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woodrat

IIDOBA Member
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Posts posted by woodrat

  1. I'm flying out Saturday night to pick up my puppy this Sunday. I'll be bringing him home on the redeye Sunday night... kind of a crazy whirlwind of a trip but it was the cheapest flight I could find and the only one that worked well with our schedules. Here's hoping I end up with one of the quieter puppies...! I have definitely been obsessively checking the forum for more pictures. It's almost torture seeing all their little faces and not knowing just which one is the face I'll be looking into for the next 15 years.

     

    I was thinking you'd get one from the same batch mine is coming from because it doesn't sound like you signed up much later than me. I guess only Kim knows. But I was excited to have a sibling on the forum to keep tabs on! Maybe I'm just a step ahead of you on the list and he's got to wait for me to pick out my pup before he picks out yours?

     

    Poor Boone... are there any dog parks nearby where he can get his doggy fix?

    • Like 4
  2. Yes, as far as I can tell there are no direct flights that go to Medford. So you have to account for extra time either waiting at an airport during layovers or driving. I opted to schedule flights to Portland because it's a. cheaper and b. easier to exercise a puppy in a pre-flight car trip during the extra waiting time than in an airport where you're not even allowed to take them out of the carrier. And with such a long flight as it is back to Boston I want to make sure I can get pup good and tired before the plane. Especially because I'm taking the red eye flight home... only time will tell how big of a mistake that will be lol.

     

    I am disappointed I will not there be for the Gathering, but the scheduling just didn't work out. Hopefully in a couple years I'll be able to take a road trip out with my 2 AIDs for a more prolonged stay.

    • Like 1
  3. I love that nose print tattoo. It is so subtle and delightfully abstract... and it does remind me so much of when T's nose just barely brushes against my leg. I imagine that is exactly the mark it would leave - not a full nose print but that lovely angled brushstroke.

     

    I used to be so much more into art when I was still in school, drew dogs on just about every piece of paper I could find. Nowadays that's kind of faded away and been replaced with the daily grind. My free time is all but exhausted by caring for Tamarack and my garden. Someday I'd like to do a nice big drawing of Tamarack, though! I'm sure I'll share it here if I ever do.

    • Like 2
  4. So who else is actually on the list vs just thinking about it?

     

    I just got THE CALL a few days ago... I'm going to fly out there in a couple of weeks to pick out my puppy!(!!!!).

     

    I'd love to know who else is getting a pup from this next batch (either Feather x Jay or Azteca x Jay) so we can keep track of siblings! :D

    • Like 3
  5. Hah!

     

    It's funny because T is so used to various noises that he generally just ignores sounds from all the assorted devices that us two-leggeds have. There are a couple that will get him to pay attention, but none have ever gotten him quite so hooked with curiosity as this very particular song. Even recorded dog barks or howls are boring to him.

     

    The one sound that will REALLY get him excited is the sound of his best friend's bell that she wears when they go for walks together. The first time I played a video I had of the two of them he ended up ON my desk trying to figure out where on earth she was..

     

    2013-07-27_14-03-45_770small.jpg

    • Like 1
  6. I've been meaning to share this since.... last year(!)... and am only just now getting around to it.

     

    So for a while Tamarack had this funny habit while riding in the car wherein he would suddenly jump up from an almost dead sleep and quickly assume position with his front feet on the center console and his head right next to mine. This is a pretty common position for him when there is something he is interested in outside of the car that he wants to get a better look at. However, for the longest time I could not figure out what the heck he was looking for because there was never anything around outside of the ordinary. After quite a while of this going on, my brain finally caught on that it was a very specific song on the radio that elicited this reaction.


    No matter what the situation, the chorus of this song never fails to at least get his attention. I can't for the life of me figure out what it is about that specific sound, but it's clearly meaningful to him in some way. I've tried to come up with some theories...maybe it's a similar enough noise to dogs barking that that's what it sounds like to him? I think I remember reading that Kim often has Native music playing for the dogs at SDK, so I've even wondered if this specific chorus is somehow reminiscent to something he'd heard as a puppy and has a positive association with.

     

    Last year I made a video of his reaction to illustrate that I can essentially draw him from anywhere in the house by simply playing the song on my computer:

     

    And ended up making another one because while I was working on editing the video he would get bored and wander off, only to come trotting back in every time I started playing the video again to test the quality of it before uploading. Too funny.

     

    So here's what I've always wanted to know: Does anyone else's AId respond to this song? It's 'Pompeii' by Bastille, easily found via a Youtube search. Try it and let's find out!

  7. Maria, how do your pups handle the essential oils? Tamarack hates the smell of them and will act incredibly pathetic as I'm spraying it on and the moment I release him he throws himself all over the place trying to wipe it off on every single thing he can find. I assume the smell is quite strong for him but it's hard to tell if it's actually that uncomfortable or if he's just being overly dramatic (which would not be out of character for him).

     

    I can't really tell that the essential oils make much of a difference against fleas and ticks, but it does seem to help keep the blackflies away. I tend to use nothing at all but have had to use Advantage on occasion if I actually see fleas. For ticks I just try to remain diligent about checking him thoroughly and pulling them off promptly. We did a 5 minute run through a field the other day and got an unbelievable amount of ticks off of him... over 20 on each leg! They are bad this year in New England.

    • Like 1
  8. Oh! I hadn't realized this was a long term issue.

     

    When she plays frisbee does she kick up a lot of dust? If T plays chuckit at the beach too much he'll get super goopy eyes while his system flushes out all the sand that gets thrown up in his face. But that goop is just clear with sand particles in it. The yellow color makes me think it might be something more than just that. Hmmm.

    • Like 1
  9. It could just be all the pollen floating around in the air this time of year. I've seen lots of goopy eyes in all the dogs I work with and Tamarack had exactly this same issue for a couple weeks earlier in the spring...I was cleaning yellow gunk out just about every time turned to look at him. I opted not to do anything about it medically and let his immune system deal with it, which it did.

     

    If it's not bothering her too much I would say let it go for a while to see if it improves on its own. How long has she had the goobers for so far?

    • Like 3
  10. It was so much fun!! Shiloh is the 1st AIdog other than Tamarack that I've actually met, so it was so neat to compare and contrast personalities and to see how many of those little quirks run in the family.

     

    Tamarack scolded Shiloh a little bit for being a puppy (as he tends to do with most youngsters), but they did really well together. There was a brief bout of tug o war with a root that I wish I'd had my camera out for!

     

    If only it were easier to travel around the country - it would be fun to get T and Auntie Chhaya together!

    • Like 2
  11. Look into an X pen! They are super handy things to have when there's a puppy in the house. They keep the puppy contained but still give them enough room to move around and play etc. http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Exercise-Pen-30-Inch-Black/dp/B000H8YTJI


    You just have to train the pup not to jump on the wire so they don't push it around too much, but that's usually pretty easy to do.

     

    As far as crate training - the reason it works so well is because puppies are hardwired to understand the concept of a den. A wild canid raises pups in a den, which is, of course, a small enclosed space. Once they are old enough, they leave the den regularly for exercise and to learn about the world, but always return to the small space to sleep - it keeps them safe, contained, and out of trouble. And because wild dogs have been doing this for as long as dogs have existed, our domestic puppies have a wonderful ability to adapt that concept immediately to the use of a crate. It has no negative affect on the puppy because, if done right, the puppy learns to love sleeping in their crate. It becomes their safe zone.

     

    But plenty of people raise dogs without crate training them, so it's not a requirement. It just makes life easier and less stressful for everyone involved! I used a crate in combination with an x pen... he was not really crated unless at night or to be fed, but the crate was left open so he had the option to go in and sleep if he wanted to.

     

    As far as feeding, I think I fed T twice a day almost from the start. He didn't seem to need to eat more frequently than that and he got a lot of training treats (kibble) throughout the day. I think I would probably mix the goats milk with the food like a cereal.

    Raw food is great, but watch closely while feeding necks by themselves as once he reaches a certain size they may become a choking hazard if he does not learn to chew properly and tries to swallow the whole thing in one go... but starting him on raw this young is GREAT because it should help teach him to chew his food. Most raw people recommend starting with food that is larger than the dog's head - for instance buying a whole roaster chicken from the store and letting them chew on it until you think they've had enough, and then just putting it in the fridge to work on tomorrow. That way they can't try to swallow anything whole.

    Bully sticks are a great option also - they are just dehydrated beef pizzles and take a lot of work for little puppy teeth to get through. Those should last longer than anything raw would, but again, only feed under supervision.

     

    I love the name! It suits him perfectly. Such a handsome puppy!

    • Like 1
  12. Suggestion #1: keep that puppy contained! Baby gates, x pen... anything that will create a very distinct area that Jalu CANNOT escape from. If he is that nippy he needs to not have free range, especially if your son is afraid of him. A frightened child is going to make quick, frantic movements which are immediately seen as things to chase and grab in the eyes of a puppy. Your son and your puppy should only ever interact in a positive manner. That is so, so, so important if you want to build a bond between the two. It's up to you to structure the situation in a way that both your puppy and your son are going to succeed. So keep that puppy contained! For example, I had about a 10x10 ft area sectioned off in my kitchen where Tamarack spent 99% of his indoor time for the first several weeks. If you have an area that small it is SO easy to simply stand up and step over the gate to immediately remove yourself from the situation when things get sharp. Every time I stepped into the area, I'd simply stand still and wait for T to calm down before I moved even a muscle, and once he had all 4 feet calmly on the floor I would slowly sit down and begin to play with him. If at any time his biting got to be out of control, I removed myself from the situation. He learned pretty quick that I was pretty darn boring unless he stayed calm and he is now the calmest dog I know.

     

    Suggestion #2: Teach Jalu to be calm in the presence of your kids, especially your two yr old. I would even go so far as to say you should avoid allowing your 2 yr old to have any physical contact with Jalu until the pup has learned some basic manners. Start real slow by teaching 'sit' or 'down' using treats. Once he's mastered that, walk your two yr old up to the baby gate that Jalu is behind and start by feeding treats continuously for either a sit, down, or even just standing still and not being overexcited. Eventually you can perhaps have your 2yo feed Jalu the treats through the baby gate so long as he takes treats without trying to take fingers as well (or stick a soft treat on the end of a blunt stick and have your son stick that through the gate if he is afraid). This is a positive interaction between the two of them that can be the foundation of their relationship. Your son will learn that he can communicate with Jalu, and Jalu will learn that your son produces tasty morsels in exchange for calm behavior. You will, of course, later on have to train Jalu that not every food item your son is holding is intended for puppy consumption, but that's a lesson for another day!

     

    Here is a video that demonstrates the training style I would use with this kind of puppy:

     

    I work with a lot of puppies on a regular basis and I have seen quite a few that will react in a negative way to the 'alpha roll'. Many will immediately bite your hand in protest and then get extra wild if released (which of course teaches them that biting gets them freedom), and many will learn to fear your hand. So be careful with that method. We aren't dogs and it is too hard to mimic the exact energy and force and speed and feel that a mother dog uses with her pups to be able to count on that as an effective mode of communication.


    If the squirt bottle works, pair it also with a positive - the moment the puppy stops biting in surprise say GOOD PUPPY and either give a treat or offer a toy.

     

    And as Sherab said - offer appropriate items for the puppy to chew on and work at! My favorites are stuffable toys - Kongs and the like. It's so easy to take the puppy's dinner, mix it up with just a spoonful of canned food, put it in a Kong, and then FREEZE IT. Give the whole thing (still frozen) to your pup for dinner. It'll take him a while for him to clean that out and will tire him physically and mentally in the process. Bully sticks are another favorite, just watch for when the stick gets chewed down to too small of a nub that it may be a choking hazard.

     

    This collection of videos illustrates pretty much how I raised Tamarack. I think I found this trainer when Starghoti linked to her on this forum actually!
    http://dogmantics.com/puppy-training/

    Good luck!

    • Like 4
  13. Yes, JJ Jordan, your pup is Tamarack's half brother :)

     

    And no, Tamarack's top coat is very sleek and glossy, but not unusually soft. I wish he was though!

     

    And I stand corrected, Tamarack is not almost 5 but almost 4. I get confused ALL the time because it simultaneously feels like I just got him and also like I've had him forever. I can't remember what it was like to not have him in my life. He has also become very mature lately in his temperament. He reserves his silly moments for special occasions and now tends to have a much more sophisticated air about him. I think he will do fantastic with a puppy and will no doubt help teach manners... but I can just see the looks he's going to give me when he realizes the pup is here for good ;)

    • Like 1
  14. Maria, is Chhaya graying out as she gets older? I swear T looks lighter and lighter every year. It's especially apparent on his haunches, which are hardly black at all now. He is almost 5 (WOW where did the time go) now and already has a white outline to his lips so I think he will go quite gray in the face early on as well.

    BC Jackie, they all have varying coat lengths, but T has definitely gotten a thicker stole as he's gotten older. He had one in the winter when he was younger, too, but this year's was just downright impressive.

    He gets a lot of comments on his chest marking! I've always referred to it as his eagle but I've heard it called many other things as well. I love the thunderbird petroglyphs, they really do look a lot like it!

    • Like 1
  15. Thanks everyone!

     

    No, Miz Molly - not a professional, just a dog lover with an outdated SLR camera LOL.

    maria, he's out of Raven x Newkim - so he is a half sibling to all of the new Raven pups that are popping up everywhere! They are chocolate Tamarack's and their cute faces are killing me. I am DYING for another pup!!

     

    I actually meant to send Allison another similar photo of him without the 'mink stole' and have her post them side by side to illustrate the difference between the summer and winter coat, but I forgot ;)

    • Like 3
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