The transformation of my dog into a ... D O G ...

For those of you who know Koenig, you all know he's not particularly gifted in social, dog-dog manners. Since he was tied in a back yard for the first year of his life, he missed out on some CRITICAL socialization time.

I always thought I'd never be able to make that up, and he'd be a slightly retarted dog in social setting. By saying he's slightly retarted, I mean he can't read other dogs body language. His body language is VERY dominant/alpha. He'll posture, and T off to another dog. I honestly think he has no idea what he's actually saying with his body. Koenig is also incredibly vocal. With me in training, while playing, while meeting other dogs. He's just loud. Really loud. Snarly, grumbling, growing... and he really doesn't mean it, if you watch his expression- he just does not know better! 

In the 2 years I've had him I've socialized the CRAP out of him. He's been everywhere with me. (Including bizarre places like underground Seattle) He's met thousands of dogs, in controlled circumstances. He's been to hundreds of dog parks. I can't let him play at those dog parks, because I don't trust him- he's going to unintentionally pick a fight. One (idiotic) lady even hit him with a Chuck-it across the spine because he was chasing her dog, and she felt he was after it in a malicious way. Boy, was I pissed... anyhow- I've let him 'play' with several dogs. Usually bitches, that won't take any nonsense from anyone. The dogs I let him get rowdy with also have some very good obedience, and I know if things begin to get out of hand, both dogs would be able to be 'called off'. My goal with all of that was to let Koenig get knocked around by a bossy girl dog, and learn to be polite. 

Didn't really help. He's still a punk. Under control? Yeah. Polite 'normal' doggy manners? Heck no. 

...until...

We brought home Aden, our now 15 week old English Shepherd puppy. Aden was the 2d largest in the litter from birth, and always held her own once her littermate brother outgrew her. Man, she's kicked Koenig's butt! She could share large pieces of meat with him (pork legs) where previously Koenig had shown some guarding of his food with other dogs. Aden can take a toy right out of his mouth. The first few weeks Koenig would get to rough and Aden would yelp and roll over, or simply lay down- after that honeymoon period she started showing the REAL dog she is, and when Koe gets rougher then she likes she comes back at him! A little black and white ball of fury and teeth! 

In the 5 weeks we've owned her, she's made Koenig into a dog that acts like a dog. He's better with strange dogs. He can play with dogs 1/8th of his size. I'm shocked. I tried for 2 years to 'fix' this, and a 22lb puppy did it in less then 5 weeks! 

Recently I brought home a Pekingese puppy to foster. Tiny little thing- maybe 10lbs soaking wet. Koenig's a total gentleman with her, and the pup actually prefers Koenig's company to Aden's. 

I'm thrilled. He's finally growing up!! 

(now if the dang toe would just heal, and I could work the brindle beast again)

What (other) animal is my dog?

Some of my friends recently had an online discussion on what 'other' type of animal/person there dog was. I couldn't think of anything for Koenig- certainly something that loved to jump/fly- but what?

One friend suggested Ricky Bobby from Taladaga Nights. "Humorous, diverse and smart about his job."was what she said. While that does fit Koenig well, another good friend (who knows my dog almost as well as I do!) Said he's Tigger. 


Koenig is 100% Tigger. 

The wonderful thing about Tiggers, 
is Tiggers are wonderful things. 
Their tops are made out of rubber, 
the bottoms are made out of springs!


They're
Bouncy, 
Flouncy,
Trouncy, 
Pouncy, 

Fun 
Fun 
Fun 
Fun 
FUN!....

(sorry about the photo quality...)

 That's TOTALLY my dog! I've never heard anything that describes him as well as bouncy, flouncy, 
trouncy, and pouncy. (With just a little bit of attitude tossed into the mix)


If anyone has ever met a more 'tigger' like dog, I'd love to see proof! :D


In other news- Koenig isn't very Tigger like the past few days- not for lack of trying though! The poor boy's toe hurts, and he's more then willing to go crazy, running around like the idiot he is, but I'm not letting him. He's not exactly on crate rest (that'd make us all go crazy!!!) but he's on down stay's on his bed the majority of the time. I can't keep him 100% quiet w/o the help of hard drugs, and I'd like to avoid that if at all possible. 


I'm giving him Arnica, Comfy, and Curcumin to help with the pain/inflammation/healing. We're also cold hosing it as many times as possible a day, for 10 minutes. (Tried doing ice baths on the foot- He's NOT happy about letting me stick it in a bucket of ice water!! He'll let me, but it's miserable for both of  us- cold hosing is a remanent of my horse years, and just as effective)


He's still really really lame- I still haven't even decided if I'm going to bring him to IPO training on Sunday or not. We could work on long downs. We could work on the hold, for the retrieve.... and I could just generally piss him off by bringing him and not letting him REALLY work. Ugh. Darn dog. It's going to be a long 6-8 weeks until he's healed and ready to race around like a brindle idiot. I REALLY need this toe to heal correctly though- if he's stuck with a permanent limp then his performance days are over. :( That would really break my heart. Hopefully he'll just heal with a gnarly toe, and be good as new. 

Herding!

Took the 'kids' herding for the first time in 2 months with Koenig, and first time ever for Aden last night. Also had my 7 year old with me .

I love Ewetopia- it's a place where dog are happy, people are happy, and the livestock is happy. Logan generally gets to take a dog herding, generally his best buddy Breve', and 8yr old Rottweiler bitch. Last night he got to herd with Brev, AND do some obedience with the most adorable Sheltie ever. Logan's working on rewarding dogs more frequently... Breve' will work with him just for the sake of working. The Sheltie needs a bit more praise and treats! They did great though- what a pair! Logan also got to work with another Sheltie, who's known for being 'not so nice' with kids- Joe (head trainer) said frankly 'Logan, this dog might bite you, come here.' For those that have never been to Ewetopia and don't know Joe, he would NEVER set up my child to get bit. It was a closely supervised situation, and it ended up with the Sheltie (who didn't like kids) leaping into Logan's arms, and sitting in his lap. :) Everyone wins!

Aden did fabulous herding. I did get a video, I might get it onto YouTube tonight. (This isn't her blog though. ;) )

The brindle. Well... he was a Dutch. We had 2 runs, the first run started off very excited and 'up'. He was loud, fast, and happy. Eventually he settled down into some very very nice work. He had his drive down enough where he could walk along on the heels of the stock. He was giving me nice downs, and waits, and steadying up when I asked. I was pretty happy. I know dogs retain herding lessons much much better then obedience or other training (herding is natural for them, after all!) but it always shocks me just how much they do retain. I haven't taken him herding for 2 months. At the end of that first session it looked like we'd been working daily.

The 2d session we worked on 'lifts' A lift is where my dog circles wide around the sheep, and brings them to me (ideally calmly, in a straight line) Koenig starts on the opposite end of the arena, and has to circle out and wide to not scatter the sheep. It's hard, and it's something he's really got to THINK about when he's working. First few were a bit wild, but OK... and then he decided to blow off a 'STEADY' command. He opened his mouth, and shoved his entire face into the largest sheep's ass. I'm sure he jammed his neck. He didn't yelp, and I made him keep working. After 5-10 steps he developed a pretty good limp. I think he also jammed his foot into the sheep's hoof or leg. (Mind you, this is a sheep that is higher at the back then my waist. He's huge. Sometimes stubborn.) His toe/nail looked bent, but we certainly couldn't end the lesson on that note. 2 or 3 lifts later, we quit for the night.

This is what we had when I felt it. Very swollen, but I wasn't going to palpate it until I was home, and Koenig was muzzled. 

That outside bent toe is broken at the smallest phalange. Bummer dude!!!! I don't want to pay a vet $300 + for an Xray, and a diagnosis of a broken toe, to be advised to put him on cage rest, so I reset the toe as best I can (it's pretty crunchy in there...) and taped it up. He'll be on light duty for quite awhile, and as much cage rest as I can handle. 6-8 weeks, hopefully he'll be as good as new. 

Damn dog. If he'd just listened to my STEADY command, and slowed up a bit, all of this could have been avoided.... Ahhhh, the joys of owning a Dutchie. 

It's been awhile, hasn't it??

Geeze. Some blogger I am.... lol. I made this blog to hopefully chronicle the training of Koenig, and keep me moving forward. Worked for awhile it seems. I promise, I haven't just STOPPED working my dog! 

 At the end of March, Koenig got his JHD title (Junior Herd Dog) at my Schutzhund clubs annual herding instinct test. The test involves 2 legs, of the same course. The sheep start out in the middle of the pen- you ask your dog for a stay (any position) and the handler approaches the sheep- the rest is pretty self explanatory if you watch the video. Your dog has to move the stock through at least 3 panels (I believe Koenig and I did 4, out of habit) in a controlled manner. "Controlled" can mean many things, depending on the breed.... ;) Koenig's herding style is VERY different from the average dog, but it works! At the end, you have to ask your dog for a stay again- this time OUT OF MOTION, while you open the gate to pen your sheep. This was our best moment- Koenig's down is like a ton of bricks, hitting the ground! I had very experienced herding people telling me that day that they wish they had a down like I do. :) THANK YOU, Schutzhund training, and training in drive. If I hadn't previously trained my dog while he was in drive (playing tug, obedience in front of a decoy, etc) I wouldn't have that beautiful down. That's where my whole "Train like you PLAY" comes in, and you see the rewards. Koenig knows that if he downs hard and fast, I let him up sooner to resume the fun. (in this case, herding) Unfortunately for Koenig, I tricked him at the trial, and didn't let the sheep back out... ;) Koenig is now officially Koenig BH, JHD, CGC. :) Go brindle beasty dog!

 This is the 2d leg of our JHD.

   

 Since the herding trial, we haven't been back out to Ewetopia. Shame on me... :( What can I say- money is tight, and time is tight! We'll be going back out regularly soon- more on that later. Other then herding, we've not gained any titles since my last blog. Awww, shucks. As far as what we've been doing- much of the same.

Trying to be ready for our IPO 1 in late September. I can have Obedience ready, I'm sure of that. Still need to work more on our 'Send Away', and our retrieves may not be picture perfect- but they are very functional, and I've got a happy willing dog. That'll work for me. We need to refine our protection work, and practice the routine, but I'm not worried about that coming together at all. Our real challenge is tracking. Koenig and I didn't get the best start and guidance tracking, which lead to us both learning some really bad habits. I'm working hard on my handling skills, and giving him clear signals. He's working hard on WORKING. He seemed to think that tracking was just a game, and he could stop when he wanted to. No...... not really dog.... With the help of another (crazy) brindle dog owner, and lots of practice, our tracking is back on the correct track. (haha, get it?? On the track?) I've had to use a little bit of pressure, or force to get my point across- but it's working, and Koenig is still happy on the track. We're using lots of articles to give him a break, and basically starting over from the very beginning so he relearns it all the CORRECT way. My super-fantastic buddy that helps me says he's got a really great tracking style, and once we work out the kinks, we'll have wonderful tracks! Yay! Wow- I've learned SO much with my first sport dog. I'm almost happy that I started with him as an adult ( 1 1/2 when we started IPO, I got him at a year), and didn't start with him as a puppy. That would have brought on another world of challenges. As hard as it was starting with a 80lb dog that had no manners, I was able to harness the drive that he had, rather then try to nurture it from a pup. I knew the dog I had when I got him- rather then trying to mold a pup into what you want it to be. I don't know if that made sense- I'm just so very pleased with my dog. He's come SO far. I tell people in public that he's a rescue, and they are shocked because of him lovely manners. ;)

 Here is a super short video of Koenig doing some ladder/body awareness work. It's not as good as it should, or can be- but it's hard to help my dog while getting him in the frame of a video camera. ;)

   

 A few more videos, just Koenig and I having fun. Heeling in the backyard last night

   

 Position Changes last night

   

 In other exciting news, we got a PUPPY! We, being Richard and I. The puppy is his to train, but a family dog, just like Koenig of course. She's 11 weeks old now, and we got her at 10 weeks. Highland Glenn's Aden Faline (meaning: little fire, in charge) is a Naturally Reared English Shepherd. English Shepherd's were the original farm collie type dog. They are a herding breed first and foremost- with a loose eyed style (unlike a border collie) they are known for bringing just as much power to the stock as they need- not being over the top, but strong enough to work cattle. Here is a link about the breed- check them out! http://englishshepherds.webs.com/characteristics.htm SUPER neat little dogs. We're really excited about her. If you're not familiar with natural rearing, it's essentially the most basic, natural way to raise a dog. Letting Mom wean the puppies herself, not on your time schedule. Feeding a natural diet to both the dam, and the puppies (RAW, of course!), removing all chemicals from the environment (including standard cleaning products- natural works just as well!). Both Aden's parents were naturally reared, and are the ultimate picture of health. Aden will be vaccine free, except as required by law (in WA, Rabies). She's never been wormed (chemicals!) but is worm free. She's never had flea medication or baths, but it flea free. Raw feeding is amazing. When a dog is as healthy as possible they are not a good host for parasites, fleas, worms, etc. The way we are feeding/raising Aden, she'll have 'natural immunity'. It's pretty darn cool, IMO!

Here is a link on Natural Rearing written by our breeder. http://englishshepherds.webs.com/whatisnaturalrearing.htm

 If you've never heard of natural immunity, PLEASE take some time and read this link. http://www.freewebs.com/englishshepherds/Natural_Immunity.pdf Help me dispel the myth that vaccines, worming, and chemicals make for a healthy dog.

If you're really interested in learning more, there are lots of good links to start with on this site. http://englishshepherds.webs.com/furtherresearch.htm (scroll down, you'll pass English Shepherd info, and get into the good stuff- vaccines, and nutrition)

 Aden will be a herding dog, hopefully get into nose work, agility, and IPO style tracking and obedience - after being an ideal family pet! Even in the 6 days we've owned her we've both seen the neat spirit of the breed. She gravitates to the kids, is friendly and bold, seeks out eye contact, and is just a adorable little ball of black and white fluffiness! :D

   

 MEAT, it's whats for dinner.

   

 Aden comes from a small mountain town called Republic- we made a 11 hour drive for this little girl! It also gave us the chance to see my parents 160 acer property in Republic for the first time. Stunning. 

Having all this land available to us we got the perfect opportunity to let Aden wander, and go for a nice long walk. She's only 11 weeks old, and has already been on her first hike, and played in her first mountain stream! She's met cattle, rabbits, chickens, and eaten every protein source you can imagine, from the average (organic) meat you can find in a grocery store, to ground and tree squirrels, rats, and other goofy critters her breeder 'found' for the puppies to try. In the first few days Aden was torn from her small secluded home with her litter mates, tossed to us, exposed to my brindle beast (who's adjusting to having a puppy in the home VERY well!!) taken for her first ultra long car ride, gone for a ferry boat ride, and climbed flights of vibrating stairs on the ferry just to start the list- all without a sign of fear! What a bold little girl. :) 

 That's all for now- I hope to be better about keeping a log of Koenig's and my adventures again- maybe even a few puppy pictures here and there. ;)

A bit of play time in the snow

We're heading into what is rumored to be potentially the biggest snow storm recorded since 1985 or something like that (by biggest, it means the most snowfall recorded at SeaTac Airport) Whatever.... because everyone is making such a big deal about this, we likely won't have any snow at all. ;)

Koenig and I spent a fair bit of time outside today in the bitter cold. Kids wanted to go out in the snow at 8:30 AM.... lol. ;)

Here are a few short videos today. Some heeling, some fetch, and some of Kylie bossing Koenig around.

Heeling



Fetch
(With lots of me talking to my dog, for my buddy JD! hahah!)

Kylie bossing around the brindle. He's getting tired (after an hour of fetch/heeling/etc), and being less then cooperative with her. Normally, he'll out for her! Such a good dog!

Schutzhund!!

In a drive, ignore me- Im just trying to stay the hell out of the way!

Amazing! 2 weeks in a row, it was fantastic!

I didn't go to the club for tracking- we had company over, so I stayed home and had a nice family breakfast. :)

OB was... entertaining to start with. It's the first snow of the year (hell, last year too!) and Koenig L O V E S the snow. He had about 0 interest in OB, especially doing bench work (stepping on and off benches for hind end awareness, stationary position changes on the bench) and would have much preferred to snuffle around in the snow. Goofy brindle!

Eventually, I got his attention back up on me- at least a larger % then what he was giving to the fluffy white stuff. The bench work was funny at first. Koenig LIVES to jump. Why bother stepping up on the little 1' high bench, when he can JUMP, and LEAP, and BOUNCE onto it? Ugh. I attempted to slow him, by taking his collar, and guiding his feet up one at a time, asking 'step' with each foot. It got better after a few reps, but occasionally would end up with the brindle butt launching off one side, as I attempt to grab the 80lb dog out of mid air, and place him back up onto the bench. I got a laugh out of it, and I'm fairly sure we entertained the club-mates as well. It was minority successful by the end of the session, so we'll work more at home. Position changes on the bench were nice, and he's not bopping around so much- more comfortable staying stationary (helped that I was using food, not a toy, so he wasn't sky high in drive), and holding the position I asked for.

Did some heeling, started average, with his focus lacking, and improved to some pretty nice heeling by the end. Backed through the weave poles, which I think went much better then last week! (Video here, you'll probably have to be my FB friend to see it. I can try to get the person who took it to stick it on YouTube for me though!)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=306383456063730

REVIER! (Yes! Yes! Yes!)

Protection was even better then I expected with our new bestfriend-decoy! Gosh, he's awesome. He just KNOWS what each dog needs, and how to get the best out of each and every dog! Koenig's revier was NICE, for a dog who's been out of bite work for over a month! (minus the work last week, of course) Didn't have blinds today, so we'll likely re-start the blind search next week, and working on staying clean in the blind. I've moved Koenig back in to harness in protection. He seems to strain to breath/bark much more in a collar (even a big, wide, padded Agitation collar), and I've got a harness, so I'm back to using it. I know that some people see it as a crutch, or as unnecessary. Ultimately, the goal is a dog working free of leash/collar/harness, so I guess I don't really have an issue accommodating him and using a harness. I guess my other reasoning, (as much as an excuse as it may sound like) is he's built different then the majority of GSD's out there that dominate the sport. Koenig is a belgian breed. He's lean, he's long and lanky. His neck is a mile long ( and if you've ever seen him get squirrley in a long down, you know exactly what I mean!)... anatomically, that means he's going to Trachea is going to be closer to the surface. He's going to be a bit more prone to a collapsed trachea, and breathing problems could be exacerbated by putting extreme amounts of pressure on his neck. With that said, I suppose some people might say he's not suited for the work. I disagree. Koenig will work in a collar. He'll work in a flat, fursaver or pinch. He does not care. Last week, we had an equipment malfunction, and his fursaver was actually choking him.... he didn't understand, and was obviously worried about the feeling, and coming back to me rather then charging in for a bite, but the dog still wanted to work! He couldn't take a breath, but he was still trying his damnedest! (Got it fixed, and he was back to his normal wild self in short order.)I dunno. I'm totally rambling. Today, he worked in a harness with a agitation collar on as well. I used 2 lines, and for any pulling work the pressure was on the harness.

Niiiicccceeeee grip, brindle buddy! 

To help him carry, and for a leash correction I used the collar line. I figure if I can handle a horse in a double bridle, then I should realistically be able to handle 2 6-8' leashes on my dog. I didn't fall down, and my boy had a NICE couple of runs carrying the sleeve! (Did I mention I love this decoy? We're getting full solid grips, a good revier, and our out is coming back)

Pictures. :) Thanks to Richard, for braving the cold, with the kids, to take some pics for me! <3

And we have a carry!!

More Revier

Great day. :)

Herding Brindle Doggy!

No, no new herding news right now.... but herding hopes!

I've talked with my go-to smart woman that has titled many herding dogs, and she's also (conveniently) the lady that's worked Koenig on stock the most. In March, my SchH club (Wait... that's IPO club now, I suppose) is hosting it's annual Herding Instance/Capability Test. Above the HCT title is the JHD. Junior Herd Dog. I'd REALLY like Koenig to eventually be a well rounded (titled) dog, and have worked in several different areas by the time he's old and broken. Schutzhund (or COURSE!) Agility, herding, weight pull, possibly carting, with the help of my superduper herding lady friend. In agility he's got an obvious talent, and I've been told (by my super-duper friend) that he has what it takes in herding as well. This gal has told me that she thinks he could be a Herd Trial Champion, eventually.... That is something NO Dutch Shepherd has EVER done before!!! :D How cool would that be!

SO, Herding test in March. This is going to mean weekly, or bi-weekly trips out to our herding place once they reopen at the end of January. As broke as I am, if I save my tips, I can afford it.... and it sure would be neat to add another title to my 2 yr old, rescued dog's resume.

What do you all think? Those of you with 'working' dogs- do you have any interest in titling them anywhere other they your proclaimed area of interest?

Why'd you put away my sheep, Joe? I wasn't done yet!!!!