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The Brimka Effect

Vibrantly Healthy!

Hips & Elbows

The sire and dam of our puppies are certified free of hip and elbow dysplasia by the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) or via the German SV a-stamp program. Breeding dogs with certified hips and elbows is considered "best practice" when choosing animals to breed.  A breeder that does not complete this step would be considered a "backyard breeder" or a "puppy mill".

 

However, German Shepherds (and most large to giant breed dogs) are a breed that has a higher incidence of HD. Unfortunately, dogs that possess hip and elbow certs can and do produce puppies that develop HD. Any breeder that tells you differently is either lying or is misinformed.

Vaccines & Titers

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At Brimka Haus we don't re-vaccinate after the puppy shot(s).  We titer instead.  Only if the titer shows that the dog is not immune do we vaccinate.  Vaccination after immunity is an unnecessary evil and there is no benefit to the dog, but instead increases the likelihood of adverse reactions. 

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Brimka Haus uses and recommends Wondercide products or Mercola Healthy Pet products for flea and tick preventatives.

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Species Appropriate Raw Food Diet 

​At Brimka Haus our dogs are fed a mixture (all ingredients intended for humans) of beef hearts (1/3 of the mix), ground beef (2/3 of the mix), beef liver (5% of the total mix), beef kidney (5% of the total mix) eggshell powder (1 egg shell for every pound of meat) and raw eggs. The meat items are purchased at UW Provisions, which is a well known meat market in Middleton WI. All meat at UW Provisions is intended for humans.  Chicken hearts, venison, is substituted for the beef hearts. At times, raw sardines and or tripe is also added to the mixture. The K9s at Brimka Haus also enjoy a raw turkey neck, or a leg quarter daily when egg shell is not added. 

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Brimka Haus has recently (Sept 2020) switched to Albright's Raw Dog Food.  We still do add turkey gizzards, tripe and occasionally organ mix to the Albright's. We rotate between Albright's all beef, all turkey and beef & chicken mixed recipes.  

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**I do not recommend any type of kibble for dogs and do not believe that feeding kibble is healthy for dogs.

Spaying & Neutering

​Current research suggests that spaying and neutering is NOT in the best interest of your dog.  

  
"Are There Behavior Changes When Dogs Are Spayed or Neutered?" Psychology Today, Feb 22, 2017, Stanley Coren, Ph.D., F.R.S.C.

​The following passage was taken from the article, "Are There Behavior Changes When Dogs are Spayed or Neutered?"
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"Our data showed that the behavior of neutered dogs was significantly different from that of intact dogs in ways that contradict the prevailing view. Among the findings, neutered dogs were more aggressive, fearful, excitable, and less trainable than intact dogs. Given that one of the accepted behavioral reasons given for spaying and neutering is to reduce aggression, the distressing results of these studies is that spayed and neutered dogs actually show considerably more aggression. Depending upon the specific form of aggression (owner directed, stranger directed etc.) the size of these effects is quite large, varying from a low of around a 20 percent increase to more than double the level of aggression in the neutered dogs as measured by the C-BARQ scoring scale. A further surprise was that these effects were similar for both males and females. A different worrisome finding is that there was a roughly 31 percent increase in fearfulness for both sexes. This is accompanied by a 33 percent increase in touch sensitivity."
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