Greetings - new here

Сообщение от draggar

Give me some time! Lost was on tonight!!

Ha! Ok, that is a very acceptable excuse. Lost AND a puppy, what more could you ask for?!

[draggar]

Сообщение от Vicky

Ha! Ok, that is a very acceptable excuse. Lost AND a puppy, what more could you ask for?!

SG:U, Heroes, and more Jericho?

[Gypsy Wolf]

Hi all! My husband, a forum freak, mentioned this site, so here I am! Yes, Luna is a brat, but in a good way - she has a lot of traits I look for in a working dog - strong retrieve drive, prey drive, desire to grip, likes to chew metal (one of my puppy tests is throwing a bunch of keys and I look for the puppy that carries it around in it's mouth) and s a bit of a hard bitch. She gripped the showerhead, all pissed-off, when I bathed her the other day. She also got dragged around New York City and that really exposed her to a lot of strange stuff.
Now that we are back in FL we re going to do puppy kindergarten, conformation classes, beginner agility stuff (no jumping or running, though) and I plan to put her on sheep soon.
As for how I train - mostly positive reinforcement and training utilizing drive - food or toy drive. Once the behaviors are part of the dog's foundation, I can use corrections, if needed, to polish the performance or correct issues, if there are any.
I got my Bachelor's Degree in majoring in Animal Behavior and I consider myself an Ethologist (Ethologists study animal behavior in the animal's environment, Behaviorists study it in a laboratory). My favorite thing is learning, speaking and teaching their language. Most of my dog training clients are really there to learn from me and THEY train their dogs, not me. I give tools for a lifetime, not just train a dog and give it back. One book I can say is invaluable for dog folks is "Canine Body Language" by Brenda Aloff. Tuurid Rugaas also has a great little book and video on "Calming Signals" and I think Ivan Balabanov's videos "the Game" and "Clear Communication" are worth their weight in gold.
I am always learning - I never consider myself an "expert" in anything - there's always more to learn. Right now I am looking into our breed's foundation stock pedigrees and the genetics we have inherited from them. I have some good workingline GSD resources who know about the various "Old Blood" lines and the genetics passed on through them. It will be invaluable for us as breeders and stewards of the breed.
Anyway, I look forward to getting to know everyone - we are truly a small, though global, community and we all need to ull together to make sure we stay true to the vision of the breed and do right by our CsVs.
~Sara Donadei-Blood
www.CasadelMango.com
"A Well-Balanced Dog Has Titles At Both Ends"

[michaelundinaeichhorn]

Hi Sara,

I love your enthusiasm.
Good luck with your Czechoslovakian Wolfdog .
But I doubt you'd write a similar posting after one year living together with her...

Michael

[Gypsy Wolf]

<Grin> Whatever the next year brings, I think I have fallen in love with the breed. I always consider myself a steward of the various breeds I am involved in, but this is the first time I have really wanted to get involved 100% - not just "dabble" like my other breeds... we'll see how far we can go - it's always an adventure!

[roo]

Lunas Mom and dragar,

Welcome to the club!! (the small club of owning - probably more accurately to say 'being owned' by a CSV)

Your pics are great and bring back a lot of memories of when our CSV was just a little brat as Luna. And your water bowl video - good stuff! Cescie Bell had to come in my office to see who was making that commotion, and she's had to come back and check 5 times since then in hopes that Luna and the water bowl would return.

I know that Marci has nothing but the best intentions and plans for this breed in the U.S., and her selection of you as new "pack parents" for one in her litter pretty much cements that point.

Best of luck and keep posting pics!!

Robert