It’s a shame it takes this time of year to get folks to focus a little on gratitude and get a little Sappy, but I certainly want to take my turn. Many of you know it has been a very hard year for us here at Family Dobes, with some major life setbacks and loss of loved ones both two and four legged. It was also a very hard year for many of you that we have come to appreciate as close friends. The year is closing with wonderful news for Bill and Pam in CO but for our Friend Fred in FL the year brought tragic news. Isn’t it amazing how you can meet certain people in your life that are more than awesome literally. Who remain stoic in the face of adversity, and look back at all their perils as blessings? I confess those people are on a far greater plane than I, yet in spite of the difficulties we have experienced this year, I have much to be grateful for. Despite the loss of some wonderful dogs this year, we did get to spend the year with the world’s best Dobermans, and raised some of the finest pups worldwide, we were able to share a period of their lives and prepare them for many of you. We re-entered the competition world this year (after being anti-dogshows for so many years) and turned up quite successful in the face of much opposition. We had very few cheerleaders and support, but learned a great deal, and held our heads proud knowing we had dogs giving us all they had, any shortcomings were purely on my part. We are continuing that success again this month in Phoenix. We met many of you face to face this year, and count you as friends that we are very grateful for. Many of you found us this year because of great losses in your own lives, and our hearts remain filled with compassion, and we hope you are finding solace and healing. Despite the hardship we were able to add some more wonderful dogs to the program, and we placed many dogs with victims this year in our effort to give them new life. When we put everything on the balance, though the hard times have been many, we still have much more to be grateful for. I suspect it is the same for all of you, that even though there has been suffering, there is still reason to rejoice at this season of Gratitude. Though I am not strong enough to say I am grateful for my trials, or that they made me stronger or anything else, I can remain thankful for all of you, thankful for the wonderful dogs we share our lives with, and thankful that our efforts helped others this year. So from Family Dobes to all of you, we wish you a sincere Happy Thanksgiving, not just one of those greeting card types, and not empty words, but we mean it with sincerity, and hope this season finds all of you with much to be grateful for. Several of you are currently grieving the loss of loved ones, and even in these hard times for you, our hearts and prayers remain with you and your families hoping for and looking forward to happier times to come. We are very excited about three upcoming litters that were made possible by our friends in AZ the Piccolo family, watch for some pups that will be among the best ever produced anywhere. We remain very grateful to the Piccolo family.

Now some Holiday warnings that seem so simple, but can easily be overlooked… Remember poultry bones are detrimental to dogs. In the wild they can eat them fine, because they have not been cooked, but in our kitchens, the cooking process makes them brittle and they shatter into sharp pieces that really cause a lot of damage, even in large breed dogs. Chocolate carried over from Halloween or beginning with Christmas chocolates also needs to be kept away from our curious dogs. As you begin to decorate remember puppies love to chew everything and that includes cords that are within their reach, icicles hung on Christmas trees, poinsettias and many other Holiday hazards exist, we sent a reminder out a few weeks ago on all of that. Even though we have had an unheard of warm November here in Utah, nights still are getting into the 20’s and in many other parts of the country it is too cold for dobes to be out for long. Sweaters and coats help, but for dobes with cropped ears the tips often frostbite because of low circulation and high exposure to surface area ratios. Pictures of both Zenny and echo show you, even when we are very careful, frostbite can happen. There are some great new Ear muffs out for dogs with cropped ears, give them a try! Boot also can help if you can get your dog to wear them, feet usually have pretty good circulation though and the concern is with snow impaction. I like to put a little Vaseline on the bottoms of their feet and between toes if we will be out in the snow, then remember to wipe it all off before coming back in the house so your spouses don’t kill you like mine! Outside baths may also be too cold, do what we do and just wipe them down with a damp towel everyday and that does wonders. J Keep them warm, keep them close, and shower them with love!

http://www.familydobes.com