing puppies that will suffer from distressing/debilitating conditions. Thankfully, breeders who breed from dogs with various health conditions or extreme exaggerations are very much in the minority and their behaviour shouldn't be condoned.

However I also feel that whilst there are undoubtedly issues relating to health problems within certain breeds (a minority) and coupled with the exaggeration of breed “type” (with many of these changes being to the detriment of the individual animals concerned – there can be no excuse for this), it is wholly unfair to “tar all breeders with the same brush”.

A significant majority of dog breeders are caring individuals who have the health and welfare of not only their own dogs but also the breed in general as their number one priority. Caring and reputable breeders go to great lengths in terms of time, commitment and expense to ensure that the dogs they breed are sound in body and mind. Great thought goes into planning mating’s, health testing is undertaken (at considerable expense) and only dogs that are healthy (physically and mentally) are used in a breeding programme.

The vast majority of dog breeders would not and do not set out to breed dogs just to win in the show ring. Reputable breeders are mindful that all dogs are pets and as such they should be healthy and free from diseases/conditions/exaggerations, which preclude the animal from living a long, healthy and happy life whether the animal is destined to be a potential "Best in Show" winner or someone’s loyal and devoted companion.

It is particularly interesting to note that the subject of inbreeding was raised as the main reason why the health of pedigree dogs is deteriorating. Any geneticist will attest to the fact that inbreeding does not create problems! If the problems are in the ancestry (genes) of the dog, inbreeding will increase the chance of any inherited condition becoming apparent, but likewise if there are no detrimental health/physical conditions “hidden” in the genes of a dog, the mere fact of inbreeding will not produce deleterious conditions/disease/deformity!

For disease/deformity to occur the gene or genes responsible for the disease must be carried by the individual, if that individual does not carry a mutant gene then inbreeding does not have any influence on whether a dog suffers from a disease/condition etc. Inbreeding does not make disease/illness but it does bring the genes responsible to the forefront if they are hidden. However, genes for disease are not unique to a particular dog or breed! If you mate two breeds or mongrels (not related) which both carry a mutant disease gene (for the same disease) then the chance of these genes combining are significant!

In simplified terms, only one gene (for each particular facet of a dog) is inherited from each parent i.e. one gene for eye shape, one gene for ear placement or in the case of disease, one gene for PRA (for example). At the time of fertilisation one copy of a gene from each parent combines. This results in the new embryo inheriting two copies of the same gene (one from each parent). This process happens without inbreeding and without breeding the same breeds of dogs with each other. It is simply how genetics works!!

Clearly when breeders undertake inbreeding (mating dogs that share a common or several common ancestors), they as knowledgeable breeders weigh up the pros and cons, they analyse pedigrees, undertake health testing and then decide how close is close enough! Inbreeding is not all bad! If you breed two healthy animals the chances of producing unhealthy offspring are greatly reduced, sadly the reverse is also true and this is why inbreeding needs to be undertaken carefully.

With the careful selection of pedigrees, knowledge of the breed and the results of health testing (with good test results!) informed decisions can be made. Knowledgeable breeders know that inbreeding/line breeding increases the chance of a greater proportion of similar genetic material (both good and bad) being passed onto the offspring, however they also know that out crossing is not a guaranteed way of avoiding health problems! Inbreeding per se is not the problem, careless planning of mating's (without thought to health/welfare) and insufficient regard to the possible outcomes are the problem. Reputable breeders are aware of this, the minority of breeds and breeders shown in the programme did not reflect this.

It is a fallacy to state that crossbreed dogs are healthier than pedigree dogs, of course there are unhealthy pedigree dogs but there are unhealthy crossbreed dogs too! There are more pedigree dogs than crossbreeds and generally the owners of pedigree dogs are more likely to take a dog to the vets due to illness, naturally, given the ratio of pedigree vs. crossbreed the percentage of unhealthy pedigree dogs will appear higher. It is likely that higher figures represent greater reporting frequency rather than intrinsic lack of good health.

It is very short sighted of the programme makers to imply that pedigree dogs are inherently unhealthy, there are several hundred genetic conditions known to affect dogs, by comparison, there are several thousand known genetic conditions in humans and let us not forget we (humans) do not inbreed!

The vast majority of pedigree dogs are healthy dogs, dogs who will not see the insides of a veterinary surgery save for routine issues i.e. vaccination, worming treatment, flea prevention, tummy upsets etc. I'm sure that more people spend time in their GP's surgery or having NHS treatment than most pedigree dogs spend at their vets!

Furthermore, when humans reproduce, partners are not required to be health screened, to be free from genetic conditions or exaggerations!! Compare that to the dedication of reputable breeders, who only breed from healthy dogs, dogs who are physically sound, mentally sound, free from exaggerations and health-screened (screened with results, which show the breeding partners are healthy and not likely to produce offspring affected with known hereditary conditions). It is important to keep everything in perspective, something that was not achieved by the programme makers!

Unlike mongrels who have no custodians, reputable breeders, the Breed Clubs and the Kennel Club are aware of health issues relating to each breed and great inroads are being made to improve the health and welfare of pedigree dogs. Canine genetic health and breeding dogs that are free from exaggerations is something that the vast majority of show breeders and Breed Clubs take very seriously. Many of the health schemes supported by the Kennel Club are as a result of the work and dedication (not to mention fund raising) on the part of breeders and Breed Clubs. It's unfortunate that the programme makers made no mention of this, instead they preferred to concentrate on all that is wrong with pedigree dogs and not laud the good work that is being done.

I found it very hypocritical of Mark Evans (Chief Vet RSPCA) to state that Crufts was a freak show and "a parade of mutants" and for Beverley Cuddy (Editor Dogs Today magazine) to be so critical of pedigree dogs. Both organisations are trade stand holders at Crufts!! I don’t know, but I’d hazard a guess that the RSPCA stand is likely to be at a reduced fee to the commercial trade stands. Both of these organisations must drum up a great deal of support/finance from their Crufts stands – talk about “biting the hand that feeds you”. [The RSPCA subsequently did not take a trade stand at Crufts]

The Kennel Club in their usual bumbling and ineffective manner seemed genuinely out of their depth and did nothing to redress the balance by standing up for all the good breeders in this country.

The Breed Standard is the “blueprint” of how a breed should look and the Kennel Club have been looking very closely for the past couple of years at the breed standards for many breeds. Descriptive statements, statements which appear to encourage over exaggeration or health related problems etc., have been reworded in order to reduce the requirement of breed features which may be detrimental to the individual dog.

In addition to this The Kennel Club state in all Breed Standards ‘Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog’.

The Kennel Club also requires judges to consider welfare as part of their overall assessment of a dog, they state: ‘In assessing dogs, judges should penalise any features or exaggerations which they consider would be detrimental to the soundness, health and wellbeing of the dog'.

It’s a pity this message was not conveyed during the programme, and an even greater travesty that the work of conscientious breeders, breeders who breed for health, temperament and welfare was overlooked in favour of the small minority of pedigree breeds with obvious health issues. But then I guess today’s viewers like sensationalism, it’s probably not good for viewing figures if a programme is not full of hyperbole!! Shame on you BBC!

In January 2010, the report into dog breeding was published; it is a lengthy report. However, far from vilifying breeders across the board it concentrated on the small minority of breeders whose practices fall short of acceptable. Of note was the emphasis placed on large scale breeders, commercially licensed breeders and puppy farmers as being the main culprits of poor breeding practices. It was acknowledged that a small number of show breeders breed dogs with health disadvantages due to their perceived need to produce winning show dogs and suggestions have been made as to how this can be prevented.

It was also interesting to note that the puppy buying public came in for criticism - see below.

"Following the screening on the BBC of Pedigree Dogs Exposed, all dog breeders - good and bad alike - were on the receiving end of considerable public criticism – in many cases unjustified. Little consideration has been given, however, to the culpability of the buying Public.

How many people who have bought puppies have stopped to consider the impact of their purchasing decisions? If the Public only bought puppies from health screened parents, if everybody refused to buy a puppy until they had seen its mother and satisfied themselves that the conditions under which it was reared were safe, healthy and provided a life worth living for parent and puppy, if everybody took the sensible step of finding the breed that would best suit their family and their living conditions, then poor breeders would be out of business and far fewer dogs would require re-homing".

16/08/08

I ventured to Derby today to judge dogs (males) for Ashbourne Canine Society. The show is held in conjunction with the Ashbourne Shire Horse Society. It was lovely to spend the day with my two favourite breeds! Sadly the entry for dogs was very small (something that is not unusual for this society and was not helped by last years change of ring locations), however although low on quantity, the quality of exhibits more than compensated. My co-judge for the day (judging bitches) was Pat Meaker. Thank you for your company Pat! Critiques.

12/08/08

No dog news, however we are thrilled at the arrival of our third grandchild, a beautiful little girl called Tia. It was a great privilege to be at the birth and to welcome Tia into the world.

06/08/08

We received these lovely photos of four of Dudley's (P. Perfect Magic) pups, aren't they adorable!

03/08/08

We had a lovely time at our annual picnic today. Thank you to everyone who attended. As ever it was great to meet up with many of our "babies" and their owners. Photos show a few of the dogs and their owners and Chris with Teddy and Lily.

30/07/08

My sister and I have just returned from a relaxing and peaceful break on the beautiful Island of Jersey. We stayed in a wonderful hotel over looking St. Brelades Bay.

01/07/08

We received a lovely email from Belinda today. Belinda is the proud owner of Toby (Riondel Venture to P x P. Paint Splash). Belinda says "Thought I should let you know that Tubs has been accepted as a PAT dog. We’re so proud of him, he never ceases to amaze me how he takes everything in his stride. At the time, the assessor said he was “a relaxed, easy going ‘anything goes’ dog”. I know he’s going to enjoy all the attention he gets on visits and I’m sure he’ll give a lot back as everyone he meets adores him.

I keep thinking he’s a “one off” but then when I read posts on the forum I realise that all Powerscourt cockers are like this – we’re very lucky! Belinda x"

Congratulations Belinda and Toby, we are very proud of you both!!

19/06/08

Good news arrived today from Margaret. Blackberry (P. Adriana) has passed her Grade One Gundog Field Trial test! Well done Blackberry and Margaret!!

The objectives of the test are:

Marking and enthusiasm for the retrieve: The dog should be focused on the mark and show a speedy outrun and return. Perfect delivery is not required, but the dog must demonstrate a willingness to return to the handler and attempt to deliver the dummy....

Heelwork: The dog may remain on the lead during heelwork. Perfect tight heeling is not essential but the dog's shoulders should not be in front of the handler's leg and the dog's nose should not fall behind the handler's leg. The dog should remain reasonably close to the handler's left side and the lead should be loose at all times.

Sit and Stay: The dog should react promptly to a signal sit command. One sit or stay reminder as the handler leaves the dog on the drop is acceptable. The handler may face, but should not communicate with the dog for the duration of the 2 minute stay.

Recall: The dog should return directly to the handler when recalled and remain under control once he arrives.

30/05/08

It's been a while since we took any new photos of Tig and Meg so we thought we'd grab the camera and get them to pose!

24/05/08

Minty and Buttons have their hip score results back. Both girls have scores below the BMS with Minty scoring 9 and Buttons scoring 7.

07/05/08

I thought I'd share these lovely pictures, don't they look content! Mum and Dad to the litter are Powerscourt Perdita and Shenmore Sunny Jim. (All babies spoken for!)

05/05/08

A lovely entry of cockers awaited me at Marlborough and District Canine Society today. I found my Best Of Breed in a super blue bitch who was so well put together and well deserving of her win and BOB. Best Puppy was a quality black girl who caught my eye and I could have easily taken her home. So cockery and sound with perfect cocker movement and construction to match! Pleased when she later won Puppy Group 2 in a strong Gundog Puppy Group. Critiques.

21/04/08

We received a lovely photo of Milo enjoying his first outing in the snow!

Toby (P. Zodiac Prince) owned by Belinda and KT (P. Celtic Rose) owned by Di went to a heelwork to music workshop run by Richard Curtis. Both dogs enjoyed themselves tremendously and I'm sure their owners did too!

20/04/08

I was judging today for Norfolk and Norwich Canine Society. Thank you all for the lovely entry, it was great to hear you all applaud the winners and a pleasure to go over your super dogs.

Best of Breed was a very cockery chap called Tojamatt Achilles with Harbethol owned by Sharon and Louise Clarke, Reserve Best Of Breed was a super veteran bitch Reemif From Bramble Thorns (owned by the Reed's) who showed the youngsters that age is no barrier to good construction and movement and Best Puppy was a sweet gold bitch owned by the Smith's called Pontisbright Miss Happy. Critiques.

02/04/08

>Minty and Buttons had their hips X-rayed for the KC/BVA hip scoring scheme today.

27/03/08

We received these lovely flowers today! It's so good to have friends that appreciate our efforts; you don't need to buy flowers but thank you anyway!

23/03/08

I came across this thought provoking quote:

"What is right for one soul may not be right for another.
It may mean having to stand on your own and do something strange in the eyes of others.
But do not be daunted. Do whatever it is because you know within it is right for you." Eileen Caddy

14/03/08

We are very fortunate to receive dozens and dozens of photos from owners of our dogs on a regular basis and each one gives us a great deal of pleasure. There isn't always time or indeed space to include them all on the website, but each one is very much appreciated by us.

07/03/08

Congratulations to our friends who were in the "cards" today at Crufts! Thank you also to the many friends who joined us at Crufts and for the birthday cake and presents.

Muppet (P. Pandemonium) flew the Powerscourt flag today. As ever Muppet was impeccably behaved and took all the fuss and attention she received in her usual friendly and placid manner. We were very proud to see Muppet and Leisl in the P.A.T dog display. Muppet is a regular P.A.T dog at Bath Hospital and brings much pleasure and joy to the children patients she visits.

We entered Crufts but went without the dogs! Crufts is much more enjoyable when you can sit and watch all the judging without the responsibility of caring for the dogs!

02/03/08

Happy 1st Birthday to my two precious babies.

21/02/08

We received these wonderful photos of Toby (P. Zodiac Prince - Riondel Venture x P. Paint Splash) enjoying a round of agility. Toby is in the Advanced class and holds his own against the bigger breeds. Well done Toby and of course his lovely owner Belinda for training him so well!

09/02/08

Ever keen to take advantage of the sunshine we took a photo of Dudley and Stan today! Dudley has matured into a handsome dog with a beautiful head and a lovely soft melting expression like his Mother's.

08/02/08

Welcome sunshine here today! As ever there was a stiff breeze and it's quite cold, but how good to see some sun! Here's a photo of Sophie taken this afternoon. Sophie is a super girl, so compact, well angulated and more or less a clone of Lottie!

07/02/08

More pleasing news arrived last night in the shape of an email from Di to say that KT (P. Celtic Rose) has passed her Silver Kennel Club Good Citizen award. Well done to you both!!!

04/02/08

Megan (P. Precious Simba) has had her eyes tested under the KC/BVA Eye Scheme today. We are pleased to say that she passed the GPRA/CPRA and Glaucoma tests.

31/01/08

Congratulations to Leisl and Muppet aka Powerscourt Pandemonium who has just passed her Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme Gold award.

We are very proud of you both!

27/01/08

More gifts today! Our friend Julie came to visit and brought the dogs a beautiful "doggy" hamper - how spoilt are they?!! Thank you so much Julie, a lovely gift and a lovely surprise.

01/01/08

Wishing all our family, friends and Powerscourt owner's a Happy New Year!