Nancy B

You're welcome and good luck! :D Remember that while no dog really loves having it's nails done, if you introduce the dremel properly and remain firm and loving, they will accept it.

[quote name='Kiger']Need someone who dremels their dogs nails to answer this one. What attachment do you use? I heard something about not using the pumice type grinder, but the sand paper one instead.[/quote] I dremel my kids nails. I use the little sandpaper drums, fine not coarse. Don't "hold" the drum hard and push against the nail. Let the sandpaper take the nail off little by little. Rotate nails frequently, nail beds heat up and can hurt the dog if you leave the dremel on one nail too long. Take a look at [url]http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merenski/doberdawn/index.html[/url]

Hi Kara and welcome! :D I have two Dobermans and we do agility, obedience, conformation, tracking and therapy dog visits. We've also tried herding and if I had more time I'd like to get into it. :) I know quite a few folks with Rotties and some do everything we do and also do carting and weight pulling. If you opt to try agility have your dog's hips and elbows x-rayed first to determine if her structure can stand the physical demands of agility. Also keep her on the lean side for agility. Rottties can do very well at agility but their natural build makes the repeated jumping more of an effort for them than dogs with a lighter frame.

I'm in the Atlanta area and classes at the agility club I train and teach at are $72 for a six week session, one class a week. Class size is held to 6 and every instructor has a helper. Private lessons at the same facility with one of the instructors are $40 per hour. This is the only non profit agility training center in Georgia but, the other training centers are pretty much in line with fees. All of our instructors have titled dogs in agility. Many have masters titles and a few have MACHs. We also have one instructor who regularly competes on the national level....along with several others who are training with that goal in mind. Of course, we also have Steve Frick in our area. He's a very gifted handler and a wonderful instructor. Since he competes successfully on an international level, his private lessons are much more expensive than the rest of the local club's "going rate". My club actually has Steve come several weekends a year to give seminars....just had one this past weekend. The club trys to book a wide variety of agility seminars throughout the year. In March we have Julie Daniels coming for two days. When you look for a training club I think one thing that's important is to see that the instructors are actually successfully competing in agility and have advanced titles on their dogs. Yes, there are a few exceptions...folks who may be wonderful instructors but don't care to compete. Those folks are few and far between. If you don't compete it's difficult to "keep current" with what's happening in agility competition in the area and properly prepare students. If you don't compete you may not have had to cope with nerves, dogs shutting down and a host of other problems that students will look to you for help with. I'm very happy with the club I train at. My instructors are able to challenge me and my dogs to improve ourselves. The offer interesting exercises and courses to run along with insightful feedback. I do occasoinally take a private lesson with one of the "superstars". I certainly couldn't afford to do that on a weekly basis but, as a supplement to regular training it works great. My club also appreciates me doing this.....sometimes I'll be able to bring up a new point for us to work on.

[quote name='K']That seems a little steep :-?[/quote] Gee, where did you even see a price or prices mentioned?

Whitney watches TV if there are dogs on. Whit attacks the TV if there are cats on! Mason pretty much ignores it unless there are very vocal dogs on. Other animals really don't seem to make an impression on either of them.

I have a Jog-A-Dog dog treadmill. Mason loves it, will race me up to the third floor and "assume the position". I don't use it all the time. Usually Mason gets ample exercise with agility and free running but it is nice to have on hand if the weather is lousy or my schedule doesn't permit as much agility practice as he needs.

Age requirements regarding agility usually relate to the age a dog is permitted to be entered into a trial. That is not to say that you can take a 5 month old puppy, for instance, and go nuts agility training it. Different breeds mature physically at different times. Specifically, it's very important for the growth plates to have closed prior to any real "impact" training in agility. (Impact, think jumping.) Yes, young dogs do frequently run and jump even higher than they would be required to jump in competition but, there's a difference between behavior being offered freely and a regimented jumping program that a dog, usuallly turning itself inside out to please it's owner, could actually do itself harm for the rest of it's life. Smaller breed dogs usually mature physically long before larger breed dogs. I did not jump my male Dobe higher than about 10 inches until he was 18 months old. Yes, this is a somewhat conservative approach and many of the top agility folks would undoubtedly think i'm nuts but, I'm more interested in Mason having a long, healthy and undamaged by early agility training life than I am in winning titles. There are many things you can train with even a very young pup without worrying about having an adverse impact on their growing bodies. I've been asked about this so frequently that I added a section to the kid's website on it. If you go to the agility page [url]http://www.whitneyandmason.com/agility.htm[/url] scroll down to the bottom of the page and you'll see what I did with Mason from the time he was a young pup. Everything that's listed there will help any pup get a firm foundation for more agility training later. One thing that I would also recommend is to have your dog's hips and elbows x-rayed prior to getting into any serious training or competition. Agility is very physically demanding and it's a good idea to know if your dog has the correct structure to deal with it. Both of my dog's have been x-rayed although I only sent Mason's into OFA as Whitney is spayed.

Don't know if anyone's seen this but Karen Pryor has a video on her website....a CAT she clicker trained to run an agility course! [url]http://clickertraining.com/films/[/url]

[quote name='Watchdog'] I would like to see her and her husband do jail time.[/quote] I would also like to see the court order that they are never allowed to own a companion animal again.

The albino breeders and rescue....it's been interesting. Since albino Dobes have been around a lot of them have wound up in rescue. Some of that is due to poor screening of homes...cases where anyone who has the cash for a Dobe can have it whether they're a suitable home or not. Some of the albinos have wound up there because of their temperament and/or heath problems...unfortunately, quite a few of those are unable to be placed since it's a fundamental flaw in the dog. For years albino breeders were bashed for taking no responsibility for the dogs they produced. If a dog of theirs wound up in rescue and they were contacted, they would only offer to take the dog if it was intact. Dobe rescue will NOT let any Dobe leave prior to being spayed/neutered. That's a basic policy and, since the albino breeders are already demonstrating a lack of ethics by breeding for albinos, there's no way Dobe rescue would trust them to alter an intact rescue anyway. I'm not sure exactly when the albino breeders decided to get together and have their own "rescue". A year ago, perhaps a bit longer. I don't know how many Dobes they really do help. They seem to have had no impact on the Dobe arriving in Doberman rescue.

[quote name='yellowlabsrule']I didn't read all the posts in this, but here is one of their "white" dobermans. Phantom's Prodigy OFA BH TT CGC [img]http://www.alltel.net/~thaxdorn/drizzt~1.jpg[/img][/quote] Did you notice that they've put the "OFA" into the name as though it was a title? This is typical of the albino breeders....trying to make their dogs look as though they've acheived more than they have. If you go to the "White" Dobe club's website I think they have a list of "titled whites". Almost all the titles are CGCs and/or TTs. I'm not knocking the CGCs and TT's but, strictly speaking, they're not titles. A CGC is a Canine Good Citizen certificate that the AKC awards. Any fairly well mannered dog can get a CGC, you don't train for it as you would have to for an obedience title. The TT is, of course, a temperament test evaluation. That's nice to have but, it also isn't a "title". I have no problem with anyone listing a CGC and or TT, heck I do it myself and am proud that it's there but, it's deliberately missleading of them to try to make unsuspecting members of the public think that albinos are competing in performance events and earning titles in proportion to their population. They're not. I haven't looked at it in quite a few months but, I believe that only 3 or 4 albino Dobes have acheived a title of CD. (AKC Companion Dog, novice obedience title.) That's not too impressive considering how many are out there. There is also one albino rescue that is working with a very good partner in agility. I think that Dobe has acheived a OAJ...that's the open agility jumpers title. (website [url]http://community-2.webtv.net/icefantom/IcePhantomsVeryOwn/[/url] ) I think that's wonderful! I also seriously doubt that albino will ever do as well in the standard agility courses. Standard agility has all the obstacles (dogwalk, teeter, aframe) and jumpers doesn't. The albinos do have visual problems and I think that makes standard agility much more difficult for them. A number of Doberfolk have also questioned the "BH" claimed on the Dobe you've mentioned. Since there's no central registry, it's pretty easy to claim something that hasn't been earned. Difficult to beleive that an albino got a BH without it causing an uproar at the time.

[quote name='Carolk9s']Paging NancyB! I've PM'd you to see if you've heard of the Big Dog Kennel in Keswick VA. A friend is looking for a Rottie and mentioned them. They also have Dobies. Any info you might be able to share will be greatly appreciated![/quote] The name of the kennel is the "Big Dog Kennel"? Sorry, I've never heard of them. If your friend has concerns it may be worthwhile to check the local breed rescues (of the breeds they produce) to see if any of their dogs wind up in rescue. The Dobe clubs national rescue organization is called CPOE...I'll post a website that has links to Dobe rescues all over the country. [url]http://www.dpcacope.org/[/url] Of course, she can also do the usual....get sire/dam names and check in health databases as well as AKC. One thing that I did do was look in this years DPCA's breeder directory. That kennel isn't listed. I don't have a person's name so, I can't check to see if they have a membership in the DPCA. It's not unheard of for good Dobe breeders to also be involved in a second breed. It is unusual for the second breed to be large dogs....usually Min Pins or Whippets. How did she hear of this kennel. Did the Rottie national breed club refer her? WAIT JUST A MINUTE!!!! I just figured out what a pm is and how to read it. I'll see if I can figure out how to answer you privately....there are things your friend needs to know!!!!!

My kids LOVE rawhide but they're both pretty aggressive chewers....especially Mason. Years ago I tried the "give them a real big rawhide and stand right over them" route. Wasn't comfortable with that...too frequently one or the other would succeed in chewing off a piece that I'd have to stick my hand in and haul back out of their mouths. For quite a while we went into "rawhide withdrawl". I bought those giant mutant carrots and would give them one of those after dinner. They love carrots but, they run through them a lot faster. A Dobe breeder I know recommended getting what I call the rawhide "twigs". I think they're really made for small dogs. They're maybe 4" long and slender....not even as large in diameter as a pencil. Sounds like the type of thing one of my kids would swallow whole, doesn't it? Well, they don't. They lie down after dinner and grasp those little twigs in their paws and chew, chew, chew. The love them. Best of all is that if one of them did do something dumb like swallow the whole twig, it's small enough (in relation to their size) that it won't cause an obstruction. Yeah, I bend over backwards to feed my dogs BARF ensuring that I know everything they eat and then I let them have rawhide. I know it doesn't make much sense but, that's the way it is. :D

BTW, if you really want to see what they're all about, go take a look at the White Doberman club's website. [url]http://www.whitedoberman.org/[/url] Someone who knows little about dogs or Dobermans could find that website very impressive. Of course, I could say the same thing about the websites of the two very large commercial Doberman breeders (non albino). A snazzy website doesn't have anything to do with what type of dogs are being produced.

I don't know which albino breeder's website you're thinking of. Here are three of the most prolific...perhaps it's one of those. [url]http://members.aol.com/lornich/brubakerstudio/Page_1x.html[/url] [url]http://www.mysticmarshfarm.com/[/url] [url]http://vanhussdoberman.com/[/url] Unfortunately, there are lots more. :cry:

[quote name='Black GSD'] Here is a question for YOU: Do you think that you would have ended up a "Dobe Person" if they had always been natural eared and tailed? I mean lets face it. Usually one of the things that draws folks to "their" breed in the first place is the looks. (I am NOT saying that is the only thing.)[/quote] Yes, I would have wound up a Dobe person anyway. I prefer the cropped/docked look but, the ears and tail are a very small part of what I love about Dobermans! :)

You know, Dobermans were developed as personal protection dogs. Early Dobes couldn't be touched by anyone other than their owner. When Dobes first started showing in America, the judge would not touch them. Dobermans have evolved just as society has. A good Doberman these days should not be soft, like a Golden or Lab in a Dobe coat. It should pass the Doberman Pinscher Club of America's Working Apptitude test and demonstrate it's ability to evaluate a stimilus and respond in the proper way. A friendly stranger should be either greeted in a friendly manner or ignored. Loud noises call for investigation but, once it's established that there's no threat, the Dobe should recover and resume it's normal position. A direct threat to the handler should bring a Dobe out to the end of it's lead....willing to engage the threat and protect the handler. Yes, there are still some lines of Dobes (or individuals) that are too soft or too sharp but, generally speaking, I think breeders have done an excellent job of trying to breed for a Dobe that can exist in today's society while staying true to it's original purpose. What all this boils down to is that we live in a society that (sadly) has breed specific legistlation, people who have a propensity to file lawsuits, insurance companies who fear the financial risk of insuring certain breeds and a trend for people to deny responsiblity for their own actions. You have to "plan" these days for some of the dumb things people will do and then try to hold you responsible for. I read another post by you a while back...I think it was posted under the aggressive dogs thread. I think your stated opinion was that all dog aggressive dogs except APBTs should be euthanized simply because APBTs will not bite humans and other dog aggressive dogs may do so. Hogwash! There are good breeders in your breed and bad breeders. There are also responsible owners and owners that will try to make their dogs "mean". There are APBTs that will bite humans and those that won't. I would even think it would be possible for one to accidently bite a person if that person was trying to interfere with it killing another dog. (Yeah, maybe that would be dumb of someone to do but people do dumb things.....and then sue.) You and the dogs you produce don't live in a vaccum, you live in today's society. I think you need to give this some serious thought. I am not saying that you should breed dogs that are like Goldens but, you certainly don't need the level of dog aggressiveness that you've mentioned and your dogs do need to be trained.

[quote="Black GSD Here is a question for you. I saw somewhere that in Germany they are no longer supposed to dock tails on Giant Schnauzers. Is this true for ALL breds including Dobes and Rotts? (I would imagine that it is ALL breeds, but you never know.) I haven't seen any Dobes or Rotts that are young imports. (As in born after this rule.)[/quote] In Germany, England and many of the European countries it is now against the law to crop ears and dock tails of any breed.

I think it takes a very responsible and intelligent owner with strong leadership qualities to own one of those breeds. Of course, I also believe that's what is required to own my breed responsibly.

[quote name='Carolk9s']I don't know about the others but I do NOT recommend Canidae anymore to anyone. I've heard from too many people on others lists that I use that it gave their dogs super soft stools. I know it gave Jesse and Brittany soft stools and Jesse pooped all the time![/quote] I think dogs are individuals. I've known dogs that have done very well on Canidae and I've known dogs who display the problems you've listed. I can say the exact same thing for Innova, California Natural and Solid Gold. (Innova and CA Nat I have first hand experience with. Whit did fine on them but, Mason's stools were too soft.) Not all dogs are alike so I think that in addition to finding a quality kibble you need to see if that particular kibble agrees with your particular dog.

[quote name='newfiemom']Nancy B, according to the Whole Dog Journal, Best in show is out of business. I just got their annual issue containing the Best and Worst in Commercial Dog Foods. They said they removed Best in Show because the company went out of business.[/quote] Well gee.....see what you miss when you switch to BARF! :D I must admit that I don't read up on kibbles anymore since it doesn't have an impact on my dogs anymore. Thanks for letting me know, I'll blow the link out of my file.

[quote name='Micheline099']Is there any arguments for the fence? Is everyone against it? Just asking.....LOL.... :wink:[/quote] I dunno but, you can mark me down as against them too! :D

[quote name='Hobbit'] Guy was stepped on. It broke his scapula and radius (same leg). The vet pinned the scapula because it was a very fine hair line from being a compound fracture. It healed, as did the radius, beautifully. [/quote] Wow, I had no idea. Poor little Guy....and how wonderful that he's doing so well!

[quote name='newfiemom']Make bigger batches and freeze them. The other foods you have listed are garbage. Since Lily is doing well on the raw diet, you would be wise not to change it.[/quote] I agree with Newfiemom. My dogs are on the BARF diet and I buy chicken backs by the 40 pound case. Their evening meal is a "Barf meatball" that I make up ahead of time. It has ground beef, beef heart, chicken gizzards, chicken and beef liver, eggs, eggshells, veggies and other odds and ends. I spend about three hours making the meatballs every few weeks and I make enough to last about 27 days. If you decide that you must switch back to a kibble, take a look at the quality human grade kibbles on the market. (I would never feed my dogs any of the kibbles you've mentioned.) Here are some links to some good kibbles....there are others, this is just what I have handy. [url]http://www.canidae.com/[/url] [url]http://www.bestinshowpowerfood.com/[/url] [url]http://www.naturapet.com/[/url] (I've fed my dogs Innova and CA Nat in the past) [url]http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/[/url] [url]http://phdproducts.net/[/url] [url]http://solidgoldhealth.com/[/url] [url]http://www.wysong.net/[/url]