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Gypsy Wolf · 03-07-2010, 21:51

So Pollux is here at Casa del Mango. We adore him. At almost 5 months old, he is starting to look funny. He has this big wedge-head and sturdy combat-boot feet but the rest is skinny, wiry boy pup. Luna, at 6 months, has grown much more evenly so far.
We are working on exposing him to everything - preferably with "big brother" Zorro (my 7 year old Malinois) there. Things that would normally send Pollux into a darting panic are not so scary to him when Zorro is there - Zorro ignores it and so Pollux does, too.
For instance, I took him to a Conformation class at a local park that my friend teaches. I knew there would be plenty of "scary" things there - things that Pollux (or "Puck" as I call him) finds frightening - at least according to my girlfriend, his human mom. So for the first 45 minutes of the class, it was just Puck and I - I have other friends who go to that class, so I chatted with friends and Puck could goof off and socialize with their pup. So things like the Public Address loudspeaker blaring voice and music didn't faze him - nor did the previously-terrifying diesel trucks rumbling past, back-firing. I was so proud! He got LOTS of food rewards and calm praise and stroking. The class instructor is a long-time Tervuren person, so she is well-versed in spooky, shy nervousness - she was armed with delicious hotdogs and approached sideways, no eye contact. Pollux allowed her to exam him all over - even his teeth - without any problem at all. By the end of class, she was able to be very dominant and he was looking forward to her examinations, and when we did a mock "down and back" for her as the judge, Pollux pulled me forward toward her excitedly.
At the end of class, I brought Zorro out, which ended up being a good thing - the Park System maintenance guy drove down in his flat-bed "rhino" (sort of an All-Terrain 4 wheeler vehicle) to pick up the table and other showring props - and Pollux was terrified of the rhino. Of course Zorro was not, so after his initial freak-out Pollux sort of looked around as if embarrassed and began to investigate. Zorro had gone up to the Parks guy (he is the most social Malinois I have ever seen) and so Pollux had to check it out, too. Within minutes, Pollux even had his paws up on the flatbed.
So Zorro is my secret weapon for socializing Pollux to "scary" things. If Zorro likes it, Pollux does, too. Pollux also seems to model off of Luna - I take the two of them to the local dog park to run around, and Pollux will allow strangers to touch and interact with him, if Luna or the other dogs he meets allow it.
So it is interesting to raise such different characters at the same time. The fun in raising a puppy...

03-07-2010, 21:51	#77
Gypsy Wolf Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Florida & Minnesota U.S. Posts: 252	Pollux Crying Wolf So Pollux is here at Casa del Mango. We adore him. At almost 5 months old, he is starting to look funny. He has this big wedge-head and sturdy combat-boot feet but the rest is skinny, wiry boy pup. Luna, at 6 months, has grown much more evenly so far. We are working on exposing him to everything - preferably with "big brother" Zorro (my 7 year old Malinois) there. Things that would normally send Pollux into a darting panic are not so scary to him when Zorro is there - Zorro ignores it and so Pollux does, too. For instance, I took him to a Conformation class at a local park that my friend teaches. I knew there would be plenty of "scary" things there - things that Pollux (or "Puck" as I call him) finds frightening - at least according to my girlfriend, his human mom. So for the first 45 minutes of the class, it was just Puck and I - I have other friends who go to that class, so I chatted with friends and Puck could goof off and socialize with their pup. So things like the Public Address loudspeaker blaring voice and music didn't faze him - nor did the previously-terrifying diesel trucks rumbling past, back-firing. I was so proud! He got LOTS of food rewards and calm praise and stroking. The class instructor is a long-time Tervuren person, so she is well-versed in spooky, shy nervousness - she was armed with delicious hotdogs and approached sideways, no eye contact. Pollux allowed her to exam him all over - even his teeth - without any problem at all. By the end of class, she was able to be very dominant and he was looking forward to her examinations, and when we did a mock "down and back" for her as the judge, Pollux pulled me forward toward her excitedly. At the end of class, I brought Zorro out, which ended up being a good thing - the Park System maintenance guy drove down in his flat-bed "rhino" (sort of an All-Terrain 4 wheeler vehicle) to pick up the table and other showring props - and Pollux was terrified of the rhino. Of course Zorro was not, so after his initial freak-out Pollux sort of looked around as if embarrassed and began to investigate. Zorro had gone up to the Parks guy (he is the most social Malinois I have ever seen) and so Pollux had to check it out, too. Within minutes, Pollux even had his paws up on the flatbed. So Zorro is my secret weapon for socializing Pollux to "scary" things. If Zorro likes it, Pollux does, too. Pollux also seems to model off of Luna - I take the two of them to the local dog park to run around, and Pollux will allow strangers to touch and interact with him, if Luna or the other dogs he meets allow it. So it is interesting to raise such different characters at the same time. The fun in raising a puppy...