Dickie's Diary - And a journal is born

Hello everyone. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dickie, and I am a German Shepherd puppy. I was born in rescue because my canine mum and dad were taken to the vets to be euthanised.. Thankfully he vet rang GSD Welfare Fund instead! What all the humans didn’t know was that I waited to surprise them with all, along with my four brothers and four sisters. We all made our appearance in this world on December 10th 2021.

And I want share my life with you as best I can with these squiggles and brilliant bursts of colour on those flat things you watch all the time. So join me on the best adventure of them all - my life.

Learn more about how the German Shepherd Dog Welfare Fund encountered Dickie here - https://gsdwelfare.blogspot.com/2022/01/a-surprise-ending-to-2021.html

Tia's Pupdates - Dognapped! Again!

Me re-enacting how I survived in the wild

Although life's so different now, I still shudder when remembering those times before my new hooman mum. I did say that I'd share and I'm told that it would be cathartic for me, but everyone knows that you can't trust a word that begins with C-A-T. But a promise is a promise, so here we go, we're nearly up to date now anyway.

Over the next 8 days, I roamed across many different fields. My situation terrified me at every turn, and so I fled at any sign of danger. And for me at that point everything represented a threat. I kept seeing the hooman, more so than anything else - it seemed like she hunted me, and so I I made sure to stay clear of her. 

I had to. If she had more of them treats, then I may have been tempted because I hadn’t eaten for so long that my tummy rumbled if a wild beast itself. I needn’t have worried because when I didn’t approach her, she left food and drink. Of course I investigated  and discovered what shed left. They became my lifeline and kept me moving and staying safe.

On the eighth day the hooman returned. As before she didn’t try to come near me, and also left me more food. I waited for her to go and then went to investigate. The fish smelled delightful, so much so that I missed the trap around me until too late. Caged I could only wait until the hooman returned. No opportunity for escape presented itself, and I feared what might happen. So I squeezed my fear tightly into a desperate fierceness  presented in sharp barks and bared teeth.. It seemed to work as she kept her distance. Instead she continued to wait, which struck me as  strange. 

After some time, and the people that had taken me from my home arrived. Oh no! This clearly meant trouble for me. What if they made me go back to that big scary dog! There was no two ways about it. I had to show them I really meant business. The hooman maintained her distance and watched the other people. She appeared a bit worried. Not as worried as me though - I can tell you!. The people wrote on some paper and then they got in their car and drove off. The lone hooman female's body tension dropped, and she smiled. She showed no teeth, but even so I realised that I was now owned by a new hooman. She wasted no time and with the help of another hooman who'd lurked even further away, they lifted the crate and placed me in the van. 

I was being dognapped. Again.

Health Topics - Xylitol Poisoning in Dogs via Sugar Free Chewing Gum

In this latest Health Topic article we follow an encounter for one poor dog after eating sugar free chewing gum. Many thanks to one of our long time supporters for providing us this article.

XYLITOL POISONING IN DOGS VIA SUGAR FREE CHEWING GUM

Last Friday evening, I arrived home from work and fed Chloe, our 24 lb dachshund just as I normally do. Ten minutes later I walked into the den just in time to see her head inside the pocket of Katie's friend's purse. She had a guilty look on her face so I looked closer and saw a small package of sugar-free gum. It contained Xylitol.

I remembered that I had recently read that sugar-free gum can be deadly for dogs so I jumped on- line and looked to see if Xylitol was the ingredient. I found the first website below and it was the one. Next, I called our vet. She said to bring her in immediately. Unfortunately, it was still rush hour and it took me almost 1/2 hour to get there. Meanwhile, since this was her first case, our vet found another website to figure out the treatment. She took Chloe and said they would induce her to vomit, give her a charcoal drink to absorb the toxin (even though they don't think it works) then they would start an IV with dextrose.

The Xylitol causes dogs to secrete insulin so their blood sugar drops very quickly. The second thing that happens is liver failure. If that happens, even with aggressive treatment, it can be difficult to save them. She told us she would call us.

Almost two hours later the vet called and said that contents of her stomach contained 2-3 gum wrappers and that her blood sugar had dropped from 90 to 59 in 30 minutes. She wanted us to take Chloe to another hospital that has a critical care unit operating around the clock. We picked her up and took her there. They had us call the ASPCA poison control for a case number and for a donation their doctors would direct Chloe's doctor on treatment. They would continue the IV, monitor her blood every other hour and then in 2 days test her liver function. She ended up with a central line in her jugular vein since the one in her leg collapsed, just as our regular vet had feared.

Chloe spent almost the entire weekend in the critical care hospital. After her blood sugar was stabilized, she came home yesterday. They ran all the tests again before they released her and so far no sign of liver damage. Had I not seen her head in the purse, she probably would have died and we wouldn't even have known why.

Three vets told me this weekend that they were amazed that I even knew about it since they are just learning about it too.

Please tell everyone you know about Xylitol and dogs.

It may save another life.

More information on this topic can be found here - https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/paws-xylitol-its-dangerous-dogs

Customised Treat Bags For Sale

These customised treat bags proved popular when they were last offered to supporters of the GSD Welfare Fund and are now available again.

They are a bum bag style with plenty of space for treats and other useful items while walking your dog(s). We customise them with a photo and name of your dog printed on it. 

The GSD Welfare Fund icon shows your support for the amazing work they do with vulnerable German Shepherds. £5 from every sale is donated to the German Shepherd Dog Welfare Fund.

A perfect gift for dog lovers! 

After you place and pay your order we will contact you to arrange the artwork needed for printing. They are printed on demand, so please allow up to 21 days for delivery. 

Any queries can be directed to gsdwfonline@gmail.com and we'll respond as quickly as we can.

Puppy Care Topics - The Early Days of Puppies

In this latest Puppy Care Topic, Debbie Hill (Chairman for the German Shepherd Dog Welfare Fund) examines some of the key challenges facing young pups when they go to their new homes. This article was originally part of the information provided to the new owners of Lexi's puppies, as well as ongoing support and guidance that is available to the adopters of any of our rescued dogs. 

THE EARLY DAYS OF PUPPIES

The genes of dogs are made up of 2 alleles (genotype), one inherited from the sire and one inherited from the dam. Genes will affect things like size, coat, eye colour etc. The dominant and recessive allele are represented by a series of letters. The phenotype is the physical expression of the genotype which is responsible for the shape, size, health, and general nature of the dog. The phenotype is affected by the environment. Two nervous dogs can produce a pup that is also of a nervous disposition but correct early socialisation may produce a pup who is calm. This was obviously a worry for us because both Lexi and Apollo are very nervous dogs. This said, we believe this was caused by environment and the treatment they received (nurture) rather than genetics (nature). However, we still had to do all we could to give the puppies the best start possible, and prepare them for their future, especially as they were born in rescue kennels.

Most people do not socialise their pups until approximately 12-14 weeks of age, once they feel they are safe to do so, due to vaccinations. This is a worry because it coincides with the onset of the fear period. This means that just as the “fear of the unknown” period is starting, the puppies are taken out into the big wide world to face many novel experiences. Obviously, the puppy will then show signs of stress. Sadly, at this point, many owners tell the puppy it is OK and continue to expose them to these novel experiences. Personally, I feel this is where lots of  the dog’s issues start, especially in a breed like the German Shepherd. It used to be thought that the 8 – 14-week period when the puppies went to their new home was the most important period for socialising a pup. Suzanne Clothier’s “the puppy protocol”, stresses that days 0-63 are crucial for development and the pups should be stimulated according to the development stage they are at during this time. We have followed the puppy protocol with our the puppies so they will be better equipped to deal with life in their new home and more able to cope with novel stimulus. They are given objects to climb on, different texture surfaces/smells/sounds and visual stimulation. A larger whelping box was used rather than the size normally used to give us room to add objects to stimulate the puppies. This also gave them room to move further. Different objects were added regularly to provide novel stimulation.

Clothier tells us that a puppy reared in a larger area with different views will develop better vision. Some breeders’ whelp/raise puppies in sterile kennel environments so they miss out on this important period leaving them ill equipped to cope. During trials, the rats that were given appropriate stimulation from birth had brains that weighed heavier than those that did not have the stimulation.

Although the genetics are the “blueprint” of the foundation, the environment is as important (nature Vs nurture). Our puppies are regularly taken outside (from 3-4 weeks of age) to a play area with obstacles for them to navigate. This means they are seeing further and experiencing new sights and sounds from an early age. They will also be taken on car journeys as part of the rearing process.

Many health issues are inherited from the parents so it is imperative that for a planned litter, both parents have undergone the relevant health tests otherwise the puppy can inherit such diseases. With health issues such as degenerative  myelopathy, both parents must carry the gene. With cases like Lexi, who came into rescue already in whelp, none of the relevant health tests were done. All we could do was give the puppies the best start we could. Feeding Lexi a nutritious diet was imperative for her puppies. If she was malnourished the pup would likely encounter immune issues later in life. Lexi was feed lots of fresh food high in protein and  calcium.

The bond between the dam and pups is important for the puppy’s emotional development. The nursing and licking cause gene expression making the pups more resilient to stress. As Lexi was so young, we were worried that she wouldn’t make a good mum, although she had already had a litter of puppies when she was just 12 months old. We needn’t have worried as she is an amazing mummy.

Genes and the environment meet at a point during this early window of brain development and form the neural circuits that underlay behaviour. During these early periods known as the critical period the nervous system must go through certain experiences to allow them to meet their needs and for the puppy to mature. During this time the puppy is set for high rates of learning, but this diminishes after the critical period. 

Suzanne clothier compares puppies that are reared without sufficient stimuli to children adopted from Romanian orphanages. Although the children are clean and fed, they are often kept in cots with little interaction. Most of these children have difficulties in life even if adopted and given a wonderful childhood. There have been several reports of adopters of Romanian orphans that have had to return children as they got older. It may just be a case of the child cries constantly with no apparent reason but usually the damage causes more troublesome behaviours to be exhibited. Puppies need adequate stimuli to enable the brain to grow. Rearing a puppy in a clinical environment can stop healthy brain development. For a puppy to be able to deal with novel situations in life, neuroplasticity is a must. Puppies that are exposed to traumatic experiences can have issues with development and sensory input. Trauma can cause neurological/physiological changes Not having a positive rearing program will inhibit learning, so we are most cautious that all our puppies’ experiences are 

good ones.

Socialising a puppy is not a to do list. Puppies need to learn at their own pace. If we rush them faster than they are ready to cope with it will have more of a detrimental effect than positive. The first night for the puppy in his new home can be traumatic. He has left his litter mates and then owners expect to put him to bed and leave him for the night. The old-fashioned idea was to put them to bed and then ignore them when they are crying. Going back to them will teach them to cry to get you back. We now know that leaving a puppy to cry causes him to be stressed and stress can kill of neurons. We recommend that these pups have a crate with some soft bedding placed next to their owners’ bed for the first few weeks, so they feel safe. Once the puppy feels secure in the new home, the bed can start being moved gradually towards the area of preference. 

Flooding was another old-fashioned training method that was favoured. We now know the damage that flooding does i.e., stress and fearfulness leaving the pup to feel they cannot cope. Lots of people inadvertently “flood” when socialising a puppy. They think taking it to a park with strange dogs coming up and rolling it over is getting them used to other dogs. For the pup this can have a negative effect, in turn causing the pup to grow and display reactiveness. Instead, puppies should be taken into the vicinity of other dogs/cats/animals and be kept safe with no interaction and made to feel comfortable enough that they can still interact with their handler. They should be rewarded for displaying calm behaviour instead of being asked to go and sniff other dogs or being asked to perform obedience tasks such as sit or down. 

Just being in these novel situations is a big deal for puppies so REWARD them for just being there. All training should be positive and be a  “game” to the puppy.

Welfare Welcome to Mac

Introducing Mac who came into welfare recently. He's about 5yrs old, and extremely loving. He can get a bit over excitable when he meets other dogs and he can also be strong on the lead.

If you're interested in providing a forever home for one of our rescued dogs then read about the process here - https://gsdwelfare.blogspot.com/p/adopting-german-shepherd-dog.html and get in touch!

Tia's Pupdates - Stalked in the Fields

I had to pause for this moment. At the time it almost consumed me with terror, and that seems silly reflecting back. How could I have known otherwise? After all I'd never really known  love or care from a hooman!

A couple of hours after my bold escape, the lady hooman arrived. I saw her enter the field and she must have thought herself smart because she'd brought treats with her. That wouldn't work now that I was big, brave, and strong. Although an undercurrent of fear lurked beneath my fierceness, so I ran, and she couldn’t catch me.

Over the next eight days I roamed around the different fields. I ran every time I saw anyone or anything, nothing and no-one could be trusted. I knew that I could keep myself safe, if only I knew what to do!  I'd gained my bravery, but even in my inexperienced  youth I realised that wouldn't be enough.

I regularly observed the lady hooman as she stalked me, but I always maintained my distance. I had to. If she had more of them treats, I might have succumbed to temptation.  I hadn’t eaten for so long my tummy rumbled, and my strength faded. I needn’t have worried because after I evaded her on numerous occasions, she left some food and drink. I'd never experienced such overwhelming delight after eating and drinking. I felt a bit stronger - I could survive forever like this!

On the eighth day, the hooman returned. Again. She didn’t try to come near me, but simply left me more food. I waited for her to leave and then  investigated. The lovely fishy aromas beguiled me, and while so eager to eat the fish I missed the signs of the danger around me. I hadn’t noticed the surrounding cage and the door had had already closed. 

Very shortly after, the hooman was back. Trapped in the cage I couldn't run, so I barked with all my might and flashed my teething. She didn't react, and just waited with dreadful patience.