Shepherd Christmas Cookies

My friends wanted to make sure that Roxy and Jedi also have a Merry Christmas, so a couple of them sent over homemade dog treats. How cool is that?

Yes, those are German shepherd-shaped grain free dog treats. Did I mention that my friends are awesome, thoughtful and talented?

  

The dogs really liked them too. Even picky Roxy made sure to lick up every crumb.

It's Wordless Wednesday! Hop around below and see what others are sharing today. -- K

Sick Pup Follow-Up

Poor, sick puppy.

Four months ago I shared a sad story about the $3500 sick puppy. You can read the entire story at "Kelley Drinks Because . . ." The gist is:

• Husband bought a "surprise" German shepherd puppy for his wife from an online broker. Husband never spoke with the breeder, nor did he interact with the puppy before purchase.
• The puppy was delivered just before the wife's scheduled two-month trip to Europe.
• Puppy showed up sick. The couple treated the infection, then they discovered serious genetic problems. The puppy was diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia (both hips) and bilateral distal femoral osteochondritis dissecans (excessive cartilage growing on the ball joints of both large leg bones).
• The couple realized that their work schedules and finances weren't great for a healthy puppy, never mind one that would require thousands of dollars in orthopedic surgery.
• The puppy broker stopped returning calls and the name of the breeder was never divulged.
• The wife blanketed the local dog community with sad pleas, looking for someone to take on this "special needs puppy."

This is a healthy puppy.

Well, a friend of mine got involved. She was able to comb through the couple's paperwork and found some slightly good news. The puppy originated in Florida, so there was a mandatory health certificate, for what it's worth. Obviously the veterinarian didn't inspect the puppy as required. There was no way this puppy was fit for purchase. However, the name of the breeder was on the certificate. Word got out quickly. The breeder's Facebook page was inundated with nasty truths and was eventually shut down. Animal welfare groups have gotten involved and they are going after both breeder and veterinarian -- to what extent, I don't know. (Because of my job and position as an AKC-sanctioned club president, I'm trying not to get involved.)

The couple kept the puppy after all. They tried to make him as comfortable as possible while weighing their options. The puppy died quickly and quietly last week. They think he had a heart attack. (No autopsy was performed.) The puppy wasn't even 9 months old. The couple is devastated, but happy that their pet is no longer in pain. And they're feeling guilty that they're relieved the ordeal is over. This is not what they were expecting when they saw their little ball of fur 6 months ago.

I'm very sorry for the pain that this couple and their poor sick puppy went through. I'm sharing this story hoping that it will be a lesson to others. Here are some things I want people take away from this:

This is worth the work!

• Never, ever, EVER buy from an online puppy broker. If you can't talk to the breeder directly, run away!
• Living creatures should not be surprise gifts. Animals are a lot of work. Everybody needs to be on board before bringing one home.
• A dog is a 10-15 year commitment. Make sure your schedule and finances have room for the new addition.
• Just because you pay more for something doesn't mean it's better. This is especially true with dogs. My AKC show dog is no better than my "free to a good home" dog was.
• Do some research beforehand. What should you expect from a dog of this breed/size/age? Does the breeder/rescue group/animal shelter have a contract? If so, what protections and recourses do you have should something go wrong?

If you don't like the answers you're getting, walk away -- no matter how cute the puppy is. It may sound callous. Sorry. But a little legwork up front can save you a lot of heartache later on.

My friend is still in contact with the couple. When they're done grieving she can help them find a happy, healthy German shepherd either through a reputable breeder or a good German shepherd rescue group. Too bad they didn't meet her last year. -- K

Awww...New App

Are you "photographically challenged?" I am! You wouldn't believe how many pictures I take just to give you what I do. Thank goodness for digital pics. Well, a friend shared a new app with me called Super Photo. Look what it can do now:

Here's the original:

What do you think? Do you want to play with all your old pics now too?

It's Awww...Monday. We're joining Sandee from Comedy Plus to share things that make us say "Awww." Jedi always makes me say "Awww" (but I'm a bit biased). Hop around below and see what others are sharing today. -- K

We're Going For It!

Last month I lamented over ORTs. I'm still not sure if Jedi is ready, but I'm going to bite the bullet and drive to West Palm next month to find out. My friend and her dog, Semi, are going with us. Friend and two of her dogs took the ORTs in Jacksonville last month. Each passed two of the three target odors. Funny thing, they missed different ones. Semi missed birch, so he's going to retry with Jedi on January 9. Birch is the target odor for level one, and our dogs can't start competing until they pass the odor recognition test for birch. So, wish us luck!

To prepare for the ORT, we've been practicing here and there. (For Jedi, it's been more there than here. He has an inconsistent handler -- me!) Every other weekend, Friend's husband sets up various hides and we try to sniff them out. They have a large piece of property with lots of places to hide stuff along with a variety of distractions -- including chickens and feral cat poop. Yesterday another friend took a few pictures of the dogs in action. Above is one of Jedi zeroing in on the scent. (The scent box is hidden under the right corner of the trailer, and the wind is blowing towards me.) Friend's husband played a trick on us and used the level two odor. He didn't tell me what or where the hide was, so we searched as usual. Jedi found it and alerted. It wasn't until afterwards that I was told that Jedi had found anise. We're not even training with anise! I'm so proud of my boy. What a confidence booster -- for me at least; it's all just a game to Jedi.

Want to learn more about how incredible a dog's sense of smell is? Check out this article called The Dog's Nose. It's amazing. -- K

Stop Talking!

My husband saw this meme on Facebook and tagged me.

DUH! What else would I talk about on Kelley's DOG blog?

He tagged me in this one too:

Seriously? There's not a German shepherd on this!

Do you think he was hinting at something? I don't know why he's complaining. I warned him in 1987, way back when we were still dating. I told him I liked dogs, that I really, really, REALLY liked dogs. I even specified that I liked big, furry, drooly dogs. It's not my fault that he didn't listen. -- K

P.S. I just tagged him on this meme: 

Who's hinting now?

That's My Spot

I took some personal time last week. It roughly translated to 10.5 days off. I didn't go anywhere special (other than the AKC Eukanuba dog show). Nor did I accomplish most of the things that I wanted to do, but it was still nice to relax. What wasn't nice though, was having a get up at 5 AM Monday morning to go back to work. It didn't make me feel any better when *someone* jumped in my spot while I was in the shower.

Jedi snuggled up next to Hubby and made himself comfortable -- on my favorite pillow!! He didn't even stir when I took pictures.

I channeled my inner Sheldon and told Jedi that he was in my spot. He didn't care. I don't blame him. I'd rather be in a warm comfy bed too. Anywho, it's Wordless Wednesday! Click around below and see what others are sharing today. Later, -- K

The Self-Righteous Raw Feeding Troll

Disclaimer: I am not bashing raw feeders. 

• I have friends who feed their dogs raw diets. 
• I have friends who supplement high quality commercial dog food with raw food. 
• I have friends who swear by the BARF diet. 
• And I have friends who cook their dogs' food from scratch with organic, human-grade ingredients. 

All of these people feel that they're doing the best they can for their dogs. And all of them will talk to you in depth about why they made those decisions. I respect all of them, even if I don't always agree with them. This rant is not directed to those people. This rant is about one particular woman: The Troll.

I went to the AKC Eukanuba National Championship over the weekend. It was awesome! (A gorgeous German shepherd bitch took Best in Show and she totally deserved it. But I digress . . . ) In addition to the thousands of dogs competing in conformation, agility and obedience, the Eukanuba dog show also offered demos, 100+ vendors, access to representatives of large dog-centric organizations and seminars on dog breeding, nutrition and health.

I attended an interesting seminar hosted by Royal Canin on breed specific dog food formulas. I'd seen the products before and always thought it was just a gimmick. I went to the seminar with an open mind and discovered the science behind it was pretty interesting. It was definitely food for thought (pun not intended). The speaker was knowledgeable and engaging. The woman in front of me, however, was a tiresome twat. She came in late and sat in the front row. She made it clear from the beginning that she was a raw feeder and had no intention of learning anything. Nor did she want to participate in an educated discussion. Instead, she felt the need to interrupt every five minutes with a condescending remark. I thought the speaker, a PhD veterinary nutritionist, handled herself well. Personally I would have said something snarky and inappropriate (like "tiresome twat.") Here are a few of the exchanges that really stood out:

• The speaker was talking about a scientific study when Troll piped in saying she didn't believe the data because the dog food company paid for it so "obviously it's unreliable." The speaker told her that there were several studies, all with similar results. One was paid for by a competing dog food company, a second was done at UC Davis and a third was a privately funded study done in Europe. Troll said it was still bogus.

• Troll said she didn't trust any studies done by conventional veterinarians. She only used holistic veterinarians and was suspicious because there weren't any studies done by holistic vets. The speaker said that one of Royal Canin's sister companies was looking for qualified holistic vets, but was having trouble finding some willing to do research instead of practice. She gave the names of the best, most comprehensive alternative medicine studies she knew of, but Troll just snorted.

• The kicker was when the speaker was discussing the differences in dog coats. I don't remember the exact quote, but she said something about our purebred dogs having evolved from a common ancestor based on original function. Troll blurted out "I don't believe in evolution."

Let that sink in for a moment.

Note: We weren't debating whether or not Man evolved from some primordial ooze. The speaker was talking about how dogs -- for better or worse -- have changed over the past few hundred years because of human influence. Any middle school student can tell you that the development of dog breeds was controlled evolution!

Lucky for us, Troll received a phone call halfway through the seminar and had to step out. Unfortunately, the damage was already done. Troll had wasted so much time that the speaker wasn't able to finish the presentation and there was no time at the end for questions from those who really wanted to participate.

If Troll had come off her high horse for a moment I would have told her that I applaud her for doing what she feels is right and works for her situation. I hope she continues to learn so she can make the best possible choices for her dogs. That said, I would appreciate the same courtesy. I don't feed raw (expense, storage, inconvenience, sanitation and "the gross factor" being my biggest reasons). If things change I'll talk to Kimberly over at Keep the Tail Wagging, not some interrupting cow. Until then, I'm trying to learn everything I possibly can about canine nutrition and commercial foods so that my dogs will have the best that I can provide. -- K

P.S. A parting jab to our troll friend. Love the old man at the end. "Are you crazy? What are you, High?" Mean? Probably. But still nicer than "tiresome twat."