The fun in raising a puppy...

Gypsy Wolf · 22-06-2010, 01:47

So we've been "puppy-sitting" Pollux Crying Wolf for a few days now. My girlfriend is a believer (with some dogs) that it takes a village... well at least to socialize them to various environments, anyway.
Though both exhibit "normal" vlcak behavior, they are very different. Luna is a wild whirlwind of teeth and energy. She is obnoxiously social - happy as heck - and just VIVACIOUS. Oh, and LOUD.
Pollux is like her polar opposite. He is sweet, quiet, reserved, very content to chew on a bone next to you. And the best part is he is a snuggle-bug. He LOVES to snuggle and be held. Luna hates being restrained and cannot sit still for a second, so snuggling is out of the question! She is much more confident in strange situations - she is social and very curious. Pollux prefers to be with his person.
I adore them both, and I love watching them interact with their world. I must admit I LOVE snuggling with Pollux, and look forward to being able to do that once Luna calms down a bit with maturity. Of course it took my Malinois 6 years to mature, so I better not hold my breath.
So having these 2 gives me some insight to the differences between lines and gender - I'd like to take bits of both to create my perfect vlcak. In the meantime, I am perfectly happy with these 2 in my life, even though Pollux isn't really mine... And my husband gave Pollux the highest "honor" he accord to any dog - "unlimited welcome" into our home...

draggar · 22-06-2010, 14:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lunas Mom

And my husband gave Pollux the highest "honor" he accord to any dog - "unlimited welcome" into our home...

Yep - he's up there with Otis and the corgis. Artemis doesn't need this because she's one of our puppies.

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...

draggar · 14-07-2010, 11:52

When do they stop with the non-stop barking?

Gypsy Wolf · 14-07-2010, 15:35

Oh, honey, Luna is just expressing herself! Be glad she barks! Not all Vlcaks do until maturity and it's a good behavior to have in a Schutzhund and Theatrical dog. You will look back on these puppy times and laugh (or maybe still get annoyed and thank goddess we have adults in the house now...).

draggar · 30-07-2010, 14:09

We took Luna and Pongo to the park the other day. Luna is growing up very nicely.

30-07-2010, 15:20

She's starting to grow out of her awkward puppy legs! They grow up so fast...

22-06-2010, 01:47	#1
Gypsy Wolf Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Florida & Minnesota U.S. Posts: 252	Pollux & Luna - in one house! So we've been "puppy-sitting" Pollux Crying Wolf for a few days now. My girlfriend is a believer (with some dogs) that it takes a village... well at least to socialize them to various environments, anyway. Though both exhibit "normal" vlcak behavior, they are very different. Luna is a wild whirlwind of teeth and energy. She is obnoxiously social - happy as heck - and just VIVACIOUS. Oh, and LOUD. Pollux is like her polar opposite. He is sweet, quiet, reserved, very content to chew on a bone next to you. And the best part is he is a snuggle-bug. He LOVES to snuggle and be held. Luna hates being restrained and cannot sit still for a second, so snuggling is out of the question! She is much more confident in strange situations - she is social and very curious. Pollux prefers to be with his person. I adore them both, and I love watching them interact with their world. I must admit I LOVE snuggling with Pollux, and look forward to being able to do that once Luna calms down a bit with maturity. Of course it took my Malinois 6 years to mature, so I better not hold my breath. So having these 2 gives me some insight to the differences between lines and gender - I'd like to take bits of both to create my perfect vlcak. In the meantime, I am perfectly happy with these 2 in my life, even though Pollux isn't really mine... And my husband gave Pollux the highest "honor" he accord to any dog - "unlimited welcome" into our home...

03-07-2010, 21:51	#3
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...

14-07-2010, 11:52	#4
draggar Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 370	When do they stop with the non-stop barking? __________________ Fred Lanting's Official Site Dog Actors

30-07-2010, 14:09	#6
draggar Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 370	We took Luna and Pongo to the park the other day. Luna is growing up very nicely. __________________ Fred Lanting's Official Site Dog Actors

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14-07-2010, 15:35	#5
Gypsy Wolf Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Florida & Minnesota U.S. Posts: 252	Oh, honey, Luna is just expressing herself! Be glad she barks! Not all Vlcaks do until maturity and it's a good behavior to have in a Schutzhund and Theatrical dog. You will look back on these puppy times and laugh (or maybe still get annoyed and thank goddess we have adults in the house now...).

30-07-2010, 15:20	#7
Vicky Guest Posts: n/a	She's starting to grow out of her awkward puppy legs! They grow up so fast...