October 2018

We've all heard the phrase, what a difference a day can make.   The September board meeting was scheduled for two days and the first day started with a glitch and the second day ended in tragedy.  

The first day of meetings had to be relocated to a conference room in a hotel close by.  It seemed that the City of Toronto provided short notice for essential construction in the area that would prohibit access to the head office that day.  Not to be fazed, the staff adjusted accordingly, found a suitable alternative, packing up the meeting equipment, the Board and other visitors were redirected to the temporary location.  Visitors that day included the 2018 Honourary Chair, representation from the CDJA, a past Board Chair and students from the Ivey School of Business.   The students are engaged with CKC in a consultative project to support our strategic plan for 2019-2021.

Junior Handlers from across Canada will be competing for the title of Best Overall Junior of 2017 in their discipline, Conformation or Obedience, at the CKC Junior Handling National Championships hosted bythe Battle River Canine Association in Camrose, Alberta on October 27^th, 2018.

The event starts at 11 a.m. with Obedience followed by Conformation.  The Obedience champion wins a $1,000 bursary. The Conformation champion wins a $2500 bursary to attend Crufts’ International Junior Handling Competition. Back in 2014, CKC National Champion Colton O’Shea won this competition and it was an enormous thrill to see Canada do so well on an international level.

You’ve waited and waited. You’ve picked a name (or at least narrowed the list down) and already have a collar, leash and tons of toys ready. With only a few days before you go pick up your gorgeous new pup from her breeder’s home, it’s crucial to get down to the business of preparing your home for her arrival.

For the safety of your puppy and also for the good of your personal property, it pays to have some puppy-proofing done before your new bundle of joys comes home to you.  Below are 9 of my top tips to get you started on “pre puppy-proofing”.

Once again Agility Team Canada has crossed an ocean to wow the world with their incredible talent. The Agility World Championship was held in Kristianstad, Sweden from October 4th through 7th.
Team Canada stepped to the line on Day 1 for Team Jumping. An electric atmosphere was present from the first dog to the last dog. Up first was Large Dog Team lead off by Jessica Patterson and Lux. Lux had an unfortunate off course to a tunnel and earned a disqualification. Next up was Susan Garrett with Momentum. 

The holidays are a wonderful time to give thanks for all the blessing in our lives, including our awesome dogs. While Thanksgiving is a celebration enjoyed across the country, the holiday does present some safety concerns for our four legged friends.

The majority of the action at any Thanksgiving celebration happens in the kitchen. Cooking a Thanksgiving feast is busy work and having a dog around your feet can be very dangerous. You could trip over them and seriously injury both the dog and yourself. You could also drop something hazardous and before you can grab it, it’s ingested by a curious pup

When turning one, a puppy (depending on breed) is normally very close to their adult size and weight. By one, most dogs will have all of their permanent teeth and adult coat. We at ‘The Dish’ imagine ourselves being a puppy and it turns out that just like a puppy, we’ve done a lot of growing in our one year of existence.
 
It seems like it was just yesterday that we debuted our first blog post ‘On my side of the desk’ – a behind the scenes perspective on the inner workings of the CKC written by Executive Director Lance Novak. From ‘My side of the desk’ to safety tips, to interviews--The Dish has covered a number of topics.

Canada is home to two species of skunk. The most common is the Stripped Skunk (like Pepé Le Pew) which can be found across the country and the second is the Spotted Skunk which can be found in the southern British Columbia. Although the Spotted Skunk is slightly smaller than the Stripped Skunk, both are very similar.

Although shy, skunks are very adaptable and show no discrimination when picking a place to live as they can be found in both rural and urban areas as long as they have a nearby source of water. Skunks will either make a new home by using their long claws to dig a den or they will reside in an abandoned den built by another animal, such as a fox. You might also find skunks in aboveground places like in hollow logs, woodpiles, or in brushes. It’s also quite common for skunks to build their homes close to humans underneath porches, houses, garages. A skunk will use grass, hay or leaves to line its home when it lives in a den. A skunk’s den often contains one to three chambers, and there may be up to five entrances, each about eight inches in diameter.