Designer Dog Blog for sands904

by sands904 on 7/7/2009 at 9:14 PM in Progress

It has been a while since I posted....I have been busy working with them everyday. Lance just started his 'Reactive Dog Class' last Monday. He has been growling and barking at other dogs and we wanted to help him get over this as best we can. I think he has some fear of new dogs. I was walking him on the afternoon of the 3rd and we walked by a house with two dogs outsite in the front yard. I told him to 'Leave It' like we learned in class and he was really good but about that time someone in the area was shooting off bottle rockets and that scared him. He tried to drag me all the way home. Today, we were walking by the house and the dogs were out again. I told him to 'Leave It', they barked and he tried to take off running...there weren't any fireworks this time. I am not sure if he is going to even more scared of all dogs or just these now :)

He was also TERRIFIED of the fireworks. He was walking real slow around the house on the 4th with his head down looking very unsure of things. He is still afraid to got outsite at night now.

Logan just finished up his class a couple of weeks ago. He is doing better but still barks and lunges toward other dogs. He used to do this toward people on our walks but now he is fine with them. I have begun reading books about dog behavior to help me help him and found a new passion. I just love reading about it!! He is getting better it is just going to take time and patience (something I am learning to have more and more of)

Lacey also started a class. She is my wonderful little dog and got to skip to Level II. We are working on healing and off leash commands.

Well, that about sums up what we have been up to over the past month. I will keep everyone posted on their progress!! Thanks!
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by sands904 on 6/3/2009 at 11:43 PM in Designer Dogs

You may have noticed some changes with our site over the past few months. I have changed our focus to help promote adoption and rescue of these wonderful dogs. It is a personal decision that I have made after learning some sad but most likely true things about my own Chipoos.

I have two 3 year old Chipoos a male Logan and a female Lacey that we purchased from 'Breeders'. My husband and I decided that we wanted a dog so I started looking around or area. We knew that we wanted a smaller dog that wouldn't shed much and thus we decided on a Poodle Mix. Unfortunately, that was pretty much where my research ended. I did not do any research about getting a puppy, responsible breeders, puppy mills, etc.

We found a place in our area that had puppies at a flea market (of all places...) so we decided to go and look at them. Of course we found the cages of puppies so cute and adorable that we couldn't resist (who can?). So needless to say we ended up coming home with our first bundle of joy, Lacey.

After a few weeks we decided that Lacey needed a playmate (or rather she decided for us) so I started looking for another Chipoo in our area, but of course couldn't find one. I resorted to scouring the internet in search of a Chipoo. Finally, I found a litter of them from a 'Breeder' in Missouri. There were five in the litter 3 females and 2 males (interestingly enough their website listed one of the males as a female until we talked to the guy when he told us that it was a male...that probably should have been my first clue...). Well, that was the one we choose. A little boy, Chipoo they called Napoleon. We choose him from only one picture online. A picture in which he looked very scared. I asked no questions about the littermates, parents, facilities, etc. I know now that that was a HUGE MISTAKE.

We made the arrangements to have him flown to us (another thing I would NEVER do again). That scared little boy in the picture is still a shy, scared little 3 year old Chipoo. We can't help but wondering if some of his fear was a result of that flight...

I am telling this story for the benefit of everyone. Please do your research before getting a puppy. I do not want to upset our many members but I cannot help but be honest with you and everyone else who visits our site. I am not saying that you should not buy a dog from a breeder. I am just saying that you should definitely do more research that I did. We have Logan in a class now to help him with his aggression and fear and the more I read about 'Puppy Mill' puppies the more I believe he is one of them. In fact the website that we found him on was gone shortly after we got him. As for Lacey, the place we got her is still advertising lots of puppies at a low price all the time (another good indication of a 'Puppy Mill')

I love all of my dogs more than anything and would not trade them for anything in the world but I do feel ashamed and guilty that I supported these 'Puppy Mills' if that is indeed what they were and as a result I have decided to do my part to help put a stop to 'Puppy Mills' and promote Dog Adoption. I am definitely not going as far as some people who believe that all 'Designer Dogs' are bred in Puppy Mills. There are many breeders out there who are doing proper testing and ensuring the dogs they are breeding are in great health and the parents are kept in great facilities and the puppies are well cared for. All of our breeds today were created by dedicated individuals who love their dogs and care about their health above all else especially money.

It is unfortunate that many have ruined this and breed dogs purely for money. Treating dogs inhumanely to make money it despicable and we should all do our part to put an end to their suffering. Please help support us in our quest to do this!
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