Reebok Says ENOUGH!

OK, time for Reebok to go home, but she'll be here until Rosie takes her puppy(s) home.  Reebok says the pups are weaned, although I am sending her down once a day as she still has some milk.  The pups chase her around for 15 minutes before she will let them nurse, but if I don't send her down she wanders around whining softly which drives me nuts. If she hears a puppy fuss she starts whining, but if she goes down to check on them they will start yelling and then she wants to come upstairs immediately! Now she's going through what I call the Post Puppy Crazies, leaping all over Argus and Watson inviting them to play, meanwhile shedding like crazy as bitches normally do after a litter.  Such fun . . .  She's very sweet and did a lovely litter, but I will not be sorry to see her go home.

Someone asked if Reebok had been eating a raw diet and the answer is no, she is kibble fed, eating Pro Plan Lamb & Rice.  Her owner is fine with the raw diet and told me to switch Reebok over if I wanted, but I wasn't comfortable doing a total switch on a pregnant bitch so she stayed on kibble but got lots of extra fresh items - meat, yogurt, cottage cheese and eggs and an occasional chicken back.  Reebok came through this in great shape and had plenty of milk until the last week.  It does seem as if the raw fed girls have milk for a longer period of time, but it might just be the individual dogs.  I am NOT an anti-kibble raw feeder, and I think highly of the company that makes Pro Plan.  Even after being bought out by Nestle, I think they are producing a quality product.

One of the reasons I feed a raw diet (in addition to how well the dogs do on it) is because of the small stool volume and lack of odor.  It makes clean up SO MUCH easier, especially with puppies.  When I see the huge poops from kibble fed Reebok, especially when I am walking her and have to pick them up, I am very glad I feed raw! 

Reebok will go back to her old life with Rosie, who will probably get her in shape and pursue A Grand Championship (a newer AKC title).  Reebok had an excellent career, winning the Futurity and going Winner Bitch at the National. (Her sire Dylan is also a Best in Futurity winner, and Argus is the sire of Penny who won it in 2010). I was very fortunate to have the opportunity lease Reebok, and hope that her pups do as well as their parents!  Argus won Best of Breed at the National, as well as 3 Awards of Merit, and has also won the Stud Dog Class 3 years in a row - perhaps a couple of these kids can help him repeat that win next year!