President's Message

Here we sit in mid September, coming off of one of the most successful specialties our club has ever hosted. Those of us who reconcile our checkbooks recently revisited drafts for dues, entries, banquet tickets, perhaps a rescue shirt or two, auction items and, if you were fortunate, photographs (any resemblance to my personal check book are purely coincidental.)

Just when you're shaking your head at the extremes you’ve gone to in support of the club, I'm coming begging. What's worse is I'm not asking for money. Rather, what I'm asking for is much more precious - and that is your time.

We've got a tremendous group of people working for club, but too often we see the same faces in worker bee positions. It’s understood that people are busy with a multitude of life demands, but we run the risk of burning out some of our members and not having the depth in the membership to back them up. I believe this could put the club’s very survival at risk.

This year I am issuing a challenge to every single club member to devote one day -- eight hours -- to " working" for the club. This represents 0.09% of your year - not a bad tithe for this fellowship of Dog! There is a multitude of ways you can serve the club. These activities can be a simple as helping Liz prepare a mailing to as complex is organizing an educational event. You can burn up that entire eight hours and then some organizing a fun match or weight pull. Or you can contribute 15 minutes at a time word-processing articles for the newsletter. How about a “doggy” oriented garage sale at Pawsability? Clean out your garage and make some money for the club all in one day! How about that activity you enjoy sharing with your Sammy? Why not build a club meeting around that activity? Then there’s that genetic question that’s been bugging you - why not research it and write it up for the newsletter? You can then add the fact that you’ve “been published” to your resume!

One of the things that helped our 1996 National event be so successful was having a bit of a “war chest” built up for the initial outlay of money for the event. We need to be working on that now, so ideas that can help contribute to that end would be especially appropriate. The choice is yours but our need is great. The promise for you is that you’ll gain much more value for your time in experience, knowledge, or bonhomie with your fellow Samoyed Fanciers. Next month, you can look forward to a sign-up list of things we could use assistance with. If you have ideas of your own, please send them to me for inclusion. If there’s something you have a burning desire to get your name on, let me know that too.

Please give all your Sammies a hug from me and we’ll see you next month!

Cheri

Dr. Jan Bellows

What would happen if you stopped brushing your own teeth? Even if you only ate hard food as most dogs do, there still would be problems. You should be brushing your dog's teeth at least twice weekly, daily if you can manage it. It's not as difficult as you might imagine.

What are the benefits? Brushing removes the daily accumulation of plaque from the teeth. Even though dogs do not commonly get cavities, they do suffer from periodontal disease. If untreated the gum disease can lead to pain and loss of teeth.

How to brush teeth? Step one is to pick an appropriate pet toothbrush. Save yourself time by not buying a child's toothbrush which is usually too hard for dogs. The ideal dog toothbrush will have a long handle, an angled head to better fit the mouth and extra soft bristles. Another option is the finger toothbrush that fits over the tip of your finger.

Step two is to select an appropriate toothpaste. The best pet toothpastes contain enzymes that help control plaque. Try to avoid toothpastes with baking soda, detergents, or salt sometimes found in human pastes. Fluoride may be incorporated to help control bacteria. Rather than placing the paste on top of the brush try to place it between the bristles. This allows the paste to spend the most time next to the teeth.

Step three is to get the brush with paste into your dog's mouth and all the teeth brushed. Most dogs accept brushing if they are approached in a gentle manner. If you can start when they are young, it's quite easy, but even older pets will accept the process. Start slowly, you can use a washcloth or piece of gauze to wipe the teeth, front and back in the same manner you will eventually be using the toothbrush. Do this twice daily for about two weeks and your dog should be familiar with the approach. Then take the pet toothbrush, soak it in warm water and start brushing daily for several days. When your dog accepts this brushing, add the pet toothpaste.

The toothbrush bristles should be placed at the gum margin where the teeth and gums meet at a 45 degree angle. The movement should be in an oval pattern. Be sure to gently force the bristle ends into the area around the base of the tooth as well as into the space between the teeth. Ten short back-and-forth motions should be completed, then the brush should be moved to a new location. Cover three to four teeth at a time. Most attention should be given to the outside of the upper teeth.

In summary, dog home care should include daily (or at least every other day) brushing, using an enzymatic pet toothpaste. Taking an active role in the care of your dog's dental care will help reduce dental disease, bad breath and potential life threatening heart and kidney disease. Everyone wins.