2020 Webinar Series
Why Didn’t My Bitch Get Pregnant? - Marty Greer DVM
Dr. Greer reviews in detail how to manage fertility
in both the valuable brood bitch and the stud dog. She discusses the failure to
conceive versus the failure to maintain a pregnancy, the risks of resorption
and the unfortunate events of pyometra, mammary tumors, parasites and
how to manage each of them. Berner breeders have no better friend!
After Dr. Greer received her DVM she established the Brownsville/Lomira Small Animal Clinic. She practices law part-time at Animal Legal Resources LLC and is president of the National Animal Interest Alliance. She is the author of Canine Reproduction and Neonatology, an authoritative contemporary volume on the practical aspects of breeding and raising healthy dogs.
HANDOUT - Managing the Infertile Bitch Click Here
Understanding
Genetic Testing for Berners - Jessica Hekman DVM PhD
Welcome to the genomics era! In this webinar,
Jessica explains how genetic tests
work and how to use that information
to understand which tests will be the most useful in making breeding
choices.
Dr. Hekman is a veterinarian
with a PhD in genomics and has a knack for making complex subjects easy to
understand. She is currently working at the Broad Institute of MIT
and Harvard as a computational biologist, studying the genetics of behavior in
pet dogs through the Darwin's Ark project and the Working Dogs Project. She
also teaches for the Virginia Tech online MS in Animal Behavior and Welfare,
and is the founder of the Functional Dog Collaborative, which supports the
breeding of healthy and behaviorally sound dogs.
HANDOUT - Genetic Testing in the BMD Click Here
Collective Losses,
Grief and Managing Hard Decisions in a Pandemic - Mary Ann Sontag Bowman PhD
Navigating the New Abnormal requires refinement of existing coping
resources and the development of new skills simply to manage everyday life. Sontag Bowman brings together her professional expertise
and her experience about Life with Dogs to consider the impact of our
collective losses and the associated grief.
Dr. Sontag Bowman is an Associate Professor at the University of Montana where she specializes in issues related to loss and grief. An active Berner breeder since 2000 and competitor in conformation and performance events, she speaks regularly at Berner U conferences. Her recent chapter in Children, Dogs and Education, published in 2018, , is titled “Final gifts: Lessons children can learn from dogs about end-of-life, loss, and grief.”
HANDOUT - Collective Losses Click Here
Foundation Training
for Dog Sports - Shannon Hall
There are so many
fun dog sports to do with your dogs these days. Shannon covers some broadly
applicable principles and skills and some easy to train behaviors that will prepare
you to begin in any of several different dog activities and help you strengthen
your relationship with your Berner.
Shannon started training dogs to compete in AKC Obedience in 1994 and added Rally and Agility along the way. She now teaches Obedience and Agility at the Capital Dog Training Club in Silver Spring, Maryland, is a dedicated Herding dog lover and is married to a Labrador Retriever guy. She is an avid hiker and always has a dog along for good company.
HANDOUT - Foundation Training in Dog Sports Click Here
Integrative Veterinary
Care 101 Sara Fox Chapman DVM
We all want
the best possible veterinary care for our beloved Berners. This presentation
explores how we can integrate modalities in veterinary care that expand beyond
conventional medicine to include complementary therapies such as nutrition,
homeopathy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, flower essences, physical therapies,
and energy work.
After earning her DVM, Dr. Chapman attended the three year course of the Homeopathic Practitioners Teaching Group in Oxford, culminating in successful qualification for my VetMFHom in 2002. In addition to her clinical practice, she is on the faculty of Holistic Actions! Academy, an online resource hub, learning center, interactive support community, and professional services platform.
HANDOUT - Integrative Veterinary Care Click Here
Whelping 101
Samantha Judge DVM & Sue Brightman
A veterinarian and a Berner breeder
each bring their perspective to this exciting occasion. They discuss the signs
leading up to whelping, the various stages, what to be aware of and how to
prepare as well as post whelping care for moms and neonates. Most helpful will
be recommendations for how to think about and respond when unfortunate events
surprise you such as oxytocin use, resuscitation, and C-sections.
Dr. Judge began as a licensed veterinary technician, research technician in neuroendocrinology and supervisor of small animal surgery at Colorado State University. After earning her DVM at CSU, she opened Eagle’s Nest Animal Hospital in King George, Virginia. Her special interests include oncology, acupuncture and canine reproduction. She has been an exhibitor of Bernese since 1992 and breeder of 18 litters of Bernese under the Sommerfield kennel prefix.
Sue Brightman has been an active member of the BMDCA for decades serving as a Breed Ambassador, Breeder Mentor, Sieger evaluator, judges’ educator and judge for Sweepstakes and Futurity at national specialties. A founding member and current president of the BMD Club of Finger Lakes, she is an active exhibitor and breeder of Bernese under the Arundel kennel prefix.
HANDOUT - Whelping 101 Click Here