@ ccarlitos2 The pups really liked meeting you! We are still working on the whole "greeting process". They have a tendency to get too exuberant and.. you know.. scare people away. It was really kind of you to make the trip out!
@ romevi and infiniti Big dogs are awesome! Well-trained ones are generally super chill and the best pillows
We have a Doberman that lives across the street from us and she is not very well trained (constantly running away from her owner), but I do like Dobermans as a breed.
So- as promised- here's Bowie's intro.
I always get people asking "oh- What breed is he?". Is he a hound? A weimeraner? Is he grey?
Yes, he is grey-ish. The technical term for Bowie's coloration is charcoal. He is black labrador retriever WITH a dilute gene, which makes him appear as a very dark grey-brown.
Dilute genetics are somewhat controversial in labradors. Many breeders argue that they are polluting the TRUE lab genetics and dilute labs should not even exist as a color. The AKC does not recognize dilute colors and all puppies that are dilutes must be registered as their root color, e.g. Bowie would be registered as a black lab. Many breeders also contest that the diluted gene was originally obtained from crossing Weimaraner genetics into the bloodline way back when. If you are interested in dog genetics and learning more about the dilute gene here is a very interesting article
http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/silverlabs.htmlI'm not claiming a side... It's hard to say what exactly happened, but I do think it is interesting to learn about genetics and the theories behind it all.
Here is a picture of the three AKC recognized colors of labs:
Black, Yellow, and Chocolate
Their diluted counter parts are
Silver (chocolate dilute), Charcoal (black dilute), and Champagne (Yellow dilute).
It is important that when bred, these dilute labs be crossed back to normal colors (yellow, chocolate, or black) because if they are not, things like CDA (Color Dilution Alopecia) can occur. This condition results in hair loss and often bacterial skin infections and allergies. One of the theories behind the creation of dilute labs supposes that the dilute genes introduced into the labrador blood line came if-not-entirely from one kennel and one line of dogs so the overall gene pool for the dilutes is very small at its beginning. Because of this, it is important that the gene pool be widened to avoid traits that often are associated with closely bred relatives.
Bowie was not necessarily planned. Our friend, who we often walk dogs with and have known since Chase was little, announced that she was getting a puppy. She said about the puppy, "It's coming from a kennel in Nebraska. They're going to drive it out here with a transporter. And she's adorable.. it's a new thing.. a charcoal lab." We were happy for her. Chase was still a puppy so we thought it would be a good experience for him to have some play time with another puppy.
A few weeks later, I was trekking through snow covered trails at a local park with Chase. My phone rings, and it's my friend. She says, "I know it's kind of sudden, but this breeder has more puppies that just aren't selling. I want to make sure they go to good homes. Would you be interested in one?" UM YES, but my husband would probably kill me. (LOVE YOU BINGE dearest).
And so it all started. As you can tell, we agreed to get the puppy and that is Bowie. We got pictures every Friday from the breeder in NE and when Bowie was 8 weeks old he made the trek to PA with his sister, to join our families.
I mean... really.. 3 weeks old.... He's the cutest
Spooky is Bowie's sister. She lives with our friend and her two yellow labs, Peaches (3 years old) and Katie (7 years old). Bowie and Spooky are basically twins. They are very hard to tell apart unless you know them.
From left to right: Chase, Bowie, (back)- Katie, (middle)-Peaches, and foreground right- Spooky.
Bowie left, Spooky right
Bowie and Spooky are New Year's pups. Their birthday is 1/1!
Unfortunately Bowie came to us with some "problems". Poopy ones. Poopy problems. Some blood, but mostly consistent diarrhea, was our reality for at least a month after we got him. The breeder was top notch, but the transport van he showed up in was shady as all hell. The thing I remember most clearly about holding Bowie for the first time was how terrible he smelled. My eyes were literally burning from it. After a trip to our vet, we learned that Bowie had Giardia and Coccidia- two nasty intestinal parasites. Both Spooky and Bowie had them and had to be put on meds. The vet had to give Bowie IV fluids because he was so dehydrated.
Puppies generally sleep A LOT but Bowie was only active for a few hours every day. He was so tired and very sick. Many nights I would sleep down stairs with him and pet his belly until he would fall asleep. He did not like to be away from us and often the stress of that would keep him awake. We learned that Bowie is very loyal. He would lay down at our feet when we were doing just about anything.. making dinner.. sitting at the computer.. washing dishes. It was not hard to teach him to "come" to us. He hardly wanted to be away.
The intestinal parasites are thankfully behind us now and we have found a diet that Bowie's somewhat sensitive stomach can tolerate. Intestinal parasites as well as medication for such parasites can really upset a dog's digestive tract... So that even though they might be cured from the parasite, they still have diarrhea. Thank goodness we found Fromm's. Fromm's grain-free is a limited ingredient recipe dry food diet, made in the USA, that uses whole ingredients and balanced nutrition. They also cater to the size of the dog. Both of our dogs eat a recipe for large-breed dogs so that their bones don't grow too fast.
Bowie is quite the character. He really enjoys giving tongue licks and parading around with his favorite toys while shoving them in our faces. He is very enthusiastic and easy to excite. His tail is always wagging. He was afraid of the river at first, but now he has realized that it is a great place to cool off after a long walk.
Imitating Bowie's jowwwwls
I think this is a good stopping point. Stay tuned for another Daily Dog.
