Irish Wolfhound Health is a website where you can register your heart test results, past and present, especially your "Golden Oldies". It would be invaluable to the future of the breed if you as pet owners would be so kind as to test your hounds and share your results. Click here for the link.
James Bond teamed with a very glamorous Bond girl and glasses of bubbly is a familiar concept to most people, but it is not often you picture them on a damp overcast afternoon, in a field in rural Lincolnshire with 30 Wolfhounds, raising money for research into osteosarcoma. On Sunday 14th June 2015 this unique combination did indeed come together with sensational results and not even the inclement weather could dampen the spirits of the participants. The Long Nose Day fun show is now in its 10th year and is a 2 day companion show organised by the Lincolnshire Greyhound Trust with the Saturday reserved for Greyhound only classes and the Sunday opened up to other breeds and novelty classes, plus various other canine activities such as giant dog agility, pet gundog scurry and speed jumping.
This year the Lincs Greyhound Trust kindly put on Wolfhound classes, both standard and novelty classes, with all class entry proceeds being donated to Wolfhound osteosarcoma research through the IWHG. Owners were invited to come along and enter classes on the day, with the hope of raising two or three hundred pounds maybe. What happened on the day was so phenomenal that the organisers were stunned at not only the amount of money raised, but the huge generosity and level of support shown by those who attended and also those who could not make it, but still wanted to show their commitment to the cause and made donations after the event. On the day, the class entries, raffle of several prizes, donations for cakes offered to all and just money ‘thrown in the bucket’ totalled £740 and at time of going to press, the current total is over a £1,300 and still rising!
Like all other such events, a large amount of hard work and organisation went into the show and the Wolfhound classes in particular and the afternoon was aimed at providing all the attendees with a real different ‘show’ experience and an outrageously good time. The James Bond theme for the classes was kicked off by the very glamorous judge, Caroline Sheppard (Goldswift) being escorted into the ring by her pair of 007 stewards, dressed in tuxedo’s and sporting sashes of Carl ‘the Cube’ Brown and Hugh ‘the Hair’ Broadbent, obviously to the classic theme tune of James Bond playing loudly in the background. This set the tone for the rest of the day and was greatly appreciated by all attending the show.
There are so many people that need to be thanked for their efforts, but the most important people are the owners that gave up their Sunday afternoon with their hounds (and some honorary hounds) and gave their all to support the show. Also a big vote of thanks to those generous people that donated raffle prizes and cakes (some of which were sold in the village hall and some of which were offered free, but with people kindly throwing money in the tin). Naturally, the cakes and raffle were only successful thanks to those at the show extending their generosity all afternoon.
At the end of the show there were some presentations of gifts made to thank the judge and stewards. Another very poignant moment was when a surprise presentation was made to Colleen Ellis in recognition of her amazing fundraising over the years through her beautiful fine art pastel portraits of dogs. Colleen has raised thousands of pounds with her artwork and donated all the proceeds to Irish Wolfhound Health/Rescue causes. Some other personal gift presentations were also made to others as a vote of thanks from Wolfhound owners.
We hope that this will now become an annual event in the Wolfhound calendar and that money can be raised for other issues/causes in the Breed.
If anyone wishes to make a donation then it’s not too late, follow this link to donate online: follow the link to the donations page
Thank you all for your participation and see you next year!
Thanks again to everyone who attended the heart testing session at Bonaforte over the last 3 days and a reminder for anyone that we couldn't accommodate this time round, that our next session at the farm will be in November. Again, just to reiterate, that there may well be a session through the Irish Wolfhound Health Group that could be more convenient for some owners in terms of timing and venue and if that is the case then Carla and Hugh will cover the cost and reimburse owners, so that any Wolfhound from Bonaforte still receives free heart tests for life - just send us an email to let us know.
Here is the link for the IWHG sessions: Irish Wolfhound Health Group
Please contact Sue Bevis if you have any problems or questions please email Sue Bevis at susanbevis@btinternet.com or phone 02380 891894 / 07794 113305.
A total of 47 dogs tested in 3 days at the Bonaforte Kennel - Wolfhounds at the heart of all we do
The latest heart testing session at Broadholme House Farm, which took place over 3 days from 18-20th April 2015, broke our own Kennel record for the number of dogs tested. Dr Serena E. Brownlie PhD BVM&S MRCVS Cert SAC, worked tirelessly heart testing 47 dogs in total. What a team effort from all our helpers and supporters who made this possible. We would like to express a huge vote of thanks to the owners that made the time and effort to bring their dog along for testing, your role and support on heart testing days is so important Although the majority of owners are now very familiar with heart testing their hounds, for some it was the first time they had seen the process in action and we are delighted that they did not find the experience too daunting.
Super-veteran tests clear and dancing on the table!
As with any event where owners gather along with their hounds, there were many highlight to the 3 days; one of which was the gorgeous Zena (Hermine von der Sillerquelle) testing clear at 8.5 year of age. Zena was also placed 2nd in Veteran Bitch class at Crufts 2015 under breed judge, Goran Bodegard. One of the joys of testing sessions at the Kennel is seeing some of our wonderful Wolfhounds coming back and visiting us again, with their equally outgoing owners and this weekend we were treated to a visit from the Bligh family with the lovely Ava (Bonaforte’s Enchanted). Ava became very excited when she was reunited with her brother, Bertie and her sister, Doozey and she couldn’t contain her enthusiasm and at one point jumped onto the patio table!
There was also a slightly tearful reunion when Laura’s owners, Vera and Charles, met the owners of one of Laura’s daughters. Laura sadly passed away in the New Year due to a soft tissue sarcoma, but her legacy lives on through her beautiful offspring. Although the loss of a hound is always a painful experience, at the Bonaforte Kennel the bereavement is shared by many and in that way the owners all find comfort and support from each other, especially when they can share the joy of seeing siblings or progeny and laugh about their antics.
Another moment that we had a giggle about was Bertie having his first heart test and when it came to having the ECG carried out we needed him to lie down. Bertie didn’t understand at first what Serena and the girls wanted him to do, but remembering that Carla had taught him to ‘get on his mat’, the girls reiterated the same command however he slowly looked around and couldn't find his mat! Once his mat had been found, Bertie promptly plonked his bottom down on it and rolled over to have the ECG! However, this incident, although very comical, did prove useful as it showed that owners can help by preparing their hounds for heart testing. If you could teach your hound to lie down on a bed or piece of vet bedding on command, that would be so helpful, in what can be a stressful situation for some. We would suggest that you then bring their "mat" to the next heart test session, it will be familiar, a comfort blanket in an environment where some of our hounds are unsure as to what is expected from them. Patience, Practise and Perseverance at home will pay dividends at heart testing.
Finally, again from all of us at Bonaforte, a long list of thank you’s; to Dr Serena Brownlie for doing all the testing, to Siobhan Simpson for coming over to take cheek swabs for the team at Nottingham Vet School, to the Bonaforte staff/helpers for assisting owners and dogs and, once again, to you fantastic owners that bring your dogs to be tested - keep them coming! Look out for our next dates in November 2015.
The complexities of heart disease can be very confusing for us all and so it is probably worthwhile owners refreshing themselves on the differences between heart anomalies, heart disease - Please see the article at at:http://www.bonaforte.com/heart-disease-in-irish-wolfhounds/
Magic Treatment for 12 Stone Dog
Photo courtesy of the Hucknall Dispatch.
Well at least that’s what the newspaper headline said! Our youngest Wolfhound, Presto (Heliodor Heypresto at Midnitecove) recently found himself in a predicament with his right knee and after a short period of intermittent lameness and exploratory examination and X-rays, he was diagnosed with cruciate ligament disease (often also referred to as spontaneous. Many breeds can suffer with knee issues and certainly the condition is not confined to giant breeds, but, as with many other aspects of giant breed ownership, a dog weighing over 80kg presents its own unique challenges in terms of treatment options and long term management. These days we are fortunate to have quite an array of surgical interventions available to treat cruciate ligament issues and the options fall into 2 main camps; those surgeries that seek to replace the failing ligament with a suture technique and also surgeries that aim to stabilise the knee by inserting different types of metalwork. Most orthopaedic vets tend to prefer the stabilisation techniques on larger dogs as they are generally stronger and less likely to encounter problems, considering the weight the knee carries and also the forces exerted on that joint. With Presto the operating vet (Mr Graham Oliver of East Midlands Referrals, Nottingham) opted for a TTA technique (Tibial Tuberosity Advancement), which involves cutting vertically into the tibial bone and inserting a metal wedge, which then advances the front of the tibia to prevent the femur slipping off. Once the wedge insert is in place, a metal plate is screwed into the two parts of the tibia to stabilise the bone and prevent splintering. Therefore the TTA procedure has always comprised of these two stages and needed both the metal insert and the stabilising plate.
A few months ago, thanks to advances in technology, a modified form of the TTA became available, where the metal insert and plate have effectively become combined into one item. The new invention is referred to as a ‘Rapid Cage’ and is made of titanium and is manufactured by means of printing on a 3D laser printer. Without the 3D printer this amazing new gadget would not be possible to manufacture, due to its intricacy and in particular, the fine metal meshwork/honeycomb that enables the dog’s own bone to grow into the insert and become a very strong fix. Not only does the Rapid Cage act as an insert to wedge the tibia and advance the front crest of the bone, but it also has integrated screw holes which enable the cage to be screwed into both sections of the tibia and therefore eliminating the requirement for an additional stabilising plate. In addition, the titanium and the honeycomb structure are biocompatible with the dog’s bone and aid a faster recovery and a far more stable, stronger and sustainable result. The recovery time after this type of procedure is still fairly lengthy, before the dog is able to return to full exercise and certainly for the first 4 weeks the dog should be restricted to the garden and not permitted to climb or jump onto, or down from, other surfaces. However, the dog is expected to be standing almost immediately after surgery and also independently mobile within 24 hours of the procedure. Often the dog owner has more issues in stopping their pet from overdoing it, rather than struggling to assist their dog to bear weight or walk. After the first month post-op, the dog can be exercised, starting very gently with 5 minute lead walks, three times a day and then gradually building up to longer walks. Once the bone has healed and the knee has stabilised then the joint should be almost as good as new, but the knee will be permanently bent and forward extension of that hind leg will not be possible. This surgical procedure certainly does not prevent the dog leading a happy and active life, able to walk and run and without such intervention, the prognosis for any giant breed with a failing cruciate ligament would be very limited, not only in terms of activities, but also in terms of duration.
For some time we have found the best solution to anyone thinking of having a Wolfhound from our Kennel, whether an experienced owner or a complete novice, to be to ask them to visit us and meet the dogs. Indeed, no prospective owners receive a Bonaforte hound without visiting us, prior to the usual checks. Up till now we have done this on a very much individual basis, arranging visits for people with full access to the Kennel and the dogs and often spending several hours with one lot of visitors. Naturally visitors always meet all the hounds and any of the Bonaforte Team that happen to be there at the time and occasionally they may be fortunate enough to visit when we have had an owner dropping in for a chat and to collect some dog food. Before Christmas we invited our owners to an ‘open house’ event as a purely social get together so we could all chat over some very nice food and drink prior to the hectic holiday period. This was such a huge hit with our owners that we thought we would try and combine the two types of event and hence the Bonaforte Open Day was born.
Wolfhounds are at the heart of everything we do
The united family of Bonaforte …………..www.bonaforte.com
A new dynamic………….. Friday 6th February 2015 was the date set for our first combination Kennel Open Day and it was a resounding success on all sides! Broadholme House Farm paid host to 3 lots of visitors and a gaggle (seems to be the most appropriate collective noun) of existing owners. Although the customary show round of the Kennel facilities and meeting the dogs still took place, things took on a different dynamic with the owners also assisting and chatting to visitors about their experiences and the different aspects of the Kennel. It was a delight to see the meeting of different people, from various walks of life, with a shared love of our magnificent breed. Along with the trips up the paddocks in the RTV with the hounds running alongside, there was also the opportunity to get up close and personal with the dogs and even a grooming demonstration for those people wondering about how to care for a Wolfhound coat and also owner thinking about showing and preparing their dog for the ring. Just like every other great party, the hub of activities eventually descended on the kitchen and we were all delighted to be offered some great refreshments (and cake….naturally) enjoying fabulous company and convivial surroundings. As some of our visitors had travelled considerable distances including Cornwall, we consider it only polite to ensure that they are ‘fed and watered’ before returning home! The Bonaforte Kennel will most definitely be hosting another similar event in the next few weeks, once Crufts is over and the weather has improved too, potentially early April and we envisage that this format will go from strength to strength?
Bonaforte’s Hocus Pocus at Baronfore
Here at Bonaforte we are always delighted to share show success with others and on Thursday 15th January 2015 one of the puppies bred by us was awarded Best Puppy in Breed at Manchester Championship Show, held at Staffordshire Showground. Hound judge, Mrs P Marton-Pollock, placed Portia (Bonaforte’s Hocus Pocus at Baronfore) 1st in Puppy Bitch class and then also awarded her overall Best Puppy against the Puppy Dog class winner. Portia is lovingly owned and adored by Lynda and Paul Flood of the Baronfore affix and came from what is now affectionately known as ‘the Mooselet litter’ (Backwoods Samuel von der Oelmuehle x Heliodor In the Mists of Time). At only just over 6 months old and it being her first time in the show ring, this was a monumental achievement by little Hocus Pocus and Lynda says that Portia was a dream to handle and loved strutting her stuff around the ring. Portia has always been very proud of herself, even as a young puppy, and when Lynda and Paul came to collect her, she entertained us all by prancing around the kitchen with a green trainer in her mouth! We are even more delighted than usual with this show success however, as we know that Lynda had a very challenging and difficult year in 2014, on all sorts of fronts, not least of all her own health and Portia has been a much welcomed source of fun and delight – after all, everyone needs a little Hocus Pocus in their life sometimes!
Bonaforte’s Hocus Pocus at Baronfore
Autumn heart testing session at Bonaforte: Serena has kindly agreed to come and heart test the hounds and will arrive on the weekend of 19th October for testing on Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st October. Please let me know as quickly as possible if you intend bringing one or several of your hounds. Remember that the dog must be 18 months of age or older and only requires testing if they have not been tested in the last 12 months or so (except any dogs asked to come back for a re-test). This will include hounds tested last November too, we needed to bring the testing forward a few weeks due to Serena's busy schedule. Please send an email to irishwolfhounds@bonaforte.com to book in for a session.
All Bonaforte hounds are tested free of charge (thanks to Carla's generosity), but anyone with a non-Bonaforte Wolfhound can also have their dog tested, however this will incur a charge of £50 and must be paid in advance and is non-refundable (please message or email me for further details about payment)
There is absolutely no excuse why a breeder should not share these certificates and the information they contain with you, other than to either hide the results, or they don't test in the first place.
Heart test certificates are filled out by the qualified Veterinary Cardiologist and given to the breeder/owners at the time of the examination and the results discussed. Please be aware that all three methods of examination are required and the Vet carrying out the examination needs to have specialist qualifications. If you truly love this breed and care about its future please only buy from responsible breeders who heart test and those who will share their hounds heart test results with you. You will need to see a valid certificate for both the Dam and the Sire.
All our Irish Wolfhound puppies are vet checked: heart, lungs, mouth, eyes, rear hind flection test and general health check, shunt tested, and their vaccination programme has been started.
Copies of our Irish Wolfhound Heart Test Certificates.
What you are looking for on the Heart Certificate are ticks in BOTH the NORMAL boxes on the lower half of the certificate. This is the all clear of a healthy hound on the day and one which can be used for breeding for 12 months from the date of testing. See below the certificates for both the Dam and the Sire of our litter and this will give you a good idea of what you are looking for. To be on the safe side we heart test all our hounds every 6 months. Do not accept an out of date certificate.
Gary Janssens and ,James, the Best in Group winner
20140307 Copyright onEdition 2014 ©
Crufts 2014 proved to be one of the most spectacular yet for the Irish Wolfhound community as Gary Janssens’ dog, James (GER/BEL/DUTCH/LUX CH Just in Time of First Avenue) did the hat trick of winning the Dog Challenge Certificate, Best of Breed and then Hound Group 1! Huge congratulations to Gary and to the First Avenue Kennel of Regine Vandamme in Belgium. Gary and James were fabulous ambassadors for the breed in the Best in Show final on the Sunday evening and we are all immensely proud of their achievement. If that was not enough, one of Gary’s other dogs also placed third in Postgraduate class (Kilmara of First Avenue) and Regine had two girls placed in Open Bitch (LUX CH Korinth and LUX CH Kacey of First Avenue). The Sunday final was the culmination of a very busy 4 days at Crufts and for many exhibitors there the actual judging day of Friday 7th March was exhausting enough, but with a colossal total of 154 entries and a very strong continental entry, some exhibitors had to cope with several days of travelling and preparation. Wolfhounds came from all over Europe and even further afield, but possibly the prize for the farthest travelled would go to Roni Weintrob who made the trip from Israel with her lovely girl Auryn. Crufts naturally drawers visitors from all over the globe and this year was no exception and lovely that as well as our European friends and colleagues there were also our friends from across the Pond too. There were so many winners on the day that need to be congratulated and for many different reasons. The magnificent UK bred Wolfhounds also competed very strongly with Best Puppy going to Debbie Tebbutt’s Caredig Cariad and the reserve Dog CC being won by Ballyphelan Blackadder (Pam and John Sumner). Jan Pain’s lovely girl CH Ravensbeech Fidelia did us all proud by winning Open Bitch and the Reserve Bitch CC and was only just pipped at the post for the Challenge Certificate by Hallelieuah Della Bassa Pavese, bred and owned by Ludovica Salamon from the famous Italian kennel. The Gartlove kennel from Scotland had fantastic wins in both Junior and Limit Bitch classes with 2 of their girls (Gartlove Gisella and Gartlove Ghlean Gordiana) and really had their hands full as they were running between the Irish Wolfhound ring and the Ibizan Hound ring, which weren’t even in the same hall. The lovely Scottish contingent also saw success with Linda Forret’s girl winning Veteran Bitch (Tarlog Lady Jane Grey over Tapsalteerie). Sandy Dawson (Shalico) also had her running shoes on from the Greyhound ring and back to Wolfhounds and had great success with her gorgeous boy winning a very tough Limit Dog class (Conmeryl Detroit by Shalico). Last, but by no means least, we must mention the phenomenal success this year of Elaine and Gary Bogart’s lovely boy, Ozy (Nellwyn’s Mr Ozymandias), who won not just one, but two classes, both Junior Dog and Yearling Dog – congratulations! Of course I must also mention the superb Bonaforte/Heliodor hounds and owners, many of whom qualified for this year’s Crufts – as a Kennel we are immensely proud of every single one of you and you know you will always have our unceasing support (not to mention first refusal rights on the cupcakes).
© Copyright 2014 All rights reserved
Published reproduced by kind permission of Ali Irvine & Bonaforte Irish Wolfhounds: www.bonaforte.com