Many people train recall with treats which is great.  But some dogs figure out early that “come” often means play time is over.

Call your dog to you by using their name in a happy, excited voice and when they come praise them and pet them vigorously.  Than send them off to play again by throwing a toy.  Repeat this process a number of times and by the fourth or fifth recall take the dog in the house.

My dogs like to be outside and often would refuse to come in but the above method has worked great so that one recall is all it takes.

The key is be consistant and patient.

I found this little baby field mouse (called a pup) on the floor of my sun porch. She was lying on her side and I thought she was dead. But when I picked her up she moved slightly so I put her in a towel and layed her on top of one of my radiators and she warmed up and got perky.

Here she is bottle feeding on water - she was very dehydrated. Miya and Jazz love to sit and watch her eat.

I left her in a basket on the sun porch with a heating pad hoping her momma would come back for her but she never did.

She is now eating puppy Esbilac from an eye dropper that I squeeze onto the palm of my hand and she licks it up. For some reason she won’t take the nipple like she did with the water.

Her eyes opened today. This tells me she is 10-14 days old.

Meet Sunny:

When she is old enough she will be released to the wild. I know it will be bitter sweet but its where she belongs.

When I was a kid I raised and bred domestic mice so she is a real treat for me. (feedings every 2 hours).

October 26, 2009

She is doing great and has gotten big. She is about 3 1/2 - 4 weeks old and has her teeth now.

I still hand feed esbilac a bit but she is starting to eat some on her own.

November 13, 2009 

We had a bit of set back.  Sunny lost all the fur on her belly. Bald as a baby’s butt.

Found out thru a friend that it could be the detergent on the wash cloth in the bottom of her cage. (I could not release her without her fur to keep warm). So I switched to newspaper and in a week it all grew back.

Now I just have to part with her and release her.

Here is her bald belly.

Here she sleeping after a full belly

And just her being cute

 November 15, 2009

Sonny is gone…………………. just when I was getting ready to release her to the wild.
She escaped last night. I have no idea how she could have possibly gotten out of her cage. But I knew she wanted out. Where there is a will there is a way. Nature was calling

She is at the age for breeding and I imagine she can smell the other mice living under the kitchen.

I have holes behind the window frame of my kitchen window but those holes are stuffed with coarse steel wool because rodents won’t go thru it and come onto my counters. My guess is she found a spot where she could get thru.

I am so sad because I left her alone today and didn’t pick her up for her daily pets, hug and kisses (they sleep all day and scourage and eat at night) and when I uncovered her bedding at dark she was gone

I never got to kiss her good bye. I picked her up and loved on her,pet her and kissed her at least once a day (not too often as she was going back to the wild)

I have left her cage on the counter with no lid and put a wooden spoon in for her to climb in and out and left food in her dish and fresh water. I also removed the steel wool from behind he window frame to make it easier for her.

I so hope she comes back to at least say hello…….. but I know once the wild hits thats it. She will have wee ones soon……..

November 16, 2009

She came back last night and must have brought all her new friends because the food dish was completely empty. No way she ate it all by herself. No sunflower shells either so they grabbed what they could and went up the wooden spoon I left and back down to the basement :-).

I will put food out for a while but not too long as I don’t want her (and friends) depending on me all winter. She needs to fend for herself to survive. But hey how is she ever going to find dried cranberries, cashews and sunflowers in the wild? I think I spoiled her LOL.

Hopefully I will see her come for a snack early one evening

You can see pics of more baby animals we have raised at the bottom of our gallery page at www.snowcolabradors.com

They also receive a folder from me with all the health certificates on dam and sire, pedigree and instructions on raising a pup and what vaccinations have been given and the date given, including the dates for follow up vaccinations.

I also write the dates for next vaccinations on the inside cover of this folder.

More than once a buyer of mine has gone to their vet for the 72 hour (from possession of pup) health check and allowed the vet to worm a pup that was just wormed 7 days prior or to give another vaccination when my vet just gave the first vaccination a week prior.

Folks, when purchasing a pup please be sure and take the health certificate from the breeder’s vet to your very first vet appointment and be sure your vet reads it and marks the info in your pups chart.  If your vet wants to re-administer worming or vaccinations that have just been done please, please, refuse this.  Some breeders give their own vaccinations.  Be sure you get this in writing and the labels from the vaccine bottles should be put in your puppy folder to show your vet.

It is for the health of your puppy.  Over vaccinating or over worming can over tax their little system and can cause severe reactions in pups and sometimes disease and death. 

If you choose to give Leptospirosis and/or Lyme vaccinations (recommended only if prevalent in your area) please do not do this at the same time as regular vaccinations.  They should be split up by 4 weeks (as should your regular pup vaccinations) and don’t give Lepto and Lyme together either.

Do not allow your vet to give Corona vaccination to your pup.  They are not susceptible to the disease beyond 6 weeks and it can cause a reaction.

The safest way to vaccinate is DA2PP or DHPP at age 8 weeks, 12 and 16.  4-8 weeks later you give a one year rabies.  (do not allow the vet to give rabies at time of regular vaccinations - too much on the system).  A year from last pup vaccination you get a 1 year booster.  Than a year from the 1 year rabies you get a 3 year rabies.

From there it is safest to vaccinate every 3 years (it is no longer recommended to vaccinate every year).  I titer test my dogs at the 3 year mark to see if they have an immunity and if so I do not re-vaccinate.

Here are a couple of great sites for reference.  If your vet wants to vaccinate every year please, please question their reason for that.  A lot of the time it is for the money that they will loose out on if they tell their patience to go to a 3 year protocol.

http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/DODDS-CHG-VACC-PROTOCOLS.HTM

Note in Dr. Dodds chart (below link) she says first vaccination at 9 weeks.  A reputable breeder will not send a pup home without first vaccination and most pups go home at 8 weeks (should not be any sooner and is illegal to do so in some states) so the first vaccination would be given at 8 weeks (not 9) and breeder hangs on to pups for a couple of days to be sure there is no reactions to vaccinations before letting them go.  There are breeders that still vaccinate at 6 weeks but it is no longer recommended by most specialists.  Dr. Dodds is world renowned in this field.

http://www.weim.net/emberweims/Vaccine.html

Keep in mind that even though you choose a 3 year vaccination protocol you should still have your vet examine your dog once a year.  And from the age of 7 on you should have full blood work to check all organ function.

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com

I am sure most of the people in the US are tired of our jobs going to other countries.  We used to be the “textile” nation and had great quality in that area.  Now, you buy tee shirts and/or other clothing, etc. and the quality is not there anymore and sometimes they really have an odor.  Anyway, I was tired of seeing “Made in China” on just about everything.  Usually that is when it had an odor.  So, I went on the Internet and “Googled” “tee shirts made in USA.”  I was pleasantly surprised to see how many things are still made in USA.  It pulled up other things as well.  And the prices were not bad on most.  I have made it my goal to try to buy American-made whenever possible.  I realize in this economy now, it may unfortunately not be the best choice for some due to price.  But, WE made things that way by constantly demanding and buying cheaper products.  Cheaper in price and then of course quality follows.  If we want to bring manufacturing back to the USA for many of our household items…clothes, toys, furniture, decor, etc., we need to be willing to pay a bit more for those items unfortunately, but not always.  After all, that is why manufacturing has left the US…for the “cheap.”  Cheaper labor….cheaper EVERYTHING.  And some say, they left the US due to all the regulations, etc.  Well guess what?  That is what has protected us from the types of contamination issues we continue to see from products made outside of the US.  Sadly, though, contamination issues are finding their way within our country as well, especially within the food industry.  Having said all that, please, whenever you can, try to buy something made in USA and push for tighter regulations and enforcement when it comes to our food industries in the US.  I have listed a few sites below where I have recently purchased some tee shirts made in USA and have been pleased with the quality so far.  Please add some of the sites any of you may have used also and tell us how you liked the product.  Support our country! Demand more and more be made here as well.    :-) 

http://www.bant-shirts.com/index.htm

http://lgtees.com/index.html

http://www.allamericanclothing.com/products/AALOGOT.html

Have not ordered from here yet, but plan on it.  They sell pet items made in USA. 

http://www.westpawdesign.com/articles/-west-paw-story/world-class-pet-toys-and-beds-made-usa

Now, Serengeti, like many other unique companies like this, has started offering more and more clothing that is made in the USA.  You have to read the description in order to be sure the item is made here.

http://www.serengeticatalog.com/

There is a wonderful book by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas called “The Hidden Life Of Dogs.” 

Available here http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=The+hidden+life+of+dogs&x=15&y=17 

In her book she talks about the importance of allowing your remaining pets to smell the body of your lost dog.

Dogs accept death (just like wolves in the wild) and walk away.

It is not a guarantee that your remaining dog(s) will not grieve but it can help the process or avoid it all together.

I have even done this with one of my horses.  His buddy for 27 years would never survive without him.  I knew I had to at least try and help him understand where he had gone by allowing him to graze around the body for a few minutes. 

If your dog is euthanized at the vet’s office and you are not bringing him home for burrial (having a cremation), take your other dog with you to the vet and leave it in the car.  Once the proceedure is finished bring your other dog into the examination room and let it smell and see the body.  If your vet looks at you like you are nuts, just explain why and than recommend the book above. 

I always feel terrible telling people about this after they have lost a dog thinking they will be upset for not having tried it.  So I thought it would be a good idea to do a blog on it.

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com

In 2003 I took my 14 ½ year old, Abbey, to the vet for her yearly check up where full blood work was done to check all organ function.  Unfortunately her BUN, Creatinine and Phosphorous levels were all elevated and a urinalysis indicated hi specific gravity, all of which indicate kidney failure (KF).  I knew she had not ingested anything and that we were dealing with chronic rather than acute KF.

She needed a low phosphorous food and natural supplements to try and bring her back to normal range or at least keep her from getting worse.  She was put on the proper food, after much research, with added fresh cooked chop meat or eggs in each meal.  Added to that were dried crushed egg shells to help bind the phosphorous in the added protein.  She was given CoQ10, EPA/DHA fish oil, vit. E to help support her kidneys.  She was monitored through blood work and urinalysis on a regular basis.

Abbey did wonderful for the next year and a half with no outward signs of the disease.  On her last blood work she had become anemic and I knew it was time to let her go.  She also had arthritis to deal with and I knew she had been thru enough.  I made the difficult decision to put her to sleep one week after her 16^th birthday. 

There is a lot of info on KF here:  http://www.dogaware.com/kidney.html

Please note the importance of enough “quality” protein for KF - not low protein.  See info here:

http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/proteins-kidneys-senior-dogs/

I want to point out the importance of doing full blood work yearly on senior dogs.  My vet back than did not feel it was necessary in 2003 since Abbey had perfect blood work the year before.  I disagreed and had it done anyway.  If I had not done this I would never have know because there were no outward signs and she would have suffered from her KF and I most likely would not have had that last year and a half with her.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r220/Snowco/Abbey8weeks2.jpg  http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r220/Snowco/Miss20Abbey16a.jpg

Amberfield’s Dare Me Not (Abbey)
9/13/89 - 9/19/05
CH Dickendall Ruffy x CH Amberfield’s Surfer Girl

You were the light of my life.
We endured so much together.
Noone will ever replace you.
I will miss you always as you live on in my heart.

Patty

http://www.snowcolabradors.com/

We want to take that level of customer service and take it to the next level. Hearty Pet is proud to announce that
we have designed and implemented an in-house solution to guarantee order accuracy. Using our new system
(we call it accu-pack internally), we carefully have all orders bar coded and scanned prior to picking. When our team members pull the order, it is carefully scanned against the original order to verify that the proper item was pulled and then it is placed in the box. The software makes it obvious to the staff that the order is accurate (BIG GREEN LIGHT) or there is an issue (BIG RED LIGHT). When something doesn’t properly match, there is a detailed summary of what is wrong and the staff can then rescan a new product to quickly correct and pack. All humans make mistakes, we understand that, but we want to make certain that you get what you ordered. This system should eliminate human error. We are VERY proud of our team as they work hard at what they do and this is just another way to help them do the best job they can.

We recently moved into our new warehouse/packing facility and we are getting the kinks worked out and our efficiency is at an all time high. Same day shipping in most cases, accurate orders, a great value proposition, and world class customer service is why we are rapidly becoming the leader in online premium pet food sales.

We want to thank your for all your support and let you know we are making changes continously to
better our offerings for you. Keep your eyes open for other exciting changes coming to your browser soon!

My fav cat litter used to be “Healthy Pet Health Plus.”  It started getting dustier due to the “grain” in it, so I switched back to “Healthy Pet Dust Free Fiber”.  This worked great for a while but it has since gotten dustier as well.  I will address this via feedback directly to the manufacturer.  It still is okay for me…a lot less dust than any other I have used.  I don’t just use this by itself, though.  I mix in cat litter I found at Walmart called “Pro Pet Fresh Results.”  This looks just like “Arm & Hammer’s Essentials” cat litter but it runs about $2.00 cheaper.  I understand not all Walmarts carry this brand.  This helps with odor control and adds natural clumping so it helps me to keep the litter boxes cleaner in between soap and water cleaning.  So far, this is working out well for me…other than having to order Healthy Pet online.  But it is nice to have the litter delivered right at your door.  Less lifting and carrying for me to do. 

So, there are my two cents on cat litter again.  I would LOVE to hear what others are using that are in the more natural categories for cat litters.  I do not like the crystals or heavily perfumed litters.  I have allergies so I have to be careful what I use.  I have found I can use some pine and some cedar litters as well when push comes to shove.  I have also used the “recycled newspaper” litters.

Merrick sausages are a wholesome, moist treat that contains nothing but the good stuff – high quality meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, and oatmeal. Our sausages are great to use a quick snack, a well deserved reward for your faithful companion, and they are an awesome reward for your dog during training. 

Try them TODAY! Click here for a delicious treat your dog won’t refuse.�