There are some articles we feel it's important that pet owners have the opportunity to read and consider, especially in the veterinary field. Whether or not they are utilized should be an individual choice, with a vet's guidance.

Training | Vet Health | Nutrition

Training

Here are two short but valueable pieces by Brad Higgins, of Higgins Gundogs, "Becoming a Pack Leader" and "Rules for Training."

Rick Smith Articles Delmar, Rick, and Ronnie Smith are talented, reputable, and trusted gundog trainers, with manyquality resources available. We highly recommend their videos, especially Puppy Development I and II, books, and seminars.

George Hickox's methods incorporate marker training! For more info/videos/resources, we recommend you see his website.

The following PDF booklets are from Ed Frawley, of Leerburg Kennels, breeder of working German Shepherds. "Groundwork to Establish Pack Structure with Adult Dogs," "Theory of Corrections," "Puppies [Groundwork]" "Theory of Motivation," and "The Power of Training Dogs with Markers." *

*My main scruples with the articles are the info/stances automatic corrections & ET, lack of socialization, and sending dogs to a trainer in the second, third, and fourth articles respectively. I feel that socialization is very important for a well-rounded dog, which will include introductions to many people and animals, and when training for the field, oftentimes it may take the help of a professional to bring out the best in a dog. So as with all resources, read them and compare them to your own and other trainers' knowledge and experience, and utilize what will allow you and your dog the most success.

Have you ever watched the Dog Whisperer on National Geographic? You should! Because dog training uses dog psychology, a basic understanding is required for success of your goals and the quality of life for your dog. He shows effective, simple techniques that are intrinsically part of many bird dog trainers behavior philosophies and handles dogs according to pack rules, much like those above. Explore these Tips from Cesar Millan's website.

More on Marker Training from Karen Pryor's website. We also recommend her books Don't Shoot the Dog and Getting Started: Clicker Training for Dogs. For sale on her site, is one of two books I know focused on training gundogs with markers; however, I haven't read it.

Top | Training| Nutrition

Veterinary Health

AAHA's Statement on Vaccines

From AAHA's Canine Vaccine Guidelines: Click here to download the PDF article "2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Revised." We recommend you read this and discuss an appropriate vaccination regimen with your vet.

Spay/Neuter: Don't Overlook the Decision.

On the subject of early spaying and neutering, we strongly suggest you read this article published by Laura J. Sanborn, M.S. Finally, we have an article that presents both sides of the surgeries to help people make the decision based on their individual dog and situation. Until recently, I naively had no idea such articles even existed! Moreover, I had helped to perpetute the one-case-fits-all neuter every pet as soon as possible mindset. Now, I'm keeping in mind that spaying will be a benefit for most people and pets; however, veterinarians and owners should consider waiting until the dog reaches physical and mental maturity, taking responsible care in the meantime to prevent unwanted breedings. We encourage responsible pet ownership, which obviously includes considering anything that may harm vs benefit your animals, so a case-by-case determination of if/why to spay is important.

In case you didn't absorb all the details in that excellent but in-depth article, here's another one, more condensed! The author is Ms. Nienke Parma, B.Sc., M.D.

And from another source, here is an article by Chris Zink, DVM, PhD, DACVP.

For the final resource on this topic, this is a link to the Society for Theriogenology's Basis for Position on Mandatory Spay-Neuter in the Canine and Feline page. (Theriogenologists are veterinarians that specialize in reproduction.) I find this page very interesting and compelling; note especially what they've chosen to emphasize by bolding. If your veterinarian is pressuring you to spay/neuter without showing much individual case interest, as outlined in this article, I'd refer them to it just as a reminder. It's easy to get caught up with the spay, spay, spay pressure.

Here is a recent study, published in Dec 2009, in a peer-reviewed science journal, "The Aging Cell," that shows some interesting correlation between the presence of ovaries and longetivity in the female dog.

Top | Training | Vet Health

Nutrition

Well, as this is one of the most controversial subjects when you start talking to dog people, I've been dragging my feet getting information together for this section. I guess I will put together some links to the various camps (ie commercial, holistic/natural, and raw diets) so that you can see all sides and form your own opinions. For now, here are some links to toxic foods for dogs:

Toxic Food and Plants for Dogs Note: I like this page for the Plants chart; per the foods, it should specify COOKED bones are hazardous. Many people, including us, feed raw bones. Also, many feed raw eggs, even the shells, when washed, in BARF/SARF diets; if doing so, biotin should be supplemented or eggs not fed on daily basis. (More on this later.)

Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Dog (Great list, but same thing about the bones and eggs. By the way, salmonella is typically carried on the outside of unwashed eggshells and in the less common case, inside the egg had the hen been infected.)

Regional Vice-President of North American Llewellin Breeders Association.

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