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National Entlebucher Mountain Dog Association

Health & Genetics Open House Series

NEMDA Health and Genetics Presents an Open House Series:
Raising a Healthy Entlebucher

In this series of seven open houses, learn from experts and Entlebucher owners tips and tricks to keeping your Entlebucher physically and mentally fit and injury-free. You are invited to participate in one or all. Each session will feature content from an expert or facilitator, as well as interactive discussion and Q&A with participants. Please bring your own ideas on the topic as well as your questions!

Sessions will be held via  Zoom (in a US time zone),. Recordings will be available for those who can't attend the live session. 

Specific dates and times for each month’s session will be announced about a month in advance.

Links to Videos

March: Spring Splash! Teach your Entlebucher to swim.
Wednesday, March 23, 6 PM Eastern time

Swimming is a great way for Entlebuchers to get out that famous energy, without putting strain on joints. It's also a fantastic therapy for dogs recovering from injury, or older dogs. But not all Entlebuchers take naturally to water. Unlike some other breeds, even many Entlebuchers who love the water originally needed a little encouragement to take the plunge. In this session, hear tips from Entle owners who have taught their dogs to swim. Ask questions and gather advice from other Entle parents about getting those pups in the water. If you have a great swimmer, please attend and share your own tips! 

Our 1st Open House was a Splashing success! We had 32 Attendees. You can view the recording now. Please click the button below.

April: Chill, Baby! Train your Entlebucher to relax.
Tuesday, April 26, 6 PM Eastern time

"Again! Again! Again!" Sound familiar? Left to their own devices, our Entlebuchers will enjoy themselves fast and furiously, sometimes to the point of injury. Teaching your dog to take a break or to tone down the intensity can make exercise more enjoyable, healthier, and better for your dog's injury-free longevity. Remember: just because your Entlebucher can do something doesn’t mean he or she should! As owners, we need the skill to recognize when our beloved furry cannonball needs a break. We also need to learn how not to give in to our dogs’ demands for “more” to the point of injury (and how to keep everyone in the household on board). In this session, Health & Genetics' own Tracey Vatcher (Entlebucher owner and trainer) will lead an informative and interactive session on the why's and how's of teaching your Entlebucher to moderate and relax.

Another chilling success!  we had 96 people registered.  You can view the recording by clicking the button below.

May: Socializing (with) your Entlebucher
Wednesday, May 25, 3 PM Eastern Time

Join renowned expert in all things canine Dr. Gayle Watkins, AKC 

Breeder of Merit, founder of Avidog and creator of Savvy Socialization, who will give tips and lead a discussion on how to teach you and your Entlebucher to navigate the world together with calm confidence. The more we and our Entles can do together with enjoyment and ease, the happier we all will be. Covid hasn't done any of us any favors on the socialization front! So come along to this session to learn and discuss how we and our dogs can get out into the world, for exercise, pleasure, and strengthened bonding, while teaching or reinforcing for our dogs (and let's be honest, ourselves!) how to navigate a variety of situations including with other people and dogs.

We have two recordings:
  1. Gayle's Recording is a duplicate of our May Zoom presentation. We had a mechanical error and that part of the presentation did not get recorded. Gayle graciously agreed to re-record it to share with NEMDA. 
     
    View Gayle's Recording
  2. The Q & A session after Gayle's presentation was from our Zoom meeting that day.
 

June: Exercising the Entlebucher Brain.
Thursday,  June 23, 6 PM Eastern Time

Entlebuchers need to exercise their brains as much as their bodies. Getting that Entle brain engaged helps burn off energy and makes for a more satisfied dog (and happier you). In this session, hear from other Entlebucher owners about their experiences with nose work, puzzles, Adventure walks, and more. Please attend to add your ideas to the collective, as well as to ask questions and get some great tips.

Part I: 47 minutes

Part II: 16 minutes

July: Explosions are for Fireworks! Safe Exercise & the Entlebucher.

 Thursday,  July 21, 6 PM Eastern Time

In this “high impact” session, learn from a veterinary orthopedic expert about the injuries we most want to avoid with our Entles, and how to do so while exercising appropriately. We are thrilled to be joined by Margret Lenfest, DVM, who will present and answer our questions.

Dr. Lenfest is a third-year veterinary resident at Cornell University in the canine Sport Medicine and Rehabilitation department. Her interest in sports medicine developed from her involvement with high performance horses as a breeder and competitor. This interest flourished during vet school when she worked at the University of Pennsylvania Working Dog Center helping with the research, training, and development of working dogs for search and rescue, law enforcement, and single purpose occupations.

Dr. Lenfest has also travelled to Alaska the past two winters to work as a veterinarian for the 1000 mile Yukon Quest sled dog race to care for the racing teams. She loves working with athletic dogs, and there is no better example of extreme athleticism than endurance sled dogs. 

In her limited spare time Dr. Lenfest and her Australian Shepherd Zara love to hike, eat good food, and travel.  

August: Dog Sports for the Dog Days of Summer (and Beyond)

Thursday,  August 25, 6 PM Eastern Time

Is there a sport you've always wondered about trying with your Entlebucher? Come discuss and learn with other Entlebucher owners who participate with their dogs in sports including Agility, Fly Ball, Dock Diving, Luring/Coursing, Skijoring, and more! Do you do something fun with your Entle you think we'd all love to hear about? Come tell us!

We would like to compile all of the questions and comments using this email, health@nemda.org. After we receive the responses, if quite a few, we will have the presenters come back for an encore to address the questions and comments. Otherwise we will make sure that everyone will  receive an answer to their response. 

September: Back to School - Dog Tricks with Louise & Samba!

Saturday,  September 24, 11 AM Eastern Time

If you use Instagram, maybe you've seen Samba (@samba_entlebucher), the prettiest little Entlebucher in France, joyfully doing the most amazing of tricks together with her equally delightful human, Louise. In this session (on a French-friendly time zone), Louise and Samba will show us some of their favorite fun & games. Then Louise will take a little Q&A from all of us on how to get started following in their fancy footsteps. Louise & Samba are taking any special requests, so let us know if there’s a trick you’d particularly like them to show.


October: Tricks to Treat!

Saturday, October 22, 2 PM Eastern Time

Learn from H&G co-chair and vet tech Brittani Brooks some tips and tricks for diagnosing and treating your Entlebucher at home for common injuries and issues. Brittani will also discuss what to have in your home First Aid kit, and how to tell when you should be headed to the vet.



November: House Guests & Other Holiday Hazards

November Date and Time TBA

November: House Guests & Other Holiday HazardsJoin a presentation on how to avoid common holiday hazards to dogs, plus training tips to help your Entle navigate house guests, including how to cut down on all that barking.


December: H&G Holiday Party

December Date and Time TBA

Holiday PartyJoin us for a fun, social session with games and giveaways. You must be present to win, so plan to join our live session and enjoy the community connections! We’d love your feedback on the 2022 Open House series, and we’ll take your suggestions and give you a preview of open houses planned for 2023. Please join us and have some fun!


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