It took my a while to get it, but when I did, I even felt more thankful for having Jessie in my life.
Jessie is the only dog that sleeps with me, with us during the night. Because she had such an traumatic experience being in a crate during her 24 hour flight from Serbia to the USA, we decided against crate training. I also kept her close during the day and so I guess she and I are pretty in 'sinc' with each other. Then she started to sometimes wake me up in the middle if the night, by licking my face. First I was annoyed, but then it dawned on me: Jessie only did this when I had a bad dream. So every time I have a bad dream, like last night, she comes up to me next to the bed and licks my face. Once I wake up from the bad dream, she gets back to were she was sleeping as if nothing happend. But it did! When we got our firs WSS, Mojo, I knew that this breed can be sensitive, and can therefore be put at work as a (ptsd) service dog very easily. And they are, but experiencing it with the Jessie, without me telling or training her, I find so awesome. I love this breed, but most of all I love my dogs, I love Jessie🩷
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My Soul Saver, our handsome Mijne has been neutered two weeks ago. It has been a long 'contemplative road' but we, I decided after 4.5 years, that Mijne isn't stud material. Why it has taken so long, is also a very long story, but basically it is for two reasons. First of all it is my understanding that Mijne has ADHD in combination with a form of autism. i have been reading a lot about dogs and behavior, especially scientific research on dogs with (born) behavior issues. As of day one that Mijne came to live with us we knew something was off. I don't know if it's genetic or not, it seems that way because his only male sibling has the same behavior problems, but I don't want to take the risk that his offspring also ends up with the same issues. And I don't want puppy buyers to go through the same things with their puppy as we did, and still do.
Because of his ADHD behavior issues, Mijne has a hard time to focus. He's very easy distracted and for that reason alone he's not stud material. So this is also a reason why we decided it's time to have Mijne neutered. I am glad we got him neutered because now he can stay with the girls, even when in heat. But because Mijne is a very handsome boy and such a fun, loving dog I have been sad also that this chapter is closed for good. But it was the only right decision to make. With temperatures around the 100 we have put some extra safety measures into place:
Now that Venture lives with her new family, I am working with Evie again. You might remember that when I picked up Evie at almost 15 weeks old, that she was socialized poorly. One of the things she really hadn't learned to deal with, is how to play (and behave) around other dogs. So I am working on that with her, helping her to be a good member of the pack, helping her not te be the bully, helping her to be relaxes and happy when surrounded by other dogs. Because that is what she deserve. This blog is about how to learn to read your dog and when your dog can use your help. We always want the best for our dogs and so, like the social creatures we are, we like our dogs to socialize as well. And that's why we go to dog parks, organize puppy parties and meet up with our friends and their dogs. Dogs like ours interact too and in most cases they have the time of their lives. When we lived in the Dutch city The Hague I always went to the dog park, first with Mojo and when Mijne was old enough, with both dogs. And 99% of the time Mojo was having fun, relaxed, playing & running with other dogs, but I also remember his encounters with dogs that were not so friendly. Or had the wrong fibe. The situations were different, the dogs were different, but the encounters had one thing in common. If we humans had paid better attention, and reacted accordingly, these situations could have been prevented. And that's why reading dog play body language is so very important. Being able to read your dog and their body language (as well as other dogs) helps you understand if they are consenting to play. You can then tell if you need to help them get out of trouble in the early stages of playtime. Mojo got anxious with two types of dogs. The first type is the male dog that is not interacting with other dogs, only staring and sending out a 'dominance' fibe. Mojo gets nervous around dogs like that and probably feels threatened. The other type is the over enthusiastic dog, the 'always in my face' dog, doesn't know how to stop even when Mojo sends out all STOP signals he could think off. signals of discomfort and happy signals of your dog are displayed in the next infographic When I got Mijne I encountered a whole different level of reaction on situations that made Mijne anxious. Fast forward, I followed the Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT) with him and in this training we also learned about how dogs react and what we need to do in those situations. BAT is based on the thought that at some point dogs need to be able to disengage themselves from the situation, from the trigger. BAT learns them when and how to do that, by walking away, distance themselves from the trigger, until they feel relax again. The creator of BAT, Grisha Stewart, developed a stress chart shown here below, to help people understand the various behavior dogs show when encountering a trigger. In this case the trigger is another dog or dogs. Some dogs get taller/ larger, as shown here, and some get shorter and more 'invisible'. Either way, a significant change from a neutral position is important and tells you that the dog may need your help. The support scale explains what you should do when the dog has reached a certain stress level. It is all about keeping the dog out of the water, keeping the dog safe (on the beach). In this picture the dog is leashed, because that is what BAT is all about, but you can do the same and the stresslevel and signs are the same when unleashed. It will take practice to learn to read your dog. Follow your instincts and don't let others tell you what you should do. You know your dog best, you and you alone are responsible for your dogs welfare. So don't listen to other owners when you know trouble is coming. A lot of owners, and I used to be one of them, like you to believe that it is going to be ok. 'The dogs will figure it out', is what they want you to believe. NO, you know your dog best and what he or she can handle and NO in a lot of situations they won't figure it out unless by figuring out you mean it ends up in a fight. And if that means others might find you not so friendly, because you decided to walk away with your dog without even saying goodbye, so it be. Take it from me, there are worst things in life and I've learned it the hard way. Ps A very good read on dog body language is Stanly Corans book 'how to speak dog'?
This week I found a surprise in my mailbox. Ventures new family send me
a White Shepherd hat, which Jessie had to put on for the picture. And a really heartwarming postcard in which they expressed their appreciation for getting Venture! I am very happy that they enjoy Venture so much and that this precious puppy lives her best live. So thank you Ventures family for your kind words and the hat<3 Pictures received from her new family. Last Saturday Venture went home with her new family. She is adjusting to her new humans & other animals just fine. She's happy and growing wonderful. Today she went to a meet and greet with her new vet, and she is 1.6lbs heavier then last week Friday.
I am really happy that she's doing so well. Jessie & I miss her enormously and we are trying to get back in the old routine. I do think Jessie is a little depressed though. I have been reading up on canine grieve and mourning. Research shows that dogs form emotional bonds which may include companion animals in their household, and hence removing that companion can be expected to cause behavioral changes which overlap with what we normally interpret as grieve and mourning. These negative behavior changes are: increased attention seeking, playing less, level of activity reduced, sleeping more, fearfulness increased, eating less and vocalisation might increase. Especially when dogs have a strong emotional bond, playing together, grooming each other, sleeping together, etc, these changes occur While Jessie doesn't show all behavior changes, she clings more at me, sleeps more and especially the first couple of days was less active. She is clearly grieving the loss of Venture. Their bond was very strong. Venture being the only pup and Jessie taking very good care of her. Even on the last day she had Venture drink with her for a couple of minutes. It wil take time for her to be herself again, on average dogs grieve between 2 and 6 months, but hopefully for Jessies sake it will be less than that. Important is to give her more love, cuddles, massages and playtime. I've never given it a lot of thought what the emotional consequences are when a mama and puppy are separated. My bad, I guess. But having only one puppy it definitely makes sense. So if we ever have another singleton litter, only one pup to care for, we will keep him or her. Unless the mama doesn't care for her puppy like Jessie did for Venture. We don't want to put our dogs through such emotional distress again. In the meanwhile we miss you Venture and we can't wait to see you again🧡🧡🧡 Happy birthday to you Mojo!
Already six years ago, Puppy number one, Puppy with the black collar🖤, You came into this world Brave Independent Resilient That you are Happy Doing the things you love Always in for fun You are the best Mojo! We love you sweetie🥰❤️ And happy birthday to your brothers and sisters too: Raaf, Rami, Julius, Rowan, Kira, Bailey and Forrest. Having a 6 weeks old puppy running around is absolute different from having a 6 months old puppy (Evie) in the house. But the way they learn, is the same. Knowing how dogs learn helps also understand why 6 week old puppies do what they do. Like why they lick and bite in literally everything. Because this is how dogs get familiair with new things, new people. Smelling, feeling, tasting, it's all necessary to understand what it is they are dealing with. And when they experience a positive reaction smelling, licking, biting it or her/him, they want to do it again. The good feeling will be reinforced over and over again as long they are able to smell, lick, bite and/or eventually eat it. The same is for potty training. Being able to release themselves gives a very good feeling. They don't care if they do it on the kitchen floor, on your 200 year old carpet or outside. As long as it is immediately, they will pee and poo whenever and wherever they can. The good feeling (release) is reinforced over and over again. And because 6 weeks old puppies have a very small bladder, and their muscles but also their brain are not fully developed yet, they will not be able to hold their business for a long period of time. That takes practice and time. Important is to show your dog that unwanted behavior is getting them nowhere by ignoring that behavior. By not reinforcing that behavior. And praising, rewarding wanted behavior, by reinforcing the behavior, by showing them this behavior only leads to good things, like food, praise, company, release, freedom, etc, etc. Evies UKC pedigree came in the mail yesterday! The UKC recognizes the White Shepherd as a separate breed, unlike the AKC, but only FCI recognizes the breed as a White Swiss Shepherd. Evie is our only white shepherd not registered with FCI and so, although her parents are (FCI registered) White SWISS Shepherds, Evie is formerly not.
Pedigree is important but even more important is that the parental dogs are tested healthy (minimum HD, ED, Mdr and DM). Made some fun Easter picture with the pup the star of it all😍
and this is blog #200. Who would have thought? |
AuthorCan't stop writing & talking about my beautiful White Swiss Shepherds:-))) Archives
July 2024
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