Today Is National Puppy Day! Let's See Yours - Then and Now!

[sureshotbob]

My boy Sammie I got him when he was a year and a half old . He is now about eight years old.

 

[chief38]

Watchdog: Thank you!

Cody is our 5th Golden over the last 40 years and while all were great dogs in their own rights, Cody is in a class by himself. He will be 10 in July and he is in excellent health (I walk him 2 miles every day - unless it's pouring or snowing hard) and it helps keep him (and me too ) in good shape. It saddens me to realize Golden's don't really do well after 11 or 12 years but the joy they bring within those years is irreplaceable. Hopefully he will be the exception!

 

[Watchdog]

My boy Sammie I got him when he was a year and a half old . He is now about eight years old.

Sammie's lookin' good, isn't he? Gotta love those ears.

 

[chief38]

Sammy looks GREAT! I grew up with a Beagle next door (Snoopy of course) and he was quite a great dog. The only thing that made him growl was when my neighbor took out the nail clipper to trim his nails. He did not like that!

 

[walkin jack]

No, sir...Annie and Beau are not related except by breed.

Annie is almost six months to the day older than Beau, and came from High Point, North Carolina. Beau came from Apex, North Carolina. For whatever it's worth, both of Beau's parents were AKC champions. His sire, Silverhill's U Got Game ("Moses"), was owned by a former NFL player and sired Beau's litter at the age of ten. I had the honor to photograph him shortly before he passed away from cancer several months after Beau was born.

Regarding their similar markings, like all breeds recognized by the AKC, there is a breed standard for Rottweilers. Their "official" color must be black with mahogany markings. The mahogany can vary slightly in hue, but shouldn't be straw colored. They can have no white markings at all. They have to have the spots above each eye and the mahogany markings on their chest. Their lower legs and paws must be mahogany with a black "pencil mark" on each toe. If you look at Rottweilers, Dobermans, Black and Tan Coonhounds, you'll see that they all have similar markings. As do the black and mahogany Dachshunds.

I'm not a big fan of the AKC and their often nitpickety rules and standards. Rottweilers are born with tails, of course, but they are "officially" a docked breed. But tailed Rottweilers are making a comeback. I accept that they're a docked breed, but I don't particularly care one way or another. I don't like it that Dobermans are supposed to have their ears cropped. Ditto for Great Danes and Pit Bulls. I like them natural. I'm okay with removing dew claws, though, as they can become a problem as the dog grows up.

But really...don't get me started on the AKC and breed standards. Probably told you more than you wanted to know already.

Thanks for that info. I found it very interesting. My dad and one of my uncles loved the Pomeranian breed and I saw them go through some aggravation with the AKC business.

Not to put too fine a point on it I don't care much for the concept of "show dogs/cats/etc". Many times the people who own them don't really care about much except what prizes they can win. I call it pet snobbery. I would much rather see an animal loved than bathed, brushed and trimmed every day. I know these animals are not physically mistreated but neither are they loved and viewed as companions. They are denied mutually affectionate relationships. I hate that.

I think Annie and Beau are spectacular dogs! Beautiful! What difference could it make how they are marked?! They exude good health a regal, majestic demeanor and physical perfection without the opinion of some stuffed shirt that thinks where the spots are make any difference. And Don't even get me started on cropping ears and bobbing tails. That is an example of animal abuse for the sake of human vanity.

Oooops. I did say I wasn't going to put too fine a point on it. It's just that I'm kind of passionate about the mistreatment of animals and it's hard for me to resist getting carried away.

 

[sureshotbob]

Sammy looks GREAT! I grew up with a Beagle next door (Snoopy of course) and he was quite a great dog. The only thing that made him growl was when my neighbor took out the nail clipper to trim his nails. He did not like that!

When I have to trim Sammies nails it's a all out battle that includes the muzzle and two other people and I'm lucky to get two paws done at a time.

 

[Watchdog]

Here are my two children. After 25 years of owning spoiled rotten Pit Bulls I decided to down size too.
This is Halle Peeno, my mix breed Taco Dog. Brand new and 8 years old.

Halle Peeno's entirely too cute. I love the little spiked collar on this obviously dangerous little dog.

 

[CamoBlaze]

Here's mine.
3 months

Now:

The first dog with the other one we adopted at five months old:

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[Arik]

Here's mine.
3 months

Now:

The first dog with the other one we adopted at five months old:

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Beautiful dog! German Shepherd mix?

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[Watchdog]

The first dog with the other one we adopted at five months old:

These are two great looking young dogs for sure. Love the way their ears stand up naturally...without human intervention. I'll bet these two are lots of fun. Thanks for posting their photos.

 

[CamoBlaze]

Beautiful dog! German Shepherd mix?

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The one on the top bench is a "Native American shepherd" which is a fancy way of saying mutt with German and Belgian shepherd, husky, malamute and chinook.

The bottom one, is probably a mix but based on her size and online photos, I think Black and Tan kelpie is possible. My wife actually just got me a DNA test for her form my birthday so I should know soonish!

Thanks for the compliments folks. They are, in fact, great pups!


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[Watchdog]

Here is our Border Collie the night that we brought her home.

And here she is now (short time ago)

Border Collies are such fun...and such hard workers when they're doing what they're bred to do. I used to photograph sheep dog trials and was amazed at their intelligence and drive. And at the end of each round, there was a big tank of cool water for the dogs to jump in and cool off...they really worked hard. They are just totally focused on their task...also outstanding dogs for agility and frisbee trials.

Your dog's red scarf sets off her coloring beautifully.

 

[walkin jack]

Border Collies are one of my very favorite breeds. I have great respect for any creature human or not that has a good work ethic. Too bad for me that I could never give one of the fine animals a home. I could never keep up with it or give it the active life it would need to be happy.

MY LOSS!

 

[Watchdog]

Who's Top Dog Around Here?

When they were puppies, Annie and Beau argued daily about who's the Top Dog in this house.

No one ever got hurt, no one was seriously bitten...just little nips and some grabbin'-hold-and-shakin' type stuff.

They never really settled the issue, but agreed to continue the discussion for the rest of their lives whenever the mood hits them.

Note: In actuality, though, Annie is Top Dog. Although Beau outweighs her by a good fifty pounds, she will give him a pretend butt whuppin' every now and again. And she will sometimes just look at him out of the blue from a few feet away...giving him that Rottweiler Death Stare and showing her front teeth...and Beau simply can't stand up to that level of intimidation, even though he is fearless at other times. He will just leave the room and won't return until he's sure it's okay or I call him.

 

[Watchdog]

Border Collies are one of my very favorite breeds.

If you are interested in reading a good book about Border Collies, I suggest Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men by Donald McCaig. It's non-fiction, by the way. He is also the author of Nop's Trials, a fictional account of a Border Collie.

I met Mr. McCaig once at a book signing back in the early nineties...I was one of only five people there at the time. We had an interesting talk about his dogs, and I asked him if he still had his dog named Kip, a dog he wrote a good bit about. He looked away with a tear in his eye for a moment and replied that no, Kip wasn't with him any more.

Donald McCaig gave up a fairly lucrative job as an advertising executive in NYC and moved to Virginia and took up sheep farming. Gotta admire that.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Well... I can't post a then pic but I can post a now (today) pic.

Ladies and gentlemen of S&W Forum, meet Shasta. Shasta is a rescue and is supposed to be a Beagle mix of something... but best described as a 8-week 6-pound bundle of wonderful. She came home with us yesterday evening.

 

[les.b]

Welcome aboard, Shasta!!! What a fine looking pup!!

Thanks for sharing with us.

Best Regards, Les

 

[Watchdog]

Well... I can't post a then pic but I can post a now (today) pic.

Ladies and gentlemen of S&W Forum, meet Shasta. Shasta is a rescue and is supposed to be a Beagle mix of something... but best described as a 8-week 6-pound bundle of wonderful. She came home with us yesterday evening.

What a cutie she is. And good for you for rescuing her.

It'll be interesting, I think, to see what size she grows into as she gets older. She's marked similarly to my dogs except for her paws and toenails. I'm betting the brown spots on her ears will go away as she gets older. I can see a bit of Beagle in the shape of her face right now. I hope she has a long and happy life with you.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Welcome aboard, Shasta!!! What a fine looking pup!!

Best Regards, Les

What a cutie she is. And good for you for rescuing her.

It'll be interesting, I think, to see what size she grows into as she gets older. She's marked similarly to my dogs except for her paws and toenails. I'm betting the brown spots on her ears will go away as she gets older. I can see a bit of Beagle in the shape of her face right now. I hope she has a long and happy life with you.

Thanks. So far so good. Vet gave Shasta the once-over and looks like all is well. Vet said Beagle sumpin'... who knows? Went through her first lightening and thunderstorm last night with flying colors. She looked up at the first flash and boom for a second... then went back to snoozing. Isn't nervous riding in the truck unless the wife is driving (me too)

Alert, active, healthy appetite and seems easy going. I think Shasta is going to do well.... though a long way to go in a galaxy far far away from being house trained... yet.

I put my foot down about sleeping in bed. Made it clear to the wife in no uncertain terms this dog was NOT going to sleep in bed. Wife smiled and said anything you say dear. 10 minutes later I picked up Shasta and she snuggled in our bed. Yeah yeah... I know.

 

[Watchdog]

I put my foot down about sleeping in bed. Made it clear to the wife in no uncertain terms this dog was NOT going to sleep in bed. Wife smiled and said anything you say dear. 10 minutes later I picked up Shasta and she snuggled in our bed. Yeah yeah... I know.

Joking aside about sleeping in the bed...you kinda have to be careful about that with young puppies, and I speak from personal experience. So a bit of advice, if you don't mind...

My previous Rottweiler, Chief, was eight or nine weeks old and sleeping in the bed with me...this was years and years and years ago. Well, he fell out of the bed...hit the floor...and broke his right hind leg.

It was what's called a greenstick break. A puppy's little bones are still somewhat flexible at a young age...they often won't snap-break like a stick, but they'll break like you bend and break a green branch off a bush or something. Chief had to wear a cast for eight weeks. Luckily no permanent damage was done, but even though he lived to be almost twelve years of age, he would sometimes move that leg funny when he went to sit down...he'd sort of throw it out to the side instead of bending it up under him.

We humans toss and turn and move around all sorts of ways in our sleep and don't even know it. It'd be real easy to knock a little puppy out of bed...or even roll over on it and not even know it.

My dogs do sleep in my bed, by the way. And sometimes they even leave room for me.