The Story of Puff

It's been a while since I updated The Dog Geek, I've been very busy working as a full-time shepherd on a sheep ranch with Zip and Godzilla, and now I've added a third stockdog to my little family. Zip's sister had babies in October, and I helped deliver the litter and raise the pups. This was a big litter, nine puppies, ranging in size from half a pound to a whole pound at birth. When they were a week old, the smallest baby got very dehydrated and required some extra fluids and care to keep her going. We weren't entirely sure that she was going to make it for several days.

Once she was thriving again, little Puff turned out to be quite a scrappy little puppy. As soon as the pups were big enough to play and wrestle, she would tackle the others and steal their toys. Her favorite toy was a tiny squeaky stuffed duck.

Puff is now 16 weeks old, still petite, and unstoppable. She is the first baby puppy I've raised since Brisbane, and she's almost as bitey and wild as a cattledog puppy. So much biting! Godzilla is the only one of the big dogs that will play with her.

I have lots of plans for Puff, she will be introduced to sheep when she is old enough. Someday I hope

to compete in the big herding trial in Meeker, Colorado. For now, I just hope her ears will stand up. They were perfect little tulip ears for a couple of weeks. Just when I fell in love with the tulips, they stood up! Two days later, they tipped over. She's probably going to have flying nun ears like Zip.

I am trying to make more time for blogging in my busy schedule of shepherding and trialing. In the meantime, we are getting plenty of use out of our Kong Binkies, Puppy Kongs, and assorted other chew toys. So many chew toys.

Paw Spa: Earthbath Puppy Shampoo

I picked this bottle of Earthbath Puppy Shampoo up at a local store because I fell in love with the Wild Cherry scent. This is a super-gentle tearless shampoo that is safe for all animals over the age of six weeks. It's probably ok for younger animals too, but I usually end up washing little babies in either Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo or blue Dawn dishsoap if they have fleas.

Earthbath

The company offers a wide variety of grooming products, from shampoos of all sorts, to grooming wipes for every part of your pet, to waterless shampoos and scented spritzes. Some of the products have matching scents, including a Wild Cherry puppy spritz.

How Does It Work?

This is one of the thickest shampoos I've encountered. It's seriously like a very thick gel, and takes forever to squeeze out the little spout. This makes it difficult to spread on the dog's coat evenly, so I usually end up with one super soapy spot. It dilutes very nicely though, I squeeze a little onto an empty bottle and then fill it up with warm water. After a good shake I've got a nice bottle of easy-to-spread diluted shampoo.

Final Verdict?

Earthbath Puppy Shampoo is one of the easiest to rinse products I've used. It just doesn't want to stick in the hair, so it's great for sensitive skin and pets that actively resist getting clean. I only use a tiny bit per dog when I dilute it, so this bottle will probably last forever. 

This is Sisci

After taking Xena back to her original foster mom, I brought home one of the Australian Cattledog puppies I have been working with since they were wee babies. In the litter of nine puppies there were a huge range of temperaments, from super-friendly personalities to spooky shy types. Most of the pups seem like they will top out around 40-50 pounds, except one.

3 weeks

This is Sisci. She started out as The Good Puppy. She was the puppy that sat all the time. By the age of three weeks she had already figured out that sitting made people happy.

As the litter gradually figured out how legs worked, Sisci began to lead the pack in coordination. Once she was fully mobile she became The Evil Puppy. Sisci was the first of her siblings to start chasing down other puppies to bite their legs.

5 weeks

By four weeks we were well-aware that this one puppy was turbo-charged and different from the others. She was definitely the Self-Appointed Fun Police, charging over to boss around any puppies who dared play too rambunctiously.

Sisci was also very focused on toys as soon as she discovered them. What could be better than carrying a ball or stuffed animal around?

The mother of these puppies is has a short tail. ACDs are sometimes docked by misguided and poorly-educated breeders, but some dogs are just born with naturally short tails. Sisci has a Natural Bob Tail, a tiny little nub. The rest of the pups either had full labby tails or short 4" tails.

12 weeks

Five of the nine puppies have now found homes of their own. Three of the four remaining puppies get along very well and love to play together. Sisci does not love the chaos of puppies at play. She had to be separated from the group regularly so the rest of the puppies could play.

18 weeks

I brought Sisci home as a new foster puppy to help work on her skills with cats. As a high-energy, high-drive, bitey 8-month-old puppy she could potentially become dangerous to small furry animals. So far, she's doing very well. Sisci has figured out which cat to avoid, and which cats she can try to entice into play. She plays very well with both Brisbane and Ru, and respects their space more than any foster dog I've had in the last two years.

Sisci is also going to be amazing at dog sports. Right now we're taking things easy on her growing body, but she is already crazy for frisbees and loves jumping into the pool.

8 months

She's going to be amazing at agility, right now we're working on the very beginnings of 2x2 weave poles. I already know that she likes lure coursing, but she won't be able to do the AKC Coursing Ability Test until she's at least 12 months old.

She's very physically sensitive and a whole lot like Brisbane. She has had an incredibly good foundation of experiences, especially as a tiny baby puppy. It will be a lot of fun to see what she can do!

Food Friday: Orijen Large Breed Puppy

Orijen Large Breed Puppy Food is a dry kibble specifically formulated for growing puppies. This is a very high-quality grain-free food made from chicken, turkey, eggs, fish, peas, and lentils. The ingredient are sourced from local farmers in Canada, and used fresh without being frozen or preserved in any way.

Many dog food companies like to offer a wide range of diverse products for different life stages. This is almost entirely marketing rather than science, though. The only nutritional profiles actually recognized and regulated are for growth (also known as "all life stages"), adult maintenance, and large breed growth. Foods advertised for these life stages must meet specific requirements based on large bodies of scientific evidence. Foods advertised for seniors, small breeds, weight management, etc do not have to meet any different or special requirements, the manufacturers are free to slap those labels on any of their foods.

Large breed puppies have special nutritional requirements that have been intensively studied since the 1970's, according to Dog Food Logic. For dogs that will grow to over 50 pounds, less calcium and fewer calories will reduce the risk of developing one disease. Large breed puppy foods are therefore lower in calcium than regular puppy food or foods labeled for all life stages. They also tend to be lower in calories so big puppies can eat more without getting too much.

Orijen is made by Champion Pet Foods, and is widely regarded to be The Best Kibble. It is produced in Champion's own facilities. I consider it to be the highest quality kibble on the market mostly because it is made out of meat, meat, and more meat.

That said, I do think that Orijen is guilty of using ingredient splitting to make their already impressive list even more amazing. Most pet foods can be assessed by examining the beginning of that list, usually the first seven ingredients. Orijen Large Breed Puppy Food's ingredient list looks like this:

Boneless chicken*, chicken meal, chicken liver*, whole herring*, boneless turkey*, turkey meal, turkey liver*, whole eggs*, boneless walleye*, whole salmon*, chicken heart*, chicken cartilage*, herring meal, salmon meal, red lentils, green peas, green lentils, chicken liver oil, chicken fat, sun-cured alfalfa, yams*, pea fiber, chickpeas, pumpkin*, butternut squash*, spinach greens*, carrots*, Red Delicious apples*, Bartlett pears*, cranberries*, blueberries*, kelp, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, Enterococcus faecium

The first 10+ ingredients are all identified animal parts, that's awesome. The second ingredient on there is chicken meal, which contributes way more to the finished product that the uncooked meats. That's also awesome. But would the list be as impressive if we called all the non-meal chicken parts just "chicken"? Here's how it looks:

Chicken, chicken meal, chicken, fish, turkey, turkey meal, turkey, eggs, fish, fish, chicken, chicken, fish meal, lentils...

So the first seven ingredients end up being chicken, chicken meal, fish, turkey, turkey meal, eggs, fish meal...and not necessarily in that order. Actually it looks like Orijen is guilty of almost the opposite of ingredient splitting. Most companies use this tactic to make their lower-quality ingredients appear further down on the list, i.e. listing peas as "green peas, yellow peas, pea starch, pea fiber..." to make that ingredient appear lower on the list than their meat ingredients even if their food is, in fact, made almost entirely out of peas. This food has a ton of meat in it, and listing the specific parts of the animals doesn't make it look more impressive than it is. It's just that impressive.

I'm not currently raising a large breed puppy, but this is the food I would choose if I needed to grow a healthy Irish wolfhound or something. Who is the biggest dog you know?

Food Friday: Nutro Natural Choice Limited Ingredient Puppy Diet

I'm puppy-sitting this week, so there is a bag of Nutro Natural Choice Limited Ingredient Diet puppy food in my house that wouldn't normally be here. This is a limited ingredient diet that is only somewhat limited, and I'm feeling lucky indeed that it doesn't contain any of Brisbane's allergens. These pups are very, very good at flinging their kibble everywhere. (Yes, I still have foster puppy Xena, so that makes five dogs in my house for those keeping count.)

Nutro is a dog food marketing company owned by Mars Incorporated. Other products you may have heard of by Mars include candy bars (3 Musketeers, Snickers, Twix), chewing gum (Wrigley's, Juicy Fruit, Bubble Tape), and lots of pet products. Mars dog foods include Pedigree, Cesar, Eukanuba, Iams, Natura, and Royal Canin. They also make Pill Pockets and Greenies, and own both the Banfield veterinary centers in Petsmart stores, and the Wisdom Panel DNA Test. Isn't it kinda crazy that all those brands are actually owned by the same company?

Nutro hasn't always been owned by a giant corporation though, it used to be a private pet food company and was only sold in 2007. The fact that Nutro dog food in produced in a facility that makes many brands is part of why it was part of the giant 2007 Menu Foods recall.

As far as quality goes, Nutro Natural Choice LID diets seem to be ok. This food is rated four out of five stars on Dog Food Advisor. I'm not crazy about the amount of grains in this food, and it's not something I would choose to feed my own dogs.

I'm also not thrilled with the "Limited Ingredient Diet" label when this food actually contains so many different things. It's got lamb and rice, sure, but it's also got oatmeal and pea protein. Most foods advertised as having limited ingredients contain one protein source and one carbohydrate source. This can help with elimination diets, if your dog has trouble on a rabbit and potato diet, you can switch to a venison and sweet potato diet and see if they improve. This is a lot less useful if said diets both also contain peas, oatmeal, or other potential allergens.

That said, the pups are doing well on this particular food. Their coats are shiny, their eyes are bright, they are at healthy weights and have healthy-looking stools. They are growing and developing properly and in general are healthy puppies. Would a better food make a noticeable difference? I doubt it.

What does your dog eat?

Caught Being Good

This is a good puppy. She is laying there calmly and chewing on a dog toy.

You know what she is not doing? Barking. Pestering Brisbane. Chewing on my slippers. I've been telling her what a good puppy she is, without being exciting enough to interrupt her chewing session. She is getting positive attention for doing what should really be a mundane, everyday activity.

Why am I heaping praise on her for doing something unremarkable? It's because I want her to learn that chewing on her toys is more fun than chewing on my slippers. She already knows that grabbing a shoe or a slipper is a way to get my attention immediately. If grabbing an appropriate toy gets her ignored, but grabbing a forbidden object gets her some interaction, she could learn to grab my slippers whenever she wants some attention.

When she does grab a slipper, shoe, or other random object, I don't make a big deal out of it. I simply remove whatever she's got and then present her with a toy. As soon as she touches the toy I tell her what a marvelous dog she is. If we have to go get the toy from another room, I like to bring it back to wherever she had settled down with her forbidden prize. After all, that was obviously a good spot to settle down and have a good gnaw.

Management is also important for teaching a dog what is and is not appropriate to chew. Darla is not a terribly destructive dog, she can play with a shoe for quite a while without damaging it. If she had a history of destroying things, I would be much more careful where I left my slippers. Since she's pretty benign, I can leave my shoes on the floor and we can work on learning the difference between puppy toys and everything else. I'm hoping this will help Darla if she gets adopted by a family with kids, because we all know that kids tend to leave stuff all over the place.

Syd the Wonderpuppy

I haven't been posting regularly this week because I have been housesitting for my photographer Erin, who lives an hour away. Joining on my housesitting adventure is Syd, the fourth and final puppy from Darla, Hellin, and Xena's litter.

Syd is the smallest of the four puppies, she is very lightly built and athletic. She can leap high in the air and likes to bounce when running for no particular reason.

I don't normally allow foster dogs on the furniture because the people that will eventually adopt them may have different house rules. However, Syd sees absolutely no reason why she should not clamber to the top of any given object, so she spends a lot of time hanging out on the back of the couch.

Syd and Darla are the two most toy-oriented pups in their litter. While she's not super-motivated to get the ball, Syd does enjoy carrying it. She also likes to carry toys around the house. Syd is a recreational chewer and enjoys a good Nylabone, antler, or Himalayan Dog Chew. She has also casually nibbled the corner of my coffee table a couple of times, but is easily redirected.

Syd is an interesting puzzle. She's not very good at sitting. It's very difficult to lure her into a sitting position, and she doesn't know to sit automatically when she wants something like her sisters.

At the same time, Syd has learned how to use the potty bells by the door just by watching Brisbane and Ru. She's a smart pup.

Syd and the girls are nice low-key dogs that should make good family pets. They don't need tons of exercise to stay sane, and aren't constantly on the move. They all chill out very nicely in the house and are content with a couple of walks around the block on days we aren't at work or the beach. We met someone today who is considering adopting Syd. Wish her luck at finding a home of her own!

Xena, Warrior Princess

This is Xena, she is Darla and Hellin's sister. Hellin got adopted last week, Darla went back to her original foster home, and Xena came home with me.

Xena is, to be honest, a really strange little dog. At six months old, she has been in rescue since the age of four weeks. She has had the same individual socialization and foundational training as her sisters. Unlike her happy, outgoing, well-adjusted littermates, Xena is extremely nervous and terrified of everything. She has been learning to walk on a leash for months, but still doesn't really get the concept and turns into a flat pull-toy every few steps.

When they first arrived, Darla marched triumphantly into the house and went to wiggle and lick at the kitties. Hellin took about a day to adjust to the hardwood floors and decide they were safe to walk on. Xena has been here over a week and still freaks out a little about the slippery floors.

Xena is terrified of cars while walking on the sidewalk or through a parking lot. Unfortunately I live in the middle of town and cars are everywhere at all times.

For over a week I've been watching Xena slink along on her belly with her tail tucked, so far over threshold she wouldn't even take treats. Today we went to a new swimming spot in the river, and once we were away from the road and general city life she really perked up.

She loved following Brisbane into the water, though she had zero interest in retrieving toys. She did  lot of bouncing and splashing and was generally a happy, if serious,
puppy.
Based on her behavior and sound sensitivity, I am beginning to suspect that Xena can't see very well. She can navigate a somewhat novel room in the dark, but loses track of treats once they are more than a couple of feet from her face. She crosses her eyes when looking up at me, and occasionally bonks into things for no reason.

At the river today I watched her explore and got the distinct impression that sometimes she was moving as if she wasn't entirely certain what she was walking into. Hopefully we can get her eyes checked out soon and see if Xena is seeing properly.

Product Review: Puppy Kong Classic

Puppy Kongs are durable rubber stuffable chew toys made from extra-soft rubber. The Kong Company makes a variety of toys out of their puppy rubber, we have two large and one medium Puppy Kong Classics.

Photo by Erin Koski

Kong makes their durable chew toys from five different color-coded natural rubber materials. Pastel pink and blue puppy rubber is the softest, followed by purple senior rubber. Next is classic red, followed by dark blue, and finally Black Extreme.

Puppy rubber is intended only for dogs that still have their needle-sharp baby teeth. Puppy Kongs are extra-squishy and inviting, and I have used them to help teach reluctant chewers that Kongs are more than just vessels for food.

Naturally, the Puppy Kongs can be used the same way as any other Classic Kong. I like to stuff them with peanut butter and freeze them.

Photo by Erin Koski

When I had the foster girls here, they had just been spayed and needed to stay quiet in their crates for ten days. I would fill their Kongs with dry kibble after each potty break so they could roll the toys around rather than eating out of a bowl.

Pros: A safe, durable chew toy that can be stuffed with tasty treats and frozen for teething puppies. Comes in cute pastel "baby" colors. Bounces unpredictably for ridiculous puppy action.

Photo by Erin Koski

Cons: Puppy Kong is only for puppies with baby teeth, as soon as they grow some permanent teeth this toy should be tossed. I'm not crazy about stuff having a limited lifespan like that. Puppy Kong also only comes in Extra Small, Small, Medium, and Large, so giant breed puppies may outgrow their toys before they finish teething.

Bottom Line: I own Puppy Kongs because  am eccentric enough to want to collect Kongs of every size/shape/color.

The Foster Puppies

I had a pair of sweet, adorable foster puppies for a few weeks. They were being fostered in the greaer Los Angeles area, and I brought them up here to meet some potential adopters and soak up the puppy love.

Photo by Erin Koski

The girls were found running around outside the South Central LA shelter when they were a few weeks old. Hellin is blue ticked like an Autralian cattledog, so they ended up in cattledog rescue. They're really not cattledogs, though.

Darla, the white puppy, has the color dilution gene. She has a blue nose, so the shelter decided that the girls must be pitbull mixes. We don't know what either of their parents looked like, though.

Given their wire coats, the best guess is is that they have some german wirehaired pointer in the mix. This seems unlikely for our area, but Hellin is definitely a very bird-focused dog. She is normally a somewhat reserved and cautious pup, but when we went to the beach she didn't even notice the sand or the ocean because there were so many birds to watch. Darla is significantly less interested in birds, and much more outgoing.


Darla and Hellin are about six months old now, and still looking for their forever homes. They and their sisters Syd and Xena can be found on RescueMe.org, they are the only German Wirehaired Pointer mixes available in California right now.