• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

NBC NEWSHOUND A newsletter for volunteers supporting the National Breeding Centre In this Fifteenth Edition: • London’s Calling • Gentleman Gene • Lady Luna • Did You Know? • Young Volunteer 2019 • Helping with Whelping Welcome to the fifteenth edition of NBC Newshound Hi Everyone Vickie and her puppies. We also meet the NBC’s Welcome to issue 15 of Newshound. young volunteer of the In this issue we are celebrating the year for 2019, Maddie, German Shepherd! It’s safe to say who tells us all about many of us have a soft spot for them! her film making skills Currently 2.7% of working guide dogs and why she thinks are German Shepherd and 4.2% other young people are German Shepherd crosses. There should volunteer. are currently 26 pure German Shepherds on the breeding Many of the stud dog holders and programme comprising 17 brood brood bitch holders in this issue are bitches and 9 stud dogs. members of their local fundraising groups and we really hope that they Inside you will meet our handsome will inspire those of you who are cover star stud dog London and two thinking about joining such a group to of his beautiful offspring, stud dog do so. Please contact Felicity Stratton, Gene and brood bitch Luna. Many Liz Gilbert or Miles Northwood at thanks to holders Richard, Vicki and Guide Dogs if you would like to find Sarah who kindly visited the NBC for out more. Many thanks also to Nicola their interviews. for her help with this issue. The puppies in the gallery this time We very much hope you enjoy the are from BB Neesha and SD Brody, magazine. Please, please get in and a couple of happy hours were touch with your own stories or news spent trying to catch their cheeky so we can feature them in future personalities on camera! issues. Our email address is NBCNewshoundfeedback@ For those of you who love Labradors, guidedogs.org.uk. we also meet brood bitch holder Phillippa and puppy walker Melvin My best wishes to you all, who describe how their friendship has been forged through brood bitch Caroline Editor Newshound Hello everyone, As I write, there are real concerns re imminent supply of two new stud dogs the spread of Coronavirus, so I hope for our programme, one Labrador that, with Spring approaching and and one Standard Poodle. We really holiday and travel plans for the do believe that international Summer perhaps already arranged, collaboration and mutually beneficial you all stay safe and healthy, exchanges are the most successful including your lovely dogs! way of introducing new bloodlines into our programme and to ensure Looking back over 2019, we placed genetic diversity is maintained. 1073 pups into puppy walking, a little below our plan as we reduced breeding towards the end of the year I’m excited to say that we have just to assist the flow of dogs through the advertised for a new role - Head of system to better match resources Canine Genetics. We recognise and available. Our conception rate appreciate the value science makes remained very high at 95% for the to the world and indeed the year and our average litter size rose to contribution it makes to our own 8.1 for the year, a credit to everyone breeding programme. As such, over involved. recent years we have continued to avail ourselves of ever increasing We have successfully hosted several numbers of genetic tests that have major donor events and Patron Days become available for several at the NBC - we are incredibly grateful hereditary health conditions and we to the generosity of those attending have developed the use of Estimated who continue to support our Breeding Breeding Values for health, which operations and the NBC. During Guide use population genetics to estimate Dog Appeal month in October, the the ‘value’ of dogs in terms of their NBC staff put on several events, likelihood to produce certain including cream teas with a view and diseases. We are soon to embark on a music night. Combined, we made an ambitious ‘Genomics’ project almost £3,000 – a fantastic team effort where we will look to DNA sample in addition to the day jobs! Thanks to many of our stock, have the DNA everyone that contributed. I am sequenced and the data stored. We pleased to say that the fourth edition can then look to see if we can of our newsletter “Breed all About It” establish relationships and links has just gone to press and is there to between certain DNA sequence further inform, educate and entertain patterns and hereditary health staff and volunteers alike regarding the diseases, or indeed temperamental breeding programme and its functions. traits in future. A new Head of Canine Genetics will be just the person to We continue to collaborate with our advance this work, keep our partner international Guide Dog breeding programme the best it can schools, including those in the be and help to protect, preserve and Netherlands, Belgium, Japan and enhance the health and South Africa to name but a few. More temperamental qualities of the recently, work with two different wonderful dogs we produce. Canadian schools has resulted in Matthew with pet dog Gavin details to follow in due course. I hope you enjoy this edition of Newshound and stories of our wonderful volunteers. Thank you one and all for the invaluable work you do in support of our breeding operations and the NBC. Without you, it wouldn’t be possible to deliver the life changing services we do to blind and partially sighted people in need. We have some exciting events and ventures upcoming at the NBC, You really do make a difference! including some TV filming and hosting I must now go for a jog, having of the People awards later this year. agreed (probably foolishly!) to enter We are also making plans to have a the Great North Run in September in local ‘celebratory’ day in the Summer aid of Guide Dogs – wish me luck! (more details to follow as planning develops) as well as joining in with Thanks again and best wishes national plans to celebrate our 90th Anniversary in 2021, probably with a Matthew combined regional event, again more Our Young Volunteer of the Year 2019 Volunteer Maddie won the NBC’s film skills, so it fitted the bill perfectly!” award for young volunteer of the year in 2019 for her fabulous Mother’s Day Maddie had several meetings with video featuring a brood bitch holder’s John, eventually coming up with the experiences. Here she tells us about idea to make a short film for Mother’s her passion for Guide Dogs. Day featuring information about brood bitch holding. This could then Maddie approached the NBC just be used across the NBC’s social over a year ago having just media platforms to promote graduated from University. She says volunteering in this area. “I was working in the tv industry on a freelance basis and had some spare Maddie welcomed the challenge time on my hands. I’m not very good and found that she learned many at sitting at home doing nothing and new skills to add to her cv as a result. my Dad who works at Land Rover “I am trained as a camera assistant suggested Guide Dogs as a solution. and currently work for an outside I emailed John Garrett and originally broadcaster. This means I take was prepared to take on anything equipment to locations for filming that was needed, but John had an events . These can be sporting, light idea which particularly utilized my entertainment or news based. I am tech specific in that I maintain, fix, rig and operate the camera equipment and guarantee it for clients. So making my own video was very different in that it required me to be creative and work on my editing and story telling skills.” Maddie’s brief was to create a film to raise awareness for the volunteers who look after brood bitches. It was a brand new area of learning for Maddie. She wanted to showcase what the role involves, why it is so great and encourage people to have a go and find out more information. She visited a family who had a pregnant brood bitch and talked to them about their experiences and reasons for volunteering in this role. Maddie says “the hardest thing about film making is making someone feel comfortable in front of the camera who isn’t used to it. I thought this through and sent them a list of questions I would be asking in Volunteeer, Maddie advance and then got feedback to see the areas they wanted to talk about. From there I was able to encouraged at school just to focus on shape the questions I asked on our career prospects. For me camera and a storyline. I basically volunteering has built my confidence. told the story from the family’s I know now that I can approach a perspective plus I got to spend time new client and work with them with the brood bitch and the puppies confidently and that comes from and I enjoyed it very much!” practising through volunteering. You could come for just an hour a week During the video the family for example. It makes you more than demonstrate how much they love the two dimensional and can show you role of brood bitch holding, and it also are enthusiastic about things on your includes film of their supervisor cv.” Szymon in action weighing puppies and so on.

Load more

  20

Copy Link