Tribute To Celticat

This week’s live chat was tinged with sadness as we paid tribute to Celticat, a regular puppy watcher and valuable member of the community. If you want to pay your respects, consider making a donation to the Service Dog Project or Warrior Canine Connection in her honor.

MtM-WA Molly, when the girl pups have their first cycle how will the PP handle this? Keep them home or?

WarriorCanineConnection My golden females tend to cycle starting at around 11 months.

crowie Molly how many more evenings is Breeze with you?

WarriorCanineConnection Breeze will leave on Thursday.

lynnesky Have the Kuranda beds you won in the contest arrived? Did you get to choose size?

WarriorCanineConnection Yes, the beds have arrived!! I need to put them together…I am not going to put all five together at once though.

crowie Molly, is that staining still around Derecho’s eyes and will it disappear with time? He looks great though.

WarriorCanineConnection Yes, the staining will disappear. The staining is just from the tears.

puproar Molly, when does the new boy pup arrive? That info was omitted from last week’s post on the blog, so gotta ask again.

WarriorCanineConnection Lundy will be here Monday or Tuesday. 

Terrapingirl Molly, do you ever have plans to work with any other breeds, like German Shepherds? Or do you stay with Goldens & Labs? WarriorCanineConnection Shepherds are very difficult in both temperament and health. Guide Dogs for the Blind (one of the largest Guide Dog schools in the country) even stopped working with them due to not having successful health to go with temperament.

WarriorCanineConnection We also need to use dogs that are approachable and friendly looking. We do not want people crossing to the other side of the street when they see a Veteran coming with his service dog.

lynnesky Which one of Holly’s 2nd litter is with you?

WarriorCanineConnection Gabe from Holly’s second litter is here with me.

Terrapingirl How many ‘adult’ dogs are at your house at any one time? Do the big dogs all sleep in kennels or do they have the run of the place?

WarriorCanineConnection We have 6-7 adults at any given time. All sleep in our bedroom with us.

crowie How are plans going for Twister’s Puppy Parents? Thanks Molly.

WarriorCanineConnection We have been working so hard to make Flurry, Breeze, Blizzard and Bea’s placements successful we have not pushed on too hard finding Twister and Derecho a home. We have applicants and interviews will be done next week.

weinke Molly do you use any kind of an eyewash when your dogs are playing outside and it’s dusty or the pollen is high? If so, what do you recommend? WarriorCanineConnection I don’t use any eyewash.

Slipper Even though you have multitudes of dogs on and in your property, how do you keep them all so happy? Are there EVER tiffs and spats amongst them or are they just even tempered and civilized, never show discord?

WarriorCanineConnection I have ONE very serious, unbreakable rule. Get along or get out. No ifs, ands or buts. I don’t care if they do or don’t have testicles or a uterus, they must get along.

WarriorCanineConnection Service dogs will need to be able to settle quietly under a table and at times with strange dogs. I once went on a Service Dogs Cruise. We had 30+ dogs on the ship (Old Gabe and Huff were there).

WarriorCanineConnection They had to lay under the dinner table with dogs they had never met before and they did just fine. I have ZERO tolerance for any aggression at any time. Can you tell I am serious about this? 🙂

Terrapingirl So you let them work out any disagreements on their own?

WarriorCanineConnection We do not have disagreements. I will not ever breed a dog that has aggression.

roadrunner Have you ever had a dog that didn’t get along and had to be sent elsewhere?

WarriorCanineConnection ****knock on wood**** No, I have never had to enforce the rule. I am careful about my breeding decisions and choose dogs with zero aggression at all times.

WarriorCanineConnection Fighting dogs or dogs showing aggression towards people. Two serious issues for a service dog. 

Puptalk Molly – Did you notice an uptick in the followers of WCC after all the news coverage on PEC opening?

WarriorCanineConnection Yes, I think the wonderful media coverage was helpful. I have to give kudos to our Director of Communications, Patty Kennedy. She put together that whole event and secured all of the media.

CandaceAJohnson Molly, Cadence is a beautiful looking dog. Do you plan on breeding her in the future?

WarriorCanineConnection Cadence is a wonderful little girl! I love so many things about her temperament but we have had to work her through some low confidence issues. She will be spayed before she is placed as a service dog but won’t be bred.

lynnesky Do the big dogs crave human attention from you, Rick and Mia? Or are they happy just with each other?

WarriorCanineConnection We spend time with the adult dogs as to the volunteers. Actually, Holly is going on a few day vacation with a volunteer. She will enjoy her time away but be happy to come home too.

luvspringers Molly, have you every had to deal with a dog with colitis? If so, any suggestions? Sometimes owners have ideas that the veterinarians don’t have. WarriorCanineConnection Depends what is causing the colitis. I have had good luck with Tylan powder and probiotics. Tylan must be given for 6-8 weeks. 

doglove What kind of treats do you use when you’re training the dogs? I noticed the puppies get many in their training for reinforcement. Is it Kibble or just small pieces?

WarriorCanineConnection We use soft, chewy treats that are not full of junk. I like the Red Barn food rolls cut up into tiny pieces or Zukes naturals.

tuppycat-NZ Molly, you mentioned Cadence going on vacation with a volunteer. Does that happen often with your dogs? 

WarriorCanineConnection Holly is going on vacation. She is doing therapy work while on vacation.

brandy’smom I have a 2 year old golden that I think is too heavy. How much do you feed your adult dogs each day? She is on adult blue buffalo. WarriorCanineConnection Most of my spayed females eat 2 cups total per day. In the summer if they are exercising more they might get 2.5 cups. WarriorCanineConnection Make a fist and run your finger over the area between your knuckles and finger joint. That is what the ribs of your dog should feel like.