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Family: Canine carnival

Family: Canine carnival

Happy, hyper, shy, stubborn, independent... Petrina Jo Fernandez meets a whole lot of interesting four-legged characters at Dogathon 2010
“WHAT exactly is a dogathon?” a friend asked as we drove over to Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

“I’m not sure,” I answered. “But I know there will be loads of dogs there.” Spot on.

Walking onto the field where the Dogathon 2010 was being held, all we could see were dogs and more dogs. Big, miniature, fat, lean, furry, and fuzzy dogs of every breed on leashes dragged their masters chasing yummy smells. Some were lounging under trees as their owners mingled. There was a carnival-like mood, with games and food for both canines and humans.

Stalls lined the field, offering everything from tick medicine to grooming services. The sponsors, including Frontline, NutriEdge, Pet-and-You, Heartgard, Yuri Grooming, Doggie Paw Paw and Petsmore.com, enjoyed brisk business as people and dogs walked in and out of the booths. Among all the hustle and bustle, a smart Alsatian had parked himself firmly in front of a rack of treats, sniffing hopefully. A demonstration by the Malaysian National Animal Welfare Foundation (MNAWF) had dogs and their handlers playing “Sit and stay out of sight”. The dogs were supposed to sit still as their trainers walked away, out of their sight. Under the blazing 11am sun, most of the dogs were restless and only one obeyed his master. A collie crawled a few steps forward before standing up. Rebuked by a trainer, it sat again before walking away, as if to say “Yeah, sure, all of you sit here and sweat, I’ve got better things to do.” Which just goes to show that however much you train an animal, it still possesses a mind of its own.

While the stalls were interesting and the activities fun, the best part of the event was just watching the dogs. Most of them were very sociable, eagerly sniffing other dogs and wagging their tails excitedly at people. Billy, a tiny Chihuahua of seven months, refused to leave the sanctuary of his master’s arms. “He’s not like this at home,” said owner Ivan Low, looking fondly at his dog and laughing. “He usually runs around the house like a wild animal. But I think he’s feeling insecure today — he’s so timid and scared now. We have to carry him everywhere here.” Ivan was not complaining when he carried Billy to the winner’s circle of The Mummification activity — they took home the first prize of their lap. The race required the owners to bandage their dogs. The dogs had to run to a statue at the end of a straight track where the owners would then unwrap the dog and bandage the statue instead. Everyone couldn’t help but laugh at Billy — the tiny dog was completely buried underneath his bandages. Despite that, he reached the finishing line first. There was also Toffee who trotted into the area. One of the few dogs obedient enough to run around unleashed, the small 11-month-old Shih Tzu dogged her master’s footsteps as he walked around the field. Even when I tried calling to her to see if she’d stray from his side, she just wagged her tail at me and turned her big eyes back on him.

Two great Siberian Huskies, one with an especially shaggy coat, panted heavily under the shade of a tree nearby. The heat and humidity must have really been getting to them, and their owners were forced to fan them to keep them cool.

Towards the end of a field, a funny makeshift maze had been set up to form the Master Hunt. What looked like broom handles and tarp were used to create a short maze with hip-high walls for dogs to find their way out of, with obstacles such as tyres placed at random points. The dog finding its way out of the maze in the shortest time would win. Most dogs were average, getting distracted by the obstacles or seemingly losing their sense of direction. A huge brown African Mastiff then took its turn. His mistress, Cheah Siew Yen, walked on the outside of the maze as she called his name but JarJar (short for JarJarBinks) appeared to have hit a dead end. He panicked for a second, and looked up with soft brown eyes to reassure himself that his mistress was still there. Taking a turn and hitting another dead end, the dog apparently decided enough was enough. JarJar jumped over the makeshift wall (bringing it down in the process) and ran to nuzzle and lick his mistress.

“He hates being away from me, even for a little while,” said Siew Yen, 27, stroking the mastiff’s large head. “I’m training him myself but it’s difficult when he refuses to leave my side. I didn’t expect him to jump out like that though!” As if to show up his large friend, an adorable Pomeranian-Spitz entered the maze. Barely acknowledging the obstacles, he used his sharp ears to follow his owner’s voice and, within seconds, was being patted and fussed over by his proud owner.

“He did very well today,” said Danny Loke Kean Peng, 37. “I train him myself and it’s very easy as he has a high attention span. He won a prize at the Master Hunt last year.” After watching a few more dogs fail to beat the Pomeranian-Spitz’s time, we decided to investigate the other games and stumbled upon the highlight of Dogathon 2010: the agility sport.

An unleashed dog is put through an obstacle course with jumps and climbs, and is guided on the sequence by its owner. The owner can only instruct the dog verbally or using gestures, and is not allowed to touch either the dog or the obstacle. It’s a thrilling sport to watch, and the dog who completes a clean run in the fastest time is declared the winner. It tests the agility, obedience and confidence of the dog, as well as the owner’s control over it.

Here, the event was divided into a few categories including mini (small), maxi (large), male and female dogs. The small dogs were fun to watch, but it was the big dogs that took my breath away. It was hard to believe that such huge, lumbering animals could jump so neatly through hoops and over bars. Even more amazing was a line of poles that the dogs had to weave in and out of — sort of like the way you drive around cones at a defensive driving course. Most did it very well, weaving quickly and gracefully, but for some reason, all of them didn’t finish the few poles at the end until commanded to do so by their owners. Again, the bigger dogs were wonderful to watch here, wriggling through the poles easily.

Groovy, a brown and white Jack Russell Terrier, took home a prize for the female category. Owner Mun Yee said she had trained the dog herself before enrolling her into an agility school. “She performed really well today,” said Mun Yee, carrying the panting dog. “She’s so excited to learn. She really enjoys doing this.” The same rings through for most of the other dogs. While agility training must be tough — the dogs have to be disciplined enough to learn — it’s apparent that they all loved running, jumping and climbing through the course. The dogs also seemed to understand how they performed — a few who stumbled over obstacles left the field looking dejected, tails down.

The same could hardly be said about two Belgian Shepherds (also known as Malinois) who were tied to a tent pole while owner Choy Seng Kah went to register them. BJ, 3, barked furiously as Hannah, 5, was led to the ring first. Wishing her luck, perhaps?.

Watching Hannah run through the field was astounding. She performed with lightning precision and grace, slicing through the air as she tackled bars, hoops and an A-frame with practiced ease. This was definitely an experienced dog; the slightest nod from her owner was all she needed to guide her through the right sequence. The crowd murmured in awe as she neatly danced through the poles, her lean body weaving in and out easily without missing a step.

BJ was next but he appeared a little over-excited, skipping out of Choy’s hand as the owner tried to control him. He barked furiously at Hannah, tail wagging eagerly. A sharp command from Choy stilled him and he waited restlessly to start. A blow of the whistle and BJ was off. He wasn’t as precise as Hannah, but the younger dog obviously had a lot of potential.

“I trained them myself and I joined a club to use its facilities,” said Choy, 62, who had been raising and training dogs for over 20 years. “Both are Malaysian champions in agility, conformation, obedience and shutzhund (protection).” Hannah and BJ had won first and second place respectively in the Basic Jumper and Jumper with Weave, and DJ also took home the Novice prize (the highest utility class competed that day). As we were turning to head back to the car park, we were stopped by an unusual sight. A huge Afghan Hound, long shiny coat gently sweeping the ground as it walked, passed by us. A Pomeranian, Miniature Shnauzer and a sweet-faced mongrel approached it curiously from different angles, probably wondering what this strange-looking carpet was doing impersonating a dog. The elegant hound merely glanced at them haughtily before posing for pictures with a few excited kids and stately walking away with its mistress.

Record-breaking gathering DOGATHON 2010, an annual event by the veterinary faculty of UPM and Veternak-Zoologico, saw a record-breaking 1,100 dogs in attendance. Malaysia’s Book of Records cited the event as the Largest Gathering of Canines, beating the previous record of 600 dogs (Dogathon 2008).

Funds raised at the event are used to support Pro-Kasih, an organisation that strives for the better welfare of stray animals. Aside from educating the public on the responsibilities of owning a dog, it also aims to highlight the fun one can have with man’s best friend.

Known for its fun themes, Dogathon 2010’s was “Ancient Egypt” following the trend of hosting flamboyant themes in its past years such as “Carnival Canines — Tails Up... It’s Showtime” (2009), “Kings and Castles: A Loyal Dog is a Royal Dog” (2007) and “Pirates All Paws on Deck” (2006).

Read more: Family: Canine carnival http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Family_Caninecarnival/Article#ixzz0weRfXmvz

Leptospirosis detected in dogs, too

JOHOR BARU: Dogs are not spared the scourge of leptospirosis, a bacterial disease caused by exposure to infected rat urine which had claimed eight human lives in Pahang and one in Kedah in two months.

Veterinarian Dr Lee Ee Liang told the New Straits Times that there had been four cases of dogs dying from leptospirosis at his clinic in Nusa Bistari here in the past two weeks.

Symptoms of the disease include loss of appetite, diarrhoea and fatigue, with the infected dog slowly turning yellow from its eyes to the entire body.

Due to the surge in the number of cases, dog owners are advised to keep a close watch on their pets' health.

Dr Lee said the bacterial incubation period in animals was from two to 20 days. In its acute stage, the dog's liver and kidney would be damaged.

Household pets get infected by drinking or eating from their bowl where a rat may have shared the food or urinated into it.

The disease is then transmitted to humans through cuts in the skin, eyes or from the mucous membranes such as the inside of the nose.

Johor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals chairman Dr Edwin Singam, who is also a veterinarian, said he received about 10 cases of dogs infected with leptospirosis each week of late, of which eight per cent of them died.

"My advice to dog owners is not to leave leftover food and water overnight as rats may urinate into it.

"Diners at eateries are also advised to wipe the fork, spoon, chopsticks and rim of glasses before using them as one can never tell if a rat had contaminated the utensils."

Read more: Leptospirosis detected in dogs, too http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/18lept/Article#ixzz0wYsgoit7

Happy Friday The 13th!

It could be argued that he's lucky to be alive.

The Daily Telegraph reports that at precisely 1:13 p.m. (or 13:13), an ambulance in the county of Suffolk in east England attended to a 13-year-old boy that was struck by lightning on Friday 13th.

The unidentified teen was taken to hospital where country ambulance officer Jason Gillingham told the paper, "This was a very minor burn to the boy's shoulder, but he was conveyed to hospital and is recovering well."

The boy was attending an air show put on by the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team in the town of Lowestoft when a thunderstorm suddenly rolled in. Another teen and a woman were also hit by lightning but they did not require hospital treatment.

The next Friday 13th is May 2011.

Selamat Berpuasa!

Would like to wish everyone Selamat Berpuasa!