Besides being giant, Oskar is now 9.5 months old, and still fully adolescent! His growing has slowed down some--last time we measured him, a couple of months ago, he was 28 inches at the withers and doesn't appear to much taller now (not that I can really get him to slow down enough to get a good measurement). We haven't weighed him in a while, as he's a bit too big for my husband to pick up and get on the scale with these days! (Last time we weighed him he was about 110 lbs)
We've had some training set backs--walking on a leash has become a nightmare, and hasn't improved lately. And he's been jumping up all the time, and is still too mouthy, which we're working on. But he is much better about getting in the car, now, and his recall, while not speedy, is good. (he loves toys, and is super toy motivated, so a good squeaky toy makes him come running!) He's funny about his toys, too. He likes to lay on stair landing outside, where he can survey the yard, and I went up there the other day and discovered he had collected all the toys he's found in the yard (including bits of toys, a random sock probably stolen by a Shiba, and some favorite sticks) and put them in a pile on the landing. He seemed rather worried when I brought him in, no doubt concerned someone would steal his treasure pile!
I notice that the testosterone must be really be kicking in, because he's starting to be a bit more reactive to other dogs. Reactive is probably overstating it: he's more interested in other dogs in a way that is different. When Toby is outside, Oskar is constantly watching him through the windows with a great deal of alertness, and he didn't used to do that. He also gets very alert and excited when he's in the car and sees another dog.
That said, he's pretty good with dogs he knows. I took him to visit my friend's GSD yesterday. Said GSD, Gideon, is rude. He always has been inappropriate in his greetings--rushing up to other dogs, etc. Right now, he's wearing a "cone" so he doesn't chew on himself (allergies). So first that thing that happened was my friend opened the back door to let Oskar out to play with Gideon, and Gideon rushed Oskar, and rammed his cone into Oskar's face, so both of their heads were suddenly in the cone. I rushed over, expecting that to cause a fight. Instead, Oskar had gently, but firmly, grabbed Gideon by the back of the neck and was holding him in place. No growling, just a firm correction, and it was gentle enough that Gideon didn't even seem to notice--except he couldn't move!
After that, they played just fine. I was pretty pleased with Oskar--he made his point, but was not at all aggressive about it. It was almost like "I'm and adult here, and you're not acting like one, so cool it!" even though Oskar is still a young dog, and Gideon is 7 years old. The only other time these two have had scuffles was over food (which we don't let them have together anymore) and in that case there had been a bit more snark and snarl and snapping from them both. Anyway, after his outing, which involved lots of playing "the German game" ie. the GSD runs in circles in the yard and gets Oskar to chase him, Oskar came home and conked out for the rest of the evening.
anyway, he's a good boy overall. Cautious still, but not fearful, and pretty gentle, though I still have to keep him away from Bel, who is simply too small and too fragile right now (in recovering from her LP surgery), and Oskar just falls over her sometimes as he's still pretty clumsy.
He's also started to be just a bit more clingy. Not in a bad way yet, but he does tend to come over and drop his head in my lap for me to pet him, and he's likely to follow me in the house in a way the Shiba never do (but not in that "I have to be touching you" way truly velcro dogs do).
We'll probably have him neutered in June, as he'll be a year old at the end of May. So far, though, living with an intact male has not been in the least bit problematic.
Glad to hear that Oskar is doing well! Sorry about the adolescent training relapse... I think we have all been there with that. Just keep at it and he will figure it out.
He sounds wonderful, the way he corrected the GSD really proves that he is very good natured And my GSD would greet the same way, maybe it's their way to do it... Ofcourse my GSD will run flat out until she's in the face of the other dog and then grab them by the back of the neck. She's su rude... But ofcourse, she's had no training and no socialization while at my parents house. That might be the cause for some of it.
And oh do I recognize the adolescent part! Both my GSD did it and Eowyn is 6 months now, so she is beginning to... But they calm down again after a while, and the things you taught him will show up again, at least it has with all the dogs I know
It's nice to read an update on the big boy! Though it seems to be lacking a picture or two...
I think people overreact to the whole intact dog thing. My first dog wasn't neutered until he was like, a year and a half old and only then since my Mom is a firm believer in speutering, not because he was out of control or anything. He wasn't, he just liked to mark everything on our daily walks. Conker hasn't seemed to have hit adolescence yet, I'm starting to wonder if that'll even happen. He is only 8 months old though... Not looking forwards to that when it comes around.
That velcro thing, not my deal. My Mom's dogs are velcro, to everybody who's in their house. They'll lean on people they've never met before. Conker will walk over every now and then and want to be pet but he doesn't ever put his head or paw on my like my Mom's dogs do. We chill in my room a lot and if I leave the bedroom for more than a minute he'll come to find me but he only actively follows me if I'm going to the kitchen or the backyard.
Today at the vet, Oskar weight 123 pounds. I thought he was a little fat (my husband overfeeds him, including giving him leftover muesli in the morning--have to put a stop to that!), and the vet confirmed that he was. They'd like to see him at about 110-115, so he needs to lose a bit. He is quite soft and fluffy and huggable, but I don't think he'll lose those qualities if he loose a few pounds!
He's healed up well from his problems after the neutering, and is still just the sweetest boy! He's by far the easiest dog in our household (not saying much, I guess, since the other two are Shibas! *lol* Yesterday we took him for a hike with Bel, and there were two loose dogs, a husky and another mixed breed. They both came rushing down the trail at us, barking, and Oskar turned around a looked at me like "Really? This dog is barking at me?" I made him sit, and he didn't pull toward the husky or anything. I had to call for the people to call their dogs, and they finally did, but Oskar was really good. He did raise his lip a bit when the husky barked and growled later, on the leash, when we walked by after the people had the dogs, but he was overall really good. I knew that he was generally ok with other dogs, but he doesn't like rude dogs, and you just never know how people's dogs are going to be, so I was really pleased with him. (and frankly, I was worried he'd feel the need to protect Bel if she went berserko as she has a tendency to do, but she was relatively calm too, so there was no problem).
And today at the vet he was really good too. Again, he ignored a rude dog, and except for a little incident with the scale (he didn't want to get on it, and he planted his feet and dropped his head and just balked), he was so good! They did all the usual annual exam things, and my vet also does a quick look at the teeth with a brief teeth clean, and he was very patient through it all, and by the end was starting to do the Akita lean on the vet. He loves to be petted, so he was just delighted when it over and both vets petted him and ruffled his fur and gave him a treat.
He's still kind of baby-ish--he's one year and five months old now--and still kind of acts like a giant puppy, but he's really just the most sweet-tempered dog.
Oh, and another discovery: Oskar does not like pumpkin. When I was carving one yesterday, Bel was delighted to have some pumpkin guts (and Toby always is as well), and I gave some to Oskar, and he ran off with his quarter-sized piece, dropped it in the living room and sniffed it suspiciously. Usually he'll eat things so Bel can't have it, but he finally decided this was something he was quite ok with her having!
Bella my parent's boxer is 2 soon to be 3 on the 20th. She still acts like a puppy at times, but she is getting better about walking nicely.
Glad those owners of the off leash dogs called them I've ran into some owners who say they don't have to and I shouldn't walk my dog reactive dog out.. That was when we had Pearly, Junior and dink.. Pearly and junior were not friendly with dogs they don't know.
I haven't had issues with such owners except for my neighbor's rat terrier..
Just read this whole thread...Oskar is such a cute boy! Bea does not like pumpkins either, actually she does not like fruits or veggies. Are you still taking him to training classes?
Oskar's not in school right now. We did several training classes, but it's really hard to find a positive trainer, esp. clicker training, here. I worked with one trainer I really liked, but it was only us, and I felt like he needed some socialization too. Right now, I simply don't have time to take him as I'm in school and working too.
But I would like to take him to another class at some point!
I've never run into someone who wouldn't call their loose dogs....I'd be furious if that happened!
Comments
I bet he is an awesome snuggle buddy!
Besides being giant, Oskar is now 9.5 months old, and still fully adolescent! His growing has slowed down some--last time we measured him, a couple of months ago, he was 28 inches at the withers and doesn't appear to much taller now (not that I can really get him to slow down enough to get a good measurement). We haven't weighed him in a while, as he's a bit too big for my husband to pick up and get on the scale with these days! (Last time we weighed him he was about 110 lbs)
We've had some training set backs--walking on a leash has become a nightmare, and hasn't improved lately. And he's been jumping up all the time, and is still too mouthy, which we're working on. But he is much better about getting in the car, now, and his recall, while not speedy, is good. (he loves toys, and is super toy motivated, so a good squeaky toy makes him come running!) He's funny about his toys, too. He likes to lay on stair landing outside, where he can survey the yard, and I went up there the other day and discovered he had collected all the toys he's found in the yard (including bits of toys, a random sock probably stolen by a Shiba, and some favorite sticks) and put them in a pile on the landing. He seemed rather worried when I brought him in, no doubt concerned someone would steal his treasure pile!
I notice that the testosterone must be really be kicking in, because he's starting to be a bit more reactive to other dogs. Reactive is probably overstating it: he's more interested in other dogs in a way that is different. When Toby is outside, Oskar is constantly watching him through the windows with a great deal of alertness, and he didn't used to do that. He also gets very alert and excited when he's in the car and sees another dog.
That said, he's pretty good with dogs he knows. I took him to visit my friend's GSD yesterday. Said GSD, Gideon, is rude. He always has been inappropriate in his greetings--rushing up to other dogs, etc. Right now, he's wearing a "cone" so he doesn't chew on himself (allergies). So first that thing that happened was my friend opened the back door to let Oskar out to play with Gideon, and Gideon rushed Oskar, and rammed his cone into Oskar's face, so both of their heads were suddenly in the cone. I rushed over, expecting that to cause a fight. Instead, Oskar had gently, but firmly, grabbed Gideon by the back of the neck and was holding him in place. No growling, just a firm correction, and it was gentle enough that Gideon didn't even seem to notice--except he couldn't move!
After that, they played just fine. I was pretty pleased with Oskar--he made his point, but was not at all aggressive about it. It was almost like "I'm and adult here, and you're not acting like one, so cool it!" even though Oskar is still a young dog, and Gideon is 7 years old. The only other time these two have had scuffles was over food (which we don't let them have together anymore) and in that case there had been a bit more snark and snarl and snapping from them both. Anyway, after his outing, which involved lots of playing "the German game" ie. the GSD runs in circles in the yard and gets Oskar to chase him, Oskar came home and conked out for the rest of the evening.
anyway, he's a good boy overall. Cautious still, but not fearful, and pretty gentle, though I still have to keep him away from Bel, who is simply too small and too fragile right now (in recovering from her LP surgery), and Oskar just falls over her sometimes as he's still pretty clumsy.
He's also started to be just a bit more clingy. Not in a bad way yet, but he does tend to come over and drop his head in my lap for me to pet him, and he's likely to follow me in the house in a way the Shiba never do (but not in that "I have to be touching you" way truly velcro dogs do).
We'll probably have him neutered in June, as he'll be a year old at the end of May. So far, though, living with an intact male has not been in the least bit problematic.
He sounds wonderful, the way he corrected the GSD really proves that he is very good natured
And oh do I recognize the adolescent part! Both my GSD did it and Eowyn is 6 months now, so she is beginning to... But they calm down again after a while, and the things you taught him will show up again, at least it has with all the dogs I know
I think people overreact to the whole intact dog thing. My first dog wasn't neutered until he was like, a year and a half old and only then since my Mom is a firm believer in speutering, not because he was out of control or anything. He wasn't, he just liked to mark everything on our daily walks.
Conker hasn't seemed to have hit adolescence yet, I'm starting to wonder if that'll even happen. He is only 8 months old though... Not looking forwards to that when it comes around.
That velcro thing, not my deal. My Mom's dogs are velcro, to everybody who's in their house. They'll lean on people they've never met before.
Conker will walk over every now and then and want to be pet but he doesn't ever put his head or paw on my like my Mom's dogs do. We chill in my room a lot and if I leave the bedroom for more than a minute he'll come to find me but he only actively follows me if I'm going to the kitchen or the backyard.
He is quite handsome.
What a handsome not-so-little man!
Today at the vet, Oskar weight 123 pounds. I thought he was a little fat (my husband overfeeds him, including giving him leftover muesli in the morning--have to put a stop to that!), and the vet confirmed that he was. They'd like to see him at about 110-115, so he needs to lose a bit. He is quite soft and fluffy and huggable, but I don't think he'll lose those qualities if he loose a few pounds!
He's healed up well from his problems after the neutering, and is still just the sweetest boy! He's by far the easiest dog in our household (not saying much, I guess, since the other two are Shibas! *lol* Yesterday we took him for a hike with Bel, and there were two loose dogs, a husky and another mixed breed. They both came rushing down the trail at us, barking, and Oskar turned around a looked at me like "Really? This dog is barking at me?" I made him sit, and he didn't pull toward the husky or anything. I had to call for the people to call their dogs, and they finally did, but Oskar was really good. He did raise his lip a bit when the husky barked and growled later, on the leash, when we walked by after the people had the dogs, but he was overall really good. I knew that he was generally ok with other dogs, but he doesn't like rude dogs, and you just never know how people's dogs are going to be, so I was really pleased with him. (and frankly, I was worried he'd feel the need to protect Bel if she went berserko as she has a tendency to do, but she was relatively calm too, so there was no problem).
And today at the vet he was really good too. Again, he ignored a rude dog, and except for a little incident with the scale (he didn't want to get on it, and he planted his feet and dropped his head and just balked), he was so good! They did all the usual annual exam things, and my vet also does a quick look at the teeth with a brief teeth clean, and he was very patient through it all, and by the end was starting to do the Akita lean on the vet. He loves to be petted, so he was just delighted when it over and both vets petted him and ruffled his fur and gave him a treat.
He's still kind of baby-ish--he's one year and five months old now--and still kind of acts like a giant puppy, but he's really just the most sweet-tempered dog.
Oh, and another discovery: Oskar does not like pumpkin. When I was carving one yesterday, Bel was delighted to have some pumpkin guts (and Toby always is as well), and I gave some to Oskar, and he ran off with his quarter-sized piece, dropped it in the living room and sniffed it suspiciously. Usually he'll eat things so Bel can't have it, but he finally decided this was something he was quite ok with her having!
Bella my parent's boxer is 2 soon to be 3 on the 20th. She still acts like a puppy at times, but she is getting better about walking nicely.
Glad those owners of the off leash dogs called them I've ran into some owners who say they don't have to and I shouldn't walk my dog reactive dog out.. That was when we had Pearly, Junior and dink.. Pearly and junior were not friendly with dogs they don't know.
I haven't had issues with such owners except for my neighbor's rat terrier..
I hope things keep doing well for you guys.
Glad he is doing well, though. Oskar and Nola can be diet buddies.
But I would like to take him to another class at some point!
I've never run into someone who wouldn't call their loose dogs....I'd be furious if that happened!