A tiny change…We're now FrogDog Blog
It’s been pointed out to me that there’s already a “Frog Blog” out there, written by a guy who is interested in (what else?) frogs.
So, to save confusion, I’ve renamed this blog :
‘Frogdog Blog’.
That should prevent anyone from coming here and looking for tips about their sick tree frogs.
I hope.
Carol
"Placing" Dogs and Picking Homes
I have been thinking lately about the concept of ‘placing’ older dogs. ‘Placing’ is synonymous with ‘retiring’ – it means that we find good, loving, preferably close by homes for our older girls or boys who are no longer active in our breeding program. The theory is sound – dogs who have had to be part of a pack get to be a solo dog, or perhaps one of two dogs. This means increased attention, and perhaps a chance to sleep on the bed. In practical terms, this also leaves room for new puppies to be kept as the future of our breeding program.
All in all, placing older dogs is really the only practical way for a small scale breeder to be able to advance in their breeding program. After all, if you only want to keep six or seven dogs at the most, but five of those are retired dogs or bitches, you aren’t really left with much room to advance. The problem isn’t with the logic of this concept – it’s with the reality of it, and the reality of it is that ‘placing’ is another term for ‘handing your dog over to strangers’. Read more →
Maybe Unicorns Aren't Such a Bad Idea
Oh boy. Today was one of those days that make you wonder why you didn’t decide to own cats, or raise unicorns, or potted plants.
I got up to discover that not only had Sailor had an accident in her crate, but that she’d done so in her own, incomparable fashion – by sticking her butt up against the crate door. Sailor is an unbelievably clean dog – she will literally do almost anything to avoid going in her crate. Outside of her crate, all bets are off if you’re not quick enough opening the door . Oh, she’ll give you a warning bark or two, but if you miss it, tough luck for you, and enjoy cleaning up that pee spot on the floor. In her crate, though, it’s a different matter. She’s one of the most fastidious Frenchies I’ve ever known.
So, instead of lounging around drinking coffee and working on a few files, I got to spend the first two hours of my day scrubbing a crate, and the crate tray and the floor, and then washing all of the blankets, just for good measure. Sailor just sat there looking at me, with an expression I can only assume was meant to convey “Next time I bark at 3 am, you’re going to pay attention, aren’t you?”. Lesson learned, and yes – I will pay attention to 3 am barking much more closely from now on.
Carol