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They Poop!  Then What?

A few days ago, my doorbell rang and when I answered it, there was a lovely young man standing there with his Boston Terrier.  He wanted to alert me that his dog had pooped in my front yard and he forgot to get a poop bag before his walk.  He said that he would go straight home and get a bag and come back.  You can just imagine my surprise.  What a wonderful thing to do.  This young man is probably a great dog owner.   He has a sense of obligation to clean up after his dog.  He doesn't want his dog to be a bother to someone else.
I was so impressed that I thanked him profusely and told him not to worry about it, that I would clean it up.  

That visit got me to thinking about how all of us dog people deal with pooping dogs.  I will try to deal with this topic delicately.  WHAT ARE SOME PEOPLE THINKING????  When I go to walk our girls, there is poop everywhere.  How can we forget bags that often?  I have seen people that have forgotten a bag, which can easily happen, mark the spot and go get a bag and come back.  Personally, if I ran out of regular poop bags, I have used bread wrappers, shopping bags, newspaper, the list is endless.  I've been known to rummage through a nearby public trashcan for anything that could be used.

While at the Brockville, Ontario show, it was terrible how much poop was left in the grass median between hotels.  It was very dangerous in the dark to tiptoe around the land mines.  There were free poop bags offered by the hotels.  So WHY was there a poop issue?  Will Alexander is just finding this out, but I borrowed his pooper scooper and scooped four big loads off of that median and disposed of it in his bag.  Thanks Will!  All you people that didn't scoop, you are WELCOME!   

Now when I see people watch their dog poop and then start to wonder off like it didn't happen, I yell, "Do you need a bag?".  BUSTED!!!

On a lighter side:  I learned a new trick kind of in the same topic I've been talking about.  I was at the Brantford, Ontario show and people kept asking folks for a match.  Finally I asked my friend, you don't smoke do you?  She laughed and said, no.  So, I asked what was with all the need for a match?  Newbies listen up!  This is good stuff.  A simple paper match properly inserted in the anal opening will make your dog go poop.  To be more precise, you wet the sulfur end of the match and gently insert the match but move it in and out a couple of times.  Like magic, in a few minutes, there is poop.  I can't tell you how happy I am to know this.  I have a girl that doesn't perform well unless she has had her morning constitution.  This could very easily be the one tip that is very invaluable.  

If you need a match, come find me.  I'll have one to help you out!

ASK THE EXPERTS

This is a regular feature of my blog.  I will be asking a question to a cross-section of Canadian experts involved in various areas of the dog world.  If you would like to participate or have a question you would like to have asked or have an expert you would like to answer a question, feel free to contact me.

Question:  What does a hotel expect from their guests that are exhibitors at a nearby dog show?

Answer: Shelley Arbeau, Manager, Brockville Travelodge   

Having the Dog Show people and their pets here is great. We all love having them.  The only issues we ever have are 

•  Guests not cleaning up after their pets outside
•  Guests bringing their pets into the breakfast room
•  Guests not following our "on a leash when not in your room" rule
•  Guests grooming their pets in public areas.. like the lobby

When any of our dog guest's owner fails to pick up after them, it leaves a bad impression of them with our other guests.  We want everyone to enjoy their stay with us.  So, we provide complimentary bags for you.  If our maintenance or cleaning crew must clean up after you,  it could mean higher room rates in the future and we don't want that to happen.

There are health laws that we must follow and one is not allowing animals in the breakfast room.  Please don't bring your dogs into that room.  There may be guests that are not dog lovers and won't find your Fido cute up close and personal with their cereal.

Even if your dog is highly trained and never leaves your side, it must be leashed outside of your room.  Again, we have to think about all our guests safety and it makes everyone more comfortable and to  feel safe when they are not loose.

The lobby, hallway or any other common area is not the place to groom your dog.  I'm certain that is something you can do at the show sight, so it is greatly appreciated if you would limit grooming to there.

Our hotel loves dogs.  Our staff always enjoys seeing the different breeds, and we want to be a great partner with our local kennel club.  We want to always provide a wonderful away from home stay experience.  We look forward to having you all come stay with us again in 2013.  

I like to see people do nice things for others.  If someone does something nice for you at a show or you see or hear about something nice being done, please send me an email at djenkins@shaw.ca.   Be sure to put in the subject: Nice

We will mention that person by name in the blog.

In the Spotlight: Canadian Professional Handlers Association

The CPHA Annual Top Dog Awards Banquet is now in its 22^nd year. Each year they hope to raise enough funds to not only put on Canada’s ONLY Awards banquet, but to have money left over for their chosen recipient. They have raised funds over the years for Take The Lead, Hurricane Katrina, Canada’s Guide Dog Association, BSL, Sonny Tougas Bursary Fund, Junior Handling to just mention a few.

The dinner roves through Canadian Provinces each year. For the past five years it has been held in the East including Halifax. This year they took the dinner to Surrey, BC.  This was where their first “Friends In Need” benefit was awarded. Allison Foley and Shannon Scheer run the dinners each year and they want people to know that the Canadian Professional Handlers Association is not just a one night formal affair. They fund raise all year long to put on a banquet and to have funds available for their benefit. This year they decided that the CPHA Friends In Need fund would be set aside to be used for anyone in the dog community who came upon hard times and needed a little bit of financial help to get them back on their feet. This category could be anywhere from the loss of a spouse, house or kennel fire, critical health news, car accident, or any unforeseeable and devastating event that can occur to our members of the dog fancy.

In June of this year, Alberta Professional Handler, Teri Taplin suffered a severe brain aneurysm followed by several strokes. At forty years of age, she was in her prime, and now found herself in rehabilitation to learn how to walk and speak again. Teri was expected to be In the Ponoka Brain Injury Institution for at least six months. Her strong will and perhaps her stubbornness, had her out of there within four months. We are happy to report that Teri has  made several appearances at local shows, showing Eugene Phoa’s English Cockers. Her rehabilitation is going well, but she was unable to work in her grooming shop for several months. She has now returned to grooming a couple of days a week. The CPHA was very proud to offer Teri a cheque for $2,000.00 to help ease her financial strain from the past several months. This money was fund raised out West by Kim Cowie, Pat Gignac, Kim Campbell, Lori Ann Fischer , Alana Smith, Connie Krohn, Trina Neil, Penny Lewis and Shannon Scheer. Not all of these gals are CPHA members, but they are definitely “Friends”!  The support they receive from our ticket selling for the Annual Top  Dog Awards banquet, also helps greatly.

CPHA is now working towards the 2013 CPHA Top Dog Awards Banquet which shall be held in Calgary, Alberta in conjunction with the Alberta Kennel Club Summer Spectacular shows. This Black Tie Affair will be held on the grounds of Spruce Meadows on Friday Evening - August 2^nd, 2013. They urge everyone to come and enjoy an exciting evening of awards, dinner and dancing. Your support of this event will be a large part of them being able to continue the “Friends In Need Benefit”. They also wish to thank Nestle’ Purina, Canadian Dog Fanciers Magazine and The EntryLine for their help and sponsorship.

In the Spotlight:  Jean Tremblay, Breeder of King Charles Cavaliers, Sandy Point, Ontario

On Saturday at the Cleveland, Ohio dog show, Jean came to my rescue.  We had entered our class bitch and special bitch and thought we had arranged for someone to take one of them in the ring.  That didn't work out and we were suddenly in a bind.  Jean stepped forward and took Cara in for us.  He did a great job, having never worked with her before.  

Not only he didn't know Cara, he didn't have any idea who we were either.  That kind of selflessness is really appreciated and proves again, there are great people in the dog sport and nice deeds are done all the time.  

Thanks Jean!  Your nice deed will not be forgotten.

Stay safe during your last minute shopping.  Don't drink and drive!  Add one more to your gift list........give to an elderly person that could use some help feeding or vetting their beloved pet!

Remember to watch for "Nice Deeds".  They are happening all around us.  Let's talk about the people helping others.

Be sure to go to Canuck Dogs, http://www.canuckdogs.com, to see all the upcoming events and to check stats.  You should  bookmark it.  That's where you will find my blog. 

                                                                  XXXOOO