Monday, October 24, 2016

Kathy wrote my breeder

Hi James, 

Sure thing. We spent his first 18 months trying to find food he could tolerate and have firm “output”. We went through a bunch of highly recommended food, including a visit to one vet who insisted we make all his food from scratch.  In the end, it turns out he handles Costco’s Nature’s Choice (Blue bag) Salmon and Sweet Potato the best, with supplements of high quality home cooked meat. Everything else resulted in pudding poop. He eats two cups of kibbles twice a day with meat supplements and treats at bedtime, (tooth cleaning types).  He’s still on his Nu-Vet supplement.  We now have a lovely fenced in backyard romping area, where he galumphs through the ivy with joy, and we are blessed with a private dog park nearby. 

Yogi loves to run hard, loves chasing balls almost every single day of his life. We’ll find out Tuesday how much he now weighs.  Yogi is an incredible athlete. I’ve never seen anything like what he can do in that his reflexes are lightning fast, he leaps through the air, and his agility, oh wow. I’m looking at this rendering of his photo from one of our trainers, and it looks too tall and skinny.  I’ll have more data after he goes for his health certificate to fly on Tuesday.  

Yogi is the same height of the other Rottweilers in his training classes, but his musculature is more defined, (the dude is cut), and he is fast. He’s got a bit of that adolescent Rottweiler bravado going on, and is more than happy to challenge dominance plays.  He doesn’t start it, but makes it clear he could finish it, and we don’t want him going down that path, so when big boys pass by in the dog park,  he has to hold a sit stay, on lead. We are ambassadors of the breed, and we’re not raising him to be a protection dog.  That’s already built into his DNA.  If we need it,  we’ve no doubt he will be equal to the task.  

One of his best friends is a rather enormous English Mastiff, Stella, and he’s utterly smitten with her. They just groove together in class. 

Yogi has a regal demeanor and elegance about him, and people notice that.  Thank-you for pairing us with him. 


Now that I think of it, I have a photo of Yogi’s last canoe training exercise. Perhaps this one will give you a better perspective.  He’s not going to be a gladiator sized Rottweiler.  And that’s ok. 


Service Dog for small group

Steve and Karen agreed to let me come to the Lake Tapps Community Church small group last night wearing my jacket. I feel so needed. Now, I just want to play with my ball.