Cracking down on dog fighting rings

Law enforcement is offering a $5,000 reward for information about dog fighting rings in your area. Information will be handled by agencies in Washington DC. This is a major attempt to crack down on illegal dog fighting nation wide. More information can be found in the video news below.

Don't neglect your dog the way this woman did

The news video below is about a dog that was found frozen to the sidewalk. The dog survived. The owner had let the dog out and when she couldn't get the dog back inside she decided to leave the dog stuck to the sidewalk overnight. Watch the video to learn more how the dog survived and how she got stuck.

A dog returns home after 5 years

The family dog, Tootie returns home for the holidays. The touching news footage is below.

Stop breeding dogs!!

I was heading into the grocery store yesterday when I saw sitting outside the store a woman with a sign and a wire crate. On the sign it said "Chihuahua puppies $250, purebred". I just had to take a look at what she had. In the crate was a female Chihuahua (ugly too) with 2 very young looking puppies that were obviously not weaned. There was also a large male Chihuahua (ugly and didn't look purebred but a mix) just hanging out, off leash with the woman. I asked her how old the puppies were and she said 7 weeks. I point blank told her right then that they were too young to be separated from their mother. The AKC recommends 12 weeks as the best age for separating a puppy from it's litter mates. She then added they were purebred but not papered. I just shook my head and left muttering loud enough for her to hear "too young".

Years ago I use to think that most of the dog over population problem came from unspayed female dogs getting out and getting accidentally bred. I now know differently. The problem is that everyone that has a "purebred" or registered dog thinks that they can make a few bucks by breeding it. Here is where I get upset with the "purebred but not papered" crowd. "Purebred but no papers" is another way to say "MUTT". I don't care how you put it but unregistered means there is no way to prove what the bloodlines are and thus your claim that the dog is purebred is invalid.

Not only should people not be breeding unregistered dogs for money but also just because they are registered doesn't mean they should be bred either. I once owned the world's ugliest female Chow Chow, she looked more like a gray husky with a very long snout and narrow head. She had international champion bloodlines and she was registered but she should have not been bred simply because she also had weak back legs and eye problems. She also did not look anything like the breed standard. She had at least 4 litters of puppies before I became her owner when she was 3 years old. She was promptly spayed and lived as my pet until she died at the age of 16.

Please don't even think about breeding a dog just because she is a female. People won't be lining up to buy your puppies and you will have to deal with a litter of unsold puppies.

If you do happen to own a dog that people have expressed a desire to have a puppy from then yes breed your dog with the following provisions:

• All the puppies must be sold before they are born
  
• All puppy buyers must submit a deposit for the puppy that is not refundable (making it non-refundable makes people think twice before buying)
• All puppy buyers should sign a written contract outlining payments, price and what happens should a puppy die before delivery to the new owner.

Those simple provisions will have homes for the puppies lined up even before they are born. It is the same procedure that many breeders of show quality dogs use.

Fun new book

Bad dog book, more info

I have just heard about this new book and I'll probably pick it up in the next few days. The reader that I talked to said it was hilarious.

Another dog breed that will be hitting the local dog pounds soon

Every time there is a new movie out that features a particular dog breed we see a rise in classified ads for that breed. This time the dog breed is the Chihuahua with the release of the movie "Beverly Hills Chihuahua". I am already seeing puppies for sale signs popping up on the front lawns of many of the country homes in my area. I even had a relative remark to me last week "what's up with all the Chihuahua puppies for sale?" Below is an article showing how well the movie is doing at the box office.

Doesn't that say it all

With all of the bad economic news, we need to laugh at bit. When you get home tonight, play and hug your dog and forget about the world's worries.

Dog racing maybe coming to an end

Due the economy there maybe a light at the end of the tunnel for the Greyhound breed. Dog racing tracks are closing down around the country. Racing Greyhounds have long been considered a sub-breed of Greyhound. They are bred strictly for speed and other breed standards are ignored. With the closing of dog racing tracks the racing Greyhounds are looking for homes. Hopefully the mass breeding and disposal of racing Greyhounds will come to an end within the next few years.

I just had to share this pic

Too cute



see more puppies at the link.

Flyball, a sport for you and your dog

Flyball is an interesting sport. I think it must have been developed with overcoming boredom in mind. The concept is fairly easy - you have a device that you place a ball into it and the device then throws the ball straight up in the air, the dog then catches it. Simple really until the darn thing caught on and now they have competitions, yes flyball competitions. The sport developed from just a simple catch the ball into a race course with jumps and a team of dogs. There are even websites and blogs devoted to the sport. I came across this blog called The Flyball Blog and it does go into great detail on the sport but it does lack photos. I don't know about you but a blog about a sport is hard to visualize without photos or even a Youtube video. The best web page I found for a good explanation of the sport with photos can be found at Bunch of pants flyball web page.

A dog is for life

Puppies are cute but they do grow. Their entire lifespan is about 14-16 years. Different breeds have different requirements for exercise and training. I have taken in 3 dogs that the owners were unwilling to train or care for. If those people had only taken a moment to think about the next 14 years with that dog before saying yes to that cute puppy, both they and the pup would have been better off.

Welcome and enjoy the wonderful world of dogs and puppies

Dogs have always had a special place in my life and through the years I have been successful at showing breeding and training them. The blog is an endeavor to share some of my vast helpful knowledge with fellow dog owners.