Reproductive cycle of the bitch

Proestrus

Average duration: 9 days; range = 3-17 days

Swelling of the vulva, the external tissue of the vaginal opening, and bloody discharge marks the beginning of the proestrus stage, also known as the follicular stage. During proestrus, the ovarian follicles, each containing ova, increase in size. Increasing amounts of estrogen hormone, secreted by the ovarian follicles, cause the cells of the vaginal walls to take-on a distinctive shape, a process known as cornification. Both the level of estrogen and vaginal cornification are useful indicators of proestrus.

Estrus

Average duration: 9 days; range =3-21 days

Receptivity to mating marks the beginning of the estrus stage. Physiologically, estrus coincides with the predominant presence of cornified vaginal epithelial cells and an increase in serum progesterone levels to 2 ng/ml. Ovulation usually occurs 2 days following this increase in progesterone and hence, monitoring the levels of progesterone is an excellent indicator for timing breeding.

Diestrus

Average duration: 2 months

Approximately 6 days after ovulation, the cornified vaginal epithelial cells will revert to a non-cornified state. This condition marks the beginning of diestrus. This stage ends when progesterone levels fall to less than 1 ng/ml just prior to whelping in the pregnant bitch or approximately 2 months after ovulation in the nonpregnant bitch.

Anestrus

Average duration: 4-4.5 months

The beginning of this stage is marked by the drop in serum progesterone levels to less than 1 ng/ml. The beginning of proestrual bleeding marks the end of this stage. Duration of anestrus is quite variable among bitches and may be governed by both genetic and environmental variables.

Awwwww :)

Doberman Eye Candy

Honorable mention

At the website Dobermann Review, I spotted the official results of the Dog Show we attended, and just had to link it here :)
http://www.dobermannreview.co.yu/show/2006/03-25_CACIB_Luxembourg/CACIB_Luxembourg.htm

In the female black puppy class, you can see Kimmy's "official" name on the third place:

Let's cuddle a bit...

Kimmy ADORES Gerry, my husband. I actually suspect she thinks he is the boss here or something! ;) She is definitely psyched when he comes home in the evenings. A good cuddle is a must!



She's also very attached to Benny, our preschooler.

Kimmy, you beast!

I don't think this needs any commentary!!!

Kimmy running

Video Sharing at DropShots.com

She has a habit of running INTO me so I had to duck during filming ;)

Today's walk in Gilsdorf

What it's like to live with a Doberman

A Dobe does not like the rain, cold, or snow (unless you go out with him).

A Dobe is cautious about new things. He watches, evaluates, and should be taught how to react. They need lots of socializing.

A Dobe would love to be a couch potato (if you let him).

A Dobe is naturally protective of his home and its contents (this means you). He needs training to know how far you want him to go in terms of protection...or over protection.

A Dobe is very intelligent and should be trained to do what you want him to do, otherwise he will learn bad habits as well as the good ones.

A Dobe has a bad reputation so don't let him run loose, he will scare the neighbors when he is really just looking for a handout.

A Dobe usually does not like other dogs coming on his property.

A Dobe usually is not a swimmer. They can swim but they would prefer you to stay on shore with them.

A Dobe male will let a female walk all over him, but he will challenge another male.

A Dobe is a devoted pet for life, but his expected life span is usually not much over ten years.

A Dobe is mature in mind and size at about two years of age.

A Dobe loves a car ride. He will sleep while you get the groceries, and give bloody hell to anyone who comes near the car.

A Dobe just standing inside a door is sufficient reason for someone not to enter ( they have that look).

A Dobe does not show pain. They can be very sick, but suffer in silence.

A Dobe as he gets older, spends more time sleeping in his favorite spot. He still loves to eat, be with you, go for a walk, and he never forgets what is right and what is wrong.

A Dobe when he is older, watches you come and go with his eyes, where he used to touch you as he went with you.

Your life with a Doberman will give you precious memories for all time!

by Fred Heal, Jagermeister, Canada

Future shows

I am planning on entering Kimmy in the following dog shows:

23 April ------- CAC Dobermann Show,
Schwarzenholz, Germany

5 June -------- CACIB International Dog Show,
Saarbruecken, Germany

2 July ---------Luxembourg Trophy 2006 Dobermann Show,
Luxembourg

The Dog Show

I got up at 6:20AM, feeling excited. I packed all our stuff the night before, so I just needed to do my hair and makeup, brush Kimmy's coat, wipe her eyes, eat breakfast (Kimmy got nothing to eat in the morning on the breeder's advice). She definitely knew something was up ;)

At 7:30 AM, we were ready to hit the road. On the way, I mentally checked if I had everything, and realized I forgot to take Kimmy's water bowl. I didn't worry too much about it because I was sure there will be a place to buy one. Dog shows usually have many stalls with doggy paraphernalia for sale.

Saturday morning is very calm as far as traffic goes, so we arrived in the capital in record time (and I didn't even speed!). At 8:15 AM I parked in front of the Expo fairgrounds. There was no mistaking that a dog event was taking place. Wherever I looked, I saw various breeds of dogs in the parking lot, peeing and pooping on every possible grassy spot.

It rained mildly, which was annoying, because we had to wait outside in a huge crowd at the entrance for contestants. This was where they check the vaccination card and registration papers, and admit exhibitors inside.



Obviously, people don't know how to form a line, because it was uncontrolled chaos, everybody just pushing in one direction, regardless of who came first. I hate disorganization! Oh well, I had to bite my teeth and let the crowd swallow me. There were dogs everywhere, of course, many of them barking and barking. Some on a leash, some in a crate. I had Kimmy on a leash, and a sportsbag in the other hand, squeezed between two trollies loaded with dog crates. I was feeling a bit claustrophobic, and worried about Kimmy, but she was remarkably calm, despite being surrounded by a sea of unknown dogs. She just clung to me and was a good girl.

There was a German speaking woman in front of me, who obviously was "taking a spot" for another man, who was with her, but came a bit later, he tried to push through the crowd to her and now it was just me and Kimmy who was in his way. As I was wedged between those trollies, I had nowhere to go, so I stood in place, and he tried to push through me. I said "Excuse me!" when he yet again rammed in me with his portable crate. The woman in front watched it and told him in German: "That stupid woman with Doberman!"

I looked at her and said, also in German: "Do you have a problem with me?"

She just rolled her eyes and sighed. But at least the guy stopped bugging me. Soon it was my turn at the entrance, I showed Kimmy's vaccination card and registry info, and we were let inside the hall.

At the stall right next to it, I got the show catalog, and was told that Dobermans are shown in the 3rd pavillion. So I went on, found an empty cage to make our "camp", in a reasonably quiet corner. I put one blanket on the floor and another one over the cage, so that Kimmy would feel a bit secluded. I locked her in (even brought my own lock, hee hee - can't risk having her stolen!), and went to search for the restrooms.



There was a "dog toilet" area just outside a back entrance, the problem was that
1. there were almost 5 thousand dogs for a small stretch of ground (within a couple of hours the area was filled with dog poop, the stench turned my stomach)
2. it was asphalt, no grass or sand or gravel

Kimmy is not used to "go" on such substrate - so it was clear to me that she would rather hold it than go there. I was right, I took her there several times and she never peed.

I then went to scour the stalls to buy a small stainless steel water bowl, so Kimmy could get her water to drink. I also bought her a couple of new toys to chew and play with.

It was 9:30 AM by now, so I called Gerry on the cell phone to let him know we were in and settled. He said he would come with Benny around 1 PM.

I went to Ring number 1 where Dobermans were going to be judged, and got a placard with our number - 69. I thought it would be a sticker and I could simply stick it on my shirt, but it was just a card, and I had no safety pin or anything to attach it to my clothing. Eeek! So off to the stall I went again in search of something to use. I got a safety pin with a clip for 1.50 EUR (!!!)

At 10 AM, the judging started. I left Kimmy in the cage and went to look. First were brown male Dobies on. I looked around me to see all the other Dobermans and with surprise I realized most of them were docked and cropped. They should not be admitted in the ring per law??? I asked the judge's helper casually, if this was really the case, and she said that the show rules allow docked/cropped dogs to enter if the docking/cropping was done from medical reasons. In practice this means, when the owners enter their dogs in the show, they need to ask for an exception from the rules, and submit a written note from the vet, that the docking/cropping was medically necessary.

I would really like to know how is it possible that out of 89 Dobermans that were shown today, at least 90% had docked tail and 75% had also cropped ears, and they all had it done for medical reasons? Yeah, riiight...

There was exactly 1 male Doberman, out of 51, who had both tail and ears intact. There were several females with floppy ears, but none with a natural tail. Oh wait, there was one - Kimmy!

I watched the judging of males with interest. In the youth class, there was a beautiful black/rust male from the UK. Docked tail but natural ears. All the other dogs in his class were cropped and docked. He had a lovely gait and posture. His owner/handler was hopeful for a trophy. It came as an unpleasant surprise when her dog was placed last by the judge.

She went back to the judge to ask why. When she came back, I overheard her (okay, I listened in) tell her friends (family???) that the judge said she put him last due to the floppy ears. The British group were pissed off, one of them had another dog entered in a female class, and she exclaimed "I won't bother even showing her, she has natural ears and this judge prefers the traditional look, it's no sense..."

I then paid attention to the judging even more and realized that the judge always gave preference to the cropped/docked Dobes over natural ones. Hmmm...

By then it was noon and I took Kimmy for another walk round the stalls, we went over to look at boxers, I saw that most of them were docked and cropped as well. I saw a young female boxer with docked tail and natural ears, who reminded me of my friend Tina's boxer girl Chyenne... ;)

I also went to look at Jack Russel Terriers. They were so cute, expecially the puppy class. Awwww :)

As it was slowly approaching 1 PM, it was almost our turn in the ring. I took Kimmy and we stood beside the ring together, watching the open class black/rust males. I was sad to see several of the handlers treat their dogs very roughly. When the dog didn't trot nicely in the ring, they would jerk forcefully at their prong collars (ouch!) and hiss or shout at their "best friend". It made me feel sorry for the dog. Not that in other breeds it was different. I saw a bulldog handler yank her dog on his choke collar so high up, he was barely touching the floor with his hind paws, all the while she was screaming at him, her nose just millimetres from the poor dog's face.

Come on, people, this is supposed to be fun! For you and your dogs! If you flip out like this because your dog didn't trot perfectly or looked away during judging, then maybe, just maybe, this isn't the hobby for you.

How scary and nervewracking it must be for all those dogs, anyway. It's not a life and death situation, it's just a dog show.

I must say, Kimmy totally amazed me. She has never been in such a crowd before, especially not amongst all kinds of different dogs and weird smells and loud noise and cigarette smoke. I was worried she will freak out and have a meltdown, but nope, she totally went with the flow and although the phrase "calm Doberman" is basically an oxymoron, yeah, she was a calm Doberman!

She just looked around, didn't bark (and trust me, there were dogs who barked their heads off for hours on end), she followed commands and generally was a very pleasant animal being :)



The class right before us was the "female baby class". There were only 2 bitches entered. Both were just 2 weeks younger than Kimmy, but she was quite obviously larger. She played a little with one of them beside the ring. I watched with interest how the judge approached the puppies. One of them let her examine her, the other was very, very shy. Every time the judge raised her hand to touch the pup, she backed away scared and shaking. After third try, the judge shrugged her shoulders, and told the handler that unfortunately, her pup has to be disqualified. Ouch!



Then it was the female puppy class! Our turn! I was no longer nervous, just excited and curious how it will go. With Kimmy, there were 2 other bitches in this class, both 7 months old. Both with floppy ears and docked tails.



I stepped inside the ring with Kimmy, and presented her to the judge. Kimmy was calm and eyed the judge with interest. The judge wanted to examine the teeth. As the breeder showed me, I put Kimmy into position - she sat, I stood right behind her, with my legs on her sides, held the collar, and the judge took Kimmy's muzzle in her hands, lifted her lips on the sides, checked the front teeth, and Kimmy never even flinched. Perfect! :)



Then I was asked to go "down and back". I took Kimmy's leash and we trotted through the ring. Then the judge asked me to do a circle. So I trotted with Kimmy by my side along the ring, she was brilliant, totally focused on me and clearly, she was having fun. You could see it on her tail ;)



Then we stood back and the other two pups did the same. Then, before I could even start worrying, the judge pointed at the pup on our left and said "First place", then on the other pup "Second place" and finally she pointed at me and said "Third place".

And that was it!

Sooo, the good news is... we placed third... the "bad" news... out of three - muhaha ;)

Honestly, I wasn't disappointed at all. I counted with Kimmy being last because of the judge's preferences, and most of all, it doesn't matter what place we got, Kimmy was wonderful and amazing and so well behaved, that I am immensely proud of her. She did great! :)

Just moments after we exited the show ring, I hear someone say Hello in Luxembourgish. Unfortunately, it was not Gerry (who missed our grand entrance because he spent 20 minutes searching for a spot to park), but the dog trainer that we abandoned a couple of months ago in favour of another, more "dog friendly" trainer.

This guy was way too harsh on both Kimmy and me, and after he yelled at me "You're screwing the dog for life!" at the last lesson, I never went back.

Anyway, so I was not particularly happy to see him because I knew he would ask me why I no longer attend his classes and because I knew I am too much of a wimp to say "Because you suck".

So he was all pleased to see me, asked me how it went in the ring, and how shocked he is to see so many docked/cropped Dobies here, and then came the question I dreaded: "Why aren't you coming to the classes anymore?"

I looked somewhere over his shoulder and said that first I was sick and then I was kinda busy and I steered the conversation somewhere else. He started telling me about a puppy he's getting (a brown Doberman female from Brussels), and then he looked at Kimmy (who was the whole time sitting quietly at my feet), and petted her and said:

"Wow, she is so well behaved! I am amazed. What a good dog!"

And I thought to myself "Yeah, and I no longer attend your classes ... see any connection here?"

but out loud I just said that yes, she is a wonderful doggy. He asked "Is she so well behaved at home, too?"

I said yes, pretty much :)

We still chatted a little and then I excused myself and went to the entrance to meet Gerry and Benny who have just arrived.

I told them all about the show and Kimmy was sooo happy to see the rest of her "pack". She is happiest when we are all together!

Then when all the judging was over, I went to the judge's helper to get Kimmy's diploma, and it was time to pack up and drive home. We obviously didn't qualify for "Best In Show", so there was no reason to stay until the end.



We stopped at Pizza Hut because we were starving, and then finally arrived home, tired but happy.

All in all, I am very satisfied with our "virgin performance"! :)

Tomorrow is the big day

Let me tell you, I have the jitters already! I hope I will be able to sleep at night...

The dog show takes place in our capital, Luxembourg City, at the Expo Fairgrounds in Kirchberg.







Judging starts at 10 AM. We could be in for a long wait depending when comes the puppy class (I hope early). There will be free cages for use by the show entrants, so that means I won't have to schlep our transport box (thank goodness!).

My beautiful girl

Doberman Rescue of North Carolina

http://www.hope4dobe.org/

P.O. Box 91421

Raleigh, NC 27675

Several Easy Behaviours to Teach Your Puppy

1. The "EYE CONTACT GAME."

You are teaching your dog to "check in" with you. And you're doing it in a way that is so reinforcing, that soon the behavior of turning his head to look at you will become part of his muscle memory. It will become habit.

You can then make the eye contact game become also a "Name Game". If the dog learns that each time he hears his name, it means to stop and look to the person calling that name, then you'll have less worry about him bolting across a busy road and getting hit when he hears his name called.

He'll listen for the *next* cue word which will tell him what to do. His name, by then, will mean "Stop, look, listen to human for cue of what to do next." The next cue might be "Sit" or "Down" or "Come" or "Back." His name is his cue to look to you for the next cue. His name only means "give human the attention."

Be careful not to reward moving toward you, only looking at you. Be very accurate in your clicking and catch him just as the head swings to you and the eyes touch yours.

2. "TOUCH" or "TARGET" with nose game

Grab an object close to you. Say, an ink pen. Rub something smelly the dog really likes on the end of the pen.
Hold the object (called the target stick) out in front of you. Wait for your dog to come sniff it. When he extends his neck to sniff,--while he's moving toward that pen, CLICK and treat.

Repeat several times, and begin altering the height of the stick randomly. Hold it a few inches higher, lower, to the right, to the left. Turn around, do it in a different direction. Take it into other rooms, and practice getting the dog to touch the tip of the ball in each direction you face.

Broaden your movements, slowly pulling the target stick across the room as your dog follows, as if a magnet were pulling him.

Why this crazy behavior? It's easy! It's fun! Puppies LOVE it! And it is the base, most important behavior you can teach for quickly learning many advanced behaviors down the road. You're teaching muscle memory now to your puppy. Teaching him to target and move with the target.
This is also really helpful to keep the dog working for the CLICK instead of being lured with the food.

Work on really rapid reinforcment. This means, right after you click and treat, immediately hold the stick out again and let your dog move to it. Click and treat. Move your body a little bit. Repeat.

3. BACK UP (move backwards)

When dog is in front of you, walk toward him. Catch the first step me makes backwards, and click and treat. Gradually build up steps, a step at a time. Add cue once dog is reliably quickly moving backwards when you start stepping forward.

4. RECALL GAME (teaching dog to "come")

Have a family member or two help you. Sit in a big circle on the floor, with everyone holding a clicker and having some treats securely in a pocket or in a pack in back of them. At first, let one person tap on floor to coerce puppy toward them, and when the puppy begins moving toward them, have them click and treat when the puppy gets to them.

Let each person in the circle take a turn doing the same thing.

When the puppy is doing this quickly, begin adding the recall word, "Come" or "here" or whatever is chosen. Say the word AS the pup is moving toward the person, just before the click.

5. WAIT AT DOOR (stop walking and pause until cued to move through the door)

This is a GREAT safety behavior, and one all dogs should have. Then you won't have to worry about forging at the doors, or her slipping out. Just make it a habit to always pause and CUE dog before moving through the door, never letting him go out before you give the cue.

Steps:

- Move forward with dog on leash at your side, toward a closed door.

- We hold your hand out flat, palm facing dog, and slow down. C/T for dog slowing down, incrementally coming closer and closer to stopping, but without the automatic sit. (In our "Wait" cues, we want the dog to stop at the door, but remain in a stand).

- When dog is stopping each time hand signal given, we begin adding verbal cue, "wait."

- Put your hand out toward the door. If dog moves, turn around, walk back to the door and start over. Don't correct the dog for moving, just begin the exercise anew.

- Work toward turning the door handle, just a little bit at a time. Click for any movement you make while your dog is in place and not moving.

- Work toward opening the door one inch. Then two. Then three, etc. Very incrementally, while the dog holds the position.

- Eventually begin moving through doorway while dog waits in the position you left her in. Then call dog to you.

If you have rapidly clicked and treated, the dog will quickly come to realize a click means "treat is coming". Look for the muscle twitch of the head, that little head jerk so subtly given, that indicates he recognizes the click means something good is coming.

At that point, You just jump in and start clicking when the dog offers a behavior you like. Work on only one behavior per very short 1-3 minute session. Don't overdo it. You can do as many sessions as you want through the day, but make each session at first working on just one behavior.

What dogs cost

When someone asked how much we paid for our purebred Doberman puppy, and we said 1,000 EUR (1,170 USD), most often the reaction was shock. Whaaat, so much???

Well, yes, it is a chunk of change, that's true, but when we realize what all comes into breeding and raising those puppies until 8 weeks of age, the asking price is by no means outrageous. In small litter breeds, the breeder is lucky if she/he comes out even.

Breeding dogs is expensive. Before you breed your bitch or stud, s/he will need to be x-rayed for hip dysplasia, checked by a certified veterinary opthalmologist for eye problems, tested for thyroid problems, and cultured for brucellosis (a contagious disease that causes abortions). The fee for a good stud is usually several hundred dollars... if you decide to give a puppy to the stud dog owner instead, you're still out the amount of what someone else would have paid for the puppy.

Raising a litter of puppies is expensive. Once born, the puppies will need to be checked by a vet at least once for genetic problems, and will need to be wormed and have at least 2-3 sets of shots. Since most people want AKC papers, you will also have to pay to have the litter registered. And don't forget the cost of feeding all those puppies! And remember a bitch will eat twice as much while pregnant and about 3 times the normal amount when lactating.

There is the expense of an emergency C-section (dogs always deliver at night, of course). Puppies as well, can have all kinds of complications...it is fairly common to lose a puppy or two, and not unknown to lose them all. From cleft palates to "fading puppy" syndrome, there is a multitude of problems that can happen.

Kimmy's breeder took 8 weeks off from work (unpaid, of course) to be able to take care of the litter from birth to weaning and selling them to new homes.

~~~~~~~~

To a puppy buyer, the initial cost (purchase price) is just the beginning!

Even if you get your dog free or for a small fee from a shelter, there are still many costs. It's important that you go into dog ownership with as much knowledge as you can so that you are prepared.

You need:

- shelter: a place for the pup to sleep in

We bought a crate. We knew Kimmy would outgrow it by 3 - 4 months of age, and she did. We then bought a much larger crate. But we also bought a dog bed, because now that Kimmy is housebroken, she doesn't sleep in her crate at night. We now use the crate to contain her when needed.

- Dog supplies: feeding/water dish (we got stainless steel elevated feeding station off eBay), collars and leashes (different sizes to "grow" with your dog), chew toys (important for those teething weeks! We love Kongs, Nylabones, chew ropes, plushies, squeaky toys), brush for the fur (other grooming supplies if you get a long haired breed), nail clippers, ear cleaning solution (optional - some people use cotton Q-tips dipped in peroxide).

- Dog food: this can be a large chunk of change every month, especially if you have a large breed and don't want to feed the cheapest "crap" from the supermarket (trust me on this, you do get what you pay for when it comes to dog food).

- Veterinarian: you will need to take your new pup for an initial vet checkup right after buying it, add the cost of vaccinations, and worming tablets

- Dog tax: depending on where you live, you might have to pay yearly dog tax, so make sure you get the pup registered

- Groomer costs: if you have a high maintenance dog and need to have him groomed profesionally

- Training: every dog should attend at least basic obedience classes. Costs vary, so do your research, ask people with well behaved dogs where they go/went for training classes. We currently pay 35 EUR per hour of individual training.

- Vet check-ups, yearly vaccination boosters, teeth cleaning: hopefully this will be all your dog will need from a vet, but even dogs get sometimes sick/hurt, so you might need to shell out some more $$$ if your doggy needs a treatment

- Spaying/neutering: if you don't plan on breeding your dog, it's best to have it spayed or neutered

- Vacations: if your family ever needs to go away, you may need to pay for boarding or for someone to come to your house to take care of your dog. Cost of boarding per night: $15.00 and up.

Then there's the cost of replacing the chewed on shoes, of course... ;)

Sometimes people ask the weirdest things...

I was just in the back yard with Kimmy when there came a gardener (I assume) to work in the neighbour's garden. As he was pretty close to our back fence, Kimmy felt the need to warn him (I, again, assume) and barked her head off.

The man, in his 40's or so, looked a bit taken aback, then he asked me the following questions:

"Is the dog from an animal asylum?"

"Can it jump over the fence?"

"Does it bite?"

I answered no to all of them, obviously. I assured him that she was more afraid of him than he was of her, but he still didn't seem very convinced.

So I took her back in the house. The problem? She hadn't had her poo, which was the main reason she was in the back yard, and now I have to hope she can hold it until the guy is finished with the garden.

Today's training session

This morning it was rather cold but thankfully dry and sunny when Kimmy and I drove to Reimberg for our training session with Carole.

First we talked about how Kimmy did last week during our walks with the command "weiter", which I think she took to very nicely, then we went out to the back yard and Carole introduced a new command "Here". It is followed by a hand signal (hand to the side, with a treat), and a few steps backwards, to motivate Kimmy to come.

Kimmy is a natural "follower" so it was not difficult to make her come, but we needed to make sure she actually knew what the new command meant, and what exactly she was supposed to do.

Then we went in the woods to practice and "condition" her to accept this command. She walked on the long line nicely, didn't pull at all, and Carole told me I made quite a progress with her with on leash walking (that was nice to hear!) :)

Kimmy responded to the "Here" command about 8 times out of 10. If there was something in the forest that caught her attention, she was not as interested in coming to us, she preferred to investigate the interesting stuff first.

So my task now is to practice this at home and on walks on as many different places as possible, so that she can generalize this command to all situations, and also, to make sure my husband does the same, so she knows to follow this command from him as well, not just from me.

When we got home, Kimmy was knackered, poor thing ;) She got comfy on the sofa with a frozen Kong, and I went to my dentist appointment (got stitches out after a tooth extraction).

Kimmy the Spider Killer

I am arachnophobic. My husband knows it's a good guess there's a spider in my vicinity if he suddenly hears my bloodcurdling screams...

Thankfully, Kimmy likes to kill those beasts, which is a good thing because now with spring approaching, they are waking up and crawling from their holes to invade...

Let's see what is Kimmy's reaction to wasps later on... I am deathly terrified of them. I am not sure if a wasp can hurt (sting) a dog, though.

Checked Google... looks like it can...

Unfortunately bees and dogs just don't get along. Puppies are fascinated by them, and dogs generally like to snap at them while they are flying and are frequently stung in the mouth or on the tongue.

What can we do for bee or wasp stings for our cats or dogs?

If you can find the sting spot, then use a meat tenderizer poultice, and follow up with an antihistamine: I use Benadryl 25mg 2-3X daily for twenty-four hours for dogs in the 15lb to 30lb range.

Most dogs become drowsy with antihistamine. If there is significant swelling (an allergic reaction) then see your veterinarian right away.

Dr. Van Lienden

~~~~~~~~~~~

Bee stings are acid. Remove the sting and bathe the area in bicarbonate of soda.Wasp stings are alkali, and the sting is not left in the skin. Bathe the area in vinegar as the sting is alkaline.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Kimmy

Oh no, it's you again with the camera? And I was napping here so nicely...!

I know I am a beauty, but really, how many photos of me do you need?

Can't you see I am really fighting to stay awake? Let me sleep!

Pleeeease!

Okay, back to napping... aaaaah :)

A very exciting day

Yesterday was a big day - Kimmy's mother Banja and sister Ayu came to visit!

Ela (the breeder we bought Kimmy from) arrived from Germany in the afternoon, bringing Banja and Ayu to visit Kimmy - this was the first time they all saw each other since we picked Kimmy up when she was 8 weeks old.

I was stunned to see that Kimmy is as tall as her mother! 62 cms at 6 months. Her littermate Ayu is about 4 cms shorter.



The two sisters had an absolute blast playing together in our garden. They ran around chasing each other, wrestled and mouthed and frolicked as if their lives depended on it ;) It was quite a sight, and both Ela and I were busy snapping pictures - which proved to be difficult because these two moved around so fast, very often they were out of the focus by the time we pressed the button.

Then Ela brought also the mama Doberman into the garden. Because both Kimmy and Auy weren't wearing collars, they looked so similar, even their own mother had difficulties recognizing who is who, and had to first sniff them to determine the "identity", I thought that was hilarious ;)

Kimmy seeing her Mommy for the first time after leaving the "nest".

Banja, Ayu and Kimmy


Ela holding Ayu while Kimmy and Ben are watching


Benny and Kimmy

Ben was in absolute doggy heaven with three Dobermans running around him, he was soooo excited! It was interesting seeing Ayu react to him, because she isn't socialised with small children, so she was afraid of him. Seeing a Doberman afraid of a preschooler was kinda funny ;)

Banja was very friendly with Benny, and he fed her some treats, and she even did the sit for him :)



Kimmy and Ayu



Beautiful Kimmy


Kimmy, Benny, Ayu and Ela

Ayu

Kimmy is the one lying down

It was such a lovely visit and I am so sad that we can't do this more often, Kimmy was absolutely shattered in the evening, she couldn't keep her eyes open, and went to bed straight away :)