December 15, 2007
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We’re getting our first family dog
Just kidding… we already got it
Well, I KNEW it would likely happen that the first good dog we saw Kat would fall for- and she did. Course, it worked out since I think I liked him too. We saw the puppies (doxie-doodles: mother was half lab half standard poodle, father was a doxie) and were a bit put off because of their size- and their ENERGY was TREMENDOUS! Which isn’t bad, or abnormal after getting out of their kennel. However, since we saw Riley first- the four year old (turns out her friend was wrong on his age, so not 2) doxie “stud male”- in comparison they were just crazy. Riley was warm, friendly, but definitely calm and not jumping about. He wasn’t scared (though he kind of avoided Conor at first when Conor was walking after him. They seemed to be fine exploring each other when both were held). He was not really shy at all, he went right into my arms and started licking me.
The owner said she didn’t know if he’d be comfortable licking my face just yet when I gave him a kiss (on the nose, not one of those gross things where folks lick the dog
) but he licked back and I even had to turn away. Something about me being comfortable with both dogs and doxies seems to come across. Almost like someone who is naturally good with babies- something in the demeanor and how I hold them makes them feel secure. I’m also rather non-threatening for a guy. My long hair, now, probably helps too.He is a kennel dog and a “male stud”, used primarily for breeding up until this point- though obviously he’d been loved on and cared for well by the family and those who helped with the backyard kennels. Unlike all the breeders we’d seen in the past, these breeders were definitely high class- probably because she breeds standard poodles and labs (and usually custom mixes) that sell for $1,100 a pup! Her other dogs, like the doxie-poo’s (daschund and poddle mixes) sell for $600 at the cute puppy stage.
He’s gotten used to our house wonderfully- amazingly so, for a dog who hasn’t lived in a house before. His age helps a lot- unlike a puppy, he learns FAST and he seems to take VERY well to being inside and around us. I haven’t seen heavy marking issues yet, either. That, and thank God for The Dog Whisperer shows we saw-when we were visiting Kat’s mother- on satellite TV. His name is Cesar Millan and his methods are a bit unorthodox for some who like gentle, friendly-lovey approaches to relating to their dog. Oh, he’s all for that, but his order is- exercise, discipline, THEN affection.
Ya Keep a Barkin but you can’t come in
So Riley was here, it was night, and we put him in his doggy crate in our master bathroom. Of course he is used to a kennel (a free-running or outside dog might have a tougher time) but not a crate (the dog-lover name for a properly sized cage for them to sleep or be contained in). He starts whining and barking.
Yes, oh yes, music to my ears play on. This will be a night to remember, alright.
Then Kat finally opens out bathroom door, goes in, takes him out, and as Cesar Millan demonstrated repeatedly in his shows does the first thing he always does with a dog- established dominance. Using two fingers (a replacement for how a pack leader/dominant dog will use their mouth) on his and her hand to help turn him over would put him to his side and keep there until he relaxed on his side or belly on the floor. This puts the dog in a submissive posture, and is exactly what a dominant or alpha dog would do. As humans, we do -not- wanted to be treated by our dogs as submissives or their dogs make up for what they see as a lack of leadership (many humans, who think they are just friends with their dogs, fall into that realm and that explains many problems they face- google for Cesar’s homepage and you’ll see his explanation on that). For a dog pack, proper leadership means survival- without a pack leader, you die. So the dog instinctively will fill in any gaps you aren’t and try to lead instead. This can come out through ‘fearful’ behaviour, what seems like acting out, constant barking, nipping, running away, knocking you or guests over, and the biggest is -not listening-. The pack never ignores the pack leader- if they do, there are consequences. Like a child, dogs also sometimes test for this.
So, Kat did that, making a loud “hshhhht” noise, and then when he stilled she pulled her fingers away. When he tried to get up, she did it again- and would look around, with a calm but authoritive feel. You look around, not looking the dog in the eye or anything but NOT looking down either. You watch it from your periphery, like a pack leader would- calm, sure they are in charge, but ready to reassert it anytime. Then if he moved, again she’d do it. Slowly she stood up, and she’d repeat the sound and push her fingers in his direction (not on his neck now, she’d only go back and do that if he still didn’t respond). She slowly would back away a little, and the idea was that he would stay where she left him. Eventually, she only needed to use the sound and gesture.
Of course she didn’t leave him there, she came over and petted him and then put him back in the cage. This ‘ritual’ was the same thing pack leaders do to establish dominance in a new pack member- getting the dog to stay where THEY say, and not move. It tells the other dog “you follow me and what I say”. It’s not mean- its dog social behaviour. Most dogs either think their owner isn’t part of their pack, isn’t their pack leader, or think that THEY are the pack leader. Cesar’s philosophy is that he doesn’t train dogs- he rehabilitates dogs and trains their owners.
I slept like a baby
Kat put him in the kennel, and when he started to bark- HSHHHT with the gesture. He stopped. Started to walk away, and everytime he continued, she’d stop and make it. Then she’d stand there, looking around- not at him- casually for a little bit. Poised to respond if he didn’t obey. Then slowly walk away, quick to stop. He didn’t push it. She laid down in bed- and if he started to go from a whisper-whine to a full one, HSHHHT. He’d stop.
Within five minutes, he stopped testing his limits. No more sound. Not another sound, period. The rest of the night.
Katrina looked at me, after he went silent, like the ‘kat’ that ate the canary. It worked! Probably even better than it would have if we weren’t sleeping near him- since we could respond repeatedly and he knew we were right there (again, that’s also very pack-like).
Last night, we had to hshhht him a few times- but it wasn’t too hard, definitely twice as easy. He’s becoming crate trained. Fast. And that reminded me of how people would tell Cesar Millan how it seemed like he could walk in and ‘fix’ an animals problems instantly sometimes. Of course, he made clear he doesn’t do that- it takes consistently showing the right behaviour to the animal for the problem to be resolved.
Of course with us, we weren’t fixing a problem but establishing a relationship with Riley and preventing future problems- establishing what Cesar calls “a balance”.
My sister does that kind of dominance thing while working with animals at the vets, sometimes, too- though she created her own method (a little more dangerous than putting your fingers there- she’d growl and put her forehead to the animal, or her face close… oddly, she’s never had her face bitten. *laughs*)
Now, of course, Riley responds even better to Kat than me- though I tried to establish dominance too, he seems a bit more comfortable with her (and quicker to show submission). Maybe because most of his caregivers were female.
I love our dog!
I didn’t realise how much I missed having Daschunds around until, the night we got Riley, I saw him poised on the back seat of the car while we waited for Kat to go in and buy his crate. Despite having long hair instead of short hair, he was the same miniature size with the same posture- it was so nostalgic. I had this feeling in my heart of regaining something in myself, and yet I never quite realised it was gone.
He’s not used to being a lap dog, so it’ll take a while for him to be comfortable staying in my lap, cuddling with me, or laying in bed with us like our dogs were (who were used to that from puppies). It is clear his previous owner was right- he really wanted to be an inside dog and to have that kind of attention. Since he isn’t used to tons of constant attention, we can give him as much as we want and he’s happy with it- he just likes to lay nearby while Kat works on her computer, and he’s content.
Breeding
I was quite surprised when we bought him. This is a high class breeding male Doxie, from an obviously good breeder- and we got him for $100, because she wanted him to gave a good home and be an inside dog more than anything else. She already had a good number of inside dogs. She said she could easily have sold him to another kennel (ie- breeder), as he’d sell easily as a breeding dog, but she wanted to give him a home. She seemed to really like us, and when she hinted at the importance to her of him being in a home now I told her “I can promise you, he will never live in a kennel again.” Even if we weren’t to be able to take him with us outside the country, he’d be able to stay with my family members here- my sister or parents, as a cushy inside dog.
So I was surprised when she didn’t seem to need me to sign anything. I asked her, “I’m curious, are you not going to want me to sign anything regarding making a contract to neuter him?” Most breeders will often tightly control their breeding dogs, and charge more if they are selling a dog that will breed. She said that she breeds labs (and mixes there-of). With her labs, she’d want to know what other dogs are in the ‘line’ and control that. If we ever wanted to have Daschund puppies (it was subtle but I could tell her emphasis was on Daschund, and not mixed breeds … and clearly not with lab crosses like hers) then we should feel free. He’s AKC and Continental something-or-other registered, and a top quality breeding male.
Wow. You have to admit, that’s pretty cool. Purebred, high quality Daschunds from a breeder go for $600 as pups… $300 would be cheap and almost always signed as non-breeding animals.
We had missionary friends who had two lovely pure-bred small dogs, and with their kids in mind they let them have puppies once or twice. They sold the puppies at what would really be considered rediculously low for pure-bred, papered shi-zu’s (sp?) but was still a couple hundred at least, per pup. They used the funds to put towards their kids college funds. I thought that was really neat.
Future Thoughts
As for us? It’s not uncommon for someone to let their stud male be used to sire a litter and then, as payment, ask for the pick of the litter (they get to have ‘first choice’ as to which puppy, of them all, they want- and they obviously don’t have to pay for it). So I’m thinking at least once, we might try to arrange a situation like that. That way we could have a second pure-bred daschund, in Riley’s line too- and kind of keep the line going, as well as keep Daschunds in our family without ever having to pay the tremendous amount it would normally take. Not only that, but they’d always be breedable (ie- we’d never have to worry about signing a contract not to breed them, or paying the even higher cost breeding dogs cost) and fully registered.
And most fun of all- I think it’d be great to get puppies from a litter of his and give them to someone who would love a Daschund but could never afford one (though we’d know they would give them a good home). A lot of dog breeders, in what I feel is a kind of snooty fashion, prefer to charge a lot even when they don’t really need to- because they feel it assures them that if the owner is willing to spend THAT much on a dog, the dog will always have proper care.
I think that isn’t always the best case- the owner might spend a ton on the dog, then to regain the loss give the dog sub-par care. :/
Well, we may not have a lot, but Riley’s going to have a great home.
And when you see pictures of him you’ll be jealous! (especially those who know Daschunds- his ears, his nose, every trait someone in a dog show or a breeder would look for are all there). Ohhh and his fur is so silky soft… a rich, lovely red. He has such a beautiful Daschund profile. I see him and think “You know, most people with a dog like this spent over $600 to get them”. God has really blessed us.-Patrick