Castlebrook Shepherds

10/20/2026

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10/19/2026

Look what just popped up on past memories! 2010…

10/16/2026

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✂️🥜🐶 WHAT IF WHEN YOU SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR DOG MATTERS JUST AS MUCH AS WHETHER YOU DO IT?

Preventing unwanted litters matters. But is it time to rethink HOW we sterilize dogs? Hormone-sparing procedures, including hysterectomy and vasectomy, can prevent reproduction while preserving natural s*x hormones.

🔬 NEW 2026 PEER-REVIEWED RESEARCH

Over 10 years, researchers reviewed records from 56,254 veterinary patients, including 313 dogs with mast cell tumors and 638 tumor-free comparison dogs. The study was accepted for publication in The Veterinary Journal.

🤯 1. TIMING MATTERS!

Dogs spayed or neutered before age 2 had 343% higher odds of a mast cell tumor diagnosis compared with intact dogs. Dogs sterilized after age 2 showed no statistically significant increase.

🐕 2. SIZE MATTERS!

Compared with small dogs, medium dogs had 2.6 times the odds and large dogs 5.2 times the odds.

⚖️ 3. WEIGHT MATTERS!

Overweight dogs had 80% higher odds than dogs at an ideal weight.

🧬 4. BREED MATTERS!

Compared with mixed-breed dogs, American Pit Bull Terriers had 7.5 times the odds and Boxers 3.9 times. Some breed groups were small.

❤️ 5. WHAT ABOUT SURVIVAL?

Neutering status wasn’t significantly associated with survival after surgery. Tumor grade and size were more important predictors.

🔬 WHY MIGHT HORMONES MATTER?

S*x hormones influence immune function and development. Researchers propose that early hormone removal and changes in luteinizing hormone (LH) may play a role, but this remains unproven.

🐾 THE BIG TAKEAWAY

Preventing unwanted litters doesn’t always mean removing hormone-producing organs. It’s time for individualized conversations with veterinarians about WHEN and HOW we sterilize dogs.

📄 Download the FREE PDF with the latest research surrounding Spay & Neuter Syndrome. Link in comments!

10/04/2026

The big boy Castlebrooks Jax on guard!! ❤️❤️ and taking a big stretch! 😃

09/27/2026

This is such a beautiful tribute to the training love and dedication of a shepherd (with some maligator in there) I had to share! Brings tears to my eyes❤️
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08/29/2026

My gorgeous Castlebrooks Dolly a few minutes ago! The embodiment of my wonderful past bloodlines all in one nearly perfect package❤️🙌🏻🥰

08/26/2026

I guess it’s National Dog Day?!
Let’s see you Castlebrook pups!!
Pictures in comments!
APPARENTLY IVE BEEN HACKED/TARGETED
PLEASE CONTINUE TO POST YOUR PHOTOS BUT I CAN NOT SEE THEM. PLEASE DELETE OR REPORT THE VENOMOUS ADDS AND DELETE THEM. THANK YOU!!

08/19/2026

Excellent place to get advice and training videos!!
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The single most important training window in your puppy's life closes around 16 weeks.

Socialization means allowing your dog to experience the world — new people, places, sounds, surfaces, other animals — in a way that builds confidence, not overwhelm. Done right, it shapes the stable, confident adult dog they'll become for the rest of their life. Done wrong (or skipped), you're playing catch-up for years.

But socialization does NOT mean letting every dog and stranger rush up to greet your puppy. It means controlled, positive exposure at your puppy's own pace — quality over quantity, every time. A puppy who gets overwhelmed by too much too fast can come out the other side more fearful, not less.

What's one thing you wish you'd socialized or neutralized your dog to sooner? 👇

Read More: https://leerburg.com/socializepuppies.htm

08/09/2026

We advocate raw/fresh food feeding here at Castlebrook!
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🧬 CAN WHAT YOUR DOG EATS CHANGE HOW FAST THEIR BODY AGES?

A fascinating new peer-reviewed pilot study suggests it might.
Researchers followed pugs for 6 months, comparing dogs that stayed on extruded dry kibble with dogs switched to a cooked, minimally processed, human-grade diet formulated by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.

Instead of just measuring weight or bloodwork, researchers looked at changes in the dogs’ DNA associated with biological aging — essentially, how old their bodies appeared compared with their actual age.

🥩 The surprising finding? Dogs switched to fresh food showed a nearly 1-year shift toward a younger biological age in just 6 months, while dogs that stayed on kibble did not show a significant change.

🥩 Fresh food: +2.75 years → +1.80 years
🥣 Kibble: +2.77 years → +2.46 years

Even more interesting, the dogs’ bodyweights remained stable, suggesting the shift wasn’t simply due to weight loss. Researchers also found significant changes involving KISS1R, a gene associated with metabolism and obesity, in the fresh-fed dogs but not the kibble-fed dogs.

Published in Veterinary Record Open, a peer-reviewed journal of the British Veterinary Association published by Wiley, the study adds to growing research on the potential benefits of balanced, minimally processed foods.

🥦 Want to add more fresh food to your pet’s bowl but aren’t sure where to start? That’s why Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib wrote The Forever Dog LIFE.

It includes 30+ complete and balanced fresh-food recipes that can be served raw, poached, slow-cooked, or baked, with versions for dogs and cats, different activity levels and life stages, plus hundreds of variations online.

Whether you feed fully fresh or simply want to add more fresh food, The Forever Dog LIFE helps you do fresh food right. 🐶🐱🥩🥦

07/07/2026

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