Said goodbye to my sweet German Shepherd on February 1, 2012.  She was 10 years old and active until the day I took her to the vet with a sneaky feeling something was wrong with her.  She had a tumor on her spleen and it was bleeding into her abdomen.  There was nothing we could do.  I cooked this gals food from the day she was born as she had a rough beginning and also pancreatic insufficiency.  She is still greatly missed.  I didn't have the strength to post right after we had her put down.  

Abby


Knowing the pain my family was in my best friend and soulmate offered me one his son's dog's pups....a full blooded German Rottweiler.  I'd never owned a Rottweiler before but I've trained many other breeds.
It's a big responsibility owning a breed that so many see as mean from the moment I showed her to anyone.  But, we're taking her to class and training her with lots of praise and love.

I want to introduce you to Heidi.  She's our new pup and she has helped fill the hole in our hearts with her wonderful funny ways.

Heidi-Born December 2, 2011

Feb 6, 2012     20 POUNDS


March 2, 2012  


March 13, 2012   44 POUNDS


April 7, 2012     I'll find out her new weight on Friday. I would assume around 50 POUNDS


If any of you own Rottweilers and have advice, I'm all ears.   Advice is appreciated.  

Sorry for your loss

It is amazing how puppy breath helps, enjoy the ride with the new pup.

I've owned a female Rott, and now a male.  With either gender, their "yard" is as far as their bark can be heard.    Seriously though, socialization and consistent training are key, just like with your late Abby.  With my girl Liesl, we made sure that she stayed on quality food with Glucosamine for joint health.  Make sure to watch her eyes, mine had trouble producing tears later in life.  We ended up putting ointment in her eyes 3 times a day.  The vet and groomer always marveled at her temperament.  She would take pills from your hand, and sit perfectly still when putting the ointment in her eyes.  She lived to be about 10 as well.

Here's my boy Kaiser at 5 months.  He's over 60 lbs now.

That's a good looking pup.

TomCat0197 ––-Thank you for the advice about the food and the eyes.  I've had some food issues with Heidi already.
She was all settled nicely on one food until the manufacturer moved their plant and ran out of her food temporarily.  I had to switch her (gradually) to another food and she's had loose stools ever since.
I'm in the process of going back to the original that she did well on now that the manufacturer is settled and has it in stock again.  

May I ask what food you feed Kaiser??   He's a handsome guy.  60 pounds???  Wow!    Awesome picture.

Liesel sounds like she was an amazing dog.  

Kaiser is on Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy.  Liesel was on Wellness until she started getting older, started getting real gassy on the Senior product.  We moved her to Science diet, and the gas subsided.  I'll find some pictures of Liesel and post them.  She was a German as well, her weight maxed out a Snickers Bar shy of 100 pounds.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your good friend Abby.

Hello Heidi!

I'd love to see pictures of Liesel.   Wow, she was a massive dog.  
Heidi's siblings mostly went to the LE in the neighboring cities.  They said they were changing to Rottweilers from German Shepherds due to the intimidation factor of them alone.  Guess as soon as they say K-9 and a Rott comes out, the bad guys give up.  haha.

Mt_Max:  Thank you for the kind words.  Abby is so missed.  My sweet veterinarian (who helped work through her health issues with me) and I held her paws on the floor and both cried when she passed.  It was so hard for him to see her go too.  He said even though she had her pancreas issues and her inability to eat regular dog food, he never had felt a dog with a softer coat or one that had whiter teeth at age 10.   All the neighborhood kids used to come running over when they saw her outside with me so that they could play Frisbee with her.

Heidi saw her breath outside in the cold last night.  It was so funny to watch her mesmerized by the puffy breath cloud.  I was standing out in the cold in my nightgown and robe waiting for her to pee but laughing like crazy.  She cracks me up.

I'm sorry for the loss of Abby.  Heidi looks like a sweetheart!  Our newest addition, a Rott/Boxer mix Tasha says hello!  She is 2 now, but only about 50 lbs.  She is more or less a boxer with Rott coloring.

Losing a loved pet is hard.

This is Khan, my purebred, papered akita.  He's just a year now, and about 130.

I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with loosing him.  He's my best friend, damn good dog.  

She's soooo cute!!!  Nice mix with the Rott and Boxer.  I like that.

Did you really say 130??????   YIkes.  
I hate losing pets.  Fact is, you just get them all trained and they have their place in the family and then they're gone.  I'll never get used to it.
I've lost a lot of dogs over the years.  I miss them so much that I have a Christmas ornament with each of their pictures and I hang them on the Christmas tree each year.  It still brings tears to my eyes.

Khan looks so soft.  What a beautiful dog.

I've not lost him yet (hopefully for a long time, I just re-read what I said and realized how it could be construed), I was trying to be sympathetic (I've had good dogs, but none have been as frigging awesome as this guy).  And yes, he is very soft, and loves to roll around.

Talking with a few akita people, one who has had a winning show-dog......we are all thinking he will end up at around 150-170lb when he's done putting on weight.

Sorry for the goof.

I'm looking forward to seeing pictures as Khan grows.   Akita are beautiful dogs.