We recently received this lovely update, “We are very happy to say that she seems to be adjusting to her new surroundings quite well.  Each day we are more impressed with her responses to us… We have taken her to the Lake a couple of times and discovered that she loves the water, especially when there are ducks to try and catch just off shore.  She loved being able to run along the beach full speed and go in and out of the water.  We have also noticed that she really does not like squirrels.  When she sees one in our yard through our big windows, she kind of goes nuts…really wants to get out there and chase them.  It is very funny to watch her prance from living room to kitchen window with so much enthusiasm.”

Thank you, Linda and John, for bringing Sage into your home – and tell the squirrels we are sorry!

If you would like to learn more about Duke, click here. If you are interested in adopting, please complete an adoption application, and be sure to note your interest in meeting Duke.

“We adopted Cassie (aka Niña) in January of 2009. She stole all our hearts as soon as she curled up in the truck and we headed home. She has been an absolutely wonderful dog. One of her many nicknames is “Zero to 60.” Even when she’s sleeping, she’s up and spinning in seconds when you call her name. She loves to hunt everything possible in our backyard. Cassie is on squirrel watch at the back door waiting for the “stalk and chase” when the squirrels show up at the bird feeder.

She loves to chase the water from the hose, go for car rides, chase the tennis ball with the neighbor’s dog at the park, and go on our daily 3 mile walks. On the walks, she’s hunting really anything that moves. She even stalked the large cement lion statue at a house not too long ago. She’s seen cats there before, so anything goes.

Before Cassie was adopted and she was in her foster home with GSP Rescue, they told us she would pull all the dog’s bedding out of their crates. Nothing has changed. She still has to have fleece blankets to carry around and gets very squiggly when she has one in her mouth. She’ll even take her own bedding off her bed and carry it around the house when she gets excited.”

Thanks, Deana for sharing. We’re looking forward to many more updates on Cassie!

We’ve recently received an update and Rolo, now Bailey, is fitting in well with the entire family and is a great companion to his GSP sister, Maggie. He has learned that Sundays are special days to visit Grandma where he is spoiled. He has also shown a behavior Bob had never seen before (and he has seen plenty of GSP behaviors!) – Bailey likes to eat apples off the tree! So far, he has been a good boy and only eaten one per visit.

Bailey’s family has also discovered he really can go over tall fences in a single bound, and bought him a big covered kennel so that he is safe when they are not home to watch him.  Pictured here is Bailey with his new family Bob, Jan, Jeannie and their GSP Maggie.

Scott enjoys the GSP energy and their velcro-like personality.  He came out a few weeks ago intending to adopt two dogs, but Katie was unable to make the first trip with him.  He met Gunnar, and knew he was just what he was looking for, and went ahead and adopted him.

Scott brought Katie out for a second visit so that she could choose the younger companion for Gunnar, and Katie decided that Darby would be a good companion for both Gunnar and Scott, and of course, Katie when she visits.

We always appreciate when prior adopters return to adopt from us, and we are especially grateful for adopters like Scott who took both an adult GSP and an active young dog combined.

We are very happy that two dogs have found a wonderful home with Scott.

“Dog Gone Good Healthy Casserole”

1 lb ground turkey (trader joes for about $4)

1 lb ground beef ($2.69 at trader joes)

As a substitute for the ground beef and turkey, you can boil boneless skinless chicken thighs and save the broth to add in to the food.

3 cups brown rice

Add some Lentils, beans or barley for a low fat, high fiber meal.

Two cans sardines

One frozen bag of veggies any combination or all (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, green beans, or spinach)

Three or four sweet potatoes cut in pieces

Zucchini slices

Fresh parsley (optional), but great for digestion and to sweeten that doggy breath!

You can also add a little olive oil, salmon oil or fish oil to the mixture.  It is great for their coats and their joint health!

Six cups water

You can use all these ingredients or mix it up each time.

Cook all of the above in a large pot for forty minutes

At the end add one dozen eggs

Put it in a large casserole dish and use it daily.

You can serve it alone, or add this to about a 1/2 cup of their grain free Made in the USA dry food. (We recommend Nature’s Domain Salmon and Sweet Potato from Costco).

Of course Organic is available.  It is up to you if you and your budget if want to use all organic ingredients.

Serving sizes vary upon whether or not you are supplementing the homemade food with your dry dog food or only feeding the homemade dog food.  Here is a guideline that we use, but you should do what works best for your dog depending upon weight and size and whether or not you want them to gain or lose a few pounds.  Of course, it is always best to divide the meals into two meals per day.

10 lb dog – approx 1 to 1 1/4 cups per day

20 lb dog – approx 1 2/3 to 2 cups per day

40 lb dog – approx 2 2/3 to 3 1/2 cups per day

60 lb dog – approx 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups per day

80 lb dog – approx 4 1/2 to 6 cups per day

Bone Appetite!

“Its been 37 days since I picked up Jasper and he has made amazing progress. Thru diet and supplements I’d say the yeast is 60% cleared up, it will probably take another month for the worst part on his chin and that fleshy bit on his outer leg which is turning now turning grey ( a sign that the yeast is dying off) to disappear completely. His hair has all grown back. It has been hard for him to gain weight on this diet, since no carbs are allowed, I took him off kibble completely because it had potato in it. Judah now eats the Natural Choice kibble and some of the home cooked meat and vegies I do for Jasper and of course all the supplements. Judah’s coat has never looked or felt better. I feed Jasper 3 times a day and give healthy treats to try to at least maintain his weight if not put weight on.

He has been thru 2 training sessions with a trainer that came to the house, he now sits, comes when called, he recognizes his new name and no longer freaks out when I leave. We are working on stay and down. So you can teach an old dog new tricks- it just takes time and patience.

It has been an amazing learning experience and experiment for me, since I have never cooked for any of my other dogs to see the difference it makes and to learn about their diet and nutritional needs and to see how holistic, natural remedies work.

We will come and visit soon as summer approaches to get out of the heat that is on it’s way.”

Thank you Neeraja for the wonderful update on Jasper.

Tom and Stacey have very secure fences which was a requirement for finding Cappy a home.  Tom and Stacey also are the type of active family that this extremely active GSP needed.  He was an example of a GSP that continued his puppy energy well into his adult life.

Tom and Stacy are working with Cappy on his social skills.  He generally gets along with dogs but they have to be cautious as there are some that he doesn’t like and they are working on reconditioning him with his social skills.

Thank you Tom and Stacey for recognizing Cappy’s potential, and for your patience and dedication to working with him to help him become an incredible dog.

We originally thought Roxy was not great with other dogs, was okay with cats and was not great with too much activity.  We were in for a huge surprise!  Roxy now does well with most other dogs and has even been out in the field socializing at the rescue and also at the dog park with them.  She would not do well with a cat as she sees them as she does bunnies and squirrels and her hunting instinct takes over.

Roxy loves her daily walks…its not uncommon for her to take a 5 mile hike.  Her foster mom says we need to re-brand Roxy as a senior, but a very active GSP instead of a mello mama GSP.

It is thanks to a foster home that we are able to get to both watch Roxy evolve, as well as identify what may be the best home for her.

Learn more about Roxy, and if you would like to meet this amazing girl, please take a moment to complete an adoption application.

California GSP Rescue immediately went into action with a volunteer arriving at the shelter a short time later to rescue Poppy. We were amazed at this young sweet female that had been left at this high kill shelter that was still carrying milk from a recent litter she must have had before turning up at the shelter. Who leaves a recent mother at the shelter? Who would claim one of their dogs and leave the other? While we will never know, we think Poppy is a sweet girl that just got much closer to her forever home.