Usually I don't start Lent until I've gone to the Lenten Service in my town every year, and that's at 7pm on Ash Wednesday. I think it's a good way to kind of open up your mind and let some guidance in, and I usually get some inspiration on what to do for lent while i'm there. This year, as mentioned in my previous post, I'm expecting to struggle until the last minute.
This year I have to go alone, which is especially difficult for me, as I am NOT a "show up by myself" kind of girl.
Especially because I *KINDOF* know these people, which is worse than not knowing them. If they were strangers then I could ignore them and they could ignore me, and I could be there and then leave and there would be no follow up. In, Out, Done. left with my own thoughts, just like I like it.
Also - this service is not at "our" church. it's a town-wide service usually held at a different church with different ways of doing things that i'm just not as familiar with. It's a step out of the box for me, and I find myself struggling to keep up with what's happening sometimes. I don't dislike it, I'm just not used to it and have to pay extra attention.
Anyway - Hubby gets home from work a little after midnight, and i'm supposed to report back to him, and i'm a little overwhelmed by my assignment. Maybe I can find some way of videotaping the whole thing..
Also, Valentine's day is tomorrow. It's Hubby's turn to plan our night, and the only clue I've gotten is that I don't need to dress up. Very mysterious. I can't wait :)
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Charleston Anniversary re-hash and Christmas Dinner
**NOTE: My phone turned to crap right before I posted this entry. ALL of my beautiful photos of ALL of the many things i discuss in this entry are GONE with my phone. I'm furious, but please don't let that keep you from reading, hopefully you can just use your imagination, or just cook the food, and you'll know how good it is!**
My dear sweet hubby took me on a weekend trip to the beautiful Charleston SC for our anniversary this year. If you've never been to Charleston, you should go now, because it's one of the most perfect places in the south.
The weather was beautiful and perfect for ruffly sun dresses, which I participated in wholeheartedly.
Charleston is famous for an abundance of ghost stories, including, but not limited to, the saluting ghost of Fort Sumpter, and the Whistling Ghost of Church Street.
We did take a day to go visit Fort Sumpter - which, btw, was not the most exciting thing in the world, but would be good to do if you were in Charleston for an extended period of time and needed a good way to waste an afternoon. - but we did not witness any saluting ghosts.
Afterwards, we meandered the streets of Charleston, which is really the best thing to do in Charleston. We happened across multiple shop varieties, french bakeries, girly boutiques, and most importantly, ghost shops! One in particular had everything ghastly you could imagine, and as many of you know, I'm usually already planning for halloween well before our September anniversary, so we had to stop in. We found lots of great things to look at, but our greatest find was this doormat, which I'm pretty sure was made specifically for my psychologist hubby. Unfortunately, they were sold out except for the display model. So we bought it.
In addition to the ghosts and the shoppes, Charleston also has an open market on Market Street (so cleverly named, don't you think?) So we did quite a bit of meandering there, as well.
But the most important thing we discovered in Charleston, was shrimp and grits.
I was skeptical, but i'd heard rave reviews. I had had some versions of "shrimp and grits" in other places that i was not impressed by, and I had seen some tv personalities put "their own spin on the classic" but I wanted to start with the classic.
So the first night we were there, we found a place and I explained my uncertainties to our server, who assured me that if you're going to try shrimp and grits, you came to the right place.
WOW was she right. You know that first time you ever had a taste of creme brulee? How it just punched you in the face with it's magical flavors? it was THAT good.
This was quite possibly the best thing I'd ever put in my mouth, and I've tasted some delicious things.
First, if you don't like grits, you're wrong. You don't like grits for the following reasons 1) you ate them as a main dish, and they are not. 2) you ate instant grits, which are a lot like eating buckshot.. only with less flavor. 3) your "chef" prepared them with water. so you take a flavorless pile of sand and add even less flavor to it and you get a perfectly unappetizing pile of gelatinous bleh.
Stop that.
Second, if you don't like shrimp, then I can't help you, you're clearly a crazy person, and my expertise can only go so far.
Third, if you're skeptical of this recipe i'm about to give you, well join the club, and try it anyway.
Here's the deal: That dish was absolutely PERFECT. Start with HUGE perfectly cooked shrimp, add sliced andouille and fresh portabella sauteed and then dredge it all in a made-from-scratch brown gravy. Then pour that over a pillow of creamy and decadent grits. Then die because you have reached enlightenment.
It's that good.
But it's also insanely simple! So I came home and started trying out the recipe. Thanks to Harris Teeter's occasional "Buy 2 Get 3 Free" sale on EZ Peel shrimp, I had plenty to test with. But I nailed it right from the start. That's right IIIIIIIIIIIII, of all people, got something basically right on the first try.
Cook the NOT INSTANT grits low and slow, and I recommend using milk instead of water, or at least half milk half water. Also put in lots of REAL butter, salt and pepper. If you use all milk, be sure to stir it fairly often to keep the milk from scalding on the bottom. Also, use a WAY bigger pot than you think you should, this stuff expands and you need stirring room. Some people like to add cheese too, but I don't think it needs it, and the original that I ate didn't have cheese, so I didn't. I bet some parmesan would be good though, if you really want to try.
I broiled the shrimp, because a few months prior I learned to broil shrimp from this pin I found on Pinterest, and decided that there's no reason to cook shrimp any other way. Although that recipe calls for seasoning and broiling in the shell, I shelled them first and broiled them plain. The process otherwise is the same, though. Lay the shrimp out in a pan, broil for 3ish minutes, then stir and spread out again, repeat until the shrimp is pink on all sides. Easy!
Then slice some Andouille sausace into little medallions (I used about 12 ounces, but use more or less depending on how much you like it) and sautee. you might want to add in half a diced onion here, I did and it was tasty.
Once the sausage is heated through, add in the sliced mushrooms. I used button mushrooms because that's what I had on hand.
Last, but certainly not least, add prepared brown gravy to the sausage and mushrooms, then add the shrimp, give it a quick stir, then serve a pile of grits and the shrimpygravy on top! Hubby likes to mix his all up, but I like to keep it layered as served.
We liked this so much, we made another HUGE batch for our family for Christmas. We had over 20 people at our house the day after Christmas, and while normally I would love to make a very intricate menu, I was in the middle of a major proposal at work, and just did not have the brainspace.
So when I started trying to figure out something that I could make with little to no fuss in a few large pots and have everybody serve themselves, and eat off of disposable places so I didn't have to to dishes, this was the perfect option! I had a huge roasting pan filled with 10 lbs of shrimp, which the broil and stir method worked perfectly for, and then a stock pot full of grits and a stockpot for gravy (unfortunately it wasn't big enough for all the shrimp, so we had a 3rd stockpot to keep them in when they were done broiling)
I hightly recommend giving this a try, It is SUPER filling though, so judge your shrimp purchace accordingly. We estimated 1/2lb of shrimp per person and went from there because I was concerned about not having enough for everyone, but it was WAY too much. Aim for more like 1/4lb of shrimp per person, and half the standard "serving size" of grits, and you'll probably be in good shape.
Enjoy!
My dear sweet hubby took me on a weekend trip to the beautiful Charleston SC for our anniversary this year. If you've never been to Charleston, you should go now, because it's one of the most perfect places in the south.
The weather was beautiful and perfect for ruffly sun dresses, which I participated in wholeheartedly.
Charleston is famous for an abundance of ghost stories, including, but not limited to, the saluting ghost of Fort Sumpter, and the Whistling Ghost of Church Street.
We did take a day to go visit Fort Sumpter - which, btw, was not the most exciting thing in the world, but would be good to do if you were in Charleston for an extended period of time and needed a good way to waste an afternoon. - but we did not witness any saluting ghosts.
Afterwards, we meandered the streets of Charleston, which is really the best thing to do in Charleston. We happened across multiple shop varieties, french bakeries, girly boutiques, and most importantly, ghost shops! One in particular had everything ghastly you could imagine, and as many of you know, I'm usually already planning for halloween well before our September anniversary, so we had to stop in. We found lots of great things to look at, but our greatest find was this doormat, which I'm pretty sure was made specifically for my psychologist hubby. Unfortunately, they were sold out except for the display model. So we bought it.
In addition to the ghosts and the shoppes, Charleston also has an open market on Market Street (so cleverly named, don't you think?) So we did quite a bit of meandering there, as well.
But the most important thing we discovered in Charleston, was shrimp and grits.
I was skeptical, but i'd heard rave reviews. I had had some versions of "shrimp and grits" in other places that i was not impressed by, and I had seen some tv personalities put "their own spin on the classic" but I wanted to start with the classic.
So the first night we were there, we found a place and I explained my uncertainties to our server, who assured me that if you're going to try shrimp and grits, you came to the right place.
WOW was she right. You know that first time you ever had a taste of creme brulee? How it just punched you in the face with it's magical flavors? it was THAT good.
This was quite possibly the best thing I'd ever put in my mouth, and I've tasted some delicious things.
First, if you don't like grits, you're wrong. You don't like grits for the following reasons 1) you ate them as a main dish, and they are not. 2) you ate instant grits, which are a lot like eating buckshot.. only with less flavor. 3) your "chef" prepared them with water. so you take a flavorless pile of sand and add even less flavor to it and you get a perfectly unappetizing pile of gelatinous bleh.
Stop that.
Second, if you don't like shrimp, then I can't help you, you're clearly a crazy person, and my expertise can only go so far.
Third, if you're skeptical of this recipe i'm about to give you, well join the club, and try it anyway.
Here's the deal: That dish was absolutely PERFECT. Start with HUGE perfectly cooked shrimp, add sliced andouille and fresh portabella sauteed and then dredge it all in a made-from-scratch brown gravy. Then pour that over a pillow of creamy and decadent grits. Then die because you have reached enlightenment.
It's that good.
But it's also insanely simple! So I came home and started trying out the recipe. Thanks to Harris Teeter's occasional "Buy 2 Get 3 Free" sale on EZ Peel shrimp, I had plenty to test with. But I nailed it right from the start. That's right IIIIIIIIIIIII, of all people, got something basically right on the first try.
Cook the NOT INSTANT grits low and slow, and I recommend using milk instead of water, or at least half milk half water. Also put in lots of REAL butter, salt and pepper. If you use all milk, be sure to stir it fairly often to keep the milk from scalding on the bottom. Also, use a WAY bigger pot than you think you should, this stuff expands and you need stirring room. Some people like to add cheese too, but I don't think it needs it, and the original that I ate didn't have cheese, so I didn't. I bet some parmesan would be good though, if you really want to try.
I broiled the shrimp, because a few months prior I learned to broil shrimp from this pin I found on Pinterest, and decided that there's no reason to cook shrimp any other way. Although that recipe calls for seasoning and broiling in the shell, I shelled them first and broiled them plain. The process otherwise is the same, though. Lay the shrimp out in a pan, broil for 3ish minutes, then stir and spread out again, repeat until the shrimp is pink on all sides. Easy!
Then slice some Andouille sausace into little medallions (I used about 12 ounces, but use more or less depending on how much you like it) and sautee. you might want to add in half a diced onion here, I did and it was tasty.
Once the sausage is heated through, add in the sliced mushrooms. I used button mushrooms because that's what I had on hand.
Last, but certainly not least, add prepared brown gravy to the sausage and mushrooms, then add the shrimp, give it a quick stir, then serve a pile of grits and the shrimpygravy on top! Hubby likes to mix his all up, but I like to keep it layered as served.
We liked this so much, we made another HUGE batch for our family for Christmas. We had over 20 people at our house the day after Christmas, and while normally I would love to make a very intricate menu, I was in the middle of a major proposal at work, and just did not have the brainspace.
So when I started trying to figure out something that I could make with little to no fuss in a few large pots and have everybody serve themselves, and eat off of disposable places so I didn't have to to dishes, this was the perfect option! I had a huge roasting pan filled with 10 lbs of shrimp, which the broil and stir method worked perfectly for, and then a stock pot full of grits and a stockpot for gravy (unfortunately it wasn't big enough for all the shrimp, so we had a 3rd stockpot to keep them in when they were done broiling)
I hightly recommend giving this a try, It is SUPER filling though, so judge your shrimp purchace accordingly. We estimated 1/2lb of shrimp per person and went from there because I was concerned about not having enough for everyone, but it was WAY too much. Aim for more like 1/4lb of shrimp per person, and half the standard "serving size" of grits, and you'll probably be in good shape.
Enjoy!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Nailed it Pecans.
I wholeheartedly and fundamentally support pecan trees.
1) they're pretty
2) they give me delicious things to eat.
I do not own a pecan tree, and I have never owned a pecan tree, but I like to do my part to encourage the proliferation of pecan trees, and therefore, i choose to fund the pecan industry heavily.. so that they will expand their pecany horizons. and bring me more snacks.
Just kidding, I only care about the snacks. I'm not opposed to trees or anything, I just don't think about them when I've got a serious case of the noms.
Monday, December 10, 2012
As good as cookies get without chocolate.
So I mentioned back in a previous post that I had a whole bunch of butterscotch chips. I had gotten them on sale, and it was one of those things that you just buy because you'll never get that price again even if you don't really know what you're going to do with them.
but i really wanted to pair them with something salty, and bacon was on sale too, so i decided i would try bacon butterscotch cookies.
I started with the basic Tollhouse butterscotch chip cookie recipe. and added bacon (already cooked, of course).
the result was pretty phenomenal. This picture does not do it justice. But trust me. Put bacon in it.
but i really wanted to pair them with something salty, and bacon was on sale too, so i decided i would try bacon butterscotch cookies.
I started with the basic Tollhouse butterscotch chip cookie recipe. and added bacon (already cooked, of course).
the result was pretty phenomenal. This picture does not do it justice. But trust me. Put bacon in it.
not killing a single bird with any number of stones.
This weekend was not my weekend.
Just a series of not-quite-working-out-like-i'd-hoped things..
With Christmas and weddings and such around the corner, I had lots of things on my to-do list.
Some of which was cleaning.. We've got a big crowd coming for Christmas, and I need to get the guest rooms (aka, the "unfolded laundry storage area" and "the craft hiding room") ready for company. You want to know how far along I got? I will tell you. I started the washing machine.
Project Clean the Rooms = fail.
In addition to being holiday season, Late fall is also Birthday season in my life. In the circle of friends that I grew up with, all the birthdays are in November and December. In addition, my sisters-in-law are also November babies. However, I missed pretty much the entire first half of November due to my hubby being sick and in the hospital (he's OK now). Seriously, if you've never spent much time in the hospital, it's like a chunk of your life just disappears.
Anyway, to put it simply, I am way (WAY) behind on birthdays and also a housewarming gift for one of those friends. So I had 3 crafty glass art pieces I was going to make for each friend as a gift, out of one large salvaged piece of glass. Personal, homemade, and wall fodder. Great plan.
So I started cutting it with my glass cutting blade.
It was slow going, the blade didn't seem to be doing much, and then:
Just a series of not-quite-working-out-like-i'd-hoped things..
With Christmas and weddings and such around the corner, I had lots of things on my to-do list.
Some of which was cleaning.. We've got a big crowd coming for Christmas, and I need to get the guest rooms (aka, the "unfolded laundry storage area" and "the craft hiding room") ready for company. You want to know how far along I got? I will tell you. I started the washing machine.
Project Clean the Rooms = fail.
In addition to being holiday season, Late fall is also Birthday season in my life. In the circle of friends that I grew up with, all the birthdays are in November and December. In addition, my sisters-in-law are also November babies. However, I missed pretty much the entire first half of November due to my hubby being sick and in the hospital (he's OK now). Seriously, if you've never spent much time in the hospital, it's like a chunk of your life just disappears.
Anyway, to put it simply, I am way (WAY) behind on birthdays and also a housewarming gift for one of those friends. So I had 3 crafty glass art pieces I was going to make for each friend as a gift, out of one large salvaged piece of glass. Personal, homemade, and wall fodder. Great plan.
It was slow going, the blade didn't seem to be doing much, and then:
Thursday, November 29, 2012
well hello there!
I have so many things to update in here. I have fallen so far behind.
for one, i made bacon butterscotch cookies back in the summer. That's right. bacon and butterscotch.. they were to die for. You have to make them.
for two - we FINALLY got new floors in the house. you'll have to see those too.
then we had our annual Halloween party, which requires showing of photos.
Then Hubby was very sick for a while, and was in the hospital for almost a whole week. He's improving now, and is now back to working his regularly irregular schedule, but that put a big damper on the "getting things done that might be blogworthy" stuff.
For FIVE: I have tried/developed some pretty spectacular recipes as of late, and you should know them.
my baby sister had a parisian themed birthday party in May. it was AWESOME. I made rose flavored marshmallows, among other things. You'll see. You'll love it all.
But i promise to update about all of them because i need to get them out of the way so that i can get started on:
*drumroll please*
for one, i made bacon butterscotch cookies back in the summer. That's right. bacon and butterscotch.. they were to die for. You have to make them.
for two - we FINALLY got new floors in the house. you'll have to see those too.
then we had our annual Halloween party, which requires showing of photos.
Then Hubby was very sick for a while, and was in the hospital for almost a whole week. He's improving now, and is now back to working his regularly irregular schedule, but that put a big damper on the "getting things done that might be blogworthy" stuff.
For FIVE: I have tried/developed some pretty spectacular recipes as of late, and you should know them.
my baby sister had a parisian themed birthday party in May. it was AWESOME. I made rose flavored marshmallows, among other things. You'll see. You'll love it all.
But i promise to update about all of them because i need to get them out of the way so that i can get started on:
*drumroll please*
Thursday, April 5, 2012
How to avoid puppy scams!
I've talked to several people lately that have been interested in getting puppies - I think it's the weather.. now that it's nice and pretty out, we need a fluffy friend to go enjoy it with!
Before you do anything, I would say consider adopting!! There are so many abandoned pets in the world that need good, loving homes, and would be more than willing to enjoy the pretty weather with you! If you or someone you know is considering adopting a puppy or an adult dog, be sure to check out http://www.spca.org/ There are PLENTY to choose from! There are also breed-specific rescue groups all over the place.
That said, there are pros and cons to adoption, and if it's not for you and you want to purchace a purebred puppy, I've got some tips that will help make sure you do it right and protect yourself from getting scammed.
First: Know Your Breed!
Once you've identified what breed of dog you want, get familiar with the AKC Standard for that breed, even if you just want a pet and not a show dog, you need to make sure your dog fits the bill. After all, the standards were developed over many years to create the ideal health/structure and temperament for that breed.. if you buy from someone that doesn't stick to that standard in their dogs, then there's an increased likelihood of illness, injury, or poor temperament.. it could mean LOTS of money out of your pocket.. plus heartache if the issue is really bad.
Another thing is the akc standard goes into breeding practices.. specifically what colors can and can't be bred together.. that's an important one to learn also, because for example, if you breed a harlequin to a harlequin, the result is something like 25% fatality in the puppies.Don't buy puppies from someone that doesn't follow the breeding practices. I could do infinite blog posts on the genetics of why - but it's just a bad idea.
Second: Window shop! Don't assume that because a breeder has a nice website they're worth their weight.. Websites cost money and/or time.. so all a fancy website means is that the breeder has enough of either (or both) to spend on it.. it is totally unrelated to the dogs they produce. In fact, a lot of the best breeders don't have websites at all because they don't need them.. they have people lined up with waiting lists for years to get a pup because they're THAT good.
Keep your eyes open and compare and contrast different breeders. Here's the tools you need to help you do that:
http://www.akc.org/
http://www.offa.org/
Sign up for an account on http://www.akc.org/. It's free, and there's a cool trick you can use to get a little extra information.
Once you've signed in, your main homepage will have a link in the middle that says "manage dogs"
Click on that and it gives you a place to keep track of dogs and their titles and points.
Near the top is a link that says "Add A Dog" which you can click on and you get a pop up window.
If you already own a dog, you can verify your name and date of registration and it will add your dog to your list. However, if you don't own the dog, you can still add it to your list as a "dog of interest" you just need either the registration number or the registered name of the dog. You're welcome to add my dog, Kaptain, to your list of "dogs of interest" just for an example - His name is Legacy's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and he's a Great Dane. If you are adding by registration number that you've received from the breeder - DOUBLE CHECK IT. Your breeder might be telling a lie, you have no way to know that THAT dog is the same one that has that number, all you know is what you're being told. I can tell you my dog's name is Sammy's Big Brown Bear and you have no choice but to believe me. I can also tell you his registration number is RP35206434 and you wouldn't know the difference.. especially if I made it look like it might be a registration number for a great dane. Be full of doubt at this stage.. let's face it - you just don't know.
When you do the search, you'll get the results for all dogs with that name in that breed... and there's only one. If you'll notice, your search results will also show you the registration number, Kaptain's is WS30567003.
However, the first part of the name is the kennel name, and if you only want to enter the kennel name, then your results will include all active registered dogs from that kennel/breeder.
For example, my previous rescue dog, Boston, came from a litter sired by a dog named Watkin's Lordstryders Rangerboy. In this case, "Watkins" was the kennel name. So if I want to do some research on this breeder, I can type in "watkin's" and I get the following results:
"Dog Name AKC Number Sex Birth Date
Watkins Booger Bear WP32584710 M 12/31/1990
Watkins Midnight Rain WP41241808 F 04/26/1992
Watkins Mama Cass WC135419 F 10/16/1970
Watkins Magistick Cleo Rose WC261669 F 11/19/1971
Watkins Princess Sheena WF059570 F 10/25/1981
Watkins' Golden Spook WD593818 M 01/17/1977
Watkins' Blue Duke WE651081 M 04/22/1980
Watkins' Great Black Abbey WF642280 F 09/29/1984
Watkins' Black Sassafras WF642281 F 09/29/1984
Watkins Belle Star WF945462 F 06/23/1985
Watkins' Gray Bert WG253464 M 01/18/1989
Watkins' Baby WR04763107 F 10/20/2001
Watkins Willow A Weewee WS03058110 F 02/26/2003
Watkins Sophy Lady Luck WS09266601 F 06/10/2004
Watkins Blu Titus Maximus WS08075609 M 04/05/2004
Watkins Miss Blueberry Muffin WS12097001 F 01/29/2005
Watkins Lordstryders Rangerboy WS15308004 M 09/15/2005
Watkins Cabella's Gone Fishing WS29360708 F 12/28/2008 "
So this is all the registered dogs from this kennel. I want to know more about them.. and I have several options for doing that. First, I can add them to my "dogs of interest" page. Unfortunately you can only do this one at a time, but I'll use Lordstrders Rangerboy as an example from here on out.. Because I don't care that I'm calling them out for their terrible dogs and breeding practices, because they broke my heart, cost me thousands of dollars, and when I tried to inform them nicely, they ignored me and continue to breed and sell sick dogs.
When I add him to my list, I can click on the tab that says "titles and points" and it will tell me if he's a champion or not.. If so, when you see his name it will have a CH in front of it.. but he's not a champion, he's just a dog, so he has none.
Now if you're not looking for a show dog, and you just want a pet dog, it's still important that the dog comes from champion parents. Becoming a champion is a way to prove a dog is worthy IMPARTIALLY.. everybody loves their own dog. I love my dog, i would love to have more dogs just like him.. but until I can prove that my dog is an ideal example of the breed to someone that doesn't love him as much as I do, why should I contribute to an already overpopulated dog world? there are enough homeless puppies already. we don't need more.. In order to become a champion, a dog has the win at least 3 different shows by 3 different judges.. and some of those shows have to be of a particular size - so not only do we know that he's an ideal example according to other people, but he's an ideal example among a LOT of other dogs, many of whom are also ideal examples themselves, according to several different impartial people.. and not just ANY impartial people, but impartial experts.. To be a judge requires a boatload of experience amounting to several years. As a friend of mine put it, "You want your breeding stock independently evaluated by breed experts to prove their quality."
Also - don't take a breeder's word for it. A woman asked my help in double checking on some breeders earlier today and their website said "We breed for great dispositions and to the AKC standard for Great Danes" and on another line said they were the home of AKC great danes... and not only was the dam of the litter NOT a champion, the sire wasn't even AKC registered!! Which means the puppies aren't registerable either. What a racket!
So the other thing you can do - and probably the best thing you can do, is take that registration number to http://www.offa.org/
this is the end-all and be-all of canine health testing.
this is a 3rd party company that does nothing but review test results and log them and make them public.. good or bad, they still get paid. again, they're impartial, which is a big deal.
in the top left of the website is a place where you can enter in a dogs AKC registration number, and view their results. It not only displays the results of that dog that you entered, but also any family member of that dog that has results tested.. so now you can not only be more certain that the parents of your future puppy are healthy, but also you can see that they come from a family of very healthy dogs. I have a friend that has completed all of his tests and just received his CHIC number - which is a health certification based on all of these tests. I have asked his permission to share that information in this blog post so that people can see what it SHOULD look like.. and I will update when I hear back from him.
Each of these tests costs a couple hundred dollars. Many of them are repeated several times througout their life. some of them are repeated each time a dog is mated. THIS is why purebred dogs cost what they do. If you're being charged anything more than a couple hundred dollars for a purebred dog - you had BETTER be getting this, otherwise, you're lining the breeders pocket.. giving them money for things that did not bother to do for your dog.
Finally - Don't get sucked in by a crappy guarantee.
Many Many Many genetic conditions are adult-onset. The "one year money back health guarantee" is GARBAGE
Here's why: You buy a puppy. You bring the puppy home. You fall in love with the puppy. Your kids fall in love with a puppy.
At 6 months, your puppy is diagnosed with something that means it will require medication for the rest of his/her life. You call the breeder and give them the news that you want your money back.
But here's what you DIDN'T know.. the "money back guarantee" was actually a return policy. meaning you can return your dog for the price that you paid for it. But your family loves this dog. Your children love this dog. This dog is a part of your life.. not a faulty piece of equipment. So now you have to choose between $2000 or a family member.. Nobody deserves to have to make that decision.
But here's the dirty part of it that you also don't see.. IF you do return the dog, the breeder can turn it around and resell it to some unsuspecting soul (and they do this all the time under the ruse of "rehoming a dog who's owners can't take care of it anymore") and the breeder can also CONTINUE to breed more dogs with this ailment and CONTINUE to sell them to unsuspecting souls who will have to make the same terrible decision with their poor heartbroken families full of children that love their puppies.
Your other option is to keep the dog, and pay out of pocket for the expensive health care for the rest of his/her life. In which case your breeder has just made $2000 off of you and you got hosed.. and the breeder has no repercussions.. and still continues to breed, sell, and profit off of unsuspecting souls.
This is why those health tests are so important. Those health tests are the best guarantee you can ask for. HOWEVER - It's always good to have backup in place, so IN ADDITION TO THE HEALTH TESTS - NOT IN THEIR PLACE - you should also have a guarantee that you're comfortable with and that you know ALL of the details of. It needs to have everything in writing.. all of the "what if?"s should be answered.. and specifically - you need to know what's going to happen if the dog develops some medical condition as an adult that is genetic or chronic and requires expensive procedures or lifetime medications. More importantly - The question that needs to be asked is What happens to the breeding program should a genetic condition pop up?
The best answer you can receive is this - All of the intact animals get tested, and then fixed, and then all of the owners of puppies sold from the affected dogs get notified. This is a terrifying possibility for any breeder.. even those that health test rigorously - so be gentle about it. If this were to happen to a longstanding established breeder, this could bankrupt them, not to mention completely end their lifestyle, and be emotionally devastating. But this is also why good breeders WANT to make sure their dogs are healthy. A sick dog doesn't affects the entire line, not just the one family. If a breeder doesn't want to do the tests to be certain - ask yourself why? chances are, it's probably because they have no sense of accountability if it goes wrong.
I hope this helps! If anyone thinks I should add anything, please feel free to comment.
Before you do anything, I would say consider adopting!! There are so many abandoned pets in the world that need good, loving homes, and would be more than willing to enjoy the pretty weather with you! If you or someone you know is considering adopting a puppy or an adult dog, be sure to check out http://www.spca.org/ There are PLENTY to choose from! There are also breed-specific rescue groups all over the place.
That said, there are pros and cons to adoption, and if it's not for you and you want to purchace a purebred puppy, I've got some tips that will help make sure you do it right and protect yourself from getting scammed.
First: Know Your Breed!
Once you've identified what breed of dog you want, get familiar with the AKC Standard for that breed, even if you just want a pet and not a show dog, you need to make sure your dog fits the bill. After all, the standards were developed over many years to create the ideal health/structure and temperament for that breed.. if you buy from someone that doesn't stick to that standard in their dogs, then there's an increased likelihood of illness, injury, or poor temperament.. it could mean LOTS of money out of your pocket.. plus heartache if the issue is really bad.
Another thing is the akc standard goes into breeding practices.. specifically what colors can and can't be bred together.. that's an important one to learn also, because for example, if you breed a harlequin to a harlequin, the result is something like 25% fatality in the puppies.Don't buy puppies from someone that doesn't follow the breeding practices. I could do infinite blog posts on the genetics of why - but it's just a bad idea.
Second: Window shop! Don't assume that because a breeder has a nice website they're worth their weight.. Websites cost money and/or time.. so all a fancy website means is that the breeder has enough of either (or both) to spend on it.. it is totally unrelated to the dogs they produce. In fact, a lot of the best breeders don't have websites at all because they don't need them.. they have people lined up with waiting lists for years to get a pup because they're THAT good.
Keep your eyes open and compare and contrast different breeders. Here's the tools you need to help you do that:
http://www.akc.org/
http://www.offa.org/
Sign up for an account on http://www.akc.org/. It's free, and there's a cool trick you can use to get a little extra information.
Once you've signed in, your main homepage will have a link in the middle that says "manage dogs"
Click on that and it gives you a place to keep track of dogs and their titles and points.
Near the top is a link that says "Add A Dog" which you can click on and you get a pop up window.
If you already own a dog, you can verify your name and date of registration and it will add your dog to your list. However, if you don't own the dog, you can still add it to your list as a "dog of interest" you just need either the registration number or the registered name of the dog. You're welcome to add my dog, Kaptain, to your list of "dogs of interest" just for an example - His name is Legacy's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and he's a Great Dane. If you are adding by registration number that you've received from the breeder - DOUBLE CHECK IT. Your breeder might be telling a lie, you have no way to know that THAT dog is the same one that has that number, all you know is what you're being told. I can tell you my dog's name is Sammy's Big Brown Bear and you have no choice but to believe me. I can also tell you his registration number is RP35206434 and you wouldn't know the difference.. especially if I made it look like it might be a registration number for a great dane. Be full of doubt at this stage.. let's face it - you just don't know.
When you do the search, you'll get the results for all dogs with that name in that breed... and there's only one. If you'll notice, your search results will also show you the registration number, Kaptain's is WS30567003.
However, the first part of the name is the kennel name, and if you only want to enter the kennel name, then your results will include all active registered dogs from that kennel/breeder.
For example, my previous rescue dog, Boston, came from a litter sired by a dog named Watkin's Lordstryders Rangerboy. In this case, "Watkins" was the kennel name. So if I want to do some research on this breeder, I can type in "watkin's" and I get the following results:
"Dog Name AKC Number Sex Birth Date
Watkins Booger Bear WP32584710 M 12/31/1990
Watkins Midnight Rain WP41241808 F 04/26/1992
Watkins Mama Cass WC135419 F 10/16/1970
Watkins Magistick Cleo Rose WC261669 F 11/19/1971
Watkins Princess Sheena WF059570 F 10/25/1981
Watkins' Golden Spook WD593818 M 01/17/1977
Watkins' Blue Duke WE651081 M 04/22/1980
Watkins' Great Black Abbey WF642280 F 09/29/1984
Watkins' Black Sassafras WF642281 F 09/29/1984
Watkins Belle Star WF945462 F 06/23/1985
Watkins' Gray Bert WG253464 M 01/18/1989
Watkins' Baby WR04763107 F 10/20/2001
Watkins Willow A Weewee WS03058110 F 02/26/2003
Watkins Sophy Lady Luck WS09266601 F 06/10/2004
Watkins Blu Titus Maximus WS08075609 M 04/05/2004
Watkins Miss Blueberry Muffin WS12097001 F 01/29/2005
Watkins Lordstryders Rangerboy WS15308004 M 09/15/2005
Watkins Cabella's Gone Fishing WS29360708 F 12/28/2008 "
So this is all the registered dogs from this kennel. I want to know more about them.. and I have several options for doing that. First, I can add them to my "dogs of interest" page. Unfortunately you can only do this one at a time, but I'll use Lordstrders Rangerboy as an example from here on out.. Because I don't care that I'm calling them out for their terrible dogs and breeding practices, because they broke my heart, cost me thousands of dollars, and when I tried to inform them nicely, they ignored me and continue to breed and sell sick dogs.
When I add him to my list, I can click on the tab that says "titles and points" and it will tell me if he's a champion or not.. If so, when you see his name it will have a CH in front of it.. but he's not a champion, he's just a dog, so he has none.
Now if you're not looking for a show dog, and you just want a pet dog, it's still important that the dog comes from champion parents. Becoming a champion is a way to prove a dog is worthy IMPARTIALLY.. everybody loves their own dog. I love my dog, i would love to have more dogs just like him.. but until I can prove that my dog is an ideal example of the breed to someone that doesn't love him as much as I do, why should I contribute to an already overpopulated dog world? there are enough homeless puppies already. we don't need more.. In order to become a champion, a dog has the win at least 3 different shows by 3 different judges.. and some of those shows have to be of a particular size - so not only do we know that he's an ideal example according to other people, but he's an ideal example among a LOT of other dogs, many of whom are also ideal examples themselves, according to several different impartial people.. and not just ANY impartial people, but impartial experts.. To be a judge requires a boatload of experience amounting to several years. As a friend of mine put it, "You want your breeding stock independently evaluated by breed experts to prove their quality."
Also - don't take a breeder's word for it. A woman asked my help in double checking on some breeders earlier today and their website said "We breed for great dispositions and to the AKC standard for Great Danes" and on another line said they were the home of AKC great danes... and not only was the dam of the litter NOT a champion, the sire wasn't even AKC registered!! Which means the puppies aren't registerable either. What a racket!
So the other thing you can do - and probably the best thing you can do, is take that registration number to http://www.offa.org/
this is the end-all and be-all of canine health testing.
this is a 3rd party company that does nothing but review test results and log them and make them public.. good or bad, they still get paid. again, they're impartial, which is a big deal.
in the top left of the website is a place where you can enter in a dogs AKC registration number, and view their results. It not only displays the results of that dog that you entered, but also any family member of that dog that has results tested.. so now you can not only be more certain that the parents of your future puppy are healthy, but also you can see that they come from a family of very healthy dogs. I have a friend that has completed all of his tests and just received his CHIC number - which is a health certification based on all of these tests. I have asked his permission to share that information in this blog post so that people can see what it SHOULD look like.. and I will update when I hear back from him.
Each of these tests costs a couple hundred dollars. Many of them are repeated several times througout their life. some of them are repeated each time a dog is mated. THIS is why purebred dogs cost what they do. If you're being charged anything more than a couple hundred dollars for a purebred dog - you had BETTER be getting this, otherwise, you're lining the breeders pocket.. giving them money for things that did not bother to do for your dog.
Finally - Don't get sucked in by a crappy guarantee.
Many Many Many genetic conditions are adult-onset. The "one year money back health guarantee" is GARBAGE
Here's why: You buy a puppy. You bring the puppy home. You fall in love with the puppy. Your kids fall in love with a puppy.
At 6 months, your puppy is diagnosed with something that means it will require medication for the rest of his/her life. You call the breeder and give them the news that you want your money back.
But here's what you DIDN'T know.. the "money back guarantee" was actually a return policy. meaning you can return your dog for the price that you paid for it. But your family loves this dog. Your children love this dog. This dog is a part of your life.. not a faulty piece of equipment. So now you have to choose between $2000 or a family member.. Nobody deserves to have to make that decision.
But here's the dirty part of it that you also don't see.. IF you do return the dog, the breeder can turn it around and resell it to some unsuspecting soul (and they do this all the time under the ruse of "rehoming a dog who's owners can't take care of it anymore") and the breeder can also CONTINUE to breed more dogs with this ailment and CONTINUE to sell them to unsuspecting souls who will have to make the same terrible decision with their poor heartbroken families full of children that love their puppies.
Your other option is to keep the dog, and pay out of pocket for the expensive health care for the rest of his/her life. In which case your breeder has just made $2000 off of you and you got hosed.. and the breeder has no repercussions.. and still continues to breed, sell, and profit off of unsuspecting souls.
This is why those health tests are so important. Those health tests are the best guarantee you can ask for. HOWEVER - It's always good to have backup in place, so IN ADDITION TO THE HEALTH TESTS - NOT IN THEIR PLACE - you should also have a guarantee that you're comfortable with and that you know ALL of the details of. It needs to have everything in writing.. all of the "what if?"s should be answered.. and specifically - you need to know what's going to happen if the dog develops some medical condition as an adult that is genetic or chronic and requires expensive procedures or lifetime medications. More importantly - The question that needs to be asked is What happens to the breeding program should a genetic condition pop up?
The best answer you can receive is this - All of the intact animals get tested, and then fixed, and then all of the owners of puppies sold from the affected dogs get notified. This is a terrifying possibility for any breeder.. even those that health test rigorously - so be gentle about it. If this were to happen to a longstanding established breeder, this could bankrupt them, not to mention completely end their lifestyle, and be emotionally devastating. But this is also why good breeders WANT to make sure their dogs are healthy. A sick dog doesn't affects the entire line, not just the one family. If a breeder doesn't want to do the tests to be certain - ask yourself why? chances are, it's probably because they have no sense of accountability if it goes wrong.
I hope this helps! If anyone thinks I should add anything, please feel free to comment.
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