Chalk One Up for AKC!!!

Several months ago I got a black male back due to a family divorce.  The man left and dumped the dog on his wife who was co-onwer.  She and I correpsonded several times and after about 6 months she decided she just could not afford to keep the dog so she returned him to me with her signature as co-owner on the AKC registration.

My contract says that I get the dog back with registration papers in order and signed, but the husband was no where to be found.  The wife stated she did not even know where he was.  I had her send me a note to this affect and I forwarded it along with  the  AKC registration form to AKC with a letter of explanation as to why I needed the dog transferred back to me. About a month goes by and I get a call requesting that I send a copy of the contract showing that the dog was to be transfer back to me if for any reason they could not keep the dog.  I sent them the contract feeling very confident that all would be well.   3 or 4 more weeks go by and I get a letter of denial stating that they can't transfer the dog back to me without his signature.  I was livid.

I called AKC and spoke to a new case worker as the other was not in that day.  I explained everything and how disappointed I was in AKC not supporting their breeders on this kind of issue.  She told me it was not final yet and that she would try one more avenue to contact the husband through his e mail so my hope was renewed.

Today I got a call -  WAHOO!!!  They are transfering the dog back to me and now his new family can show him in obedience which is what they were hoping to do. Thank you AKC for standing up and honoring my contract and transferring the dog back to me. 

Copyright © 2010 Suzan Shipp/Dobs4ever. All rights reserved. Revised: ALL PICTURES AND CONTENT ON THIS BLOG ARE THE SOLE PROPERTY OF Suzan Shipp/J Bar S Dobermans and may not be used, copied or reprinted without express permission from the owner. Copyrighted 2010

HOW TO SEPARATE A GOOD DOG BREEDER FROM THE PACK

HOW TO SEPARATE A GOOD BREEDER FROM THE PACK:

An age old question with many different answers depending on who you are speaking to at the moment.  Most of you who know me know I think simple is better so I have developed 10 easy steps to help the unexperienced sift through all the misinformation out there today on the web.

DPCA breeder referral section is a good place to start to get names - and the great thing is you can start searching for breeders who are in your area first.  http://dpca.org/breed/breed_referral.htm

1.  First and foremost I want to see 3 things - 
      A.  A member in good standing with the breed club - DPCA and/or UDC Becasue it says that on some level they support the breed and that they care enough to join up with other Doberman breeders to share and learn. 
     B.   Has titled their own dogs, not just talk about the past - pedigree is important. but if the breeder is not titling their own dogs they are not  knowledgable enough to help you if you run into problems.  A good couch potato at home does not necessarily mean the dog has a good temperament for breeding.
    C.  Health testing. -  Not just talk about it, but can actually show results if asked.

2.  All dogs are AKC registered - It does not guarantee good breeding, but it is a far better place to start than all the new fly by night registeries that have cropped up. Send a picture and they will give you a registration that is not worth the paper it is printed on. You can't follow the bloodlines to research about health issues, tempermant issues or show records. 

3.  Can explain the standard for their breed to you and breeds to that standard - not super sized or "King" Dobermans and certainly not Warlock - on the DPCA web site you can read all about the Warlock Myth.
http://dpca.org/breed/breed_standard.htm

4.  Doberman are a cropped and docked breed in America and it is the breeders responsiblity to crop and dock their puppies to save the new owner having to struggle with finding a qualified vet and dealing with aftercare for the first couple weeks.

5.  Does not let puppies go prior to 9 weeks in some cases they might keep them longer

6.  Is available when you call or e mail to answer questions

7.  Doberman come in 4 AKC approved colors - Black, Blue, Red and Fawn -  No reputatble person would breed the albino gene into their lines.  You can read all about the albino gene and its inherent problems here:   http://dpca.org/albino/albino_about.htm

If it is against the standard it is not correct - don't get fooled with wild sales gimmicks to suck you in.
Bitches should not be bred prior to two and OFA is done.  Should only be bred once a year as per the DPCA COE with one execption being allowed with vet approval.   

8.  Places all pet puppies on limited reg with a spay/neuter agreement.

9.  Everything must be by contract -  and the breeder takes back her dogs if for any reason the owner can't keep the dog.   Is open and honest about answering questions and does not hedge or hesitate.

10. Remains supportive after the sale -  You should have a breeder that you like to talk to, is knowledgable and always willing to help you even years from now.

Don't be fooled by the chat forums who regularly trash and devour breeders depending on what day of the week it is.  I have noticed the most vocal folks are either rescue people who hate all breeders or the neophyte who has never titled or bred a dog in their life. 

You are responsible for doing your own homework -  I hope that these guidelines help you as you make your search.

Copyright © 2010 Suzan Shipp/Dobs4ever. All rights reserved. Revised: ALL PICTURES AND CONTENT ON THIS BLOG ARE THE SOLE PROPERTY OF Suzan Shipp/J Bar S Dobermans and may not be used, copied or reprinted without express permission from the owner. Copyrighted 2010

Interesting fact on Doberman PDK4

Doberman's and the Doberman health test for PDK4.

 I just wanted to let everyone know that I just an e mail from a friend yesterday who lives  out east- She has a black male that is a CH, IPO3 and Sch 3 multi titled dog - just a wonderful working dog.

She was all upset as she just got the results back on his DNA test and he is PDK4 positive Homozogyus which means he got both copies of the gene. She is devastated and said he would not be bred. OMG he is 11 - How wonderful

This is what is going to make breeding decisions cloudy to some breeders who want to just focus on cardio and scream wolf- Prior to this we used to look at longevity as a good indicator of breeding for longevity. So now where do we go?  As I see it we are in the same boat. 

The more I learn about this test the more I have to wonder how much help it will be, BUT rest assured my plan has not changed. I will eliminate it just like Vwd because I don't want it to ever be a problem, but it is not the death sentence evidently that everyone thought it was. I am fortunate as most of my up and coming dogs were all neg for PDK4.  So I have a great start to eliminate it totally in a short period of time.

For those who wanted to jump the gun and throw out half their dogs based on one test I feel sorry for them after learning about the above dog. I know you can't base an entire premises on one dog but it does clearly show that it is not an absolute death sentence and there is a lot more we don't know about DCM.  Dr. Meurs herself asked for digression and not go so far the opposite direction that we did more harm than good.

For those that don't cry wolf all the time we did not freak out when someone had a dog whose sire or dam died young  of suspected DCM because we know some lived long lives and some just focused on the ones that die young and wanted to throw out the entire line as cardio ridden.

I see hope for our breed as we learn more and more and I do not see a health ridden breed. Our breed IMHO is as healthy as any other breed out there. The fact is just like in life some die young, some die old and some die somewhere inbetween.  If we only focus on health and keep promoting that our breed is unhealthy we will create the very thing we hope to avoid.
 
Dobs4ever
Copyright © 2010 Suzan Shipp/Dobs4ever. All rights reserved. Revised: ALL PICTURES AND CONTENT ON THIS BLOG ARE THE SOLE PROPERTY OF Suzan Shipp/J Bar S Dobermans and may not be used, copied or reprinted without express permission from the owner. Copyright © 2010

Going to the Dogs

Well I was so sick last week after reading first about the 4 day old baby left on the bed while the mother went to take a shower and was killed by the family dog.  Then this week I read where a baby had 8 fingers eaten off by the family ferret while supposedly the father was asleep in the room - HA more like doped out in a stuper - How on earth could you not hear a baby screaming as it is being eaten alive???

It truly is why I like Dobermans - Always faithful, alert, loyal, dedicated, protective.  Smarter than many humans. 

At this point I am beginning to think mandatory spay/neuter might be in order for humans -  If they can't love, protect, feed, educate, house a baby and educate them maybe they don't need them.  I know I don't want to pay taxes to feed them.

Update from Dr. Meurs on the DCM DNA testing

In reading the below info it is clear that 15% of all proven cases do not have the mutation. That is a small percentage I know and it does clearly show that there are other contributing factors as feared.

It is in our favor however to eliminate this one know factor and hopefully it will lead to more people testing and more studies and info gathered to find others we can eliminate.

Suzan


Here is an opportunity to advance the research even if you are unfortunate enough to have a Doberman
diagnosed with this awful disease.
> Happy New Year!!

> At this point we have tested 1280 samples. Approximately 15% of all proven DCM cases DO NOT have the mutation. We are eager to continue to work on these 15% of the cases, but we need to collect a few more samples from affected dogs that are negative for the mutation in order for our research to progress.
>
> Therefore, we would like to propose the following:
>
> For the month of January- if you submit a BLOOD sample (Swabs do not give us enough DNA for research samples) and evidence of an echocardiogram in which the dog was diagnosed with DCM and the genetic test is negative, we will not charge for the test. We will provide you with the results and bank the sample for further study , but we will not charge you.
>
> All you need to do is submit the blood sample and the echocardiograph report using the usual form. Amy will not charge you until the genetic results come back- if they are negative, there will be no charge, if they are positive you will know that your dog has the mutation and it will be charged. Either way you will get the results in the usual PDF results certificate.
>
> THANK YOU!
> Kate MeursUpdate

Suzan also writes a blog for Canine Chat under the screen name Dobs4ever - You can read her articles here - http://Canine-Chat.com

Copyright © 2010 Suzan Shipp/Dobs4ever.  All rights reserved. Revised: ALL PICTURES AND CONTENT ON THIS BLOG ARE THE SOLE PROPERTY OF Suzan Shipp/J Bar S Dobermans and may not be used,  copied or reprinted without express permission from the owner

Separation Anxiety - Dogs need a break too!

I had a writer who complained that their dog whined and whined a lot and it was driving them nuts.  I would like to address the issue of Separation Anxiety.

My Response:
Guys this is the biggest reason that I strongly recommend crate training.  A dog communicates - and if it learns that its every need is met then it continues communicate in the way that got it attention to begin with.  So have a vet check by all means to make sure there is nothing else underlying. 

One of the most important things for a dog to learn is to be comfortable in its own skin.  Dogs that think they should get 24/7 attention do not learn this and so become more and more demanding until you have full blown separation anxiety.    Everyone  needs time out occasionally to R & R and just get off by themselves.  The crate gives the dog a sense of security that you can't create any other way.  PLUS there is absolutely guarantee that you will be there 24/7 for 10 to 15 years to satisfy every whim and nothing will ever prevent you from being there ------  you see where this goes - Again you can read my complete article on separation anxiety on http://Canine-Chat.com. 

Training is a big part so when the dog does get a chance to relax it has been stimulated, trained, exercised and given attention.  No one not even real children get 24/7 attention.

HSUS and Pascelle Lie

It is not surprise that as 2011 dawns Wayne Pacelle and HUS (Humane Society of the United States) which is NOT affiliated with ANY Humane shelter in the United States is continuing to promote it double talk and production of multi million dollar commercials as they buy prime time on TV and radio stations around the world.

They spend big big bucks to sucker the innocent caring folks in who believe that they actually SAVE animals from "their abusers" as the commercial states.  This very inflamatory statement plants a subliminal message that all humans are abusers.

Just some of the lies promoted by HSUS to steal money from honest folks who care about pets -
Read the entire article at:   http://www.canine-chat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=126:hsus-ceo-pacelle-is-a-liar&catid=44:VonDoom

Let's work to expose this most heinous crime of misrepresentation, lying and stealing in 2011.  They are gearing up and so must we.

Copyright © 2009 Suzan Shipp/Dobs4ever.  All rights reserved. Revised: ALL PICTURES AND CONTENT ON THIS BLOG ARE THE SOLE PROPERTY OF Suzan Shipp/J Bar S Dobermans and may not be used,  copied or reprinted without express permission from the owner. Copyrighted 2009