Friday Fix - Xolo (6/30/2012)

By Christy Hess

Volunteering at Colorado Puppy Rescue reminds me of the saying from Pawn Stars: "You never know what's going to come through those doors." (P.S. If you have never watched Pawn Stars on the History Channel, you are missing out.)

We have had a number of unusual breeds come through the doors over the years, but this week is a definite first for me. This week we got in Mexican Hairless (aka Xoloitzcuintle (Xolo))/Dachshund mixes.

As I am vacuuming the house (multiple times a day) and cleaning out dog hair from the dryer vent by the handfuls, it make me ponder the advantages to owning a hairless dog. These pups are hypoallergenic and you would never need to own a furminator. Unlike many hypoallergenic dogs, these will not have to be taken to the groomer every month either. Huge money savings there!

They will be the talk of the dog park, but if you take them out in the sun I would advise stocking up on the doggy sunscreen.

Photos of 477 (Black/Grey)

Photos of 478 (Red)

Overall these are pretty cool dogs. These two babies are up for adoption on June 30th. Come early!!!! See our website www.coloradopuppy.org for all of the details.

I am thinking of shaving Sammie - make my very own hairless mixed mutt.

What do you think?


What is the most interesting breed that you have seen?

Friday Fix - Breed Identification - Before and After (6/22/2012)

By Christy Hess

Poll Results from Last Week

Well the results are in (even thought the percentages are more than 100%) the overwhelming response is that people are looking for the puppy personality in photos. Yeah - those are my favorite puppy pictures!!!!

Thank you for voting.

Breed Identification

The other things that the photo is helpful in seeing is the breed. At Colorado Puppy Rescue (like other rescues and shelters) breeds and ages are our best guess based on coat, color, teeth, tail, size and feet. We use our many years of experience, books and the opinions other volunteers to help determine. Sometimes we just get it wrong or the puppy's look change drastically as they grow.

Here are some examples:

I still have no idea what Budja's breed is but what a great looking dog.

Look at how much the facial markings changed on Blake!

Spot's spots changed as well.

Koli's markings completely changed the spots on the face slid down to the back.

Tucker's mask disappeared.

Haz-Mat grew!

Sadie grew as well. I would say now that she is a Catahoula Leopard Dog.

Fritz lost that thick Chow Chow like coat!

I can't even venture a guess on Kiko - what is your best guess on breed?

Terrier of some kind? Grizzley is gorgeous!

The face on Melo really changed, almost makes me think Dane.

Be aware that even the color can change as puppies can grow. Bruce demonstrates a drastic change, but what a cutie!

I never never would have guessed looking at the puppy that Bubba was part terrier.

See all of our photo albums on Zenfolio!

If you have a before and after photo you would like to share with us - please send them to me at info@coloradopuppy.org so I can get them posted.

Friday Fix - Photo Controversy (6/15/2012)

By Christy Hess

Over the last year we have made some drastic changes to the website. Brook did a complete update and redesign and Daniel created a new logo. With those updates we also changed the way we did photos.

We started off with head shots.

But then we found you could not always tell size, or breed with just the head shot so for some we added a full body shot.

Then we sometimes added photos from the fosters outside or in a different environment.

Now we have a photo station where we catch puppies in action.

Or pose the puppies.

Or show their soulful eyes. These are what I would call the take me home look.

And sometimes they are posed and pitiful.

Please take our poll and let us know your preference on puppy pictures. Leave comments too - we want to hear from you!

When looking to adopt a puppy do you: