It Takes a Village

Raising a puppy is a team effort. Whether your young one came from a breeder or a rescue, it’s important to know that you need help. It’s almost like having kids: once the little one has grown up, there’s a tendency to forget about the challenges of toddlerhood.

In the case of Norman, we start out with a basic group of people, from from his first adopters, to Sheri Kyle, DVM, who founded and operates Kyle’s New Hope Animal Rescue, http://www.newhopeanimalrescue.org/ as well as her veterinary practice, Kyle Vet, to Jaime Walker, who handles all the animal adoptions—plus pretty much everything else—for KNHAR, to my husband and me. Also on board are folks at the dog clubs where I take classes, teach, and train, and anyone else who meets and greets Norman.

Who are these other villagers? Well, there’s me, of course. I’ve had dogs all my life, but became involved in “formal” dog training thanks to adopting a very energetic puppy from the shelter in Warren County.  I started training Melanie to track, a sport which teaches a dog to learn how to follow a specific human scent. Participating in a tracking discussion list led me to volunteer for that year’s Queen City Dog Training Club’s tracking test, and when I met some of the club members, I learned that I could get further training for Melanie by taking classes. Those classes were wonderful, because I learned that no matter how wild and energetic my young dog was, I could learn how to teach her to be well-mannered. What I discovered, though, was that teaching and working with my dog helped to build the relationship that I wanted with her. And that relationship continues to build and grow every day.

Then there’s my husband, Richard. He and his brothers were not allowed to have pets growing up—sort of a sin in my book—but he has loved all the dogs in my life, from Ebony, who introduced him to having a dog, to Hektor, a rescue Lab mix who was his first puppy, to Reka and Gimli the Elkhounds, to Melanie and Tank. Like many folks who didn’t have dogs growing up, Richard’s not a “natural,” but he loves and enjoys the dogs, and, just as importantly, is able to cope fairly well with my dog-oriented lifestyle.

Finally, there are all the folks that my dogs and I enjoy meeting with each week, friends at the dog clubs that I belong to, where we take classes, and I teach. You’ll get to meet them as we go along. Since blogs are so public, I’ve developed a protocol of sorts when it comes to names. I’ll use full names when those people are okay with that, first names only, and, for some, pseudonyms.  

Food for Thought....Thought for Food

One thing that is of serious consideration is what to feed the new puppy. When I was growing up, we had a small number of big dog company foods to choose from, including Purina, Alpo, and General Foods. As a kid in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, I hadn’t heard about Eukenuba, (founded in 1969), Hill’s Science Diet, (1939), Nutro, (1930’s), or Iams, (1946). When I was growing up, you fed your puppy puppy food, and then switched to an adult version. What most people chose was whatever they’d fed their previous dogs. Now and again, the vet recommended something.

Nowadays, however, it is much more complicated than this. In fact, picking your dog’s chow can be the most confusing, yet important, decision you must make. And in the case of a puppy, a choice you need to make soon.

I’ve learned to talk to a variety of knowledgeable folks, from my vet to my one dog’s breeder, and to other dog owners. Norman, like all the dogs in the rescue, has been fed a popular puppy food available from one of the largest and oldest dog food companies. (Please keep in mind that the needs of the rescue, which must be able to feed the dogs and cats until they find their permanent homes, dictate that what’s affordable and available is what is fed.)

For Norman, like all puppies, the challenge is two-fold: healthy food that will enable him to grow safely and thrive, and cost of feeding. Most commercial puppy food is full of filler and the “byproducts” of the meat production industry, as well as corn, which has long been implicated in food sensitivities and allergies in both people and pets. Most people concerned about healthy intake for their pets look for something better.

I well understand this desire, since I, too, want my dogs to have healthy diets that are readily available and fit within my budget. Since I’m a clean-eater, I want my dogs to eat clean, too. Dogs are carnivores who are also opportunistic omnivores. Yet, there is a concern about protein, for puppies, that too much causes too rapid growth, creating weak bones.

What’s a puppy owner to do? Well, the best thing is to talk to others, breeders and people who own your breed, and check out the websites dedicated to providing information to dog owners, such as Dog Food Advisor. www.dogfoodadvisor.com

For Norman, I've been talking to German Shepherd Dog folks, and fortunately, have found a couple of very experienced owners, as well as two breeders, (one of GSDs,one of another large breed), and have gotten some really good ideas. If I was keeping Norman, I would be taking him off his current food and switching him to a healthier, single-source protein, corn-free food. Since he is a foster, though, he'll remain on his current food. If he ends up being adopted by someone else, it will be their decision about his food.

Norman Meets Melanie and Tank

When bringing a new puppy or dog home, the current pets in the home must be taken into consideration. Introductions must be made, and in such a way as to optimize the meeting. Before bringing Norman home, I brought Melanie and Tank to meet him. This meeting took place March 10, 2013.

I used two of the dog yards at Kyle Vet. Initially, I had Melanie and Tank in the smaller yard, and Norman in the adjoining yard. This enabled the dogs to see each other, sniff, and meet through the fence. Here is Norman and Melanie’s first meeting, through the fence between the two yards. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JlhETAHERA

I brought Tank into the smaller yard, so that he and Melanie could meet Norman through the fence. I filmed this very first meeting, with Melanie and Tank in the small yard, meeting Norman, in the larger yard, through the fence. Unfortunately, I didn't get the tablet camera turned off properly, so a portion of the video shows the inside of my vest pocket. Not interesting nor edifying, so I'll have to see if I can edit it, then upload later.

Next, each of my dogs got the chance to meet Norman in the larger yard. As each got a turn, they walked through one of the boarding kennels. This was a great opportunity for some attention and distraction training. I used a treat lure and my voice to heel my dog through, then outside. Once outside, I took my dog off leash and allowed each, in separate turns, to meet Norman.

Tank and Norman's first face-to-face meeting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIwH2DgndcY This is actual speed! Melanie can be heard voicing her opinion in the background.

Melanie and Norman’s first face-to-face. There are two parts; Tank can be heard whining in the background, initially, because he saw me disappear back into the building and so was at the door. I call him over so he can see me and what’s going on.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4C2GOqfqYU

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVDotCSPVgk

At this point, I’m wasn't putting all three dogs together. It’s important to allow the dogs to get to know each other slowly, and to establish my leadership over all.

After some time allowing the dogs to meet and spend time together, it was time to head out. I have my minivan equipped to transport three dogs. From the rescue, I’m borrowing two crates for Norman, a wire crate for Norman’s use in my van, and a heavy duty plastic crate—aka an airline crate, since they are often used to fly dogs—for his use in my home. All dogs need their own space, and crates serve as perfect dens. Here’s a view of my van when I took Norman home:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFvSQ3HcO18

We had a couple of stops on the way home, the grocery store and the gas station. Keep in mind that this was Norman’s first time in a wire car crate, and in a minivan. His crate is in the middle section of the van, which means he is right beside one of the sliding van doors. The door makes a loud sound when it is closed, but it didn’t upset Norman. He is looking a little careful about his new surroundings, but is handling it like a champ. Here’s our stop at the gas station:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u46a3KRQ4ag

And so we began!