Thuin, Canine Capital of the World!

In 1954 the General Secretariat of the FCI settled in Thuin. It is curious to note that dog lovers throughout the world know the name of the town in which the FCI operates and offers the services that its 13 employees provide on a daily basis. Thuin now figures on the world map in the hearts of all dog enthusiasts on all continents! This is a reality that, although not on a grand scale, has not escaped the town’s elected representatives, who have on several occasions expressed their delight in counting an international organisation celebrating its centenary amongst their population of 14,650 inhabitants!

Conscious of the role that the FCI plays as an ambassador for Thuin, Philippe Blanchart – Acting Mayor – and the Town Council have named the city “Canine Capital of the World”. In this centenary year, this designation crowns the good relations between the FCI and the town that welcomes the Federation by focusing attention on Thuin, which would become a Mecca for dog fanciers, providing a positive window to the world by displaying knowledge, projects, initiatives and other breakthroughs concerning an animal that in this day and age has an important place in our society.

What could therefore be more natural than this designation knowing that Saint Roch, the Patron Saint of Thuin, is also the protector of animals and frequently portrayed with his dog?

Marie Luna Durán
FCI Marketing and Public Relations Manager
Muscle power for your dog

Dogs are supreme athletes, from a simple run in the park with a Yorkshire terrier to a 100km sled-dog race in the arctic. So, from the small to the large, all dogs have great athletic ability as their limbs are ideally adapted for rapid movement. Powering this athletic ability comes from the muscles of the front and especially the hind legs with large muscles such as the hamstring and quadriceps group providing most of this power. In humans about 40% of body weight is muscle, but in dogs it can be as high as 57% for the supreme sprinter the Greyhound and between 34 and 50% for other breeds.

Muscle is constantly in a state of being broken down due to the stress of work and then it is being repaired again by the body. Maintaining the health of muscles is important for every dog and one key to this is nutrition and especially animal protein. The benefit of nutrition was seen in a study where the amount of muscle was greater with diets containing chicken protein when compared to diets with a high level of cereal protein (corn gluten). Plus, the corn gluten fed dogs had more body fat than if fed chicken protein. The more complete amino acid profile of the chicken could help explain some of the benefits of animal protein.

Look for products that actively communicate they support strong muscles and only contain animal protein ingredients such as chicken, turkey, lamb, egg and fish to give your dog’s muscles the support they need.

David MORGAN, BSc MA VetMB CertVR MRCVS
Eukanuba