We Be One!

Lexi's 1st Litter reached a milestone earlier this month.  They made it to the ripe old age of ONE!   I sent out some emails wishing each pup a happy birthday and was lucky enough to be rewarded with a few updates. I've posted the photos I received to each pup's individual puppy page and for those of you waiting for pups, I thought you might enjoy a slide show of some up and coming adults produced by the same breeding pair, Lex and Navigator. I may be a bit biased but I think they're all gorgeous creatures.  They all appear fairly lean as I would expect of pups at a year who will continue to fill out over the next year or two.  Best of all though, they are very much loved by their people and receive fabulous report cards from their Vet's for health and temperament.  The slide show below shows Alice, formerly White who recently weighed in at 80 pounds. Alice is described as being "a source of great joy" by her humans.  Also included in the show is Pepper who enjoyed a pool party @ home with family and friends after recently learning how to swim.  I received video of the event but unfortunately I'm not equipped to share it here.  Although cautious at first, it didn't take Pepper long to realize the pool offered quick relief from the heat of the dog days of summer! Pepper's entry shows her at roughly 8 months old, on guard and checking out the changes going on in her backyard which included the installation of the pool she has grown to love.  I heard from Black's family too for the first time and was overjoyed to finally see some photos of her!  I received several.... and I was also informed Black, aka Persephone has her own instagram page so naturally I had to create an instagram account so I can follow along!  Persey is described as a true member of the family and can be seen on instagram @ ... get this.... "perseybeautifulblackmenace".  Persephone was surprised on her birthday to receive her very own cake! Reluctance gave way to etiquette as she shared some with the rest of the family.   Mr Griffin reportedly had a great birthday too...  I think everyday is a great day for Griffin!  He enjoyed a trip to Petsmart, received a few presents and topped it off with a grilled chicken breast for dinner.  Griffin weighed in at a whopping 103 pounds...  likely to catch up with daddy I think...  in fact he's quite likely to surpass Navigator who's adult weight fluctuates between 105 and 110 pounds of leanness!  I'm thinking Griffin may have inherited some growth genes from Aristo Leo di Motta Visconti on mamma's side.  Last but not least, Scarlett @ a year old weighs in at 74 pounds and is 26 inches tall.  She's seen here in her very own swimming pool.  I'm told "she loves the water, loves the beach and has become quite good @ jumping for and catching a frisbee!  Sounds like dock diving may be the sport for her!

I truly enjoy receiving updates from people about their pups but I always say, "I want to hear not only the good, but also the bad".  So here goes..... fortunately I've heard very little bad.  The most common complaint I hear though is "we can't seem to break him/her from jumping on us".  I must confess I've had the same challenges with my own dogs when it comes to them jumping on me; some worse than others.  While they do seem to outgrow it, it can become more than a bit annoying when they start tipping the scale @ 70-100 pounds!  After giving it some thought,  I think the behavior stems from the "leg crawl" puppies do when they're small and looking for affection and or attention.  When they're small, it's cute so it often it goes uncorrected.  I can't stress enough, it's easier to train a dog to do what you want them to do from the get go than it is to fix broken later.  If there's something you'd rather they not do as an adult, begin correcting them as pups. I'll be trying the all four on the floor routine with my next pup to see if it helps avoid the eventual  and all too common "jumping up" problem from taking root.  The second most common complaint I've heard centers around digging!  This too is something they seem to outgrow but a behavior most, if not all Doberman pups seem to enjoy!!!   Some say it's best to create a digging area and teach your pup to dig there and only there.  Some just tolerate the behavior and follow up with some sprucing up and re-landscaping once the pup gets out of the digging stage.  Some advise to throw their droppings in the hole before filling it.  From my experience, the latter is probably the most effective and it's also a fairly efficient way to keep your yard and the soles of your shoes free of unmentionable.   Hope you enjoy the slide show below.  Hover your mouse over the left top corner of the photo below and hit play to get started...