I think that we may have found mum's new SAR dog

[k9sarneko]

Well I don't know if any of you have heard the story so I am going to tell it one more time but with a little different ending. My mum has moved here from South Carolina and had been working with a SAR unit up there. She has 2 male gsd that were rescued from a puppy mill but the one she was working with didn't work out because he couldn't take the stress. She has been looking for a puppy to start with and I have been trying to help her (with much help from the forum people, thank you) but nothing sounded just right to her. Anyway, many people suggested a one year or older but mum was totally against that.....untill now. Tomorrow I am taking her to look at a one year old rescue. I went to look at her tonight and she seems like the whole package. She is underweight and was rescued, due to be pts last tuesday. She has already learned her new name "Heidi", she has no issues that I can see. She passed all the evaluations I gave her, loves people, has great ball drive, is very willing to learn and be loved. She is a little alpha and it would take some time to get her and mum's boys settled but she has no real agressive behavior that I can find. No food agression, ect. Its early days but watching her I really think she has something special. I am taking mum over in the morning with Neko to see how Heidi reacts to a bitch. Neko is a really good dog with agressive dogs and I have used her in temp tests before because she is nonreactionary no matter what they do. We will also try some fun run away's to see how she likes the game. I will let you all know how it goes, wish us luck!

[Amaruq]

Good luck! Did you have Heidi xrayed yet? And where are the pics????

[k9sarneko]

No xrays yet, will get those done when she is spayed. Will post some pics if things go well today. I think she will do fine on xray she has a distinct lack of muscle tone right now but still moves very well. I cant wait to see what she looks like when really healthy, she really is quite lovely even with the signs of neglect she has now.

[Amaruq]

Ummmm and might I ask.... where are the pics???

[k9sarneko]

Ok here she is, today went really well, both mum's dogs did very well and she just loves being inside a house. The dogs are sharing space very well and we discovered that someone has done some basic obedience with her. She sits and does really quite well on leash. Mum's boys have not been free with her yet we thought that their meeting and sharing space while in crates next to eachother was enough for one day. They have met free through a fence and on leash. We also did some more puppy run aways with her and she LOVED it!!! yeah! She needs lots of weight and has little muscle tone right now but if I was looking for a dog to start SAR with she has everything I look for and amazingly no issues so far. All around it was a great day.

[k9sarneko]

O.K. update time. Heidi has settled in very well, coat is already getting a sheen and happy with her new bro's. Her recall is already well established so tomorrow we are going to really start some run aways, first with a subject in site and then will see if she will use her nose for her first "find". Mum is so excited, she is already working on her bark to get ready for her alert.....and she is doing it! She really is a great little girl, I can't wait to see how she does tomorrow, will let you all know.

[k9sarneko]

Well I have an update on Heidi, and unfortunately it is not good news. She developed a limp a few days ago and so we had Xrays done. Not good, severe hip dysplasia. I mean really pretty bad. The good news is that the vet said that she has hope at a fairly normal life and we have adjusted her diet ect to give her more calcium ect to help her any way we can. Maybe she won't be a SAR dog but she can live and love and maybe there is something else out there she is intended for. The best part is she is the best home she could have. She loves her brothers and everything that can be done for her quality of life will be done. She has a beautiful soul and her eyes are lite again with a great love of life. She has a very special place in my heart already and mum and dad have fallen totally in love so she is in a very good place.

[Amaruq]

I am sorry to hear that! At least she is in a great home. Would tracking (for titles) or herding be something that she could do? I am sure you know that regular exercise is great for dogs with HD.

[Catu]

I'm really sorry to hear that. We put so much expectatives in the poor critters... Maybe she was destined to be spoiled while you look the perfect guy for the job.

[jocoyn]

Having one dog (Cyra) with severe dysplasia I am sorry to hear that. We have had great success with acti-flex 4000 available at horse stores. I give her 3mL 2xdaily - may want to look at it. Glycoflex III is also good. She can still have a great life.

Cyra is still working though restricted to boatwork and the only time we notice anything about the hips is if she gets cold AND wet.

So is your mom going to try for another dog to work? When I got Grim he was OFA Good before I got him and then I invested about $400 in back x-rays and bloodwork + physical exam to be sure there were no latent problems.