Talkin' Pets News

November 26, 2022

Host - Jon Patch

Co-Host - Dr. Suzanne Topor - Livingston Animal & Avian Hospital, Lutz, FL

Producer - Lexi Adams

Network Producer - Ben Boquist

Social Media - Bob Page

Special Guest - Joe Landolina - Creator of Vetigel - helps animals recover quickly and avoid complications like infections and anemia - he joins Talkin' Pets at 530pm ET on 11/26/22

Movie Review written by Jon Patch with 3 out of 4 Paws

Devotion

Sony Pictures Entertainment, Black Label Media, STX Entertainment and Stage 6 Films present a PG-13, 138-minute, Action, Drama, War film, based on a true story it is directed by J.D. Dillard, written by Jake Crane and Adam Makos, book author Jonathan Stewart with a theater release of November 23, 2022.

Movie Review written by Jon Patch with 1.5 out of 4 Paws

White Noise

Netflix Studios, Passage Pictures, BB Film Productions and Heyday Films present an R rated, 136-minute, Comedy, Horror, Drama, directed and written by Noah Baumbach, author Don DeLillo with a theater release date of November 25, 2022.

Movie Review written by Jasmine the Dog Trainer

Bones and All

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Frenesy Film Company, Per Capita Productions, Vision Distribution, The Apartment, MeMo Films, 3 Marys Entertainment, Tenderstories, Ela Film, Excelsa, Serfis, Wise and Immobiliare Manila present an R rated, 130-minute, Drama, Horror, Romance film, directed by Luca Guadagnino, Screenplay by David Kajganich and based on the novel by Camille DeAngelis with a theater release of November 23, 2022.

Movie Review written by Jon Patch with 2.5 out of 4 Paws

The Fabelmans

Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Amblin Partners and Reliance Entertainment present a PG-13, 151-minute, Drama, directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Spielberg and Tony Kushner with a theater release of November 23, 2022.

Talkin' Pets News

November 19, 2022

Host - Jon Patch

Co-Host - Jillyn Sidlo - Celestial Custom Dog Services, Mt. Roan, TN

Producer - Devin Leech

MFN Producer - Jayla Green

Social Media - Bob Page

Special Guests - David Frei co-host with John O'Hurley will join Talkin' Pets 11/19/22 at 5:20pm ET to discuss The National Dog Show on Thanksgiving Day

HOW TO HAVE A SAFE AND FUN HOLIDAY SEASON WITH YOUR FURRY FRIENDS an interview with Dr. Emily Stefan, Staff Veterinarian, VCA Animal Hospitals at 635pm ET on 11/19/22

HOW DO THE MOST POPULAR BREEDS FARE 

WHEN DOG SHOW JUDGES DO THEIR THING? 

Breed Popularity not a Factor in Who Gets the Ribbons 

PHILADELPHIA, PA (November 18, 2022) This year, the National Dog Show will be hosting will host over 1,800 dogs representing 194 different breeds and varieties of dogs and while the public likes their Goldens and their Labs, dog show judges rarely agree. 

The big weekend is is upon us, Saturday, Nov. 19, and Sunday, Nov. 20 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA. The Saturday show is The National Dog Show Presented by Purina, taped by NBC for air onThanksgiving Day from noon-2 p.m.in all time zones to an anticipated total audience of over 20 million. 

Every year the American Kennel Club publishes a list ranking the breeds in popularity based on registration statistics. The American Kennel Club registered 800,000 dogs last year. The top 10 breeds for 2022 are, in order, Labrador Retrievers, French Bulldogs, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Poodles, Bulldogs, Beagles, Rottweilers, German Shorthaired Pointers and Dachsunds.  

However, a breed’s popularity does not necessarily translate in the show ring.  The Labrador Retriever has been the number one-ranked dog breed in the United States for the last 31 years, but has only won the sporting group at the National Dog Show once (2009). The Labrador Retriever has yet to win Best in Show in the 20-year history of dogdom’s most prominent showcase. 

There’s a reason for that.  Dog show judging is an intricate art.  Each breed is judged on its individual merit according to the written blueprint for the breed, called a “breed standard.”  Does the Coton de Tulear have a coat like a cotton ball?  Does the Pembroke Welsh Corgi have a stubby tail?  Does the Pekingese have a rolling gait? Once a dog wins against other competitors in their breed, they progress to one of the seven groups they are assigned to: Sporting, Herding, Working, Hound, Terrier, Non-Sporting, and Toy.  In the group, those unique breed characteristics are what the judge is looking for, and that enables the judges to select one breed over another when it comes down to Best in Group and Best In Show.  

Thus, a dog ranked 158th in popularity, such as the Scottish Deerhound, has a chance at winning Best in Show.  In 2020 and in 2021 a Scottish Deerhound named“Claire” (GCHS Foxcliffe Claire Randall Fraser) did just that!  

The most popular breeds have a mixed history of wins, with some winning their group several times and some never at all. The Bulldog, Thor, won the National Dog Show in 2019 and became an instant celebrity, bringing joy to lovers of the sixth most popular breed.  None of the other top-ranked breeds have won in Philadelphia since 2002, but the prominent Beagle, Uno, won the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 2008 and became a media phenomenon, including a visit to the White House. 

Those viewing at home will most likely be cheering for the representative from the breed that they have sitting by their feet or on the sofa with them.  Co-host and expert analyst for The National Dog Show on NBC David Frei calls this “The alma mater factor.” The wonderful thing about a dog showis that there can be as many as 212 breeds and varieties in competition and each one has the chance to take the big prize! Regardless, “the best dog,” as host John O’Hurley is fond of saying, “is the one next to you.”

If you will be traveling to The Expo Center this weekend, you can see a variety of representatives from each of the top ten breeds as well as many others. Tickets are now on sale for the annual canine extravaganza atwww.nds.nationaldogshow.com.Dog show weekend is Nov. 19-20 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaksand ticket prices are$16 for adults, $7 for children 4-11 with free admission for kids three-and-under. Parking is also free. 

Movie Review written by Jon Patch with 3.5 out of 4 Paws

She Said

Universal Pictures, Annapurna Pictures and Plan B Entertainment presents an R rated, 128-minute, History, Drama, directed by Maria Schrader, screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz and based on the New York Times Investigation by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey with a theater release of November 18, 2022.

Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon. Photo by Doka Nason/American Bird Conservancy. A team of scientists and conservationists has rediscovered the elusive Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon, a large, ground-dwelling pigeon that only lives on Fergusson Island, a rugged island in the D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago off of eastern Papua New Guinea. Like other pheasant-pigeons, the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon has a broad and laterally compressed tail, which, along with its size, makes it closely resemble a pheasant. The bird has been observed several times over the years by local hunters, but the newly taken photographs and video are the first time the bird has been documented by scientists since 1882, when it was first described. Ornithologists know very little about the species, but believe that the population on Fergusson is very small and decreasing.  The research team photographed the pheasant-pigeon with a remote camera trap at the end of a month-long search of Fergusson.  “When we collected the camera traps, I figured there was less than a one-percent chance of getting a photo of the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon,” said Jordan Boersma, postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University and co-leader of the expedition team. “Then as I was scrolling through the photos, I was stunned by this photo of this bird walking right past our camera.” “After a month of searching, seeing those first photos of the pheasant-pigeon felt like finding a unicorn,” added John C. Mittermeier, Director of the Lost Birds program at ABC and co-leader of the expedition. “It is the kind of moment you dream about your entire life as a conservationist and birdwatcher.” The expedition team — which included local Papua New Guineans working with Papua New Guinea National Museum, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and American Bird Conservancy — arrived on Fergusson in early September 2022. They spent a month traveling around the island, interviewing local communities to identify locations to set up camera traps in hopes of finding the pheasant-pigeon. The steep, mountainous terrain on Fergusson Island made searching for the bird extremely challenging.  “It wasn't until we reached villages on the western slope of Mt. Kilkerran that we started meeting hunters who had seen and heard the pheasant-pigeon,” said Jason Gregg, conservation biologist and a co-leader of the expedition team. “We became more confident about the local name of the bird, which is ‘Auwo,' and felt like we were getting closer to the core habitat of where the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon lives.” The expedition was the first-ever camera trapping study conducted on Fergusson Island. The team placed 12 camera traps on the slopes of Mt. Kilkerran, Fergusson's highest mountain, and deployed an additional eight cameras in locations where local hunters had reported seeing the pheasant-pigeon in the past.  “When we finally found the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon, it was during the final hours of the expedition,” said Doka Nason, the member of the team who set up the camera trap that eventually photographed the lost bird. “When I saw the photos, I was incredibly excited.”  A local hunter named Augustin Gregory in the village of Duda Ununa west of Mt. Kilkerran provided a breakthrough lead on where to find the bird. Gregory reported seeing the pheasant-pigeon on multiple occasions in an area with steep ridges and valleys and described hearing the bird's distinctive calls.  Following Gregory's advice, the team set up cameras in an area of dense forest. A camera placed on a ridge at 3,200 feet (1,000 meters) near the Kwama River above Duda Ununa eventually captured the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon walking on the forest floor two days before the team was scheduled to leave the island.  Several members of the team have attempted to find the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon before. A two-week survey in 2019 by Boermsa, Gregg, and Nason didn't find any traces of the bird, though it did gather reports from local hunters of a bird that could have been the pheasant-pigeon. The results from that survey helped to determine locations for the team to search in 2022.  “The communities were very excited when they saw the survey results, because many people hadn't seen or heard of the bird until we began our project and got the camera trap photos,” said Serena Ketaloya, a conservationist from Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. “They are now looking forward to working with us to try to protect the pheasant-pigeon.”  The team's findings suggest that the pheasant-pigeon is likely to be extremely rare. The rugged and inaccessible forest where they rediscovered the species could be the last stronghold for the species on the island.  “This rediscovery is an incredible beacon of hope for other birds that have been lost for a half century or more,” said Christina Biggs, Manager for the Search for Lost Species at Re:wild. “The terrain the team searched was incredibly difficult, but their determination never wavered, even though so few people could remember seeing the pheasant-pigeon in recent decades.”  “As well as giving hope for searches for other lost species, the detailed information collected by the team has provided a basis for conservation of this extremely rare bird, which must indeed be highly threatened, together with the other unique species of Fergusson Island,” said Roger Safford, Senior Program Manager for Preventing Extinctions at BirdLife International.  The expedition was supported by American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and The Search for Lost Birds, a collaboration between BirdLife International, ABC, and Re:wild. The Search for Lost Birds identified the pheasant-pigeon for an expedition after a global review revealed it was one of a few bird species that have been lost to science for more than a century.  The full expedition team consisted of Jordan Boermsa, Jason Gregg, Doka Nason, Serena Ketaloya, Elimo Malesa, Bulisa Iova, Cosmo Le Breton, and John C. Mittermeier. The expedition was funded by ABC and The Search for Lost Birds, with a grant from Cosmo Le Breton, who helped to support the team in the field as a research assistant.

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American Bird Conservancy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. With an emphasis on achieving results and working in partnership, we take on the greatest problems facing birds today, innovating and building on rapid advancements in science to halt extinctions, protect habitats, eliminate threats, and build capacity for bird conservation. Find us on abcbirds.org, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@ABCbirds).