Dog trains man

Monday, December 29, 2014

Our Year In Review

Looking back at 2014 made me realize I took you on a bumpy ride when you have read our blog throughout the year.

There were a lot of highs and lows, and you probably both shed a tear and laughed with me along the way.

It was certainly colored by Tilde, and how the start of her story as the The Last Rescue From The Hovawart Puppy Mill ends, to give birth to hope and a new life through her adoption by us.
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Friday, December 26, 2014

General Kenzo And Sergeant Tilde On Patrol

It might be just my imagination, but...
It might also make sense my friends nicknamed Kenzo, "The General".
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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Tilde Hits The Office, A Christmas Miracle

At least fifteen people were working in the office that day and all heads turned towards the door, to see who was coming inside.

Tilde stopped in her tracks, closed her mouth and took one step back.

Even for Miss Social herself, it was a lot of people, looking at her all at once in a new environment.
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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Hovawart TV: Lamb Love

Warning! Cuteness Alert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0EC4CXBJCA

And? Did you say "awww....." ?
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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

We Have A Winner! FITPAWS Balance Disc Giveaway

And the Winner of our FITPAWS Balance Disc Giveaway is ....

Astrid Reijerkerk!

Congratulations! I hope you and Zerline will enjoy your balance training with the disc as much as we did. Or maybe you would like to use it for your doggy clients in your dog training school, de Spoorlijn.
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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Observations From An Outsider

"Kenzo is an exemplary dog", my friend said.

"Really?", I mumbled in surprise, stunned to hear such a statement coming from him. He knew Kenzo since puppy-hood and never seemed to approve of the grown-up dog, Kenzo had become.

Actually, he always has been Kenzo's biggest critic. When Kenzo was young, my friend always had something to complain about. Kenzo didn't listen. Kenzo pulled the leash. Kenzo barked. Kenzo was never happy to see him. Kenzo .... and the list goes on - I agree on the never happy to see him point though, and fully support Kenzo in that excellent choice.
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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Keep On Smiling

It's very difficult to be sad with Tilde around.

We had a bad week over here. First, we learned that Kenzo's best friend Joska the Viszla had passed. Then our cat, Jule, also passed.

Loss had hit once more, and we were automatically drawn to travel to the West-coast. Away from human troubles and every day life. In a place that for us like no other embodies the end of the world, and where nature does its work of repairing the soul. Maybe we could pick up a sign from Joska and Jule they were ok, once we were there, too.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Tilde's Paradise Shelter Days Caught On Camera

I mentioned it before. The shelter did an excellent job socializing Tilde. My little princess herself is living proof of that.

And now I have got my hands on some video clips to give a small peak into Tilde's shelter life, and what they did to socialize her!

Have a look, and see if you can find Tilde The Puppy between all the dogs:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jafbg5T2MD0
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Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Giveaway: FITPAWS Giant Balance Disc

To celebrate Kenzo's full recovery, and because I am absolutely raving about this product, I'd like to do our very first Giveaway on this blog.

As a thank you to our most faithful readers, who have been following and supporting us along the way.

What other product can we choose for our Giveaway, than a

FITPAWS Giant Balance Disc !

... for Free!
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Tuesday, November 18, 2014

I Told You So

It bothered me. Kenzo didn't allow the young German Shepherd dog anywhere near Tilde.

He hardly allowed him to move at all actually.

A few days later, the same happened with a sweet Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Kenzo and me usually agree who we would like to meet and who not, but sometimes he sees more than I do, and I learned to listen to him. I know I can trust his judgement.

But this time, I didn't agree with Kenzo.

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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Are Two Dogs Twice The Work?

With two Hovawarts, I occasionally get the question from people we meet, if two dogs are twice the work.

I remembered when I only had Kenzo, I asked others that question too.

"Not at all", has always been my firm answer.

Some people buy it, while nodding their head with a smile. Some people don't and say "Really?". I am so glad they asked.

We do have twice the nails to clip, twice as much fur to groom, twice the meals to prepare, twice the bills, twice the vet visits, and I can go on. Clearly something is not adding up.

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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Degenerative Myelopathy Part 2: Should We Worry About The Hovawart's Future?

After Degenerative Myelopathy Part 1: What Can You Do For Your Dog?, we continue with part 2 about what scientists, breeders and clubs are doing, in the fight against Degenerative Myelopathy, DM.

***

The news hit like a bomb shell.

"From the samples of 1,200 Hovawarts we investigated, the DNA test for the SOD1 mutation, a gene believed to be a major factor in degenerative myelopathy, showed 45% are free from the mutation, 45% are carriers, and 10% are affected."

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Monday, October 27, 2014

Degenerative Myelopathy Part 1: What Can You Do For Your Dog?

"Your dog probably suffers from DM, Degenerative Myelopathy".

For my friend Thomas, the vets' verdict was like hearing a death-sentence.

After months of testing, x-rays, blood tests, and CAT scans, several vets couldn't find the cause why Cliff was dragging with his rear right leg. And when no diagnosis can be made, the final diagnosis is always, "it's probably DM". DM is only diagnosed, when everything else has been ruled out.

Thomas knew it was severe. Maybe one year, two at best, for Cliff to have some quality of life.

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Monday, October 20, 2014

Groundhog Day Has Arrived

It seems our achievements to make a perfect Hovawart lady out of "you know who I mean", is suffering a minor setback.

I am afraid to call her by name, as I am sure just mentioning her name will wake her up for a new round of mischief.

It all begun, when I felt waking up started to resemble a lot like going through groundhog day.

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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Hovawart Puppy Mill Breakdown: Change On The Way?

Many of you probably remember when the Danish Hovawart puppy mill was closed down in January last year, and the Hovawarts in the shelter welcomed an unexpected V.I.P. visitor, the Danish Minister of Agriculture & Animal Welfare, Mette Gjerskov.

She paid them a visit to learn more first-hand about the "puppy mill case" and the efforts from the shelter, "Dyrenes Beskyttelse", to re-home the survivors.

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Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Sleeping Apart Together

The day after Tilde's arrival, we bought her a nice dog bed, an upgraded deluxe version of the one, Kenzo was already using for years. She was quite fond of it, and already on the same day, she claimed it as her own.

But sometimes, one bed, isn't enough. And at bedtime, she rushed ahead to pick her spot for the night. "Which dog bed do I, the princess, like to sleep in today?". Kenzo followed, and patiently waited for Tilde to make her choice, after which he trotted towards the remaining empty spot. Just before he could step in, a growling Tilde was rushing over to occupy it for him.

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Monday, October 13, 2014

Hovawart Meme's

Those meme's quickly get addictive. If you missed them on our Facebook wall, here they are. Feel free to copy and share away - click on them to get full-size, then download.



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Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Hovawart TV: She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

Bard - the Herd-Wart - is brave enough to explore the mysteries of cat body language.



She does love you, Bard. It is a cat thing.
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