“Ready” “set” - Fly

Yes people summer is here and so do the bugs with it. I cannot stress enough that besides protecting our dogs from fleas and ticks some people forget the flies.
I have seen some sad cases of ear tip been bitten by flies, either bleeding or simply munched off; especially if you live in an area that has livestock around, but those pesky flies will live even in a regular urban setting.
So let’s do our best to protect the ears. There are several options out there:- water base spray like “Bronco” is good and would last a day or two – keep in mind if you want to use a chemical based replant use water base, the oil based product for horses can harm the dog s skin and if he lick it also his stomach.- There are also the natural citronellas or other “green” product that are pretty helpful but you need to spray daily. I usually use them to spray our puppies since they’re not so harsh on their skin.- There are the replant ointments that you can get at the feed store and pet store, I recommend the clear “swat” - take some and “shmeer” the tips, that will last for days, the down side that it leave an oily residue that needs to be washed and re apply.If you decide to but the smelly fly catcher bags hang them as far as you can from your home, the horrible smell will attract the flies from the neighbor too.
So anyway you can – please please take care of those ears.
Happy summer

Taz vom blossom-Land - American best bred young male

We are so proud of our young male RJ Taz vom Blossom-Land for receiving 2nd place in his class and earning the title of American best bred young male. Out of 10 males that were showed Taz'zzr did very good. He was place 4th after the standing examination and moved up to third almost immediately, after few more rounds his endurance and enthusiasm (his usual show off) moved his flashy hiny up to the second place to the crowd cheering on.

Socializing a young pup

The best genetic predispositions are useless if the puppies are not sufficiently socialized. Constant contact with various people, animals and environmental situations are an absolute necessity. Be very selective with the situations you put your puppy in. Don’t allow your puppy to play with dominant dogs or dogs you don’t know, an eight weeks old puppy will be intimidated by and adults or young adult dogs running towards him. The one that were less dominant in their litter can be extremely intimidated and will either snap to protect themselves of screech in loud voice (like he is getting “slashed”), Yes and even if the other dog doesn’t mean malice it can be intimidating. So please no communal dog parks for an eight week old pup. You can absolutely take him around the neighbouthood - after he got all his mandatory vaccines - and let others touch him under his chin and pet him gently, or let only gentle dogs play with it. The first few months are very impressionable on very young puppies and can determine their future behavior later on.The main goal is to instill confidence, with humans and other element like loud noises, crowds etc. dogs were not exposed the right way may develop shyness or aggression.A good breeder will make sure that the pups are daily touched and handled and have good exposure to different sounds (I will elaborate in a separate post).Here an example on socialization we do with our kids - more video on my http://www.youtube.com/user/gsddame account - shameless plug but good example how kids should handle pups.

House breaking a young dog

House breaking though seems daunting is a very simple process.
Puppies go to the bathroom when they wake up from a nap, after a long play and after feeding. Do not wait for the accidents to happen. Take him out to a designated area and praise him when he “goes”. In case of an accident and ONLY if you catch him in the act, tell him “no” in a stern voice, pick him up & take him out to his designated area and stay there with him until he goes. If you catch him after the act, the dog will not understand why you’re upset with him DO NOT rub his face in the urine, "roll the paper" or send him flying - that is just wrong and he won't learn anything but next time he'll hide his pee better. If your dog sleeps indoor at night, crate training will make housebreaking easier. Just keep in mind that an 8 week old puppy has a very small bladder and must go to relieve himself frequently so you must take him out a couple times during the night.
When a pup wakes up from his long nap, don't call him to follow you to the door - he will stop and pee on the way out, he/she are small enough to be picked up and carry out.