Gripper v15

Show Report

September 5-7, ARBA, Watertown, New York
BOB: Show 1-6, ARBA Ch., NPPCC CH. S.S. Shabbah

September 25-27, CKC, Mays Landing, New Jersey
No Presas Entered

October 3rd, National Specialty
BOB, Best of Winners, Winners Dog: NPPCC, ARBA CH S.S. Shabbah
Best of Opposite: NPPCC, CKC CH, Belcher & Scmidt's Nadine
Winners Bitch: NPPCC CH S.S. Artemis
Reserve Winners Dog: S.S. Big Bad John
Reserve Winners Bitch: Shalom

October 3-4, CKC, Mullica Hill, New Jersey Show
1-3: BOB ARBA CH, NPPCC CH, CKC CH, S.S. Shabbah, 3 Group 1's,
1 Best in Show

Show 4: BOB Mike Belcher Male Dog (Sorry, we don't have a name)

October 3-4, Athens Canine Society, Greece
Andreas Koufiotis, 12 month old male Presa, S.S. Dias received a very good

November 21-22,CKC, Top Dog Tournament, Alexandria, VA
11 Presas entered

Top Dog Sweepstakes: S.S. Shabbah Reserve Puppy of the year male Shows 1-A: BOB ARBA, NPPCC, CKC, S.S. sh~~b~h

S.S. Maximillion (Katherine Gawthrop) 3 Winners dog, 1 Reserve Winners Dog

Dark Force Female: 4 Best of Winners, 4 Winners bitch

Carla VValker male (Havoc) 1 Winners Dog

S.S. Bella-Rina: 4 reserve winners bitch

New Club Members

Joseph & Patricia Mergier
Havre de Grace, Md.

Tim Ponnsberry
Charlotte Hall, Md.

Brenda Harvey
Franklinville, NJ

Brian Kelly
Kings Park, N.Y.

David Meyer & Jennifer Chandler
Florissant, Mo. 63031

New Presa Names

Maya Xingo Johnston	Moses
Mesha	Tiger
Cara Mia	Bronson
Tika	Jag
Sherkahn	Viking
Nikki	Mikal
Jaawz of Odin	Corrinna

Quips and Quotes

'Tis the season to be jolly and Noreen Verdin, of Piscataway, New Jersey, is beaming like a well lit x-mas tree and rightly so, her 16 month old Show Stopper Presa "S.S. Shabbah', just earned his third championship title, all within 6 events, (12 days/24 shows). Shabbah's title now reads: ARBA Ch., CKC Ch., NPPCC Ch. S.S. Shabbah. These three accomplishments were brought about by the expert handling of Donna Kelly-Burton and Maureen Pinto and with the encouragement of the breeder- Richard Kelly. We all look forward to Shabbah's future success during the 1999 season, beginning with the famous "'ARBA-Cherry Blossom Classic" held in Washington, D.C.

We've heard Presas have a good prey drive, perhaps too good, from what Brian Mc Reynolds, of Detroit, tells us, while exercising his Schutzhund trained Presa (S.S. Razor) in some open fields, Brian stumbled upon a live skunk. Needless to say, he quickly headed off in the opposite direction to avoid any confrontation with the odorous wonder. As he was running away he noticed "Razor', nose to the ground, heading in the direction of the skunk. Suddenly! A commotion erupted in the brush. Next he saw the skunk clamoring into a small tree with "Razor" in hot pursuit. What happened next was so fast, Brian can hardly recall the details other then when "Razor" tried to reach up for the skunk, he immediately went airborne. In a flash, he was suddenly out-running his fast moving owner. As Brian says oh well! I guess there are just some vermin not even a Presa can handle, at least not a smart one.

It's always nice to hear from our club members, especially when sharing comments about their Presa's or the breeder from whom they purchased their dog. STACY & JAVIER SANDOVAL of Central Point, Oregon, recently wrote to Richard Kelly of Show Stopper Kennels, quote: "Richard, thank you for finding us such a wonderful, loving dog, (S.S. Draco) is so big and beautiful. No matter where we go he is always wowed. To walk down the street with a Presa, one must not be shy, because everyone stares or strikes up a conversation wanting to know about the breed. We love the way we can go into a crowd of people with "Draco" being calm and quiet, then on command tell him to watch these same people who were just petting him and he becomes a totally aware guard dog. We are impressed. Thank you again. By the way, Stacy and Javier have a show stopper female reserved out of Ch. S.S. Poseidon and S.S. Pulp Fiction.

ANDREAS KOUFOITIS, Pallini-Athens, Greece, writes he competed in an International dog Show in Athens and mailed us the judges written opinion about his Presa "S.S. Dias". My compatriot, Mr. Kostis Konstantarakis was there and "Dias" surprised him. He told me that "Dias" is the most impressive Presa he has ever seen. This means that the "S.S." dogs are growing up in a good environment in Greece.

The judge's evaluation was very good, especially for a 12-month-old male. He wrote: good size, very nice head & expression, a good bite, excellent broad scalp & good neck, acceptable front, must have better top line, excellent substance in body & bone, need more angulation, acceptable tail, moves well in front but needs a lot more drive behind, excellent coat & color. We are confident; "S.S. Dias" will soon be a champion in Greece.

Dawn Sili of Totowa, New Jersey, called to warn us of the effects of Lymes disease on Presas. It seems her young, 6-month, 75 lb.; male pup was exhibiting some pain and difficulty in getting up. So she had him checked by the Vet, who stated, he thought the pup was going through growing pains, but just as a safeguard he pulled a blood sample. Low and behold, the sample came back positive for Lymes disease. Now, with the proper medication, "Bruno-Sili" is back to feeling normal. So if there is any doubt as to your Presas behavior, in terms of demonstrating signs of pain, then please consider havin9 your dog checked for Lymes disease.

Richard Kelly of Show Stopper Kennels along wit h his friend and fellow Presa breeder- Bill Thyfault of Guardian Angels Kennels just returned from a memorable nine day trip to Spain. Their purpose was to meet with four or five top notch Presa Canario Breeders, and introduce themselves as competent Presa breeders, check the kennel facilities, their breeding stock and ultimately arrange to purchase pups from champion bloodlines. We can assume their trip was fruit-full based on the reports. Richard & Bill contracted for eleven Presa pups between them, from four different kennels and bloodlines. The first four pups are expected to arrive in mid-January, 1999.

Can you believe the arrogance of some breeders and their so-called professional dog handlers? Read on!

An owner of a pet quality Presa (too much white) went to a recent ARBA bog Show to meet other Presa owners and to observe the fundamentals of a dog show. Immediately, he was set upon by these other Presa owners and dog handlers, who began berating the owner's Presa and the kennel from whence it was purchased. The tormenters cried out "too much white", "no temperament". That last remark did it- the owner of the pet quality Presa (Brian Mc Reynolds) challenged the tormentors to a full suited attack exhibition. The agitator, a Fila breeder, dog handler and one of the critics, would perform the test. Brian's dog "Razor" was given the command to sit & stay. As the agitator approached "Razor", he commented the dog had no drive, no temperament, since it was not motivated to aggression by the appearance of the fighting suit. When the agitator was within striking distance, Brian gave the attack command, where-upon "Razor" at 130 lbs., hit the sleeve so hard, he knocked the man to the ground. At once he attempted to slip the sleeve from his arm and the forceful grip of the Presa. Unfortunately, he was unable to remove the sleeve because "Razors" bite was so strong, so intense, it crushed the metal liner in the sleeve. After Brian recovered his dog and after the agitator recovered his composure they allowed two more hits on the sleeve before ending the testing. The agitator was heard to remark as he walked away "this was the hardest hitting dog he had ever encountered". We are sure this incident has done much to dispel those rumors of no temperament from a certain line of Presas. Many kudos to Brian and S.S. Razor.

We wish to express our compliments to one of our talented club members-(Dale Britches)- for his creative drawing and rendition of a tiger Presa. Dale has several Presas, all from different Presa breeders and bloodlines. Best wishes in all your endeavors.

The Gripper Gripe

Certainly, no member or officer of this breed club advocates dog fighting, especially with the Presa Canario. Unfortunately, we've all heard or read stories about pitbulls as well as other breeds being fought in clandestine areas throughout the united states. Needless to say the results of such exhibitions are horrendous and unworthy of any further discussion, except to forewarn prospective Presa buyers of the impending situation with Presa Canario dogs.

While traveling through Spain, Richard Kelly and Bill Thyfault learned much to their dismay, that dog fighting was an ongoing event in two of the Gran Canary Islands (Los Palmas & Gran Canaria). They also learned many of the Island Presa breeders were importing Pitbulls and Neapolitan Mastiffs to cross breed with their Presas, their goal, making for an extremely tenacious dog fighter. Based on our experience and observations, this infusion of other breeds into the Presa genetic foundation tends to produce an unpredictable and overly people aggressive dog. Who in their right mind can afford to have innocent victims bitten (men, women, children or other animals).

We were assured by both Richard and Bill, that the Presa Club in Tenerife as well as the club in Spain are very upset with the current situation and do not condone this activity. That may be all well and good, but what about the unsuspecting novice dog buyer, who upon importing one of these blue coated, blue eyed, blue snout, people aggressive dogs, believes it is in fact a true Presa. This is why Richard and Bill went directly to Spain, to personally view the Presa in it's environment, to observe it's known behavior & characteristics. They both tell of visiting "Honto Bull Kennel" in the tiny mountain village of Hontoba, Spain. As they stopped outside of the property entrance gate, Senora Villanueva brought one her biggest male Presa to the entrance. Where upon seeing both men immediately attacked the gate. In his agitation the Presa inadvertently hit the gate latch, unlocking and opening it in swift motion. Pulling loose from its handler he bounded through the opened gate approaching both men. As they tell us, neither was concerned, they knew and understood the Breed, and were quite certain the dog would do nothing since they were no threat. Sure enough, the dog scented both then proceeded to their parked car where he baptized the tires for good luck came back to the men allowing them to pet him. The Breeders wife recovered the Presa after regaining her composure for she certain both men were doomed. Predictably, when she returned the Presa to the compound he immediately reverted back to being a tenacious guard dog. After all, he was doing what comes instinctively protect his owners and his territory.

What can we do to offset this potential problem? We as Presa owners and breed club members can abide by and uphold one of our principled club by-laws: I will always try to breed as close to the NPPCC, SPANISH KENNEL CLUB, and FCI standards as possible.

A Few Things You May Not Know About Human's Best Friend

Did you know... There are 55 million dogs living in 35 million households in just our country. Some stats say 59 million dogs, which is probably more accurate. To put this in perspective, more people own dogs than have children

Did you know... There are special petting spots on your dog that practically induce (in him, not you) euphoria? Well a favorite spot to elicit doggie rapture is between a dog's front legs. Here's how it goes. you place your hand, palm up, facing your dog and gently scratch his chest. Try it. He'll go bonkers with appreciation. Another choice area promising almost hypnotic response is directly above the length of the dog's nose. Gently stroke that area where there's little fur, on up to the top of his head, and see if he doesn't slip into a contented stupor.

Did you know... Dog's kisses, although relatively innocuous, neither heal sores nor cause disease? Dogs mouths do carry bacteria----THOUGH LESS THAN HUMANS'----but their licks seldom do any harm unless you have a wound or are immune deficient, in which case you should avoid doggie smooches. Dog licks are a form of greeting, which help them recognize the scent of other dogs, and puppies lick their mothers' faces... so, maybe dogs lick us for these same reasons. We are their parents, their friends, their pack mates---- and they love us, not just because we're sweet, but also because we're so salty.

Did you know... The reason for dogs jumping up or wagging their tails? Jumping up, while usually annoying (except to the most slavish dog-lover), is a normal canine greeting. Dogs, who are amicable in the wild, greet by jumping on each other and licking each other's faces. There are lots of things you can do in terms of training a dog not to jump, but you have to know that it's very nice in its origin. It's "hello, I love you".

It has been thought that tail wagging was a dog's version of a smile. Researchers now believe that dogs only wag their tails for humans and other dogs, not for inanimate objects. If you bring them food their tails will wag, but if they discover it on there own, with no other humans or dogs present, they won't.

Well, I'll be doggoned.