If things are repeated in more than one column, it is usually because it was edited out of the original column by the dog paper.)
It will take a bit of time to get used to the NAC Stoneleigh, the new venue for the BUBA Championship Show. As to be expected, there were some teething problems and it didn't have quite the holiday atmosphere that we've come to expect of the BUBA show. Canaan Dogs were listed as being 'not before 11:00 am', but it was after 2:00 pm before we got into the ring. Our judge, Doug Kitchener, walked past the area where we were all benched several times, carrying the current issue of DW under his arm. When we were finally called into the ring, a change of ring was announced and we were told to go to a ring in another hall! Lorna Hastings was first to the ring we were supposed to be in to protest the change and another announcement was made that we were go to the ring we were originally assigned, outside of which we were all benched. Mr Kitchener had drawn an entry of 18 Canaan Dogs, with 5 absentees. The Rogerson family (Nosregor), who have a Lorianna Canaan Dog, but had not entered her, were there to help Lorna handle her dogs and video the judging. It was a very good day for Lorna as Mr Kitchener awarded BD & BOB to her Int. German, Lux, Belgium Ch Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna ShCM, very well handled by Louisa Rogerson; RBD to her Lorianna Desert Storm; and BB to her Int. & Lux Ch Lorianna Lucky Star, both handled by Lorna. RBB was awarded to Dave & Julia Close's Anacan Touch of Class ('Leah'), beautifully handled by Dave.
Lorna provided some welcomed festive refreshments for all the Canaan exhibitors and our judge, celebrating her 'Star's' winning the DW/PedigreeTop Canaan Dog for the second year in a row. Star is by Gvir Me Shaar Hagai At Anacan and out of Anacan Forever Amber With Lorianna. Our Anacan Ziggy, a half-brother to Star, is the runner-up. Top Puppy is my Anacan Kefira who is by Anacan Masterpiece and out of Anacan Whole Lotta Class; Top Stud Dog is my late Gvir Me Shaar Hagai At Anacan. There is no clear leader for Top Brood Bitch.
I heard from Alan Gersman (USA) that his Lada L is in the lead for the AKC's Top Canaan Dog in agility for the year 2005, as of the 30th November with 577 points. The AKC allows unregistered dogs to be registered with what is called an ILP number as a breed they resemble, if it is deemed the resemblance is strong enough. The registration is limited in that they cannot be bred from, but they can be shown in events such as agility. Alan reports that the dog is second place with 565 points is a non-Canaan, and that currently 4 of the 5 top CDs are ILP registered, that is, they are not Canaan Dogs. One is actually known to be a Border Collie, but it looked like a Canaan, so was given an ILP registration as such. I'm glad that this is not done here in the UK.
Since one of the basic characteristics of Canaan Dogs is their high reactivity, I found an article written by Benedict Carey in the �New York Times�, Friday, November 18, 2005, to be very interesting as it gives validation for this behaviour being genetically based and not simply the result of socialization. To quote, "Scientists working with mice have found that removing a single gene can turn normally cautious animals into daring ones, mice that are more willing to explore unknown territory and less intimidated by sights and sounds that they have learned can be dangerous. The surprising discovery, being reported today in the journal �Cell�, opens a new window on how fear works in the brain, experts said." Wariness is part of the Canaan character and studies may prove that it is a genetic trait. Then, hopefully, judges will accept�our breed's wariness�as they do the genetic traits of other breeds.
� Lorna Hastings has sent me some of her show results. At Kensington Open Show Alex Gunn�awarded�BOB to�Simi. His full title is now Int. German, Lux, Belgium Ch Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna ShCM. Overseas Show results (All gradings were excellent.): Kortrijk Show, Belgium - Bitch CAC & CACIB - Star. Amsterdam Winners Show - Dog CAC & CACIB - Simi, Bitch CAC & CACIB & BOB - Star.Both dogs now carry the Amsterdam Winners title 2005. Star has also qualified and been invited to the AKC / Euk Invitationals in Jan 06. Well-deserved congratulations.
� At LKA Barbara Gold's new puppy, Anacan Shoshannah For Amicitia (Rosie) qualified for Crufts and was RBB. This is Barbara's first show dog and it was Rosie's first show, so well done to both of them.
I can't believe it's December already and that it was a year ago yesterday (30th November) that Richard and I moved up to Lincolnshire and our new business. Unfortunately, as many of you know, we've had lots of problems, not the least of which was that Richard was made redundant a couple of months ago, which caused us to have to put the dog shows on the back burner. The good news is that Richard has found another job, which he started this past Monday. The bad news is that, even though we had entered four Canaans, we had to miss the Nordic show again this year. My apologies to judge, Mrs Margarette Mulholland. I would like to thank Barbara Gold for giving me the results. Mrs Mulholland drew a good entry, but unfortunately there were a number of absentees with only Lorna Hastings and Jill Terry there.� Jill's Babrees in Black and White ('Indy') won Junior Dog, Lorna's 'Storm' (Lorianna Desert Storm) took his class, and Lorna's 'Simi' (Int, Ger, Lux & Bel Champion Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna) won Open Dog and BOB, and her 'Maddie' (Lorianna Call Me Madam) won Open Bitch. Well done to all.
In my breed notes of 29th September I had written that Lorna wanted me to mention that by the time you had read those notes AKC Ch Lorianna Sirius Star CDCA HC would be back on British soil having spent just over a year in the US.� Perhaps you, as I, have wondered why we haven't been seeing or hearing of him on the show circuit. Indeed he was entered in, but absent from, the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom Open Show. I just read a posting Lorna made on the American Canaan Dog chat list, Canaani-L, where she wrote that 'Blaze' will now be coming back in January 2006. Lorna also announced on the list that her Int. German, Lux, Belgium Ch Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna has now qualified with enough points to gain his Show Certificate of Merit, a first for a Canaan Dog in the UK.
Our condolences go to Denise Gordon (USA) who lost her Ze'ev Midbar (�Wolf�) on November 18th at 14 years of age from renal failure, which had been diagnosed a year ago. �Wolf� never showed any signs of being ill or in pain until the night before he died. Denise said that �Wolf� had earned 24 titles during his lifetime with qualifying scores towards an additional 4. Many of those titles were the first ever awarded to a Canaan Dog. Some owners will claim their dogs are the most titled, but it will only be in one event (conformation, obedience, agility, etc.). Wolf was the most-titled Canaan Dog across all disciplines in different organizations, bar none. Above all, Wolf was my best buddy and I will miss him dearly.� I am sure that �Wolf� will be missed by many people.
On a happier note, I had an email from Ian and Jill Terry letting me know that they took �Indy� (Babrees in Black and White) to Huntingdonshire CS open show on Saturday 19th November. Mrs Carolyn Roe was judging AVNSC and Utility Group and she awarded �Indy� BP and then PG2. Congratulations! �Indy� is by Makiwer Black Knight For Tokra and out of Babrees Bethea Batyam.
I had an email from Doris Cannon letting me know that the family (Michael, Doris, Hannah, Sarah and, of course, �Cain�) arrived safely in Texas. �Cain� was able to get on the flights with them, which was a relief to all of them. However, the airline managed to lose two pieces of luggage between London and Dallas. Fortunately they were returned to the Cannons after just 1� days. They have begun their house hunt and in the interim are lodging on base (Dyess AFB, as Michael is in the US Air Force). Doris said it is a bit small and cramped, but they are able to have �Cain� with them, so they'll manage. Originally they thought they would have to kennel �Cain� while house hunting, so they are quite happy to not have to separate the �family�. Their email address is still the same if any of you wish to get in touch with them.
For the first time in the 9 years the Canaan Dogs have had a booth at Discover Dogs, and to our great disappointment, at the last minute neither Richard nor I could attend due to some personal problems. Richard actually went down to Earl's Court on the Thursday to set the booth up only to be told that the venue was closing at 5:00 pm. After making several frantic phone calls, Patrick and Barbara Gold stepped in to save the day and collected the booth decorations from Richard on his way back up to Lincolnshire. The Golds then made the trip from Nuneaton to Earl's Court on the Friday to decorate the booth and drop off the handouts. Anne Barclay and Alison Byrne were in there with 'Tali', on the Saturday with David Sexton lending a hand in helping to educate the public about Canaan Dogs. Anne reports that it was quite busy with lots of leaflets being taken and quite a few people genuinely interested as opposed to just cruising. Anne devised a �Colour A Canaan Drawing� competition, and said a number of children, small and large, did take drawings away. We are hoping they will colour them in and send them back to be judged. The Golds were back on Sunday with their three Canaans, 'Simba', 'Athtar' and 'Rosie' to greet the public. Elisabeth de Boisgelin also went along to give them a hand. Barbara commented that at times the noise from the different ongoing events was so loud that it was difficult to hold a conversation with people. This is a shame as Discover Dogs is supposed to enable the public to go and learn about the various breeds that interest them. The unnecessarily high volume of sound emanating from the events rings can be off-putting to both the dogs, and to the people trying to talk about them. Perhaps TKC would take this into consideration before next year's Discover Dogs.
A bit of news from Canada this time. Larry Myers and Michelle Harrington proudly reported that their 'Maccabee' (JK Maccabee Northern Warrior) picked up his Canadian Kennel Club HT herding title. They said, �We trailed down in the Niagara region, an area better known for its many wineries. 'Maccabee' did a nice job of working with unfamiliar sheep at a strange setting. It was the first time either of the judges had ever seen a Canaan and both thought that he showed good potential. Of course, like everyone else that has seen him work, they commented that he was employing multiple methods of moving the sheep, from using a little Border Collie 'eye' for a stubborn ewe in the corner, to applying pressure from well off the stock just with his presence. And the couple of times the stock split he was more than able to handle getting them back together with that 'Canaan speed'.� Now for a long winter of practise in Canada's ice and snow.� 'Maccabee' is the first CD to get a Rally O title in Canada and the US, and an HT in Canada. Way to go 'Macc'!
The listing of the top five dogs in each breed (according to breed points) is now posted on the Westminster Kennel Club web site (ww.westminsterkennelclub.org). The following five Canaan Dogs (in alphabetical order) will receive�invitations to pre-enter the 2006 Westminster show as outlined in the�premium list and also in the rules posted on the web site: CH Hahar Akahai Shama Abi, dog, owned by Audrey Beimann and Katryna Bogovich; CH Jealou's Got Milk O'Mad River, dog, owned by Carol J O'Bryan, Cynthia Grupp and Sally Armstrong-Barnhardt; CH Pleasant Hill Magnum Of Samara, dog, owned by Donna Dodson and Pamela Rosman; CH River Rock Light My Way, dog, owned by Chris Miller; and CH Rosendog's He Who Must Be Named, dog, owned by Judy March Rosenthal and Amanda M Pough. Good luck to all the contenders!
Lorna Hastings recently visited Israel to look at some Canaans. She has promised to tell me more when she has the time.
The attendees at our recent breed seminar, held at our house, commented to Richard and I that they enjoyed meeting Canaans in a home environment as it gave them a completely different perspective on the breed. Canaan Dogs really are the loving family dogs that we say they are.
A small brag for the breed came out of a small catastrophe. The other night our 'Tara' came in from her evening run only to present me with a torn dewclaw. I washed the area thoroughly with disinfectant soap, then dried and bandaged it. The next morning Richard took her to the vet, who said it had to come out and she would have to give 'Tara' a local anaesthetic in order to perform the procedure. Richard went outside to ring me on his mobile, but before he could do so the vet came out with 'Tara' saying she didn't know what she was talking about. She had taken 'Tara' into the exam room and took a final look and decided to try to remove the damaged nail without an anaesthetic, and 'Tara' just stood there and allowed her to do so. She said she knew the breed was very well behaved, but was still surprised on how well behaved 'Tara' was. Our former vet said the same thing. He actually said they were the best breed of dog in his practice from his point-of-view, because they were so good to work on -- never a fear of having to struggle with them or being bitten. I am sure that every Canaan Dog owner can make this same brag. Oh, and good news, the vet said 'Tara's' dewclaw will l grow back.
The American Kennel Club has announced that any imported dog or bitch registered with the AKC on or after March 1, 2006 will be required to have an AKC DNA profile prior to registering their first litter whelped in the United States. The policy will require any imported dogs or bitches that sire or produce an AKC-registered or FSS-enrolled litter to have an AKC DNA profile on file before their litter applications will be accepted into the AKC registry.� However, from March 1 - May 1, 2006 there will be a limited phase-in period. During this time AKC will register affected litters without delay and notify the owner of the new requirement. This new DNA requirement for all imported sires and dams was a new initiative the AKC Board approved this year. As a result, AKC will be able to verify all progeny from imported animals moving forward. This requirement does not affect any foreign dogs registered with the AKC before March 1, 2006.
As imported dogs already have to be microchipped, is this new policy really necessary? Is it one our Kennel Club should adopt? I personally feel it would help safeguard our breed and would have no objections to a similar policy be adopted in this country. What do you think?
Our sincere condolences are sent to Alison Byrne, Ivan Kaye and Anne Barclay who recently lost their 'Livvi' (Babrees Bat Benyas At Nizzana) to a liver problem. 'Livvi' was only 7 years old and had just been shown at the Canaan Dog Club of the UK Open Show in Veteran class and seemed fine on the day. 'Livvi' contributed only one litter to the breed, but out of that litter came Int, Ger, Lux & Bel Champion Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna. So 'Livvi' will live on in the hearts of those who knew her and through her son and grandchildren.Submitted 3rd November 2005)
Our sincere condolences are sent to Alison Byrne, Ivan Kaye and Anne Barclay who recently lost their 'Livvi' (Babrees Bat Benyas At Nizzana) to a liver problem. 'Livvi' was only 7 years old and had just been shown at the Canaan Dog Club of the UK Open Show in Veteran class and seemed fine on the day. 'Livvi' contributed only one litter to the breed, but out of that litter came Int, Ger, Lux & Bel Champion Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna. So 'Livvi' will live on in the hearts of those who knew her and through her son and grandchildren.
Our sympathies go also to Annette Israel (USA) who just lost her AKC Ch Mowery's Manny Blessings, CDCA HC, CGC."Manny" was an ambassador for the breed in the early 1990's when, after my departure to the UK, there were no longer Canaans on the east coast. He continued winning everyone's heart, showing until a couple of years ago when he took a well-deserved rest.�'Manny' helped to get the Canaan Dog recognized by the AKC by travelling up and down the east coast and even across country. Annette says he loved all people and animals too. He also took both of her daughters through their Junior. Showmanship days and placed high with both of them. He was a gentle giant and will be missed by many that knew him.
Lorna Hastings sent me some more good news. Her 'Simi' gained his Belgium Champion Title�this past weekend when he was awarded the CAC, his fourth and final qualifying award to claim his Belgium Championship, as well as the CACIB and BOB. 'Simi's' title was won under a French judge, Mr Voilet, who has judge Canaan Dogs on a number of occasions both in France and in other countries. So 'Simi' will now be known as International, German, Luxembourg & Belgium Champion Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna. 'Simi' was bred by Alison Bryne & Ivan Kaye and is by Anacan Masterpiece out of Babrees Bat Benyas At Nizzana.
It is a shame that we don't have more exhibitors in the UK, particularly in the performance events, but those of us who are active in the breed can only stretch ourselves so far. In the US in addition to conformation champions, there are Canaan Dogs with obedience titles, agility titles, herding titles and now titles in something called Rally-Obedience. From what I've been told, Rally-Obedience is somewhat of a combination of Obedience and Agility.� There are various tasks, mostly heelwork, and the great part is you get to talk to and encourage your dog through the trial. Back in June 2004 Denise Gordon's then 12-year-old Canaan Dog, Ze'ev Midbar (aka "Wolf"), earned his 23rd title (yes, I said 23rd). 'Wolf' not only earned the first Rally-O title for a Canaan Dog (from the American Pet Dog Trainers Association), but he earned it with a Cum Laude, i.e. his scores were well over the needed 180 -- in fact � of his scores were over 190. Since then Rally-O has become an AKC event and there have been a number of Canaans who have gained their Rally-O titles, with those who are taking part saying it is great fun. I hope I'm still around for the day when Canaan Dogs get to show what they can do in similar events here in the UK. If anyone reading would be interested in taking up the challenge, get in touch!
In my rush to report on the CDC of the UK Open Show, I forgot to mention that one of the spectators was Gina Pointing, the club's first Secretary and the person most responsible for helping to originally form the club and to keep it together in the early days. The club's fifth annual show was the first one Gina has been able to attend, courtesy of Sue Coombes and family who gave Gina a lift to the show. Gina said she could remember saying, �wouldn't it be great if the club could hold its own show�, and now it was doing so. She was very happy to meet some of the new Canaans and their people and to see some of the Canaans who descend from her Mornavega Queen of the Orchid ('Golda') through her daughter, Mornavega The Chosen One of Anacan. Gina is quite active in the 3rd Age group in her community in Dorset and is organising a trip for them to Egypt early next year, and hopes to see some Canaan Dogs while there.
The weather was just glorious for the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom's fifth annual single-breed open show, held on the 9th October at Bradfield Village Hall, resulting in a few more spectators coming to the event than last year. The Show Secretary, Mrs Norma Barnes, engaged Mr Barry Tookey (Veklee) as judge. He drew an entry of 29, plus 3 entries in Progeny class. Chris and Jan Quantrill once again served as ring stewards efficiently and with good humour. Mr Tookey's choice for BD, BVD, Reserve BIS, and BOS to BIS was Richard and Ellen Minto's Anacan Ziggy from the OD class. RBD was awarded to Lorna Hastings' Lorianna Desert Storm ('Storm') from LD and BIS was Lorna's Lorianna Call Me Madam ('Maddy'), a littermate to 'Storm', from PGB. RBB was my Anacan Simply Irresistible ('Tara') from OB. There was one absentee in Progeny class. First place was awarded to Lorna's Anacan Forever Amber With Lorianna, with second place going to her littermate, my Anacan Sheindela. In addition to the gorgeous trophies donated by the Club's patron, Karina Le Mare, and various Club members, Pedigree very generously donated boxes of food and Denta Stix as prizes for the various placements. My I say a very special thanks to Ian McCrory for arranging this for us.
Unfortunately for Lorna, her partner, Neil, who came in a separate vehicle with their son, Alexander, Lorna's agility equipment and her 'Star' (Int & Lux Ch. Lorianna Lucky Star) aboard, got stuck in a traffic jam which caused him to arrive at the show venue after the judging was completed. Lorna was not a happy bunny. However, after a lunch break the Club's annual Fun day was held and Lorna kindly gave an agility demonstration with 'Star' and then gave some basic training to all those who wished to give agility a try. There was quite a lot of interest and I hope some of the Canaan owners there will follow this up. It would be terrific to see some Canaans competing in agility in this country.
The demonstration was followed by a fancy dress competition (dogs to be dressed up, not the handlers), the theme of which was 'Stars In Their Eyes'. When Barry Tookey saw the entrants, he laughed so hard he almost forgot to judge the class. The overall winner of this was Alison Byrne and Anne Barclay's group consisting of two Canaans, one Pug, and one Pug x Cavalier Spaniel dressed as the Black & White Minstrels. Both Lorna and I (unbeknownst to each other) dressed our 'blonde' Canaans as Madonna in her Blonde Ambition days (pointy cone bras and all!). Patrick Gold had his Simba and Athtar dressed as the Beach Boys and Barbara Gold dressed her puppy, 'Rosie' as 'Miss Dog World', taking a second place, with my Madonna taking third. This was followed by 'bobbing for sausages' (that's the dogs, of course) and a few other games. There was also a very nice raffle table and I think everyone with a winning ticket went home happy. Overall it was a very nice day and Chris and Jan Quantrill commented, �Your exhibitors are really good sports and accept graciously what the Judge gives. What a breath of fresh air.� Those are lovely words to hear. I'm already looking forward to next year's show.
As I write this, there are only 3 days to go until the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom's annual single-breed open show. I understand that this year's judge, Mr Barry Tookey, has drawn an entry of 29 Canaan Dogs. The Show Secretary, Mrs Norma Barnes, has been working hard to make sure the day comes off perfectly and Chris and Jan Quantrill have, once again, offered their stewarding services, so with such an experienced show secretary and stewards, I am sure the show will run like clockwork. This year the club's annual Fun Day will follow the show, which will be a nice way to socialise and relax afterwards. A full report will follow in my next set of breed notes.
Isabella Zirri (Italy) recently lost both her bitch, Velikaya's Hava, who was 14 years of age, and her dog, Ch. Velikaya's Mitsay-Ruah, who was 11 years old. Isabella said that the two had spent all their life together and left this world together. It is very difficult to lose old friends and we send Isabella our condolences. On a happier note, Isabella reports that Ch Velikaya's Shuvi Habayta, owned by Myrna Shiboleth (Israel) just finished her International Championship with a BOB and a G2. She is also very proud that Italian, Europe 2005 Ch Velikaya's Luni, owned by Luca Bevilacqua, is now also an International Champion.
Two weeks ago Richard collected our new Swedish import bitch, Chancos Simene (Babrees The Lunar Eclipse ex Sanchaan's Marietta) from our friends at Silverdale Kennels who kindly picked her up from Heathrow for us and kept her until Richard could go down to get her. Many thanks to Willie O'Brien, the owner of Silverdale for keeping her for us and to Virginia Mergyl, who picked Simene up for us from the Animal Reception Centre. 11-month old 'Simene', bred by Maria Nilsson Selin, gives us some needed new bloodlines for our breeding programme. She has a lovely temperament, and is settling in nicely and we look forward to seeing what she will produce for us in the future.
I have been asked a number of times, by judges and spectators, over the past couple of years whether or not I would like to see our breed be given CC status. The exhibitor part of me says 'yes', as I have finished a number of dogs in two breeds when I lived in the US, and it is a thrill. Also it is sad that Canaans, such as my 'Digger' (The Lion of Judah At Anacan) and my 'Beulah' (Kibutzer Kween In Kofyn) will never be awarded the titles they so richly deserve. However, with such a small number of breeders and exhibitors in this country, I am afraid that awarding the breed CC status would attract an influx of people looking to have the first champion, and not looking to work for the benefit of the breed. I could be wrong, but I have seen it happen to other breeds. What would happen if we started having more litters available each year, when finding enough good homes for the puppies produced now isn't always easy? As I have no control over when and if CC status is ever awarded our breed, I will just have to wait to find out the answer to my questions.
Sorry for the lack of breed notes last week, but as we are busy here in the kennel and we've had houseguests for two weeks running, and are still doing battle with our neighbours and the council, I think most of you will understand.
Earlier in the year the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom was contacted by Mrs Margaret Mullholland enquiring as to whether we would like to see Manchester Championship Show schedule Canaan Dog classes. I was pleased to see in DW 22nd September edition that our breed is being offered classes at this show for the first time next January with six classes to be judged by Mrs Pat Noujaim. On behalf of Canaan Dog exhibitors may I extend my thanks to the Manchester show committee.
I had been asked to judge the classes at the Nordic open show this year, but I felt I had to decline. This is the second CD judging invitation I've declined (the other being for a championship show) and it is a 'catch 22'. Who better to judge Canaan Dogs than a breeder/exhibitor, but I feel that with so few exhibitors currently showing CDs, having an exhibitor/judge would just further reduce the entries. At the request of Mrs Brenda Williams, a list of all exhibitors was sent to her in order that she could send a schedule to each of them. The show, which will be held on Saturday, 26th November at The Sports Connexion, is offering us 4 classes which will be judged by Mrs Margaret Mullholland. If for some reason you did not receive a schedule, you can get one by phoning Mrs Williams. As The Nordic was the first show to offer classes for Canaan Dogs, back in the days when no one else would do so, I encourage all Canaan exhibitors to thank them with an entry. Entries close the 15th October.
BUBA Championship Show will be held a bit later this year, 17th December, at their new venue, The NAC, Stoneleigh Park. Our breed judge will be Mr Doug Kitchener. Entries close 18th October and schedules can be obtained from Meg Purnell-Carpenter, 01275 839560. This is always such a nice show filled with holiday cheer and I hope we will have a nice entry.
Some news from Lorna Hastings was forwarded to me. Lorna reports that her 'Star' (Int & Lux Ch. Lorianna Lucky Star) is still in the lead for Top Canaan Dog after the Darlington show (2 points ahead of my Ziggy) and is currently number 4 overall in the Vitalin Bitch of the Year Competition 2005. Lorna also wrote that the Utility Breed Of Wales open show had scheduled three breed�classes drawing an entry of four Canaans.� Unfortunately no Canaans were exhibited and both exhibitors, Claire Coombes and Lorna Hastings, send their�apologies to the judge Mrs Meg Purnell-Carpenter.
� Lorna also informs that that the City Of Bristol Canine Society has decided to no longer continue running their show which means the breed has lost some classes. However, there are a couple of other shows that have scheduled Canaan classes this year, which I have not mentioned above.� Sat. 5th Nov is Kensington CS held at Norton Heath Equestrian Centre, Blackmore, Essex. Three CD classes are scheduled to be judged by Mr Alex Gunn.� Entries close on 3rd October. Contact Mrs Thelma Cooke-Lowe for a schedule on 01487 830672 (9.30am - 6pm).� Thames Valley CS, at Montem�Leisure Centre,�Slough,�have also scheduled three CD classes for their show�on 27th�December, although the schedules are not yet out. The judge will be Mr Richard Kinsey.� Contact Dr Geoffrey Curr for copies of the forthcoming schedule.
My 'Simene', newly arrived from Sweden, is settling in very nicely. She is a very outgoing and affectionate dog and I think shows a lot of obedience potential. Now if I can just find the time to work with her.
I'd like to mention that not all our breed class judges are sending in their critiques to the dog press, which is very disappointing. I know I may sound like a broken record, but if you are given the honour of judging, you do owe it to the exhibitors to send in your critiques, and we really do want to know what you have to say about the exhibits.
I'd also like to remind the judges of the importance of correct movement in the breed. The standard calls for an �energetic and natural trot�. Correct movement in the Canaan Dog is of the utmost importance and one of the breed's most admirable traits. Lack of correct movement is usually indicative of structural problems. An uneven ring surface may pose a problem for the handler, but should not for a Canaan Dog when one takes into consideration the terrain from which they originate. Their feet should be �strong, round and cat-like with hard pads�, and the only surface that can pose a problem for them is a slippery floor, as is encountered at some of the indoor open shows. They may also be hindered by too small a ring, which makes it difficult for them to get into their stride.
The next Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom breed seminar will be held at Anacan Boarding Kennels & Cattery, Irby In The Marsh, Lincs on Sunday 6th November instead of at Baginton Village Hall on Saturday the 5th November as originally scheduled. If you are interested in applying for the club's judges' list, or if you are just interested in learning more about the breed, this seminar is the one to attend. The cost is �12.50 and includes lunch. If you would like to attend please contact me. Places are limited, so please book asap.
I have quite a bit of news for you this week. First of all Richard collected our new Swedish import bitch, Chancos Simene (Babrees The Lunar Eclipse ex Sanchaan's Marietta) from our friends at Silverdale Kennels, who kindly picked her up from Heathrow for us and kept her until Richard could go down to get her. Many thanks to Willie O'Brien, the owner of Silverdale, and Virginia Mergyl, who picked Simene up for us from the Animal Reception Centre. 11-month old 'Simene', bred by Maria Nilsson Selin, gives us some needed new bloodlines for our breeding programme. She is a real sweety, and is settling in nicely and we look forward to seeing what she will produce for us in the future.
Thanks once again to Christine Goldspink (Powley) I was able to get to the Darlington Championship Show, while Richard stayed home to take care of the kennel. When you consider that Christine lives Foulsham, Norfolk, and I am in Irby In The Marsh, Lincs and that she was not even entered on the day, you can realise my depth of gratitude to Christine. However, her goodness was rewarded when she returned to Darlington on the Sunday to exhibit her Nova Scotia Duck Tollers and her Danehaven Jordan took BP, putting her in the unbeatable lead for BP 2005. Congratulations! Mrs Pat Parkes had an entry of 7 Canaan Dogs and I was well chuffed when she awarded our Anacan Ziggy BD, BOB & Best Veteran. Mrs Parkes could not believe he is 9 years old and commented on his fitness, soundness and excellent movement. RBD was Lorna Hastings' Int. German & Lux Ch Nizzana Hadad for Lorianna and BB and BOS was Lorna's Int. & Lux Ch Lorianna Lucky Star. RBB was my 9-year old Anacan Sheindela. Though the new showgrounds are impressive to look at, the state of the rings were far from satisfactory. I almost tripped in the same hole 3 times on the down and back, though managed to miss the other ruts. The judge in the ring next to ours felt it was unusable and moved to another ring. Hopefully this is something that can be remedied for the future because it is such a lovely show.
The Canaan community back in the USA is over-the-moon as their national specialty weekend culminated with Ch Jealou's Got Milk O'Madriver ('Emmitt') winning BIS at the Rochester, Minnesota championship show on the 18th September, shown by professional handler Andy Linton --- a first for a Canaan Dog in the USA. This must have been a surreal weekend for breeders/owners Carol O'Brian and Cynthia Grupp and co-owner Sally Armstrong-Barnhardt as 'Emmitt' won a Herding Group 1 at the previous day's show and had won BISS at the Canaan Dog Club of America's National Specialty on the Friday. How I wish I could have been there to see breed history in the making. Full specialty results follow:
Denise Gordon reported on the Herding Instinct Test held on 19th September at Marie Murphy's Diamond Aire Farm in Hager City, Wisconsin. There were 19 Canaans entered for the test portion. Of the 19 entered, only 9 passed, giving a pass rate of 47%. She explained that there were many factors involved for the low pass rate - a long show weekend, a large grassy arena with many previous dog/sheep smells, and a lot of on-lookers - in other words, a lot of distractions for a loose-eye [distractible] breed). The pass rate for Canaans does run anywhere between 40 and 80% (depending on the various factors of the day of the�test, like all herding tests/trials).
Lorna Hastings emailed her following news to me. The Richmond Ch Show saw Jean Lanning judge AVNSC Gundog & Utility with an entry of 34.� There were 5 Canaans flying the flag for the breed, three of which won their class:� Int. German & Lux Ch Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna�-Open Dog; Lorianna Call Me Madam - Yearling Bitch�and Int. & Lux Ch* Lorianna Lucky Star (*subject to KC & FCI Confirmation) handled by James Rogerson who then went on to�be awarded Best Bitch & BOS.� In the Bitch challenge there were four bitches in the line up, three of which were handled by the younger members of the Rogerson family, who themselves own a Canaan, Lorianna Magical Star.��In between classes the Lorianna team Star, Red & Storm�with their handlers had to run to the BIS ring to�exhibit in the Breeders Stakes where they were awarded second under judge Mrs Patsy Hollings (Gunallt).�Maddy stayed at AVNSC ring winning her class handled by Daniel Rogerson. �Lorna, James & Claire�Coombes raced back to the AVNSC ring with dogs in tow, just in time for Star to compete in Open Bitch.�Richmond will be Claire's last Championship Show�of the�season with Red, as she sets off� to Manchester University to study Design Engineering. We wish her all the very best and look forward to seeing her�at shows during her holidays.��Rumour has it that mum, Sue may take over the lead.
�� Over in the USA, Cherrysh Crown Of Victory (co-owned by Cheryl Hennings & Lorna Hastings)�was Winners Bitch both days at the weekend. Lorna believes she only needs one major to�finish her AKC Ch title.� The judge on Sat. was Norm Herbel who had previously awarded her grandsire Multi Ch.�Barak Me Shaar Hagai a Group 2, and Cheryl informed Lorna that he commented�that Tory was�a lovely bitch.
� � Lorna also wanted me to mention that by the time you are reading these notes AKC Ch Lorianna Sirius Star CDCA HC will be back on British soil having spent just over a year in the US.� She is looking forward to campaigning him here in the UK and across Europe.
Congratulations are in order to David and Maria Selin (Sweden) on the birth of their daughter, Fr�ya on the 15th August. Their toddler son, Odin, loves his new baby sister, almost as much as he leaves his dogs. Unfortunately David's father passed away shortly after Fr�ya's arrival, so we extend our sympathies as well.
On the 10th of August our 'Jasmine' (Mornavega The Chosen One of Anacan) celebrated her 14th birthday. Other than the fact that she has the occasional �senior moment� and forgets what she went out for, she is in good health and seems very happy. It is a shame that due to timing and circumstances I was able to have only one litter out of her, by my 'Digger' (The Lion of Judah At Anacan), but 'Jasmine' made a wonderful contribution to the breed with that litter, which produced my Sheindela and Lorna Hastings' Anacan Forever Amber With Lorianna. When a dog gets to this age, every day with them is a gift, but hopefully we will have 'Jasmine' to love for a few more years.
The Canaan Dog Club Of America 34th annual Specialty�will take place�in Rochester, Minnesota on Friday 16th September and�has attracted an entry of 52 exhibits in conformation, 7 in obedience, 7 in Rally and an entry of 6 for�Junior Showmanship.� The judge�for these classes will be�Ms Danny Canino.� The�show also has sweepstakes classes for Veterans and Puppies, which will be judged by long-time breeder, and this year's show organiser, Mrs Donna Dodson (Pleasant Hill). Mr Phillip Rustad will be judging the Obedience and Rally classes.�I had hoped to attend this year's Specialty as a spectator to see how the breed has come on in the 12 years I've been in the UK, but alas due to problems we've been having, it is not to be. There is always next year however. Over the Specialty weekend the CDCA will also be holding a judge's breed seminar, their annual awards banquet and a herding instinct test. I will look forward to reporting the results.
� Lorna Hastings reports that last weekend at the Cedar Rapids Kennel Club shows Cherrysh Crown of Victory, co-owned by Cheryl Hennings and Lorna,�took Best Bred-By and went on to win Best Bred-By Group 4.� Her half brother, AKC Ch Pleasant Hill Magnum (same sire -�AKC Ch Lahat me Shaar Hagai) bred by Donna Dodson was awarded BOB on both days. 'Tory' is due to arrive here in the UK early next year to begin her European Show Career and Lorna hopes to be able to use her in her breeding programme. At Luxembourg International Show Lorianna Lucky Star (who has recently qualified for her Int. Ch title) was awarded the CACL and became a Luxembourg Champion.� BOB was Laurence Aries' Gil Me Shaar Hagai and Lux Junior Champion was her homebred Verede Bokere de Solemel. On the home front Lorna's 'Simi' (Int, Lux & German Ch Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna) was awarded BAVNSC at Horsham & District Show by judge Mrs Helen Davenport-Willis.
Lorna has also taken me to task for omitting her 'Blaze's' titles in my last set of breed notes, so, with my apologies to Lorna, please be informed that he is AKC Ch & UKC Ch Lorianna Sirius Star CDCA HC.
I am hoping to get to Darlington and look forward to seeing the new venue. If all goes well, I will be giving a first-hand report on the same.
It is not only the people of New Orleans that have, and are, suffering as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Fortunately, there are no Canaan Dog owners involved, but there are a lot of animals in need of rescue. The American Kennel Club (AKC�) and affiliated organization AKC Companion Animal Recovery continue relief efforts with a shipment of bowls, crates and exercise pens to the Louisiana State University Veterinary School staging area in Baton Rouge in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps it would be a good idea to have something similar in place in the UK so we are prepared in case of a similar natural disaster.
When our kennel sitter blew out on us at the last minute, I thought they'd I would have to miss yet another show. But thanks to Christine Goldspink (Powley) who came to fetch the dogs, and me, I was able to get to Welsh Kennel Club while Richard stayed home to mind the kennel. That's friendship! It was great seeing my friends in the various breeds and just soaking up the dog show atmosphere. Mr Les Aspin drew an entry of 10 Canaan Dogs, with one absentee. BD & BOB was Lorna Hastings' Ger Ch Nizzana Hadad for Lorianna and her Lorianna Desert Storm was RBD. BB & BOS was my Anacan Dressed For Success and RBB & BP was my Anacan Kefira, handled in the challenge for me by Clare Coombes. Christine's Anacan Sheer Elegance took 2nd to my Kefira in the class, but she did much better with her Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, taking RBB & BP with her Danehaven Jordan. Congratulations to all!
Barbara & Patrick Gold are thrilled with their new puppy, Anacan Shoshannah ('Rosie'), who we will be seeing in the show ring in due time, as is Kim Morton with her new girl, Anacan Akilah. Kim is being tempted to try her hand in the conformation ring as well. Alison Byrne & Ivan Kaye had two males, Barney & Spencer by Ger Ch Nizzana Hadad for Lorianna, out of Talither Bat Me Babrees, 'Tali's' first litter. The boys and mum are doing well and Alison & Ivan are very pleased with the puppies. Lorna Hastings will be bringing her 'Blaze' (Lorriana Sirius Star) back to the UK after a year's sojourn in the US with co-owner, Cheryl Hennings, and I understand that she is looking to import a few Canaans. This will be great news for the UK gene pool.
I am getting well and truly frustrated as once again our kennel sitter let us down and I had to remain home with the boarders while Richard made the long trek to the Bournemouth Championship Show. Canaan judge, Mr Rob McLeod drew an entry of 17 Canaans, as well as some lovely weather. Rob is one of the few judges who actually owns a Canaan Dog - 4 to be exact. BB & BOB was Lorna Hastings' Lorianna Lucky Star, handled by James Rogerson. I understand this fulfilled 'Star's' requirements to be an International Champion and so may I offer a well-deserved �congratulations�! BD & BOS was Richard and my Anacan Ziggy. RBB was David & Julia Close's Anacan Touch of Class; RBD was Hastings' Lorianna Desert Storm and BP was my Anacan Kefira.
Jan McLeod emailed the following to me with regard to the Bournemouth show. �A funny thing happened on the way to the Group. In the collecting ring the group steward who was assembling the BOB's in alphabetical order placed "Lucky Star" behind the French Bulldog! Why? Well its obvious isn't it? K for Canaan Dog!!� I jokingly replied to Jan that perhaps he was Israeli and was thinking 'Kelev Knaani, the Hebrew for Canaan Dog.
I understand that along with Sue Coombes and her family, with their Canaan Dog, 'Red' (Lorianna Ever Reddy), there were a few people at Bournemouth who aren't often seen in the ring these days -- Alison Byrne with 'Livvi' (Babrees Bat Benyas), Anne Barclay with her mother, Monica Mills' 'Smudge' (Anacan Nick Nack), Christine Goldspink with 'Ellie' (Anacan Sheer Elegance) and Ian & Jill Terry with 3 of their Canaans, 'Benji' (Babrees Benjamin D'Israeli), 'Cain' (Babrees Crystal Hurricane) and 'Sandy' (Babrees Desert Song). I hope we will be seeing more of these people and their Canaans in the future. In the 'old days' it used to be quite lovely when we all met up at the shows and had a laugh and sometimes all shared a lunch, and the occasional birthday cake for those whose birthdays were close to the show dates. We must all make an effort to make the shows social occasions as well as competitions once again.
Cheryl Hennings (USA) writes that at a show in Minnesota on the 14th August, judge, Houston Clark had an entry of 7 and her Bred-By-Exhibitor puppy Cherrysh Crown of Victory ('Tory'), which she co-owns with Lorna Hastings, was Winners Bitch. I am guessing that this pretty, sand-coloured bitch, will eventually make a trip 'across the pond' to grace our show rings and add to the UK Canaan Dog gene pool, which will be a welcome addition.
Amanda Pough of Vermont, USA wrote to say that her Canaan, Ch. Rosendog's He Who Must Be Named ('Harry'), co-owned with breeder, Judy March Rosenthal, got a Group 3 at the Del-Otse-Nango KC championship show in Oneonta, New York. As I used to be a member, and one-time President of this club, I was delighted to hear that a Canaan had done so well at this show. Amanda also told me that a man, whose name 'Harry's' handler didn't catch, came up to him and said that a friend of his saw that there was a Canaan Dog entered and convinced him to come to the show. The man apparently knew me when I lived in the area and he was very excited to see a Canaan Dog again. I wish I knew who it was, but it is nice to be remembered.
Last, but far from least, Patrick Gold has been suffering quite badly with a back problem for a few months now and a recent scan shows the cause to be a ruptured disc. I spoke to him tonight and he will be having a consultation tomorrow to decide whether or not he should have surgery. Patrick, with his heart of gold, is always there to help out whenever he can, and it is a shame that there is not much we can do for him except send our best wishes for a speedy and full recovery.
Some very exciting news, and a lovely story of Canaan Dog devotion from the US, which I am sure will bring a tear to many an eye. Christine and Ethan Miller's Canaan bitch, Dayspring Beraiah Ha'Aretz ('Raiah') has received the 2005 American Kennel Club ACE Award for Exemplary Companion Dog. 8-year old 'Raiah', shown by her 9-year old handler, Ethan, has done very well in the show ring as well taking Winners Bitch/Best of Winners at the Canaan Dog Club of America Specialty in 1998, Best of Brood Bitch in 2003 and 2004 CDCA National Specialty, as well as earning her CD, RN, CGC, an CDCA Herding title. Raiah and Ethan not only compete in the Canaan Dog breed ring, but also in Junior Showmanship. But that is not the half of it. Young Ethan has limited used of his left arm and hand, and also suffers from a seizure disorder. A few moments prior to Ethan's first seizure, 'Raiah' exhibited nervous characteristics and was intent on getting Christine into the room with Ethan. Medication has relieved the most severe seizures, but Ethan has learned to read 'Raiah's' emotions letting him know when to lay flat on the floor or bed. Lying beside her friend gently placing her head on his chest, she waits for the seizure to pass, wagging her tail, signaling to everyone when it is over. 'Raiah' and Ethan have competed at the Conformation group level. The team earned an Award of Excellence at the 2002 AKC/Eukanuba Invitational, making them eligible to attend the 2004 Crufts Dog Show. In my book 'Raiah' deserves the highest accolades for her deep love and devotion to Ethan. A hearty �well done� on their AKC ACE Award and the wonderful publicity it is generating for the breed.
More news from the US, Lorna Hastings' Lorianna Sirius Star ('Blaze'), who has been residing in the US for the past year with co-owner, Cheryl Hennings, has sired his first litter out of Denise Gordon's Madriver Samara Desert Star Dawn CGC, CDCA-HCX, PN. She has had one white and black patched female, 2 white and black patched males and one solid black male with white trim and Denise is quite thrilled with them.
It's catch up time with show results. First of all congratulations are in order for Isabella Zirri (Italy) whose Sara (Velikaya's Hida) was BIS at an all breed show in Italy under a German judge. I'm sorry I don't have any more details, but this was a wonderful win for the breed. Bryn Cadogan judged AVNSC Toy/ Terrier/Utility at Blackpool and awarded BB & BOS to Lorna Hastings' Lorianna Lucky Star and RBD to Lorianna Desert Storm.� Mrs Christine Hughes judged the breed at South Wales Kennel Association and awarded BD & BOB to Richard & my Anacan Ziggy (with Richard handling as I was not able to get away from the kennels) and BB & BOS to Hastings' Lorianna Lucky Star. RBD was Hastings' Lorianna Desert Storm, RBB was my Anacan Dressed For Success and BP was my Anacan Kefira. Peterborough Open Show scheduled breed classes for the first time and Dr Geoffrey Curr was given the honour of judging our breed. He awarded BOB to Hastings' Int Ger & Lux Ch Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna who then went on to win Utility�G1 under Paul Harding.� BP was my Anacan Kefira.��At Paignton Mr Martin Freeman officiated and he awarded BOB & BB�to Hastings' Lorianna Lucky Star.� BOS & BD was Richard & my Anacan Ziggy (again handled by Richard), RBD was Hasting's Lorianna Desert Storm, RBB was David & Julia Close's Anacan Touch Of Class and BP was, once again, my Anacan Kefira.� At East Of England Mr Michael Quinney judged AVNSC Utility and he awarded BAVNSC & BD to Pam O'Loughlin's Babrees Desert Orchid via Caoilta. BOS & BB went to Hastings' Lorianna Lucky Star and RBD went to Mike Cannon's Babrees Rumour Has It. Thank you Lorna for the above results.
I had some correspondence with Dr Bruce Cattanach with regard to the health registry Mrs Terry reported he would be holding for the Canaan Dog. I asked Dr Cattanach who would be the owner of the information sent to him, what would be done with the information received and who would have access to it. He replied, �All I know is that I was asked by a member of the Society (meaning the British Canaan Dog Society) if I would help with a new health registry, and hold records, as breeders wanted some independent party outside the breed to keep such information in confidence.�
At the AGM of the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom held on the 2nd March 2003 there was a proposal by Mary MacPhail, seconded by Lorna Hastings, that the Club creates a Health Co-ordinator and the Committee would set up the parameters with the Co-ordinator. This proposal was voted on, and passed and Mrs MacPhail agreed to be the Health Co-ordinator, but she did not carry out any work, nor did the next Health Co-ordinator. At this year's AGM, I volunteered to take on the job and sent out a health survey in April of this year to any Canaan Dog owner whose contact details I had in order to 'get the ball rolling'. Myrna Shiboleth emailed me on the 11th May 2005 to say that she would be filling in the survey, but as she has had many dogs, it would take her some time to do so.
The survey is a simple one-page fact gatherer and the owner of the dog is to sign one of the following statements:
I, _________________, am happy to allow this information to be shared with other members of the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom only with the understanding that this information will in no way be allowed to be used to malign either my Canaan Dog, its breeder, or any dogs in its lines.
I, ________________, do not wish this information to be shared openly with any individuals and understand it will be used by the Health Chair for statistical information only.
The Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom owns the information received from the survey and those who contribute by completing the survey will have access to the compiled information. Yet despite my best efforts, some people will not send their health information to me, and interestingly, some of these same people did not fill in TKC Health Survey either, even though it was being sent to an 'independent party' and had nothing to do with me or the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom.
Continuing on with the history and development of the breed in the UK. Gina Pointing worked tirelessly to bring in new members and help the new club grow. Many of these people did not, and would never, own a Canaan Dog, but had a real interest in the breed and wished to support it. A number of these people are still club members. Gina sent membership applications to the US, and I joined the new club in 1992 as an overseas member, along with several other Canaan Dog owners. As with a lot of small clubs. The Canaan Dog Club had its ups and downs, but without its efforts to put the breed in the public eye, the Canaan Dog might not be found in the UK today.
Interest in the breed was growing slowly but steadily, but then in 1994 TKC announced that if we did not get our breed registrations up to 50 dogs, they would put the Canaan Dog back on the Import Register. Fortunately for the breed, a litter of 7 puppies bred by Mr Lez Mozley and Mrs Jan Smith was registered. This was followed by the registration of a litter of 6 puppies bred by Richard Minto out of his wild-born bitch, Minto's Libyan Jewel ('Bobby'), putting us over the 50 registrations required by, I believe, 2 dogs. Once again a fortuitous turn of events kept the breed from taking a step backwards.
I had been a Canaan Dog owner/breeder/exhibitor for 10 years when I came over to the UK and hooked up with Richard Minto. Richard had never shown a dog in his life, but as soon as his 'Bobby' and her litter were registered, I started dragging him to shows. 'Bobby' and her son, 'Digger' (The Lion of Judah At Anacan) were shown heavily in the early days when we were competing in AVNSC up against the Leonbergers and the beautiful Manorguard dogs. But little by little, we started to make inroads, and people started to take notice, especially of our 'Digger'. Mel Vincent purchased one of the Mozley/Smith puppies, and 'Beulah' (Kibbitzer Kween In Kofyn) started making frequent appearances in the ring and also impressing the judges with Digger and Beulah taking turns placing over each other. Later we added a third dog to our household, Mornavega The Chosen One of Anacan ('Jasmine') when owner/breeder, Gina Pointing, was forced to part with her, and successfully competed with her in the show ring. She went on to produce a lovely litter of 4 with our Digger and the Anacan lines were born.
In 1996 we placed an ad in DW announcing our second litter out of 'Bobby' and my Israeli import, Gvir Me Shaar Hagai At Anacan, and Ian & Jill Terry responded, and took home with them Anacan Divine Brown, who attracted a lot of positive attention with her sound movement and character, and went on to produce a lovely litter for the Terry's under their Babrees affix.
Then four years ago Anacan Forever Amber came up for rehoming due to the owner's child's health problems. Richard and I were not in the position to keep Amber, as we were living in a very small house, but we had met a woman named Lorna Hastings at Discover Dogs in Earl's Court who said she was interested in the breed 'for the future'. Lorna latter spoke to Jill Terry at Crufts Discover Dogs and heard that 3-year old Amber was looking for a home. We spoke to her and then met again and decided to let Lorna adopt Amber. Amber was Top Canaan Dog 2 years running and produced 2 lovely litters for Lorna under her new Lorianna affix. In June 1991 Alison Bryne and Ivan Kaye bred their Babrees bitch to my Anacan Masterpiece and had 5 puppies under their new Nizzana affix, out of which came Lorna Hastings Int Ger & Lux Ch Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna.
At times it seems that every time the breed starts showing growth, we take one step forward and two backwards as people fall by the wayside, with numbers of exhibits increasing to double digits, and then falling again. But, as with all young breeds, we are suffering growing pains and while there are sure to be more ups and downs, I believe that the future looks bright for the Canaan Dog in the UK.
It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of Kate Poxon on the 30th June from complications of motor neuron disease. Those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Kate at any of the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom's events most likely also had the pleasure of enjoying some of her catering skills. Even though she didn't own a Canaan Dog herself, Kate took great delight in her 'grand-dogs', Simba and Athtar, owned by her daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Patrick Gold. She especially loved Simba, and had asked Barbara to place a photo of him in her hand when she died, which Barbara did. Richard and I were very close to Kate and she was like a mum to me. We will miss her greatly. The funeral will already have been held by the time you read this, as it is scheduled for the 11th July. The family asks that donations be made to Loros Hospice in Leicestershire in lieu of flowers.
We are sorry to hear that Mike and Doris Cannon and their two lovely daughters, Sarah and Hannah, are being sent back to the States this November after a 5-year posting here in England. They will, of course, be accompanied by their beloved Canaan Dog, 'Cain', which means one less Canaan Dog being shown on these shores. We will miss them all, but will keep our goodbyes for later in the year.
Jane Lilley was kind enough to send me a copy of a report she wrote on the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom's November 6th breed seminar held at Baginton Village Hall, which she attended. As much of it refers to the history of the breed, I felt it apropos to incorporate it in my notes. Mrs Lilley writes: � All comers were greeted by Barbara Gold who, not only ran the day, but with her husband, Patrick, provided a splendid homemade lunch as well as bacon butties on arrival. Ellen and Richard Minto (Anacan) gave a most explicit presentation, illustrating their talk with a Powerpoint presentation and some excellent video clips. Even though there seemed to be a vast amount of complicated equipment involved, everything worked!
Ellen, by way of introduction, said that she had been in the breed for 20 years and Richard for 15 and wanted to share their experience. She stressed the need to know the background and usage of the breed to be able to understand them properly. Pictures of dogs of a type that show an unmistakable resemblance to the Canaan Dogs of today have been found on tombs dating back as far as 2200 BC. Dogs of similar type are found throughout the Middle East, but the specific type of Canaan Dog is found mainly in Israel. They were the guard and herd dogs of the ancient Israelites and basically a wild dog, evolving through natural selection so that only the fittest survived.
Dr Menzel, in 1934, was given the task of finding dogs to guard the isolated Hebrew settlements during the War of Independence. However, dogs normally used for such tasks were unable to cope with the extreme climatic conditions, so Dr Menzel looked amongst the semi-wild or pariah dogs living in the area. Her subsequent breeding programme resulted in great success to the point that the Canaan Dog was, and is, used extensively by the Israeli army for patrol, tracking and guard work, becoming one of the first breeds used to sniff out plastic explosives.
The Canaan Dog was first recognised in this country in 1970 through the efforts of Mrs Connie Higgins and from thenceforward there appears to have been many an unfortunate 'slip twixt cup and lip' with the Interim Breed Standard, which, it is hoped, will be officially revised shortly.
Ellen went on to describe the Canaan as being territorial and independent, with a willingness to guard home and family. Being a very clean dog, they require minimal grooming. Extensive socialisation at an early age is vital since currently wild dogs can still be found in pedigrees as close as 2 -3 generations back.
Ears are of medium size and highly mobile, the dogs being able to turn them around as well as folding them back and down in a sandstorm, when the bushy tail can cover the head to filter sand from eyes and nose. Interestingly it has been discovered that the breed need less food and water to maintain themselves as other breeds, nor do they pant as much.
Correct movement is essential needing to be effortless and ground eating to enable the dog to follow the Bedouin and chase down their prey. Thus marked agility and stamina should be demonstrated with no wasted motion such as hackneying, or that which comes from overangulation, or any normal movement faults.
The Canaan should be of the pariah dog type, medium-sized, well balanced and squarely built. Their survival instinct is very strong making them naturally wary of strangers and, thus, this is not considered a fault. The difference between 'wariness' and 'fear' was emphasised, as was the fact that the breed was not a fear biter.
As with other pricked ear breeds, tipped ears should not be faulted up to 12 months of age. The body should be athletic and strong, but not bulky, with well-developed withers. The feet are strong and catlike with hard pads. Ellen encouraged judges to pick up the feet to confirm this.
The Canaan Dog has a double coat, the outer being dense, harsh, coarse and straight with a close, profuse undercoat. Even though the standard describes one coat type, there are essentially two sorts of coat, in that some are more flat-lying and the other more stand-offish and similar to a Husky, both being correct. The coat should not obscure the outline of the dog and a mane is desirable in males.. Lack of undercoat, or the coat being too long or too short are faults.
The tail should be high set and can be held over the back when at attention, never curling to either side or lying flat on the back, but need not necessarily be carried up high on the move as it acts as a rudder for balance.
Both dogs and bitches can vary in height from 20-24 inches, although Ellen suggested that somewhere between these two was ideal. She stressed the importance of dogs being masculine and bitches feminine.
The candidates then had the privilege of handling and watching a number of dogs move up and down the spacious hall. A thought provoking written Judges Test was then offered to all those participating, as well as a folder chock full of information on the breed. I found it to be a very well worthwhile day orchestrated by those who clearly wished to share their knowledge and experience of this fascinating breed in a calm, relaxed atmosphere.�
We wish to offer our sympathies to Barry Tookey and family on the recent death of his wife, Denise after a long illness. Denise was a wonderful lady taken from us way too early. She will be greatly missed by a lot of people.
� There have been a number of Canaan Dog group placements over in the USA, and last weekend I understand there were 4 group placements earned by three dogs -- Ch Rosendog's He Who Must Be Named, owned by Judy Rosenthal & Amanda Pough; Ch Jealou's Got Milk O' Mad River, owned by Carol O'Bryan, Cynthia Grupp & Sally Armstrong-Barnhardt; and Ch HaHar Akahai Shama Abi, owned by Katryna Bogovich & Audrey Biemann. Though all professionally handled, one must remember that most of the other dogs in the Herding Group (the group in which Canaans are shown in the USA) are being professionally handled as well. Big congratulations to all for helping to raise the breed profile.
� Barbara Gold has informed me that TKC has approved her affix 'Amicitia'. We look forward to the day that we see some Canaans in the ring bearing her affix.
� Jill Terry emailed me to say �The British Canaan Dog Society (proposed) wishes to announce that, due to ill health and a terrible family tragedy, Pam O'Loughlin will be temporarily stepping down from her duties as Secretary. All enquiries concerning the society should be made to the Acting Secretary, Jill Terry.� I am sure you all join in extending our sympathies to Pam.
� Jill also asked me to remind people that the BDCS (proposed) is holding a seminar on 6th August 2005 at Leamington Spa where the speaker will be Myrna Shiboleth, Shaar Hagai Kennels, Israel.
� This should be an interesting seminar, but please be aware that it does not fulfil a potential judge's requirement to attend a breed seminar as the BDCS (proposed) is not recognised by TKC and they had not asked the Canaan Dog of the United Kingdom to sanction their seminar. If you are hoping to get on the breed's judges' list, the next CDC of the UK breed seminar will be held on Saturday 5th November 2005 at Baginton Village Hall. Please contact Barbara Gold to book a place.
� Finally, Jill writes that the British Canaan Dog Society (proposed) will be holding their fun rally on 7th August 2005 at Willowdale Farm, nr Wisbech, on the Cambridgeshire/Norfolk borders. There will be an American-style barbeque; an eye testing session with Prof. Peter Bedford which is open to all breeds; and Myrna Shiboleth will be judging a match and writing a critique for all dogs. All Canaan Dogs are invited to enter and the owner/exhibitor does not have to be a member of the Society. Entries will be taken on the day and are free.
� May I take a moment here to encourage the members of the BDCS (proposed) to complete and return the Canaan Dog Health Survey made available to their club secretary for distribution by the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom. We must all work together for the good of the breed.
� The Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom's Single-breed Open Show and Fun Day will be held on Sunday, 9th October 2005 at Bradfield Village Hall, nr Reading, Berkshire RG7 6EY. Our judge for the day will be Mr Barry Tookey. The show will commence at 10:00 am and will be followed by lunch (bring your own), a raffle (bring something for the raffle table), and several demonstrations, as well as our regular fun and games and dogs' fancy dress competition. This year's fancy dress theme will be 'Stars in Their Eyes' -- dress your Canaan up as your favourite singer from any era. Spectators are invited to come along and join in the fun!
Congratulations are in order for Lorna Hastings. She emailed to me the show results from Three Counties Championship Show AVNSC Utility/Terrier where judge, Doug Kitchener, awarded Best Dog & BAVNSC to her Lorianna Desert Storm and Reserve Best Bitch to her Lorianna Lucky Star.
� Lorna also informs me that she just received the hip and elbow scores for Maddy (Lorianna Call Me Madam) and her brother, Storm (Lorianna Desert Storm) which are as follow: Storm��- Hips 6 / 7�Elbows 0 / 0 and Maddy - 3 / 3 Elbows 0 / 0, which is very good news indeed. I am especially chuffed, as their breeding is a triple up on my Anacan lines.
I had some of my dogs entered at Newmarket Open Show, but was unable to go. Mike Cannon was kind enough to send me the results. Judge, Roy Metcalfe, awarded BOB to Lorna's 'Storm' and BP to Anacan Sheer Elegance, co-owed by Christine Goldspink and myself. 'Storm' then went on to take a Group 3 under judge, Thelma Cook Lowe. What wonderful publicity for the breed!
Continuing with the history of the breed of in the UK, it is important that we here mention the beginning of the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom, as it had a big impact on the breed.
Even though the Canaan Dog became a recognised breed in England in 1970 it was quite some time before a breed club was organised. The "Aims and Objectives" of the new club were "To promote the interests of the Canaan Dog in Great Britain and safeguard the characteristics of this unique breed." It was agreed that a steering committee of seven should be chosen to formulate a constitution, code of ethics, a pamphlet on the breed, etc. The people chosen to be on this steering committee were Mary MacPhail, Ron Graham, Steve Payne, Jan Smith, Helen Lightfoot, Gina Pointing (to act as Secretary) and Phil Smith (to act as Treasurer). The first meeting of the Steering Committee, which formed The Canaan Dog Club, took place on the 21st April 1991 at the Pine Lodge Hotel near Bromsgrove. Mary MacPhail chaired the meeting. At this meeting it was agreed that members would be required to sign and abide by a code of ethics. It was suggested at the time that all puppy pedigrees carry an endorsement, which would be lifted by the breeder if the puppy came up to standard. The buyer would sign to say they understood and agreed to this endorsement.
The actual Inaugural meeting of The Canaan Dog Club was held on the 16th May 1992 at the Pine Lodge Hotel. The meeting agreed that David Cavill should take the Chair. This was formally proposed by Mary MacPhail and seconded by Jenny Jackson. Acting Secretary, Gina Pointing, gave a report of the work of the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee proposed that Lez Mozley should be asked to accept position of Hon. Patron and that Connie Higgins be asked to be Hon. Vice-President. Both accepted these positions. The first election of officers and committee members ensued resulting in Gina Pointing being elected as Hon. Secretary, Phil Smith as Hon. Treasurer. Elected committee members were: Jan Smith, Mary MacPhail, Steve Payne, Helen Lightfoot, Jenny Jackson, Janet Singleton, Jo Hemstock, Richard Minto, Zena Wallace.
(Note: At present, Richard Minto is the only person from the original committee who is still serving, now as Club Chairman and Gina Pointing is currently President.) To be continued.
I feel it can be helpful to those of you who wish to learn about our breed to understand the history and development of the Canaan Dog in the UK, and so I shall continue where I last left off.
The Canaan Dog is a numerically small breed in all the countries in which it is found. Trying to get the breed established in the UK was (and still is) a most difficult challenge. The breed had no wealthy supporters to help out with the cost of quarantine, and in the case of bitches in-whelp brought in from Israel, the additional cost that had to be paid to the quarantine kennel for the whelping and care of the puppies. Additionally, in the case of the imported in-whelp bitches, if the litters did not turn out well, that meant a lot of money wasted and discouragement for those involved. We are fortunate that the early pioneers of the breed in the UK were so dedicated. Bear in mind also that it is very difficult to find show/breeding homes for Canaan Dogs and many very good ones who could have contributed much to the breed, ended up in pet homes, and still do to this day. While a good loving home is the top priority in placing a puppy, in a numerically small breed we really cannot afford to have good dogs not contribute their genes to our small gene pool. The breed is still in need of breeders who are dedicated to the breed.
On the 29th May 1986 Ruth Corner's first litter was whelped in quarantine -- 6 dogs and 2 bitches -- sired by Shimshon Me Shaar Hagai our of Isr Ch Rotem Me Shaar Hagai. Rotem was returned to Israel after the puppies were weaned. Out of this litter 2 dogs and 1 bitch were long-coats and one was of an undesirable colour. Three of the puppies were used for breeding in adulthood - one dog, Kensix Khameshee ('Fiver'), who I spoke about in an earlier column, and two bitches, Kensix Sheeshee and Kensix Shenee (a long-coat). Shenee went on to produce for owner, Mrs G Huish, Gina Pointing's 'Golda' (Queen of the Orchid at Mornavega) 'Golda' in turn was bred to Kensix Khameshee and produced a singleton, was is our Mornavega's The Chose One of Anacan ('Jasmine').
Ruth's second litter, this time under her own affix of 'Ba'aretz', was also born in quarantine on the 15th October 1986. There were 6 bitches and one dog sired by Yitzhar Me Shaar Hagai out of Tehiyah Me Shaar Hagai. Once again the bitch was returned to Israel after the pups were weaned. One bitch, Baaretz Ktana, who had tipped ears, was bred once by her owner, Majorie Cording, but was later euthanised because of her temperament. To my knowledge, none of the others in the litter were bred from and nor were any from the litter Ktana produced.
On the 19th March 1989, Mr H R Cripps bred his bitch, Kensix Sheeshee, and had a litter of five - 1 bitch and 4 dogs. One of these, Zeta Pride ('Kane') ended up at Bellmead where, fortunately, he was recognised as a Canaan Dog and later adopted by Steve Payne. 'Kane' was shown only occasionally, but successfully, and was BOB at Crufts 1998. He sired one litter from which came Kibutzer Kween In Kofyn ('Beulah'), who was BOB at Crufts on 3 occasions. She was bred once to The Lion of Judah At Anacan, when she came into my possession, and produced the first Canaan Dog in the UK to get an open show BIS, Anacan The Israelite At Dunline, and his brother, Anacan Masterpiece who was the 2004 Crufts BOB winner.
'Jasmine' was born on the 10th August 1991, a singleton as mentioned above. She was bred only once to our 'Digger', and produced 4 beautiful puppies -- 2 boys and 2 girls, one of which was our Anacan Sheindela and the other being Anacan Forever Amber With Lorianna, Crufts BOB 2002.
On the 7th March 1992 there was another litter born in quarantine - 4 puppies - 2 boys and 2 girls - under Lez Mozley's 'Mozpin' affix. This time the sire was Lehitraot Me Shaar Hagai and the dam was Mikah Beit Kuti ('Nani'), who didn't go back to Israel, but, unfortunately, died of an embolism shortly after being released from quarantine. There was another long coat in this litter, 'Shuki', who looked like a Samoyed, a puppy with a bad bite and two with poor pigment. Of these, Knowing Naomi, owned by Jan and Phil Smith, was the only one bred from, and it was her litter, by Zeta Pride, that produced 'Beulah'.
On the 3rd October 1993 Ilan and Anne Schonewald whelped a litter of 7 by their Sivan Me Shaar Hagai out of their Petra Havar Bakar Eliad - 6 dogs and 1 bitch. When still living in New York I imported one of the dogs, Spring Lad, to the USA. Though I didn't get a chance to use him before coming to this country, 'Jericho' was used at stud several times by his new owner and produced very well. All the other puppies from his litter, some very nice Canaans, were placed in pet homes. (To be continued.)
I had to miss Bath Championship Show for the first time since I arrived in the UK because I was home taking care of our boarding kennel and whelping a litter a puppies. But being the nice husband he is, Richard loaded up the dogs into the van and went in my place. I was thrilled when Richard rang me to say that the judge, Mrs Judith Robin-Smith had awarded BD & BOB to our Anacan Ziggy (who will be 9 years young on the 9th of this month). RBD went to Hastings' Lorianna Desert Storm, BB & BOS to Hastings' Lorianna Lucky Star, RBB to my Anacan Dressed For Success and BP to my Anacan Kefira.
� Richard told me Avi Marshak (Israel), who had judged a few breeds the day before, was standing at ringside. Richard only got to have a quick chat with him. Mr Marshak is one of the most, if not the most, knowledgeable Canaan Dog judges in the world, and the only one who has judged the breed in every country in which they are shown. Avi had awarded our Ziggy BD when he judged the breed at Darlington in 2003 and said at that time that the UK had the best Canaan Dogs he has seen. Sorry to have missed seeing him. I will have to write to him and find out if he still thinks the UK Canaans are of a high standard.
Alan Gersman (USA) writes that his Isabel is going to be 13 years old in a couple of months and has just completed her agility title MJP (a 1st place) this past weekend in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, qualifying on 5 out of 6 runs, (both jumpers and standard). This was Isabel's 27th Agility Title, (16 AKC, 6 NADAC and 5 USDAA) to go along with her 2 Obedience Titles, 1 Stockyard Herding Title and a Canaan Dog Club of America Versatility Title. I am very proud of both of them as I bred Isobel when I lived in New York. Alan had never competed in agility before he got Isobel, and she was 4 years old when he started. (Just a note for the critics of our breed's temperament, Isabel and is not a waggy-tailed, 'in your face' dog, but has a very typical Canaan Dog temperament and yet is competing with the Border Collies and more than holding her own.)
The Israel Canaan Dog Club of America held its National Specialty on the 27th May 2005. The results follow:
Sorry for the lack of breed notes last week, but we were enjoying a week's visit by Richard's father, who just celebrated his 86th birthday.� Jock and I get along famously and enjoy each other's company and time just flew, and along with it, the breed notes deadline.
� The Royal Highland show grounds were wet and muddy for this year's SKC championship show, but fortunately the rings themselves were fairly dry. The exhibitors all seemed to manage to keep their Canaans clean, (Richard carried ours to the ring) though I can't say the same for myself as my shoes and the bottoms of my trousers were encrusted with mud. Ian Prentice had an entry of 7 Canaans with one absentee. BOB went to the BB, Hastings' Lorianna Lucky Star. BD was our Anacan Ziggy (soon to be 9 years old and still going strong); RBD was Hastings' Ger Ch Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna; RBB was my Anacan Dressed For Success and BP was my Anacan Kefira. It was nice to see Christine Goldspink there with her new puppy, Anacan Sheer Elegance ('Ellie'), very nicely handled by her daughter, Kim.
At the Thames Valley Open Show, held on the same day, BOB was Anacan Nick Nack, owned by Monica Mills and shown by her daughter, Alison Byrne. I do not have the rest of the results at this time, but will give them when received.
I am going to continue with the development with the breed in the UK after Connie Higgins' efforts. Though the breed was recognised by TKC at the end of 1970, none of the Shebaba's puppies were shown or bred from and that could have been the end of the Canaan Dog in the UK, at least for the time, but fortunately Ruth Corner came on the scene. Ruth went to Israel in 1979 and joined Myrna Shiboleth and Dvora Ben Shaul, who were running Havat Sha'ar Hagai and breeding Canaan Dogs. She stayed four years, working with Myrna and running the kennels. She then left Israel at the end of 1981, returning to the UK. Ruth wrote: �At that time there were no known Canaans in Britain. I arranged with Myrna to import two litters of puppies in 1986 by bringing two pregnant Canaan bitches into quarantine. This was successful and when the puppies were weaned they came out of quarantine and their mums went back home to Israel. I sold or gave away to good homes all but four of the puppies. They were two very good litters and the dogs that were shown did well. I personally showed my four dogs in England, Wales and Scotland for two years at most major shows including Crufts. Mary MacPhail, Gina Pointing and David and Marjorie Cording bought dogs from me and worked extremely hard showing and promoting the breed. In 1986 I had two articles in The Field magazine about the Sha'ar Hagai Canaans and my importing some to Britain. This publicity helped greatly with the promotion of the breed in the early days. I had the pleasure of meeting Connie Higgins and showing her my Canaans. It was delightful to hear her stories and to share experiences of Canaans with her. I am very grateful to her for establishing the breed with the UK Kennel Club and making it easy for us to get registered. When I first tried to register I had no affix, so the Kennel Club assigned me 'Kensix'. My first litter had that affix but my second litter carried my own 'Ba'aretz' (In the land / country). "
The two best known of Ruth's dogs were from her Kensix litter -- the Cordings' Kensix Khameshee ('Fiver') and MacPhail's Kensix Shleshee From Blackforest ('Brand'). 'Fiver' was out in the show ring flying the flag for the breed until he was 7 years of age and lived until 14 years of age. He produced one litter for the Cordings and a singleton litter for Gina Pointing, Mornavega The Chosen One of Anacan, who was the DW/Pedigree Top Canaan Dog 1995. Through her offspring, 'Fiver's' legacy lives on.
'Brand' was only ever lightly shown, but in his younger days he was a registered PAT dog and passed TKC Good Citizen's Test, the Canaan Dog Club's character assessment and a herding instinct test. Unfortunately 'Brand', who lived to be 16 years old, was never used at stud due to the fact that there was no breeding being done at the time he should have been used and he had been castrated by the time someone was interested in using him.
Ruth showed, bred and promoted Canaans vigorously, writing articles and breed notes for the dog papers. Sadly in 1994 she lost her home and business through divorce and had to give up her dogs. Ruth was also diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy. She has now regained her health and has a job organising holidays in the Sinai.
Judges are often accused at looking at the opposite end of the lead when judging, so Richard and I were quite amused at The National when a couple of exhibitors and one spectator did just that. Usually when we have both our 'Tara' (Anacan Simply Irresistible) and 'Monkey' (Anacan Dressed For Success) both entered at a show, I handle 'Tara' and Richard handles 'Monkey', who is actually his dog even though she is registered in my name. However at The National we left 'Tara', who was entered, at home because she is, happily, pregnant. I reported her absence to the ring steward prior to judging. Richard asked me to take 'Monkey' in, as he really doesn't enjoy going into the ring, so I did. Whilst in the ring, two of my fellow exhibitors went to the ring steward to tell him that I had on the wrong number and that 'Monkey' was absent. The steward came over to me to ask me if I had on the right number, and when I assured him I did, he told me what had happened.
Our judge was Mrs F Somerfield. There were 10 Canaans entered with 3 absent. BD & BOB was Lorna Hastings Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna, BB & BOS was my Anacan Dressed For Success, RBB was Pam O'Loughlin's Babrees Desert Orchid Via Caolita and RBB was Ian & Jill Terry's Babrees Desert Song. BP was my Anacan Kefira, who was making her ring debut. ('Kefira' is named after her grandsire, The Lion of Judah At Anacan, as 'Kefira' is Arabic for 'Lioness'.)
�Shebaba and Tiron resumed their lives, accepting Samara, although she always seemed to be the odd one out. She had a very sweet disposition and attached herself to me following me everywhere.
Because of the slight bend in her leg, I only showed Shebaba at club and local pet shows, but Tiron had some good placements at the bigger shows, gaining firsts under Mr J M Forster, Herbert Essam, Mr Leatt and Joe Braddon, who told me that he had seen the dogs in Israel. But Tiron never did any good at Crufts on his two appearances there in 1973 and 1974.
Then calamity struck me. Coming home with the dogs from the hills I felt a sharp pain in my right knee and had a very painful walk home. Tiron gave me some support this time. The doctor recommended bed rest. Luckily my younger son, Nigel, was just home from University and coped with things, but I continued to get very weak. In the end my husband, Stan, rang Alistair Clark, who was the orthopaedic consultant at Worcester Royal Infirmary and a member of my training club. This resulted in an emergency drive to the hospital, followed by a bone operation. Another three operations followed over the next 11 months, in between bouts, with my leg in and out of plaster and the leg constantly elevated in a sling. Samara fretted badly and refused to eat. In the end the kindest thing was to have her put to sleep.
I came home, only to return to hospital again for another operation. I finally came home again, this time in a wheelchair with the leg in a solid leather casing from ankle to thigh. I was told that I would never walk again. All this took up almost two years, during which I had lost all my contacts.
Shebaba died in 1978 from kidney failure at age 13. Tiron was lost without her, as we all were. He died quietly in 1981, also aged 13. That was a long time ago, but memories of this lovely, devoted pair are still very vivid.�
The first time Connie Higgins met Richard and his 'Bobby' (Minto's Libyan Jewel), at the inaugural meeting of the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom, she broke down in tears as she said 'Bobby' looked so much like her Shebaba. In fact, she had a photo of Shebaba with her, and when it was passed around to the assembly, people asked where 'the photo of Bobby was taken'.
In my next column I will talk about the development of the breed in the UK during the years following Connie's efforts.
No news this week, so we'll get on with the tale of Saffra Shebaba, Part Seven. (By the late Connie Higgins)
The pups thrived. I was surprised at how quickly they grew and matured. They were active and outgoing when friends came to see them. The house was very crowded and in the end we cleared space in the garage for sleeping and fenced of part of the garden for a run. I noticed that it was always Tiron who disciplined them.
I advertised the puppies and wrote and sent an article to �Dog Training Weekly�, as it was then called (now �Obedience News�). I offered the pups to the police and Guide Dogs. Three went to good homes that I knew, and no charge was made. The police replied �not suitable�, and the Guide Dogs only wanted bitches. Then �Dog World� announced that they were planning a series on rare breeds, so I wrote to them. I sent a history of the breed, a copy of the FCI standard, some photographs and a paid advert, but only the advert appeared.
As a result of the ad I had a letter from Veronica Tudor Williams. She enclosed a letter she had received from Judith Ardine, Secretary of the Canaan Club of America. Judith was trying to trace me as she had only my name and no address from Prof Menzel, who was now very ill and retired to a nursing home. (She died soon afterwards, aged 83 years.) Mrs Tudor Williams was Mrs Ardine's only contact in England owing to a mutual interest in Basenjis. I wrote a long letter to Mrs Ardine. She replied and invited me to join the CCA and write some articles about training for their newsletter. I continued a correspondence with Judith Ardine and wrote some articles on basic training. I also offered the pups to club members on the same basis as Prof Menzel had sent me Tiron -- the dogs would be a gift if they paid the outgoing expenses. This could have helped them gain recognition by their kennel club as our Kennel Club, which is recognised by the AKC, registered the pups. I kept the pups for 8 months, but had no response. I did have many letters about training and, after one of my articles was reprinted in the US magazine �Off Lead�, also had letters form owners of other breeds. It cost me a small fortune in postage.
Tiron was showing resentment towards the pups (being jealous of Shebaba) that were now standing up to him. They needed constant supervision, which was impossible, and I didn't have the space to always keep them apart. Still no homes were forthcoming and eventually I reluctantly had to make the decision to have them put to sleep.
Tiron and Shebaba were even closer. They were in excellent condition. He was doing well at the obedience club, although it took a long time to teach him to retrieve. He was very handsome and had lost his wariness of people, so I decided to try him out at a local breed show in AVNSC (Any Variety Not Separately Classified). I sent details of the breed, a standard and a stamped envelope to the Secretary asking her to forward it on to the judge. All went well until it came to his examination. It had been raining and the judge (a very large lady) slipped on the wet grass and fell on top of Tiron. She was full of apologies, but Tiron wouldn't go near her again. The next time I showed him at an exemption show he backed away from the judge, but won the class for Best Mover.
Shebaba produced another unplanned litter on 21st July 1971. She had one dog and two bitches, �Sanden�, �Soraya� and �Samara�, who attached herself to me from the start. They were again all black with some white on the chest. Playing with the pups one day, Shebaba gave a yelp. Next morning she didn't come to meet me as usual as she was still in her bed and couldn't raise her head.
I called Mr Pemble, the Vet. He said that she had slipped a disc at the base of her neck. All he could try was traction, and that only once. She came back home still under the anaesthetic. When she recovered she could move her head, but I left her to sleep. Next morning she couldn't get up. Mr Pemble said that as a result of the traction her front legs were paralysed and recommended she be put to sleep. But she didn't seem to be in any real pain, so I decided to wait and moved her upstairs to the spare room where it was quiet. Tiron stayed with her. I started massaging her neck and legs twice a day, always watched by Tiron.
I advertised the pups widely. Soraya went to a couple who had always admired Shebaba, and Sanden went to a good home with people who knew one of the original pups. That left Samara. Tiron was very gentle with her, and she stayed.
I continued the massaging. At least Shebaba seemed to be happier, so I began slowly and gently to push her up to a sitting position and though that she was responding. At least she was trying and could finally sit. Tiron was always there for these sessions. Then one day there was an insistent bark from Tiron who was upstairs. I rushed up to find Shebaba standing, leaning against him with her head over his neck. Eventually she could stand alone. Now we added walking along the landing -- at first placing each leg in position. It took time, but Tiron was always close by Shebaba's side for support, and she improved. The day came when she wanted to come downstairs again and I carried her down. She could walk -- admittedly somewhat unsteadily. I remember she had trouble turning the corner into the kitchen, but Tiron quickly changed sides to be on the inside. We would never have succeeded without him.
At long last the day came when I said �Today we are going to see Mr Pemble� and, of course, Tiron came too. Mr Pemple's eyes nearly popped out of his head when Shebaba walked in with tail waving. He said that as he hadn't heard from me he thought that she had died. An examination showed that apart from her right leg having a slight bend, she seemed to be okay but, of course, needed building up and gentle exercise. (To be continued.)
Lorna Hastings informed me that her Lorianna Call Me Madam was awarded Best AV Utility under Mr Barry Tookey at the Folkestone Hythe & District CS
. I had a lovely email from Melanie Harris (Swedish Vallhunds) telling me how much she is enjoying reading the story of Saffra Shebaba, written by her owner, the late Connie Higgins. So without further ado I give you Saffra Shebaba, Part Six.
When we arrived home with Tiron in the car Shebaba, as usual, came to welcome us. We let Tiron out and for a brief moment they stood and stared at each other. Then they were off chasing around the garden together, standing on their hind legs and boxing with the fore legs. It was a case of love at first sight. When they were obviously beginning to tire, I called Shebaba in. She came and Tiron followed, which settled the pattern for their relationship -- she led and he followed. Sheba and Popsie accepted Tiron and he them, but the house seemed very full and for the first time I felt relief that Toffee (monkey) had recently died after living with us for ten years. We humans, however, got little attention from Tiron.
I had had a fine kennel built in the garden for Tiron to sleep in, and at first, he accepted it. But as he began to fit into the home routine, things changed. He cried, howled, and barked his protests. I came down to him during the nights to no avail. No one was getting any sleep and the neighbours were complaining. In the end I gave in and let him sleep indoors. As a result, he began to accept first me and then my husband, Stan and my son, Nigel (my other son, Peter, was away at University), but he was very wary of strangers. We found that Tiron didn't like anyone standing behind him and any sharp noise upset him, even the click of a camera. (That is why we have no early photographs of him.) But I had no trouble with him jumping the fence and going off.
His first walk on the lead with Shebaba through the village showed that he wasn't very happy with any passing traffic, but he soon got used to that, and he was always quite happy meeting the children coming out of school. He quickly put on a bit of weight and muscle and was growing into a very handsome dog. I took him down to the Club to show him off. I ran round the hall and he moved beautifully, getting a round of applause. But I was short-handed at the Club and couldn't work him there, and he needed to mix. So with a little persuasion, Stan agreed to work him in Beginners, something they had never done before. So they made progress together at the Club. Everyone admired Tiron, but he was slow to accept them. When he did finally succumb, the signal was that he would go and lean against them, and from time-to-time someone would tell me, �Tiron leaned on me tonight�.
Now Shebaba only came in season once a year and it could be difficult to predict the exact time. As near as I could I thought that she would have finished before Tiron came home, but she still hadn't come in. She was late. It seemed almost as though she had waited for him. So when she soon came in I decided that as she was four years old to let nature take its course. It was a first time mating for both of them and it went off quite naturally in the garden with a second mating the next day. It was clear from the beginning that she was in whelp. Thinking of her origins, I was afraid she would dig a whelping tunnel in the garden, so got out the whelping box early and fixed it up with a blanket cover, sat her down and talked to her, as I always did, explaining that this was where I wanted her to whelp her pups and she should now sleep in it and get used to it. As always she understood and complied. On 20th December 1969 she produced five pups with no trouble at all. They were all dogs, all black with some white markings on the chest. I called them Solomon, Samson, Samuel, Simeon and Shadrach. Tiron visited briefly every day. She had plenty of milk and kept them very clean. But I got a bit of a shock one day when I saw her pick up a pup, holding his whole head in her mouth, but soon realised that she was only moving him, not eating him. Soon my main worry was to keep her in condition, as she regurgitated her food for them.
I sent photographs, weights, etc. to Prof. Menzel, who replied that they were acceptable for registration. Tiron's papers finally arrived from the Israeli KC and I sent them to TKC with a photograph of the pups and a copy of Prof. Menzel's letter and a request for registration for Shebaba and progeny, saying that I was also prepared to have further examination by anyone they cared to appoint. I was anxious to get the acceptance before the end of the year when a new regulation was coming into force banning registration without pedigree. Before you were able to do so on the statement of three judges appointed by TKC.
Time went by with no reply and I had almost given up hope when I had a letter dated 29th December 1970 saying that Tiron had been accepted and enclosing an application form for Shebaba and progeny. Mr Binney, who had always been helpful, phoned me advising me to reply by return by registered post to make sure it arrived on time. But I didn't hear any more. Then in the March Kennel Gazette a notice said that the Canaan Dog breed had been recognised. I still hadn't heard anything. When the certificates eventually arrived, they were dated 31st December 1970 and a note from Mr Binney told me that Shebaba was the last dog registered without a pedigree. (To be continued.)
Dave and Alison Sexton tell me they have moved to Maidenhead, Berkshire. We wish them, and their Canaan, 'Eva', much happiness in their new home!
Gina Pointing tells me that she is organising a holiday in Egypt, March/April 2006 for the University of the Third Age. She went on to say that as this holiday covers a lesser-known part of Egypt, Canaan Dogs will almost certainly be seen-- both free-living and those used as guard dogs. Canaan owners, Bob and Sue Coombes, are planning to go, as the trip has been open to member of the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom, of which Gina is President. I certainly would love to go if circumstances permit as Egypt has always been on my 'places I'd love to go to' list.
I soon had a letter from Prof. Menzel. She said that if Shebaba were in Israel she would be accepted for registration and qualified at least �Very Good�. So, once again, I applied to the Kennel Club - no response. Prof. Menzel sent me some photographs of puppies and on the back of one was �Canaan Club of America�. So I wrote to the AKC for details - no response. Then another letter from Prof. Menzel. She was prepared to send me a registered dog as a mate for Shebaba if I would pay all outgoing expenses. The dog, himself, was to be a gift. Of course I wrote and accepted her generous offer and again wrote to TKC, enclosing a copy of her letter, but again no response.
Prof. Menzel sent me Ursula Berkowitz's address in America at Star Pine Kennels. She had imported two Canaans. I wrote to her, but had no reply. It was much later that I found out that she had removed her dogs from Star Pine and never got my letter.
The Prof. Menzel sent me a photograph of a young, 5-month old dog, named Karmel that she proposed to send me. He was a nice cream dog, but his ears were not erect, and I didn't feel any particular attraction towards him. I wrote back at once saying that while I would accept her decision, I thought that he was too young to undergo the 6-month quarantine. I also wrote that I understood that the wild dogs did not mate until they were 2-years old, and Shebaba was now 4-years old. But I went ahead enquiring about quarantine kennels and made preliminary arrangements at Kilkarkin because I liked the family attitude there.
Then came another letter from Prof. Menzel saying she had now chosen another dog. He was black and white; ears pricked and would soon be ready for mating. His name was 'Tiron', which meant 'recruit'. As soon as I read about him I knew that, although I hadn't seen a photograph, this was the right dog. I sent a telegram saying, �Send Tiron�. He arrived at Heathrow at 2:00 pm on the 22nd April 1969.
Eventually I had a letter from TKC dated 23rd May 1969 in reply to my letter of 21st August 1968. It said that they had considered Prof. Menzel's letter, but were still of the opinion that the bitch was not eligible for registration on the evidence I had supplied, but if I wished to accept her offer of a dog, and after a test mating I still wished to re-apply, the Committee was prepared to reconsider its decision.
This time I thought, �go straight to the top�, and wrote to Air Commodore Cecil Wright telling him that the dog was already in quarantine. I complained that the Committee ignored my letters and objected to the deliberate insult to Prof. Menzel, who was acknowledged as the world expert on the breed. I could not get a higher opinion from anyone else. This apparently was recognised in every other country except ours, and I said I intended to send a copy of their letter to her and to the Israeli Kennel Club.
I wrote to Prof. Menzel, enclosing a copy of this letter and asked her if she would also write to Air Commodore Cecil Wright. This she did, saying that in her opinion the bitch was suitable for registration in the Stud Book of their Kennel club as a purebred Canaan Dog. She also explained that at that time, in most cases, a pedigree was not possible. She told him that she had sent me the dog as they were interested that he should be bred from in England and after a trial litter she would ask him to get an expert opinion of the puppies and, on the strength of that, to register them.
Tiron had a very rough start when arriving. He was addressed to me personally instead of the quarantine kennels, so they would not release him to the carrier. He telephoned me and I telephoned the kennels and they then telephoned Heathrow. By the time this was done, the carrier had had to go and deliver another dog, but made arrangements with the RSPCA to take Tiron out of the crate, give him some water and a brief walk around the compound. When he came back for him, he had missed the arranged train, so he left Tiron at the station with instructions to be put on the next train as he had another appointment. That meant more telephone calls to me and from me to the kennels. Then again another from the kennels as the dog had not been on the train, so I telephoned the station. The stationmaster had forgotten about Tiron and there wasn't another train until the early morning paper train. So yet another telephone call to the kennels. They were most cooperative and finally picked Tiron up in the early hours of the morning. He was very bewildered and tired, and they fed and watered him and put him in a heated kennel to sleep.
They had a ruling that owners should not visit their dogs for two weeks, but under the circumstances agreed that I could go down the next day. I realised that I had chosen the right people and this was confirmed by their future care of Tiron. I arrived to find a very tired dog. His nose was rubbed raw from the crate, as was the hair on his back. He just didn't want to bother with anyone or anything, but I liked him.
I went to see him almost every weekend, but he just tolerated me, ignoring my attempts to make friends and politely, but definitely ignoring any titbits. My husband and two sons got the same reception on their visits. Tiron soon got back into condition and it was obvious that he was going to be a very handsome dog. He became very attached to one of the kennel maids and she thought that he was wonderful. If he was out in the run she used to call him, put him on a lead and bring him to us, but always this polite tolerance and no progress. This was very frustrating, especially as there were two young GSDs in the run next to Tiron (my original breed), who danced with excitement as soon as they saw me. Dogs usually came to me. I was running a training club and had had hundreds of dogs of all breeds through my hands. It wasn't until the last couple of weeks in quarantine that Tiron even showed brief signs of recognising me.
At that time there was a rabies scare and the probability that all dogs in quarantine would be kept in longer. But for once we were lucky and were able to pick Tiron up on the Saturday as the ban was announced on the Monday.
When my husband, Stan, and I went to pick Tiron up. After handing him over the kennel maid rushed away in tears and Tiron just didn't want to come with us. We more or less had to drag him to the car, with the final good-bye from the staff - �He'll have to turn to someone eventually.� Tiron was horrified at the passing traffic. Then, for the first time, surprisingly, it occurred to me �what if, after all this trouble, all this expense, Shebaba refuses him? But I need no have worried, they took one look at each other and it was a case of love at first sight. (To be continued.)
Toni Jackson judged the entry of 7 Canaan Dogs at Gravesend & Medway Towns Canine Society on Easter Sunday and was kind enough to send me the results. BOB was Lorna Hasting's Ger Ch Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna and RBOB was Lorna's Lorianna Lucky Star.
On the journey down to London I remarked to Ida that I felt that I ought to remember something special about Mr Fiennes. When we all met at his house Shebaba was in her element and flirted outrageously with the men, to their delight. Col. Gauntlett was a charming elderly man, and yes! Shebaba was just like the dogs he knew with the Druse people, but much friendlier.
Mr Fiennes took us on a tour of the zoo, giving a commentary on the wolves, dingoes, African Wild Dogs and New Guinea Singing Dogs. Then he asked if I was interested in anything else. I said, �Yes, I would like to see the Marmosets as I'd had one, and the Capuchins, as I still had one at home.� Then it sort of fell into place. He said, �Now I remember who you are. The name has been puzzling me.�
A few years earlier I'd taken pity on a little Marmoset in a cage in a pet shop and bought him with high hopes, and called him Chico. But I didn't make much progress with him. He was always bad tempered and refused to be handled. Sheba spent ages just gazing up at the cage while he threw sawdust at her, so out came the sawdust. I went to the library, but didn't find much help, except that I traced a source of supply of mealworms for him. When I let him out he just scuttled into a corner and screamed defiance. I never did make much progress, not for the want of trying. I got scratched and bitten several times. Then he grew very lethargic and just lay on the floor of his cage. I realised that something was wrong. None of the local vets were much help so I wrote to the London Zoological Society and had a quick reply. He was obviously suffering with a kidney complaint, common to the species with age. There was nothing I could do, he would soon die, and when he did they would be grateful if I would straighten out his limbs and let them have the body for a PM to help with their research. This letter came from Mr Fiennes. So now he took us to the laboratory and showed us Chico's tiny skull, duly labelled.
We had a wonderful day, and when Mr Fiennes' book, �The Natural History of the Dog�, was published, it contained a reference to Shebaba and her photograph.
Then the local library found a copy of �The Book of the Dog� for me and I read about the Menzels and their work with the Pariahs and Canaans. I wrote to the FCI for a copy of the Standard. When this came I sent it to TKC with photostats of the whole chapter and statements from three vets that Shebaba conformed to the Standard, offering to take her to any judges they liked to name for further confirmation, only to receive another refusal and the cryptic remark that �just because a dog comes from Yorkshire doesn't make it a Yorkshire Terrier.�
I hadn't tried to trace Prof Rudolphina Menzel, having been told that she was dead (it was her husband, Rudolph, who was dead), but now wrote to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem trying to contact Prof Bodenheimer, mentioned in �The Book of the Dog�. Again, no reply.
On a sudden thought, I rang the Israeli embassy. It was a time of their troubles and, at first, they were a bit suspicious, probably thinking I was planning to bomb the embassy, but promised to make some enquiries. A couple of days later they rang back to give me the address of a dog sanctuary in Jerusalem, advising me to ask for their help. So, once again I wrote it all out.
Shebaba came in season about every 8 months, so when it got within a few weeks of her time, my husband drove me up to Bacup and we brought back Small Peter, hoping to give them a better chance of getting to know each other. He settled in very well and seemed to appreciate living in the smaller household - only snag was that he wasn't housetrained. Shebaba more or less ignored him and when she did show signs of coming in, repulsed him. An old friend, Roger, a very experienced dog man, suggested that I leave them together at his kennels. That didn't work either, as Shebaba kept Small Peter pinned in a corner and ate his meal. So Small Peter went back to Bacup.
Then out of the blue, on 21st August 1968, I had a letter from Israel. I couldn't believe my eyes - it was from Prof Menzel herself. My letter to the sanctuary had been forwarded on to her. She sent me a long list of questions about Shebaba -- eyesight, hearing, measurements, hair, reactions, character, accomplishments, etc., which I replied to with every photograph I could lay my hands on. (To be continued.)
Mrs Pearl Chadwick was very pleased with the quality of her entry at the recent BUBA Open Show. There were 6 dogs with a total of 7 entries. BOB was awarded to Pam O'Loughlin's Babrees Desert Orchid Via Caoilta with RBOB going to his littermate, Ian & Jill Terry's Babrees Desert Song.
At its recent AGM the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom elected the following Officers and Committee members: Chairman - Mr Richard Minto; Vice-Chairman � Mr Patrick Gold; Treasurer - Miss Anne Barclay; Corresponding Secretary - Mrs Ellen Minto; Recording Secretary � Mrs Barbara Gold; Committee members - Mrs Norma Barnes, Miss Alison Byrne, Mrs Christine Goldspink-Powley, Dr Sarah Hemstock and Mr Martin Moulding. The Club President is Mrs Gina Pointing and the Hon Patron is Miss Karina LeMare.
It was also decided at the AGM that I would take on the role of Health Co-ordinator, and a health survey I designed was approved for distribution. This will be posted to the membership shortly, but all Canaan owners are invited to take part. If you have a Canaan Dog, or if you had a Canaan in the past, and are willing to take part in this survey, please contact me for a copy.
Another Crufts has come and gone. Once more it was exhausting -- just getting all the dogs from the car park to the benching area just about finished us for the day -- but the excitement helped to keep us going. I'd like to comment here that though I couldn't catch all of it, I do think the television coverage was much improved and it was wonderful that they showed each of the BOB winners.
This year the Canaan Dog judge, Miss Vanessa Williams, attracted an entry of 15 Canaan Dogs with the following results: BD & BOB was Pam O'Loughlin's Babrees Desert Orchid Via Caoilta. This was the second time 'Dezi' won BOB at Crufts, having done so previously in 2003 under Mel Vincent. This was a doubly wonderful Crufts for Ms O'Loughlin as she also took the dog CC and BOB with her German Spitz (Mittel). RBD went to the Veteran Dog, Anacan Ziggy, owned by Richard and myself. BB & BOS was awarded to Lorna Hastings' Lorianna Lucky Star, and RBB was my Anacan Sheez The One. BP was Lorna's Special Junior Dog entry, Lorianna Desert Storm.
Interest has been growing in the breed over the last few years and it was a pleasure to see so many people around our ringside during the judging. Richard and I had a long chat with two judges visiting from Australia, as well as with some Canadian visitors, who wanted to 'kidnap' our 'Monkey' (Anacan Dressed For Success) and take her back home with them. The breed needs to continue to attract people who are willing to work to promote the breed, rather than using the breed to make a name for themselves -- the latter all-too-often being the reason some people get involved with a numerically small breed.
Shebaba was growing into a very beautiful dog, very elegant and feminine with very expressive eyes and very acute hearing. Wherever we went (and we went camping a lot) she drew attention and several times strangers remarked that she reminded them of dogs they had seen in the desert during the war. Some time before this I had been on a course run by Mr Pickvance of Birmingham University and remembered a book that he had shown us with a chapter about wild dogs in the Middle East, so wrote to him about it. I also went to several zoos to find only dingoes, but Mr Skerton at Paignton told me that a German Professor was the expert. Then I found Mr Mold of Clough Farm, Bacup in Lancashire. I must admit that my memory is a bit vague about how I found his address, but I wrote to him and he phoned to say that he had some pariah dogs. So I arranged to take Shebaba up to see him and Ida and I drove up. We made enquiries at the local pub, left the car there and walked dup over the moors until we came to a little stone cottage with dogs everywhere barking furiously. I never did know how many. They were a motley crowd, various shapes, and colours from cream to brown, with drop ears. They lived as a pack in an adjoining barn. Mr Mold said that he had brought his original dog from Iraq, but was rather vague about the bitch he said he had acquired from a man who said that she had come from Egypt. These dogs were all interbred from these two and looked in good condition. He was annoyed that TKC had refused to register them and was full of plans to buy ground and build a quarantine kennel. He tried to persuade me to let him have Shebaba for new blood. Both she and I took a poor view of that. He then suggested that I should mate her to one of his dogs. I said that I didn't want such a litter, but he said that he would willingly take any pups and a litter would do her a lot of good and help him. After a lot of discussion I agreed and picked out what I thought was the best dog, which he called Small Peter. Shebaba was shortly due in season, so when the time was right we went up again after saying that all the others should be shut up in the bar. Shebaba wouldn't have Small Peter near her. She snapped and was quite aggressive, so Mr Mold suggested we tried another dog, but I'd had enough and she came back unmated. Mr Mold was disappointed.
The next step forward was when I saw a letter in a magazine from a Col. Gauntlett about dogs with the Djebel Druse nomadic tribe, and I wrote to him care of the magazine. He lived at east Molesley and had spent many years in service in the Middle East, coming into contact with the Druse people and their dogs. He had kept one as a pet, very like the photograph of Shebaba that I had sent. Then I heard from Mr Pickvance. The book was �The Book of the Dog�, edited by Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald, but was out-of-print. So I asked help from the local library and a rare book firm to try and trace it. I wrote to anyone I thought might help with information about the dogs, with no response. As a last hope I wrote to Sir Solly Zukerman and had a lovely letter back from him.
He, himself, couldn't help, but knew that Mr Richard Fiennes, the Chief Pathologist of the London Zoological Society, was researching a book on the Natural History of the Dog and he had passed my letter to him. After a few days Mr Fiennes phoned and invited me to take Shebaba down to see him. I said that Ida would be driving and asked if Col. Gauntlett could also come. He invited us all to lunch. (To be continued.)
It seems that the only Canaan exhibitor going to shows, at the moment is Lorna Hastings, but I hope to see a few more at Crufts next week. Lorna has kindly provided me with her following results. At Maidenhead & District Canine Society Lorianna Desert Storm was awarded BP and RB�AVNSC Utility by judge Mrs�Nina Byles (Lippen). A couple of weeks ago Lorianna Desert�Storm, Lorianna Lucky Star and Int. German & Lux Ch Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna�attended the Kent Super Dog contest organised by Dover & Deal Canine Society.� In order to qualify the dog has to have won either a BIS, RBIS, BPIS, RBPIS or BVIS. Money is raised for charity with the event annually.� Star has qualified and been invited to the Contest Of Champions 2005. If any Canaan Dog supporters would like to come along and�make up a table they are very welcome. The event takes place on Sat. 2nd April at the Thistle Hotel, London Heathrow commencing at 4pm; tickets cost �39 per person.� Please let me know if you are interested. Star is also the 2004�top�Utility Group winner�in the Vitalin / Our Dogs Bitch of the Year and was sixth overall breeds.� Simi beat Star by one point to take the Top honours for the Eukanuba / Our Dogs Top Canaan Dog 2004.�Although a bit late, in December Simi & Star were both awarded the CACIB, CAC's and The Brussels Winners titles at the Brussels Dog Show.� The Judge was Hern Karrock Michael from Germany.�Finally AKC Ch Lorianna Sirius Star CDCA HC, who is residing in the USA, was used at stud�just after Christmas and Lorna is awaiting news on the whelping, which is imminent.
The club closed for a couple of weeks after Christmas. On the opening night I was without my own dogs, talking to a new intake, when Ida called up, �Mrs P is here with Sheba. You'll get a shock when you see her.� At that moment a flash came down the hall and jumped into my arms. She was just skin and bones. I was so angry I carried her down and said, �What have you done to her?� She said, �It's not me, it's you. She won't eat, won't have anything to do with me, just digs to get out. You have ruined her for me. I'll sell her to you.� Now I would willingly have paid for her, but because I was so angry I said, �If we are talking about payment, what about the six months you left her with me and the training I have given her. I consider that I have already paid for her.� Although this happened 30 years ago, it is still clear in my mind. It was all in front of a hall full of people listening who all knew about wild Sheba. There was quite an atmosphere, which I'm sure she felt as all activities had stopped, for she said, �Well she's no good to me now. You can have her.� I said, �That's not good enough. I want a written statement that you have given her to me and details of her birth and history. My husband will pick it up from your sister's tomorrow evening.� So Mrs P left and I got a round of applause. I also go the statement.
So wild Sheba came home again to the joy of the whole family, both human and animal. The first thing to do was to give her something to eat. Her nails were broken and pads very sore, but my Sheba promptly started to lick them and she slept. Now that she was rally ours we couldn't have two Shebas, so I stuck on an extra �ba� and told her that her name was now Shebaba, which often got cut to just 'Baba'. She soon got back into condition, but from time-to-time played up. This I could understand. She blamed me for sending her back to Mrs P, but form this grew a close, almost telepathic link. She understood exactly what I said to her, as I understood what she was saying to me. So we did progress and she joined in the activities at the club and was a great favourite with everyone. I wrote a long letter to TKC asking if I could register her on either the Breed or Obedience Register as an Arabian Desert Dog, and for once had a quick reply. There was no such breed and she could only be accepted on the Obedience Register as a crossbred. This rather went against the grain, but I think I might have accepted it if I hadn't gone to Crufts. There I met Pauline Block showing 'Bahri', the first Pharaoh Hound. He had no pedigree and the Pharaohs were originally wild dogs from the Island of Gozo. It had taken 15 months of argument with TKC to get him registered. She was very encouraging and said, �Who do they think they are? Fight them. If I can do it, so can you.� That got me going. I got a list of all the quarantine kennels in the country and wrote to them all to find out if there were any more dogs like Shebaba. Only a few replied, all negative.
Shebaba was now retrieving, doing drop on recall, send away, distant control and scent discrimination. She was free in the woods where she had a great time chasing the rabbits, but I still put on a long line on the hills because of the sheep. Just when I thought that my troubles were over and she could be completely free, they started again. One night after �last time out� she didn't come in with the other dogs. It was dark and pouring with rain. Now she didn't like rain, so I decided to wait hoping she would soon come back on her own, but it was almost 1:00 am before Sheba gave warning that she was back, very bedraggled, expecting punishment. Instead she got a lot of praise. Again I hoped that this would settle things, but a few days later she was off over the fence again, but this time I saw her go, told Sheba to stay, grabbed a lead and went after her myself. I could see her but hadn't a hope of catching up with her, so cut diagonally across country to cut her off. When I got within call distance I called to �get down�. No response, so I tried �come�. She did, but buzzed me just out of reach, playing up and dashing off again.
I thought �Right madam, two can play at this game, and it needs settling now.� I let out a scream and pretended to fall down. Of course she came to see what was wrong and before she knew it had the lead clipped on. I shook her till my arms ached, nagged and threatened her all the way home in disgrace.
We were both covered in mud. I dumped her in the kitchen sink, dried her off, carried her upstairs and more or less threw her on to the bed in the spare room, told her to stay there and shut her in. Then I went to have a bath and change my clothes. Coming back I heard her moving, flung open the door and really yelled, �Get back on that bed and don't dare move until I tell you to. I am boss, not you�, and shut her in again. I kept her there until suppertime. When I went back she was still on the bed looking very shamefaced. I said, �Well I hope that you are sorry�, and she gave a weak wag of her tail. So I said, �Okay, come and have your supper.� She never went off again and I started her on a scale jump for a regular outlet and interest. (To be continued.)
Crufts is almost upon us. I was sorry to see that our entries are down 10 dogs from last year, which is a shame as our judge is well acquainted with the breed and is deserving of a larger entry. It saddens me to see the breed to overall lose some of the impetus it had been building on the show scene and one wonders what could be done to help rekindle some of the lost enthusiasm and to inspire some new devotees. Any suggestions?
As you know, in December we lost Connie Higgins, the person who was responsible for getting the breed recognised in the UK. If it were not for her efforts, the Canaan Dog would still be on the Import Register now. In Connie's honour I will be serialising the story of Saffra Shebaba, the first CD to be registered in the UK, as written by Connie and given to me.
�I was one of the old time obedience enthusiasts running a club in Malvern, when early in July 1966, while taking a beginners class, I glanced up on to the stage where a new intake was sitting watching, and my eyes met the direct gaze of a pair of dark almond-shaped eyes and a sort of instant recognition passed between us. But later when I went to talk to them the dog and owner had gone. They were back the next week and I heard her story.
Her owner, Mrs Power, had brought her back from Damascus where her husband worked at the University situated on the outskirts of the city. They sometimes saw a tribe of wild dogs passing in the desert and the locals called them Arabian Desert Dogs. In November 1964 a bitch left the tribe, dug a hole just outside the compound fence and whelped a litter. She was very aggressive - they couldn't get near so used to throw food to her. They counted 13 pups, soon they noticed that she was moving the pups and, during one of her absences, stole two pups, which they kept as a curiosity. One of these was this bitch they called Sheba, who was in quarantine at Ade near Norwich from May to October 1965. Mr & Mrs Power had separated and she was now living with her sister in Malvern. Sheba was rather aggressive with other dogs, but good with people, especially children. She had to be kept tied up as she would go off and was difficult to get back. Mrs Power was afraid that Sheba would go up into the hills where, in those days, we had sheep grazing and a farmer quick with a gun. There were only two more classes before the club closed for the month of August, so we didn't make much progress except that one good shaking and a strong reprimand from me cured the aggression in one evening.
On the last evening Mrs Power stayed on to the end of the classes. She told me that she was starting as an adult student at Winchester University the next week. She had a flat lined up but couldn't move in immediately. Her sister would not take responsibility for Sheba and she couldn't afford to board her. Would I keep her for 2 or 3 weeks when she would come and pick her up? So I brought her Sheba home, and she showed no reluctance at the parting.
At that time I had a lovely well trained GSD with a very sweet nature, also called Sheba, a L/C Chihuahua called Popsie (both working obedience), and a Capuchin monkey called Toffee who lived most of the time in a large cage from floor to ceiling. I also had two young sons, Peter and Nigel, and, on that particular weekend, two Miniature Poodles belonging to a friend who was away. So we had a house full. Wild Sheba made a great fuss of my husband, Stan, and the two boys, and was fascinated by Toffee. She put her nose through the wires of his cage, when he promptly lifted up her lips to examine her teeth as he did with my Sheba. She didn't protest. All went well until it came to feeding them all together in the kitchen. Wild Sheba bared her teeth and snarled, guarding her food, which I instantly removed, the rest of them looking on in amazement while I gave her another good shaking. I told her that if she were going to stay with us she would have to learn better manners. She seemed to understand exactly what I was saying. I gave her back her dish and she quietly ate her supper with no more trouble.
Wild Sheba quickly settled in with the family, accepting my Sheba as lead dog. She was always gentle with Popsie. We live up in the Malvern Hills with a garden facing open fields, so I kept her on a long rope that reached to the fence, and also when exercising on the hills. Toffee was annoyed at being kept caged so I decided to let him out and see what would happen. He and my Sheba were great friends. He used to ride flat out on her back or under her chest with his arms around her neck, as he would have done with his natural mother. She washed him; he cleaned her ears and teeth and would sleep between her front paws. With wild Sheba it was a different routine, all rough and tumble, riding like a jockey and chasing round and round the settee.
Wild Sheba was soon no longer skin and bones, just elegantly slim, a golden colour with a black muzzle, feathered tail, well tucked up in the loins. She moved very quickly with a trot, very different from my Sheba's gait. She was very alert, with exceptional hearing, always giving early warning of anyone approaching the house. She didn't much like rain and definitely not any household spray, and she was affectionate and always eager to please. The weeks went by. She now walked well on the lead and, following my Sheba and Popsie, went down and stayed on command. She was also friendly with Judy the Collie who belonged to my friend and assistant club trainer, Ida Heywood, who often stayed with us.
When the club reopened in September I still hadn't heard anything from Mrs Power, so started more training, and Sheba enjoyed it. At home I concentrated on �drop on command� whenever she got near the fence, and when she was doing this regularly still on the rope, removed it, perhaps too early for she was off over the fence like a shot. I yelled to my Sheba to �get her� and she followed. When I got round to them, wild Sheba was lying with my Sheba standing over her. My Sheba got all the praise and she was ignored and put on the rope again, and left very much in disgrace. When I went out to her later, she almost crept to me, very submissive, saying how sorry she was. The next day we tried again and she was off again, but before I could call my Sheba, she was back again to great praise, and she never went over again, so was free in the garden. It only took 2 weeks to teach her to retrieve and all was going well. I still kept her on a rope on the hills, but she ran free in the wood and had a great time chasing the rabbits.
Then calamity struck on Christmas Eve - Mrs Power arrived. She wouldn't come in, said she had a friend waiting in the car and had come for her dog. We were all shocked, but what could we do except hand her over with her Christmas present of a new collar and lead. Sheba was dragged out to the car, without even a word of thanks, leaving us all to a miserable Christmas.� (To be continued.)
The Westminster KC show was held over the Monday and Tuesday, 13th-14th February. As many of you know, this show went from having a qualifier, as Crufts does, to an all-champion show over 15 years ago. Entries close within hours of opening, and most dogs are handled by professional handlers. This year there were five Canaans entered under judge, Mr. Eric J. Ringle. BOB was awarded to Ch Jealou's Got Milk O'Madriver, owned by Carol O'Bryan & Cynthia Grupp & S J Armstrong-Barnhard. �Emmitt�, as the dog is called, also won BIS at the Canaan Dog Club of America's National Specialty in October 2004. BOS was the bitch, Ch Mazel Tov Hana Her My Heart, who is owned by Kevin Sweet & Catherine Oskow & Cristina Garland. An Award of Merit can be made to those dogs whom the judge feels were definitely 'in the running. The number of AOMs can be made is determined by the number of entries in the breed. Mr Ringle made one Award of Merit to Judy March Rosenthal & Amanda M Pough's dog,Ch Rosendog's He Who Must Be Named. I think he deserved the AOM just for the great name! (Harry Potter fans will understand.)
We had a visit the other week from �want to be� Canaan owners, John and Elizabeth Cordery-Shore. In their quest to find the right breed, John and Elizabeth drove 5 hours so that they could meet some Canaans in person. If everyone who wanted a dog, of any breed, would make half this effort, I'm sure there would be far less disappointments and dogs who needed re-homing. A visit to Discover Dogs serves this exact purpose, so I encourage any would-be dog owners to get themselves to Crufts Discover Dogs, 10th-13th March and use this excellent event to help in their search for their perfect companion.
The Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom's 2005 Judges' List is available to any show-giving club secretary who wishes a copy. Please contact me if you would like one.
I received the sad news from Israel that, after a prolonged illness, Dr. Dvora Ben Shaul passed away on the 2nd February. Dr Ben Shaul worked with Dr Menzel in the early days of the breed. She also wrote a chapter called �Observations in Nature�, about the free-living Canaan Dogs, for Myrna Shiboleth's book �The Israel Canaan Dog�, amongst other things. With the loss of Connie Higgins, this is the second loss for the breed this year of people who had personal contact with the breed's founder, Dr Menzel.
On a happier note, both Bryna Comsky (Ha'Aretz Canaan Dogs, USA) and Myrna Shiboleth (Shaar Hagai, Israel) are celebrating their 35th year in Canaan Dogs. Both ladies got their first Canaan Dog from Jay and Bertha Sheaffer (Spatterdash Kennels), and I believe they were out of the same litter. It was 12th December 1969, that Bryna took home with her Spatterdash Dreidle, a highly influential stud dog in the USA. I believe that Myrna's first Canaan Dog, a bitch, Spatterdash Gimel Wafi, which she took to Israel with her when she emigrated from the USA to Israel in 1969, was out of the same litter as Dreidle. Both these ladies have had major influences on the breed. Bryna bred my first top-winning Canaan Dog, CCA Ch Ariel Shin Ha'Aretz of Briel, and I've enjoyed a long friendship with her. Bryna translated Dr Menzel's PARIAHUNDE into English 20 years ago and a more recent edition was produced last October. I have found this paper, along with Myrna's book, to be a very valuable source of breed information over the years. If anyone wishes to get a copy of the PARIAHUNDE translation, contact me and I will put you in touch with the distributor. Myrna's book is now out of print, but can still sometimes be found at the bookstalls at dog shows, or on the Internet. Just a note, Bertha Sheaffer is still alive and will be 81 next month. Though she is a diabetic and is suffering from glaucoma in both eyes she still takes an active interest in the breed and is in good health otherwise.
I've been asked to announce that the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom's AGM will be held on Sunday, 20th March 2005 at St Mary's Parish Hall in Sunbury-On-Thames commencing at 1:00 pm sharp.
Mrs. Marilyn Mayfield judged the breed at the Eukanuba Invitational on the 16th January. BOB was�Ch Jealou Got Milk O'Mad River, owned by Carol J O'Bryan, Cynthia Grupp and Sally Armstrong-Barnhardt, and handled by Andy Linton. �Emmitt� was also BOB at the Canaan Dog Club of America's National Specialty. This was his second appearance at the "Invitational" Show.� BOS was Ch Cherrysh Worship The Sun, owned and handled by Cheryl Hennings. I am slightly saddened that so many Canaan Dogs are now being shown by professional handlers in the US, so I especially congratulate Cheryl for her dog's owner-handled award. First and Second Awards of Merit went to CH He Who Must Be Named, owned by Judy March Rosenthal & Amanda M Pough, and handled by Kitty Burke, and Ch Riverroc Three Sunrises Lyceum, owned by Renee Donaher Kent and Evan Jackowitz Kent.
� � In the agility portion of the Invitational, Alan Gersman and his Lada-L finished 21st in the 20 inch class. Just to put that in perspective, only the very top dogs even qualify to go to the nationals, and there were 182 dogs entered in the 20" class. So a very well done to Lada-L.
Congratulations are in order for Andy and Tina Mackay who welcomed their new son, Shay, into the world on the 17th January. Shay joins their first son, Connor and 4-legged �son�, Canaan �Baz�.
Rob McLeod was kind enough to send me the results of Weston -Super-Mare C.S. held on 28/12/04. Judge Mr Albert Easdon (Yakee) had 3 exhibitors with 7 Canaans entered for a total of 8 entries and 1 absentee. BOB was Hastings' Nizzana Hadad For Lorianna; RBOB was McLeod's Anacan The Israelite For Dunline and BP was Hastings' Lorianna Desert Storm.
The American Kennel Club and The Iams Company announced that a total of 2,451 entries were received for the 2005 AKC/Eukanuba National Championship on January 15 and 16 in Tampa, Florida. There are 11 Canaan Dogs entered and I'm sorry that my 'Remy' (Anacan Masterpiece) isn't one of them, but there was no way I could make the event. The event will be simulcast live on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel both nights and since we've treated ourselves to Sky TV, I look forward to being able to watch the show and giving a report on the breed winner.
I had an email from Pam O'Loughlin requesting I put the following in my breed notes. The British Canaan Dog Society (proposed) will be holding a seminar on the Canaan Dog on the 6th of August 2005. Speaking will be Myrna Shiboleth (Shaar Hagai, Israel). Tickets are �10 for members and �12 for non-members. For further information contact Pam O'Loughlin. Please note: Attendance at this seminar does not count if you wish to apply for the Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom's judges' list -- you must attend a breed seminar presented by the CDC of the UK. The 2005 CDC of the UK seminars will be held on Saturday 16th April at St Leonard's Church Hall, Watlington, Oxon and on Saturday 5th November at Baginton Village Hall. For more information you can contact Mrs Barbara Gold, or myself .
The Canaan Dog Club of the United Kingdom is putting together a breed reference book. Anyone who owns a Canaan Dog is invited to have their dog included. All known pedigrees of Canaans born in, or introduced to, the UK will be included; however, if you would like your dog's photo and details included with his or her pedigree page, please submit them, along with your cheque for �5 made payable to the 'Canaan Dog Club of the UK' to the club secretary, Mrs Ellen Minto, Anacan Boarding Kennels & Cattery, Little Lane, Off Oxlands Lane, Irby In The Marsh, Lincs PE24 5AX
11.	A clear photo of your dog in standing position. (It does not have to be a show stance, but be sure it is a flattering one as this book will serve posterity.) If you send a digital photo, please send it on a CD in a resolution of 300 dpi. Please send a SAE if you wish to have your photos returned.
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