Our First Homecoming

By Marcia K. Majors

 Henry’s Motel was a welcome sight after the two day drive from North Carolina. Joel and I were excited by the thought of seeing Tina, Gary and Shiloh Kennels again, but right now we were just plain tired. After settling into our room, we gave Tina and Gary a call. Gary answered the phone. He gave us a warm welcome and then mischievously told Tina we were calling from North Carolina. Tina got on the phone and said we’d better NOT be calling from North Carolina or her evening would be ruined! I assured her that were only a few miles away at Henry’s. ready to turn in for the night. There was both relief and excitement in her voice. A crowd of people had already gathered at Shiloh and Tina asked us to join them for some late night “dog talk”. Since the show started at 8AM, we decided we’d better get some sleep and said we’d see everyone in the morning.

We arrived at Shiloh Kennels at 7:30AM. We had no idea what to expect since, due to printing problems, we had not received a Homecoming program. Luger began to bark with excited anticipation. People had already begun to arrive and Gary was directing traffic to the parking area in the pasture. Several people were making themselves comfortable, setting up lawn chairs next to their cars and campers. We parked the car and went to the house to say hello to everyone. Tina introduced us to Mary Belle Adelman who would be giving the obedience seminar later in the afternoon. She also introduced us to Fred Lanting, the conformation judge. Tina had been passing around “Luger’s Story” to everyone who came into the house. Everyone was warm and friendly and they all asked about Luger’s progress. All the time I kept thinking, “Fred Lanting, Fred Lanting, ...that name sounds so familiar...”. Then it hit me, Fred Lanting was the author of Canine Hip Dysplasia, a book I had been studying with great interest for the past few weeks. I could hardly believe it! I felt truly privileged to meet a man so knowledgeable and one so dedicated to ridding the canine species of this most horrible, crippling disease.

The conformation judging began shortly after 8AM. For those of us who don’t know a “good lay back” from a “bad croup”, this was a true learning experience. Mr. Lanting explained each dog’s faults and attributes in clear, careful detail. Conformation began to make sense. It’s not that I could evaluate a German Shepherd as well as an AKC judge after the show was over, but I certainly understood a lot more than when the show started. Your could learn more in a few hours from listening to Mr. Lanting’s evaluations than you could from years of reading and studying on your own.

After the conformation judging, we were all invited to the Fire Hall to hear Mr. Lanting speak on canine orthopedics and hip dysplasia. The lecture was very interesting and informative. Mr. Lanting not only explained canine orthopedic diseases, but also explained the proper movement of the dog from the “inside out”. He explained how good angulation (not too much or too little) allows for the proper reach and freedom of movement. His presentation allowed you to see some of the reasons why a dog should have a certain kind of conformation and helped you better understand what you were looking for and why. The lecture also contained extremely valuable information on early detection, treatment and prevention of canine hip dysplasia. The most encouraging part of the discussion was the fact that Mr. Lanting has proven his theories by raising generation after generation of sound, non-dysplastic German Shepherds. After listening to what he had to say, I truly believe that through conscientious breeding programs, HD could be eliminated or at least greatly reduced in our beloved German Shepherds.