The Akbash dog

One of the not so common dog breeds is the Akbash. Commonly seen guarding sheep herds this breed of working dog is a "guarding" of livestock. Very often the pups are raised with sheep so they learn to protect them. They are native to Turkey and the name Akbash means "whitehead." The dog is large 90 to 120 pound animal and is not shy. Their selective breeding has made them more inclined to think for themselves and less of a companion dog. Because of their prowlness, predators are inclined to want to get rid of whiteheads so they can feast on some lamb chops.

I bet you have seen those dogs guarding sheep herds, I have.

Snow Hound

It is snowing today and it is the favorite weather of one of my 3 dogs. She is a husky mix and just loves cold weather. This is the dog, that on slightly warm days, will make a bee line to her water bowl (which is a small livestock water tank) and jump in it and lay in the ice cold water. Cold weather is what she loves. She previously came from a family with a small baby and lived in town. At the age of 6 months old she found herself at the local dog pound, surrendered by her owners as being too active to be around their baby......duh, baby + 6 month old puppy? What were those people thinking? The woman already knew she was pregnant or already had the baby when they got the pup.

Well she ended up with us after I saw this beautiful young dog at the pound. I got her spayed, tattooed (her spay tat) and licensed and she has now been with us for 5 years.

She is overly friendly and when she wags her tail, her whole body moves. She almost falls over backwards when she sits and wants you to rub her tummy. A neighbor saw her spay tat and made a stupid remark about tattoo removal, which I ignored. Since he never bothers to get his animals fixed, I am sure he has no clue what the tattoo meant.

Yep, she is enjoying our late season snow storm.

Dying for attention

Do you think that the owners of these dogs are waiting for spring to arrive?

Some blogs that I have visited claim that dying dogs is a fad going on in Japan, but I guess those people have not seen the dog shows here in the USA that have taken the colorful dogs one step further and have cut their coats to look like boxes, other types of animals (I saw one made to look like an elephant) and inanimate objects. They have awards for the best one that includes trophies and cash. And to think, most people are just worried about removing dark circles and tear stains from their dog's fur.

Puppy care pack

If you have ever adopted or bought a puppy, you often received a "puppy pack." The pack often contained puppy food, a booklet about caring for your new pup, a vet records book and coupons for more puppy food. Those puppy packs are freebies that breeders and rescues can get from the major dog food companies. Did you know that anyone can get those new baby gifts? You can apply online to get puppy packs. Just go to the dog food company website that you are interested in and look for breeder packs or samples.