Throwback Thursday (because yesterday was National Puppy Day) 3/24/16

I missed both Wordless Wednesday and National Puppy Day in one fell swoop, so here's one of my first Elka puppy pictures.

Wendy, natural eared girl with Illinois Doberman Rescue

This is Wendy! She's a nine month old, natural eared, docked black and tan girl in Illinois Doberman Rescue.

(photo from Illinois Doberman Rescue)

UPDATED: Daisy WAS ADOPTED!! through DOBER, inc.

This is Daisy. She's in a foster home and available for adoption through DOBER, inc (Dreaming of Better Endings Rescue).

(picture from Dober,Inc Petfinder listing)

She's a natural eared fawn girl with a docked tail. Daisy is 11 months old, housebroken and crate trained, according to her foster mom. 

Guiding Eyes Library visitor

In my town, there are people who raise puppies for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. One of my regular library patrons frequently ends up as a puppy sitter for the weekend, or for a couple of weeks, and the library is a great place for these puppies (of all ages!) to learn. We've got stairs, people, lots of new smells, and an elevator!

Black and White Sunday May 25 2014

Yet another instance of "how did my puppy grow into this humongous dog I have"? I always love this picture of her, from one of our early jaunts outside after she came home. I took it with the little flip phone I had at the time.

Doberman Assistance Network's2014 Flower Power Fundraiser

It's that time again! From now until April 25, you can buy a number of things to grow on the Flower Power Fundraising website in order to benefit the Doberman Assistance Network. Why "a number of things", rather than flowers?

(Persian Buttercups, from Flower Power Fundraiser site.)

Well, they have flowers, yes. But they also have strawberries, and herbs, and a vegetable garden package. And a cookbook! So if you're inclined to grow your own veggies and/or have the yard for it, check them out. The prices seem fairly reasonable, and 50% of each purchase goes back to DAN.

I wrote about a number of the Doberman Assistance Network's cases this past year. Sweetheart was one of them, and Nola with her puppies, and Roscoe, a puppy who had Parvo. That's only a few of my posts, and my posts are very few of DAN's cases. They keep going on fundraisers and donations, and it's the only way some of these dogs get any kind of help.

Duchess, Internet sensation, is no longer with her owners

A Doberman puppy in Ft. Lauderdale may be ending her day today in a far better situation than she started. Though she was returned to her owners, with animal control saying they saw no signs of abuse, the owners were subsequently arrested on non animal abuse charges and the puppies (Duchess and a dog whose name I have not seen) were taken into custody as well.

(picture linked from Examiner.com article)

Duchess was apparently been chained out back of her family's house for hours, barking, and the neighbors report that they did not see food and water out for her. She also had no shelter, and a neighbor is quoted as having seen the puppy try to dig a hole and crawl under a porch for shelter. For reference, it's been 90 in Ft. Lauderdale. When people approached the owners and said things to the effect of "hey, can we take your dog to the vet? Hey, she needs water and food", the owner said "It's just a dog" and told them to get off his property. (We already know how I feel about "just a dog" statements)

Police had visited the home once already, and took Duchess who animal control, who determined that she was in good health and released her to the owners. I'm not a medical professional, but when I saw the picture I linked above, I thought it was of a dead puppy. Not one who had a "tub of high quality food" inside for her. I don't know how you can look at that little girl and say there are "no signs of abuse", though apparently when a vet did see her, she wasn't gaining weight because she had hookworm (according to the NBC 6 video). They were displaying vaccination records, maybe somebody should've said "hey, we shouldn't see a dog's ribs, spine, and hips" and done a fecal.  Also according to the video, straight from the owner's mouth, though a house dog Duchess was chained out back because she had a "discipline problem with barking". She's 8 weeks old, for God's sake. She's a baby. Puppies bark; do you put a baby outside for crying?

(pictures from Dogster article)

No dog deserves to be chained outside. There's a high correlation between dogs who are chained/tied up outside and bites, in fact. Obviously, this hits me hard, because I know Elka doesn't want to be outside without us. I tried to get her to go outside and potty without me once during the winter; she'll stand in the middle of the yard and bark at the house. Dobermans want to be with their people. I'd risk making the assumption that most dogs do.

Duchess does look like a sweetie (though somebody needs to clean hear ears up; they were cropped, and clearly have gluey stuff from tape all over them in the NBC 6 video.) I hope she has a good and happy life, and those nasty hookworms are taken care of.

Black and White Sunday September 1 2013

For those of you who asked last time, I just use the Photobucket "effects". So, It was "Concordia" on that one, and today's is "Metropolis". Oh yeah, and Elka was still itty-bitty.

Can you believe it? Beau and Mordecai both still need homes.

I've gone back and looked at some of my Tuesday Tails postings (and rescue postings) and realized that Beau and Mordecai are still looking for homes!

Beau is a handsome Doberman (he's named appropriately) who I first mentioned when I posted about Doberman Rescue Minnesota.

(image from DRM web site)

Blitz, with Distinguished Doberman Rescue, in Parsipanny NJ

Blitz is an adorable red boy who was pulled from a shelter in Georgia by DAN into a foster with Distinguished Doberman Rescue. He's 10 months old, natural eared, and with a docked tail.

(picture from DDR, inc web site)

His Distinguished Doberman Rescue foster mama says Blitz is:

Good with other dogs
Will do best with children over 10
Cats unknown

A family with good Doberman skills is preferred, somebody who can set rules and boundaries, and teach Blitz all of what life has to offer. At 10 months, he's sure to be a handful (what puppy isn't, really?) but also at that age where he can just learn so much.

If you or somebody you know is interested in adopting Blitz and feels they meet these criteria, here is the link to DDR, inc's application process.

Mordecai! Special Needs Puppy with Doberman Rescue Minnesota

(picture from DRM blog)

Doberman Rescue Minnesota has Mordecai! He's a 16 week old male pup-super smart, great temperament, almost potty trained, crate trained, sweet little man, makes up for his disabilities! Breeder was going to euthanize as there was no money to care for him-we took him to the University of Minnesota Vet Center to get honest opinion on our options-The Docs at the U said we should give him a chance! So he is now with us and completely a joy to have in foster care! Mordy had a dislocated elbow that did not get placed back properly by the breeder, in fact breeder did not even notice it (!) until after Mordy was "sold", this will need to be addressed in the future and DRM is committed 100%.

Mordy also has congenital megaesophogus, which we are hoping he out grows one day-the vets are hopeful too! Mordy is super playful and acts like any other pup, he is just a little different as he eats in a high chair! We are also seeking donations to help defray his vet care as he grows. Mordy is currently eating Honest Kitchen-Embark, (we will take any donations for his food!) and we are looking at surgery for the future, the University estimates the cost to fix his leg at $3500. Please help us help Mordy! We are committed to helping him. If you are interested in adopting or helping us support Mordy with food or medical expenses please let us know!

(text from the DRM blog)

(picture from the DRM blog)

The ONE thing

I see this topic a lot on dog message boards. I figured I'd ask it here, because after all, you guys are my "dog people" too!

What is the ONE thing you wish you knew before you brought your dog home?

I of course can't limit it to one. But I've got a solid five, anyway.

Wordless Wednesday May 29 2013

It is one of my regrets (along with not clicker training from day one and not socializing with other dogs) that I did not take more puppy pictures of Elka.

"Just a dog"

There are times new members come on to Doberman Talk, and I truly hope these individuals are trolls. I'm not sure why people troll Doberman boards of all places, but it happens. But, why do I hope they're trolls? Because they disregard things that members, members who are more experienced and learned and all of that than I, who have had the infinite heartbreak of their dogs being sick and dying too early, and only want the best for the breed, and the best for individual puppies. And those new people? They say "You guys are too serious." They say "It's just a dog."

I mean, yes. It is "just a dog". But don't you want the best dog? Don't you want the dog who will last you the longest, have a great temperament, have the fewest health problems?

Reward Calmness

I was at the park today with Elka on the long line, when I saw a person approaching with her dog.  It was a yellow lab puppy, I'm not sure how old, but twenty to thirty ish pounds. They were all over the path as they approached, so I put Elka on her regular short leash to wait them out. The puppy was on a retractable leash, and I heard the mechanism squeal as he pulled out more length, even though it was "locked". Elka put herself in a down, and I stood on the long leash (still attached to her harness). She seemed less than happy with the puppy antics, and since the woman didn't seem to have full control, either due to puppy exuberance or lack of interest in doing so, I didn't think they ought to "say hello".

Look over there! What's that?

I know it's kind of the stereotype of the dog owner to think that their dog is the smartest and bestest dog of them all. Really, it's every individual dog's job to be the best dog. It's just the way things are.

Of course I have stories like that, though. Where I just couldn't believe Elka's intelligence, or the mental connections that she made to reach the behavioral end. A main reason we picked Doberman is for the intelligence; perhaps we didn't think that through? But it's been great, for the most part!

What I think of Michael Vick's New Dog

I'm sure you know by now that Michael Vick has a new dog. Angel. He brought her to PetSmart for training! Ooh. Ahhh. Accompanied by his bodyguard, apparently. Perhaps a good move on his part.

It's legal. Nobody can do anything about it. We just have to hope that he does well by Angel. People are keeping an eye, evidently, so maybe that will help.

Dogster.com ran an article about it (linked above), and in the comments I expressed my surprise that he'd selected a Belgian Malinois, typically used as Military Working dogs, police dogs, or for the sport of Schutzhund, and wondered at his plans for said dog. Somebody called me idiotic, which I thought was extra classy (I guess they don't moderate their comments. Though, all in all, this is the Internet. If being called idiotic makes me take my toys and go home, I should seek other hobbies). That individual wondered if I believed any "civilian" should receive that sort of scrutiny when selecting a Malinois. Well, maybe. But civilian isn't my keyword here.

(public domain picture of a Malinois from Wikipedia)

Wordless Wednesday November 21 2012

Puppy Elka, the night that she came home.

Of course, she hasn't stopped being a lapdog. She's considerably larger than the 16 pounds she was, though!

(43,811 words)

A kinder, gentler animal study (now more kawaii)

I'm rather fond of looking at puppy pictures. Especially if you replace "fond of" with "addicted to". Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw the CBS headline "Baby animal pictures may boost focus at work"!  The article states that "researchers at Hiroshima University wanted to find out whether looking at a cute object does more than produce temporary positive feelings and if it could actually influence a person's behavior." Boy am I glad they asked that question! I especially like it when there is science to justify my habits.

(Puppy Elka. Because why not? Boost your focus today!)

Researchers reported: "The present study shows that perceiving cuteness not only improves fine motor skills but also increases perceptual carefulness...This study provides further evidence that perceiving cuteness exerts immediate effects on cognition and behavior in a wider context than that related to caregiving or social interaction." So, yet another way in which our dogs and cats (and gratuitous puppy and kitten pictures on the Internet) improve our cognitive function, physical function, and quality of life.

(look at how much bigger the pillow was than her!)

If you're interested, the research is on PLOS One, which I had never heard of until right this second. Apparently it's a peer reviewed, open access journal. Free science for everybody!

Book Review: The Puppy Diaries, by Jill Abramson

Around the same time I got Elka, the New York Times had a near-weekly column called "The Puppy Diaries", about raising a Golden Retriever puppy named Scout. At the time, I didn't have this blog, a mistake I'm kicking myself for now. Near-weekly guaranteed comment (and thus perhaps traffic) on the New York Times? Say it ain't so!

But anyway, the book of the columns, with some things removed and some holes filled in, has been published.