EDITOR'S NOTE

Greetings!
     March is an important month in the club's calendar for it is when we host our All-Breed Fun Match. This event is not only an important club fund-raiser. It is also, in my opinion, an opportunity to demonstrate our higher purpose to protect and advance the Standard Schnauzer as a breed through:

1.  education of owners, prospective owners and the general public,
2.  encourage enjoyable interaction between dogs and owners.

    March, I've decided, can also be the month to ask for more voice in this newsletter. You, all of you, are the ones this club's membership wants to hear from. This newsletter is our club's forum for communicating ideas, feelings and observations, after all. Perhaps we sell ourselves short, assume we don't have valuable information to share. This past year, however, some of you have made delightful contributions. Let's see more of that. Remember, the requirements are few. Two-line quips can be as stimulating as two-page essays. And editing services are available.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Carol Smith,

e-mail     glsmith@mninter.net

HSSC MEMBERS enjoyed a sumptuous feast of goodies at the Holiday Party.  The auction turned vocal with the encouragement of Steve Hetland, Auctioneer who worked the crowd with the utmost finesse.  Thanks also to Cathie and John Farrell who hosted the fun event.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL is included in this issue of HEARTBEAT.  If you have sent yours in, thank you.  If you have not sent in your 1999 membership renewal this will serve as a reminder.

The CANINE HEALTH FOUNDATION has sent HSSC a thank you for our donation.

HSSC members are encouraged to invite other standard schnauzer owners to join the club.  It is a goal of the club to serve a membership of diverse interests, from companion dog to obedience, agility, show and maybe even herding.  We would like to develop a list of prospective members for future mailings.  please help by sending Cathie Farrell any names.

COMMUNICATION for HSSC members will be enhanced by email.  George Hageman has
volunteered to put together the email list for members.  It will be used to remind you of meetings and events and other important HSSC information.  If we do not have your email address please call Cathie Farrell.  Also if you DO NOT want to receive email let her know.  We will also have a telephone tree to compliment the e email network.

HSSC AUDIT REPORT is included.  Thank you to the Treasurer, Gayle Crow for hard work in taking our finances forward.  Please review and direct any questions to Gayle.  THANK YOU to Carol Kruger for performing this years audit.

HSSC HATS are still in stock.  If you would like one for the upcoming spring and summer seasons give me a call or email to make arrangements.

MARK MARCH 20, 1999 ON YOUR CALENDARS.  THIS IS OUR BIG EVENT.  EVERYONE'S HELP IS NEEDED

CALL ME AT 612-521-2560.

PLEASE HELP US GET THE WORD OUT.

Keep you dogs safe.  Do you know where your lost dog poster is?  Getting the network going to find the dog works!  See article included.

As always
Carol and the Dogs.

Lori Olson is happy to report that the 1999 Standard Schnuazer Club of America Calendar features a photo of her standard schnauzer Zoe.  Lori says the picture was taken when Zoe was a six to nine month old puppy.

BRINGING UP PUPPY

This article has been revised from it's original posting on the Schnauzer Ware Forums and is modified (edited) and printed here with the permission of Schnauzer Ware.

QUERY:

• We have a standard schnauzer that we love, but we are becoming very frustrated with his chewing furniture when left alone. He may not do it for days, but then suddenly do major chewing on table legs or chair legs or even a door way! He is very trainable when caught in the act. I would appreciate any suggestions on how to overcome this problem. Our dog is 8 months old.

• Your 8 mo. old Standard Schnauzer is being given TOO MUCH FREEDOM. Your pup is merely doing what comes naturally at his age, which is -- to chew on anything that he can get his jaws around.
• If your puppy is being left free to get into mischief in your absence, then the resultant damage being done is really your fault and responsibility. You need to realize that by the time you return home to discover damaged furniture, the dog has long ago moved on to some other activity. In order for a disciplinary action to be meaningful, it must able to be directly associated with the crime in the dogs mind. Therefore, disciplining way after the fact is not only worthless, but is actually counter productive. AND...Establishing a pattern of disciplining a dog for what he no longer connects with the activity that has triggered your  punitive activity, is really being very UNFAIR to the dog.
• I hope that you will obtain a proper sized crate for your pup, and that the pup's breeder will be helpful by explaining the correct use of a crate. If not, then your first orders of business should be to learn
• (1.About the instinctual canine psychology that makes a crate a place of refuge for a dog, and (2. How to use a crate advantageously.
• Many people will advise diverting the dog from inappropriate chewing activity by providing interesting toys and legitimate chewing objects. This IS GOOD advice - assuming that you are immediately available to supervise. But, at 8 months of age, your pup is not yet old enough to have reliably learned what is acceptable -vs- what is not acceptable for him to chew on. HE JUST CHEWS!
• Do your puppy, as well as yourself and your  furniture, a BIG favor. When you are not able to give him direct supervision, put him in a safe place (his crate) where he is  unable to get into trouble. This way, when you return to him you will be happy to see him, instead of feeling angry and being punitive. Likewise, the dog will associate your return with pleasant feelings, rather than feelings of fear or anxiety.  POSITIVE learning experiences are always the most constructive.
• Your puppy is very young and has many life lessons to learn prior to allowing him to operate free of constraint. Keep him safe while he grows up. Everyone will be happier.

The Microchip Works!
or
Charley's Adventure
 

By Sunny Lambert
 

For months, I'd had plans to go out of town Friday, February 5. All doggies in the household were scheduled to stay with friends starting the Thursday night before. Charley was sent home to Maplewood with a friend from work at 5 PM, but evidently decided not to stay. When Claire (7 years old) unwittingly opened the door before fastening the leash on Charley, he took advantage of the situation and bolted out the door around 7 PM. None of us saw him again for 16 hours.

I found out about his escape two hours after he took off, and headed for Maplewood. I called George Huddle, who phoned Steve Schloesser. The three of us searched for Charley until about 12:30 in the morning. Claire's father, Doug, had already started a search, and also continued looking until 12:30 am. None of us knew which way Charley had run, and we caught no sight of him.

By early Friday morning, my mind was feeling like mush. All I could think of was that my Charley was lost, scared and that I had to find him safe. Carol Smith called to offer help in any way she could. My response was: "Please make phone calls." So Carol spent most of her day on the phone contacting the variety of government offices and veterinary clinics in the area. Because I was out searching, Carol gave out her own phone number, and remained at home to receive any incoming calls concerning Charley.

With Carol on the phone, I made about 300 posters and put them up in the area. Friends from work took time off to help me with the posters, and Jeannie and Blake Renslow from Minnetonka came out to help look for Charley.

Late that morning, we finally got good news. Charley was found in a neighborhood not far from where he started out.

A woman had seen him in her yard Friday morning, wet, cold and shivering. She'd called to Charley, he'd walked over to her, and she'd been able to put a leash on him. Aware of microchipping, the women then took him to her veterinary clinic, Keller Lake Animal Hospital. The veterinary technician scanned Charley for a chip, and his number came right up. She called Home Again with the number, and was given my name and phone number.

As it turned out, Carol Smith was calling down her list of veterinary clinics in the area, and happened to call Keller Lake Animal Hospital just after the clinic had identified me as Charley's owner. When she told them she was calling to report a lost Standard Schnauzer named Charley, they told her that he was safe and sound with them. Carol immediately called me on my cellular phone, and I drove quickly to the clinic for our tearful reunion.

This story demonstrates two key aspects of lost dog recovery: First, it makes clear the importance of timely implementation of a phone system. Second, it stresses the importance of implantating microchips in all of our dogs. Charley was lost for 16 hours, yet I had him back within an hour of his being taken to the veterinary clinic. That one microchip has now paid for itself many times over.

This story is also about the wonderful ways we can help each other should one of our dogs get lost. Carol Smith did an outstanding job on the phone, and I can never repay the effort she, George, Blake, Jeannie, and all my other friends made to help find Charley. Many thanks go out to everyone who looked for Charley, and put up posters, and lent me moral support.

ANNUAL HOLIDAY POTLUCK A TREAT!

By Kathy Shea

 Heartland Standard Schnauzer Club members gathered for their annual holiday potluck party on January ninth at the home of Cathie and John Farrell in Eagen. Turnout was excellent despite the sub-zero temperatures hovering outside, and folks were treated to all the necessities of a winter party - cozy fire, scrumptious foods, relaxed atmosphere and great choice of beverages.

 Talk moved from dogs to non-dog topics and back to dogs, as one would expect. The kids found each other, and enjoyed the party in their own way - talk of beanie babies, sports, burps and farts, the movie Star Wars, and who only knows what else. Particularly exciting moments were triggered by a wine spill, a coffee spill and some Clinton-bashing in the kitchen. And as the meal of appetizers gave way to the requisite auction, sub-zero snow began to fall outside.

 Steve Hetland, this time, took up the auctioneer's gavel, and used it with comic determination to wrest from the bidders just under $200. It was an excellent haul, the amount to be added to the club's general fund. Many thanks to Steve for his uncanny ability to bring money out of people's pockets.

Thanks also to both contributors and buyers of some lovely things: a 3-D wooden puzzle in the shape of a schnauzer, a handmade basket of cloth schnauzer pups, a fleece throw sporting an embroidered schnauzer, a collectable vintage schnauzer postcard, and a collection of much-desired stuffed, noise-making, wild animal dog toys (several of which, it is reported, are already in tatters as
many predicted).

The evening ended early enough to let Cathie and John get a little sleep before leaving bright and early for Las Vegas that next morning. Our special thanks go to the Farrells for sharing their lovely home with us.

Sharon Hodgens-Wood has passed the Utility test and interview for AKC obedience judge. She will now be available to accept assignments.