January/February 2011 Issue – Finland

Trevor and Diana Fenton, Australia
Aust Ch Touchstones Blu WrenOhoriglen (imp USA)

Wally and Ruthann McCaulley

View Wally’s agility run click here

Wally and I wish everyone a very Happy New Year!
Ruthann McCaulley

Hello from Belgium,

Thank you for the wonderful Job you are doing with the realization of the Newsletter.
It is always a pleasure to read your interesting articles and I am learning a lot,
moreover the photos are beautiful .  All of your work is making the
Newsletter so attractive. Congratulations.

Our Best Wishes to all the Members too.

Best regards,

Marie-Francis and Cartoon
“Heirs of Oz”

All genes come in pairs: one from the sire and one from the dam.  Each gene in the pair is called an allele.  If both alleles in a pair are of the same type, the gene pair is homozygous.  If the two alleles are different, the gene pair is heterozygous.  While each dog can have a maximum of two different alleles at a gene pair, many different alleles are potentially available to be part of the gene pair.  The greater the number of alleles that are available at each gene pair (called genetic polymorphism), the greater the genetic diversity of the breed.

If there is no breed diversity in a gene pair, but the particular homozygous gene that is present is not detrimental, there is no negative effect on breed health.  The characteristics that make a breed reproduce true to its standard are, in fact, based on nonvariable (that is, homozygous) gene pairs.

The origins of breeds have a lot to do with genetic diversity.  A breed established with a working phenotype tends to have diverse founder origins, and significant diversity.  Even with substantial population bottlenecks, the breed can maintain considerable amounts of genetic diversity.  This was shown in a molecular genetic study of the Chinook breed, which was reduced to 11 modern founders in 1981.  Breeds established by inbreeding on a limited number of related founder individuals could have reduced diversity.  Many breeds have also gone through diversity reducing bottlenecks, such as occurred during World War II.  For most of these breeds, their gene pools have expanded through breeding for many generations, resulting in a stable population of healthy dogs.

There are two factors that must be considered when evaluating genetic diversity and health issues in a breed: the average level of inbreeding, and detrimental recessive genes.  With a small population, there is a tendency to find higher average inbreeding coefficients due to the relatedness between dogs from common ancestors.  There is, however, no specific level or percentage of inbreeding that causes impaired health or vigor.  The problems that inbreeding depression cause in purebred populations stem from the effects of deleterious recessive genes.  If the founding population of a breed produces a high frequency of a deleterious recessive gene, then the breed will have issues with that disorder. This can be seen as smaller litter size, increased neonatal death, high frequency genetic disease, or impaired immunity.  If these issues are present then the breed needs to seriously consider limited genetic diversity.

The issue of high average inbreeding coefficients is one that all breeds go through during their foundation.  As the population increases and the average relatedness of dogs goes down (based on a fixed number of generations), the average inbreeding coefficient for the breed will go down.  The effect of initially higher inbreeding coefficients in small population breeds will depend on the presence of deleterious recessive genes that will be expressed when homozygous.
Some breeders discourage linebreeding and promote outbreeding in an attempt to protect genetic diversity in their breed.  It is not the type of matings utilized (linebreeding or outbreeding) that causes the loss of genes from a breed gene pool.  Rather, loss of genes occurs through selection: the use and non-use of offspring.  If a breed starts narrowing their focus to breeding stock from a limited number of lines, then a loss of genetic diversity will occur.

The process of maintaining healthy lines, with many breeders crossing between lines and breeding back as they see fit, maintains diversity in the gene pool.  If some breeders outbreed, and some linebreed to certain dogs that they favor while others linebreed to other dogs that they favor, then breedwide genetic diversity is maintained.  It is the varied opinion of breeders as to what constitutes the ideal dog, and their selection of breeding stock based on their opinions, that maintains breed diversity.

The most important factor for diminished genetic diversity in dog breeds is the popular sire syndrome.  The overuse of a popular sire beyond a reasonable contribution through frequent breedings significantly skews the gene pool in his direction, and reduces the diversity of the gene pool.  Any genes that he possesses – whether positive or negative – will increase in frequency.  Through this founder’s effect, breed-related genetic disease can occur.  Another insidious effect of the popular sire syndrome is the loss of genetic contribution from quality, unrelated males who are not used for breeding.  There is a finite number of quality bitches bred each year.  If one male is used in an inordinate amount of matings, there will be fewer females left for these quality males that should be contributing to the gene pool.  The popular sire syndrome is a significant factor in both populous breeds and breeds with small populations.

The best methods for ensuring the health and diversity of any breed’s gene pool are to: 1) Avoid the popular sire syndrome. 2) Utilize quality dogs from the breadth of your population to expand the gene pool. 3) Monitor genetic health issues through regular health surveys.  4) Do genetic testing for breed-related disorders.  5) Participate in open health registries, such as CHIC (www.caninehealthinfo.org) to manage genetic disorders.

This article can be reprinted with the written permission from the author:  jerold.bell@tufts.edu

“Have a Very Merry Christmas!”

Merry Christmas
Deborah Wolbach & Chuck Bessant

The AKC Canine Health Foundation is very thankful for the support of Australian Terrier International.  We recognize that ATI has developed a unique model for sharing health information and the betterment of your breed throughout the world.  What you have accomplished in a short time for a breed with relatively small numbers is commendable.  Thank you for your recent support of two hemangiosarcoma grants.   We look forward to the continued success of ATI and the strengthening partnership with the Foundation as we work together to help prevent, treat and cure canine disease.  Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year to you and all your canine companions!

Sincerely,
Terry T. Warren, Ph.D., J.D,
CEO and General Counsel of the AKC Canine Health Foundation.

ATI Your Money at Work – Researching Hemangiosarcomas

To learn about Hemangiosarcoma, we have a fabulous paper written in easy to understand way authored by Dr. Jaime Modiano at the University of Minnesota.
To read or download and print, click here.

Grant 1429: Mechanistic Relationship of IL-8 in Cell Proliferation and Survival of Canine Hemangiosarcoma
Grant Amount: $100,000
Dr. Jaime F Modiano, VMD PhD, University of Minnesota

ATI Donated $2500

Abstract (written by the investigator):
New insights into the mechanisms that control tumor progression have provoked considerable interest in the interaction of cancer cells with their microenvironment. Specifically, a molecule called IL-8 that can support tumor growth and survival, also recruits inflammatory cells and promotes blood vessel formation in the local tumor environment, enhances resistance to therapy, and facilitates metastasis in various aggressive cancers. Hemangiosarcoma (HSA) is an incurable, highly metastatic cancer that occurs commonly in dogs. There is virtually nothing known about how tumor cells and the microenvironment interact with each other in HSA, and more specifically, a role for IL-8 has not been investigated. In a recent study funded by CHF grant 422, we showed upregulation of IL-8 was a consistent feature that distinguished HSA cells from non-malignant endothelial cells, suggesting IL-8 might play a significant role in this disease. For this project, we will characterize the direct effects of IL-8 on HSA cells, an essential first step in the process to establish if and how this pleotropic molecule modulates disease progression. Our results will begin to clarify the importance of IL-8 production by HSA cells, and provide the foundation for subsequent studies to define its role regulating interactions between HSA cells and their microenvironment.

Grant 1139: Immune Targeting of Canine Hemangiosarcoma Using a Canine Derived Single Chain Antibody Approach
Grant Amount: $123,125.4
Dr. Nicola J Mason, BVetMed, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

ATI Donated $2500

Abstract:
Background: Canine hemangiosarcoma is a common and highly aggressive tumor of blood vessels that is often fatal. At diagnosis most dogs have evidence of metastatic disease and despite chemotherapy, survival times rarely exceed 6 months. New approaches to the treatment of this disease are needed. The use of monoclonal antibodies and antibody fragments to directly target different tumors has shown promise in clinical trials in man.

Objective: This project aims to use a new canine synthetic antibody system to target the tumor and deliver cytotoxic agents directly to both primary and metastatic lesions. Using advanced molecular techniques, the researchers intend to review antibody responses that dogs with hemangiosarcoma may make against their own tumors and use these as a template to generate canine antibody fragments that specifically recognize tumor particles. Tumor-specific antibody fragments will be linked to an exotoxin and evaluated for their ability to kill canine hemangiosarcoma cells in vitro. This allows for the direct delivery of cytotoxic agents to the tumor, which decreases side effects and increases therapeutic value. This work aims to develop the first canine-derived, tumor-specific targeting approach for the treatment of HSA and to provide proof-of-principal for this approach that can then be used to therapeutically target many other tumor types in this species in vivo.

Dear ATI,

The written instructions are precise and easy to follow for a novice like me.  But the photos are the best part of the guide because they allow you to actually see the procedure that is described.  With instructions for grooming either for “pet” or “show” you can choose which technique works better for your situation.

This is a great addition to my pet care library and an answer to something I have wanted for years.  The only thing missing is that no one addressed how I can convince Ozzie that this is a good thing!

Thanks to ATI for making this available and for fast delivery!
Sincerely,
Dianne Wall, owned by Ozzie

to order your grooming CD click here

“The three boys and all of Kennel Blue Ayers wish all Aussie people
a very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year”

We also want to thank you for your great work with ATI, it’s a pleasure to read and we love all the wonderful pictures you put in it.

Louis, Luna,
Marius, Sofus, Deborah and Jorgen Gronlund
Denmark

Henny van den Berg The Netherlands

Happy Holidays to Everyone
Wishing you the best in 2011.
Darlene Evans
Tera-K Kennels USA

Dog Walking Jacket  $250.00
I want one of these! Click above to see all the great features.

4 in 1 Jacket:

Jacket Specific Features:

·    2 Outer Hand Warming Pockets
·    2 Outer Speciality Cargo Pockets
·    2 Outer chest pockets
·    Easy Access Sleeve Pocket
·    Fully adjustable Fold-in Collar Hood w/ Extending Water Dispersing Visor and Cinch Cord
·    Stand up collar Neck Protection
·    Elastic and Velcro® Adjustable Cuffs
·    Reflective Piping and Printing
·    Internal Waist Cinch Cord
·    Internal Fleece Chest Pocket
·    2 Internal Shell Mesh Chest Pockets
·    Hidden Retractable Key Chain
·    Back mesh pocket
·    Removable sleeves, labeled “R”, “L” for easy attachment

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Doggy High Chair  $599.00

Let your Aussie eat in high style with the family.
While this may put our conformation people into heart failure many of us love our Aussies and indulge them. With fabulous steps so your Aussie can seat himself for his meal, this chair can have personalized bowls added.

This gorgeous doggie high chair is hand painted by artist Talin. This incredible conversation piece enables your pet to eat and drink neatly at the table without making a mess. Each Bone Appetit Seat is constructed of solid wood and hand painted with a Talin original design. The “bone” back opens like a doggie door  and there are little steps up the rear of the chair so your Aussie can climb up by himself. The seat can support up to 30 pounds.

Seat Dimensions:
From the floor to the chair seat: 21″
From floor to top of chair back: 37″
Seat Size: 22″ x 17″
Tray Size: 22″ x 10″
Length from chair back to inside edge of tray: 21″
(Chairs are constructed from poplar wood.)

For more information or to order direct
click below:

Please mention ATI

http://www.boneappetitseat.com/

After January they will be available in ATI’s Aussie Market Store.

_______________________________________________________________________

The Comfy Cone By All Four Paws
Be prepared. This soft cone is something we all might need one day.
Very comfortable for your
special dog. They will love you for it.
Click Here for International Locations

Comfy Cone Medium (neck size 11-15″) $18.99

__________________________________________________________________________
 Doggy Thermometer
For More Information, click above.
$89.99

Now available – the ThermoPet™ Non-Contact Thermometer for Dogs that delivers accurate results immediately – without touching your pet!
This device provides you with a non-invasive way to take your dog or cat’s temperature – quickly and accurately – without laying a hand on your pet! It requires almost no set-up, comes fully assembled, and is easy to use.
Remember, you should never make decisions about your pet’s health without first consulting your veterinarian.

– Season’s Eatings and Peas-on-Earth Cakes –

½ cup cooked brown rice – 120 ml
¼ cup frozen peas, thawed –  60 ml
¼ cup cooked chicken shredded – 60 ml
1 egg
2 tablespoon plain breadcrumbs – 30 ml
2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley – 30 ml
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil – 15 ml
Salt and pepper (for the people portions)

1.   In a medium bowl, stir together the rice peas, chicken, egg, breadcrumbs and parsley. Form into four 2 ½ inch or 6.4 cm patties.
2.   In a medium sized skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken patties and cook turning once until golden-brown, 6 to 7 minutes.  Remove from the pan and let cool slightly. Season the people portions to taste with salt and pepper.

Season People portions to taste with salt and pepper.

From Every Day with Rachel Ray   www.rachelraymag.com

Happy Holiday Everyone!
Kim Floyd and my Aussies
Johmanda Kennels
Australian Terriers & Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs

Rest Easy is truly based 100% on all-natural ingredients, being one of, if
not the only, TRUE GREEN product on the market (pyrethrins, which are in many bedbug products, are actually based on synthetic chemicals that are only similar
to natural ingredients.)

Rest Easy meets full requirements of the USDA for use around
organic food processing.

Rest Easy, due to the EPA’s recognition of its ingredients’ safety,
meets all requirements for exemption from classical pesticide registration
as having minimum risk.

Rest Easy is an optimized blend of natural ingredients that have been recognized for controlling insects for 1,000’s of years.

Rest Easy is extremely safe around children and pets
(the worst threat of Rest Easy is a little, temporary skin irritation.)

Common pyrethrins/pyrethroids are: neurotoxins that can cause permanent nerve damage-probable endocrine disruptors, which raise the risk of birth defects, hormonal imbalances, and even leukemia.

Rest Easy is HIGHLY effective, killing 90% of bedbugs within 2 seconds of contact, and the rest within 30 minutes (a study by one of the two leading universities on bedbugs indicates that pyrethrins/pyrethroids are NOT effective.)

Rest Easy, while providing a repellent effect as long as the vapors from
treatment continue to give off a cinnamon scent, which is usually one week,
does not leave long-term, hazardous residuals.

Commonly used pyrethroids can leave hazardous residuals for longer than one year!

Rest Easy is extremely cost-effective in addressing an embarrassing
and unhealthy problem.

Rest Easy offers a simple-to-apply option for repetitive, effective treatments that can be used by non-professional applicators and individuals.

Rest Easy has also shown good efficacy against other flying and crawling insects.
Rest Easy has a pleasant cinnamon-like aroma.

For more information click here.
Currently this product is carried at all Bed, Bath and Beyond Stoes and also at Walgreens.com. For a complete list of resellers click on the link above.

Pet Acoustics, Inc., a company dedicated to bringing products to market that bring balance and well being to the animals that share their lives with us, announces the Pet Acoustics My Pet Speaker. This innovative speaker is the world’s first sound system designed to cater specifically to the hearing sensitivities of dogs, cats, and horses.

Co-Founder of Pet Acoustics and a leading authority on music for animals, Janet Marlow has created a revolutionary speaker system designed for your pets’ delicate hearing. With their acute sense, our pets can hear frequencies that are both much higher and much lower than what the human ear is capable of hearing. Sounds outside of an animals normal comfort range can startle or cause discomfort to our pets.

Designed to eliminate these unsettling frequencies, My Pet Speaker features an Omni directional speaker with a 4″ drive unit and cone reflector which disburses the music in 360 degrees recreating how animals hear in nature. By producing limited frequencies and featuring a soft bass design for listening comfort, your pets will not be startled or disturbed by jarring volumes and piercing sounds that put them on alert. My Pet Speaker keeps these alarming frequencies within the comfort range of your pet’s hearing. This allows you to use your entire music library to fill you and your pets’ environment with a sense of calm and relaxation.

My Pet Speaker features include:

· Omni directional speaker and 4″ drive unit with cone reflector disburses music for 360 degree sound
· Soft bass design for listening comfort
· Backside buttons to avoid pets contact with operation panel
· Stable base design to prevent easy knock down by pets
· Attractive real wood veneers for home and commercial decor
· Works with any music device, including mp3 player, CD player, iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPod that include a 3.5mm output jack
· Frequency response 200Hz ~ 12KHz
· 12.5in [D] x 9.84in [W] x 12.6in [H]
· 5Kg (net weight excluding transformer) 11.02 lbs

· Pet owners can also download Pet Acoustics iPhone Application to create the ultimate pet sanctuary at home, at the vet, or even in the car. Unveiled in October of 2009, the Pet Acoustics’ Application includes multiple tracks composed for you and your pets. My Pet Speaker coupled with the Pet Acoustics Application provides music and sounds that are tailored to fit the pitch, tone, frequency, and volume level for a pet’s vulnerable hearing.

We are now carrying My Pet Speaker in the Australian Terrier Market.
For more information from the company click here.

Happy Holidays
Happy New Year
Janet Maas
Akiba Kennels USA

If something happened to you…

Would your pets starve to death?

Would anyone know that you may need help?

Would your family know where to find your important documents?

Would your family know the passwords to your accounts?

Would there be anything that you don’t want left unsaid?

Would you have the last word in an argument?

GHOSTMEMO can help! With a GHOSTMEMO account, you can prepare emergency messages to be sent to your emergency contacts in case you become unresponsive (due to death, coma, loss of consciousness, kidnapping, immobility, or any other reason).

To determine if you are “alive and well”, GHOSTMEMO will prompt you periodically by email. If you fail to respond to these email prompts within a designated time period (set by you) then we will assume the worst and deliver your emergency messages to your emergency contacts.

Signup for GHOSTMEMO’s online life monitoring service to provide an additional layer of insurance for your family, friends, pets, and yourself. GHOSTMEMO may even end up saving your life!

The Founders who believed in us and contributed so generously,  we salute you and thank you. You will be a critical factor in keeping our breed sound and healthy.
Our  International Contributors and Writers, thank you so much. Thank you for your time and for sharing your photos, your stories and your thoughts. Without your help we could not be a success.
Our facebook friends, thank you for sharing your thoughts and your fabulous photos. It’s so much fun to stay in daily contact.
My co-founders, Theresa Goiffon, angel extraordinaire, thank you for webmaster skills, your hard work, the Junior interviews and articles, your dedication and your friendship.
Cheryl Mechalke, uber angel, thank you for always coming through with the photos and the great recipes and craft corner. You are so creative and we all benefit from your zany ideas and you bring a smile to so many every time they open the newsletter.
Dianne Wall, my special angel, my proofreader, membership chair, my friend who never sleeps the night before the newsletter goes out. Thank you for all you do.
Jennie Worthing, at 95 years young and going strong, she sent birthday cards to our paid members, as her donation and contribution
to making ATI a warm and friendly place. Her friendship, her knowledge and her sassy attitude has kept us all laughing. If I refer to her as an angel it might not be pretty, but keep it a secret, she really is.
Sue Holsinger, thank you for all you did to get us up and rolling. We really could not have done this, if not for your Aussie expertise and support. Thank you so much for chairing education. It was a tough year for you and we are so happy you have found happiness.
Janet Maas, statistics angel and queen. Thank you for providing us with your up to date statistics, even during your tragic fire. Thank you for also sharing your vast historical collection with us. Congratulations for breeding “Zeb’s” father, “Flash”. We know how rightly proud you are of Zeb’s amazing accomplishments.
Ruthann McCaulley, I thank you and Wally the Wonderdog so much for your fabulous angelic rally instruction.

Internationally, I just want to say a special thank you to:
In Finland: Kirsi Ola, Irma Harden, Minna Kaartinen & Satu Virtanen.
In Sweden: Carin Sandahl, Ulla-Britt Norgren, Agneta Simonsson and Lars Strom, Tina Nordgren.
In the UK: Brenda Brown, Doreen Simpkins, Sheila Stoddart and Lynne Jennings.
In Belgium: Marie-Francis Petry.
The Netherlands: Henny van den Berg.
In Denmark: Irene Thye, Deborah Sommer and Jorgen Gronlund and Bethina Gade.
In New Zealand: Andy Johnstone.
In Germany: Barbara Schmidt and Ute Scheinkoenig.
In Australia: Gillian Bartlett  and Diana Fenton.
In the USA: Sabine Baker, Marcia Gray, Jeannine Johnson, Deborah Wolbach and Chusck Bessant, Errol Stone, Hal Wilcox , Darlene Evans, Sue Bachman, Heather Rife, DVM,  Devorah Sperber, Logan Huebing , Alana Mathison, Ellie and Lydia Goiffon.

I want to share with you that during the holidays, there is a special kindness and gentleness of spirit that goes with this special time of year.
ATI, our Angels, our special friends, our new puppy owners have provided me with that feeling all year long. I have never met a kinder more loving group of people.

I want to also thank everyone at Canine Health Foundation. What a dedicated group of fabulous people I get to work with there.

May 2011 bring you and your beloved Aussies all the happiness, joy, love, laughter, puppy or dog kisses that you can handle.

Pamela Levy

We hope you had a Happy Hanukkah.

Merry Christmas to all our ATI  friends!
Wishing everyone a Healthy New Year!
Luisa Bustamante and Miles
USA

http://www.AustralianTerrierInternational.org

*We included all pictures sent to us. If you do not see yours we are so very sorry but we did not receive it.

*iPad users may not have all the photos open. We do not know why that is happening. Try clicking on the buttons at the top of the email or the one below to open in a different window.
We will also have the pdf on the website.

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