Tuesday, June 30, 2009

TriValley Field Trial Grounds To Open This Fall !!

The Associated Bird Dog Clubs of Ohio had their annual meeting and picnic at the soon to be opened Tri Valley Wildlife Management Area in east-central Ohio this past Saturday. The weather was perfect for checking out the new grounds, with sunny skies and warm temperatures. Over 60 people representing several field trial clubs in Ohio were present. The area director for ODNR was on hand to make a short presentation and answer questions. Following his presentation, the attendees broke into several groups and rode the grounds; afterwards, all assembled in the soon to be completed clubhouse for the first ever meal at the new grounds!

Here are some short video clips of the day...

This clip is taken from the north end of the parking lot. The video begins with a shot to the north, showing the incoming drive; good shot of the parking facility... it's long and narrow, and will necessitate some coordinated parking for bigger trial. Lot has a good solid base of gravel, a bit rough but very stable. Steep drop-offs on each side, I would recommend chocking rigs as a safety measure. The grounds are very wide and open, and running an all-age dog will not be an issue here! While the video shows wide panaramas, there is a surprising number of objectives, once you get out on the grounds. There are definately a lot of places on the grounds that will hold birds. There are quail coveys on the grounds, part of an exchange program that was done in 2006, exchanging quial for turkey. Quail were heard calling throughout the day.

Out on the trail... (sorry about the jittering, I was on a horse!)... you can see that the cover is not overly thick (there has been no mowing on these grounds)... the area is reclaimed stripmine land, and the soil is poor, so vegetation is not too flush. The grounds are rolling, and they will give a horse a workout. There are a couple of lakes on the grounds, but access is questionable, depending upon how the courses will be laid out. There is a well at the clubhouse, but the well is running at only 1 GPM, so bringing water for horses and dogs will be highly advisable. The old kennels from Killdeer are being moved to this facility, so there will be dog kennels available. The clubhouse will have electric. Sorry I can't ID everyone in the video, but I do see some familiar faces... Tim McClurg, Chris Ryder, Randy Hopkins, Dave Hawk, Ed Bartlett, Brian Smith, Ted Goodyear...

First "official" meal and meeting at the clubhouse. Glad it wasn't raining !!

These grounds have a lot of potential... there needs to be a lot of work put in as well, as these grounds right now are just that... no courses yet, no mowed areas, things under construction. Looks like a great potential trial grounds for Ohio (and no mud!!)

Traveling to the area is an easy drive... mostly four lane or good 2 lane highways... the nearest town is Dresden Ohio. Do NOT use Rt. 666 to the south of the grounds... there is a bridge that is too low and narrow for a horse rig. Avoid Rt. 666 ! Otherwise, the roads to the area are good.

Al Faze

Here are some links of interest...

ABDCO website...

http://associatedbirddogclubsofohio.com/

Link to ODNR map of TriValley...

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/wild_resourcessubhomepage/WildlifeAreaMaps/SoutheastOhioWildlifeAreaMaps/TriValleyWildlifeArea/tabid/19975/Default.aspx

Yahoo Map for Dresden Ohio (the nearest town)...

http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=40.119923&lon=-82.010226&zoom=13&q1=dresden%2520ohio

Sunday, June 28, 2009

RED SETTERS IN PA SHELTER...


The Indiana County PA Humane Society has informed us that they recently seized a kennel in the Blairsville-Greensburg area with numerous red setters. The National Red Setter Field Trial Club is assisting the Humane Society in finding rescue homes for these dogs. The dogs are a variety of ages and sexes, and some have socialization issues (very shy) due to the conditions at the time they were seized. If you or someone you know has an interest in possibly adopting one of these dogs, please contact the Indiana County Humane Society.


Phone number: 724-465-3977/7387.
Email: questions@incohumanesociety.com

Our club is aware of the individual who was operating this kennel, and these dogs are true red setters; we would be confident to say that they probably have hunting ability, but obviously, will need some socialization and training work. Also, like any red setter, they will make great companion dogs given the opportunity. Thanks in advance for any assistance you might be able to offer.


There are pictures of the dogs available on the Humane Society website:




Thanks much,
Allen Fazenbaker
National Red Setter Field Trial Club

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

MAKE YOUR VOTE "RED" THIS YEAR!

IT'S TIME TO VOTE FOR THE HALL OF FAME CANDIDATES.

IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, YOU WILL RECEIVE TWO BALLOTS (BE SURE TO VOTE WITH BOTH OF THEM !!) FOR WORTHY CANDIDATES TO THE BIRD DOG HALL OF FAME.


PLEASE SUPPORT OUR WORTHY RED SETTERS:



BEARCAT



ABRA


ALSO, WE HAVE SEVERAL WORTHY INDIVIDUALS, ALL OF WHOM HAVE PLAYED AN IMPORTANT PART IN THE PUREST CHALLENGE, AND BY DOING SO, HAVE MADE A MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE BETTERMENT OF BIRD DOGS IN THIS COUNTRY. PLEASE CONSIDER CASTING YOUR VOTE FOR ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CANDIDATES:


BOB SCHWEIGER




JOHN EVANS




JACK CARTER




SHERRY EBERT




BE SURE TO VOTE!!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

He's One for One !!

Check out the Presidential Fly Killer on YouTube...





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-eVYH5R5Pw





PETA, responding to President Obama's "summary execution" of a fly, has reported sent him a complimentary "Humane Bug Catcher" (normally purchased for $8 from the PETA website)



The PETA Humane Fly Catcher


Another example of a wacko organization engaging in their search for reality.

Monday, June 15, 2009

(From "The Terrierman's Daily Dose" blogsite, June 15 2009)

A red setter on point


A commercial breeder of Jack Russell terriers for pet buyers writes to ask a question.She says she is very sincere about breeding for health and that she tries to get her hands on as much information as she can, and tests her dogs "for everything available."She goes on to note that "Temperament is important too... this is what means the most to me."She writes that she saw a TV segment (ABC's Nightline) in which I said that if people want to breed dogs that don't work, that's fine, but at least they should be breeding healthy dogs.But she's a bit puzzled.She always had the impression that I disliked the breeding of "working dogs" for the pet trade.From her end of the stick, however, it has always seemed to her that in this day and age most dogs are not wanted for work, and most dogs are merely companions.She concludes:
"I love the JRT and everything about them. And my passion is to genuinely breed proper dogs and skillfully match them up with families. I try to take what I know and apply it to raising nice family terriers. I just do not believe I should be ashamed for breeding them for pets and breeding them as best I know how. Do you have any thoughts for me on what I can and should be doing better?"A genuine question: What do you need to do to breed a healthy dog? And if a breeder is producing physically healthy dogs, isn't that enough?Here is my answer .... There are two aspects to health:
Physical health
Mental health
I will not go into physical health. I have written a lot about that in the past, and there is a search engine on this blog.That said, I have not talked too much about mental health, and it is the brain that is the most important part of the dog, especially the working dog.To begin with, let me say that I want all dogs to be
self-actualized.Self-actualized? What do I mean by this?Simple. I want the dog to live up to its full potential, to be in harmony with its place and circumstances, and to to be free of self-loathing, fear, and long-term psychological conflict.Step One on this road is to make sure the dog is properly socialized. How do you do this?Well, look at the word -- there's a hint there.Socialized.No dog can be properly socialized without being in society at least a few hours a day, especially during the first 9 months of its life.What this means is that good breeders do not have 50 breeding dogs in their kennels because they know they cannot properly socialize the progeny of 50-dogs, even if they can feed and water them and keep the kennel clean.Step Two involves respecting the code that is within the breed.This is where so many pet breeders -- and buyers -- fall down.You see, what makes a working dog is not the color of its coat, the lay of its tail, or the shape of its head -- it's the frantic morse-code of stimulus and impulse that is firing off within the dog.A border collie is not a border collie because of the way it looks, but because of that code.This is elementary. It is fundamental. It is basic.The code inside a working collie is different from that inside a working pointer or setter, and it is different from that inside of a working terrier.A scent hound and a sight hound are not just different looking -- the code inside them is different too.What does this mean for dog breeders and dog owners?It means that a dog that has been bred for generations to point birds in tall grass and brush should not be placed in a world of parking lots and city streets far from forest and field.It means that a working terrier should not be placed in a home with a hamster running endlessly on a tread mill and a caged parrot that squaks and flaps its wings in an inviting manner.It means that the code inside every working breed of dog should be acknowledged, respected and valued for what it is.And yet, how many breeders of working dogs are doing this?By definition, none that are breeding solely for pet homes.And in that disconnect is a lot of canine misery.The code inside herding dogs like the Border Collie, the Sheltie, and the Corgi tells them to "gather up the herd" and keep outsiders at bay.The code inside the Jack Russell tells them to kill the hamster, bark at all squirrels, dig up the yard, and kill the cat which looks and acts amazingly like a red fox.And yet if these dogs obey these instincts, they get into trouble!Yet if they ignore these instincts, they are repressing everything they are, and are ever meant to be.For the dog, it is a lose-lose situation.The result is predictable: Boat loads of Border Collies, Corgis and Shelties with free-floating anxiety. Flotillas of Jack Russell terriers waiting in rescue for anyone to give them a good home.Yes, surrogate work can be found for Border Collies and Jack Russell terriers.I have known collie owners to buy ducks and chickens for their dogs to herd, and for terrier owners to keep pet rats in their garage for their dogs to chase in go-to-ground tunnels buried in the back yard.More commonly, working terrier and collie owners turn to fly-ball, frisbee and agility to bleed off the steam building up inside their dogs.There is nothing wrong with fly-ball, frisbee or agility. Excellent stuff and good for the dogs. But let's be honest here, eh? Any dog can do these activities.What makes a border collie special is not frisbee or flyball -- it is what happens when sheep, cattle, or goats, or ducks are turned loose for them to herd.What makes a working terrier special is not that it will retrieve a ball -- it is what happens in the field, at the hole, when fomiddable quarry is found at the other end of the pipe.I am not against dog companion dogs, but if folks are looking for a companion dog, then get a companion dog!Please.There are scores of breeds, and millions of mixed breeds, suitable for no other purpose than companionship.Get one of those. I will not object.What I do object to is getting a highly charged hunting dog or herding dog and then expecting it to be something else.That's going to be about as successful as a bridesmaid going to Gay Pride Day in order to find the Man of Her Dreams."They are all so handsome," she thinks, "and I KNOW I can convert one of them to my side, if only I love him enough."Right.That's a program for misery, isn't it?And yet that happens all the time in the world of dogs (and humans too from what I can gather from reading the tabloids) .Bottom line: It's important for us to accept dogs for what they are.They are not surrogate children (see this post on that point), nor are they inanimate objects -- mere property.They are sentient beings, and we have a duty to them. That duty is not simply take care of their bodies while ignoring their minds.And to repeat and undescore the core point of this piece: The minds of all dogs are not alike.It's important for us to accept that different breeds of dogs come with different genetic codes, and that those genetic codes deserve to be unleashed.In short, the duty to dogs is not just to make sure dogs have physical health, but to make sure that they have mental health as well.In order to be able to deliver on that, we need to accept each breed of dog for what it is, and to not try to change it.Try not to change it. This last point is fundamental.It is about RESPECT.You cannot tell me you respect America in one breath, and then tell me you want America to give up all its values and history and cultural ideosyncracies in the next.You cannot tell me you respect Gay people in one breath, and then tell me you want to make them all Straight in the next.And you cannot tell me that you respect Jack Russell Terriers or Border Collies in one breath, but that you want to breed out everything that is their essence and reason for being on earth.To Hell with that.That's where I come from.That's where I stand. And that's how I identify my duty to the dogs.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Automatic Horse Trough Cleaner...

For those of you who know us personally, you're already familiar with one of our favorite long time red setters Finn McCool... Deb often refers to him in the Flushing Whip, (he's really her dog, I just got to "borrow" him when I went hunting), and he's a constant source of entertainment around the house. Finn spends most of his day outside with me. Now that school is out for a couple of months, I'm usually to be found outside trying to catch up on all the stuff that I couldn't do during the school year. So, while I'm working, Finn is "hunting." Now Finn doesn't much care what he's hunting, as long as he's hunting. Today, for example, he pointed a 4 ft. rat snake behind the house, several ground hogs, a couple of chipmunks, and several assorted amphibia around the pond that I couldn't identify. He's what I call a "versatile" dog. So, today, he decided that something was living in the bottom of the horse trough, so he spend well over an hour trying to retrieve it. Turns out he does a nice job of "scouring" the trough and removing the algae and sludge that has accumulated over the past few months. So, if you need your horse trough cleaned, I've got the dog that can do it.

By the way, he's a pretty good bird dog too... I shot several hundred pheasants over him back when I was still hunting. He's got a great nose and he's smart. But mostly, he's a great family member and a lot of fun!

Finn is out of Quail Ridge Gabe x Brophys Gilly Gal

Thanks to Ken Ruff and Frances Fountain for this enjoyable red setter!

Al Faze

Cleaning the horse trough...

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Dogs Outlawed In Los Angeles...


AKC Disqualification Shows Entire Nation The Danger of

Compromise, Apathy Or Agreeing To Biased Task Forces

by MARGO MILDE AND JOHN YATES American sporting Dog Alliance

http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org

asda@csonline.net

This report is archived at http://eaglerock814.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=44

LOS ANGELES, CA – It will be next to impossible to own a sexually intact registered dog or cat within the City of Los Angeles, if City Council approves a series of recommendations by the Spay/Neuter Advisory Committee in a March 30, 2009, report. These recommendations have been sent to Los Angeles City Council and to Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa in final form, the American Sporting Dog Alliance has documented. Action on the recommendations could happen at any time.

It already is illegal in Los Angeles to possess a sexually intact dog that is registered with the Field Dog Stud Book (FDSB), and the committee’s recommendations would cancel out current exemptions for approved show, field trial, performance and breeding dogs registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC), and also rare breed and smaller registries. The recommendations also may affect dogs registered with the United Kennel Club (UKC), and cats registered with the three top feline registries. Beginning this year, the ordinance has required all dogs and cats that did not qualify for an intact exemption to be spayed or neutered at the medically unsafe age of four months.

Now, however, it is clear that even these few exemptions are intended to be phased out, if recommendations from the committee are approved by the City Council. The committee’s recommendations also contain a series of “Catch 22’s” that would make it virtually impossible for the owner of an intact dog to maintain an exemption for competition, field trials and shows, even if the registry itself maintains its exemption, documents show.

The unfolding situation in Los Angeles gives dramatic and clear proof that the ultimate goal of all animal rights-inspired legislation is a step toward the elimination of animal ownership in America. Each law, ordinance and regulation is merely the first step toward a tightening of the noose in this incremental approach to making America a nation without dogs, cats and other domesticated animals. Each step is designed to lead to another, until no more animals are left.

For dog owners, it means that any compromise with animal rights activists is illogical, unwise and totally illusory. Dog owners who agree to negotiate, participate on task forces or committees that are stacked against them, compromise, cut deals, remain apathetic, or fail to fight hard for their rights in the political arena, are slitting their own throats. The only alternative is to fight back courageously against all animal rights legislation, and refuse to quit, surrender or compromise.

That lesson applies equally to all Americans who own dogs or cats, and has immediate meaning to Illinois, which has set up a task force to study new dog laws, and Maine and Santa Barbara, CA, which are now in the process of having the results rammed down their throats by task forces that were designed to have strong animal rights biases.

The Los Angeles Committee also provides a clear lesson to dog owners about how task forces and committees can be taken over by nonresident animal rights extremists, who now are incorporating these committees into their nationwide strategy. The American Sporting Dog Alliance first uncovered this strategy in the City of Dallas, TX, which passed a repressive spay/neuter mandate last year based on the recommendations of a committee with official status that pointedly excluded anyone who was not an animal rights activist.

The Los Angeles Committee includes at least one person who does not live in the city: noted animal rights extremist Judie Mancuso of Laguna Beach, CA. Mancuso was a major force behind last year’s failed effort to enact statewide mandatory spay/neuter legislation, and is leading efforts for legislation this year. Mancuso also works on mandatory sterilization issues nationwide, and recently testified in Chicago, where she claimed that these ordinances do not affect the availability of purebred dogs. The Los Angeles proposals contradict and discredit Mancuso’s statements in Chicago and elsewhere, and show clearly that her real goal is to eliminate purebred dogs.

Here are the Los Angeles Spay/Neuter Committee report’s highlights pertaining to owning intact purebred dogs.

Almost all of America’s dog and cat registries would be removed from the list of approved registries, because they do not have official policies to protect the health and soundness of dogs eligible for registration and used in breeding programs, as would be required by the new recommendations.

We see this requirement as a “Catch 22” that is impossible to fulfill, because the science of canine genetics is in its infancy and does not allow many conditions to be predicted accurately (and thus prevented), and the Los Angeles ordinance is essentially requiring registries to be liable (including financially liable) for the results of matings over which they have no real control. Private breeders of high quality dogs also would object to a distant registry taking control of their breeding decisions, if for no other reason than the fact that registry officials would have no first-hand knowledge of the dogs involved, their progeny or their ancestors.

Dogs registered by the American Kennel Club (AKC), which is the nation’s largest registry, could not be kept sexually intact or bred in Los Angeles if these recommendations are adopted. This also would apply to dogs registered through the American Dog Breeders Association (American pit bull terriers), the Continental Kennel Club, the American Rare Breed Association, the Australian Shepherd Club of America and the Dog Registry of America, and possibly cats registered by the three major feline registries.

The status of UKC-registered dogs could not be determined from the report. The UKC already has an extensive list of breeding policies, but they are essentially recommendations to breeders and most are not mandatory. Nor is it known if the UKC would be willing to assume liability for the actions of breeders.

Field Dog Stud Book, which is America’s oldest registry and the premiere registry for pointers and setters bred for hunting and field trials, is not included in the current list of approved registries and also could not possibly meet the requirements of the committee report. It is currently illegal to own a sexually intact FDSB-registered dog, or breed it, in the City of Los Angeles.

To obtain a breeding permit, the report recommends requiring that a dog must be temperament tested, have Orthopedic Foundation of America certification for hip dysplasia, meet other unspecified “health requirements,” and have earned or be earning a title in competition through an approved registry (of which there would be none). We regard all of these as cynical “Catch 22s.”

Temperament testing would be done by the animal control agency, which lacks the expertise to evaluate dogs of most breeds and could not do a fair evaluation in the chaotic environment of an animal control facility. Thus, many good dogs would be set up to fail.

OFA hip certification cannot be obtained until a dog is two years old and the Los Angeles ordinance requires dogs to be spayed at age four months (long before they would be bred, entered in serious competition or could be certified by OFA), and animal control personnel do not have the knowledge or experience to evaluate genetic health problems or the ways to reduce or eliminate them.

The report also recommends that all dogs be entered into a show or competition at least annually to qualify for an exemption (the current requirement is one show every two years). However, this fails to account for the reality that many dogs are kept for evaluation for a year or two before they are entered in competition or sent to a professional trainer, an injury or illness can hold a dog out of competition for lengthy periods, and many outstanding champions are retired from competition early to use for breeding in order to pass on their outstanding genetics to future generations. These dogs would have to be sterilized, under the recommendation.

The current ordinance exempts a dog that is being trained for competition, or as a guide, service or military dog. However, the committee report recommends eliminating this exemption if the dog’s trainer is not an officially licensed business in the City of Los Angeles, as well as stating that dog trainers should meet certain unspecified "qualifications" to be licensed.

The dog world is not local. Many serious breeders are themselves highly competent and qualified trainers, and many send their dogs to trainers who are located in other parts of the state or nation. These trainers could not qualify for a Los Angeles business license for the simple reason that they do not live in the city (and possibly not even in the state), and the breeders could not qualify for a business license because they are hobbyists who are not in the business of training dogs for the public.

Moreover, no one in the animal control department is even remotely qualified to pass judgment on the ability or qualifications of a professional trainer.

It is doubtful if any professional trainers of field trial or hunting dogs live within the city, as there would not be enough suitable grounds nearby, and regulations and taxation would be prohibitive in an urban environment.

Requirements to maintain a sexually intact dog also would be tightened generally, including mandating spay/neuter for a second offense of leash laws or a second impoundment by animal control, shortening time limits for compliance, denying permits to dog owners to whom even one warning had been issued, and raising prices of intact and breeding permits (current permits cost $100 per animal per year, and allow the holder only one litter per year per each female animal for which a permit has been obtained).

The Los Angeles Committee report to City Council is contained in a 91-page (pdf file) report that can be viewed at http://www.laanimalservices.com/spayneuterlaw/committee/march09_rep.pdf . See pdf pages 68-through-74. Look for Recommendation Twelve. This report was located and researched by ASDA advisor and researcher Margo Milde of Glenview, IL.

The current ordinance can be viewed at http://www.clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2007/07-1212_ord_179615.pdf .

The American Sporting Dog Alliance urges all Los Angeles dog owners to oppose this report to City Council.

We also ask dog owners everywhere in America to learn from what is happening in Los Angeles and spurn the idea of task forces, negotiations with animal rights activists, or agreeing to compromises.

Failing to fight back courageously is the first step in participating in the destruction of the dogs that you love, and your own freedom and basic rights as an American.

We also challenge the purebred dog and cat registries themselves, but especially the American Kennel Club (AKC), the largest purebred dog registry in the United States, to vigorously oppose the Los Angeles committee's recommendations. We also urge these registries to make adverse legislation involving any facet of dog and cat ownership and breeding their utmost priority. We especially ask the AKC to clearly communicate to its affiliated and member clubs the dangers of seeking purebred or show exemptions in any proposed legislation involving dog ownership or breeding, since, as these Los Angeles committee's recommendations illustrate, such legal exemptions are only a sham, to be all too easily removed by the Animal Rights zealots who seek the extinction of all purebred breeds of dogs.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance represents owners, breeders and professionals who work with breeds of dogs that are used for hunting. We also welcome people who work with other breeds, as legislative issues affect all of us. We are a grassroots movement working to protect the rights of dog owners, and to assure that the traditional relationships between dogs and humans maintains its rightful place in American society and life. The American Sporting Dog Alliance also needs your help so that we can continue to work to protect the rights of dog owners. Your membership, participation and support are truly essential to the success of our mission. We are funded solely by your donations in order to maintain strict independence.

Please visit us on the web at http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org . Our email is asda@csonline.net .

PLEASE CROSS-POST AND FORWARD THIS REPORT TO YOUR FRIENDS

The American Sporting Dog Alliance http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org Please Join Us

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Wild vs. Tame...

Wolves
(From Yahoo News) A study of nasty and nice lab rats has scientists on the verge of knowing the genes that separate wild animals like lions and wolves from their tame cousins, cats and dogs.
Unlike their wild ancestors, house pets and other
domesticated animals share the trait of tameness, meaning they tolerate or even seek out human presence. New research, which is published in the June issue of the journal Genetics and involved the interbreeding of friendly and aggressive rats, reveals gene regions that influence the opposing behaviors.
"I hope our study will ultimately lead to a detailed understanding of the genetics and biology of tameness," said researcher Frank Albert of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. "Maybe we'll then be able to domesticate a few of those species where humans have historically not been successful like the wild African Buffalo."
And we can possibly understand more about the
furry creatures in our homes.
"If you think about dogs, they are such
amazing animals. When you compare a dog with a wild wolf, a wolf has no interest in communicating [with] or tolerating humans," Albert told LiveScience. "If you're lucky a wolf in the wild wouldn't care about you. But a dog does care and they even seek human presence."
He added, "Dogs were all wolves at some point. How did they become these animals that need humans to exist?"

Breeding rats
The roots of this study date back to 1972 when researchers in Novosibirsk, in what is now Russia, caught a large group of wild rats around the city. Back at the lab, the researchers arbitrarily separated the rats into two groups. In one group, called the tame rats, the scientists then mated the friendliest rats, those that tolerated humans, with one another, and in the other group they mated the most aggressive rats with each other.
Demeanor in rats is tested with the glove test, in which a human hand protected by a metal glove approaches a caged rat. The tame rats tolerate the hand and even sometimes toddle across it. Aggressive rats try to escape, scream, attack and bite the person's hand. The rats even perform boxing moves, standing on their hind legs while sort of punching the human hand away.
The experiment is going on to this day, with two generations bred each year, resulting in a team of extremely tame rats and a team of very aggressive ones.
Nice genes
To figure out the genes behind the
rat behaviors, Albert and his colleagues interbred a few of the tamest rats with a few of the aggressive rats and then interbred the resulting pups. That way, the rats would have a mix of genes from both types of parents.
So if two rats had matching genes in one region of their genomes but differing tameness behaviors, the researchers could rule out this genetic region as responsible for the behaviors. The inverse is also true.
First, behavior tests teased out which rats were naughty and which were nice. Then, the researchers ran genetic tests. While the results don't reveal specific tameness genes, the researchers have pinpointed sets of genes responsible for tameness.
Further breeding and testing will hopefully uncover the exact genes linked with certain rat behaviors.

German shepard

Friday, June 5, 2009

Track stories...

We just returned this evening from the state of Ohio track meet. My wife Deb coaches pole vault, and one of her athletes, Jordyn Dickey qualified at the regional meet to participate in the state meet. It was a great day, watching the high school athletes perform in the Jesse Owens Track & Field Stadium of the Ohio State University. The best track and field athletes in the state of Ohio all in one spot showing their best. Deb's pole vaulter jumped 13' 6" and did a nice job against some tough competition. Tomorrow the state meet continues with another of our local athletes, a young female athlete who lives down the street from us, planning to run the 1 mile and 2 mile race. She is prediced to win the 2 mile race and if she does, she will set a new state meet record, one that has been held for over 20 years! We'll let you know how it turns out.


Jordyn Dickey vaults at the state meet


While I was watching the vaulting today, a coach walked by with a shirt. He had a great quote...


"The best long distance runners in world...

... eat raw meat

... run naked

... and sleep in the snow..."



It was signed... the Iditerod sled dog team.


Bearcat

Bearcat
VOTE BEARCAT FOR HALL OF FAME