Meet the rescued DoberFamily I'm fostering

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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In mid-November, a stray black Doberman Pinscher was impounded by Abilene Animal Services. She had no ID tags, no microchip, no tattoo. She was never claimed by her owner(s). On Thanksgiving, she whelped nine puppies. The facility was closed that day. Two of the pups died soon after.

San Antonio Doberman Advocacy and Rescue took her into their adoption program and I am to be their foster mom. The DoberMomma and her seven pups arrived at my place Saturday morning.

D.M. is settling in. She was a bit wary of me at first, which is understandable, as she had no idea who I was. She was very thin and didn’t have much milk. I began by offering her condensed chicken-noodle soup and canned dog food mixed with turkey broth every two hours or so. I am transitioning her to Eukanuba puppy kibble as quickly as I can.

There are four female and three male pups. Although all are black with rust “points”, one of the pups has a distinct “reddish” tint to its fur. At least one of the pups has a bit of white on the tips of some of its rear toes. At least two of the pups have white/pink claws on their hind feet. Two pups are very dark, with small rust points. I have handled the pups only a little and will wait to do so until D.M. is used to me. (When I approach the nest, she stands up to watch me, which means the pups can’t nurse.)

D.M. is much younger than the “four years old” Abilene A.S. listed as her age. Based on the condition of her teeth, I think she’s between eighteen months and two years old. Although she was severely underweight when she was impouded, she has a glossy coat and no callouses on her elbows/hocks–signs that she has been taken care of. Why on earth didn’t her owner(s) claim her? Oh, and she has a urinary tract infection.

The family has a vet appointment on Monday, at which time D.M. will be named. The rescue group typically names their Dobes after Texas towns, and I suggested “Luling” because it’s a fun word to say. Either that or “Old Dime Box” (just kidding!) Maybe “Venus” (ZIP code: 76084)? I haven’t met many dogs named that.

While on a potty break, D.M. met one of the feral cats I’m feeding. She really wanted to go after him, but the silly kitty thought I’d brought him a new playmate! Well, if he can wait until the pups are four weeks old, he will get all the attention he seeks.

Here is a link to some pix I took when they arrived, then about an hour later, when D.M. had settled enough to nurse the pups: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60141434@N07/sets/72157628264090973/.

A very big thanks to everyone involved in getting this young mother and her family out of danger. Without their help, these eight dogs would have been yet another heart-rending statistic.

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She’s beautiful and her pups are adorable! I’m so glad you’re able to foster them.

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Good on 'ya! My family’s only ever taken in a litter of eight kittens and ended up keeping them all (yikes!).

As soon as she’s settled, filled out, and healthy I just know her face is going to get that ‘happy dog’ look, the sweetness is just waiting to come out.

Has anyone mentioned Nutri Cal? Tasty high calorie stuff that could speed the weight regain process.

I like Venus and for the pups’ temp names, there’s a list here that’s got some good ones. Why yes, I have a soft spot for animals! :wink:

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What a pretty momma. Hope they all find great homes. Glad you’re keeping them safe.

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Beautiful girl, and ((((hugs)))) to you for taking on thed king-sized task of fostering the family. Dobes are wonderful dogs!

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She is a beauty. Here’s hoping she puts on some weight and has lots of milk for those little furballs. :slight_smile:

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Using that link with all the TX city names, I like

Allison
Argyle
Avalon
Blackwell
Blossom
Catarina
Crockett
Dodge
Elsa
Estelline
Ferris
Fredonia
Geneva
Harper
Hidalgo
Imperial
Lantana
Lexington
Magnolia
Maypearl
Montague
Morgan
Pandora
Perrin
Prosper
Quinlan
Quintana
Ravenna
Rooseelt
Rowena
Sargent
Satin
Sebastian
Sherman
Sonora
Sonewall
Sublime
Tennyson
Tivoli
Valentine
Vanderbilt
Wilson
Zephyr

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Toucanna, Lilith and I thank you! I don’t know how you manage to keep from snuggling those little baby dogs…

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Tulip the 6 year old rescue dobie says ‘hi.’ She also has the white streaked toenails and has often wondered about them.

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Ah, finally a thread where I can post the question I’ve often been wondering about while browsing through different shelter and adoption sites.

The pups aren’t docked now (at least in the pictures). I’m assuming they won’t be, since they’re already past the 1-2 days past birth stage and you didn’t mention anything about taillessness. Is this unusual? Will this be a problem for them some time in the future? I know that in the States, Dobies are pretty much always docked and more often than not cropped - do you think someone could come into the shelter and say “Nope, don’t want that one, doesn’t look like what I think a Dobie should be”?

For that matter, I often see even clearly mixed-breed dogs with docked tails up for adoption and they’re even more obviously not going to go on to a winning show career. What’s up with that? Is docking still such a “given” in the States that even non-show dogs for whom “breed standard” doesn’t apply get the treatment?

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Puppy mills and other disreputable breeders often dock dogs, probably in order to make them look more fancy to the uninformed buyer. Many, many of those dogs end up in rescue.

As far as someone not wanting a puppy because it wasn’t docked, I don’t know enough about that situation to say, but I’d imagine it certainly happens. Although, I’d guess anyone looking at a potential adopter who lost interest for that reason would really feel like they dodged a bullet, since it’s a dumb reason to not want a dog.

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It may be a dumb reason, but I doubt I would have sprung Tulip from the pound if her ears had been cropped.

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W.A.N.T!!!

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Did anyone else read DoberFamily as DoperFamily?

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I have heard of it. Vet & rescue have chosen to go the frequent-meals route, though. Also, fish oil caps, as her skin is dry and “dandruffy”.

Thanks for the link! I like “Mobeetie”, but the rescue group’s director chose plain-vanilla “Molly”.

Thank you! Lilith is gorgeous! When’s her next mani-pedi? :wink:

If the breeder chooses to dock their Dobe pups’ tails and have the dewclaws removed, it’s usually done when the pups are between three and five days old. It can be done later (I had a 13-week-old pup’s tails and dewclaws done when I had his ears cropped), but then you have to use anesthesia, which not only adds to the expense, but also increases the risk of complications/adverse reactions.

The pups discussed here had their tails docked and dewclaws removed on Monday (by a licensed and experienced vet). Ear crops will be at the discretion of the adopter. The rescue group can recommend a vet who is very experienced in cropping Dobes.

Sadly, this happens a lot. Generally speaking and IME, cropped Dobes whose ears stand (correctly or askew) are adopted very quickly. Next to be adopted are Dobes who are cropped, but one or both ears don’t stand (“cropped and flopped”). Next are those with natural ears and docked tails. “All-natural” Dobes, that is, uncropped and not docked, are frequently overlooked by adopters. But then there are people who love the look of the all-naturals and wouldn’t dream of having a cropped and/or docked dog. All that said, Dobes whose ears have been butchered (completely cut off using scissors or utility knives) are also deemed not desirable.

Personally, I prefer the cropped and docked look in Dobes, but I absolutely respect other people’s preference for all-naturals, as I am a big fan of the all-natural look for Boxers.

I’ve seen docked mixes as well. In fact, with the last litter I fostered (mom was a Boxer-American Pit Bull Terrier cross, dad[s] were mysteries), the vet asked if I wanted them docked. I told him, nope, they don’t resemble remotely any breed that is traditionally docked, so what would be the point? He agreed it wasn’t necessary.

Breeders will evaluate and “grade” a litter when it’s eight weeks old to determine which pups are show prospects and which will be placed in pet homes. But sometimes, the dogs grow up differently than the breeder expected–a pup that was considered a show prospect develops a wonky jawline and a pup that was placed in a pet home blossoms into a stunner. An ethical Dobe breeder whose chooses to crop and dock usually has the entire litter done, because one can never be 100% certain how the dogs will develop, and not having them docked/cropped will keep them from having a successful career.

I think that’s a shame, but it is changing and more uncropped Dobes are being entered in conformation events and winning.

On a slightly different subject…I also have seen many Australian Cattle Dogs (aka “Blue Heeler” and “Red Heeler”) that were docked, even though the AKC standard calls for a full tail. I really don’t get why people are docking their ACDs.:confused:

LOL!!! I wonder what a DoperFamily would need to be rescued from?
To everyone whom I did not quote directly, thanks for your comments!

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You are welcome to name her after Bonham, Texas (named after some ancestors). Then call her Bonnie for short.

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I loves me some dobies! My rescue Jake sends his regards. As well as non-dobies Maggie, Andy, Wylie, Pat and Sophie.

StG

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She is beautiful and so are her puppies. Good work, you’re awesome!!

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You’re gonna get a free pass at the Pearly Gates.

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Just curious, any updates on how things went for these guys?
If I’m correct in thinking it’s the same dog on the rescue website, it looks like the puppies all found homes but Mama is still waiting? :frowning:
I find it sad when the mom of a litter doesn’t get adopted. Adult animals make great pets. All of my current pets were adopted as adult.