Recent content by Ravenbird

It's more the show/pet and those kennels who produce literally hundreds of puppies. True that the European working lines and American show lines have DCM too, but from what I observe it's the BYB mass producers that created the overdone heavy Dobermans that have the highest incidence and at the...

Again, many dogs never need this and you need to learn how to use it from an experienced teacher. One rule of thumb is never use before your puppy knows the word "no". The most common reason to using it is to reinforce your rules, the most important rule in your dogs life is an impeccable recall...

I had a very strong independent puppy, and a prong collar changed everything. Not because of pain, they just kinda go, "oh, ok, I won't pull on this", and unless you have an extremely reactive dog that does, you can basically just move on with all obedience training with it on. Some dogs get to...

COI is still vastly important and not to be ignored. For breeds like the original Jack Russel Terrier that a 10% COI is considered high, no, it's not a concern. (The original JR is NOT the Parsons Jack Russel that is AKC version) The average Doberman now being high 30's to mid 40's is a huge...

If the rabbit is fairly large, a hawk or owl would not be able to fly with it and they do often eat the head, for whatever reason... 🙄 Fox and coyote I'd think would carry it away. I did see an amusing video of a fox pulling its catch through a narrow slatted fence. I'll see if I can find it...

Asha likes it too!

I don't think anything has to be avoided completely. The reason I wondered why a company would make sweet potato chips for a dog treat is simply that dogs in general are protein/meat eaters, and biologically do not need carbs. Vegetables in general have little protein and lots of starch, so what...

Mars and the rest who are buying out vet clinics are fleecing normal pet owners. It makes me sick. I absolutely love my small town vets and their reasonable prices and that they will stand there and talk to you about your pet for 10 extra minutes without shuffling you through the door to make...

Thanks @BG1 - good info. In my mind there are at least 3 versions: Diet caused in dogs with no genetic propensity to heart disease, DCM, DHF due to genetics and DCM, arithmetic heart disease/sudden death also usually genetic. It makes all the sense in the world to pay heed to information about...

I'm not familiar with this disease, but after a quick glance at some internet info, it seems that surgery would offer some relief but it may grow back. And to my dismay it is yet again influenced by genetics. 🥲 Here's the whole article...

Seems to have a very short tail? I've never seen a black squirrel that I can recall. Always fun to see something different!

This ancestry trail is just that: ancestry! ALL Dobermans started in Germany, then moved on from there. So everyone who has a Doberman will show this or similar maps, just some lines went one direction and some lines went another. But bottom line, they all started out EU x EU because that's...

Thank you for that info. I vaguely recall you talking about an injury or soreness, I think. Memory is getting worse these days, but if you had a specific post here I may try to find it. This last year we've done very little active (fast/high/intense) training. Mostly hiking and general obedience...

I will keep that in mind, since that is an elusive type of injury/soreness that doesn't always present as lameness. Thanks for mentioning it. We did have fun and definitely learned a lot about how some of the impressive exercises are taught. I always love watching the helper come up and be...

That's really cool. I'd love to see his pedigree! C1 isn't common. If you don't know her pedigree why do you think it's EU x EU?