Devanley Labradors & Goldens

11/04/2024

After another Sunday Browns loss, the Dawg Pound here at Devanley says “Speak to the paw 🐾!”

10/31/2024

Maddy is a SDit with Wagmor Service Dogs and is from my Granite x Mea litter. Happy Halloween everyone!

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween from
Phoebe. Phoebe is from the Moonshine x Tease litter and is a service-dog-in-training (SDit) with Wagmor Service Dogs. More than half of Tease’s pups are in training.

10/31/2024

Not to leave Keta out, she wishes everyone a Happy Halloween just like her siblings Belle & Johnny!

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween from Belle. She is from our Bourbon x Tease litter - littermate to Johnny & Keta. All 3 are service dogs in training at Custom Canines. ❤️

Max, aka "Belle"

10/29/2024

Love this boy! He is from my Bourbon x Tease litter May 2023. Btw - I currently have a yellow male from the Moonshine (Bourbon’s nephew) x Tease litter (age 3 weeks) that I am taking applications for. Please see Devanley.com for details.

"Trick or treat! Smell my feet—I mean paws!" -Johnny, Service Puppy

10/18/2024

Love this boy and how much he is “Making A Difference” in so many lives.

According to the organization that trained Crumble, he is a facility service dog. He has been specifically task trained to mitigate symptoms of post traumatic stress, hyper vigilance, anxiety, de-escalating panic attacks, etc. That school district went through a horrible tragedy last May and he has proven himself to be an invaluable part of the school district so far.

10/13/2024

Just love this boy and how he is improving the lives of others. Crumble is from the Cookie x Baxter litter that just turned 2 years old on 10/12.

This interview pulled on our heartstrings. 🥰

Check out Wisco Radio's video with Crumble, our service dog, and Principal Lundquist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfWDG_2bIoI&ab_channel=WiscoRadio.

Want to help us support Custom Canines Service Dog Academy, the organization that generously trained and donated Crumble, our service dog? Donate via:
🐾 Venmo -canines
🐾 This link: https://givebutter.com/Crumble.

09/27/2024

So very proud of Crumble (Cookie x Baxter).

09/06/2024

Dunkel is so excited that it is finally Friday!!! (Currently only 1 of the 2 chocolate males is spoken for.)

09/03/2024

Another Devanley pup making a difference in the lives of others.

As students and staff in the Mount Horeb Area School District return to the classroom on Tuesday, many of them will be reminded of the tragedy that struck the community on May 1.

09/02/2024

Best way to spend “Labra” Day - relaxing with man’s best friend!

08/28/2024

Introducing Stout (Blue), Porter (Green), & Dunkel (Yellow) from our BISS GCH Hyspire Fade To Black x Devanley’s Stella Artois litter. They turned 4 weeks yesterday and all 3 are 6 lbs. All but 1 are spoken for. See Devanley.com for litter details.

08/25/2024

The 4 corners of my world! ❤️🐾

08/24/2024

This is your regular reminder that by-products are not bad!

‘By-products’ or ‘Meat and Animal Derivatives’’ are often listed on the ingredients panel of pet food and you might hear they are something to avoid, but they are not!

By-products are simply the parts of the animal that, although passed fit for human consumption, we don’t like to eat. So rather than them going to waste, they are given to pets instead.

They include organs like livers and kidneys, intestines, (cleaned of all food), lungs, bones and blood. All of which are extremely nutrient dense and packed with protein.

It is also important to realise that they do not include things like horns, hoofs, teeth or feathers*. There are no ‘toe nails’ in your dog’s dinner! Nor are they ‘4D meat’ (dead, dying. diseased or disabled) or roadkill. None of these things would be fit for humans to eat and therefore they are not for our pets either.

By-products are also economical and sustainable. They have a lower price tag than premium muscle meat, which means pet food companies are able to create nutritious diets for our animals within a sensible budget, and it means all of the animal is being put to good use, rather than being wasted. They are good for the environment and our wallets!

Sometimes people are concerned by how vague the terms can seem and prefer named meat sources for their pets. This is absolutely fine and lots of diets cater for that but unless your pet has a diagnosed protein source intolerance, you don’t need to be overly worried. And remember, although it is possible for the base ingredients to change if they are not specifically listed, the nutrition in the food will not.

For more information about by-products and what they are, I can recommend reading;

https://nutritionrvn.com/2021/07/23/by-products-in-pet-food/

https://europeanpetfood.org/pet-food-facts/fact-sheets/nutrition/animal-proteins/

https://www.ukpetfood.org/resource/animal-proteins-in-pet-food.html

* Feathers are included in one therapeutic allergy diet and work very well for sensitive pets. The company had to go through significant regulatory hoops to add it in, because of these rules.

08/23/2024

These pups are growing more each day! Love these Fade x Stella pups!!❤️

08/21/2024

Aren’t Labradors the best dogs ever? One of the grands with her favorite Labrador Heather!

08/18/2024

Maddie is from our Granite (MBISS GCH Glacieridge Tabatha’s Granite) x Mea (Devanley’s Waimea Canyon) litter. We are so proud of her and wish Danny the very best with Maddie! Zack was the first ever service dog I placed and what a team Zack & Danny have been!

08/18/2024

Devanley puppies do not have their dewclaws removed due to these reasons.

Dewclaws! They are IMPORTANT! Many dog breeders routinely, and without much thought, amputate puppies' front dewclaws when the pups are 3-5 days of age. Why? The thought is to prevent potential injuries, such as tears of the digit, later in life. BUT do you realize that the dewclaw is a FUNCTIONAL, IMPORTANT digit? I am thankful that my own dog's breeder did not amputate Dunkin's front dewclaws. Do you also know that with appropriate exercises, the muscles of the dewclaw can be strengthened to help promote and maintain appropriate function and close apposition of the dewclaw to the side of the paw? Below is an article by a friend and colleague, Dr. Chris Zink, that explains the importance, anatomy, and function of the front dewclaw.

"Do the Dew(claws)?
by Chris Zink, DVM PhD DACVSMR

As a veterinary sports medicine specialist, I work extensively with canine athletes, developing rehabilitation programs for injured dogs or dogs that required surgery due to performance-related injuries. I have seen many dogs, especially field trial/hunt test and agility dogs, that have chronic carpal arthritis, frequently so severe that they must be retired or at least carefully managed for the rest of their careers. I noticed that very few of those dogs had dewclaws and began to wonder whether these appendages might, in fact, protect a dog from injuries. What I learned might surprise you.

The Anatomy of Dewclaws
Miller's Guide to the Anatomy of the Dog, a veterinary anatomy text, has an excellent figure depicting the muscular anatomy of the distal forelimb. There are 2 functional muscles, the extensor pollicis longus et indicis proprius and flexor digitorum profundus, which are attached to the front dewclaw by 4 tendons (references in blog). Each of those muscle/tendon units has a different function in movement. That means that if you cut off the dew claws, you are preventing the muscles that were attached to the dewclaws from functioning.

In contrast, rear limb dewclaws do not have muscle/tendon attachments, so their removal might be appropriate, except in the breeds such as Briards and Beauceron in which they should be retained.

Dewclaws Do Have Functions
If there are muscles and tendons attached to the dewclaws, then they most likely have a function. Broadly speaking, dewclaws have at least two different functions:
1. Grasp the ground when the dog is turning to prevent torque on the forelimb. Each time the front foot lands on the ground, particularly when the dog is cantering or galloping (see Figure 2), the dewclaw is in touch with the ground. If the dog then needs to turn, the dewclaw actively digs into the ground to stabilize the lower leg and prevent torque. In Figure 3 you can clearly see the dewclaw of a Corgi herding a sheep extended, ready to grip the ground. And in the image at the top of this article, you can see the dewclaws of a dog extended, ready to grip the water!

Do the Dew(claws)?

If a dog doesn't have dewclaws, the leg will twist on its axis, creating increased pressure on the carpal bones, as well as the elbow, shoulder and toes. A lifetime of this kind of torque and the result can be carpal arthritis or injuries to and subsequent arthritis in other joints of the forelimb, such as the elbow, shoulder, and toes. Remember, the dog is participating in the activity regardless, so there will be concussive pressures on the leg, and if the dewclaw does not help to stabilize the leg, those pressures will be transmitted to other areas of the leg, especially the joints.

2. Grip objects. We have all seen dogs using their dewclaws to grip an object such as a ball or bone (Figure 4). I've even seen many photos of agility dogs gripping the teeter for stability (Figure 5). But did you know that the dewclaws' gripping ability can, in fact, save your dog's life? Check out the video "Dewclaws Do Have a Purpose" for "gripping" views of dogs attempting to get out of water onto ice without the help of those ice picks on the inside of their legs. The video also shows dogs using their dewclaws to grip the ice and escape from a potentially fatal situation. I have known several dogs that drowned after falling through ice in the winter. None of them had dewclaws. If they had, perhaps they would have survived and spared their owners the incredible heartache of watching their dogs die unnecessarily.

Arguments for Removing Dewclaws
1. The dewclaws will get injured. This is the most common reason I hear for removing dewclaws. A friend of mine had such a severe dewclaw injury in one of her dogs that she swore she would remove them on all the dogs she bred subsequently.

But the data indicate that dewclaws are not injured very often. A study published in 2018 showed that the dewclaw was the LEAST likely toe to be injured in agility dogs, in which landing and turning from jumps and other obstacles put the toes at risk for injuries. Thus, it makes no sense to remove the dewclaws because of risk of injury. And, of course, no one would consider removing the 5th digits in the front feet, which are by far the most commonly injured toe.

2. Owners forget to trim the dewclaws. Surely this is a matter of education. Do we really want to remove a functioning digit in all dogs, just because some owners need to be reminded that they must remember to trim the dewclaws?

3. Dewclaws make the forelimb look less straight when viewed from the front in conformation. The AKC states: "The breed standard describes the characteristics of the ideal
dog to perform the function for which it was bred." While we could have long discussions about the veracity of this statement, it is interesting to note that there are VERY few breed standards that require dewclaw removal. I know of only one - the Vizsla breed standard.

A Plea
So, here's a plea to retain dogs' dewclaws. They are a functioning digit. They are the toe least likely to be injured. Isn't this enough to convince us not to do the dewclaws?"

08/06/2024

Introducing the 3 new Devanley boys along side their pseudo littermate GSD sister owned by a dear friend. All 4 were born via C-sections on 7/29. Please see Devanley.com for more information on the Labs - limited availablity.