Puppy Specialist and Dog Trainer

Let’s take a moment to talk about genetics. I just got off a call with someone who got a cane corso and his dog bit the gardener who came into the yard unannoun...ced and a friend who did the same. Now he wants to rehome or euthanize the dog. He said, he didn’t raise him like that.... There’s this little catch phrase that gets thrown around, it’s all now they’re raised. Well, that’s not quite true. Look at 8 week old Kelpie or Border Collie pups herding ducks or lambs without any training, or pointers naturally on point when they see a bird. These are things that breeders have carefully selected for over time. Genetics also greatly impact a dogs nerves and environmental stability. Sure you can do a lot as a handler to try and shape and guide a dog’s genetic drives or tendencies to a certain degree, but in my opinion when it comes to breed specific traits and solid or weak nerves In a dog, genetics will always win and come through. When selecting a dog, please don’t choose the cane corso because it looks bad ass, or the border collie because you heard it’s the smartest breed, or a Malinois because it’s a police dog breed. These dogs have real needs and drives that must be satisfied, and if you can’t provide those things, select a different dog. When rescuing, remember if you get a puppy there’s no telling how the dog will end up by 3 years of age, so be prepared for unknown genetic drives and traits to be expressed as a dog develops. I truly believe if people talked more about genetics, people might be better matched with the dogs they either purchase or rescue. See more

Every now and then a dog comes into rescue that provides an opportunity to help us educate the public. When the dog leaves a seasoned Veterinarian and Vet Tech ...in tears, you know it’s bad. Let me introduce Ember. Ember is one of the Maine dogs we took into rescue on November 16th. In the last 36 hours we’ve learned a lot about these dogs, and we’ll continue to learn more over the next few weeks. So, at this point, I am sure you’re asking what we could have possibly learned already that would make me want to put a post like this out there When Ember got to her foster momma’s house, it was immediately noticed that she had a swollen vulva and extremely swollen breasts and nipples. In all honesty, we weren’t sure if she was about to give birth, or had recently given birth. If she had recently given birth, where were the pups? Ember is extremely malnourished and clearly in rough shape. There was a lot of concern that if she had given birth, did the pups survive? Is that why we were seeing this? Could she still have pups in her uterus? Maybe she had given birth, but there was still a pup stuck inside? You can see the endless series of questions here with the answers ranging from very distasteful to down right life threatening. Off to the vet she went! The end result, Ember is in heat. Ember was being housed with an intact male Newfoundland dog. We don’t know how long she’s been in heat. We don’t know if she and the male she was with successfully mated before we picked them up. We don’t know if she’s pregnant or not. We won’t know for at least a few more weeks. Why is this a even a concern? Dogs have puppies all the time Well, Ember has been bred before, a LOT. So much so that the vet believes every single time she’s gone into heat, she was bred. The vet said that she’s at least 6 years old, likely even a little older. So if you figure she started breeding at 1 yr old, and lets say 2 heats a year, and the vet believes she’s a minimum of 6 years old, possibly older, that’s conservatively 10 litters of pups in her short life. 10!!! That’s nearly 3-4 times the number of litters the average reputable breeder will allow a dog to have in a lifetime. Imagine being pregnant or breast-feeding infants constantly from the time you went through puberty until you were in your 50s or 60s. That’s a LOT of stress on a body, any body! And Ember’s is no exception. Not only has she given everything she has of herself to her pups in terms of nourishment, to the point of being detrimental to her own health, but the weight of carrying that many litters for so long has caused her spine to literally FUSE together! Can you imagine? To say it is heartbreaking is an understatement and there have been more than a few tears shed amongst the rescue team and the vets office since we got her. So again, why am I sharing this with you? It’s not to shame the people who did this to her, and I’m not looking for a mob to gather their pitchforks and head to Maine. I’m sharing this because I want you to look into her eyes and think about where you get a puppy from. Did you go to a pet store? I can PROMISE YOU that no reputable breeder will ever sell a pup to a pet store! Did you go to a backyard breeder? Are you aware of the differences between a good breeder and a backyard breeder? People are really good at telling a story to make themselves seem like responsible breeders, but have you looked under the covers? Unfortunately, when you don’t, this is the kind of person you're supporting. This is what the mom of that cute little puppy is left like. Ember is actually really lucky! She made it into rescue! Many of them never do This kind of breeding will NEVER STOP so long as there is a demand for these pups and people are willing to look the other way for the sake of getting that cute little puppy. This is what the moms of those puppies are left with though. As long as there are people out there willing to hand over $1,000 or more for a puppy without asking questions about the health and breeding, there will be people out there willing to exploit sweet animals like Ember for the almighty dollar. That’s the message here. Ask questions. Be involved. See the parents. See where and how they live. Are you supporting something that aligns with your own values of how an animal should be treated? If not, stop! Yes it may mean leaving that adorable little puppy behind, but it also means saving the mother from having to have that next litter, because I can guarantee you, the moment these people stop making money off the puppies, they will stop doing this to the dogs, and THAT’S the goal! See more

Remember this Christmas. A dog is not just for Christmas it is a LIFE LONG commitment. Think first.

Thankyou to whoever it was that suggested this instead of the horrible cone. He can sniff everything but not get to his sore and it cost $3 for one pool noodle! I'm sorry I can't find the old post to find your name