Rarely does a dog surprise us this much..

[draggar]

Early last summer Pollux came into the USA from Hungary. He had an OK temperament back then, not completely social but not a nutball.

He spent a few months with his owner and whenever he came here (even during the time when he spent a week here, a week there) he was extremely skitzy (meaning if you breathed wrong he'd panic and fight to get back to the house). We knew there was a negligence issue with his home.

We've had him in our house now for about two weeks (constant) and we've done everything we can with him - socialization, training, walking, playing, etc.. We even took him to the south Florida fair a few times to train as a service dog.

Today we took him to schutzhund for the first time to actually work (before was just to be social). The first time out he did very well - he went after the tug and when he had it he ran around like a lunatic (in a good way) - happy, hopping, and prancing.

The second time out the helper decided to graduate him to a bite sausage. He took to it like it was natural for him. He'd take it with a full grip and wouldn't easily let go of it for another round (when I got him back to the van I had to pry his mouth open to get it out of him).

The rest of the club had a hard time believing that it was the same dog who was afraid of everything a few months ago. Not only has he grown into a GORGEOUS dog, his confidence has come a long way and he has become extremely social.

Our only regret is that we didn't tape him today.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

yay for happydog! I saw him in the video with Luna, and yes, both of them are beautiful... there needs to be more of a public awareness of this dog... but that might lead to breeding problems...
: pets puppies:

[draggar]

Yes, larger numbers = more unethical breeders.

Plus, there are some here in the USA who attempted to use a loophole in the standard to create their own vlcak line.

We're also rushing to set up breed clubs for AKC and UKC and get them stabilized before someone else does.

[draggar]

We got it recorded yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPU0NrqqFfQ

Next week I'll see if someone else can do it, too. We also have a demo up in Jupiter, FL for the local Rottie rescue next Sunday (Feb 13).

[teh_blumchenkinder]

"wuf"
is that you 'running' Pollux, and your wife explaining the dogs' origins? I'm guessing the perky lady grabbing the sleeve/sausage was 'trying' to catch him off-guard as a mouth test?
Pollux was prancing!

[draggar]

That's me working him but I forgot who that was explaining the breed - maybe the club's president (my wife wasn't there that day).

The lady with the sausage is one of the club helpers (the people who wear the sleeves and get the dogs to bite it). Now, it's mostly puppy play but getting him used to biting (a toy) and tugging. It's all a game to him (which most dogs are like this, very few are serious).

[teh_blumchenkinder]

It's my understanding that most dogs in human society are, mentally and socially, puppies by dog mental standards, even if they're fifteen. And, as with any animal, play is meant to be 'this is only practice for later'-- even with humans.
(It's still cute to watch a doggie prance~! )

[Mytical]

Now that is beautiful dog there. My favorites are husky's or retrievers, but if I could have an animal, wouldn't mind one like that.

[draggar]

It's my understanding that most dogs in human society are, mentally and socially, puppies by dog mental standards, even if they're fifteen. And, as with any animal, play is meant to be 'this is only practice for later'-- even with humans.
(It's still cute to watch a doggie prance~! )

In the thousands of years we (humans) have bred dogs we've bred out the maturity level where they challenge the elders / masters (this would be bad for us!). It still comes out sometimes (with varying results).

Most dogs, even in their old age, though, will have the mentality of a 2-5 year old,

Now that is beautiful dog there. My favorites are husky's or retrievers, but if I could have an animal, wouldn't mind one like that.

Vlcaks aren't an easy breed. We can take Luna and Pollux to the park for a couple of hours, let them run as much as they can, and when we got home they still want to wrestle for hours. They're good sized too (a little smaller than the average GSD) so anything that can be knocked over - will be (including humans).

They're also very intelligent (more intelligent than a GSD - maybe smarter than a Belgian malinois - some can even rival border collies).

They're also typically not friendly (not aggressive - more like stand-offish). They love their pack to no end but will be aloof to strangers.

[Mytical]

High energy animals would be ideal for me, keeping me active as well. As for temperament, animals act .. oddly around me lol. Had a dog named King (a lifetime ago) who would be aggressive to anybody BUT me. As a kid I played safely with a rabid dog also.

Animals and kids..they seem to absolutely adore me, and I have never quite figured out why.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Mytical, the 'animals and kids' thing is excellent, and here's why:
Kids and animals listen to their guts more than adults. Doesn't mean they can't be fooled, oh no. It means that you're 'instinctively' likable, trustworthy, and all-around considered not a threat. It's a gift. It will keep you young in spirit.

[draggar]

Now we've had surprise #2 with him. But first, some back story.

Kiri (our German shepherd) is a bitch. Not just because she's a female dog but also because she fits the stereotypical meaning. Yes, she is a bitch.

She's not dog aggressive, she does shows, goes out in public, heck, even does service dog work on occasion but she mainly doesn't like new dogs in our home. She went after her own daughter (Artemis) less than 2 months after she was adopted.

Kiri is also a lying bitch. When we had the last Finish spitz puppy (Dazy) we kept them separate. One was loose and the other was crated or in another room with someone. When Dazy was in her crate Kiri would give calming signals around the crate, lie on her back (submission), give play bows, solicit play, and act like she wanted to be friends. My wife thought that she would be OK with Dazy since Kiri was still in mommy mode from her litter. My wife opened up the crate and Kiri dove in to attack Dazy (Dazy was unhurt - not even shaken up). She spend days lying about wanting to play with Dazy.

She started to do the same with Pollux so my wife decided to give them a try out loose together but we got smart - we muzzled Kiri. They played - a lot. Pollux even pulled the muzzle off once or twice (and I was able to quickly grab Kiri). It was 10% play so my wife decided to leave the muzzle off the next time it came off.

To both of our surprise, Kiri and Pollux spent the entire time playing. Body slamming, mouthing / play biting, taunting. It was great to see and we're happy now that Kiri has a playmate. Even the hair on her but goes up when they play (sign of attraction). We think it is because Pollux is VERY dog polite and submissive but not overly so (and large).

[teh_blumchenkinder]

It will never cease to amaze me as to how smart some dogs are!
Crazy...

[lordlundar]

Awww. He's a happy puppy!

[draggar]

I overworked Pollux today (deliberately). I'm off today so first I took him to my office for some socialization which he did great with it (lots of food). He started to get stressed towards the end (an hour) so I took him out for a short walk though the preserve (to relax).

I then decided to head down to Bass Pro shops to pick up a few things - he did great in there, too. It wasn't busy so no crowds of people coming up to him but I'm sure sitting next to me and waiting while I'm shopping wasn't to fun for him.

Overall he did great (and got rewarded with a small handful of rawhides when I got home).