Jasmine brought her friend Lexi with her to dog class, and with Liz helping out, I got video of three GSDs, including two of mine, Clyde and See See, in handling class.
The room where we have class is rather small, and the floor is slick, which is fine for smaller dogs, or dogs that do not have to go so fast in the ring. GSD handlers have to go faster than any other breed handler because GSDs are shown at a “flying trot”. These ladies are doing an amazing job with these GSDs despite the less than ideal conditions.
Lexi (red hair) has See See, Jasmine (red shirt) has her dog Kaiser, and Liz (green shirt) has Clyde (green shirt)
If you’ve been following my blog for awhile you might remember Winston’s Auntie Gail. She is my neighbor and helped me so much with my last litter which included Clyde and See See. She visited the other day and it was quite clear that she and Clyde REALLY missed each other. Each pic is a little different but I love all of them. The last one is best.
My friend Josh came back to day for a retaping of his puppy’s ears. First we had to get the glue off, and that was a job. In the pics, you can see that her ears are still floppy.
Because she is tipping her head back, the ears are almost standing.In this picture taken a few moments later, one ear is leaning way over and the other is bent.And here they look very floppy.They look real good here after the retaping.Josh distracted her with treats as she was first getting used to the tape. She adapted quickly and he let me know that she was doing fine at the end of the day with the tape still intact.She seems comfortable in this pic. She went home happy with her new bunny ears!
My friend Keith gave me a bunch of venison scraps and I put them in the oven in a roasting pan. I saved them in the freezer for later for the dogs. Then I set the pan on the floor. This is what happened.
Can you believe these are my two adult intact males (Winston and Clyde) with my intact female (See See) licking the same pan?
I met Josh and some other friends in Petersburg to practice conformation handling some dogs. Josh brought his new female puppy, who is now 6 months old, so I could check out her ears. She tore the tape off after 8 days, so he glued them instead of retaping them.
Her ears are up, looking at the toy, and they are not able to flop. This method of gluing keeps the bases strong.In this cute picture, you can see that the ears sag a bit when she is not alert.
I advised Josh to reset her ears using the forms and tape, because on close inspection, a crease is starting to form on the inner portion, just above the base. I could be wrong, and maybe her ears will straighten nicely once the glue is removed. I like the way the glue holds them together and pointing up, but I am worried that they sag too much. This gluing method works better on much younger puppies before the back portion of the skull has grown and widened as much as hers has. Regardless, I know he won’t give up on her ears, and they will stand eventually.
Winston, Clyde and See See can be overly affectionate when greeting old friends. Sharon hasn’t been to visit in about a month, so let’s just say they were enthusiastic.
Or maybe obnoxious is a better word. Well, I guess See See was polite.
See See has just finished her heat cycle, and I had to keep her apart from the three males in the house. She normally is kept with her two brothers and is fed and exercised with them. During her heat cycle I let her out separately, and she spent time in a crate beside my bed at night and for meals.
I gave her a really good bath first. When I reintroduced them, I did it one boy at a time, and then threw them all together. The brothers have been together throughout her heat cycle, with absolutely no contact with See See.
See See saw Winston first. It’s easy to see she has the upper hand.Then she put Clyde in his place. When all three went out together, it was back to regular play time. I love the way they all get along.
It is difficult to keep multiple (3) intact males in one household with an intact female. It’s only manageable because I have two completely separate yards and two levels in the house to keep dogs separated. And of course because the two youngest males get along so well with each other. Johnny and his mother and sister have been together from the beginning. Since both older females are spayed now, I don’t have to worry about ever separating them again.
My friend Josh got a new puppy in August. She is almost 6 months old. One of her ears is really floppy. So today we taped them up. Here are the before and after pictures.
That is one sad ear!Josh and his puppy have a great connection!Her ears came out real nice. She was very cooperative.Josh has been handling her a lot and stacking her so she was easy to handle. She’s going to be shown so her ears have to stand up!
When the tape comes off I will take more pictures. Fingers crossed they stand up! Taping is not a guarantee, but it certainly helps. I have had real good luck with this method. I have made other blog posts with detailed information on ear taping. So scroll back well over a year in this blog if you’re interested in details.
This morning I must have been more quiet than usual because I caught the pups and Winston just waking up. It must’ve been a three dog night!
Front to back: Winston, Clyde, and See See
I want to emphasize how unusual it is for two adult male GSDs to get along so well. See See will be going into heat within a month, so she will be separated from her brothers.
Shepherd Sight 