YankeeDals Dugout: May 2012

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Playing with the big dogs - 7 weeks

A few fun videos

So you think you want a dalmatian

Ruth at 5 weeks of age

For those who are interested in living with a dalmatian, I would recommend going to the national Dalmatian club site to learn more about this special breed of canine. While we feel they are a wonderful dog to live with, they may not be wonderful for every household. We have lived with a dalmatian in our lives for 30 years, and most of those years have included multiple dalmatians. Many of us who love the breed, have found you can never have too many spots. While there are similar traits among dalmatians, it is difficult to describe them as a group because they each have very individual personalities.

Many non Dalmatian people will ask me if they are "hyper". We do not like to describe them as hyper, but they are smart, too smart. Dalmatians crave and need interaction with their people. They are not a breed of dog who can be left in the back yard and only see their people when they are fed. If they do not have the needed human stimulation a dalmatian will find ways to entertain themselves, and that entertainment could be destructive. Dalmatians need to live life with their families. Dalmatians like to have a job to do. That could be taking you on a bike ride, or helping you to learn obedience. But best of all they will show you how to love a dog like no other.

Did you know dalmatians come with brown spots too? Did you know dalmatians should be hearing tested because as a breed there can be congenital deafness? Did you know dalmatians are the only canine which have the inability to process purines along with their human counterparts? Did you know dalmatians should be kept well hydrated to help keep them from producing urate stones in their urine? Did you know Dalmatians only shed once a year - from January to December? Check out this site to learn more about dalmatians: http://www.thedca.org/

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Puppy Play - 7 weeks old

Here are several videos of the group just over 7 weeks at play

Our first steps toward our forever homes

ThankYou Dr Cain for our healthy start!

Just over 7 weeks - wow where has the time gone! When we were asked today which puppy we were keeping, Jeff and I both answered together and without hesitation "all of them"! Although it saddens me the puppies will very shortly be going to their forever homes, I know it is best. Although cared for and played with, it is becoming harder and more labor intensive to give each puppy the amount of quality time it deserves. I know that, and keep telling myself that :)

Today the NYC kids went for their vet appointment with Dr Cain at Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center- examination, first vaccinations, microchiping, 2nd worming, and a DNA CHIC Repository Blood draw. Between the car drive of an hour there and back, along with the appointment, and stop with FedEx to ship the blood samples, the kids were crated for 4 hours. They did great! Outside of a short 5 minutes stint of nausea and vomiting by Rockefeller on our way there, everyone traveled extremely well.

Puppies will need their next vaccinations in 3-4 weeks, along with a final worming at that time. By 16 weeks of age, puppies will need to begin a heart worm medication. If a puppy will be living in an area with a higher incident of heart worm, the medication is often began closer to 3 months of age. Heart worm medication will need to be given on a monthly basis for each puppy's lifetime.

Dr Cain recommends no public places for each puppy until they have completed their vaccination schedule which is about 16 weeks of age. Some puppies may need one more Parvo booster between 16-18 weeks of age if they live in an area with a high incidence of the disease. Dr Cain does recommend a puppy kindergarten or puppy training class because they do need the socialization within a controlled environment prior to completion of the vaccination schedule. At each puppy's new home, the recommendation is to have as many visitors as possible of every age. Have each visitor remove their shoes prior to entering the house and wash their hands prior to handling a puppy. Parvo is the greatest concern of passing on to the puppy accidentally. Parvo lives in the environment and could be easily brought into their environment.

During a puppy's initial vaccination schedule, the hope is the mother's antibodies will begin to drop off so the vaccine can begin it's job at creating the puppy's own immunity toward the potential disease. Unfortunately it is an unknown when mother's antibodies will stop providing protection. Theoretically there could be a small window when the puppy has no protection toward diseases between vaccinations. Maternal antibodies toward Parvo are the last to decrease. This is why it is so important to limit the puppy's public places until the vaccinations have been completed.

The DNA CHIC Repository Blood draw - The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals will store DNA from a blood sample taken from each puppy. The Dalmatian Club of America is paying for the submission of this sample to OFA along with shipping costs. Dr Cain and her staff graciously donated their time for the blood draw on these puppies. The hope is sometime in the future, a researcher will do a study on a canine disease process and they will have available DNA for the research. Such research may help to prevent a canine disease or medical condition in the future, or to help better understand how we may control any potential disease process. As a breeder, our hope is your puppy never has any health related issues. But we know that perfect world very seldom exists. As a forever home for one of these puppies, our hope is you will keep their puppy health information updated on the OFA site or let us know if their health changes so we can update OFA. One of our older boys already had his DNA pulled for a study on uric acid stone formation. The study reviewed the DNA on littermates-one being a male dalmatian non stone former and the other being a male dalmatian stone former. We understand a researcher from Australia is getting ready to do a research project on deafness in dalmatians and will be pulling DNA for this study. This is one small way how your puppy will help future canines.

Here are some pictures of the group at Dr Cain's office on Monday May 21st

Manhattan 9#7oz

Hudson 10#6 oz

Rockefeller 10#12oz

Staten 10#8oz

Bronx 10#6oz

Our first steps toward our forever homes - part II

More pictures from our vet visit

Liberty 9#4oz

Brooklyn 9#10oz

Madison 9#2oz

The NYC kids ready to go home

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Week 6 - Look at us now - The Girls

Six weeks! The puppies are playful, curious and love to cuddle. I am seeing each puppy become more confident in their experiences. Even those puppies which followed the initiators of activity just a week ago are leading out on their own. Several will run right to the garden area to explore if given the chance. A few of the others love to initiate play with one of our adult males-they are quite the clowns to get activity going. Mom Ruth is always attentive to the play and supervises any ruff-housing going on. If it gets too loud, or if the group is all rolling around, she is right there with a look and they all seem to settle down.

Our days start early. Everyone is usually up by 6am - canine that is! They do get fed shortly after, but I am noticing it is not always about being hungry for them. I think they are wondering where the household is, and are excited to see not only the humans, but the adult dogs too. For about an hour, they play hard, eat somewhere in-between, and then settle for a nap. The day is interspersed with sleeping, eating, and playing. Everyone is fairly quiet and down for the night by about 9 to 10 pm.

Look at us now - The Girls

Madison - Pink

Liberty - Light Green

Brooklyn - Purple (Patch)

Week 6 - Look at us now - The Boys

Here are some photos of what they look like now - The Boys

Rockefeller - Red

Bronx - Blue

Staten - Light Blue

Manhattan - Dark Green

Hudson - Black

Monday, May 14, 2012

Puppy play is exhausting

A puppy's day is divided up between playing and sleeping. I have always felt their play is their work at becoming an adult dog. Their play can be exhausting!