Paws with a cause for…

Fundraising!!

     

Puppies are here!

One of them, we hope, with potential to be a Service Dog.

Help is needed getting the little one home and start training.

Sponsorship is welcomed.

Gratefully accepting $1 Paypal donations.

I ❤ this! One of my fav image quotes.

Only a true German Shepherd Dog owner would not get disgusted with this… even those who have OCD issues, lol!! 

A stunning dog in a beautiful setting with the best quote to match the situation.

 

Source

 

Week fünf ⑤

Five weeks and getting excited!

We were able to choose our registered names this week. I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to or not. I already had one picked out from several weeks before birth, when it was put up on the breeders site that this would be her “D” litter. That was fun!

We’re told they are eating three meals on their own now, either a raw meal or blended kibble.. also stated they are little piggies. hehe They are still getting mums milk, but not so often now. Breeder is starting to wean. Riva sounds and looks like such a good mum I bet she’ll miss nursing them.

“Being a puppy is exhausting!“

Week Vier ④

I can’t believe we are at week four already.. it seemed like just waiting to see if mum was pregnant took a year!

For those of us wanting natural ears out of this litter we are halfway to them coming home.

We’re told puppies are eating solid meals three times a day, but still nursing off mum for a couple more weeks yet. They get to go outside to play about five short trips a day. This weekend they will start to move out of the whelping box and into bigger separate day and evening play pens.

And for the picture updates… oh my goodness, dobermans sure change week by week! I’m used to german shepherd dogs and goldens which usually look like little bears until about 10-12 weeks when they shed the puppy fur and start getting lanky. With shorter coated breeds you really see the changes happening early.

“I like putting my foot in my mouth“

Drei weeks ③

We’ve reached the three-week mark.

They range in weight from 3.5lbs to 4.5lbs. Two are getting so active they are threatening to exit the whelping box already, so breeder has had to make a higher entry way for mum to still have easy in/out access, but keeping the little ones in.

They have starting eating food: mix of goat milk, ground kibble and raw ground meat.

That must be a messy but fun experience! We love this breeder, she does so much for her dogs and puppies. : )

Week Zwei ②

They are now two weeks old! It’s flying by.

Their eyes opened last week and they are already starting to wobble around on shaky legs. One is also growing into a slightly woolier coat, which I’m told comes from the mums lines.

Week ein ①

The adorable Doberman puppies are already a week old today!

They had their tails docked and their dew claws removed this past week.

They are all healthy and gaining weight every day, and I’m told look like chubby little ticks when they gorge themselves on mums milk.

Puppies are here!

Just received email from a what sounds like a very tired breeder and new Mum.

The puppies arrived yesterday, May 5th (right on time!!)

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

There are eight puppies, three girls and five boys.

The first five came out in just three hours, the last two needed a vet trip, a shot and encouragement, lol. Poor mum. Thank goodness the worst is over for her, now she can just love them and be mum.

German Shepherd Dogs, from a long-time owner

German Shepherd Dogs are very smart, often snuggly, they are naturally aloof, protective and a one person dog. Meaning they will shadow one person in their home and adore them for life. They will take to the rest of the family sure, but they are a one-person-loving dog.

They are nick-named “German-Shedders” not for lack of reason as they shed like crazy! Puppy sized balls of fur, twice a year. You will find it everywhere, clothes, your clean laundry, your food. You will eat your GSDs fur. 🙂

German Shepherds aren’t recommended for the first time dog owner. They aren’t just intelligent they are highly intelligent. They are most often times smarter than their owners. They are bred to be active in the field all day long, so they require a lot of exercise. A bored and under-exercised GSD is a dog that will find anything and everything to entertain themselves because of boredom. A tired GSD is a well-behaved GSD.

Without proper training and exercise they will rip up sprinkler systems (entire sprinkler systems), de-stuff couches, remove everything off counters and from inside cabinets, + anything else they want to do while your away, or heck in front of you at times. Everything that you once thought was yours becomes your GSDs (in their mind until taught otherwise). They require a lot of patients, and even more training, + re-fresh training throughout their lives. They will always attempt to think one step ahead of you so you need to keep up with them.

It’s natural for them to be aloof and cautious with strangers. Yes, they will make you feel safe. It’s the owners job to protect their dog however, not the other way around. If you want security buy a home security system. If someone wants into your home they will get there one way or another, even if that means (goodness forbid) killing your dog.

This is not a breed you want to bring home lightly without as much research as possible. Lack of research is how so many of them end up in the shelter, suffering from behavior problems, because their owners didn’t take the time to train them and exercise them enough. This breed is often deemed aggressive and or destructive, when if it isn’t poor breeding, it’s the owners that make them such because again (emphasizing) don’t exercise or train them consistently.

They are not a dog to keep outdoors!! They are highly social within the family/”pack” by nature, doing so encourages barking and other social-lacking behavior. There are other breeds that do not mind being outdoors or housed in kennels, though I feel on a personal level a dog is not a possession. If you want to have a dog have it with the family or not at all.

Over-breeding by back-yard-breeders who are in it for the money (instead of titling and getting full health certs on their breeding dogs to prove their dogs are worthy of being bred and bettering the breed in the first pace) instead of improving the breed BYBs have caused countless health issues which are the dogs pain and suffering to bear, and end up being very costly to the owner.

Looking for one of your own?

Check rescues first. Rescues will evaluate new families and their homes and ask lots of questions. These questions are a good thing, it shows they care about where their dogs go and what their life will be like, they don’t want to see the dogs dumped/abandoned again. They will see which of their rescues best suite your family/home, if the breed does at all. Perhaps the GSD doesn’t suite you? Wouldn’t you want to find out before bringing the dog home?

There are show lines and working lines. Research both, fully. Learn the differences and how many kinds there are in each.

Don’t buy from a breeder who hasn’t proof of passing health on all the following: Eyes, Heart, Thyroid, Hips AND Elbows. These should be in full on at least both parents in the pedigree, better on more dogs further back too. Check all of these health certs with the websites who save and share the information. Great breeders brag about their dogs accomplishments and health if they dogs didn’t pass both with flying colours they wouldn’t be breeding their dogs. Learn how to read a pedigree and cross check it on pedigreedatabase.com. Parents should be titled in working events to prove breeding worth too, these titles should be listed on the pedigree, the more the better (and simple BH doesn’t cut it). Anyone who sells a dog without these is a BYB and dogs will have the most costly health (and possibly mental health) issues. Real breeders squeak even, they don’t make profit. They do it because they love the breed and want to better it.

AKC doesn’t mean squat. A mutt can be registered with the AKC.

The UKC has standing. Canada has strict breeding regulations that the USA lacks significantly. If a breeding dog is registered with the UKC you can almost guarantee a safe puppy from the parent. There is no guarantee on health, there is no perfect dog… well there are few perfect dogs. What you can do is lesson your chances of getting a dog with a genetic defect by insisting on purchasing your GSD from a decent breeder. If you buy from a BYB you’re only encouraging them to continue breeding genetically defective puppies that will most likely end up in the pound.

Does that mean only get your dogs from Canada? No. It simply means a great breeder doesn’t brag about an AKC registered dog they brag about health and titles.

If you don’t have the time or money to rescue a dog or purchase a decent pup and give that dog or pup a lifelong commitment, don’t bring home a dog, most especially a German Shepherd Dog.

Yes, this is my favourite breed.. I love, love, love this breed. Yes, I have had many and will always have them as they suite my lifestyle, but I would not recommend them to just anyone. They aren’t for everyone nor should they be. If we were all the same life would be boring.

Peace.

Fromm

Since the latest Innova recall on the 18th I’m weaning my dogs over to Fromm brand dog food.

Pricey as heck and customer service refuses to answer questions about food comparisons, which I thought was a degree of weird above odd. Who knows their food better than themselves.. they can’t give me some options? Anyway…

They test all their food for contaminants before shipping out, they offer coupons and frequent buyer program options for local sellers that are interested in participating, so we’re giving it a go.

We’re trying the grain-free beef first.

The tan bag/Weight Management line looks a bit similar to Innova Adult. Kinda/sorta. We might try that if the beef is too much for them.

I wish they straight up had a turkey line. My shepherd has a sensitive tummy since a bad reaction to the horrible, toxic, poisonous R****** drug. Poor girl was having facial swellings every two weeks (to the day) for fourteen looooong months before we were finally able to have an antidote made. She could eat anything before then too. Nasty.

Fromm’s our knew home for dog kibble.