The Beginning - Lets Stay Focused On Health!!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 9:34AM The beginning to all things is a special moment. As I write this first blog entry, I feel a bit overwhelmed at the "beginning" stage of the huntingstuddogs.com website. So, lets break the ceremonial bottle of wine on the bow of the ship and get down to business.
I hope my intent of trying to supply the hunting dog community with stud dogs that are targeting health issues first has become clear enough within the pages of the website. With this in mind, I want to begin my first blog on a note that was raised to me this weekend. A friend of mine, who also raises hunting litters, had a litter out of one of his yellow labrador females this past summer. He decided to keep a female pup, with the highest intentions for her. He named her Abby, and gave her to his 20 year old son to own.
Abby was a rock star from the get go. At age 4 months, she was already running 80 yard blinds and working doubles. With her potential, my friend admitted the training was addictive for him. He was astounded at Abby's abilities. Each day he trained her was with the enjoyment of seeing if she could figure out the next challenge. By all accounts, things were going better than anyone could expect.
Abby not only got the eye of her owner!! I attended many dog events this summer and early fall where the conversation was centered around Abby and her abilities at such a young age. Unfortunately, life sometimes isn't perfect. On Halloween day, Abby had her daily training session and was then fed and kenneled for a brief rest. After resting for less than an hour, my friend noticed Abby was shaking, had vomited, and looked to be having a serious issue. He immediately took her to the vet. When she was examined, they found that Abby was septic, with a fading heartbeat. Upon further tests, it was determined that Abby had been affected by the Parvovirus. She passed that same day.........
I write about this incident to continue our mission of healthy efforts for our pets. Parvovirus is an extremely deadly virus that can affect dogs, especially within their first year. The following link details a full explanation of the virus and what we as pet owners should be watching for and doing to try and prevent such an incident.
By keeping our kennels meticulously clean and minimizing contact with other dogs until they are older, we can minimize the risks to our young pups. Interestingly, I have found out that in some cases, if the puppy does receive vaccinations, but the mothers milk is still present, the antibodies in the milk can offset the vaccination, rendering it useless.
By no means do I feel my friend was at fault, accidents do happen, however the more informed we are, the more we can do to protect our pups.
On that note, I would ask that all of you continue to spread the word about our the great dogs showcased within huntingstuddogs.com. I am always open for comments, compliments, or complaints.
Sincerely,
Kevin Kimmes, Huntingstuddogs.com
Reader Comments (1)
I am apreciating it very much.I have never read such a lovely article and I am coming back tomorrow to continue reading.
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