yesterday teatime saw the arrival of a new [temporary] attachment to the pack for the purposes of assessment and basic training :-[
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/127/10229-051122151621.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=127346)
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/127/10229-051122151712.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=127347)
in the way of some people naming 'new breeds' this is a Shepski or to put it another way, a cross breed / mongrel / 'pedigree' Heinz.
mum a husky - oh :censored: not another one :*(
dad a GSD - at last a reasonable, trainable , loyal [other than to the biscuit box] breed ;D
aged 9 weeks, left his mum / siblings yesterday, and destined for my eldest grandson as his first dog, I deny any and all responsibility, I blame the decision on him and his mum >:D, and of course the bank of grandad.
so, what is he like ?
quote from HB -'annoying, tries to nick my dinner'
quote from Izzy the couch potato - 'annoying, tries to nick my dinner, and wants to sleep on the bed '
so far - nil points.
but....
he already knows where the back door is
he knows that he needs to go outside for various functions
and he does sleep through the night
although he is awake at 07:00 and wants to play with grandad :-[
there have been issues ...
HB has growled, many times, at him
Izzy has growled, many times at him
but
HE IS SO CUTE
no he has to be returned to his new owners :*(
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/127/10229-051122153153.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=127349)
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/127/10229-051122153236.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=127350)
of course, purely as part of his ongoing assessment / training....
grandson has been told that once he [the dog not grandson] has had his second vaccination, then when he [grandson] comes down at weekends he will need to bring the baby beast with him, [one way of getting the dog poo cleared out of the garden >:D] and he can start to walk him in the fields with HB, and in due course hopefully let them run free together .
for now, I've bought him [the baby beast] a long training lead.
well, you have to, don't you :-[
grandson has been advised that until he hes earned / repaid the cost of the baby beast, we have joint ownership, and if he defaults I will seize the assets >:D
well, as I said, he is part GSD and so cute .............
a slightly better pic of HB and Baloo
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/127/10229-051122195840.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=127368)
Welcome back HB and OB :D
normality, or as near as it gets in this household, has returned,
HB under the dining room table
Couch potato on err the couch
and the Shepski gone home to his new boss :D
so cute !
but not at 06;00 when he wakes up and wants to play :-X
he will, no doubt, be appearing in the pack at odd times, but I do relish the thought of a lay in in the morning, and HB relishes not having to share his BONIOs :-[
well, the good news is that they all seem to have survived his first night in his new home.
a couple of issues, their other dog, Lady, a Spaniel, aka energizer bunny, got grumpy with him when he tried to nick one of her tennis balls, and he did wake the grandson up at 04:00 this morning wanting to play, well he went to bed a lot earlier than he had over the weekend >:D
only a couple of accidents, mainly caused by cries of 'I'm in the middle of a game, I'll let him out when I finish' which became 'ok mum, I'll clear it up' :smiley-laughing:
he is booked in at the vets next monday for his second vaccination, so a couple of days later he can start to be walked outside.
oh, and next weekend is his boss's weekend down here, so he will be rejoining the pack for a couple of nights.
quote from HB 'can I lock the bonio's in the cupboard ?'
quote from Izzy 'he is NOT sleeping in the bed'
looks like another fun weekend. but it is the grandson who will be woken up to play at unholy o'clock, not me :thumbsup:
but he is doing well, and seems to be settling in.
so
question
should I throw away my prepared speech for SWMBO ?
'I know he was for Charlie, but it is not working, he can't go back, and I will not have him go to a rescue, so we will really need to give him a home'
mmmmmm perhaps I should save it, just in case ? :hmmm:
HE IS SO CUTE :-[
update,
he is settling in well, and gets on well with Lady, as long as he does not try to nick her tennis balls.... but she has tons, surely she could spare a couple..
but she is a spaniel :-[
he, and grandson, will be down for the weekend..
well, he is his dog, so he does NOT get to slope off for the weekend and leave his mum to deal with his puppy.
never mind 'a dog is not just for christmas' [never tried a roast dog instead of turkey :-[]
but he needs to learn that dogs are a responsibility, not something that you can just 'have' when convenient.
the rescue centres are full of dogs which were 'lovely cuddly little bundles' but turned out to be big, hairy, beasts which were actually hard work to train / look after.
SWMBO and I [ok mainly me] have had rescue after rescue dog over the years, and only one has been a problem......
SIMBA >:D
a real alpha male, no problems with SWMBO, or the kids, but he would NOT accept me as the boss.
it happens, and it is not the dog's fault.
all our other rescues, and the puppy we actually got in '97, were great.
too many, IMHO, people want 'designer' puppies, that will fit in handbags, and are not trouble otherwise.
most breeds are working dogs, and need care / stimulation etc which can be too much trouble for some people.
THINK before you get a puppy, PLEASE.
have a fallback plan if it does not work, ie a stupid grandad who would take it on.
on the first day of my QPD course, the instructor said ...
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BAD DOG....ONLY BAD HANDLERS
I would add to that
OWNERS.
owning a dog is not having a toy, it is a responsibility....
but so many people do not know what they are doing, don't research breeds etc, then blame the dog / puppy.
IT IS YOUR FAULT !
much more comment and it will be a case of coffee pods and Jaffa cakes, but PLEASE, at this time of the year, think SERIOUSLY before you think of getting a puppy for christmas.
Quote from: Browning 9mm on November 09, 2022, 01:16:12 PM
people want 'designer' puppies, that will fit in handbags,
Err....does that mean I am not supposed to put the puppy in my handbag? :doh:
Seriously though, dogs are hard work at times, so, if you are thinking of getting a dog, do think about the comments made by @Browning 9mm (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=10229) . Since we lost 'Blue' a few weeks ago, (still want to say "won't be long", when I leave the house), I have been waiting to see if Louisa has said anything about getting another dog. She has said nothing and I think I agree with her, (can you agree with someone when they have said nowt? :hmmm:). On the one hand, maybe I am getting too old to have another dog, especially something like 'Blue', on the other, he was good company.
Dave,
if I had a £1 for every time I said "no, we will not get another dog after losing the last one" I could probably afford a new loco :-[
but, reasons to get another dog,,,,,,,
1. they are company
2. they are loyal
3. they don't complain when you *** have bodily gaseous functions
4. they reduce stress, just by cuddling up and being stroked
5. they ensure you get exercise / fresh air by needing to be walked
6. they make sure you get up in the morning, ok at their time not yours ...
on the downside
they ensure you get exercise / fresh air by needing to be walked
in the rain / in the sleet / in the snow
would I be without a canine friend ?
NO
BUT
they are not toys, they are with you 24/7/365 [hopefully]
you cannot switch them off [at least I have never found the switch]
but they are the best reason to get out of bed every morning...
and they do not moan if you have a few too many drams :beers:
my APOLOGIES for my last post to all of you who are cat persons.
I am sure that many of my comments refer to cats, apart of course to the need to walk them, but I am afraid I am, and always have been, a dog person.
and, can you imagine the size of a "dog flap" for a Husky :-[
Quote from: Browning 9mm on November 09, 2022, 04:48:14 PM
can you imagine the size of a "dog flap" for a Husky :-[
Mrs Papyrus and her first husband moved into a house where the previous owners bred Hungarian Vizslas. Not small dogs. They had put a 'dog flap' in their back door which pretty much consisted of the whole of the lower half of the door. But then they were the people who rewired their house and put the fusebox
under the floorboards in the hall... Go figure, as the Americans say.
Cheers,
Chris
(Great pup by the way!)
while I have never been a fan of dog cages / crates etc, I do accept that sometimes they are a necessary evil for the survival of owner's homes / possessions.
hence the acquisition of one for Baloo, though he has not, I hasten to add, been shut in it so far.
it was erected and stowed with an an old duvet and toys, the door left open and he has checked it out a few times, apparently.
he seems to be looking at it as a place to get a rest from Lady.
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/127/10229-101122104020.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=127525)
well, it is friday, and the young monster is here for the day while mum is at work and the grandsons at school.
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/127/10229-111122111626.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=127541)
I'm assuming it is just a bone, otherwise we may not get any post for a while.
youngest grandson has found a way to get peace from his big brother and the YM,
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/127/10229-111122111933.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=127542)
Lady also seems to be in favour, he can't then nick her tennis balls.
eldest grandson will be down this evening, and then they will both be here till sunday.
oh deep joy :hmmm:
purely for info of those who follow this...
Baloo was down the Vets yesterday, had a full checkup and was weighed. 8 kg !
his chip also 'pinged' when check so all ok on that front.
Q. has anyone ever been stopped and had their dog checked for a chip since the law was introduced .... don't all answer at once.
mostly fur I think, but still he got a clean bill of health, and will be back in a week or so for his second jab, so for now no hunting mice with HB [sigh of relief].
with the recent weather, the fields have become a quagmire, especially at the choke points between fields, so HB has been walking the streets, and the path through the local woods, where he regularly sees...... squirrels.
the good thing is that he does not come back caked in mud, and his claws are wearing down nicely.
at the weekend we did walk LM around the block, late at night so he wouldn't meet other dogs, and he is already exhibiting the HB trait of wanting to stop to sniff every blade of grass :*(
it is a difficult ballance, shouldn't be out till his second jab plus a week or so, but depending on his first jab type, he could be 16 weeks before he get out.
so the risk taken, and he was totally kn*****ed by the time we got back, and then slept through the night.
not to be repeated too often, but he's already met Lady, HB and CP, so the risk is not too bad, hopefully.
grandsons were away again this weekend, so LM was again added to the pack friday morning.
all went well till this morning, I'm usually very careful to make sure that while HB and CP have their dinners, which include left overs [HB loves veg and gravy in his dinner] I try to ensure that LM only has his puppy food.
until today when I had a senior moment :-[
HB didn't finish his dinner, which included roast potatoes, peas and gravy left over from lact night's human meals.
who need a food waste bin when you have a husky >:D
anyway, I picked his bowl up and placed it on the cooker top, on the hand towel there :-[
a short while later I heard the sound of a metal dog tag banging against a metal dog bowl. :*(
yes, LM had managed to pull the towel, and bowl, off the cooker and onto the floor.
potatoes - gone
peas - mostly gone
adult dog meal - mostly gone
gravy - all gone.
I do not relish the next few hours :censored:
:bounce: LM just gone home, so I dodged that bullet :smiley-laughing:
grandson advised of the possible outcome and has sufficient towel roll to deal with it >:D
for those who follow the lives of HB and now LM, the last week has seen LM down during the day several times during the week, with his young master at school, and mum at work.
he continues to test boundaries, and I'm glad to say that in the same way that Coco 'educated' HB. he now is doing the same for LM.
LM is still being walked on his lead and collar so far, but this weekend Charlie and he are down for the weekend, and Charlie has been told to bring his [err LM's] check chain and long lead with him so we can start some training.
I hate it when people call them 'choke chains' they are not, at least when used properly. I was also both shocked and disappointed when I ordered his from fleabay that there are still sellers offering the ones which have prongs on the inside. I had always thought they were banned, but obviously not.
a normal check chain, used properly, was all that was necessary with our general duties dogs, so who would even consider using the things.
with the recent rain the meadows have been a nightmare, especially at the various choke points between fields, so HB and his 'trainee' have been walking the streets rather than the fields, an added bonus of course is that it also wears his claws down.
LM continues to put on weight, between his first visit to the vet, and his second jab two weeks later, he put on over 2 kgs, and his ears are both now 'up', though he does spend a lot of time with them together, which looks as though he has just one huge ear on the top of his head.
as with all pups, he continues to be inquisitive but shows no signs of fear around new things, just looks at them and seems to file away the info for future reference.. even walking past a guy using a nail gun to build a fence did not faze him, so I'd say he is not going to be gun shy.
he is already developing the trait of needing to check just about every blade of grass, no doubt learnt from HB >:( but he is happy to trot along beside HB, and sometimes in front of him, on their walks.
he certainly does not exhibit the Husky trait of being a picky eater, bowl down, and it's like a hoover, bowl empty ;D he has, however, very quickly learnt not to go the couch potato's bowl, she will see even HB off.
as I've said before, he is likely to be a big lad when he finishes growing, so the plan is this weekend for Charlie to walk HB while I show him how to train LM, but as with all plans, this will be subject to HB's compliance.
but Charlie needs to know what he is going to be dealing with in the future.
as for my cunning plan ?
so far it's not working, and Charlie is doing all the tasks related to LM as he said he would. :hmmm:
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/128/10229-021222104619.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=128144)
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/128/10229-021222104723.jpeg)
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=128145)
the top picture shows what I understand is known as a 'half choke chain' wher the 'check' part is limited in drawing in the larger, pronged, section of the chain.
even with the covers on the prongs shown, this poses, in my opinion, a serious risk of injury to the dog.
th lower photo seems to show an adjustable collar, rather than a contracting one, but still to me risks injury to the dog's neck.
personally I would never even consider the use of either of these.
a simple plain check chain is the most that should be required, and I use the so called 'fur friendly' ones for HB, and for previous dogs, which have large links and do not wear the fur coat around the neck in the way that some of the smaller link ones do.
we never worked the dogs with both a check chain and collar, when exercising them we'd use the check chain, when patrolling the collar.
it is possible for the check chain to snag the collar, and instead of running free can choke the dog is the two are used together.
when off the lead HB wears his collar, but when walking around the roads he wears the check chain.
LM [Little Monster], needs to be re-classified as YM [Young Monster], he is certainly no longer 'little'.
he has also, I've noticed this weekend, developed an intense interest in seagulls / pigeons / blackbirds etc, whether in flight / on roofs / ground or TV aerials.
he will sit for ages outside watching them flying around, or sitting on surrounding roofs etc.
the good thing is that he is beginning to learn things, and commands are starting to supersede what he wants to do. he has, however, some periods where he is too interested in 'his' priorities, and will ignore commands, but he is after all only 14 weeks old, and this will be addressed in the future.
in due course I will get another phot of him, when he actually sits still for a few seconds :*(
score for him at the moment, adjusted for his age, would be around 8/10, on a good day :hmmm:
I can not get the mental picture out of my mind of 'YM' sat on a surrounding roof! :)
oh dear,
@dannyboy (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=4209)
he is not a bird-dog,
he sits on the ground watching the birds on the roofs etc.
perhaps I need to take more care in what I write, and how I phrase it :hmmm:
some time since I made a post on here, as many will know other events have interfered with life, and updating this has had a low priority.
however, and around 7 months now, YM has lost the majority of his puppy fur, and is the same size as HB, though still not a bulky as he is.
so an update photo
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/130/10229-160323094931.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=130703)
still got the huge ears, but his coat is now more like a GSD, though no sign so far of the 'saddle' marking most have.
still he is a handsome young beast, and is proving to be trainable, so obviously does not have too many of the husky genes.
Quote from: Browning 9mm on March 16, 2023, 09:52:03 AM
still he is a handsome young beast
That he is, Alan and, unlike me, he looks very intelligent! :-[
@Newportnobby (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=264) ,
as we all know, looks can be deceiving, both in animals and humans :D
perhaps it's the diet of Bonios that makes the difference :hmmm:
He's a beaut Alan, unlike Mick :smiley-laughing:
Quote from: Browning 9mm on March 16, 2023, 11:24:38 AM
perhaps it's the diet of Bonios that makes the difference :hmmm:
Don't know why, but I have a picture of Mick ( @Newportnobby (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=264) ) sucking on a Bonio stuck in my head! ???
YM certainly has the looks of an intelligent dog. :thumbsup:
@dannyboy (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=4209)
I think you do Mick @Newportnobby (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=264) a dis-service.
when he has his teeth in I'm sure he can gnaw on a bonio :smiley-laughing:
Quote from: TrevL on March 16, 2023, 11:41:07 AM
He's a beaut Alan, unlike Mick :smiley-laughing:
But I do have a healthy coat (thinning on top, though) :)
He is a fine looking lad and probably a lot better behaved than my Romanian yobboes!
well, this weekend YM ie young monster, and his young master are down for the weekend, and instructions were left that he had to go to the vet's to be weighed, and collect his flea / worming etc tablets.
in a senior moment I told Charlie I would walk him up, intending to give him some training on the way. :-[
when will I learn :hmmm:
I walked HB first, then put YM on a check chain and lead and headed out.
to put it simply, it was a battle of wills, his and mine. I think his won.
HEEL is not a command he yet understands, and even the application of the check chain, as per my QPD training, was not exactly 100% effective, more like a 50:50 success rate.
still, we arrived at the vets still in one piece, well he was I was feeling somewhat fragile.. and we got him on the scales.
in the last three months he has DOUBLED his weight, and is now just over 27.6 kgs. :*(
and he is still skin and bone, heavens knows what he will fill out to when he has muscled up :worried:
we made it back from the vets in one piece to be greeted with
"how was he grandad?"
:hmmm:
:censored: :censored: :censored:
"he doesn't pull when he's with me"
:veryangry: :censored:
my back aches, YM now upgraded to Y*M is asleep by the front door, and I am consuming a purely medicinal scottish water for the pain
I may need a psychological exam, but I still love the great hairy lump, and of course I've also got HB.
definitely need sectioning :*(