July 2: Condition
Affecting Toy Breeds
Legg-Calve-Perthes
is a condition found mostly in toy breeds often
mistaken by Vets as Hip Dysplasia. A toy breed
dog will seem fine for many months, then all of a
sudden it is limping on a rear leg. Often when
standing, they will hold one rear leg up, a tell tale
sign of a problem.
This condition was first
discovered by three researchers working independently
of each other, hence the name. It is a flattening of
the femoral head. When view on a x-ray,
it looks like the hip socket is moth eaten.
Back in 1930 it was
discovered in Wire Fox Terriers. Since then, it
has been seen in other breeds. Mostly small toy breeds
and some miniature breeds.
It is a painful condition
and small dogs often compensate for the condition by
becoming couch potatoes, because walking is painful.
The most probable cause is
a genetic weakness in the line of dogs allowing
inadequate blood supply. This leads to death of
the cartilage.
Treatment is usually
surgery with the removal of the femoral head.
On a personal note, I held
back a beautiful white toy male puppy for showing I
had produced from an AKC champion sire and a nice mom.
Neither parent had any problem with their rear legs.
One day I noticed this boy carrying a rear leg up.
I had heard of L-C-P, but had never seen a case of it.
I checked his foot, hoping he had injured his foot is
some way, but there was nothing to be seen. I watched
him carefully for a few more days. I then
decided time to seek my Vet's advice. He
watched him move and then decided to take and x-ray.
Sure enough it was my first case of L-C-P.
I was heart broken for the beautiful puppy and
disappointed I could not show or breed him of course.
Surgery has to be preformed at a practice who does
this surgery often and it is expensive.
I was lucky, a friend who
all ready has a toy poodle from me, had asked for
another retired toy. I asked her if she would be
interested in this boy, explained to her what the
problem was and the cost. She was thrilled to
get him and for her the surgery was much less
expensive, because she is a Vet Tech at a specialty
Vet practice. As an employee she can
have the surgery perform at a discount fee.
I was thrilled, he was
going to have his hip fixed, no more pain for him and
was going to have a wonderful home, to be spoiled
rotten.
Be aware of this problem
in small breeds. Take you dog to the Vet
if you see it limping or holding up a rear leg.
It is a lot more common than people think.
June 25 -- PETA, What you
should know !
I am writing this blog to
hopefully inform people who do not know about the shady
side of PETA (People For the Ethical Treatment of
Animals.) Sounds good doesn't it? We
all would like more control and punishment to those who
do horrible things to defenseless animals.
PETA took in $30 million
dollars on 2006. They are backed by many good
meaning very rich people, including Hollywood.
PETA submitted a
report to Virginia government agency,VDAC'S, nine months
late, on March 31, 2007. The report
stated the organization took in 3, 061
companion animals in 2006 of which it killed 2,981.
According to Virginia's
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS)
the average euthanasia rate for humane societies in the
state was just 34. 7 percent in 2006. PETA
killed 97.4 percent of the animals it
took in.
Now I ask everyone reading
this, where did the $30 million dollars go, because it
sure did not to find dogs new homes. None was
spent to improve their lives.
Here in SC a report made
our newspapers and TV news, PETA workers were caught
dumping dead dogs in rural NC trash
dumpsters.
In courtroom testimony last
year, a PETA manager acknowledged that her
organization maintains a large walk-in freezer for
storing dead animals.
How can people give money to
this organization? There are thousands of
shelters, humane societies and rescue groups who do an
excellent job taking care of animals and finding them
wonderful new homes for dogs and cats.
They desperately could use the funds. A
larger fund base could mean providing more Vet
care and to help more animals in need.
PETA people have been coming
to our dog shows, going in our motor homes, vans, cars
and on the show site grounds, turning dogs loose to be
hit by cars. They claim dead dogs are better
than having to live the life of a show dog.
Well I am here to tell you
my kids will tell you, if they die, they want to
come back (if we have that option) as one of my show
dogs. My kids have had dogs in their lives
since they were born. In our home, we eat after
the dogs eat.
Now I know there are some
people who should not have dogs. There are
mean hateful, evil people in this world. They
shouldn't have kids either. I just pray there is a
special place in HELL for all of them.
Please do not support this
group of extremists. What they did with all that
money is beyond any one's guess. It sure did not go to
help animals in need as they proclaim.
I want everyone to know some
of the info I have written was taken from a report in
Poodle Variety Jan-March issue. PV printed the
report from a 2008 Press Release from the Center for
Consumer Freedom.
June 17 -- Sept 11th
Like many Americans
9/11 is something that brings painful memories,
and then anger. I think many of us have gone
on trying not to recall the scenes on the
television. Knowing so many Americans
died such a horrible death and so many love ones
left behind really hurts all of us in our hearts.
I was looking through
a big name bookstore and I ran across the Dog
Heroes of September 11th. I glanced
through some pages to look at some of the photos
of dogs doing their jobs. I was not going to
buy it, until I read proceeds from the sale
of the book goes to benefit the National Disaster
Search Dog Foundation. The mission of
this foundation is to produce certified search and
rescue teams to protect our whole nation.
I spent my money and
was only too grateful to donate even a small
amount to these courageous teams, handlers and
dogs.
I have not made my way
through the entire book. Within the
first few pages, I read something about the dogs I
certainly did not know. "After
each work shift, the dogs are taken to one of
Veterinary-care tents at the worksite or the
Javits Center to be thoroughly examined and
decontaminated with a bath and have their eyes and
ears flushed. Only after the dogs were
cleaned, fed and ready to rest did the handlers
look after their own needs. Their dogs
always came first."
Not all the teams were
trained to search for bodies. Many handlers were
not sure their dog would know just what was
expected of them in this unique search.
But many alerted to a body or parts in some way
where fireman would search with more detail. Usually
the dogs were correct in a find. Some
how, even though they may not have been
trained for such a task, they knew what
they were there for and they helped families
have some closure.
Dogs were used to
search through the rubble being piled up and
sifted through to make sure there were not
body parts dumped by accident.
The long hours, hard
and dangerous conditions these faithful friends
doing their very difficult job was to be
respected by all.
I am asking everyone
who reads my blogs, please buy this book to help
raise money for the search and rescue teams all
across America. God forbid, we
never know when we will need these or other
teams again.
With 9/11, we as
a nation found out what dogs can really do to help
mankind. Please help by buying the
book.
We all pray we will
never have a need again as a nation.
The search teams also are called for lost children
and many other cases where a search or
rescue team can help.
There is a special
place in Heaven for these wonderful dogs who
gave of themselves and their devoted handlers.
May God bless and keep
each and every one. Hopefully, they
will only need to search for a tennis ball in a
field.
June 11: Doodling
I recently ran across an
ad and it made my blood boil. I am so tired of
breeders misrepresenting puppies they have created
to get big bucks for them.
Our Poodle breed is a
wonderful breed with many great qualities. Now
the fad is to mix Poodles with any and every thing.
Then call it a doodle this or doodle that.
I don't care what fancy name they put to them,
they are MIXED BREED DOGS and will not be hypo
allergenic or non shedding !!
Please use some common
sense. Poodles are one of the few hypo
allergenic breeds. Goldens, Labs,
Schnauzers are NOT. You can not take these
other breeds and breed them to a Poodle and get hypo
allergenic puppies.....IT WON'T HAPPEN !
Also, these other breeds
shed and shed badly, such as a Golden. Don't
take me wrong, I love a Golden, but you can not
breed a Golden to a Poodle, of any size and expect
to get non shedding puppies from the union....IT
WON'T HAPPEN !
While my blood pressure
is high, I will also ask you to please see if these
so called breeders are doing their health
genetic testing to the parents of such a
union BEFORE breeding them together.
Please think about it
before falling for this new trend.
These are not designer dogs or fancy anything, they
are still MIXED BREED DOGS. If you want a mix
breed, save a life and adopt a pet needing a home.
One point I want to
really bring to your attention, is the health
testing to produce healthy puppies. Most of these
breeders, and I use the term loosely, do not do any
health testing, they are after a fast buck.
PRA and Hip Dysplasia are serious problems in many
breeds. We have eye checked and hip x-rays
done to check for these problems before breeding an
adult. Hips can not be rated until
2 years of age. Goldens have both
problems, Standard Poodles are not affected with
PRA, as much as toys and minis, but we still do eye
checks. Now Standard Poodles can produce
and carry the Sebaceous Adenitis, loosing their
hair) we do skin punch test to determine if a
Standard is clear of SA. Goldens do not
have this problem.
WHEN YOU BREED THESE TWO
BREEDS TOGETHER, A BREEDER IS CREATING A LITTER OF
PUPPIES CARRYING IT ALL !
I have only touched on a
couple of health genetic issues, there are many,
Cushing's, Addison's and Epilepsy are to name a few.
Think about that please.
You are paying a iridous amount of money for a
puppies carrying God only knows what and the breed
is not going to stand behind the puppy.
These "breeders" get more money for a
mixed breed puppy than I ask for Standard Puppies
with both parents AKC Champions.
What is wrong with
people ? This is not good for the breeds
and for new owners. You are going to be
disappointed when your new puppy is NOT hypo
allergenic. Not to mention
sheds all over you, your kids
and your home.
I am happy to discuss
this with anyone. I get emails all the time
requesting a Standard or mini to breed to a
this or a that. NOT MY POODLES !
I will not be a part of this lie, not to mention
bringing puppies into the world with so many strikes against them
before they are even born. What is wrong
with the AKC breeds as they are ? We have
so many wonderful breeds, surely there is
something for everyone, why do we have to have
something so different and give it a stupid name
like, designer dog. Please wake up
and see this is not right !
June 9: Vaccinations
The info below is my own opinion taken from articles I
have read on the internet. Please remember it is
important to have your pet checked by the Vet annually
and to abide by your State's law concerning Rabies.
I no longer give yearly
vaccinations to my Poodles. Research has
proven over vaccinating is dangerous to a pet's health.
I use to start my puppy vaccinations at 6 weeks which at
that time was the recommendation. Now it is
suggested to start at 8 weeks of age. A series of
vaccination started at 8 weeks and continued until 16
weeks of age, a maximum total of 4 vaccinations.
When the pet reaches nearly 1 yr and 4 months another
vaccination and this will protect the pet for it's
lifetime.
Now remember this is not for
Rabies. There are many researchers and Vets
working on a new recommendation for a Rabies too.
For now, we have to follow are own State laws concerning
Rabies.
New findings have also
revealed annul Parvo boosters and distemper are
unnecessary and may subject the pet to risk of allergic
and immune medicated hemolytic anemia.
Many years ago when breeders
first starting talking about puppies have reactions to
yearly vaccinations, some of us suspected something was
wrong with repeatedly vaccinating or dogs. Our
hands were tied, we had to follow what Vets said to do.
Many years ago when I was
showing English Setters I placed two puppies in FL.
These were nice show potential puppies. They
were completely healthy until time to renew annual
vaccinations. Both puppies after receiving the
vaccination were affected with hemolytic anemia and
died. Something was not right and many
breeders starting questing these vaccinations.
In my opinion we have been
over doing it. We want to protect of pets,
but in our zest to protect them we in fact as doing
harm.
I found this article(link at
bottom) on the internet and found it to be most
enlightening. Yearly vaccinations subject the pet
to potential risks of allergic reactions and
immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. Please read and ask
yourself, if you should continue annual vaccinations ?
Is your own Vet up to date on the latest findings?
Perhaps you can copy some of the info and present it to
him to read if he is unaware of the latest findings.
Discuss with him no longer giving your pet annual
vaccinations, but of course, have your pet checked over
yearly. There are many things to be checked
as a pet ages, heart of course being one of them.
Remember you have a right to
refuse annual vaccinations, except Rabies.
Inform yourself !
May 28: Poodle / Dog Nail
Care
As a groomer, the one thing I
saw over and over again were neglected nails.
When nails grow too long the dog can not make the pads of
their feet contact the ground. This will ruin
a dogs feet, structurally, and it is painful.
I heard all the time, "I
let the groomer do it," but the animal is not taken
in to be groomed very often. Also heard, "I'll
get the Vet to do it." Then it is a year
before the dog sees the Vet. Besides Vets are
busy people. Trimming nails is easy and should
be done by owners on a regular schedule.
It is easy to maintain nails,
two things are needed, a dog nail clipper (can be found at
any PetsMart,) and Quick Stop, also found at PetsMart.
These two things can also be ordered from any dog supply
company on line.
Be kind to your pet's feet and
trim nails often. I can't imagine our toenails
getting so long that we can not put our toes/feet flat
on the floor. Think about that for a minute
and get or trim those nails!
May 22: When Inquiring
About Buying From A Breeder
When you are interested in
receiving info from a breeder about what puppies they may
have available, please remember these important points.
Give your name right up front! My
main pet peeve when someone contacts me about my Poodles is
not to give their name, it is very rude. Then
if you have a preference to size let them know. The
sex you are wanting, and if you have a color, like or
dislike, then be sure to let the breeder know.
It is also very helpful to the
breeder if you give general info about yourself, home,
family children (list their ages,) your life style and
if you have had previous experience with Poodles. If
both husband and wife work full time, please tell the
breeder what your plans are for caring for the puppy while
you are at work.
Please do not go into long
emails about all your pets of the past, and every problem
you have ever had with a pet.
If you currently own a pet, be
sure to mention what breed, sex, and disposition.
These details are important for a breeder to know before
placing a Poodle with you.
If you have trained in Obedience
or any other dog event is also very helpful. Or if you
intentions with a new Poodle are to enjoy these event with
the Poodle.
Also, tell the breeder if you
are interested in a new companion to go hiking or camping
with you and your family, things of this nature can tell the
breeder what size Poodle would fit your needs best.
Be informative, but don't give
your life history. I get emails from interested
parties who want to tell me about every dog they have ever
owned, interesting, but that does not help the breeder in
learning about you and your family in the present time.
Be willing to wait on the right
puppy from a breeder. Do not chose a breeder, ask to
be placed on their waiting list for a puppy, then
contact other breeders and be put on their waiting list as
well. If you are on a breeder's waiting list and
you happen to find another puppy, then let the breeder know
you no longer are looking.
Research the breeder you chose.
Ask for their Vet's name and number and follow up with a
call. You can even ask for references from former
buyers. If a breeder objects to providing this
info to you, then move on! The Vet can not reveal
personal info, but they can answer general questions, such
as, do you recommend this breeder, are their pets
clean when they come to the Vet, do you see a great deal of
illness, are the temperaments good while the pet is being
treated by you? These sort of general questions
can be very helpful to you in choosing the right breeder.
I hope you find these
suggestions helpful. Please remember two things, if a
breeder is doing things the way they should be done, they
are busy, give them time to answer your inquiry.
Also, please remember your manners.
May 19: TEAR STAINING
I am often told buy buyers they will not consider a white or
light colored poodle puppy. When I ask, "why?"
Almost always they reply, because of the ugly stain under the
eyes. Now I agree, it is ugly and certainly distracts from the
pretty soft expression on a Poodle's face.
Tear stain can be caused by
several problems. First, it can be hereditary, allergies, food
allergies, yeast infection in the ears, high level of minerals
in your water and infection in the tear ducks. Of course, if
you having a problem with this, always have the puppy check by
your Vet. Our dogs can be just like us, have allergies to
things blooming at certain times of the year.
If a breeder breeds a tearing
girl to a boy that also tears, then chances are high the
puppies will tear. There is help for this too! Many dog foods
contain beet. Beet can also cause the staining. It is best to
use a dog food that does not contain additives, preservatives
or food coloring. These all can contribute to eye stain.
A Vet needs to check for yeast
in the tear ducts or ears. These two things can cause tearing
and stain. Another problem contributing to running eyes can be
ingrown eye lashes. These can be removed.
If I have a problem with stain,
I would use distilled water. Our faucet water contains too
many additives that can contribute to the problem. Don't
forget treats for your pet may also contain products that will
cause eye stain.
A severe case of ear mites can,
not only cause misery to a dog, but cause the eyes to run.
Fleas get their moisture from eyes and they are full of blood,
therefore that can cause staining. If your Vet finds bacteria
or infection he/she may put your poodle on antibiotic.
Once clear of treatment, I have
also used a product I could not believe removed the stain. It
is call Angel Eyes and it is available over the internet. I
have a Standard Poodle who has allergies and has eye stain. I
tried this products on her, thinking this is not going to
work, well to my surprise it has done a wonderful job.
Needless to say, keep eyes free
of hair, keep the eyes and ears clean. Some buyers do not have
their Poodles groom often enough, if the hair gets long,
starts poking them in the eye, or hanging down into the eye,
you can have a serious problem. I often tell buyers, you do
not have to take your poodle to the groomer for a full groom.
You can take him/her to the groomer for a trim doing face,
feet, tummy and a bath. This will not cost as much as a full
groom and certainly keeps the Poodle looking pretty longer.
Therefore, there is NO reason not to buy a white or light
colored Poodle.
There are many things that
cause staining and there are products to help with this to
keep your white or light colored beautiful and kissing sweet!
May 12: THE CORRECT POODLE
I often see poodles that are low
to the ground and long in body. Many times these
are Poodles having been produced by pet quality
breeders. Unfortunately, breeders who may
never have read the AKC standard for the breed.
To them a Poodle is a Poodle, as long as someone buys them.
All poodles are adorable, but be informed as to how a Poodle
is suppose to look according to our breed standard
(breeder's blue print) by AKC. Proportion
is square as written in the standard. This
will tell you how to measure for a square body.
"Proportion - To insure the desirable
squarely built appearance, the length of body measured from
the breastbone to the point of the rump approximates the
height from the highest point of the shoulders to the
ground."
According to the AKC standard
Poodles are to be a solid color to the skin.
There is a very popular trend for parti color and phantom
colored Poodles. I want people to understand,
although they are cute, they do not meet the AKC breed
standard. Along with body color comes pigment
and eye color. Listed below taken from the AKC
Standard is the color, pigment and proper eye color of
Poodles.
Color
"The coat is an even and solid color at the skin. In
blues, grays, silvers, browns, cafe-au-laits, apricots and
creams the coat may show varying shades of the same color.
This is frequently present in the somewhat darker feathering
of the ears and in the tipping of the ruff. While clear
colors are definitely preferred, such natural variation in
the shading of the coat is not to be considered a fault.
Brown and cafe-au-lait Poodles have liver-colored noses,
eye-rims and lips, dark toenails and dark amber eyes. Black,
blue, gray, silver, cream and white Poodles have black
noses, eye-rims and lips, black or self colored toenails and
very dark eyes. In the apricots while the foregoing coloring
is preferred, liver-colored noses, eye-rims and lips, and
amber eyes are permitted but are not desirable. Major
fault: color of nose, lips and eye-rims incomplete, or of
wrong color for color of dog."
"Parti-colored dogs shall be disqualified. The coat of
a parti-colored dog is not an even solid color at the skin
but is of two or more colors."
Be informed before you buy!
May 9: "WE
ONLY WANT A PET"
I am often told, "we
only want a pet, not a show dog."
I want to let buyers know the show
breeders spend the money to have quality, our Poodles are true
poodles by the AKC Standard for the breed. Show
breeders spend the money on genetic health testing to be sure
they are not creating puppies born with health problems.
There are different health issues in each size Poodle.
We offer companion quality
puppies to the public, because maybe we can only keep so many
to show, or there is some small difference in a
litter that makes one puppy more of a show prospect than
others. Most people would not even notice the
difference. Sometimes it is as simple as we need to keep
a certain sex.
Show breeders provide good Vet
care to their babies. You maybe surprised at how many
puppies offered to the public have never been Vet checked.
Show breeders provide a guarantee and also a time frame for a
buyer to have their puppy checked by their Vet. We
want buyers to be happy with their puppy and we want our
puppies in good loving homes.
Show breeders provide top quality
food for adults and puppies. Puppies are provided
up to date vaccinations and worming. We usually
start grooming puppies around 4 weeks of age.
We get them use to being handled and hearing the clippers. We
socialize our puppies making out going confident
temperaments. We never know which puppy is our
show prospect until they are older. Therefore it is
important to handle and get each puppy ready for the show
ring.
You will also find show breeders
do not cross the sizes together. We also do not
create a mix of colors. Some colors are safe to breed
together, such as brown to black or white to silver, but we do
not throw in every color under the sun in a pedigree.
"You only want a
pet," well you want a good representation
of the breed, a healthy puppy, and well socialized
puppy, so consider show breeders. The extra cost is
certainly worth it in the long run. Show
breeders on a whole know what they are doing and breed for the
betterment of the breed.
Always ask for references and
check with the breeder's Vet. Get to know each
other before buying a puppy from anyone.
May 5: POODLE
EARS
For some reason, maybe due to having flop ear leather, or hair
in the ears, poodles are inclined for ears getting nasty, crusty
and plain smelly.
If your Poodles ears are like
this, please have them checked by the Vet. Ear problems can be
very serious, leading to brain damage if the infection goes deep
in the ear. If you are depending on the groomer to clean ears
besure after a grooming the ears are clean and smell fresh.
I found cleaning ears at bath
time very easy, after all they are all ready wet. I use ear
cleaning products sold by the Vet or order from animal supply
places on line. You can use Rubbing Alcohol and White Vinegar
mixed 50/50 in a tip type bottle or small squeze bottle. After
pulling excess hair from the ears and while in the bath tub,
squirt a small amount in the ears. Massage the ears well and
rinse with cool water. You can spray the ears with slightly warm
water, not on a jet stream, but a low flowing stream. Then after
the bath, use a cotton ball to clean the visible surface of the
ear. Your Poodle will appreciate a good ear cleaning.
If the ear is really crusty and
nasty, it can be either a yeast infection or mites way down in
the ear. Have the ears checked by your Vet. You can imagine how
uncomfortable your Poodle is with creatures chewing on his/her
ears !
Be kind to your Poodle clean the
ears often.
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