Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
I decided that every Wednesday would be a blog about German Shepherd Dog heroes. Please send me your Heidelberg German Shepherd Dog hero story so that I can post a story about your hero. Also, please send your pictures of your hero.
This incident took place several years ago, and is a True Story:
Nancy was 27 married with children, a boy and girl age 3 and 2, and her husband traveled a lot for his job. They had purchased their Heidelberg shortly after they were married to protect Nancy while her husband was out-of-town. Up to now Heidelberg’s Chance had shown no signs of protectiveness and seemed to love everyone. In this neighborhood the mail boxes were on the front porches. Therefore, Chance’s daily routine included waiting for the mail delivery, which developed into a friendship to the point that the postman would ring the doorbell to say hi to Chance.
One night while alone with her two small children Nancy was awakened to the sound of a deep guttural growl, that she had never heard before. The growl caused the hair of her neck to stand. She got out of bed and followed Chance downstairs where he jumped up on the back window barking loudly.
Nancy still hazy from her deep sleep thought the best thing to do was to open the back door and let Chance out. Chance shot out the door and while Nancy couldn’t see clearly it was obvious that Chance had chased a large object over the chain link fence.
Nancy called the police, and the police found that the screen was removed from the back window and that the window had been pried open. The intruder, they said, was only moments from coming in the house.
A week later in the same neighborhood an intruder broke into a house and brutally raped a women. They never did catch this predator, but what is known is that Chance saved Nancy and her two children from a brutal attack.
Heidelberg’s Chance Back at Keystone Kennels for a Visit
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
Today I am going to discuss the proper way to clean your German Shepherd Dog’s ears. First unless your German Shepherd Dog puppy or adult is highly trained and completely under control you will need an assistant.
Place your German Shepherd Dog on a grooming table. Have the assistant hold your German Shepherd Dog in place on the grooming table.
German Shepherd Dog Grooming Table
Using a high quality ear cleaner, liberally squirt the cleaner in an ear. Have the assistant hold the head and ear that you have just treated while you squirt the cleaner in the other ear. Once the cleaner is in both ears gently cup the back bases of both ears and massage the ears. You will be able to hear the cleaning solution slosh around in the ear if you applied enough solution into the ears. After massaging the ears for thirty seconds, release the ears and stand back as your German Shepherd Dog shakes the cleaner out of their ears.
A Good Quality Ear Cleaner
This process is well tolerated by most German Shepherd Dogs and will remove all the wax and debris from the ears in most cases. If the next day, the ears are still dirty, you can repeat the cleaning process.
If the ears have small amounts of debris on the inner surface of the outer pinna (outer standing ears), then lightly saturate a cloth with rubbing alcohol or ear cleaning solution and gently rub the inner pinnas to clean the outer ears.
If your German Shepherd Dog has ear mites, you will need to clean their ears as described above by using the cleaning solution first. After, you have cleaned your German Shepherd Dog’s ears, then apply a good quality ear mite solution. It is necessary to clean the ears first to allow the miticide to reach the ear mites that live on the eardrums of your German Shepherd Dog. You may need to treat for three days in a row to completely rid your German Shepherd Dog of ear mites. I also find it necessary to liberally apply the miticide in the ears rather than a few drops. After applying the miticide, gently massage the bases of your German Shepherd Dog’s ears for thirty seconds. If you can hear the miticide slosh around while massaging you have applied the correct amount of miticide.
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
I recently read an article and survey asking American Kennel Club (AKC) conformation judges what their biggest complaints in regards to the dogs being shown to them. Overwhelmingly, the majority of judges said that their pet peeve was long toenails followed closely by dirty or poorly bathed dogs. The third least acceptable grooming blunders were dirty teeth followed closely by dirty ears.
The sport of conformation and showing dogs is extremely time consuming and expensive, as well as highly competitive. At many shows, your German shepherd dog may be competing with some of the best German Shepherd Dogs in the country. The more competitive the show, the harder it is for the judge to pick the winner. A grooming blunder could and probably is, a lot of the time, the deciding factor.
Do not overlook the details when preparing your German Shepherd Dog puppy or adult for a conformation show. A thorough bath right before the show is paramount, but several days before the show, clean the teeth by gently scraping the tarter away with a dental pick. Clean the wax and debris from the ears at least four days before the show using a good quality ear cleaner. Clip your German Shepherd Dog’s nails at least once a week for several weeks before the show.
The nail quick will recede if you trim your German Shepherd Dog’s nails on regular basis. This will allow you to clip the nails very closely and tighten the feet up on your German Shepherd Dog so that they do not appear to have splayed toes.
A Perfectly Groomed Ch. Heidelberg’s Samson
Do not lose because you did not take the time to present a perfectly groomed German Shepherd Dog to the judge.
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
Today I’m going to provide a very simple but extremely important health tip for your German Shepherd Dog. Simply, keep your German Shepherd Dog lean.
Everyone wants a fat healthy German Shepherd Dog puppy. A plump puppy indicates good health. However, German Shepherd Dogs, as do all large breed dogs, grow rapidly and even a few extra pounds can place undo stress on vulnerable and growing joints. Puppies play hard and often can come up lame, and the difference between limping for a few days and having a lifetime of lameness resulting from injuries can be a few extra pounds in a growing German Shepherd Dog puppy.
Lean Puppies Playing
Many owners cannot wait for their German Shepherd Dogs to bulk up once they turn two and have slowed in growth. Therefore, they often overfeed and unknowingly make their German Shepherd Dogs fat. Unfortunately the look they really want is not the rolly-polly dog that they have created, but rather that of a muscular mature German Shepherd Dog. German Shepherd Dogs are not stocky breeds by design, such as Rottweilers, St. Bernard, or Bernese Mountain dogs.
Usually by the time your German Shepherd Dog turns five they will have started to develop a mature well muscular look. This lean well muscled German Shepherd Dog will come naturally with proper nutrition and exercise. Be patient, with good genetics, diet, and exercise it will happen.
A Four-Year-Old Champion Heidelberg’s Bismark Naturally Bulking Up
Having your German Shepherd Dog adult overweight is more detrimental to their overall health than having them too heavy as puppies. While joints are still a concern, your German Shepherd Dog is now predisposed to diabetes, autoimmune disease, heart attack, stroke, and increased risk of cancer.
Keep your German Shepherd Dogs lean, and they will perform, feel, and look better.
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Trimming Your German Shepherd Dog’s Nails Conclusion
One of the most frustrating and difficult activities you may ever attempt with your German Shepherd Dog is trimming their nails if they resist or fight. Today I am going to tell you how to train your German Shepherd Dog adolescent or adult to sit still while you trim their nails.
This training will take patience and persistence and will require you to perform theses exercises daily for a month or more. However, the exercises only take 5 to 10 minutes and have a secondary benefit of bonding closer to your German Shepherd Dog. Do not attempt to trim your German Shepherd Dog’s nail until they successfully complete the below exercises.
Every day as with the puppy, sit with your German Shepherd Dog adolescent or adult and rub and massage them to get them to relax. Once relaxed play with their feet. If they become anxious stop and go back to rubbing and petting them. Continue daily with this exercise until you can hold their feet and spread their toes without resistance or anxiety.
Every day after you play with their feet, place your German Shepherd Dog adolescent on a grooming table. Good quality grooming tables and neck harness can be purchased for approximately $100.00 to $140.00. You need a grooming table if you own a German Shepherd Dog, therefore, invest in a good quality table that will last your lifetime.
German Shepherd Dog Grooming Table
Once on the grooming table place the lanyard over their neck and brush them out. If they show anxiety reassure them. Make the exercise of being on the grooming table a good experience for your German Shepherd Dog. Once they have become comfortable being on the table lift their feet up in the air and spread your German Shepherd Dog’s toes. While playing with their feet on the table, groom them by brushing and using a shedding comb, and acclimate to the nail clippers by gently rubbing them on their body and around their feet.
After Your German Shepherd Dog adolescent or adult has become comfortable with the above exercises, you are ready to start trimming their nails. If possible have another family member to help hold your German Shepherd Dog on the grooming table. Confidently start trimming their nails. You will likely clip two or three nails before they realize something is not the same. Once your German Shepherd Dog realizes what you are doing they will become anxious and start resisting. Back off from the nail trimming and reassure your German Shepherd Dog by brushing and petting. Once they calm down start clipping their nails again. Repeat the calming efforts as needed. The first time that you do clip their nails it may take 30 minutes, but hang in there because it will get better each time you trim their nails.
The above method is the best method for training your German Shepherd Dog to sit calmly while you trim their nails. However, you may speed up the process if you lack the patience for the above method and you have a strong assistant. This method requires laying the German Shepherd Dog on their side on the grooming table. The assistant needs to hold the dog down distributing their weight on the neck and head and applying pressure to the rear legs. Do this as calmly as possible and within two or three nail trimmings your assistant will be able to hold onto your German Shepherd Dog adolescent or adult in a sitting position while you trim the nails. Eventually you will not need the assistant.
German Shepherd Dog Restrained on a Grooming Table
Trim your German Shepherd Dog’s nails on a regular basis and they will love you the more for it, and you will love having doors and door jams without scratch marks ,
Recent Comments