silverdog

Just doing my daily check-in, and as always, hoping to hear a positive update. Wow.. busy place. So much positive energy flowing Jed's way. What an amazing group of people here!

Oh dear! Not the news I was hoping to read. Not entirely surprising though. On the burn ward, it is often one step forward and two steps back in the early days. (And it is still VERY early days). As someone else has already mentioned, that will eventually become two steps forward and one step back. Hang in there, Jed. It's a long road, but you are not walking it alone.

Had to laugh at this. I know someone who breeds top notch IWS. We tease her about her "discount" doodles. Call them the "poor man's alternative" to DD's. Considering that most (non dog savvy) people buy a dog for the way it looks rather than for what it does, then spend months/years dealing with its perceived problem behaviours (that are often simply breed behaviours), maybe notable breed characteristics like behaviour should also be included in some way. After all, most (non dog savvy) people are blissfully unaware that different breeds were bred to behave in different ways, and they spend so much time trying to understand why their sight breeds chase, their earth dogs dig, gun dogs hunt, herding dogs nip etc.... Just a thought.

So pleased to hear this news!

Just checking in on Jed.

Another thing to consider is the overall amount of food you are feeding. Dogs have a very short digestive system, so if you are overfeeding a puppy, all that extra food will simply come out the other end, and usually as the runs. It could also very well be the chicken. One of mine girls is VERY sensitive to chicken (and this includes eggs). Gets the runs, farts up a storm, ears flare up with yeast for days after she gets anything chicken based. She does very well on turkey, rabbit, and fish as her main sources of protein. The others are happy with whatever gets put in front of them. LOL. I switched to raw feeding about two years ago. Took about a month for everyone's tum to settle down to it (and that was my fault for dragging it out combining raw with dry... once I cut out dry and fed them nothing but raw, their tums adjusted quickly). And wow.. once they did settle, the reduction in poop production was dramatic. Made me realize just how much filler I was paying for when feeding kibble. (And I was feeding top quality, premium kibble, with less filler than some of the cheaper brands).

Good to hear some positive news.

All the best on your birthday!

Aw, come on folks. His dogs are dead. That's tragic for anyone. Not quite sure what his income, his belief system, or who he donates money to, has to do with it. Is the death of his dogs any less tragic for him and his family because they are wealthy? Are they any less deserving of our compassion?

Ah.. but with any "right" comes the corresponding "responsibility". Most reputable breeders that I know are simply wanting to ensure that anyone who purchases one of their pups exercises the the daunting responsibilities (as pointed out by Steve et al) that come with owning a main registered dog, along with the "rights".

Like others here I was shocked to read of the tragic events involving Jed, and have been following this thread for updates. At odd times of the day Jed will pop into my thoughts.. and I find myself appreciating my own good fortune just a little bit more as a result. I am a firm believer in the power of collective good will and healing thoughts, and I am sending mine from the other side of the world. Rest and heal Jed. Time is your friend now. Take all that you need. (edited for spelling)

I agree with others who have said hand stacking a pup that is being uncooperative can create a roach, and moving them on lead when they are resisting the collar and putting their head down will greatly emphasize a roachy topline and make them look bum high. And yes, he is straight in the stifle, which won't be helping the situation. It's a bit of a red flag for me if he is roaching ALL the time, even when relaxed. That to me that suggests either a pain problem somewhere or a conformation problem (which could in turn be causing the pain..it's a vicious cyle). Most weims that roach when being stacked (because they are resistiing), loose the roach when moving out, or vice versa. A puppy with a good topline will always have moments when you can see that good topline. Even when they are going through the puppy uglies. They will be bouncing around in the garden then see something and freeze, and you will go "yes.. there is that lovely topline I saw as an 8 week old.." When did you first notice the roach? To be honest, I'm pretty sure I can see a problem even in the picture of him as a 3 mo old, but he is also being handstacked in that photo too, so could be as a result of that. He doesn't look overly bum high, either, although if you had him stacked so his hocks were perpendicular to the ground, instead of him being overextended, his bum would come up a bit. Do you have any pictures of him moving off lead? Or just standing relaxed off lead? What about when his attention is on something fascinating in front of him so he naturally drops his back and and leans forward over his front, so he is no longer A-framing? I know, they don't always stay still long enough for a photo at this stage. LOL. Did your breeder take any assessment photos of the litter at 8 weeks? Or even just candids? It would be interesting to see his puppy photos, and to compare him to his siblings at this stage.

Ok.. update. Finally got a furminator, and it is AMAZING. Works great on the weims. Doesn't damage the coat and pulls lots of dead hair out of the ones who are still shedding. Way more effective than either my hound mitt or slicker. We'll see how it goes with regular use, but at this point, I would have to say I am impressed. (Not with the price though.. OUCH!)

Indeed.

Interesting to hear how well it works on such short coated breeds. Thanks for the feedback everyone. Might give one a try then.

Anyone used a Furminator on weims before? Mine are all shedding like crazy at the moment. I do use a hound mitt to pull out all the loose, dead hair, but am looking for something that works even faster, and have heard people raving about Furminators. Are they just for pulling out undercoat in double coated breeds? Any thoughts on them, specifically for very short coated dogs like weims?

How about Remington? That's about as American as you can get (the gun) and also fits very will with Shooter and Bullet. (Seita, Michael J Fox is actually a famous CANADIAN. )

I really don't see this as a question to be bothering the breeder with. it is a simple question to answer. You just really like picking at me don't you? Get over it hey. As a breeder, I cringe when I hear about "advice" doled out by well meaning but usually uninformed trainers, friends, dog walkers, pet shop staff etc. The fallout from such advice can be catastrophic. I always encourage my puppy people to ask me first... no matter how minor or stupid the question may seem. Perfect example: One of my puppy people contacted me, extremely upset and anxious. They had been at puppy class with their five month old puppy. Trainer had noticed that the puppy had an overbite. Told them that this was a was very bad thing and that the dog would have serious jaw problems for the rest of it's life. Also told them that this was a sign of "bad breeding" . This puppy was at the vet the next day. Vet told them the same thing (including the bit about bad breeding! ;) ) and that all sorts of expensive dental work was necessary. This included extractions of the permanent canine teeth (which were only just erupting at the time) and filing down of the incisors to prevent damage to the palate. Multiple repeat visits to the vet would be necessary to correct all the damage this "overbite" would cause. As a bonus, this "vet" also pointed out that their puppy's rear legs were too long, that they didn't match his front legs, and that this would also cause problems for the dog later in life, including hip displaysia. He went so far as to suggest that the discrepancy in leg length was because this puppy was possibly not a purebred . These poor people called me in an absolute panic. It's too bad they didn't call be BEFORE they went to the vet. After I calmed them down (and told them this vet was an idiot ) I reminded them that the puppy's bite had been fine at 8 weeks old. I told them that a true overshot mouth is relatively rare in weims, and when it does occur, it is usually pretty obvious even at 8 weeks, before puppies go to new homes. I explained to them that the upper and lower jaw grow at different rates and that they are not always in sync . I discussed the particular bloodlines that this puppy was from, and told them that an overshot bite had been known to show up TEMPORARILY in puppies in this line, especially during periods of rapid growth, but that it almost always resolved itself by the time the dog was finished their skeletal growth. I advised them to wait until their puppy was full grown before making any rash decisions on what dental work, if any, would be needed, and to ignore any and all advice on the subject from trainers, vets etc, until such time as puppy was full grown. I also discussed with them in detail the particular growth pattern of weimaraners. It is a rare weim puppy indeed that does not go through at least one period of being "bum high", when the back end grows faster than the front. So common that we don't even take notice of it. Invariably shows up right before a specialty show, with puppy entered in puppy classes! Well, six months later, this puppy once again had a perfect scissors bite, and rear end matched his front end. Dog is now 3 years old, and is a wonderful example of the breed.....and has been an absolute gem for them. Even though he was sold as a pet, I asked if I could show him a few times before he was neutered. Took home ribbons every time he was in the ring, titled him easily. He took a couple Best in Breeds over nationally ranked dogs and even a nice Group placement... (Bad breeding indeed.. bah! ) Owners found a different vet, enlightened their trainer (who knew a lot about training dogs, just not much about the growth patterns of weimaraners) had fun watching their dog kick some **s in the show ring, and have a lovely, healthy, dog with a full set of teeth. So.. moral of the story. Always ask the breeder first. They will appreciate it. It will save you (and them) a lot of stress, and you will probably learn a lot more about your dog than you could possibly find out from a trainer, friend or even your vet.

Good old fashioned baby oil works on most bandage (and tape) adhesives.

It is ONIONS, not broccoli which can cause hemolytic anemia. (Broccolii can be problematic if your dog is hypothyroid, though.)

This thread would be funny if it wasn't so sad. So if you first went to obedience with your dog when you were 10, and that was 16 years ago, that makes you 26 now. Your kids are 9 and 11, so my math says that you had your first child at 15, and your second at 17. :D Now you are taking on two lab puppies at the same time and expecting your kids to look after them. You are also "determined to get it right and have 2 well mannered well behaved new members of our family". Hmmm. I would hazard a guess that "good judgement" is not one of your personal strengths. :p Either you are an incredibly gifted and talented dog handler to even consider taking on two lab puppies from the same litter and expecting it to all work out (and let's not forget you also have a 9 year old and and 11 year old to look after, as well as a job to go to) , or you are completely ignorant of the numerous pitfalls that await you. Oh, there is a third possibility. You are simply here to stir up an argument, and this whole story is crock of ****. You have been advised (very politely) by many here who actually DO know what they are talking about that taking on two lab puppies at once is NOT a good idea. You appear to have completely ignored this excellent advice, and in fact, have responded in an incredibly rude and immature fashion. This includes your creation of a fake "friend" to support you on this forum. Regardless of who coccosonni is and what she plans to do, it would be wise for anyone else reading this thread to take heed of all the excellent advice regarding the difficulties faced when taking on two puppies at once. For all the reasons already stated in this thread, it seldom works out, and in the end, one or both of the puppies pay the price. It is because of this that reputable breeders rarely, if ever, place littermates together in a home.

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