Learning to Be a Dog

Not quite a week in and Aster is making a lot of progress in the 'act like a real dog' field. Two big benefits: daycare + Suhki. Many TG dogs find daycare way too easy, or some even find it kind of annoying (like Hank) as the dogs don't have the same standard of MANNERS. But with Aster, who needs to re-learn (or learn?) how to be a real dog, its helping her out big time. And having Suhki (and now Beckett) at home to play with she's not only learning HOW to play, but how to play POLITELY. Yesterday she even told one of the more rambunctious dogs off for being rude! Oh how I love progress :)

PS: She's ADHD in a good way! Not a bother whatsoever (although Beckett might disagree ;) ). Actually, she more makes me laugh than anything.

Suhki and Aster Play Session

Beckett says: "Dear Mama Yvette, see what you've made me put up with! But am a good dog, and I'm very nice about it, although I don't appreciate my momma Emily laughing and not helping me out!"

Beckett: Just ignore her, just ignore her, just ignore her!

 He's of the tactic now that ignore her gets her to stop faster and that telling her off just gives her the zoomies, and 10 seconds later she comes back even harder! Oh poor, confused Beckett. At least he's trying to play with her now too. --Not so much annoyed as thoroughly confused!

But Aster is being a very good girl.

She's very cuddle, and can be worn as a scarf.

She's ridiculously cute and looks for direction.

And she does have an off-switch after a good half hour + play session.

So Aster is coming along just fine! And regardless that she's socially awkward, she's a welcome addition to the house. She's just not your typical TG dog.

But Hank is!



Where's my Breakfast!

 Kisses for Jerrad.

Hank is a real Sheppard dog, except that he's kind of lazy. He's eager to please, he learns super quickly, he is excited (but not overzealous) about doing anything you want of him, or going anywhere you want. He's sensitive to correction (Sheppards take things to heart!) In a conversation with Jen, a sheppard rescuer, I was trying to explain the difference between Sheppards and Huskies -as both are working type dogs with usually high amounts of energy.

The simple truth: The German Sheppard is USUALLY the A+ kid that challenges everything and exceeds expectations. They go above and beyond and with good authority, listen to it.

A Husky is instead the 'asshole' in the back of the class who has the mental ability to be the A+ student, but doesn't give a shit about the teacher's expectations, authority, and what-not. They're the ones that make their own decisions about everything. If they want an A, they'll go get it themselves, but not because anyone told them to.

You correct a Sheppard and they feel like dung cause they got something wrong. You correct a Husky and all you're going to get is a slew of F-bombs, and an even bigger act out.

BTW though, huskies can still be trained. They're just a different beast than your BC or your GS. They see an inch, they take 10 kilometers. Although it isn't the right description, huskies need A TON of military type directions. A warning -pfft, that just means they can get away with it 3 more times before shit hits the fan. Some people think I'm hard on Beckett, but I know what I expect from my dog, and its simple: he listens to me. He doesn't, he gets it.

If I tried the same thing with Hank, he'd just look sullen all of the time. So I teach him things -he knows when to go in his kennel now (for his breakfast and supper, for bed-time, and for the occasional time he's left home unsupervised). He mostly comes for his name when outside, or at the very least when I head indoors, he always follows loyally behind, as if he didn't I'd have to go get him -which to him would be a mistake on his part.

If I stand by the kennel, he runs in, looking very happy that he did what I wanted him to. Which is a nice contrast to Beckett, who sometimes seeks a way to avoid what I've asked him to do. Within minutes on a walk he's in a heel, looking proud of himself all the way. Although he doesn't give the best eye contact, you can feel his eagerness to work through the leash. Whoever adopts Hank is going to have one loyal companion. That said, they're still going to need to have strong leadership skills. Just because a dog is smart, catches on quick, and wants to do what they're told, doesn't mean they see every person as their leader.

The only downside to the Sheppard type dog is that they're almost always asking you to ask them to do something. Having Mr. Independent, I find it a little weird to have someone who into doing what I ask them. So I have to make things up for Hank. I play with him, I get him to follow me around, I get him to stop following me around, I get him to go in and out of his crate repeatedly, I get him to sit, sit, sit. I really don't want to formally train him -as I think that's a great bonding exercise for adopters-, but I need to keep his mind active. Luckily, he's fairly lazy, so after a good 10-15 minutes of being told what to do, he's a nice big foot warmer for a few hours.

 But enough blubbering. Here are a few more pics from the last few days!

Beckett on the couch: SAVE ME MUM!

Suhki getting more and more mature! Those fuzzy ears are too damn adorable.

Look at how cute I am!

Suhki is as big, or bigger than Aster now! He's probably going to be about Miniature Schnauzer size full grown.

Look Mama Yvette, I'm growing up so nicely! I even met my momma at Sarah's house, and I'm bigger than her already! I'm about 20 weeks now!

In other news, I get to do a homecheck for Rudy today! If all goes well, he'll be coming to his forever home in Victoria on Tuesday! If not, he'll be coming into foster with me, as unfortunately he's not so hot with cats in his Nanaimo foster home.

Handsome Rudy!

And Chula and Antoinette at long last join their mum permenantly! They get the house today, and are bringing the girls home tomorrow! Lucky girls. Together forever!