Hello from Philadelphia, PA, USA

[anniewang83]

Hi everyone!

My fiance and I are first time dog owners and will be bringing home our dog in early January, 2013. Amber is a 10 month old DS rescue from NADSR (thank you Trudy), and is currently in the excellent hands of her superb foster mom Kim Futch. Amber will be the only pet in our household and we are so excited to welcome her into the family! We look forward to running, biking, hiking, obedience training, playing ball, Frisbee and tug, and exploring the world with her.

I used to help train and tame wild mustang horses so I've had some experience with animal training, but I've never had hands-on training experience with dogs. Hence, in preparation for Amber, I have been doing a lot of reading on dog training, behavior and psychology. I really enjoyed reading "The Truth About Dogs" by Stephen Budiansky and "How To Behave So Your Dog Behaves" by Dr. Sophia Yin. If you have any reading recommendations please let me know!

We will bring Amber home on January 3rd or 4th, 2013 and I will give an update with more photos.

[Andyroo81890]

Very good looking!

[feraloup]

Welcome! What a pretty girl! You must be beside yourself with anticipation. Can't wait to see more pictures and hear stories from you as she gets settled in! A whole month to wait must seem a world away.

[felixone123]

welcome!! Amber is beautiful!! We got both our DS from NADSR. Starting the New Year off right getting a dutch - congrats and have lots of fun with her!!!

[leih merigian]

What a gorgeous girl! You smartly avoided the puppy housetraining business .

Welcome...

[alexis]

Welcome! I love Patricia McConnell's books on dog training if you're looking for more reading!

[LyonsFamily]

Since this is your first dog, it was a really good idea to skip the puppy stage and get a more mature lady, especially from NADSR, they work so hard and keeping the breed out of shelters. How did you hear about/get interested in Dutch Shepherds?

[anniewang83]

What a gorgeous girl! You smartly avoided the puppy housetraining business .

Welcome...

Thanks! I even though the tiny puppy stage is super cute, I wanted to avoid the housebreaking stage and yet still have a young enough dog who can learn, adapt and bond quickly.

Welcome! I love Patricia McConnell's books on dog training if you're looking for more reading!

Thank you for the recommendation. I will definitely check out her books. I have a lot of time from now until when Amber comes home so I want to be as prepared as possible. After meeting Amber for the first time, I realized that it was much easier for Amber to learn than for us (the humans)! Thankfully, Kim (Amber's superb foster mom) is an excellent trainer and has been extremely patient with both Amber and us! We look forward to learning a lot more from Kim and from Amber in the coming months. Alexis - do you live in NYC?

Since this is your first dog, it was a really good idea to skip the puppy stage and get a more mature lady, especially from NADSR, they work so hard and keeping the breed out of shelters. How did you hear about/get interested in Dutch Shepherds?

For some reason, ever since I was a child, I was obsessed by German Shepherds. Perhaps it was their look, their intelligence, their loyalty, I don't know... I remember that the first book I ever purchased with my pocket money at age 10 was a book on German Shepherds. I've always wanted a dog and my parents never had the time or money to fulfill that wish for me. I just turned 29 and I'm about to get married next May and move into another job next September, I felt that the time is right for me to finally fulfill my childhood dream. I did a lot of research into breeds and I finally decided that the DS was best because, hey, why not, they're amazing! (Practically speaking, they're smaller than a GSD, has a low maintenance short coat, is genetically more healthy, is intelligent, hardworking, motivated, fearless and loyal, and comes in beautiful brindle.) I also knew that I would really enjoy obedience training and doing active things with my dog.
Ever since I embarked on the journey to discover the DS, I've been amazed and delighted at every turn. Trudy from NADSR has been so patient with me. Kim has nothing but the best interests of Amber on her mind. Not only is the DS everything I ever wanted, but the people that I encounter have been nothing short of welcoming, supportive and committed to the betterment of the DS breed. It's clear that those who are fans of the breed often embody the best qualities of the breed in themselves. You guys should all pat yourselves on the back! I sincerely look forward to meeting more of you guys on this forum!

[alexis]

Thank you for the recommendation. I will definitely check out her books. I have a lot of time from now until when Amber comes home so I want to be as prepared as possible. After meeting Amber for the first time, I realized that it was much easier for Amber to learn than for us (the humans)! Thankfully, Kim (Amber's superb foster mom) is an excellent trainer and has been extremely patient with both Amber and us! We look forward to learning a lot more from Kim and from Amber in the coming months. Alexis - do you live in NYC?

Mcconnell has a bunch of short pamphlets on various training topics that are just great - to the point but with enough info to be helpful. I found "the cautious canine" to be especially helpful with Zane as he's pretty scared of new things and had a few phobias when we got him (men with beards, men wearing aprons - seriously) and her methods helped us help him through them (not scared of beards anymore, still a little cautious about guys in aprons but we don't have to cross the street any more). "the other end of the leash" is also super interesting and well worth reading before you start interacting with your new dog.

Yes, I live in NYC with a DS! There are actually a couple in my neighborhood and a few people with working GSDs, and I live in a very central, busy part of Manhattan. I was surprised to see that there were others, but Zane is a good city dog as he's very chill for a DS (he's a rescue and had a terrible case of heartworm, so I think he's less active than most DSes).

I'm jealous that you have Fairmount Park to take Amber to - I bet she'll have a great time in the Wissahickon!

[felixone123]

Hi Annie - I have Amber's brother - Kai - also from NADSR. When I first saw your picture of her I thought to myself that she looked like Kai's twin.

You are going to have so much fun with her!!! Congrats and thanks for rescuing!!!

[Christie M]

Congratulations on your new family member!

Such a privilege to get a dog that his lived in Kim's home. I have followed her work and adventures with Amber, and I think you will be getting a well mannered, well trained companion! I can't wait to hear of your adventures with her!

[anniewang83]

he's pretty scared of new things and had a few phobias when we got him (men with beards, men wearing aprons - seriously)

What happens when Zane meets a hipster butcher from Brooklyn?

hipster butcher.jpg (10.18 KiB) Viewed 4559 times

[Nordis]

... I felt that the time is right for me to finally fulfill my childhood dream. I did a lot of research...

Welcome Annie, Nick, and Amber. From the way you describe things, I'm guessing you're now entering what will be one of the brightest highlights of your life! Because you're finally realizing your dream, and because you're making sure of you'll be successful. Since I first saw her I've always thought Amber is stunning, and it seems her luck is only getting better and better now that she's going to be joining you! All three of you are going to have so much fun! Thanks for sharing your excitement and best wishes to you all!

[alexis]

What happens when Zane meets a hipster butcher from Brooklyn?

Ha, it would be a bad scene. He's lucky I don't take him to Williamsburg!

[anniewang83]

Hi everyone! Thank you for all your welcomes!!
I wanted to ask your opinion about PennHip screenings. Amber will be 1 when we bring her home and I'm
taking her to the vet in mid January for a regular check-up and booster shots etc. And while I'm there, I was considering getting a PennHip screening. Of course, she's already spayed so there's no breeding issue but is it worth $700 to know the result? She runs around and doesn't seem to have any problems at all. Also, what is your opinion on pet health insurance? Recommended or not recommended?

[Christie M]

Hi everyone! Thank you for all your welcomes!!
I wanted to ask your opinion about PennHip screenings.

I think PennHIP is a valuable tool for evaluating breeding stock (or perhaps for a breeder to evaluate what they are producing), but I don't see any reason to do it for your dog. Dutch Shepherds tend to have better hips than many breeds, but dysplasia does come up. A simple x-ray of the hips, without putting the dog through the compression and distraction of the PennHIP test, would certainly be diagnostic to warn you of future problems. And it should be a heck of a lot cheaper.

[LyonsFamily]

I would just get basic x-rays to see the hips if you're at all worried. It's not necessary to get done, unless there's a problem or you want extra reassurance. At one year of age, she still has a bit of growing to do as well. Personally, I'd wait until about 3 years if you want to know, but that's just me. I was thinking about getting x-rays done on Odin, but I supplement for joints anyway and feed a raw diet, so nothing would change if I did know.

As for pet insurance, I don't find it worth it, but I've never had a dog with more than 1 major illness/accident in its entire life. A dalmatian with Blastomycosis was by far the biggest expense we've ever encountered, and even then, it wasn't more than $5 a month saved over his lifetime to just pay out of pocket for the expense. Care Credit is a good alternative if an emergency arises early on and you need quick funding.

After working at a vet clinic for a while and knowing the different prices, I think it's better to set up a dog savings account and just pay in a portion of your check every month for back up funding. There's still a deductible for procedures with insurance, so I don't find it worth it. She's already spayed and vacinated for the first year from rescue, so you won't have many routine expenses to start with anyway.

Check out a quote from different companies and figure out what you'd be paying in over a lifetime. Also, a lot of pet insurance companies will drop you if you don't get vaccines annually and there's a lot of speculation about issues that may arise from annually vaccinating a dog. I prefer to stick with a 3 year Rabies shot as required by law and vaccinate as needed, depending on his potential future exposure and/or a titer test. Show venues already require a specific vaccination protocol. I don't want an insurance company dictating what should be done with a dog.

[alexis]

As for pet insurance, we don't have it. I'd rather just maintain enough savings to cover an emergency and pay for the regular, expected vet bills as part of our normal budget since the annual cost of pet insurance is more than the cost of a year's worth of regular vet visits for us. That said, if you don't think you can keep enough in savings to cover a dog emergency, then it sounds like it would be worth looking into. I know there have been other discussions of it on the board.

I'd actually be really wary of care credit. I know some people have had good experiences, but I've heard so many horror stories that I wouldn't go near it unless I was really desperate. If you have a decent interest rate on your credit card, that's probably a better deal anyway since the usual APR is almost 27% on care credit.

[feraloup]

One other thought, and this may or may not be an option, depending on your vet, is to talk to your vet about a payment plan.

I'm very very fortunate in that I have a great relationship with my vets and in cases of big-ticket or unforseen medical expense, they will treat my animal, and allow me to either post-date a check, or write a series of checks for them to hold onto and deposit on a set interval. For example, I get paid every other week, my cat had a UTI blockage and resulted in a $748 vet bill by the time all was said and done. I am extremely close to the bone and don't have that kind of money or savings. But without care he would die. They treated him, and I wrote a check for part of the amount up-front, and left them with a few other checks dated in two-week intervals. I ended up paying it over the course of a few months instead of having to come up with that much money all on the spot.

I also have a similar arrangement with my large animal vet, (I have a horse, as well, work my butt off at the barn for board and have an understanding vet which permits me to afford to keep him.) They have my debit card on file, and deduct $50 every payday, whether my balance with them is $200 or $1200, they are getting paid regularly, and I never have to worry about them coming to help me if there's an emergency. It just goes on my tab. (Like a couple of months ago when he had an ulcerated cornea... Eyeball vs. Burdock... The burdock won... *wince* he's doing fine, now, thankfully...)

I have simalar arrangements with my farrier and car mechanic.

This may or not be an available option for you, depending on where you live, whether you have an already existing relationship with your vet or are new to them, etc... But it's a good thing for me that allows me to be able to afford to have my animals in my life and keep them happy and healthy when it might otherwise be beyond my means.

[felixone123]

In my opinion, if you are not going to breed her then there really is no need unless later on a problem develops.