Highview Spanish Water Dogs, LLC

01/31/2025

01/31/2025

One week old today! Very plump and content puppies 🥰

01/25/2025

Welcome to the world! Whelped on January 24 - 8 healthy and vigorous puppies out of Highview's Dulce Caridad (Gracie) and Zorrazo's Gone Wild at Valentisimo (W***y)

This is a repeat breeding... both parents are fully health tested and clear on all genetic carrier test (PRA, EO-PRA, CHG and NAD) Hips are scored W***y - BVA 3/3 and Gracie OFA Good.

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01/22/2025

"I think I'll just take a nap...."

01/18/2025

The countdown to the big day starts tomorrow....

01/17/2025

Dutch - LIJA's Dorado de Rey
July 23, 2009 to January 16, 2025
We had a good run my boy. You gave us so much! Tessa and Ranger are waiting for you - go chase that ball and have a tug of war with Tessa over a stick, I am sure she misses you. I knew the day would have to come but I didn't think it would happen so fast. Rest easy, the house will not be the same without you.

He was the foundation of our program and behind the pedigree of most of our dogs. He will be missed.

12/31/2024

The information on this post holds true for any dog newly introduced into your household. Be they a rescue or an older dog that has been retired from breeding. They need time to build a bond of trust and to feel their new home and people are where they belong. So many incidents of dogs escaping/bolting from the pet sitter can be prevented if these recommendations are followed.

On Christmas Day, we responded to a call by a pet sitter, reporting that one of the dogs for which she was caring, had gotten off its leash and was hiding deep within the latticed outdoor space underneath the rear porch of its home. She stated that it had been over an hour and that the dog would not respond to her.

The dog, according to the owner (with whom we spoke over the phone, as she was out of town), is a very timid, recently rescued dog (from Korea) that is unfamiliar, not only with the pet sitter, but also with the home/town (and country) within which it resides.

Prior to our arrival, the police officer on scene (with whom we know to be well-versed in her knowledge of rescue dog behavior), had already attempted to coax the dog out from underneath the porch space by way of the other dog from the home. Unfortunately, fear upstaged the semi-forged canine pair’s companionship, and the effort ceased to prevail.

Our calm, gentle, persuasively-efforted and patient communication strategy, also grew dim in generating our desired response from the dog.

So, we set a humane trap, with the presumption that after two recent meals, it was unlikely the dog would motivate out to eat with any sense of promptness, and that we would likely need to rely on the dog’s urge to escape the elements, or a little garnered trust and brevity, or a combination of both. At least for the time being.

Reaching for the dog with any equipment would only push the dog further under the structure; the space around it, despite the lattice, was far too narrow for a person to crawl underneath.

We backed off, with the trap in place, to give the dog some time to ease its anxieties and ponder its choices.

As the sun began its decent and the temperature began to drop, brevity prevailed…and the three-hour standoff gave way to the dog’s appearance at the back door. All, as expected, on the dog’s terms.

Rescued dogs, especially those previously homeless, require a great deal of patience, understanding and the building of mutual trust in a new home. These dogs are instinctively self protectors and self preservationists. Many of them have deep-seated reasons to fear or distrust humans, and these fears can take a long time to develop into acceptance of new environments, new people, and a general new life after trauma. Running and hiding is how these dogs often respond to overwhelmth and uncertainty. It is also a common response when a stranger suddenly interrupts their adjustment progress.

Dog owners- please….especially with rescued dogs - but even as a general rule of thumb- take the time to introduce a pet sitter to your dog. Don’t just visit a pet sitter app or respond to a social media ad and hire a pet sitter-without investing the time to introduce, witness and build a comfortable familiarity between that person and your dog.

Arrange visits, between you, the dog sitter and your dog-and hold several of them before relinquishing keepership custody. Ask the pet sitter if they plan to bring a spouse, friend or children into your home, and if so, make those introductions in advance as well, and set visitor boundaries, if necessary.

A dog who is already fearful of people, by nature, is unlikely to entrust a person with whom it has just met. The dog is unfamiliar with the persons scent, voice, physical appearance, body language and mere presence inside ‘its’ home. This, coupled with its owner(s) being absent and a change in consistency and routine, in what has become ‘the new norm’, can easily become a recipe for incident.

Dog sitters- understanding dog behavior, reading dog body language, asking questions about quirks and histories - should be a prerequisite in becoming a pet sitter. Loving dogs, having grown up with a dog, nor the monetary motivation of pet sitting, should not ever replace being educated in ‘dog’ and the understanding of the responsibility and liability that goes along with it.

Thankfully, this incident resolved as it did yesterday.

We are sharing this to guide dog owners -and pet service providers. And yes, we do this a lot and we will keep on doing it, as long as we respond to these incidents, and as long as we feel there is a need to do so.

A huge shout out to Westwood Police Officer Kathryn McCarron, who’s ceaseless compassion for animals, commitment to the community she serves, and unequivocal partnership to us-is greatly valued!

[Photo: Dog in need of our rescue, hiding under porch]

10/23/2024

Penny

10/23/2024

Pippa

10/23/2024

Bree

10/23/2024

Three generations enjoying a beautiful fall day

10/02/2024

and this is why I emphasize crate training your puppy - you are not doing them any harm and you could be saving their lives - and though not part of the original post - Microchip and REGISTER the chip, so your dog can be identified and the evacuation center can reunite the dog with its owner!

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09/22/2024

With fall upon us and a bumper crop of acorns on the ground - please be aware that acorns are poisonous to dogs. My bozo decided he was going to chew it because I didn't want him to have it....the power of the cookie won the day!

Symptoms of acorn poisoning (which can be lethal):
* Loss of appetite
* Vomiting
* Diarrhea
* Abdominal pain
* Shock
* Bloat
* Dehydration

It can cause damage to the liver and the kidneys and can take the dog months to recuperate.

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09/03/2024

Livestock Guardian breeds - will be aloof, not overly people friendly, and yes will bark all night because it’s their GENETICS JOB to defend their property and wander their perimeter (which is why they NEED perimeters). It’s literally hardwired into them. They do not have great listening skills because they aren’t bred to serve PEOPLE but to serve their livestock. Now cross those on a breed that’s bred to do the opposite? Like a GSD? Or a Border Collie? What a genetic disaster. And a very common cross I see in client dogs desperate for help.

Border Collies / Australian Shepherds / Herding breeds - yes they will chase your kids. Yes they will chase anything that moves, fast. They also move, fast, and will use their teeth to encourage whatever it is they are chasing to move the direction they want it to. They feed off energy and will amplify the environment they are given. They will also amplify themselves uncontrollably if not given the mental stimulation they need. I didn’t say physical, I said MENTAL. These dogs need mental stimulation more then they need physical stimulation. You can have an extremely fit BC that will still chase your kids or destroy your house if it’s not mentally stimulated. Certain genetics can be nervy, a little wiggy, which can leave you with a nervous or timid dog if you don’t raise it properly or pay attention to its lineage. Cross these breeds on each other and you can often get a complete genetic malfunction leaving you with a dog that needs to be drugged to simply exist in the world.

German Shepherds / Belgian Malinois / Bear Dogs etc - these dogs are also herding breeds but with a hefty dose of natural protection instinct which usually bares its ugly teeth in the form of reactivity. They also like to chase and eliminate anything that moves, fast, but with even more teeth and twice the size behind them. These dogs are one person dogs, exist to please their handlers and generally have a natural stranger danger type personality. These dog’s WILL bite, attack, lunge etc out fear, frustration, or flat out “I will F you up“ confidence (but it’s usually one of the first two). They also feed off energy and will amplify the environment they are given. They will also amplify themselves uncontrollably if not given the mental stimulation they need.

Huskies / Malamutes - friendly but lack any real desire to cooperate, generally. They are in it for themselves and will decide when and where they want to listen and for how long. While they are pretty to look at their buttholes aren’t all that pretty when all they are doing is running away from you because they hold more value in their environment compared to you. Yes they are vocal, especially when happy, sad, mad, frustrated, scared…. Now cross them with any of the above breeds and don’t complain when you get a dog that’s genetically confused on how it wants to coexist with you and just yells in the process.

Labs / Retrievers -bred to go alllll damn day in the field, but are most commonly asked to be a suburban house pet. They will bounce off the end of their leash anytime they see something that makes them happy because EVERYTHING makes them happy but they don’t know impulse control so they bulldoze your guests, rip the leash out of your hands, jump up and lick.lab crosses are seen as the “safe choice” because they are generally a friendly, happy go lucky breed but they need just as much structure and training as any of the other working dogs.

The list goes on, and on, and on, and on. A cross doesn’t mean you get the best of both worlds. If I’m honest, you often get the worst. Clients come to me with dogs that are riding the struggle bus because they are a genetic disaster and are at war with themselves because they are crosses of breeds that are so opposite of one another it doesn’t even know it’s a dog. Sometimes you can’t out train genetics. And that’s what so many people want me to do. A purebred can be just as difficult if it’s been selectively bred for high drive precise work (working line German Shepherd vs Show Line for example) and you’re not fulfilling it’s needs and it’s stuck finding its own outlets.

If you want a cross, google BOTH/ALL the evident breeds it consists of and decide if you want to train through any possible discrepancies in those.

If you want a purebred, research the Breeders and figure out what BOTH parents are like. Just because it’s purebred doesn’t mean it’s WELL BRED.

08/29/2024

For all those who think a poodle cross breed is healthier than a purebred - this article is worth reading

https://www.rvc.ac.uk/vetcompass/news/new-rvc-research-debunks-belief-that-designer-crossbreed-dogs-are-healthier-than-purebreds?fbclid=IwY2xjawE9SZ9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHfAXqnGw1lETOWQ6Pl15W8UDYybQiehNqP1nEcxLz3SVuo2KZ5WZxGDL0Q_aem_IMsr-OwmTXurMMb73nP0jQ

New RVC research debunks belief that designer crossbreed dogs are healthier than purebreds  Published: 28 Aug 2024 | Last Updated: 28 Aug 2024 19:00:24 The RVC has undertaken the world’s largest study into the health of designer crossbreed dogs and revealed that the overall health of three common...

06/20/2024

another example of how to work with your pup - I highly recommend this trainer's online courses