Good Bloggie!

Recently listened to a presentation by the American Heartworm Society. (Did you even know there was one?) They threw out some rather alarming facts:

Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. demographics of heartworm have changed forever. Heartworms have always been more of an issue in coastal and warmer, southern states because they are transmitted via mosquitoes. Because so many heartworm-positive dogs were rescued and transported to other states from the Gulf Coast, areas, which rarely saw heartworm cases, are now more likely to have them. Before all those rescued dogs were treated for heartworms in their new state, local mosquitoes were treated to dog blood, swimming with microfilariae (baby heartworms). YUCK!

However, it’s just a matter of time before heartworms spread to cooler, northern states. According to AHS, anywhere it’s warmer than 80°-85° for more than two weeks, that area is in danger of heartworm transmission and heartworm cases have been reported in all 50 states. If you live in a northern state and don’t give monthly heartworm preventative during the cold or cooler months, you may need to rethink this approach.

Another thing putting your dog at risk could be your neighbor. A very large percentage of Americans don’t even give their dogs heartworm preventative. Your dog could get infected from mosquitoes snacking on your neighbor’s dog. Or, in very rare cases, humans can be infected with heartworms. Ewww…

Ivermectin (oral), milbemycin oxime (oral), selamectin (topical) and moxidectin (injected) are the main ingredients in preventative heartworm medicine. The thinking used to be; a safe, 40-day window existed between doses, if a dose was a week or so late, your dog was covered. Now the research shows, 30 days, no grace period. Our vet once told us, you aren’t treating for the coming 30 days, you are treating for whatever happened in the past 30 days. Another reason to opt for that once-a-year heartworm test. Make sure some sneaky mosquito didn’t slip Fido unwelcomed guests.

If your dog is infected with adult worms, they need a different approach to kill the worms safely. It only takes a few months to go from larval to adult stage and heartworms can live for five to seven years. Giving the monthly medicine to kill microfilariae (larval worms) can cause complications if the dog has adult heartworms. Dying adult worms cause serious, sometimes fatal, problems to their host. Often, dogs undergoing treatment must be hospitalized. Heartworm prevention is much preferred to treatment, by both you and your pet.

You and your vet can decide what type of medicine and which brand is best for your pet. Personally, we go with an oral tablet given once per month, which also contains flea prevention/sterilizer (lufenuron). (Tip for litter planners: a few months before planning a litter we change our girl to an oral heartworm medicine WITHOUT lufenuron, and keep her on this until she’s had her pups and is finished nursing. While lufenuron is considered safe for pregnant animals, we’d rather avoid using it while our pups are developing in utero and nursing.)

According to AHS, there is no proven or effective holistic treatment for heartworms. Garlic might work for vampires, but not these blood-borne killers.

If you’d like to learn more, visit:
American Heartworm Society
FDA

At your next vet visit, ask about heartworm prevention and be sure you’ve circled on your monthly dosage day on your calendar. Make this monthly treat a truly heartfelt one.

As most readers know by now, this blog is always on the lookout for new and usual art forms which incorporate French Bulldogs. Found a new one recently and it’s trés cool! Hand-painted Enameled Jewelry by Bev Yokley. Very nice, intricately cut, hand-painted enameled jewelry, and she can even do custom work from your photographs. She produces a wide range of animal art, whether you want something made of your Frenchie, your cat, or your giraffe!

She first sketches onto copper, then paints, cuts, and fires the metal to create the durable enamel pin.

Here are a few examples from her website:

And these aren’t Frenchies, but gives you an idea of how detailed her work can be.

If you’d like to see more, visit www.horsebrooch.com

What a show and what a time to be present as a French Bulldog fancier. To see the first French Bulldog win Non-Sporting at Westminster! It was the ultimate treat for a first-time attendee. Read on to share a little of the experience and see a few of the better snapshots. Note to self: next time take a camera with a telescopic lens!

Big congratulations to Bru, his handler Perry Payson, and his breeders and owners, Shelley St. John, James Dalton, and Marion Hulick. To get any dog to the Westminster level takes determination, drive, and above all patience. Patience to create the breeding program, patience to wait (and hope) for that promising little puppy to come along one day; patience to raise, train, and keep attending and winning shows with that special dog to qualify for Westminster.

Bru and Perry waiting for their G1 ribbon.

“Bru,” Ch Robobull Fablehaft I’m On Fire, is the first French Bulldog to win the Non-Sporting Group since the AKC created Groups in 1924. (The original five Groups are: Sporting, Working, Terriers, Toys, Non-Sporting.) Before this, the closest a Frenchie ever came to winning Non-Sporting at Westminster was the early 1960s with Ch Ralanda Ami Francine, a top Non-Sporting winner bred by Amanda West. In 2004, Ch Bandog’s Jump for Joy was nationally-ranked with 16 Best in Shows, and a contender to vie for G1 placement, but despite both girls’ outstanding win records, neither ever walked out of Westminster the winner of the Non-Sporting Group.

Bru wasn’t the only winner at Westminster. Let me back up to Monday morning, when several other dogs expanded their list of credentials and I had the thrill of seeing so many beautiful and handsome Frenchies in one place.

Congrats to the following dogs, and their handlers, breeders, and owners:
Best of Opposite Sex - Ch Lebull’s Midnight Confessions (see her winning photo at the Westminster site)
Award of Merit – Ch Devine’s LA Confidential
Award of Merit – Ch A’Vigdors Caudataire Du Roi Tuunrat’s El Che
Award of Merit – Ch Evergreen’s Lavish Looks
Award of Merit – Ch Raindrops Justus Lifes A Game

Award of Merit winner - Ch Raindrops Justus Lifes A Game

After the breed judging on Monday, I visited the benching area (a test of stamina for dogs, caretakers, and visitors alike) cruising the benching booths, admiring winners and champions up-close. A Frenchie to keep your eye on in the next couple of years is “Che,” Ch A’Vigdors Caudataire Du Roi Tuunrat’s El Che. Not even a year old yet and he’s already a standout specimen of the breed with his handsome, brindle looks.

Award of Merit winner - Ch A'Vigdors Caudataire Du Roi Tuunrat's El Che

For more info about the French Bulldogs winners of the 2010 Westminster show, click here.

To see breed judging video, click here.

To see Monday night’s Non-Sporting and Tuesday night’s Best in Show video, click here. Look for Best of Non-Sporting or Best in Show from the list at the bottom.

And there are more Westminster-related, Frenchie wins to report. The night before Westminster, I attended the Dog Writers Association of America Annual Awards Banquet where the 2009 writing competition winners were named. Maxwell awards went to:

• A booklet created by the French Bull Dog Club of America titled French Bulldogs: The Basic Course
• An article titled “Exposed” written by Lisa Ricciotti and published in the September 2008 The French Bullytin.

These were a just a couple of winners that evening from a wide-cross section of breed clubs, dog publications, websites, and other forms of media. Imagine, a whole room of people dedicated to nothing else but the news and well being of their breeds and to dogs in general.

You can view the entire list of DWAA 2009 nominees and winners, here.

If you found this blog entry because you saw the French Bulldog on TV and are interested in learning more about the breed, good for you! You are doing your homework first. Each breed has pros and cons, which should be considered carefully. The purpose of the booklet created by FBDCA is to educate people interested in the breed by telling the good, the bad, and to answer “Just how do I go about finding a good one?” You can get a copy of your very own for a mere $5 bucks, shipping included. Just click on the booklet image to order your copy. As wonderful as Frenchies are, they aren’t for everyone. Best to find out now, and it’s quite okay to admit this isn’t the breed for you.

The winning French Bullytin article was about a notorious dog broker importing sick French Bulldog puppies for sale. Many who died once placed in their new homes from illness or poor breeding. This broker is not an isolated case. Don’t be a contributor to the import/puppymill trade in your desire to own a Frenchie. If you’ve decided a Frenchie is for you, take the time to find a reputable breeder or check with a Frenchie rescue. (Okay, off that soapbox and back to show news!)

Westminster plays a very special part in the development of the French Bulldog breed. The first exhibition of Frenchies debuted at the 1896 Westminster show. At this time it was still acceptable for French Bulldogs to have both the rose (folded over) and bat (upright) ear. The following year, only French Bulldogs with rose ears were selected as winners at Westminster by an English judge. American exhibitors were so disgruntled, they formed the first breed club for the French Bulldog, the French Bull Dog Club of America. A breed standard was drafted which stated ONLY bat ears were allowed. This set the breed standard for the French Bulldog, which was eventually adopted worldwide. The FBDCA also hosted the very first breed specialty, for any breed, at the posh Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1897. In 1930, the Waldorf was torn down and the Empire State Building built in its place. A small fact I’d forgotten until I was standing in line watching a nearby screen flash Empire State Building factoids during the long wait for an elevator ride to the top. Didn’t realize until that moment my touristy detour was in fact a trip to Frenchie Mecca; the very spot where the American French Bulldog breed really took off.

If you ever get a chance to attend Westminster, take it. It is a real treat to see so many quality dogs and dog lovers in one spot, a true celebration of the efforts of so many dedicated handlers, breeders, owners, and just plain dog people. Maybe on your trip you’ll be lucky enough to see the first win of a Westminster Best in Show French Bulldog!

Bru and Perry competing for BIS.

It’s almost here, the BIG dog show of the year. Only AKC Champions of Record are allowed to compete and it’s often considered the pinnacle of a dog’s career to even attend.

Each breed’s top five dogs (from the national rankings of the prior year) are issued formal invitations to ensure the best is in attendance for the show. The five invited French Bulldogs for Westminster 2010 are:

• CH Highwood’s Big Shot
• CH Lebull’s Midnight Confessions
• CH Petite Cherie Femme De Puissance
• CH Raindrops Justus Lifes A Game
• CH Robobull Fabelhaft Im On Fire

Just as it is often is at a local dog show, the French Bulldog ring time is an early, first-breed-in-the-ring 8 AM. (Showing a wash and wear breed DOES have some minor drawbacks.) Monday morning 36 French Bulldogs will be waiting ringside, raring to go into the ring before Canadian judge Mr. James G. Reynolds. They will compete for Best of Breed and four Award of Merits. The BOB winner will compete Monday evening in the Non-Sporting competition for Group placement, or better. It will be up to judge Mrs. Dorothy A. Dalton to pick her best Non-Sporting dogs of the evening. The Group winner will report to the Best in Show ring on Tuesday night, before judge Mr. Eliott B. Weiss.

When dogs aren’t strutting their stuff in the ring they will be at their bench, accepting the favors and attentions of the crowd, as Westminster is one of the few remaining benched dog shows where you can meet and admire your favorite show dogs outside the ring.

French Bulldog Ring and Time
Ring 2, Time 8:00 AM, Row 5
36 French Bulldogs entered

Visit the Westminster website for more details, ringtimes for other breeds, and ticket information.
The Westminster Kennel Club

Television Coverage

USA and CNBC will share broadcast of the live event.
Monday, February 15
Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding Groups
8-9 p.m. (ET) live on USA Network
9-11 p.m. (ET) live on CNBC

Tuesday, February 16
Sporting, Working and Terrier Groups, Best In Show
8-11 p.m. (ET) live on USA Network

2010 WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW

MONDAY and TUESDAY
FEBRUARY 15th and 16th, 2010
Show Hours: 8:00 A.M. E.T. to 11:00 P.M. Each Day
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN CENTER
Pennsylvania Plaza
Seventh to Eighth Avenues and 31st to 33rd Streets
New York City, New York