The fun in raising a puppy...
 

It's funny to watch them explore their little worlds now with the large amount of curiosity that they have.

I set up a small (4'X4') x-pen for Luna downstairs and while she's not happy to be contained in it she has more than enough to do in there.

She's pouncing on the puppy pad in there in between taking bites of food or sips of water (not playing with her water bowl... yet).

She's also fascinated by the carabener (sp?) holding the two ends together. She's barking at it (play bark, play bow).

She's also flipping around the little toy in the air as you would expect a puppy.

And I spoke to soon about the water bowl...:rock_3

and the food bowl... :lol:

Edit: She jumps up and lands on the water bowl. As it flips over the floor making a loud noise she jumps back with the best look on her face. "What did I do? It was so fun!"

Her expression while playing (like this) is the same exact one our liter of Finnish spitz puppies had when they broke out of their whelping area one night (running around with the largest smiles on their faces, ears all the way back).

I'm not sure, but it seems this has something to do with instinctive reaction to ice. I saw puppy Lorka jumping like that not only on a metal bowl, but also on a freshly mopped floor, and on frozen poodles or lake.

And don't show her how you open the fridge, drawers, cupboards, windows, locks, etc. CSVs are excellent observers and like to imitate humans.:twisted: If they don't learn how to do it when they're still little there is some chance they will not be interestsd in them later. :)

Don't forget we have a very intelligent GSD and malinois (and the finkies were very bright, too). We don't deliberately teach them anything. Our GSD learned how to open the back sliding glass door (it does not have a handle on it).

She could also like metallic objects. A lot of working line GSD and malinois breeders will test their puppies' temperaments (and workability) by throwing keys into the puppy pen. Those that play with the keys would make better working candidates while those that didn't usually went to pet homes. Metal isn't something most dogs would want to play (chew) with and they make loud noises that they usually don't like.

Haha if chewing on metal makes them a good working candidate, my boy must be a champion! He completely chewed through the metal car barrier that kept him in the back of my truck [as well as eating the entire interior of three trucks now] chewed through a chain link dog kennel, and has chewed up multiple metal dog bowls. And with his pure strength he has broken two heavy duty wire cables, two leather collars, a choke chain and a prong collar. Have fun with your little monster!! :lol:

yes, my Tupac can open all doors and the special 'dog gate' and he learnt by watching me :roll:

and water!! my boy is obssessed,puddles ,lakes ,rivers even his water bowl :roll:

There are times when puppies are good...

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...na-feb27-1.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...na-feb27-2.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...na-feb27-3.jpg

(Don't worry - the wet spot on the puppy pad is from spilled water).

We took her to a dog show today for socialization and she did extremely well. There were a lot of rare breed people there (oddly) and everyone loved her - everyone was curious about her, the breed, what she's like. She was very polite to all the humans (I tried not to expose her to any other dogs except my own considering how clueless a lot of people at the shows are about their own dogs).

She went into the show like a trooper and didn't back down one bit.

We also wanted to take her to schutzhund for puppy play (and videos) but it got rained out. We'll try again next week.

Exactly this was my point!8) Lorka at the age of 4 month opened a window (turned the handle with her teeth and then pulled) and mastered the lock of the front door - she was able to turn it round twice! :shock: I may assure you nobody taught her these skills deliberately! :lol:

Yes! After repairing said hole he chewed though in the kennel, Loki quickly found an easier way to escape. He would simply stick his top and lower halves of his muzzle through holes in the chain link and effortlessly lift up, dehingeing the entire door and have free run around the neighborhood again! And of course, opening the door, or dissembling his entire sleeping crate was one of the first 'tricks' he ever learned!! I love how smart he is though!! :lol:

Her favorite game:

We now have a ceramic water bowl (heavier). She loves to jump with her front paws into it and splash the water in the bowl (and out of it).

Her favorite toy this morning was a piece of kobble that fell into it and was floating around in the bowl.

Splash splash!!

Apparently, this game is genetic.:lol:

In the summers, Anthea will place her whole front end in any bucket of water, anywhere - and submerge her whole head and forepaws - looks like a polar bear in the zoo. Then she splashes and throws water everywhere - her head always smells fresh! I get a kick out of throwing sinkable toys into a kiddie pool and letting her fish them out. :)

I'm not an expert by any means, by there definitely has to be a genetic or instinctual link to this game with the CSV. Splish, Splash, Kerplop!! Over and over and over...

Oh, keeping any water in the water bowl (for drinking) used to be such a challenge! I used to get so frustrated (as well as amused) that I ended up getting something like 10 different water bowls, hiding several in obscure places in the yard, and then only "showing" my non-CSV dog where they were so she could at least have some water to drink.

The plastic kiddie-pool did help some as well, regardless of whether it was summer or winter. Then I went through about 5 or 6 of those when my CSV discovered how fun it was to shred them apart.

Eventually the dunking and splashing wore off - at least in the drinking water bowl. :)

She is such a brat!!!

Tonight she grabbed one of my sneakers and started to run around with it (it was an older sneaker so I really didn't care too much about it).

I went over and started to play tug with her and she gave out the biggest and hardest growl I've ever heard out of a dog. Of course, I start to kiss her on the muzzle while she's still tugging and her growling gets more intense!!

I pick her up and she lets it all out - I didn't even know her lungs could power a growl like that!

I know it's important not to let her win in a case like this so as much as she growled, I didn't let her go, but I did when she was good.

Later on, we were playing and she was growling again, of course Maiya (our 9 year old Belian malinois - show lines / couch potato) hops behind her and starts to mount her (soliciting her to play). Maiya **NEVER** plays. It was funny to watch the two of them - Maiya was very gentle with her (can't say the same about Luna, though!!).

Marcy - what did you give us??

SHE JUST MARKED IN FRONT OF KIRI'S CRATE.

I was outside with her, she peed and pooped and then within a minute of being back in side she ran in front of Kiri's crate and peed, just a little.

It was clearly a MARK and not a pee.

To give you any clue...

Anthea lifts her leg to pee, if allowed, she tries to overmark every spot she detects. She is clearly in control, just below Roni (who mostly stays out of stuff, unless he is giving Bongo a reminder about leaving his beloved purple ball alone), within the pack. She established dominance over my GSD at 4 months of age - as soon as she came home, and has never been challenged.

Welcome to my world!

Marcy

Luna lifts her leg to poo sometimes.

Hahaha! :lol: Time to bust out the Nature's Miracle! ;)

Nah, tile floors, just some bleach spray and some paper towels.

Luna got a new toy today. Too bad I didn't record the whole ordeal, she was hopping around it for a few minutes before I took the video. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CacOdG2SJ94

Aww Luna is so cute! I miss having a puppy, though Flint still gets that excited every time he gets cow hooves!! :p

Awww, Luna's getting so big!! Her coat is coming in beautiful, is it as thick as it looks??

We've had a jailbreak!!!
 

If we want Luna out but can't keep a constant eye on her we've had her in a 3-foot exercise pen (you've seen it in the videos). She's tried to jump out many times but was never successful.

Until today.

She jumped up and just enough to get her chest / belly over the top and flopped over it.

.. and then she had the biggest look of joy on her face as she went zooming out all over the place (like our finkie puppies did when we had the big jailbreak - 4 of the 5 got out and were running all over the place - I was in a panic looking for the 5th one until I realized she never left!). Huge smile on her face, ears all the way back, tongue hanging out as she went everywhere as if to say "Yay! I'm free!"

Now she's in the 5-foot tall exercise pen.

iyana climbes like a cat, 8 foot no prob, luckly she loves being at home and i have two fences before she can get get out...;-)

Luna's second day at schutzhund!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwZWjF4MO_E

She's getting so big! Love it! Thanks for posting!:)

Marcy

So big we had to buy her a new crate today. We went down to the feed store (I'd rather support a small business than a large chain) and picked up a nice plastic crate with 2 doors, one on the end and one on the side. Very nice and wasn't to expensive ($105?). She'll grow into this one and I thought a larger one anyway since we don't have an issue of her going to the bathroom in the crate (and I hope it doesn't start).

She does need a lot more positive socialization - she's skittish around strangers so whenever we take her out we'll need to have good treats with us for strangers to give her.

We also had to get a new collar for her and we picked up a harness for schutzhund (much less tress on the throat).

Schutzhund (week #3) yesterday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5kze-O4lq8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz4M0sDIeWI

Also, it was Kiri's (our GSD) first session on a sleeve and she did very well! Too bad her daughter (Pepper / Athena) is already far ahead of her - she's on blind searches. :)

So, Luna's breed is from the Czech Republic so she's Czech, correct?

Also, is cak the Czech word for dog? So she would be a Czech Cak?

She's a girl, too, so she's a Czech Cak Chick?

:nono No no... her breed is not from Czech, it is from the former Czechoslovakian Republic and she is not a Cak (Pes) nor a Vlk, she is a Vlcak ;-)

Best regards / Mikael

I thought the Czech Republic retained 'country of origin" status after Czechoslovakia split.

Also, remind me to verify things that my wife tells me before I say things like this and make myself sound like a fool. :)

Both the Czech Republic and Slovakia are the countries of origin as they did build the former Czechoslovakian Republic and Slovakia got the patronage for the breed after the separation.

Ina

:ylsuper Hilarious!

Michael

As you can see she still has her metal bowl fetish. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gkFVRphSS0

:lol: That video was fun :cool3 Wolfdog puppy´s are just so crazy :lol:

Best regards / Mikael

I need to get a video of the "puppy zoomies" (where she just runs all over the place with the biggest look of joy on her face).

haha "Puppy" zoomies? My 8 year old dog must be the oldest puppy ever, then! :lol:

Nope. Our 12 year old collie does it, too (well, not as much now), especially after he takes a poop (well, more like leaves one) outside. ;)

I am proud to say that Luna also now knows the "2 toy game" with tennis balls. I throw a ball, she gets it, I call her to me, ask her to "out" and then throw ball 2 as a reward for her outing ball 1. That way she is used to a "no conflict" out command, plus in her mind, the "out" makes me throw another ball for her!
She is so bright, she picked it up in one session. The fun of puppies is that they are like a sponge, soaking up whatever we teach them. Her first learned command was to bark! She now sits, downs, recalls, heels at my left, retrieves as well. That is a lot for a 15 week old pup!

:o So fast, she is so good and you must work allot whit her...

How is she with repetition training ???

Best regards / Mikael

I don't do a lot of repetition - boring for me AND the dog!
As long as she understands the command and does it, I am happy - she is just a baby after all. No pressure - only reward at this stage.
I concentrate mainly on developing her grip, focus and socialization. Puppies soak everything up, so it's easier to build a good foundation now rather than waiting until she is wild adolescent to do anything.

Lina graduated to a soft - bite sausage for training!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7iqxOTM5UM

(Please ignore the slight interruption in the middle...)

Yes, she had to pee in the middle of her bitework session. Silly girl. She also went swimming today for the first time - initially she fell in, went all the way under, and after she bobbed to the surface, began swimming quite well. I fished her out, praising all the time. She shook herself, and then surprised me by jumping into the pool herself another 4 times! By the last leap in, she'd figured out how to get to the steps to get out on her own. I was pretty impressed by her toughness. A lot of other dogs would've been traumatized for life...

Goodness she's getting so big!!! Such a beautiful little lady she's turning into. :)
Awesome to see her such a motivated worker and glad she took to swimming well!
First time my boy saw water he ran right in *splash!* no hesitation at all! Funny they're such a water breed, you wouldn't really guess it!!
Glad you guys having fun and are loving your pup. :thumbs
Really making me want to get another lil' monster soon though!!! :p

It's so cute watching Luna learn. :) You can tell she's just having so much fun! It's hard to tell from the video, too, but it looks like she's getting a nice, strong grip. I'm glad you're keeping us updated on her progress! :)

I wish I had caught her swimming lesson on video - it was really hilarious. I also didn't catch her second bitework session - it was sort of unexpected... there was an adolescent GSD that just wasn't "getting it" in regards to the bitework tuggie, so the helpers asked me to bring Luna out to "show" the other pup what to do - often another dog can model it's behavior off of the other... anyway, it was the first time our male helper had worked Luna. I have to say I was a little surprised at her reaction. She was taken aback by the more masculine dominant body language from the male helper, and initially backed up in between my legs, staring at him. With my verbal and physical encouragement, and the helper's excellent toy-taunting, she came out and gripped quite well. She was quite "serious" though - tensed, not "playful" like when the female helper works her. To me, this is a sign of civil/defense drive coming out not far off in the future. Her grip was just as full and hard on the male helper as the female helper - if not more so.
Her grip is quite natural, calm and VERY deep. In fact, she will JAM the tug deeper into her mouth at every opportunity.
I can't wait to see how this all plays out... If you all are bored with our chronicling her development, I can zip it...

You don't listen at all, do you... :nono

;)

I'm especially finding all of this interesting because I've never actually seen all the steps that go into Schutzhund training like this. I've always thought of getting involved with the sport in the future, so now I can see if it's something I'd really be interested in. :) Plus, I love seeing Luna grow up! I wish the other owners of the Galomy litter would do the same. ;)

I do listen, I just don't want to assume anything! :)
I am happy to continue to post our successes as well as pitfalls (I don't think of anything as a failures - note my hobbling around in that ridiculous orthopedic brace that is supposed to keep my left hip from dislocating).
Luna is just a force of nature - I almost feel like one of those storm chasers sometimes.
She really tests all my skills and challenges me to learn more. And she impresses me with her tenacity and fearlessness. My SchH club friends call her "the wolf" but in reality, she is a really hard DOG. A REAL wolf would quail and run off when faced with the things that she sails into fearlessly.

It's official, my wife has now spoiled Luna more than any other dog we've had. She went out and bought her a new toy today, and she loves it. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYz5Gru24C4

Don't worry, we quickly changed the water afterward but she does have a habit of doing that...

She isn't spoiled, I am ENRICHING her environment. She needs the intellectual stimulation. She is too smart!
Oh, yes, and that was her PEEING in her pool at the end...

Puppy meets sheep!
http://www.youtube.com/draggardevir#p/a/u/2/Zcqo6XHzpRI

Poor girl :( the water was of course to cold ;)

My dog did try the same as a puppy, but it did not help, as the water was to hard... ( sorry I deleted all peeing photos a long time ago :lol: )

But I think you can understand way it did not help :rock_3

http://forumbilder.se/images/b9920101013559f04.jpg

Best regards / Mikael

Awesome!! Though it looked like German Shepherd turned into Wolf about halfway through. ;-) Good luck!!!

Yes, once she learned that she had "power" over the sheep, it excited her. And there is certainly some predatory instinct as she tried to bite them.

Mikael - has your girl peed in other bodies of water? Apparently Marcy says Luna's mom Anthea pees in the ocean!
I am wondering if this is a dominant dog-thing or a wolf-thing (if you pee in water, your scent disappears)? I know some species of animal (a giant guinea-pig like critter in South America used for fur - can't remember the name of it) HAVE to pee in water, and I know it often stimulates infant humans to pee...

"Luna's Mom" took some pictures of our growing puppy. Enjoy. :)

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...-4-20-2010.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...4-20-2010b.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...4-20-2010c.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...4-20-2010d.jpg

Capybara? I am admittedly a huge fan of them. So cute. ;)

Yup. Capybara is it! Their need to pee in water is one reason they were not terribly successful as production animals - their environmental needs are very specific.
Of course, so are Luna's!

Flint pooped in a creek once.... :shock:

When we met the wolves at Wolf Park, we got to visit the old alpha of their main pack who got taken down, injured, and had to be removed from the others. He had a pen all to himself away from their lake, so he had a big trough of water. While we were visiting, he decided to go over to it, pee in it, then climbed in & laid down! :shock: :lol: It was too funny!

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...9/P7110226.jpg

.. well, at least then you don't have to pick up after him? :)

and the peeing in water thing.. no more damaged lawns! Perfect.

But in seriousness, I think it may be a dog by dog thing. A friend's English Mastiff always does number 2 whenever they go to the beach in the ocean and she's always wondering what she should do??? Cause there are other people using the water too.. :T

I have a girlfriend whose Newfie poos in the ocean. She fishes it out because people are swimming around and no one wants to come in contact with a dog pile floating around!

No, I do not think my girl has peed in the water, but I must ask her about it :lol:

But no, my CsV has not :wink: just one the ice... and he is a he... He just look like a female on that photo because of the effect -20´C has on the man part :lol:

Best regards / Mikael

Ooops! Did not mean to question his masculinity! :)

:lol: It´s OK

Best regards / Mikael

Last weekend's schutzhund session (sorry I didn't get it posted until last night).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjtekInl9GI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mruq5KOx1zg

Also- Kiri (our GSD) is on a hard sleeve now and is doing pretty well. I'd post those videos too, I won't mention any names but a certain "mom" didn't take a video of me working her. ;)

It wasn't actually Luna's best SchH session - she was hot, tired and is teething, so she was not as energetic as she usually is. Her grips were a little half-hearted, too. It happens when they are teething...

Luna at schutzhund this weekend. It was hot out so they did 3-4 short sessions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgq8i-XojHA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYA_RfwQul4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp_t5Sf-wCg

Kiri wasn't too into it, though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8EG951QgVY

We took a bunch of pictures of the little bratty puppy tonight. She's getting big!!

We noticed that with most of the bits her ears are forward or out - not back.

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010a.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010b.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010c.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010d.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010e.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010f.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010g.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010h.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010i.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010j.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010k.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010l.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...may8-2010m.jpg

More schutzhund videos, it was hot out, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42HaQFHFA8A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvLj5dEU8kE

And we did some basics with Zorro, his second session (his first session was a lot better).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI9QzPvAdX4

Zorro is the "UN-Malinois"!! He is a lover not a fighter.

Pool Party!
 

So, for Memorial Day we were invited to a dog pool party at a friend's house. Luna had a great time - she was the only one who didn't get "time-outs" she got to swim the whole time. She leaps in, spread-eagled and just cruises all around. Even in a new pool, she immediately figured out where the steps are.
Then, of course, naughtiness strikes... the home has a fenced yard, however the rear is a canal, not fencing. So Luna went potty and then saw the canal. I swear I saw hr expression change as she raced to the canal, leaped in and got into the neighbor's yard. I called her and she swam back, but then decided running around was so much fun that she took a few laps, threatening to leap into the canal again, and all I kept thinking was - what am I going to tell Marcy? "Hi, remember the ONLY female born in the first litter whelped here in the U.S. that you co-own with me? Well, there was this alligator..."
I finally caught the bitchlet - she is just a total brat!

First Conformation Class
 

So Luna had her first conformation class today. I was thrilled to see she REMEMBERED people she'd only met once - back when she was 12 weeks old! And she did really well (aside from not being able to keep still for a moment). Someone was setting off fireworks a field over, which sounded like gunfire, and to my complete surprise, she didn't even startle at the noise. She simply looked over to where it was coming from.
Everyone had to ask what she was (of course) but it was a fun night...

Vlcak Slumber Party!
 

So my girlfriend asked me to take Pollux home for the night - he needs the exposure/socialization. So he is spending the night here at Casa del Mango, and Luna just loves having a little brother to pick on. Normally she's the one picked on, and normally Pollux picks on the other puppies in his home, so he is getting a dose of his own medicine.
He is calmer than Luna, and likes to cuddle. He is also gorgeous. He models his behavior on the other dogs, which Lunaa does, too, so I am thankful I have stable, obedient dogs for them to model off of. My Malinois was raised modelling off a collie, and is the most neutral, calm, relaxed, sweet and friendly Malinois I have ever met - we joke he is a collie in Malinois clothes! But it is a GOOD thing, as there are not so many Malinois like that...
If I were raising Pollux, I would take advantage of that modelling behavior and not worry about the silly puppy things vlcaks do, like spooking or darting, and just let them see that their "big brother" dog is NOT worried about fire crackers or other loud noises and that strange people mean GOOD things!
Here at my house Pollux met my husband for the first time - initially, he was shocked, but because my Malinois greeted my husband affectionately, Pollux was no longer nervous.
As I write this, he is under my coffee table/desk at my feet - sort of a "cave" for him and he is chewing a bone. If my girlfriend ever doesn't want him, I will definitely take him!

It's funny how quickly their attitude towards you changes from before you feed them to after - even if they do make a complete mess of their food. :D

Puppy cam
 

OK, so they are not vlcaks, but here is a link to the cam my husband set up of our newborn GSD pups http://www.ustream.tv/channel/gsd-cam/

Pollux & Luna - in one house!
 

So we've been "puppy-sitting" Pollux Crying Wolf for a few days now. My girlfriend is a believer (with some dogs) that it takes a village... well at least to socialize them to various environments, anyway.
Though both exhibit "normal" vlcak behavior, they are very different. Luna is a wild whirlwind of teeth and energy. She is obnoxiously social - happy as heck - and just VIVACIOUS. Oh, and LOUD.
Pollux is like her polar opposite. He is sweet, quiet, reserved, very content to chew on a bone next to you. And the best part is he is a snuggle-bug. He LOVES to snuggle and be held. Luna hates being restrained and cannot sit still for a second, so snuggling is out of the question! She is much more confident in strange situations - she is social and very curious. Pollux prefers to be with his person.
I adore them both, and I love watching them interact with their world. I must admit I LOVE snuggling with Pollux, and look forward to being able to do that once Luna calms down a bit with maturity. Of course it took my Malinois 6 years to mature, so I better not hold my breath.
So having these 2 gives me some insight to the differences between lines and gender - I'd like to take bits of both to create my perfect vlcak. In the meantime, I am perfectly happy with these 2 in my life, even though Pollux isn't really mine... And my husband gave Pollux the highest "honor" he accord to any dog - "unlimited welcome" into our home...

Yep - he's up there with Otis and the corgis. Artemis doesn't need this because she's one of our puppies. :)

Pollux Crying Wolf
 

So Pollux is here at Casa del Mango. We adore him. At almost 5 months old, he is starting to look funny. He has this big wedge-head and sturdy combat-boot feet but the rest is skinny, wiry boy pup. Luna, at 6 months, has grown much more evenly so far.
We are working on exposing him to everything - preferably with "big brother" Zorro (my 7 year old Malinois) there. Things that would normally send Pollux into a darting panic are not so scary to him when Zorro is there - Zorro ignores it and so Pollux does, too.
For instance, I took him to a Conformation class at a local park that my friend teaches. I knew there would be plenty of "scary" things there - things that Pollux (or "Puck" as I call him) finds frightening - at least according to my girlfriend, his human mom. So for the first 45 minutes of the class, it was just Puck and I - I have other friends who go to that class, so I chatted with friends and Puck could goof off and socialize with their pup. So things like the Public Address loudspeaker blaring voice and music didn't faze him - nor did the previously-terrifying diesel trucks rumbling past, back-firing. I was so proud! He got LOTS of food rewards and calm praise and stroking. The class instructor is a long-time Tervuren person, so she is well-versed in spooky, shy nervousness - she was armed with delicious hotdogs and approached sideways, no eye contact. Pollux allowed her to exam him all over - even his teeth - without any problem at all. By the end of class, she was able to be very dominant and he was looking forward to her examinations, and when we did a mock "down and back" for her as the judge, Pollux pulled me forward toward her excitedly.
At the end of class, I brought Zorro out, which ended up being a good thing - the Park System maintenance guy drove down in his flat-bed "rhino" (sort of an All-Terrain 4 wheeler vehicle) to pick up the table and other showring props - and Pollux was terrified of the rhino. Of course Zorro was not, so after his initial freak-out Pollux sort of looked around as if embarrassed and began to investigate. Zorro had gone up to the Parks guy (he is the most social Malinois I have ever seen) and so Pollux had to check it out, too. Within minutes, Pollux even had his paws up on the flatbed.
So Zorro is my secret weapon for socializing Pollux to "scary" things. If Zorro likes it, Pollux does, too. Pollux also seems to model off of Luna - I take the two of them to the local dog park to run around, and Pollux will allow strangers to touch and interact with him, if Luna or the other dogs he meets allow it.
So it is interesting to raise such different characters at the same time. The fun in raising a puppy...

When do they stop with the non-stop barking?

Oh, honey, Luna is just expressing herself! Be glad she barks! Not all Vlcaks do until maturity and it's a good behavior to have in a Schutzhund and Theatrical dog. You will look back on these puppy times and laugh (or maybe still get annoyed and thank goddess we have adults in the house now...).

We took Luna and Pongo to the park the other day. Luna is growing up very nicely.


http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...caks_7-24d.jpg



http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...luna_7-24i.jpg

She's starting to grow out of her awkward puppy legs! They grow up so fast... :)

The main problem now is that when I crate her at night (I know she'll either get into something she shouldn't or go to the bathroom in the bedroom) she barks and whines for about an hour (or more). If I have to get up in the middle of the night, she barks and whines (after I get back into the bedroom) for another 30+ minutes.

You name it, I've tried it other than letting her out of the crate (which I think she's too young for at this time as noted above).

I've started to put a radio by the crate playing music all night (quiet enough not to keep me (or her?) awake) it's only been a couple of days and I'm not sure if it is helping.

Other than that - you name it most likely I've tried it.

Question - has she been difficult to housebreak? Coming up in August she should be close to 8 months, right? Is this the norm for Vlcaks? Just wondering.. I just know that our dobe was reliably housebroken through the night by 18-20 weeks, bur I know some breeds are harder to housetrain than others.

ETA: Have you tried crating her in your bedroom?

She's very good with house training - the only time there are accidents is when she and Pongo play a lot inside (the activity gets their systems going). We do walk them often but sometimes it just comes. It's not common (in fact, it's getting rarer and rarer since now if they play for about 30 minutes I'll proactively walk them).

She just turned 7 months (on July 24th). She should be able to hold herself for 7 hours (maybe a little longer - but I wouldn't want to push it). Her going to the bathroom is the second worry - my primary worry is that she is still a puppy in many ways, she'll get into things while we sleep (clothes, chew up the rug, electrical cords, etc.. even if there are toys the things she's not supposed to play with are more fun ;) ).

Also, the crate is in the bedroom (we have 3 set up in there). I have a bone in there for her and leave a rawhide bone for her, too (those last several nights with her). So she's not bored. I covered the crate, left it uncovered, you name it.

I would love to leave her loose but I don't think now is the right time - she's still too young. Maybe when she's 9 months old she'll be a little more mature (but now she's mature compared to other 7 month old puppies that I've had / seen).

Could be that she's just trying to see what she can get away with. She is hitting the obnoxious teenage phase. ;) If I were you, I'd wait it out and make absolutely sure when I let her out in the morning, she was being calm first. Even if she's just up and excited, or she gets some sort of reaction regardless of whether you let her out (i.e. eye contact, etc) she could think she's "winning".

Oh, yeah, course... about the naughty puppiness.. One dog here going on 2 yrs old still can't be uncrated when left alone.......things come up mysteriously destroyed when we do, still.

I was just wondering about the housebreaking, is all. Thanks for the reply! Glad to hear that they are not so difficult to housebreak.

BTW, who's Pongo? Is that Pollux's pet name or another dog all together?

Can anyone else pitch in about the crating? What about Vlcaks in general in regards to crate training?

Sara renamed Pollux to Pongo and this time the name seems to be sticking (although she went though many names for him).

Sara also normally takes "the chacks" to a class in the evening for a few hours, most of the time where they can run around a lot but never seem to get tired (can we hook them up to our power grid??). We do what we can to tire them out but it never seems to work. :S

I also think she's just being an annoying adolescent.

As for crate training - Luna is extremely good with it. We tell her crate and she goes in (most of the time), she just doesn't like to be in there long (feeding time is OK, etc). :) Pongo is harder but all it takes is a cookie tossed towards the back of it and he dives in (We still do that with Luna sometimes, too, so there are rewards in there sometimes).

So... Is Pongo just your dog now? I thought it was your friend's, but the more I hear you guys talk about him, the more he sounds like you're just keeping him. :confused2

They're still too young for this, but if they're still so energetic in the future you can try weights like with weighted packs. Or even better, urban mushing!!

Maybe Luna's just bored at night and needs a TV in her crate. ;)

ETA: Have you tried a Kong?

He is/was my wife's friend's vlcak. I'm not sure what's up 100% but I think he's staying with us for a while now. He's sweet and good when alone (Luna is a bad influence on him!) and has gained a lot of confidence since he's been with us.

When he grows up, if he gets used to being out a lot then we think he could make an good backup service dog for my wife.

As for the TV in her crate - that might not be a bad idea!! Maybe a big squeaky one? :D

:lol: I make decisions and don't really tell the BF the complete story too.....

Hope Luna's mom isn't pulling the "he's staying temporarily" thing with you when "temporary" = 15 years.. I've done that. ;-)

Or maybe you hope she IS saying that??

You know, puppies ARE bad for each other. Good thing you've got grown stable adults to tell them to behave... :cool3

Thanks for sharing Luna with us and keep it up!

Sara has done that, too (not 15 years, though) but at least if there is an issue she'll listen to me (and it's happened before). I think Pongo and Luna are good for each other. Kiri is a bitch (especially with her puppies now) so she's not a good playmate, Maiya is 9 and an old lady, she doesn't like to play and Zorro likes to play a little, on his own terms (even though he's 7) so they're good for each other (about 2 months apart in age) they both have the endless supply of energy that they can play with each other.

Might not have worded it right - I only meant 'not good' as in they learn naughty behaviors from each other.. which seems to be the case.. ;)

Puppy socializing with other puppies is great fun and a great outlet, but it doesn't teach them the same things that a stable adult dog could.

That's all. Sorry bout the misunderstanding.

Zorro and Maiya are good influences on them. Both are calm, stable, and very secure. If they get obnoxious to the adults, then they'll get a snark, sometimes even a small correction - so yes, if they're too naughty, they're told so. :)

Pongo is getting to be quite the nipper, too. I think he's going to become a butt-biter.

We've had our first casualty. Pongo was being, well, a pully, and decided to grab my work laptop bag and pull it off the table.

It came crashing down. The laptop is OK but now there are some blotches on my iPod screen. Luckily, I just use it for music, no videos etc.

Yes, we try to puppy proof our home but he jumped up and grabbed it (he's become quite the nipper - we need to correct that ASAP!)

:lol: Yep, raising a puppy is very very fun ;-)

Keep up the good work !!!

Best regards / Mikael

Yes, well, Pongo is becoming a butt-head. I always had a feeling he had the potential to be a jerk... Though there are some who disagree, I raise puppies the way I was taught by longtime SchH mentors - puppies are allowed to be puppies. No pressure. That said, I DO use food to teach them basic behaviors, and certainly BAD behavior is NOT tolerated... but other than that, they are allowed free rein. They can be rambunctious and obnoxious and I find it develops confidence and a little bit of cockiness - necessary (I think) for SchH.
Anyway, that's one reason Pongo is here - so that he can be as bratty as he wants and not get into (too much) trouble. We want his confidence level high.
So, I am working on developing his tug game - full, hard grips, building his drive for the toy, etc... well I also started to make him have to work harder for the toy (fighting him a little) and frustrating him with waiting a second or two for it... apparently, that is NOT pleasing to him - he got pissed off last night and nipped my thigh!
As soon as I yelled "ACK!" at him to interrupt the behavior, he had already released, and was SMILING, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth...
BRAT!

Just a quick update - Luna is maturing nicely. She still barks and whines in her crate at night but not as much as she used to (15-30 minutes as opposed to 30-90 minutes). When she's out alone (and by alone, I mean without Pongo) she's very good. She may get some energy spirts (run around like a lunatic), but that's expected in a breed like this.

Pongo is still immature and is starting to nip, even bite people at times (non-aggressive, puppy play). We need to curb / eliminate this behavior ASAP because it can be very bad as an adult. He's also extremely fast and agile.

Great to hear!

How is Pongo taking crate training? Better/worse/equal with Luna?

He'll usually go in there if we toss a cookie in there...

That's about it. :D