1771 Roble Grande RD 
Alpine, CA 91901 
(619) 659-9393 
(619) 659-5966 (fax) 
Email: marysarmiento@sandiegosportingdogclub.org

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Our Topic - "Dog Nutrition"
Wednesday, August 11th
7:00PM
Animal Medical Center
600 Broadway, El Cajon

Training Day
August 14th
Look for details via E-mail

SDSDC Yappie Hour
August 21st
Sunset Point, Mission Bay, by the Dana Hotel
A reminder; the City of San Diego does not allow alcohol or glass containers at Mission Bay.  Dogs are only allowed after 6:00 PM.
Contact Mary Sarmiento for details.
Click for map.

Recent Events

A small but enthusiastic group of us attended the BBQ on the Bay, July 10th. The weather and location were great. So much so that the SDSDC “Yappie Hour” will be held at the same location Saturday, August 21st. There was plenty of room for the kids to play and the campfire in the evening was great. The Sarmiento’s barbequed some tasty Calamari and we all stayed and enjoyed the Sea World fireworks display.

Club members Mary and Steve Sarmiento, Trevor Niarchos and friends, Pam Felgenhauer and friends, Mike and Julie Linville, Bryan and Rita Bonas and family, Andy Renfrow and friends, Rick and Wendy Greenwell all attended the July 17th Padre game and helped root the friars on to victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Our second Rattlesnake avoidance clinic of 2010 was held July 24th at High On Kennels in Mesa Grande. Joe Artes, Rick and Wendy Greenwell and myself volunteered our time to help run the event and handle dogs and snakes. Our hosts Tracy and Fred Presson and their assistant Polly were excellent at what they do. The snakes were laid out under Oak trees in a natural setting. We trained 30 dogs so it was a good day. Both clinics were good fundraisers for the club with $335.00 being made on the June event, which was great considering the short notice for that event and the club made $1025 on the July event. The SDSDC would like to thank Ed Zieralski from the San Diego Union for helping us promote the event, the Ramona Sentinel and The Julian News for also spreading the word. And Joe Artes for negotiating the free ads in the Sentinel and Julian News saving the club over $100.

The San Diego Sporting Dog Club would like to thank Wendy Greenwell for coordinating the 2010 SDSDC Picnic. Rick did an awesome job as usual behind the barbeque. The carne and pollo asada were great as were all the dishes brought by the members. I'll try to get that great corn bread casserole recipe in the September newsletter.  We had a large turnout with great weather and a good time was had by all.

The San Diego Sporting Dog Club has several events coming up this fall. So mark your calendar for these exciting events.

September 8th - general meeting topic: Waterfowl hunting

September 11th - Ladies only training day – an evening of dog training and wine.

September 18th - The Safety Shoot will be held at the Lemon Grove Rod And Gun Club in Alpine.

Inland Valley Retriever Club Hunting Retriever Field Test - September 18th & 19th.

The Inland Valley Retriever club will be hosting a NAHRA event at Prado on September 18th and 19th. Attached is the final interactive IVRC NAHRA premium for the September test. You need Adobe Acrobat 9 to fill out the form. There are 3 ways to do this. You can print the premium out and manually fill in the fields, fill in the fields using your keyboard and then print it out or fill in the fields (print a copy for your records) and then email the forms to me using the red button at the end. At this point we do not have a way for online payment, so payment maybe sent by snail mail to the address on the premium. See you August 7th for the IVRC training day and meeting. Click here for information on the NAHRA or to complete the Premium click here. If you have any questions please contact Pam Felgenhauer or Biff Ellington.

October 13th general meeting topic: Pheasant hunting tips

October 30th – 31st Training Day and SDSDC Fall Classic.

November 3rd (Special General Meeting Date) – topic: Pointing Breeds Hunt test

November 6th - Training day and mock hunt test.

November 13th – Pheasant season opening day.

December 11th – SDSDC Shoot to Retrieve event.

The San Diego Sporting Dog Club will individually raffle off two SPR310 shotguns, one 28 gauge and one 12 gauge at the SDSDC Banquet January 15th, 2011.  The raffle is open to California residents only.  The guns must be picked up at Hi-Pass Sports.  The winner must be eligible to own a firearm under California law and need not be present to win.  Winners must complete their paperwork and all California laws and waiting periods apply.  Tax and DROS fees are included.  Anyone wishing to see these new guns can do so at; Hi-Pass Sports 2435 Alpine Blvd #B Alpine, CA.  619-445-4039.  The Club will not refund the ticket costs to a winner who is not eligible to own a firearm under California law.  In the event a winner is disqualified from owning the gun a new winner will be chosen from the remaining tickets.

Remington SPR310 Over/Under with Walnut stock.  12 ga. 28" barrel, 3"chamber and four chokes. Full, Cylinder, Imp. Cyl. & Modified. 28 ga.- 26" barrel fixed Modified & Imp. Cylinder chokes. Both have an auto selective ejector, Chrome lined bore and Ventilated rib

Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20.  The tickets are printed with the the information as to which gun the ticket is valid for.  All tickets must be filled out with the required information including name, phone number and returned to the SDSDC prior to the drawing January 15th, 2011.  After the winners have taken possession their names will be posted on the club website.

SDSDC Board of Directors meeting minutes, July 14th, 2010. 

SDSDC Board of Directors meeting minutes, July 14th, 2010. Present were Mary Sarmiento, Rick Greenwell, Wendy Greenwell, Randy Domingos, Pam Felgenhauer, Ernie Lopez and Joe Artes. Ron Dotson and Bill Cox were unable to attend.

Old Business

Snake Avoidance

Randy and Joe are managing the event. Joe has placed ads in the Ramona and Julian newspapers. Flyers continue to be posted. Randy will send information to the Inland Valley Retriever club on the event.

Gun Raffle 

Tickets are available from Pam. Wendy is keeping track of the money.

Picnic 

Wendy will send out an RSVP request so we know how much meat to buy. Members are asked to bring a raffle item under $20 for a white elephant raffle. Games are needed still for the event.

Safety Shoot 

Rick will meet with the Lemon Grove Rod and Gun Club to establish a date. Our club safety officer, Jimmy Phillips, has told us we will need a safety officer at each shooting position.

Rules Committee

No update. Pam and/or Steve Sarmiento will email existing rules.

Bird Boxes 

Wendy will write a check for the $600 for the purchase of the Bird Boxes. This is the same orange transfer box we’ve been using. Extra boxes will be sold to other clubs and club members.

Bank Account 

Pam will close The Bank of America account in the coming week.  The funds will be transferred to the Point Loma Credit Union account.

Liability Insurance

Pam has completed the renewal of the clubs Liability Insurance.

Census

Randy went over the preliminary census results. Half the membership responded to the census. Several positive suggestions were made and the Board of Directors will take the suggestions under consideration and get back to the membership. The preliminary results will be published in the August newsletter. Randy is working on a database to more accurately sort the results. Members that did not complete the census are encouraged to do so and a link to the form will be in the newsletter.

New Business

Membership 

Don Wilke has re-applied for membership. His membership was unanimously approved.

Padre Game 

The board approved the raffle of 2 Padre tickets for SDSDC night at the Padres to be raffled off at the July 14th general meeting.

Doggie Yappy Hour

Will be August 21st at Sunset Point on Mission Bay

SD Wildlife Federation Liaison

A member is needed to represent the club at the monthly SD Wildlife Federation meeting. Randy will put this in the newsletter.

Treasures Report 

As of 7/14/2010, in the B of A account our balance is $722.66. The balance in the Point Loma Credit Union Account is $4533.01

We had a good turnout for the July meeting. Thanks to Ron Dotson for helping me put together the presentation for the July meeting on how to photograph your dog. If you were unable to attend the meeting I’ve posted Ron’s information along with my own thoughts on photography in the “Event Photo Galleries” section in the members area on the SDSDC website. I’ve also included thoughts and pictures from Cece Canton a professional photographer and friend of mine so there is lots of information to help you get that perfect shot. Additionally 2 Padre tickets for the July 17th "SDSDC Night at the Padres Game" were raffled off and won my Mike and Julie Linville.

The SDSDC would like to wish Chris Logan and his family all the best of luck with their move to New Mexico. After much consideration, the economics of living in California did not add up. Chris was an active volunteer for club events and since the club runs on volunteers he will be missed. On the plus side we’re looking forward to hearing from Chris about New Mexico bird hunting. Anyone up for a road trip?

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2010 SDSDC Census. The results and suggestions will help the Board of Directors improve the club. The Board will discuss the suggestions listed below and let the membership know how we can improve the club and our events. The information you provided on your dogs will help make the newsletter and website better by using your dogs registered name where appropriate and allowing all members to be inspired by your dogs accomplishments. If you forgot to participate in the census or forgot too include your dog’s registered name as some did, it’s not too late. Use this link to go to the census page. San Diego Sporting dog Club 2010 Census.

Responses
32 members were represented in 26 responses.

58 dogs were represented.

All respondents hunt.

14 respondents only hunt upland.
12 respondents hunt upland and waterfowl.

The comments and suggestions were.

I think that the club is making great strides in all of the above. The recent changes to the web page and newsletter are awesome. Training and events have been well attended and received. We need more members but at the moment, things seem to be going well.

Please consult all San Diego bassmasters event schedules before planning any training days, seminars, shooting events.

For the shoot to retrieve events, what do you think about getting remote launchers for the flush? This would make it more consistent and eliminate the flushing dog penalty.

For shoot to retrieve events. Divide dogs into groups for Pointer, Retriever and Flusher. Have specific rules to apply to each division geared towards that type of dog. Have 3 division winners and the overall winner would still be based on time and shots. 

We need to figure out a way to improve the summer training days in order to improve attendance. Maybe weekend camp outs at Prado or some other training grounds.

Use more quail.

The shoots to retrieve events are a lot of fun. The training days are good as well. I know that it is hard for me to attend the Wednesday meetings. Is there a way for someone to records the meetings and post the audio on the website? You may want to consider bringing in some experts to provide workshops for those of us who are interested in duck hunting and pheasant hunting. It is really tough to shoot pheasants locally in Southern California and by the time we get an opportunity to shoot ducks down here they are very well educated. And yes, Labs rule.

More of a field trial format once a year. More training for quality dog work not just birds in the bag.

It would be great if we could marginally streamline and increase the pace of our periodic shoot to retrieve 
events.

Allow members to bring and use non-toxic shot in shoot to retrieve events, if desired.

Offer a dial-in conference call phone number for the monthly meetings. I belong to another East Coast based group and it works very well for those members unable to travel to the meeting location. Would likely increase participation of group members. And the phone numbers and calls are free to all parties and can have updated passwords for each meeting.

Have a competition for SDSDC dog of the year. Combine results of SDSDC field competitions with a summer obedience competition within a calendar year and present an award at the banquet.

"Day at dog Beach". More training days. More participation in the new training facility project. AKC accreditation.

Recent updates to newsletters and website has been excellent and much appreciated. Also enjoy the photos!

Have a ladies only event in the summer, maybe dog obedience and wine.

I considered getting Wyatt pet insurance after our Shoot to Retrieve event last October at Prado. We spent the night and early Sunday morning we worked Wyatt on a few more birds in the same field we did the event in the day before. The field was very wet with dew from the night before and after we were finished Wyatt’s feathers were entangled with barrel burrs. As I was cutting them out I accidentally cut his leg open, so off we went to get him some stitches. Of course it was Sunday so we ended up at the Pet Emergency & Specialty Center in La Mesa. His bill came to $300. I researched Pet Insurance and came to the conclusion that if I had it I would have saved $100. I was still on the fence on getting a policy because of the $28 per month cost and I had never had a major medical issue with one of my dogs before. 

Fast forward to March 2010. Wyatt is in for his bi-yearly check-up and shots. His fecal sample tests positive for Giardia. My Vet prescribes a five-day treatment of Albendazole to kill the parasites and we start the treatment Thursday evening. 

(Lesson #1, NEVER start your dog on a new medication in the middle or late in the week. If something goes wrong over the weekend your going to end up at the Vet Hospital. Start new medications on Sunday night so you can see your primary Vet if there are complications.) 

(Lesson #2, NEVER allow a Vet to treat Giardia with Albendazole. Yes it killed the Giardia, but it almost killed Wyatt also). 

Wyatt went from being perfectly healthy to not eating and being very sick by Saturday evening; we stopped the treatment with the Albendazole. By Sunday morning he had blood in his vomit and diarrhea. He seemed to be desperately looking for someplace to crawl into and die. So off we went to the Pet Emergency & Specialty Center. They’re initial diagnosis was he had a possible blockage. They wanted to keep him and do x-rays, IV fluids and other treatment. They dismissed the Albendazole as a cause as did 5 of their other Vets and my own Vet throughout the following week. WE took him home after having them administer fluids and to his regular Vet the next morning. My Vet suggested that it would be best for him to go back to the hospital for an ultrasound. The final diagnosis was “well we don’t really know for sure, it’s probably a bacterial or viral infection.” One only needs to do a Google search on Albendazole to see what can happen to a dog being treated with this medicine. Wyatt ended up in the hospital for 4 ½ days. His bill came to $6000. He was still very sick when he came home and took several more days to recover. With this in mind I decided we could not afford to not have Pet Insurance so I did some research. 

There are several companies that offer Pet Insurance. One of the most popular is VPI. Why, I have no idea. Most vets cannot give you a good recommendation on insurance, as they really have no interaction with the insurer. Almost all policies require you to pay for the treatment and then submit a claim for reimbursement. Your premium is based on your dog’s age and breed. Wyatt is a 4-year-old Brittany so the following are his quotes.

Lets look at what would happen in case of a rattlesnake bite. It can take multiple anti-venom shots to treat a snakebite and can be very expensive at over $1000 per shot. Our hypothetical Vet bill is a whopping $5000. 

VPI uses a benefit schedule for determining reimbursement. For snakebite they’ll pay $550 Primary Allowance and an additional $220 Secondary Allowance. You’ll probably need a lawyer to sort out what is Primary and Secondary but for arguments sake lets say they pay the total $770. So with VPI you’re out of pocket expenses is $4230. VPI’s benefits schedule is on their website along with a large list of what they won’t cover. 

Embrace and Pet Plan are very similar in the policies they offer. Both companies allow the use of your entire policy toward a single veterinary event if needed. Embrace offers a 200 yearly deductible and Pet Plan offers a $200 per diagnosis deductible. So if your dog gets bit and you take him to the Vet Hospital in Yuma and he needs additional care from your Vet once you get home, with Pet Plan that is the same diagnosis and you’re not charged an additional deductible. With Embrace once you’ve paid your yearly deductible your done. So with both companies, our $5000 bill is reimbursed at 80% plus our $200 deductible. Your out of pocket expenses is $1200. You also have the remainder of your policy amount to use throughout the rest of the year. I’ve spoken to people that have policies with both companies and have had major Vet issues. Both companies reimburse you within about two weeks or sooner. Those I spoke with that had Embrace or Pet Plan were very pleased with both companies with no complaints.

I selected Pet Plan for Wyatt. They offer a little more tailored policy.

All pet insurance has a pre-existing condition exemption. Because of Wyatt’s bout with Giardia he cannot be covered for Giardia for 1 year from the date he was diagnosed. Pet Plan will not cover injuries relating to you using your dog for fighting or coursing. Hunting injuries are covered. Both Embrace and Pet Plan do cover orthopedic injuries. If you have a breed that is prone to orthopedic injuries I suggest you contact both companies to see what they cover and how they handle pre-existing conditions. Expect your premium to rise every year, as your dog gets older. I would suggest if you have a breed that is prone to orthopedic issues you get the dog insured early in life. If you have a dog that blows out a knee and you try to get insurance after the hefty vet bill your going to have a pre-existing condition and negate the benefit of having the insurance. Also a young dog is much less expensive to insure. 

I selected a policy for Wyatt for a catastrophic injury I hope we never face. 

There are health maintenance plans available also. Wendy Greenwell has a Banfield Health Wellness Plans for her dogs so I asked her what she thought of Banfield.

Are you happy with it? Yes, but I wish they did emergencies also.

How long have you had it? For 13 years I think.

Which of their plans are you using? The top one I believe because it covers dental and on the puppy one it covers OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals).

Does your rate go up every year, as your dog gets older? No

What's the cost and what's the deductible? No deductible. All office visits are covered and shots too however they do not do rattlesnakes vaccine and some of the meds you pay part of like the other day I took Hank in to have the test ran for CNM and that is not covered by plan so they show what it would have cost $112.15 and then what I needed to pay $74.29. On Front-Line and Heart-Guard I pay a discounted cost for it also the start up cost is $130.00, then I think its $39.95 per dog a month I'm not sure cause I have 4 dogs on it and 4 dogs cost about $150.00.

I know you said you use the Animal Medical Center for your dogs care so does that mean you do not have to use a Banfield Vet? When I use AMC my insurance does not cover that.

Is there anything else I need to know about Banfield? I had problems about 5 years ago with El Cajon & Santee they both did not have a Vet so the offices were closed. My dogs go to Arrow drive office. I'm sorry El Cajon did not have a vet at all and Santee only had one 2 days a week. Also Arrow drive is open 7 days a week. The other 2 are not. Also, they do not keep pets over night so in an emergency I would have had to go to AMC.

From COHA
AB 2223 - Prohibition of Lead Shot on State Wildlife Areas - OPPOSE
AB 2223, legislation by Assembly Member Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) which would prohibit the use of lead shot on all state Wildlife Management Areas (WMA’s) operated by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) died in Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on June 29th by a narrow 3 to 4 vote. 

AB 1810 (Feuer) - Long Gun Registration - OPPOSE

AB 1810 (Feuer/D-Los Angeles) proposes to expand the current handgun registration law to long guns by requiring the Attorney General to permanently maintain a registry of all firearms purchasers. Under the provisions of AB 1810 (Feuer), those who purchase or transfer a shotgun or rifle will be required to register that firearm by submitting their name, address, and place of birth, phone number and occupation to the California Department of Justice. 

After moving swiftly through the Assembly and passing off the Assembly Floor in early June, AB 1810 was approved by the Senate Public Safety Committee on June 29th. The measure will next be heard in Senate Appropriations Committee in August. 

COHA believes that AB 1810 is an extreme invasion of personal privacy masked as an important crime-fighting tool. At this point, it is unclear whether or not California’s existing handgun registration law is helping to fight crime in any meaningful way. Therefore, it is unnecessary to greatly expand the handgun registration law to include all firearms - particularly given that traditional sporting arms make up less than 10% of all firearms related homicides in California each year.

The California Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA) will continue to fight this intrusive and unnecessary measure in the Senate Appropriations Committee. If you would like to assist COHA in defeating this bill in the Senate, please contact your Senate representative. 

Volunteer needed to attend the San Diego County Wildlife federation Meetings and report back to the club.  Meetings are Held at the Sizzler Restaurant on Aero Drive.  Contact Joe Artes for additional details.

Newsletter Submissions:
To submit an article, brag, recipe or want ad to the SDSDC Newsletter please send an E-Mail to:  RandyDomingos@sandiegosportingdogclub.org

E-Collars Information:

Steve Sarmiento is now a Tri-Tronics representative and can help you with information and purchasing Tri-Tronics collars. 

 
If you are thinking about getting an e-collar, and want to do some research, go to this link
  www.gundogsupply.com/dog-training-collars-buyers-guide.html for a lot of  information.

Training Opportunities:
Pam and Mary are holding obedience classes in Alpine, North County and Lakeside. Basic obdedience for puppies and adults, behavior issues, rescuced dogs, AKC Canine Good Citizen classes and Puppy Star classes. Also availbe for private in home lessons. Call for details 619-659-9393 or 619-442-5354 or email muscat54@gmail.com.

Steve Sarmiento is accepting dogs for training.  Cost is $650 per month and includes birds.  Take advantage of the off season and get your dog trained up.  Contact Steve at 619-659-9393 or sssarmi@gmail.com

Dog Portraits (and other art):
Have your best friend and hunting partner immortalized in a commissioned painting. Visit the website of SDSDC member Ron Dotson.
  www.rondotson.com

For your shooting needs:
Hi-Pass Sports 2435 Alpine Blvd #B Alpine, CA 619 445-4039. 
  www.hipasssports.com

FOR SALE: Command Leads and Leather Collars – Call Steve Sarmiento for details. 619-701-2089

FOR SALE: Training birds for sale, Pigeons, Chukar and Pheasants . Contact Steve Sarmiento at 619-659-9393

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