Dalmatians and goats

We have 4 old goats in our wooded 3 ½ acre pasture.  We bought them to keep the woods cleaned up so you could walk back there.  But, we have really enjoyed being around them.  They are such curious, friendly, and entertaining creatures.   I could stand out in their pasture and watch them for hours.  We got our first 3 goats about 11 years ago, a wether and 2 does.  We decided to raise spotted goats to go with our spotted dogs and horses, so we got a spotted billy goat.  We raised a few babies, and sold a few, and then decided we’d rather not have to sell them, so we are down to just 3 wethers and one doe now.  They are all about 10 to 12 years old, and still healthy.  We feed them a mix of corn and Noble goat feed, made by Purina, along with salt, minerals, and some hay.  They also love eating the leaves and briars, and other weeds that grow in their pasture, and keep little trees from sprouting out there.   I believe leaves and cedar trees are their favorite.  It is definitely a myth that a goat will eat anything.  They are quite fussy about what they eat.   We also have some rye grass planted in their pasture, but they pretty much ignore the grass.  The dogs love playing with them.  The goat pasture is also our private dog park, and the dogs get to run there twice a day, when we go to feed horses and goats.  The goats put up with no nonsense from the dogs, and the dogs know just what they can get away with when playing with the goats.  Vegas would dearly love to eat their goat feed, but she knows better than to try to steal their food out from under them.  They’ll give her a good butt!  Here are some pictures of feeding time for the goats.

Coaching Training with the Pony Cart

Victory, Vegas, Wishbone and I had a blast today doing coaching training with ARB Midnight Kid (Peppy, the paint pony) and the pony cart.  The dogs just love going with Peppy the pony and me for a “pony ride.”  Rog made a bracket for the pony cart, so that we can keep the dogs with the cart without them risking getting run over.  With young dogs, it is a challenge to keep them with you if they are off leash, because all the world is so interesting, and of course Dalmatians love to chase squirrels, cats, skunks, and anything else that will run or challenge them.  Poor Wishbone, who is about 13 years old refuses to be left behind, but he is hurting tonight after all the exercise he got today.  Peppy loves it when the dogs go along, too.  When I take one horse out without one of their buddies, they are very happy to have the dogs along.  I have another pony to train to pull the cart, so you will be seeing more of her in later blogs, as we work on her cart training.  Training Shetland ponies is so rewarding, because they are so smart, and learn so fast!  I just love them!

You've "Spotted" a Great Motorcycle

We were born and raised in Iowa, and love the State of Iowa.   When we heard that Polaris was making Victory motorcycles, we had to own one.  American made in Iowa, how could it be any better?  We bought our 2005 Victory Vegas motorcycle in Texas, and a couple of years later, we toured the Victory factory in Spirit Lake, Iowa.  The factory was very impressive!  Our Victory Vegas motorcycle is awesome!  It has beauty, power, comfort, reliability, and fun!  Our 2005 Vegas has about 20,000 miles and has been trouble free.   We are going to name each of our Dalmatians after a beautiful Victory motorcycle.  Here are pictures of our show dogs with our Victory Vegas motorcycle.  The dogs are Dalmino’s Victory Vegas (left) and CH Atlantis Wildcat Victory (right.)  Victory motorcycles are such wonderful bikes and Dalmatians are such wonderful dogs! 

Sugar Free Products Bad for Dogs

There have been a lot of emails going around the Dalmatian email lists lately about Xylitol, and what it will do to your dog, if ingested.  It will poison your dog, and can cause liver damage or liver failure.  It is a medical emergency, if your dog ingests Xylitol, so be sure to contact your vet immediately.  Do not wait.  I also recommend that you do not let your dog eat anything that has artificial sweeteners in it.  Many products around your house contain Xylitol, such as gum, toothpaste, Crest White Strips, mints, baking mixes, sugar free Jell-O, pudding, and vitamins.  You have to wonder, don’t you, that if it’s dangerous for your dog, it probably will harm you as well??  I personally, hate fake sugars of any sort, and refuse to eat anything with fake sugar.  I used to drink diet pop once in awhile, and it always made my kidneys hurt, so I avoid it.  Please be careful, and protect yourself and your precious pets. 

If you believe your dog has ingested poison, you can give them a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide down their throat, wait five minutes, and they should vomit.  If not, give them another tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide and wait five minutes for them to vomit.  You should take them to a vet right away. 

We have a lot of snakes in our area, and another thing I keep on hand is children’s Benadryl, which our vet recommended to keep the dog from swelling after a snake bite.

Here is a link to a first aid sight for dogs:

http://www.dog-first-aid-101.com/dog-first-aid-supplies.html

I also keep home veterinary manuals for both the dogs and horses.  Both books have come in really handy a number of times.  My dog manual is called Dog Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook by Delbert G. Carlson, D.V.M. and James M. Giffin, M.D.  It has been really helpful many times.  My horse manual is Horse Owner’s Veterinary Handbook by James M. Giffin, M.D. and Tom Gore, D.V.M.  Excellent resources!

Champion photo, finally

I finally got Garden Studio to respond and fix Victory’s championship photo.  He finished his championship in October, and I finally got the pictures today.  I had resigned myself to never getting a decent photo of his win from Garden Studio, but they finally tried fixing it, and it is quite a bit better than it was.  I’m attaching the photo and a copy of Victory’s pedigree.  What a fun and intelligent dog, he is.  A little over enthusiastic on most show days, but never dull!  We just love him! 

Glen Rose Dog Show Weekend

We had a nice weekend in Glen Rose, TX at the dog show.  Vegas was winners bitch, best of winners, and best of opposite sex on Friday night at the North Texas Non Sporting Association specialty show.  She competed against some nice girls.  Don Boyd did a nice job of showing Victory to a select dog placing, since I showed Vegas in the best of breed class.  Vegas picked up 2 points and Victory got another grand champion point.  Michael Heflin was the show chairman on Friday, and did a really nice job.  Saturday was supposed to be a major, but 2 of the dogs didn’t show up, so the major broke.  No points on Saturday or Sunday for either Vegas or Victory.  Vegas was reserve today.  We ate at a really great place in Granbury, TX called Buffalo Gap.  It was western décor, which I love, and the food and service were fantastic.  Rog had the best chicken fried steak ever.  We ate with Lori Finlayson and Janine Winings.  Janine has Labrador Retrievers, and showed a nice black Lab puppy this weekend.    Vegas needs one more single point and a 3 point major to finish, so we will be hunting for major shows for her.  We are also starting to work on the coaching training for Victory and Vegas.  Rog made a little bracket for the pony cart, so the dogs can be leashed to the pony cart and learn to stay with the ponies.    

CH Atlantis Wildcat Victory

We are so pleased that our beautiful boy, CH Atlantis Wildcat Victory, sired by GCH Paisley Nspird by Broadway (Argus) and dam CH Atlantis’ and Read All Over (Read), got an Excellent evaluation on his hips from OFA.  He has great genes, as hips are excellent, hearing is bilateral, eyes are CERF tested normal, and he has gorgeous dark brown eyes and spots that are such a deep, rich, dark black.  He is also the happiest, most friendly boy, and is so enthusiastic about everything.  He wants to hug and kiss everyone, and has the absolute best temperament.  He loves children, adults, other dogs, and is quite a joy to have around.   We are blessed, and he is too, as we take the very best care of him, and he has lots of acres to run, horses to follow, and people who love him.  Here are some of the pictures from his show career, and a couple of my favorite puppy pictures of him.  What a champ he is!   Kudos to his breeders for such a fabulous dog!