President's Message - June 2004
I Wish You Could Have Been There!!
As reported in the minutes, after the Spokane Shows a number of us were
able to get together to have dinner at Templin’s – the host hotel for the
2006 SCA National. When I say that I wish you had been there, I’m meaning it
on a number of different levels. Yes, we would have loved your company – one
of the most delightful aspects of the Northwest Samoyed Fanciers is that
they are a grand group of people – but more importantly, I would have liked
you to have all felt the synergy amongst the folks when planning and
discussing the event. Did everyone agree at all points? NO! But the ensuing
discussion and dialogue is what makes us stronger and will help us
ultimately have a better event. The other thing that is marvelous to behold
is the way in which the various strengths people have in their non -doggy
lives come to the fore for the benefit of the club. Whether it be Van’s
experience with facilities management, Darlene’s with running a business,
Joy’s leadership at Boeing, Liz’s with computers or the many other talents
made evident that night, it has the makings of an awesome group. For those
of you not already signed up, please think what talents you have that might
help move this project forward and let us know. One of the things I am most
proud of in my work with SCWS was the National we hosted in 1996 --
still regarded by many as the best. Let’s create another event to be proud
of!
Cheri
President's Message - July 2004
As this club year draws to a close, I want to thank the membership for
allowing me to serve in this office another year. I also want to publicly
thank the members for their specific contributions to the club (this is a
scary undertaking, given I’ll inevitably miss someone’s wonderful
contribution, but please know it’s a consequence of a tired mind – not a
lack of appreciation!):
René Brimhall
– specialty show chair and judges’ hospitality
Bo Gloster
– Vice President
Doug Haldeman
– for his new celebrity as our outstandingly
entertaining auctioneer
Jason Loper
– Corresponding Secretary (despite not often being
able to make it to the meetings, Jason has done a marvelous job of
summarizing information that has come in and provided timely reports)
Ron & Kathy Manor, Kristina, and any family member they can tap
for all the work in Rescue
Ron Manor
for designing and maintaining our website and the
wonderful photos we all enjoy
Darlene Rautio
– Board, Specialty organizer, filofax, rescue
supporter, auction and raffle chair, seminar chair and 2006 ways and means
Joy Ritter
– Treasurer – and a great one!!
Liz Swearingen
– Recording Secretary, Newsletter editor (and the
best nag for getting the president’s message in a timely manner!!), Trophy
chair, rescue supporter, designer for our specialty logos for the past few
years
Van Swearingen
– Chair of 2006, rescue transportation, our best
BBQ cook and Liz’s (heck, all of our’s!) “Go -to
guy”
Lon and Mary White
– fostering countless dogs
And all the members who pay dues and members and friends who support
various club events by participation, donation of money or time.
In this newsletter, you’ll find the slate of officers and board for 2004 -2005.
We will be accepting nominations from the floor and voting at the annual
meeting, since we didn’t have a July meeting.
See you soon to celebrate our Sams for all Seasons!
Cheri
President's Message - August 2004
Success!
What a rousing success we shared with our 2004 State Specialty! From the
Obedience opener with a number of qualifiers and a High in Trial score of
195, to our Sweepstakes judging by a long- time
“backbone” of the club, followed by breed judging with a well respected
breeder judge, and capped with a delightful banquet and very successful
silent and live auction, I’m sure the day will be remembered as one of the
best SCWS specialties ever! Many thanks to all of you who worked to
contributed to make the event such a success. Many thanks to others who
contributed to the success by participating and sharing in the warm
hospitality!
The reputation of our specialty is evident in the number of folks who
return over significant distances year after year. It is also evident in the
reports from other clubs that their planning is influenced by their members’
experiences when attending our specialty. Special thanks to Liz and Van
Swearingen, our Saturday barbeque hosts that help keep the hospitality
flowing.
The other exciting success to the weekend was the number of members who
stepped forward to volunteer for projects over the next year. We have
volunteers for show chair, banquet coordination, trophies and trophy
assistance, and the Sammy Olympics! As we’re going into a new club year,
this is a very exciting development.
I will be working over the next couple of months with the SCWS officers
and board to set the meeting schedule for 2004 -2005.
Given we will not have a September newsletter, please check the SCWS website
for meeting announcements for the remainder of this year.
Heartfelt thanks again for all of you in our Pacific Northwest Samoyed
community. The gift of your presence at our annual reunion provides me with
an incredible sense of revitalization and enthusiasm for the upcoming year.
Cheri
Where's The Cheese?
Roxanne, my rescue Samoyed whom I have had for just over 2 years, and I
live in a large apartment in a dog friendly complex. She gets to run in the
woods in back and join the other dogs chasing tennis balls on the tennis
court, so she is not "housebound." She also attends a doggie daycare and has
a wonderful sitter that takes her out when I go to work. Roxanne has been to
obedience and is actually well trained. We have so many dogs in the complex,
that we have the rule that the dogs have to be on leash and not causing a
nuisance.
Roxanne was recently reported for causing a nuisance by barking all day
and it was said that she was a vicious dog. Roxanne does not bark, but she
does howl occasionally at the sirens from a nearby fire station, but
otherwise, just an occasional "woo woo."
I had some concern about Roxanne from the beginning because every dog
that she met from the day I met her was growled at. I decided that after my
previous "Puppy the Terrible" I could handle anything in the way of dominant
behavior. Roxanne was 99% wonderful, cuddly, cute and smart. She is
submissive to people and just loves everyone. I can handle a bit of
grouchiness, dominance, protectiveness or whatever-it-isother dogs.
I did try to keep her at a distance from other dogs, but people in the
complex want to let their dogs run free. Whendogsin her face, she objected.
The off leash people ganged up on me and kept reporting her to the manager.
One night, one woman, completely hysterical, started yelling at me at
11:00PM about Roxanne being mean. Of course, I yelled back because I was so
insulted at her slandering Roxanne. Roxanne is sweet, not mean. The
off leash people had responsibility to control their animals too.
The manager had been called at one point and said that she had come over
and heard Roxanne barking. Not true. The barker belongs to a man who
lives downstairs. Because of the complaints and the manager’s observation, I
was sent a 10 day notice to vacate. As you can imagine, I was so upset, I
called anyone I thought might be of help. Through these calls I found out
that with a vicious dog, King County gives a warning, a letter and then can
put the dog down. Roxanne was in danger.
I called my vet who referred me to Suzi Moore, Positive Approach Dog
training. (253)627-4275. She came up from Tacoma to evaluate Roxanne.
Suzi was amazing. She is certified to testify in court in dog cases. She
brought a "test dog," analyzed Roxanne's behavior step by step, and we set
up different situations outside to see how Roxanne would behave. It was
incredible. Suzi would say "we will do this" and the "dogs will do that." It
was like they were following a script. Roxanne passed with flying colors.
The behaviors that others were seeing as aggressive were appropriate dog
displays. Suzi wrote a 5 page "dog psychiatric evaluation" complete with
objectives, treatment and follow ups. Basically it said that Roxanne was
insecure when approached by another dog.
Cheese is the answer. Suzi recommended that Roxanne needed to be
distracted from her fear of the approaching dog. She recommended that we use
cheese for this distraction. The minute another dog approaches and Roxanne's
ears point towards it, we start stuffing her mouth with shredded cheese bits
to interrupt the chain of behavior that results in the "growly" display. I
feel like the village idiot going around exclaiming "It's a dog, it's a dog,
Roxanne, how wonderful," but it is a whole lot easier than staring her down
or doing a rollover. The goal is to make every dog experience a wonderful
thing for Roxanne. It works wonders. Roxanne is making little doggy
friends all over the place.
The end result of all this is that several other neighbors stood up for
Roxanne and we got our new lease and our pet agreement. Roxanne does not
have to move and her reputation is restored.
What I learned from this is that we have to stand up for our dog and use
resources that are available resources. We usually know our dog better than
anyone else and can usually analyze their temperament, although we might not
be able to determine what might be affecting their behavior. We sometimes
need help and should not hesitate to ask for it. This is just one of the
responsibilities we take on with these dogs, whether it be a rescue dog or a
dog we have raised from a puppy. Contact your mentor, your breeder, your
veterinarian, and any other source you think might help. Do your best to
calmly explain the problem so that they can make some recommendations.
Submitted by: Karen Sue Braddock and Roxanne the
Magnificent
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