Recent content by bluelou

Thank you for your condolences, JanS. Of the 3 that died, 2 of them had no genetic markers for DCM according to their Embark tests. I know the shortcomings of these tests have been mentioned here in the past. I figured I'd share the information since it confirms what's been discussed on this...

Thank you for this information. I had been giving them a nightly treat, FreshPet, that has peas in it. I'll eliminate that immediately.

UPDATE: Yet another one of our Dobermans has died this past weekend. Angus was from the same litter as Malcolm, the dog who died last month. That's 3 deaths, all by age 4: the mother, Nellie, and the 2 sons we kept for our own. We have one remaining Doberman, Sid. He's 5 y.o. and doesn't...

I apologize for the confusion. I meant I'm interested in Euro lines of Belgians in the US, not importing from Europe. Regarding longevity, thank you for the info about DPCA. I'll look into this. Could you clarify how you look at longevity? Is there clinical research that indicates longevity...

Ravenbird, JanS, BG1, Two Dobes, et. al, Your suggestions and advice have been incredibly helpful. I'll manage the health of our 2 remaining Dobermans the best I can. Given the incidence of heart disease in the breed and dearth of adequate tests for this I won't adopt from this breed again...

Isn't DCM is a terminal disease? What does a yearly echo/holter tell me other than estimated time to death? If DCM can be managed as a chronic, rather than terminal, disease I'm eager to learn more.

Thank you for your kind reply. I'd looked up the parents names in the past. Our first 2 Dobermans shared the same male parent. I don't recall finding anything noteworthy at the time, but I'll look again just in case. I had suspected this about the sufficiency of the genetic tests, thank you...

I last posted here in 2021 and received helpful tips about caring for my new European Doberman pups. It's 4 years later and 2 of my 4 Dobermans have died of suspected heart disease. Some background: In 2020, I purchased a male and a female Doberman from Vom Hismerh Kennels in NJ. Results of...

Where do you keep the crates, in your own bedroom? If so, is that the common practice, to keep the crates in the owner's bedroom? If not, which room is best for crates, other than the master bedroom? Also, why do the two littermates need to be kept apart? Our two male pups were littermates...

No worries. Sounds like there was a bit of a misunderstanding. Thanks again for your ideas regarding dog care.

Perhaps. Rits, the phrase you used, "your own past self", means "the way you were in the past". The way you referred to me in the past, "So, who's female doberman is this?", implied that I was lying. So, in effect, you've said today, "given you were a liar in the past". I accept your apology...

Rits, Is this your m.o.? You accused me of lying on the thread you cited, "So whos female doberman is this?" [Rits 2021-04-12]. Now, you're implying I'm guilty of animal abuse "own past self to explain" [Rits 2021-08-18]. I'm certain this is pattern behavior. This is fun for you...

Rits provided the link to the backstory. The pups were an accident. No whining issues with any of them. We exercise them for at least an hour (usually more) every day to keep them calm. They get fussy on rainy days and if we miss a walk. They like to play together outside as a group when...

Yep, that's me. We accidentally had puppies. Fortunately, we found great homes for 6 of the 8 in the litter (the vet and vet staff took most of them) and we kept 2 of them. So, now we have 4.

Haha! The upside is I lost 12 lbs walking them :) The adults get walked 5 miles a day on mountainside roads, plus 3 acres fenced for them to roam, and another 27 acres of logging trails for hikes.