Still Alive with Puppy

I've eaten dinner, I crate Lynx and Xita. Tonight's puppy is Oda, so I let her out of the crate where I fed her dinner, then take her out to pee, then we head back inside.

Just 15 more minutes of work to do before I can break for the night, so I sit at my desk. Oda trots by, 8 pages of edited work in her mouth. I thank her for the delivery and ask her to go back for more. Agreeably, she trots back into the TV room and returns with the sat TV remote. I rescue it from her and suggest a tug toy might be a better option. She agrees and hops onto the futon sofa with the tug. I turn back to the computer screen.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Oda trot by with a shoe. I rescue the shoe and hand her a stuffed sheep with blue legs and fuschia feet. She hops onto the futon with the toy. I grab the rest of my pages from the TV room and sit down at the computer again.

I hear a thump and a plastic noise, Oda trots by with the DVD remote. I rescue it and hand her a tennis ball. She hops onto the futon with the ball. I go back to work, replying to emails. Flint steals the tennis ball. I rescue the tennis ball from Flint. Nike flops beneath the futon, Oda jumps on her head. Wrestling ensues. I go back to the email.

Another odd noise comes from the mudroom. There's Oda with a shoe. I rescue the shoe and hand her the tug again. Futon posing ensues.

Who me?

Oda is to my right now, trying to remove the quilting buttons from the seat of the old office chair. I suggest she do something else, so she grabs an old monitor part and runs off with it. I decide I don't care about the plastic monitor back. But I can see another shoe needs rescuing now. I find a rubber puppy toy and play tug with Oda for a couple of minutes until she distracts herself by grabbing some lint from the trashcan and running off.

Wreaking havoc is *hard work*!

This time I get up from the computer because I hear a clack and a clatter and the television starting up. With a sigh, I get up and go into the TV room. The DVD remote is on the floor.... and Terminator 3 is playing. Oda seems pleased with herself, but I tell her she's not allowed to watch the movie without me. She looks at me, hops over the coffee table and heads off to the futon in the office. With a sigh, I follow her.

The Puppinator.

The Trouble with Terriers...

... is that terriers are trouble.

They have, however, taught me quite a few things. The lesson of Terrier Morality is perhaps the most important:

If you can do it, you may do it.

It is notable that my herding-breed German Shepherds do not embody this principle. They very much factor in the concepts of right and wrong in their worldview. They may well decide to do wrong, but it will have been a considered decision. Even the German Shepherd motto reflects this: Do right and fear no one. (No, really, there is a GSD motto!)

This doesn't mean that they automatically know right from wrong--but they learn and they care, and then tend to think about this question of morality: "Is this a wrong thing to do?" Some GSDs are more concerned with this question than others. On one extreme, my first GSD Thorn spent all of his days studying this question and pondering what his goddess wanted of him. He dedicated his life to learning the language of his goddess and spent his hours pondering possible interpretations of her wishes. My 2nd GSD, Frost, was close to the other extreme--she was was greatly dedicated to her wants and needs, and ultimately, was a great, tormented sinner--she knew what was wanted of her, but she just had to do what she had to do.




And even among terriers, there are differences--Flint spent his first year at Thorn's side, and he seems much more desiring to not only hear the commandments but to try to obey them.










 

Ruffian is free of this--she has grown up heathen and her gods are the wind and the birds and the scent of dirt in the fields.














She ventures forth and quests for communion with her gods and the commandments of the goddess are all too often naught but sounds in the distance. 

The scent of blood, the snarls of battle, the rattle and flutter of a chicken--these to her are celebrations of life and she throws herself forth to participate, body and soul, no time for consideration, no room for shoulds and do nots--only the deafening whistle of exhilaration through her head and heart.

* * *

All this is to say that last night Ruffian got herself in the middle of a fight between three German Shepherds and now sports a deep puncture on the bridge of her nose, another by her ear, a third through and through her ear and also a rip to the edge of  her ear as well as some bruising on her thigh (stepped on?), and no greater appreciation for the frailty of her life.

The German Shepherds are fine. Hopefully they spent the night in the kennel pondering the will and anger of their goddess.

The Xita-Laruh Puppies at 12 Weeks

Obsidian

 The O puppies turn 12 weeks old today. Most of them are in their new homes--doing SAR, schutzhund, personal protection, agility, herding, and of course, being best friends to their new people--but I have three still looking for the right homes.

Obsidian has grown in to a gleamingly massive chunk of puppy. He's doing great in his crate training but he likes to tank up on water so it's been fun trying to time his night time walks. He's a very busy fellow and likes to investigate everything personally.








 

I think he needs an owner who has had a working-type dog before--not so much that Sid needs a job to do, but that he's big and bold and determined... and he thinks he's in charge of everything.

He does listen and learn, though, and if he gets corrected for trying to bear hug the cat, he remembers and the next time he holds back on the bear hug and just licks the cat's ears. Not that the cat appreciates the distinction much--both are equally undesirable!

Obsidian @ 12 weeks

Outlaw @ 12 weeks

Outlaw is a bit more relaxed and a bit less into everything. She still isn't likely to be a great couch potato--but I think she'd be a delight for an active person looking for a canine best friend. She's outgoing and interested in people and shows very nice drives. She's crate trained and settles nicely after only a little bit of fussing.

 As you can see from the pictures, she loves to chase the rag or a ball and is very athletic.

I think she'd be a good candidate for agility or schutzhund or just for hanging out with someone who likes to hike and play ball.

Oda, 12 weeks

The third puppy I still have is the green collar black sable girl who I have named "Oda." She's another puppy who isn't a good candidate for couch potato.

She's showing some significant "forward defense" already--as well as a thorough enjoyment of fence fighting and barrier aggression. She has very high pack drive and is a great companion, but she likes stirring up trouble.

She also loads  in drive as she gets more and more wound up. She'd be a great protection dog and probably a good schutzhund dog if trained with care--but maybe not a "competition" dog. Although she has the prey drive, she's going to really like taking a more serious approach--I think she's going to like looking for a fight.