Stella Quirks-10/6/14

Stella's most recent quirk is here!

In our recent training of Stella we are trying a new approach to break her of her sassy ways and making major headway. So, when she is barking at us or constantly we have tried a different approach from the original, simple, normal "NO" since she will only bark more AT us when the word "no" is used, we have started putting our pointer finger up to our lips and making the sound Shhhh. It WORKED! As for when she is doing something wrong, if we say no, she will bark at us so as suggested by a friend, we started saying "Stop". This has been working amazingly! 

Now, for her quirk. Last night as my husband and I are eating dinner, Case was sleeping under the table at dad's feet for his belly rub by dad's feet while Stella laid in the living room chewing happily on her bone. I happened to look over at her and noticed her chewing on a sleeping bag zipper instead of her bone. Sternly I scolded her with a "Stellaaaa," causing her to stop chewing and with it still in her mouth, look at me. I continued with a "No Chew," and she spit it out and went back to chewing on her bone while intently watching me. Not even a full five minutes later, I look over to find her chewing on the zipper AGAIN. Now this is nothing new with Stella, it can be a battle of the wits with her all night as she loves to test us, and I do mean LOVES. So I say again sternly, "Stellaaa." She lifts her head quickly looking my direction with the zipper still in her mouth.I proceeded with something someone else had mentioned trying, talking to her like she was a toddler. So I proceeded with asking her, "Is that for puppies, Stella?" and to my absolute dismay she spit it out and laid her nose on her bone with a heavy sigh that seemed as if she were answering no this is for puppies. I told her good girl and she began chewing on her bone again. Periodically I would glance over to see if she was chewing on the zipper again and she was still content with her bone. Usually Stella will continue to chew what ever it is you tell her not to continually until you take it and move it, but not this time. This time she listened and is showing us exactly how smart she really is in all of this. 

We claim to be training her but, in all honesty, she is training us.

I hope you got a good laugh from this Stella quirk!

Welcome to the First day of Fall Along with all of the Other Firsts

September 23rd, 2014 marks the first day of fall. As we transition into another season of beautiful color changing leaves and crisp autumn air. Last night to enjoy our one last day of summer we took the pups on a walk to enjoy the beautiful weather. It is not often that the weather works out like that but it did. 

This will be the first fall for us as a family. Between us being newlyweds and both pups having not experienced a fall yet it will be exciting! This will be a big year for firsts for sure! Case's first birthday, Stella's first Christmas, and our first year of being married. 

I can not wait to experience all of the firsts to come!

When is the right time to spay or neuter your dog.....

I recently stumbled across a blog that raised this question and it occurred to me that there really is no cut and dry answer for this. Some people may argue otherwise but in my opinion, it depends on the individual dog. 

We recently added a Great Pyrenees puppy to our family December of 2013 and upon his first Vet visit the vet urged us to neuter him at 12 weeks AND have his double dews removed. Great Pyrenees are the only breed supposed to have them. My husband and I felt off about this decision as the last vet I had urged us not to alter a large breed before 6 months of age as it can cause major issues in bone development. I decided to do a little research on my OWN. I found that not only should I NOT alter him at 12 weeks but I found out that his breed specifically should not be altered before 8 months of age due to a unique molar they have that doesn't come in until then and they need all of their hormones to push them out as well as it can negatively impact his bone density as he grows. Without them it can cause some serious jaw issues according to a reputable Pyr Breeder. I also found out that you should NOT have a Great Pyrs double dews removed as it can cripple them and cause early onset of arthritis and tendinitis. I decided to look for a new vet. My current Vet stays up to date on the studies that are being conducted on the pros and cons of neutering large breeds too early. He has suggested that anything classified as a large breed should not be altered before 6 months old due to the chances of something being caused by it. He is not set one way or the other but as he told me, "There are no bad things claimed about waiting until 6 months that are caused but there are many bad things claimed that are caused by it". To me, I would rather be safe than sorry and wait a little longer and if you are observant and responsible enough an unwanted litter will not happen in that time. WHY are we being urged to alter our beloved pets before they are fully mature when it has the potential to cause severe health issues down the line or issues that are unknown to us at this time. 

Case and Stella are happy and healthy puppies right now and we made the right choice for THEM and excluded anyone else's thoughts and opinions on the matter due to the fact WE have the emotional attachment to them not the next person. They are our responsibility and it is our duty to do what we feel is right for them at that time and with the information that is at hand. 

All I can say is trust your gut not always the professionals! Just because they say it is right does not mean it is right for your pet. 

That feeling of "not good enough"

We have all had it. Someone says we aren't pretty enough, we weigh too much or too little, or maybe just that they don't like your style. That feeling of not good enough rears its ugly little head in even the most confident of us. People just assume it is in school and the social groups you are in that this is when it occurs, but what happens when it is in the work place? 

We have all had that feeling at one point in our lives and it usually affects us negatively sometimes even catastrophically. But when it happens in the work place it has an entirely new affect on us. It not only makes you feel like you can not do the job properly but it also makes you feel discouraged to try again in that particular field. The feeling of not good enough is enough to over power even the most confident of people. 

You start to doubt yourself, who you are and what you do, your ability, the time you have spent learning and maybe even question if you made the right choice in career. As hard as it is, do NOT give in or give up. Keep pushing through the No's until you get to the Yes. Sometimes no matter how hard you work or how much you put into something, it is just never going to be enough for someone but there WILL be someone out there who it WILL be enough for. You just have to keep going until you find that person/place. 

One of my favorite quotes is "The only person who can keep you down is yourself" and it is so true, only you stand in your own way of happiness with these feelings of doubt and worthlessness. It is only in your mind that these things can become true. Don't let them win and keep pushing through. 

-Samantha

The Food Challenge

A beautiful, fluffy nest with warm bundles of healthy babies in it, it's what every breeder wants to see right? So what happens if that is not the case?
   Recently myself and other breeders have had problems with getting and keeping litters. From not getting any litters, getting a beautiful nest but no babies in it and getting babies and losing them it has been a frustrating battle!
   In MY battle to get litters I found that my feed may have been the culprit. Slowly I transitioned my herd over to another feed to see if it would help. Whalla! I got my first two litters and large ones at that! 
   I wish it had been as simple as just switching the feed. Shortly after the birth of litter number two we started losing them. I found that my female had not gotten any milk in to feed the babies. Only 2.5 weeks after the birth my other female dried up leaving 5 orphaned baby bunnies for me to step in and care for. After the third litter and the mom not having any milk supply, I gave all types of supplemental foods such as veggies and oatmeal to try and boost milk production for the first 9 days with no success. As a last ditch effort I started sprinkling a calcium supplement on her feed and Oatmeal. Within the day her milk had come in full force and the three remaining babies survived. 
   I started sprinkling the calcium supplement on all of the lactating moms as well as all females and babies and since have noticed a huge difference in their health, activity levels, milk production and the overall health and size of babies in the litters they are now finally having. 
   I decided to start adding in some whole grains and more natural items for their diet such as Fodder, veggies, plants and grasses that are safe and good for them. 
   With this new diet they have been doing much better and I have been able to keep weight on them more so than before. 
   My conclusion is that there is something lacking in the feed or an ingredient in the feed that is not doing what it used to anymore and that was what was causing so many of my issues since with this new diet I have not have the issues I had had pre-diet.