Look who is new to the rescue! Watch for more information on each pup as we get to know them better. 

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Otis is joining his foster family after an extended stay in animal control. He is so excited to be sprung at last. He is looking forward to getting his ya ya's out running and playing! He came to us with a cough and heartworms so it will take a little while before he is ready for adoption.

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Kiyoshi is a cute little pocket boxer also sprung from animal control. She came to us with a cough and heartworms so it will take her a little bit to get healthy enough for adoption. 

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Bailey was pulled from animal control along with her 8 babies. Unfortunately, the babies were born in animal control and spent a week there before we discovered they needed us. We knew there was a high risk of them breaking with something nasty and they did. Bailey's litter broke with parvo at under 2 weeks of age. We lost all of the babies but 2. Bailey is grateful for the 2 that survived and most grateful for a safe place to care for her babies. She has a nasty cough but won't be ready for adoption until her babies are weaned and she is spayed.

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Basil and Rennet are Bailey's two surviving babies. I know they don't look boxer at all and mom looks boxer mix at best but babies are just adorable! And these two are little fluff balls.  They are just getting their legs under them and cutting teeth. 

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Sky and Terra were born to Scarlett 11/2/2017. They are the most beautiful baby girls! Scarlett actually birthed 8 babies and they broke with herpes the following day. We tried our best to save all and are grateful we had 2 survivors. Herpes is reported to infect 50% of the dogs in the US but as long as the virus remains in remission during pregnancy and birth, it does not usually cause any noticeable signs. Unfortunately, the stress of shelter life weakened Scarlett's immune system and she had an active case of herpes when her babies were born. Sky is a little fighter. She spent 5 days at GVS battling the virus and that fighter in her shows in her personality. She is the most expressive of the two - talking and wagging her nub frantically. Terra was the first born and apparently got the milk richest in colostrum as she never got sick enough to have to be in the ICU. She is a sweet, curious, active little girl. Both girls are simply beautiful!

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These days, there are lots of dog foods on the market. So, finding a good one can be overwhelming.

After all, on The Dog Food Advisor website alone, there are now:

• Over 950 dog food reviews

• Hundreds of product lines

• More than 4,100 recipes

So, how can you find a good brand? Here are 9 tips to help you find a superior food for your dog.

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Tip #1
Check the Label

Pet food labels are loaded with lots of valuable information. Yet they can also be difficult to read. So, save yourself a lot of time and effort and…

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Tip #2:
Consider the Company

Many dog owners tend to distrust larger pet food companies. They mistakenly believe smaller brands are more likely to make better and safer products. However, the facts tell a different story.

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Consider this: 93% of all pet foods sold in the U.S. are produced by just 3 companies — Big Heart, Mars and Purina. Yet 73 of the 88 recall events documented on this website during a recent 5-year period are linked to products of smaller brands.

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Tip #3
Identify the Manufacturer

Most dog owners assume their pet food company actually makes the products they sell. However, today, many companies use third-party co-packers to manufacture some — or all — of their foods. Yet others make their own.

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Tip #4
Question Product Design

What may surprise you is that there’s no legal requirement that a pet food be formulated by an animal nutritionist or any other veterinary professional. In fact, over the years, we’ve uncovered a shocking number of dog foods that have been designed by amateurs.

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Tip #5
Confirm Nutrient Testing

It’s also important to know how the company can be certain each formulation is nutritionally complete and balanced. And how often nutritional content testing is actually performed. Does the company conduct laboratory analysis? Or do they run feeding trials? Surprisingly, we have found many (mostly smaller) companies that never do any testing at all.

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Tip #6
Investigate Ingredient Sources

No dog food can ever be magically better than the ingredients that were used to make it. Yet labels reveal little about the quality of the raw materials actually used to make the food. Some ingredients are purchased from commodity brokers on the open market — from the cheapest bidder. Others can come from countries known to have inferior food quality standards.

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However, superior companies tend to source their ingredients only from established local or regional suppliers they do business with on a recurring basis. What’s more, Federal law does not currently require any pet food company to disclose country of origin — or any other sourcing information — on its label.

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Tip #7
Demand Transparency

Some pet food companies work hard to conceal critical information about their products.

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For example, we’ve actually stumbled upon a number of companies that attempt to create an artificial sense of customer support by using voice mail to take messages. Yet no one ever returns the calls. Some brands don’t even maintain a product website. And others resist being questioned by independent websites like The Dog Food Advisor.

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These companies make it difficult (or impossible) for us to get important answers — while blaming their own unwillingness to cooperate on the fact we are not veterinarians. Think about it. Are there any questions presented in this article that would require the knowledge of a veterinarian to answer? Obviously, hostile or defensive companies like these are the ones that most likely have something to hide — and should not be trusted.

For all these reasons…

Never buy any dog food made by any company that is not transparent about its products or its manufacturing practices.

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Tip #8
Verify Quality Control

At the time of purchase, all pet foods are at risk for containing:

• Disease-causing pathogens (Salmonella, Listeria)

• Mold toxins (aflatoxin, vomitoxin)

• Environmental pollutants

• Unsafe nutrient levels

And although many pathogens can be killed (pasteurized) during cooking, deadly toxins can remain in the food throughout the manufacturing process. What’s worse, re-contamination can occur anytime living germs from uncooked food accidentally come in contact with a finished food product.

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Tip #9
Study the Recall History

Dog food recalls can provide some valuable clues about a brand’s manufacturing habits.

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Pet owners tend to misunderstand and overreact to dog food recalls. And they’re inclined to overvalue the real significance of these events whenever they occur.

They forget that when it comes to any process involving human beings, errors are inevitable. Accidents are going to happen.

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For more details on each of these items, review the complete article provided in the link.

Excerpt from 25 most popular breeds

Boxer: Cancer

Boxers are at higher risk for certain types of cancer, including lymphoma and mast cell tumors. Lymphoma is cancer of the lymph nodes, and mast cell tumors are a type of skin cancer that can have diffuse forms and also involve internal organs. In both cases, the cancer is often felt as an unusual lump or bump on your dog's body. Both of these cancers might be treatable, but it's important to catch them early. So if you have a boxer, be sure to check him regularly for lumps.

Dogs love to be outside, and the walk is a stimulating and exciting part of their day, so the desire to push ahead is very strong. Humans do not make ideal walking partners since a dog’s natural and comfortable walking pace is much faster than ours. Having to walk calmly by a person’s side when the only thing a dog really wants to do is run and investigate his environment requires a degree of impulse control that can be very difficult for some dogs to utilize.

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How To Stop Your Dog From Pulling On Leash:

• If you are overpowered by your dog’s pulling and cannot start the teaching process for fear of being pulled over, then there are humane equipment solutions to help modify the pulling while you teach your dog to walk appropriately.

• A chest-led harness is a perfect training aid, as it takes pressure off a dog’s sensitive neck by distributing the pressure more evenly around the body. When the leash is attached to a ring located on the chest strap and your dog pulls, the harness will turn his body around rather than allowing him to go forward. I recommend this kind of harness for anyone who needs extra help, as safety has to come first.

• Leash pulling is often successful for the dog because the person inadvertently reinforces the pulling by allowing their dog to get to where he wants to go when he pulls. But you can change this picture by changing the consequence for your dog.

• When he pulls, immediately stop and stand completely still until the leash relaxes, either by your dog taking a step back or turning around to give you focus. When the leash is nicely relaxed, proceed on your walk. Repeat this as necessary.

• If you find this technique too slow you can try the reverse direction method. When your dog pulls, issue a 'Let’s Go' cue, turn away from him and walk off in the other direction, without jerking on the leash.

• You can avoid yanking by motivating your dog to follow you with an excited voice to get his attention. When he is following you and the leash is relaxed, turn back and continue on your way. It might take a few turns but your vocal cues and body language will make it clear that pulling will not be reinforced with forward movement, but walking calmly by your side or even slightly in front of you on a loose leash will allow your dog to get to where he wants to go.

• You can also reinforce your dog’s decision to walk close to you by giving him a motivating reward when he is by your side.

• Once your dog is listening to you more, you can vary the picture even more by becoming unpredictable yourself. This means your dog has to listen to you at all times because he never knows when you are going to turn or where you are going to go next. Instead of turning away from him when you give the let’s go cue, reverse direction by turning towards him. You can turn in a circle or do a figure of eight. Any of these variations will get your dog’s attention. Do not forget to praise him for complying, because the better you make him feel walking close to you, the more he will chose to do so.

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See the full article by Victoria Stilwell from the link

Story at-a-glance

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• The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Canine Vaccination Task Force has issued updated vaccination guidelines for 2011.

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• A highlight of the new guidelines: The three non-rabies core vaccines (distemper, parvo and adenovirus) are now recommended every 3 years instead of annually.

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• Another highlight: The task force acknowledges that distemper and parvo vaccines provide immunity for at least 5 years and the adenovirus vaccine for at least 7 years.

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Story at-a-glance

By Jane Harrell

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What does fostering a dog involve?
When you foster, you agree to take a homeless dog into your home and give him or her love, care and attention, either for a predetermined period of time or until the dog is adopted.

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Why do adoption groups need foster homes?
There are many reasons a dog might need foster care. Some of the most common include:

• A rescue group doesn’t have a physical shelter and depends on foster homes to care for dogs until suitable homes are found.

• A puppy is too young to be adopted and needs a safe place to stay until he or she is old enough to go to a forever home.

• A dog is recovering from surgery, illness or injury and needs a safe place to recuperate.

• A dog is showing signs of stress such as pacing or hiding in the shelter.

• A dog has not lived in a home before or has not had much contact with people and needs to be socialized.

• The shelter is running out of room for adoptable dogs.

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Why should I foster a dog?
Fostering a dog is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have (other than adopting, of course). By taking an animal in need temporarily into your home you’re:

• freeing up a spot so the shelter or rescue can take in another dog.

• giving your foster dog the time he needs to be ready for adoption.

• helping the shelter or rescue learn more about the dog so he can end up in the best home possible.

• socializing the dog to a home environment and possibly getting him used to being around other pets and different types of people.