I guess I’ve never followed this race too closely in the past, but animal activists have had it on their radar for years, as at least one dog usually dies during the two week race. and this year is no exception. Victor, a 6-year old sled dog on Jeff Holt’s team, died between the Rainy Pass and Rohn checkpoints this week.
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As the blog writer here at doggies.com, I get lots of e-mails from readers, asking for my advice. I’ve also noticed that we get lots of comments on the blog that don’t necessarily pertain to the posting, but the commenter wants advice or wants to ask a question. While both of these are totally fine, we felt the need to add a forums section to allow our readers to interact with each other, rather than with just me (through e-mail) or rather than posting an un-related comment which may not get read widely.
Choosing a Dog Breeder
I had a question come in via e-mail that I thought a lot of people might be interested in, so the writer, Colleen, very graciously allowed me to post it.
Hi Beth,
My husband and I are interested in purchasing a dog from a breeder. What are some of the things we should know before hand. The breeder is registered with AKC. What are some of the questions we should ask the breeder?
Thank you
At a minimum, you should ask to see the parents. Sometimes they will not both be on-site, but at least the mother should be. The purpose of seeing the parents is that you can get a general sense of their health. If you are lucky, the breeder will take you to the kennel area when showing the parents, which means you can check out the living conditions. Run, don’t walk, away if the conditions are not clean, adequately heated/cooled, and humane. You can also see whether they breed several breeds or specialize
in just one or two (which is usually better). Check to see how many dogs they have who are pregnant or still nursing. Ideally, they will space out their litters, especially for each mama, rather than breeding each dog every time she comes into heat.
Ask to see the vet records for the parents, including an OFA certification for hip dysplasia and a CERF record for eye problems. Also, make sure that the parents are up-to-date on their shots and that initial puppy shots and worming have been done on the puppies. If you are buying a breed with a docked tail or other alterations, you might ask if the breeder does these procedures himself, and ask to see where, so you can make sure the facility is clean.
Depending on whether or not you plan to show the dog, you will want to discuss the breed standard, and how the breeder tries to further the quality of the breed. Ask to see breeding records so you can see that he is making an effort to prevent in-breeding and to try to bring out certain traits or suppress others.
Follow your instincts. If you get a bad feeling about a breeder,it is probaby best that you don’t buy there. A good breeder will also want to ask you questions to make sure his dog is going to a good home. He may also have a waiting list, indicating that he doesn’t overbreed just to make money.
Thanks for writing, a good luck! Let me know when you get your little bundle of joy – I’d love to see pix.
P.S. Do you mind if I post your question and my response on the site for others to see?
Thank you so much and yes feel free to post my question. May I ask one more how do I determine what price is appropriate for the breed?
The way I’ve always done it is to check with several breeders and see what they charge. I rarely take the highest or lowest price.
One other thing. Once you have several breeders’ prices, you may be able to negotiate with the breeder you have chosen for a puppy you really like, telling him that you can get a similar dog at a lesser price and would he be willing to come down some? Also, some (but by no means all) breeders will give you a price break if you are buying with no intention of breeding your puppy.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Today Show Hosts at Westminster Dog Show
Since I’ve been home recovering from surgery for the past few days, I’ve gotten to watch NBC’s Today Show for more than the first five minutes or so. They are running a series on the hosts trying out new things. For example, today, they took art lessons and “learned” how to paint a nude! Monday and Tuesday, the feature was the hosts showing dogs at Westminster. If you’re not a handler, you may have never imagined how hard it is to run a dog around the ring! I had always thought that conformance showing was pretty easy, especially compared to something like agility training, where the handler has to be nearly as agile as the dog. I was pretty surprised to learn that there is a definite technique to handling a show dog, too.
Anyways, you can see the clip here. Monday’s show (the 2nd clip on the list) is about the preparations they had to go through, while Tuesday’s show (the one that pops up when you open the link) shows the actual competition, which is pretty funny, in and of itself!
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Tuesday’s Top Ten: Iditarod Race Leader Board
I don’t know about you, but I’m really excited about the Iditarod this year. We don’t get any TV coverage where I am, so I have been following along on the web. Here are the top ten people on the leaderboard as of March 9th.
Continue reading Tuesday’s Top Ten: Iditarod Race Leader Board
Report on Dog Shelter Surveys
Well, doggies.com fans, I’ve gotta say, I’m a bit disappointed. I think you might be too when I show you the results of the last two Saturday surveys.
Continue reading Report on Dog Shelter Surveys
Iditarod bogged down due to snow!
OK, what’s the first thing you think of when you think about Alaska? Snow would probably be on everyone’s top ten, but apparently, they have so much snow this year that they can’t find the Iditarod trail! Read the story here.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Saturday Survey: Holiday Costumes for your Dog
St. Patrick’s Day is almost upon us, and Easter won’t be far behind, so I’ve got to ask, do you dress up your dog for the holidays?
Continue reading Saturday Survey: Holiday Costumes for your Dog
A Bit About our Dogs’ Ancestors
One evening, an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son the battle is between two wolves inside us all.
One is Evil. – It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. – It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. ‘
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ‘ Which wolf wins? ‘
The old Cherokee simply replied, ‘ The one you feed. ‘
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
New Use for Dog Poop?
I work for a power company, so I know first-hand how much trouble some people have coming up with the money to pay their electric bills each month. The Denver Zoo may have just found the solution!