December 19, 2011

Meet Jasper!


Welcome Home Jasper!!


        Well.... Since having to put Glacier down this past summer we've been thinking about getting another dog. We've discussed it quite a few time and we've been actively looking for another addition to our family but we decided that we'd hold off for a little while because we already had two active pups (Darby & Bailey), and two pups are easier than three active pups.... right?

With the sudden passing of Darby a little over a week ago we knew in our hearts it was time to get another. This past week was difficult for Bailey, she's been very depressed this past week and we can tell she missed Darby as much as we do. The timing was right and Jasper fell into our lives the same day Darby died... fate?

It's been a long time since we've had a puppy, just about 14 years to be exact. It's going to be trying, it will be a challenge no doubt... but we are dedicated to being successful. We're dedicated to making Jasper successful as well. He's been home with us for two days now and he's beginning to fit right in. He sleeps, eats, pees, poops, plays and chews... just like any puppy. He's just 8 weeks old and has lots to learn. Right now he's on about a 2 hour shift at night to go out so no one is really sleeping. We're getting him use to his crate and that will take a little time but we're doing it. In two days he's only had 2 accidents in the house (our fault) but if you take him outside, he goes! Bailey is starting to get use to the idea he is not a toy and is starting to show signs of playfulness with Jasper. They'll be great playmates for sure!
 

    This past summer we almost rescued an Australian Shepherd but it ended up falling through when we didn't hear back from the local owner. Through that time we were able to research the breed and have quickly fallen in love with it and we firmly believe it is a great breed for us. It's amazing how everything falls into place.


For the past 8 years we've been rescuing dogs, specifically Weimaraners. We've come to love the breed, the activity level, and the rescue we've been working with.... after all, we're still weim owners. It was a tough decision to go with a breed other than a weim because they've been such a big part of who we are. To be quite honest, because of the "bloat" factor, we're a bit gun-shy of the top breeds that are associated with common bloating issues. Maybe we're trying to play it safe?? Below is a reference list we've found and in our experience this seems to be pretty accurate. We've lost 2 weims in recent years to bloat and growing up I lost a German Shepherd to bloat and honestly don't know if we can deal with it again. It's been pretty traumatic for our family including the kids.

Great article on bloat - Click the link below




 

3 comments:

Scott & Kerri said...

Congrats on the new puppy! I'm sure he'll fit right in.

I wanted to comment on the bloat issue. We foster for our local weim rescue, and after years of hearing about bloat, we unfortunately experienced it first hand last month. One of our fosters bloated, for no reason at all (it was not close to meal, drink, or play times). We were advised to give him simethicone (liquid Gas-X for babies)- we just happened to have this already. We also live about an hour from the emergency vet, and I am convinced that the simethicone bought us enough time to get there. It settles the foam in their bellies and relieves some of the pressure. After surgery he is doing fine, but I would highly recommend anyone with Weims to keep simethicone on hand. You just never know with these guys, do you? Hopefully the new puppy will help fill some of the void that Darby left in your hearts. Thinking of your family at this difficult time- Kerri

June said...

It IS hard to cope with Bloat....Jasper is ADORABLE and will be a wonderful comfort to your family while you are healing!! I can't wait to learn about him more and more with each blog post! COngratulations on your new addition.
:-)

~KellyAnn

Sagira said...

Congrats on your new addition. I am anxious to see how you think an Aussie compares to a Weim. In my opinion Aussies are a lot more work LOL. Tried to see the video but said not available. :(

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