It is time to breathe life back into the blog! I had been without a dog for a few years and my other half was starting to talk about adding another pet to the household. It is important to note that she is not a dog lover, and I quickly established that if I was going to secure a canine companion it would have to tick certain boxes - the primary criterion being that it had to be small. My positive experiences with Dobermans and German Pinschers meant I was strongly leaning towards these dogs, but even the German Pinschers were too large for Fern. Thus, I proposed we drop down into a size category hitherto unexplored and look for a Miniature Pinscher. I love the short-haired, sleek appearance of the Pinscher dogs, but Fern prefers fluffy little canines. It was very nice of her to take one for the team and allow us to view a grown on puppy in the lake district. That is a six hour drive from our domicile down south, so we had to leave early and prepare for a mission.
On arrival we were greeted with a super feisty, very unfriendly, patchy-coated little imp! The bald patches were due to a fungal infection according to their vet, but you can imagine I was less than impressed by the possibility of parting with well over a grand when I could immediately be staring at significant vet bills. I was ready to walk away, but Fern said we had come all this way and it would be a shame to leave empty handed. I checked her over (as well as you can when a dog is attempting to nip you) and conformationally she was excellent. I suspected the thin coat was diet related, and quite admired her bold approach to life, so we took her. She is Kennel Club registered but imported from Europe, hence her tail is docked and the ears had also been trimmed. Excellent bloodlines but probably not looked after quite as well as she could have been. Disagreements had started between her and the two older dogs living in the same household, so the owners decided that this situation, coupled with an extremely energetic nature, meant it was best to move her on to a younger family.
Above: Raven soon after she arrived - note the bald patch on her leg.
It was November and we had to endure Christmas decorations being tugged, chewed and destroyed. The final puppy tooth had not yet fallen out, so this period was always going to be interesting. We established that she was not properly house trained, which needed rapid fixing. A training programme ensued and before too long we had her in a much better place. I changed the diet to a dried raw kibble called Wolfworthy. Absolutely brilliant stuff that cuts out all the nasties and focuses on what dogs should be eating. Her treats were always natural - bones, pigs ears, cow tracheas, rabbits feet etc. - and with the help of some added daily fish oils her bald patches started to disappear. Within a few months she had the most beautiful glossy coat and it continued to improve for months afterwards. It is very worrying that in this day and age people, even vets, still don't appreciate the importance of diet well enough when it comes to fixing physical issues.
Above: Raven as a 10 month old puppy.
Raven has incredible stamina and athleticism for such a small dog. She is a ferocious rodent hunter and has ended the days of many a critter that foolishly wandered into our garden. Loyal, suspicious and a little bit mad, she has become an essential member of the family. Fern and I walk her every day and she often spends evenings relaxing in the bedroom with us. A truly beautiful example of the breed that would have won a certificate or two if she didn't have a docked tail and would allow a judge to put their hands on her! Still, I tried that game a long time ago and it was not for me, so I couldn't care less.
To anyone considering a Minature Pinscher as a companion, you get a couple of broad personality types (so I am told) - 1) laid back and reasonably calm 2) energetic and a bit mad. Depending on what you are after, or willing to endure, you may be pleased or disappointed. Here in the UK they are rare, and we have only ever met two others in the 18 months Raven has been part of our lives. One was so nervous that it barked at everything - human or dog - and the other was quite relaxed, wondering how Raven could run so fast. Would it have been easier to get type 1? In many ways, yes, but then we wouldn't have experienced the old school charm and vivacious nature that is supposed to be typical of the breed. Min Pins like Raven would have earned their keep back in the day.
A truly beautiful example of the breed and as one member of a Facebook Min Pin group put it 'you scored with that one'.
Above: Raven as a 2.5 year old stunner.
