Eclampsia

ECLAMPSIA
Candy, my little Maltese, was 60 days into her pregnancy, it had been a good pregnancy, and I could feel her puppies moving quite vigorously. On the Saturday 2nd November, she seemed to suddenly quieten down, she would not eat, or drink and her temperature was 38.5. Rather strange behaviour, but I thought it best to leave her to se what progressed. By the time I went to bed she was still lying next to me, breathing gently, and although she appeared to be in a deep sleep, she was not agitated.
At 2.20am I was woken up by a terrible scream, she was swaying her head from side to side, the fit only lasted a few seconds, and she then settled down to sleep again, an hour later she had the second fit. Oh my god I thought this is Eclampsia, I knew that it was imperative that I get calcium into her blood stream, and not having calcium injections, I missed a spoon of Cal sup into half a cup of water and syringed this into her mouth, she swallowed it all and again fell asleep, at 4 am she had another fit, but not as bad as the first two. I again gave her the cal sup mixture and again she settled down to sleep. But she was still not right, as she slept her head was in a thrown back position and her back legs were stiff, there were no contractions at this time. At 6am she started to have slight pushing contractions and these carried on for almost 2 hours. She still appeared to be in a comatose state. At 8.15am she gave birth to her first puppy, I revived the puppy and offered it to her but she was not interested in it at all.
As our Vet only opened at 9am, we took her over and waited for him. When he arrived I explained to him her condition, and he agreed with as to the trouble. While examining her before and X-ray was taken, she screamed again and then gave birth to her 2nd puppy. Once the Vet had taken the X-rays in which we could see another 5 puppies still to come, He put her on a drip, of glucose, into which he injected Calcium gluconate, and Oxytocin. During the day she recovered enough to take interest in her puppies and delivered another 4 healthy puppies, but by 4pm she still had not give birth to the 7th one, it was then decided to do a caesarean Section, and to spay her at the same time, due to a malfunction which showed up on her heart in the X-ray.
The 7th puppy was very weak but alive, and was put into the incubator with the others. Candy was then allowed home with her puppies.
These were fed by tube every 2 hours while their mother slept. This morning they all appeared well and candy was much better, although still very weak, she had started to take note of her babies, and was cleaning them. They were put to her teats and allowed to suck. I gave them a tube feed before I left for work. Knowing that my son would watch over them during the day and if anything went wrong, he would take them to the vet.
Eclampsia is a lack of Calcium in the Blood, which can lead to fits, coma and death, this usually occurs in small and medium bitches, but can affect any bitch, either before or even after whelping. It is not very common but is very dangerous, when it does occur. Emergency treatment must be sort after as soon as possible.
Post script: 4.7.2004
A week ago my little maltese bitch Roxy gave birth to 5 lovely puppies, but tonight things started to go horribly wrong, she became very restless and would not attend to her puppies refusing to go near them or feed them, she would not eat of drink and her gums and tongue went a bright color red, immediately this started to happen instead of panicking I started to give her Cal Phos tablets 2 every 10minutes I gave her a rescue tablet as well, When she started to pant and breathe rather to quickly for my liking, I made strong black coffee and put a lot of sugar into it, this I feed her with a syringe into her mouth and she was able to swollow it with no problems, I wraped her in a cold damp towel to bring her temperature down which helped dramatically, there was almost an immediate response for the better in her condition. Her Eclampsia started at about 10pm and with out a car I was unable to get her to an emergency hospital, I kept up the treatment until 4am in the morning, when she started to breathe easier and settled down with her puppies, as her heart beat slowed to a normal rate, and she looked more comfortable, she eventually went to sleep, exhausted but breathing normally and temperature normal. During the day I continued to give her 2 Cal Phos tablets every 2 hours, and that evening she ate all her food as well as a bowl of milk and then a plate of scrambled egg. To day I gave her a Niacin tablet which contains 234 mg of Calcium phosphate,100 mg Niacin,8mg Vegetable Steanic Acid, 4mg Vegetable Cellulose, she has recovered and is eating well and feeding her puppies. Yes I took her life into my hands, and with the help of her protector she is much better and is her loving self again.

The horrors of the infared lamp

Melushka looking for the cats

THE HORRORS OF THE INFRARED LAMP
In May a few years ago, my Bitch Meltari Chrystal Gazer was expecting a litter from Meltari blue Denim. The weather was turning cooler and my heating pad I had used for years had finally packed up. All the books I have on puppy rearing suggest the use of the infrared lamp, saying this was the best way of keeping young puppies warm, so instead of buying another heating pad, I bought an infrared lamp from the chemist.

My bitch's litter of nine puppies were born but two died soon after birth. The rest survived and were kept warm under the infrared lamp. No, unknown to me, I sued a medicated infrared lamp, not knowing at the time you could buy a special lamp for keeping puppies or chickens warm. I left the lamp on all night and turned it on periodically during the day when the weather turned chilly - never knowing the damage I was causing my lovely puppies and their mother.
My puppies thrived and grew and soon their eyes were open. All of them had bright blue eyes and as they grew the blue did not fade away very much. Only two puppies' eyes eventually turned brown at six weeks of age. I took my bitch puppy Meltari Melushka to the vet and on careful examination he pronounced her blind in both eyes. The corneas were badly damaged and he suggested I put her down and it was possibly a genetic disability.
Well I went through my puppy's pedigrees to try to trace this blindness but all dogs on both sides were of sound bloodlines and there was no blindness. I did not destroy my puppy and today although she cannot see, she can find her way around like any Chow with sight. I telephoned S.A. Phillips to get a replacement globe for my infrared lamp. The gentleman I spoke to was horrified when I told him what I wanted " You cannot use a medicated lamp on small puppies, you need an incubator lam" was what he said. Suddenly it struck me; Melushka's blindness was not a genetic fault by my fault for using an incorrect infrared lamp. I phoned my Vet and spoke to him about my discovery and he agreed immediately with me. It was the rays of the infrared lamp that had burned the corneas of the whole litter of puppies abut somehow my puppy received more than the others. There were three puppies that developed white spots on their corneas, my blind puppy, only one had clear eyes and two were blind in one eye. This was terrible and all puppies were given away to people who wanted them. Their mother Chrystal, because of receiving such a large dose of infrared has lost all the hair on her chest and tummy. I am horrified at the dangers of a medicated infrared lamp. Don't trust your chemist for providing the correct lamp. They may also not know the difference. Rather get professional advise on where to buy the correct item from S.A. Phillips or use a heating pad which is far safer for you precious litter.

You all read about the devastating effect of the infrared lamp on my puppies. Now I am going to tell you about my blind chow, "Melushka".
She was the pick of the litter, a lovely sturdy puppy with good bone and a lovely head; only we did not know that she would never be able to see.
As a tiny puppy she won every one's heart. When we realised there was something very wrong with her sight, I took her to my vet who confirmed my fears and suggested that we put her down. She was then 8 Weeks old. Instead I asked him to inoculate her as I would be keeping her, blind or not she was a Chow and one of mine.
As the months went past, we watched her grow from a tiny puppy, which at first would stumble around the garden finding her feet, but soon learnt where every obstacle was that she might bump into. In her rush around the yard, she soon learned that her best friends were my three cats. She would gleefully sniff them out and the chase was on. She flew around the garden after them. Looking at her you would never think this lovely chow was totally blind. She has never seen the sun or the trees and really has no idea what the cats look like. Many a time, when the cats were well and truly cornered, they would jump over my garden fence. She was not perturbed by their actions and would stand with her two front paws balanced on the fence. She was not perturbed by their actions and would stand with her two front paws balance on the fence "looking" over to see if they were anywhere within reach. While she was still very young, I also got Charlie, a black Maltese Cross Toy Poodle to be her companion. She loved Charlie and when they are together, follows him around the garden. It's like having a guide dog for a blind dog. They have always got on very well together.
Two weeks ago Melushka had to have one of her eyes removed as she had developed glaucoma in it. It was unsightly to look at. I thought it would be better if it were not there at all. She sailed through the operation and although my Vet said it was a difficult operation as the eyeball itself was a big as a golf ball and full of fluid, he thought that infection might set in and that he would have to put her down. But again she proved him wrong and she healed very quickly and was soon getting around even better than before. Without the pain and the weight of a very bad eye, the cats are now even more aware of her. You would never think that she was blind unless you look at her eyes. She is a truly lovely young 18-month-old chow and so far she has coped extremely well with her disability. And I am sure she will cope very well with anything put in her way. On a sad ending note of Melushkas life I had to put her down at the age of 8 years because she developed cancer in her throat.

THE MATING OF LADY AND LEO
I wish to thank the following members who helped me in the very frustrating job of mating two very Novice Chow Chow's.
Many thanks to Andries and Lia Du Toit, Mr & Mrs Myburg and Mr and Mrs Zwang, for their offer to help as well. I think you are all very wonderful people and I don't know what I would have done without all of you.
I also wish to thank Mr Skidmore for allowing me to mate Lady Loretta with Leo, even though it took almost four hours, half a dozen beers and a few cigarettes. Oh what a night, I will never forget it.
Lady produced her first two gorgeous puppies, Midnight and Leo's son a lovely red and a lovely black.
MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS
Many of you "oldies" may remember the story of how Rick and I were so frustrated when we tried to mate our very first two sill Chow's, "Lady" and "Leo" and had to eventually call in the help of the Chow Club to get these two dogs together. It was only after the kind assistance of Coen Myburg and Andries du Toit that we made thing happen. Out of this union were born two male puppies "Leo's son" and "Midnight". We showed them at shows as puppies and Midnight was sold at the age of 5 months. "Sonny" as we called him was sold to a Mrs Annamarie Balmer. These puppies were born on the 17th April 1984. At the time of writing this story 10 years ago and to day "2nd May 1994" I received a very unexpected phone call. Annamarie Balmer phoned me at work, after getting my number from the Chow Club. What a wonderful surprise she had for me! "Sonny" now called "Leo" had just become a father for the first time to a young bitch they call "Kama". He sired a magnificent litter of 5 bitches and 3 dogs. All doing very well. This was his very first mating and I really feel that this could be a record. i.e. his age and the number of puppies born for his age!
I know that he is truly loved and cared for by the Balmers and I am so very proud to be a grandmother to his puppies! He was our very first.

Reaching out

REACHING OUT
For the last few days, my mind has been playing tricks with me, I found my self constantly thinking about my "Skye's" sister, "Bortei Sidgen", whom I sold to two young men when she was 8 weeks old. I have not seen her as she has grown up, but something nagged me so I tried to phone her owners. The phone was disconnected.
To day at lunchtime, 19 January 1995, tow of my friends from work and I decided to spend our lunch hour at the Kloof S. P.C.A. We often do this at lunchtime, as we all love the animals. Well today was no exception. We first went and said hello to the cats and the kittens then slowly made our way to the dogs available for adoption. There were all sorts, a lot of nice staffies etc. then Jo, who was looking at another cage called me,"Carol there is a Chow here" Well I ran to the cage and my heart almost stopped when I saw her. She looked so much like my "Sharin", she could be her daughter, and I ran to the office to Enquirer if she had a pedigree. "Yes" the lady, said a very good one. "May I see it I asked" To my surprise I found my name as the breeder. She was the bitch I had been worrying about for the last week "Her owner died suddenly " I was told." I am Mrs. Mc Intyre Dewrance" I explained to them, that I was the breeder and that I have copies of her papers. "I want her back, but not spayed, I told them" I was told that they would have to speak to Dr Pringle the Chairman of the S.P.C.A. and also whether I could prove that I am her breeder. I explained that I will show them my Kennel Union Registration number and I will bring it to them.
I then went to her kennel and went inside, at first she was a little nervous, but soon settled down with me when I spoke to her,"Sidgen" I said "I'm coming to get you tomorrow". I rubbed my face against her soft cheek and because her kennel was very hot, no shade at all, I put a choke chain onto her and took her out for a walk. I then put her back into her kennel.
I went back to work and immediately phoned Dr Pringle and explained to him what I had told the S.P.C.A. he said he would consider my request not to spay her and that I must phone back sometime later. When I phoned back later I was told the wonderful news, "She is yours, you can come and get her" I was so thrilled I burst into tears. I was getting my baby back even though she is now 20 months old. I know she will produce lovely puppies one day with Baxter and I will have her in the show ring as soon as possible.
"De JA Vu" or what ever it's called. "Sidgen " reached out to me in her time f trouble and I felt it. I know she will be happy and soon settle down in her birth home.
Sidgen has settled down very well. You would think she had never spent 20 months of her young life away from home. She is lovely, and has a marvelous nature and loves me as much as I love her. She will be my Chow forever.
PostScript 5th Dec 200l.
Sidgen will be 10years old next year and like her sister Skye she is still getting around not as much as she used to because of arthritis in her hind legs but she is still with us and still loved very much.

Apollo and snake bite

SNAKE BITE; Not many Chow breeders go through this traumatic experience but it can and does happen.
The date is Thursday night 18.11.93.
I allow Apollo and Monique out of their kennel run each night, so that they can sleep on the veranda by the front door. On Thursday night it was no different, in the morning as usual I then put them back into their kennel for the day. Neither of them are energetic dogs nor therefor do not run all over the grounds as the younger Chows do. When I got home from work on Friday I noticed that Apollo was not standing on his left leg, and after questioning both Rick and Robin as to his activities during the day they both said that neither of them noticed anything unusual. I examined his leg and found it to be very swollen, presuming that he might have strained a ligament; I gave him an Indocid tablet with his supper of which he only ate half. On the Saturday morning I took him over to the Vet, who after examining him agreed with me that he had hurt his leg and put him onto a course of anti inflammatory tablets to reduce the swelling and the pain. I took him home and put him straight back into his kennel, with strict instructions that he was to rest his leg as much as possible. I gave him his tablets with a small amount of food and again tried to feed him his supper, which he was not interested in. The following morning he appeared to be worse, he was not very keen to walk on his led, I again examined it and to my horror found that his glands in his groin were very swollen he had a very high temperature and when I lifted him to see if he could stand he collapsed, I called Rick and showed him the swelling saying that if this was a ligament problem he should be able to stand and not collapse as he did. I immediately realized that this was a very dangerous situation and a snake had possibly bitten that he. Possibly a small Night Adder, I phoned every Vet in the book and eventually found a Doctor in Hillcrest where we immediately took him. By this time Apollo was battling to breathe he could not even lift his head or his body he was in a comatose state, the doctor examined him and immediately agreed with me that a snake had bitten him, and due to the large swelling of the groin this was the possible entrance of the fang bite. He was put onto a drip and placed in the intensive care ward. He managed to survive the night but was still not out of danger when I phoned the Vet at 9am on Monday. I again phoned him at 5pm when I got home to be told that his temperature had gone down and the drip had been removed, He was able to stand, but not on the swollen leg, The Doctor said he was very depressed, and when he slept he snored all the time, He was afraid that Apollo might be getting respiratory complications. He said he thought Apollo's face looked rather puffy, but then he had never worked on chow before, I explained that most Chows snore, and that Apollo's bone structure was normal and that he did have rather big cheeks. The Vet assured me that he was better than he had been in the morning, but he would like me to go up and see him on Tuesday after work to help his access him, and his condition and that I must phone to see how he was doing in the morning, and that hopefully he would be able to hold out through the night. Although in a very critical condition he said he thought that Apollo would survive this bite. It's Tuesday morning the date is the 23.11.93 and its been 5 days since Apollo was bitten by a night adder, this morning when I phoned the Vet, he said that Apollo had had a good night although he had snored all night. He had eaten a little chicken for breakfast, and was standing up on all four legs. When I got to the hospital this evening I saw a remarkable change in my very sick dog, from almost being a dead dog, to come to me when I opened his cage, and stood up on all four legs and even wagged his tail, he then placed his lovely head on my lap as I sat in his kennel on the floor next to him. He was so happy to see me, and I think he was so grateful to still be alive, he tried to follow me out the Hospital ward door, and was still very shaky on his legs, I put him back into the kennel an told him that I would see him tomorrow. I then spoke to the Vet whom said that he would like to do a thyroid test on him tomorrow and that hey would like to keep him in another day to make sure that here was no relapse. Apollo was nearly just one of the many Chows to walk in Doggy heaven, but thanks to a wonderful medical team he is not going to be in Heaven until the right time comes.
Wednesday 24.11.93 I phoned this morning and the Vet told me that he felt that Apollo would be better off at home, due to bad depression. I picked him up this evening, he was still very confused and we took him home. On arrival at home I allowed him to take a short walk in the garden allowing him to urinate, you could actually see a smile on his face when he suddenly realized that he was really at home, he wagged his tail and had a very short walk around and then Rick picked him up and carried him inside, and put him into the Shower room, where I had made a cozy bed for him, hopeing that he would sleep there and settle down, I gave him a small amount of supper which he heartily ate as he had refused to eat anything at the hospital, I then allowed him to eat what Tasha had Left, a good meal for a dog that had not eaten in 6 days. He is still very weak but I am sure he will grow stronger each day now he is at home. The swelling in his leg has gone down and the only swelling now is where the actual snake bite is, but this has considerably reduced from the size of a tennis ball to the size of a ping pong ball, he is still not very happy about walking on the leg but does try his best to get up without help, which is very difficult on the bathroom floor. The Vet has given him tablet to take that should set him on the path to full recovery.
30.11.93 It has been a week now since Apollo came home from the hospital, his condition has improved very slowly and today he was able to stand for a few minutes on his damaged leg. He is still taking anti-inflammatory tablets and shall do so for the next week, I have put him back into his kennel as he appears much happier there with Monique, He is eating well and looks much better. I have now put him onto a course of Arnica tablets which I think had helped in his recovery, I also rubbed his leg every day with Arnica ointment, these are available at your local pharmacy, and I advise anyone who has dogs to keep a supply of them at home, they reduce swelling, sprains, bruising and inflammation, they are truly a wonder tablet. This will be a long procedure for Apollo but I know that he will regain his strength in his leg. I shall follow this up with a report next week to inform the progress he has made.
Apollo has improved tremendously since he has been on the Arnica tablets, and although his leg is still weak he is now walking slowly around our garden on all fours.
APOLLO
I know this is a very touchy subject to write about, and I know I have written about it before in chapter one, but feel that this story and the follow up in Afrikaans by Mrs. L Naude are an essential part of my book.
Over the years we have lost some of the best dogs in the Chow World, To Gastric Torsion. The first I knew of was "Adoons" Andries du Toit's male, then my "Halley" died suddenly, "Sheila" of Johan Naude used to suffer from gastric torsion, "toper" Cheryl Ann's lovely dog, and then my dear old "Lady", "Tinkerbell" of Coen Myburg, "Benjie" Elize Greens imported male and also "Suster" of Tom Putter, as well as our beloved "Tangerine dream - Tangie" owned by Alma and Andrew, Toppie van Niekerk also lost number of Chows due to gastric torsion, and as I have said, a great loss to all of us.
Now I know that once this happens there is very little that can be done, but on Thursday night when I got home from work all my dogs appeared fine, I fed them at five and allowed them out to do their business before settling them down for the night. At 9pm I heard a terrible scream from "Apollo's" kennel, I rushed outside to see what was the matter, all the time with the fear of the dreadful Bloat in the back of my mind. I was right, his belly was blown up like an over size football, ready to explode. I knew if I could not reduce it in size he would die, we did not even have time to get him to the emergency Vet in Westville, as he would have died by the time we got him down the drive. I screamed for Rick and Robin to help me, We cut a piece of hose pipe and while Robin held "Apollo's" mouth open with a piece of wood, I battled a few times to get the hose down his throat into his stomach, It seemed to take hours, but only a few seconds had passed when we heard the sound of air escaping through the tube. Rick pressed gently on his belly helping to expel the excessive gasses that had built up so quickly. I gave no thought to what other damage the hosepipe might cause; I just knew I had to reduce the gas if I wanted my dog to live.
Within five minutes the belly of my dog had reduced to almost normal, I gave him a massive dose of Arnica to reduce swelling, bruising and shock and allowed him to sleep inside during the night, I stayed up with him the whole night to see that it won't happen again and also that he did not suffer a heart attack.
The following morning, I took him over to our Vet who examined him and said that he was a very lucky chow to have me, as he would have died if I had tried to move him. A hosepipe was all I was able to think of too release the gasses he had built up. To prevent this from happening again he is now being fed a mixture of food that is liquidated into a pulp to aid his digestive system. He has a limited amount of food per day and his water intake is restricted before and after meals. I did not allow him to eat anything for 24 hours after bloating and today, a week later he is back to normal.
Bloat is something, which I know now, is to be treated immediately on the spot, you do not have time to wait for a Vet or even get to a Vet. This is how I lost my "Halley". Any flexible tubing inserted through his mouth into the stomach will help to reduce the gas built up, but unfortunately if left to long or a car trip could cause the stomach to turn and this will cause the death of your dog. Try to save him before moving him, fast thinking, no fuss and fast work and you dog may live to see many more happy years. I hope and pray that Apollo will and that my little story will be able to save maybe one Chow chow out there. Please don't be afraid to try this treatment on your own, Your Chow is a valuable member of your family and his life must be save if at all possible.
In die lig van bogenoemde artikel, wil ek ook net graag iets ontrent"bloat" kwytraak. Eerstens did is seker die aakligste dood wat 'n hond kan sterf. Dit is ontsettend pynlik en soos Carol gese het indien verligting niebinne sekondes of 'n minuut to twee bebring kan word nie, slaan die hond se maag on en sterf hy binne 10 minute.
On whet die gavel met "Sheila" 'n swart chow tee wat Gerald net nadat sy 'n werpsel kleintjies gehad het(as die kleintjies sowat 'n week oud is) "ge bloat" het. Gelukkig was ons elke keer tuis on na haar om te sien. Die pyp waarvan Carol gepraat het werk uitstekend, Dis is miskien 'n goeie idee om so 'n stuk pyp, wat van 'n sagte tekstuur moet wees on maklik kan buig ann te skaf vir die wis en onwis (verkrygbaar by die Veears). Wees eerder voorbereid as om in die middel van die nag; terwyl jy deur die slaap is to wonder wat moet ek nou doen.
Nog'n metode om die gas uit die maag te laat ontsnap is deur gebruik te maak van 'n hol naald (verkrybaar by die Veearts) was dan so 2 sentimeter onder die laaste ribbebeen
van die hond ingedruk word. Die hond moet op sy sy geplaas word en voel dan met die hande waar die laaste rib is en ongeveer twee sentimeter verder (in die maag) word die naald dan ingedruk en die opgeboude gasse ontsnap dan deur die hol naald. Die hond moet egter nadat die gasse ontsnap het so spoedig moontlik by 'n Veearts kom sodat daar vasgestel kan word of daar enige verder skade was en of die maag nie dalk omgeslaan het nie.
In "Sheila" se geval het haar maag die eerste maal werklik omgeslaan en moes die Veerats opereer om dit weer reg te draai. Dit was net blote geluk dat ons haar nie verloor het nie. He het aan ons verduidelik dat die maag in sy opgeswelde posisie soos 'n ballon is wat vol water gemaak is, as die hond enigsins sou beweeg gedurende hierdie "vol" toestand dan draai die maag om, in welke geval die gasse glad nie kan ontsnap nie en die giftige gasse in die ingewande versprei word. Lewerskade word ook op die manier opgedoen.
Hierdie toestand het " Sheila" net oorgekom nadat sy kleintjies gehad het en op 'n vrag aan die Veearts waarom, het hy gese dat verskeie faktore daartoe kan bydra. Onder andere to groot maaltye (tewe vreet gewoonlik meer as gewoonlik nadat hulle kleintjies gehad het) en daarna drink hulle te veel water. Nog 'n oorsaak is te veel oefening (rondhardloop, speel ens.) nadat hulle geeet het. Spanning by sommige honde kan dit ook veroorsaak deurdat spanning veroorsaak dat die maag gasse vrystel wat dan opbou en sodoende die toestand veroorsaak.
Die oplossing is on te sorg dat die hond eerder twee of drie kleiner maaltye per dg kry as een groot maaltyd. Maak ook seker dat jou hond nie 'n groot doeveelheid water op 'n slag drink nie. Voorsien eerder 'n kleiner waterbak en sien toe dat die bak altyd vol vars water is en dan natuurlik, maak seker dat daar nie gespeel word of rondgehardloop na maaltye nie.
"Bloat" ge beur gewoonlik in die laat-aand of nag wanneer almal slaap en as jy nie 'n ligte slaper is nie, tel jy jou hond die volgende dag dood op. Wanneer die toestand ontstaan sal die hond op 'n baie vreemde manier begin "skreeu-blaf-tjank". Ek wet nie wat om dit anders to noem nie, jy sal dadelik agterkom dat daar groot fout is en dat die diere in geweldige pyn verkeer.
Ek hoop van harte nie dat hiedie toestand enige verder Chows in ons geledere sal tref nie. Soo Carol gese het, dit is 'n groot verlies vir die Chowwereld. Prgtige honde, ingeevoerde honde is all o die maniere dood en dit wil al lyk of dit ongelukkig iets is wat die Chows nogal gereeld tref. As jou hond dit eenmaal gehad het en jy kon hom deurhaal, kan jy maar seker wees jy sal hom voortaan soos 'n valk moet dophou want die kanse dat dit weer met hom sal gebeur is 99% party honde isgeneig daartoe ander nie.
Die belangrikste van alles is, is om nie die hond water of medisyne to probeer injaag of om hom onnodig te beweeg nie. Moenie paniekbevange raak nie, as jy die pyp of hol naald byderhand het gebruik dit en wanneer dar verligting is kan die hond beweeg word of no 'n Veearts gebring word.
Sterkte!
Leana Naude

Meltari Midnight

Middies first adventure

MIDDIES FIRST ADVENTURE.
BY
Mrs. Sue Forgan
Having been a Chow Chow owner for 13 years, of two dignified and stately animals did not however prepare me for the advent of Meltari Midnight. "Midnight " or "Midi" as we fondly call him, arrived at our home five months ago. He was four months old then and very cuddly looking, as Chow Chow puppies usually are. The problem was that he was unapproachable. He barked viciously and bit too! It took a very wary three weeks to win his confidence but eventually he saw things our way and decided we were not planning anything - other than love and devotion.
He ate voraciously and bloomed, with much pampering and plenty of exercise. We thought he as growing into a very good dog and thoughts turned to the show ring. We walked him on his leash, gave a few commands to obey and watched him going from strength to strength. As the date for the open show at Goldfields drew closer, we groomed him more often and more thoroughly, and bathed him and groomed some more.
Eventually the big day arrived. We were quite nervous, my husband and I, as we had never shown a dog before. Looking at the opponent puppy, made us more nervous and we thought- "ah well, he probably will be placed second, it is experience for him". So imagine our joy and elation when he was chosen as best puppy, and given 3 Seconds in S.A. Bred, Open and Novice sections respectively. Our apologies if we overdid the joyous bit, but we were so delighted! Here's hoping he will improve and grow even more delightful as time passes, and use this opportunity to compliment other Chow owners on their gorgeous dogs!