Tomoe is here!
I am still learning how to use my camera. She has a little grey in her fur, and a totally white mask.
Picked her up at BWI, which is not the best airport to pick a dog up from. There is no place to let them stretch their legs and pee. I busted out the camcorder to capture the moment and Saki was like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" lol...too much stuff going on, people everywhere, noise. We just grabbed her and offered her some water and pedialyte before taking her home, which is only about 10 minutes away.
One of her littermates was purchased by a young lady who lives not too far from us, but we didn't stop to chat much.
More stories and pics later. She really really loves our yard, it took her awhile before she was interested in food, and I STILL don't know if she's had any water to drink. We have been dosing her with pedialyte all night. Also, she seems pretty scared of me, I'm obviously way overbearing.
And the cat is like..."Uh...so...you're taking that thing back tommorrow, right?"
Comments
(FYI you used the wrong coding when you posted your picture. You want to use the html coding, I fixed it for you for this one because I really wanted to see her cuteness)
Welcome to puppyland!
Did you get her from the breeder in Texas?
Jesse
I have always been amazed by how little our Shikoku and Kai drink, so I wouldn't be too alarmed. She will drink when she needs too as long as she can get to it.
MORE PICTURES! (please)
----
Just give her some time to adjust she'll warm up to you in no time. =)
Tomoe fell in love with our backyard right away. We have dozens of huge trees and it is foresty and smells hugely interesting. I believe she has noted the existence and weaknesses in our fencing.
She was not so into the inside last night. She whined a lot and wanted to go back outside. Didn't pay any attention to water or food for a couple of hours, so we kept giving her pedialyte through a syringe. Eventually she calmed down enough to eat some food and she did her business in the backyard and, per the Monks of New Skete's puppy book and How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With, I set up a blanket and put her t-shirt that smells like mommy and littermates on the floor next to the bed and tethered her to it. She passed out pretty quickly.
At about 2am I noticed she was at the very end of the tether so I opted to move her back over by the bed, which woke her up. She was like WOW, I am SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU! Which was nice because she hadn't really taken to me, she seemed very scared of me when I would move towards her, and apprehensive when I wasn't. She was all kisses and very excited, so I said aw, crap, and took her outside to pee.
Today she has been exploring the house and seems not the slightest bit unhappy with her life. But she is definitely not ready to be lead on the leash yet, and is uncomfortable being picked up - though she is relaxed and kissy when you actually hold her.
She seems really itchy, so we're debating whether we should give her a bath today. She's probably still got gook on her from the airplane ride.
Here's another pic, but I am going to start a Tomoe Spam thread with more.
She's adorable!
When I picked her up, she cried out really loud - same as the other night, because I picked her up suddenly from behind, I think. Or else me picking her up "releases" her panic.
I sat her down and the wasp started buzzing me, but she had no visible boo-boos. We brought her inside and gently cleaned her up and waited to see if anything started swelling but she bounced back pretty quickly.
Then we took her on a short car ride to my parents' house, and introduced her to bacon. Which she apparently loves, and will only get when we want to build an association of ultimate awesomeness with something. She is still scared of my dad.
+ puppy was entirely housebroken when she came to us at 8 weeks. Only two minor accidents so far, one was submissive pee, and the other was vaccum cleaner terror pee.
+ puppy was entirely crate trained when she came to us at 8 weeks. She lasted the whole night with barely a sound last night, and I suspect she was growlfing at something in her sleep
+ very very quiet
- puppy is only vaguely treat-motivated, so we're not getting a free leg up on training here
- i'm not seeing any signs that she's going to be a particularly focused dog
I think she's in her fear period already - when we take her away from the familiar she is very scared, though she did warm up to my parents' house and seemed to be more okay with the idea of walking this morning.
I don't know whether you have done any reading on "kennelosis" -- the behavior of dogs that are kept too long as puppies in a kennel (or yard) and how they do not adapt as well to their environment if they are kept that way for their first 4 months and never taken out. A lot has been written about the importance of getting your puppy out AWAY from the house and OFF your property during the ages between 8 and 16 weeks, i.e., 2 to 4 months.
I'll give you a description of what I do with a new puppy when I get him, knowing, of course, that this puppy will be my future competition/performance dog. He flies in or I drive to get him and we get home. He gets ONE day to get used to the house and yard, and after that, he gets thrown into a crate in the car/van and we go somewhere every day (or evening if I'm back to work). I take him to different parts of the park, to different parts of the Fairgrounds, to different places in the neighborhood, onto the grass at a soccer or baseball field, to soccer games with a hundred noisy kids, to our club building, to an agility trial if one happens to be coming up, to a friend's house, to Home Depot and Lowe's. We play in the playground and in all these places, we take short walks. I try to find big cavernous buildings, different things for him to walk on, different people to meet. We go every day, and we go to 3 or 4 new places on the weekend. You only have 2 months for this window of opportunity -- after that, what you missed, you can never completely make up. 8 to 16 weeks.
We don't have a good one-word in English for the combination of socialization and exposure to the environment which is so critical to your puppy. My suggestion is to NOT give in to her fears -- take her someplace and set her down and start walking, so that she follows -- let her trail a leash on the ground if you think you need a handle. Everybody seems to be concerned about getting her socialized to other dogs; I'd be more concerned about getting her accustomed to people and places. I don't think that Tomoe is in a fear period. I think she will be like this all of her life if you don't get her out and about NOW. You cannot keep her in your backyard (no matter HOW nice and large it is) if you ever want to make her a well-adjusted, happy member of your community, or ever want to do anything with her other than keep her in your backyard. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Yes, I drop everything that I'm doing and concentrate on this for two months. Everything. Hubby makes his own dinner. After that, you can relax a little because your most important work is done.
It may be more critical in some breeds than others, but I'd never take a chance on not providing these experiences. If you read my introductions, I had two breeds in particular that I was very concerned about socializing early -- my Ridgeback, which could be a sharp in the sense of aggressive, breed; and my Malinois, which I knew could be aggressive or reactive. It might not have been as important for my sporting breed Irish Water Spaniel, nor my happy go lucky Vallhund, but again, I wouldn't take that chance. I think a Kishu, from what I can see in the pictures and knowing how Carleen raised them, is another breed that needs extra care to get socialized/exposed, early on.
As for vaccinations, here's what I tell people. Yes, we risk our pups catching something, but I will take that chance over the possibility of having to live with a spook for the next 15 years. End of story. I just won't live with a spook. If you take your puppy out everywhere, she will lose her fear of strange places, but strange places she must go.
I am going to try attaching my favorite document on puppy socialization. Brad mentioned doing 100 new things with your puppy in 100 days -- that's a great plan, and here are some of the specific things you can do. If you can't do them all, it gives you an idea of the kinds of new experiences you can try to find for your puppy. The document actually says 8 to 12 weeks, but I think up to 16 weeks is still within that critical period. (Couldn't attach it -- will try just copying/pasting another night.)
I wouldn't give up on Tomoe to not have focus for future training. You may need to up the ante on her treats. You already mentioned she likes bacon; so she DOES like really tasty treats. I wouldn't use much bacon, though. I like Charlie Bears, dry treats but if they're not tasty enough, cooked chicken, roast beef or steak; turkey hot dogs (if you don't mind the nitrates) and microwaved hot dogs are even better (slice them about nickel width, place single layer on a paper towel and nuke 'em), Zukes treats, there are lots of molasses-based smelly treats out there that are still healthy, string cheese. You can find something she really likes, for everyday training.
I think Tomoe's life has been rather sheltered, and now she has the whole world suddenly opened to her. That's the hesitation you have been seeing when you take her somewhere new. Your job is to to do what you can now, not tomorrow and not next week when you start taking her to puppy classes. Those may be great, but once a week is not enough. If you want a great little well-adjusted dog happy to be anywhere with you, drop everything you are doing and start taking her places, giving people you meet some of those tasty treats to give to her. We will all look forward to your stories and experiences. I promise not to be so long-winded next time....
One more tip: if you want to walk her close to home, pick her up and carry her down the driveway or sidewalk, put her down and let her walk back home towards the house. It's a lot easier walking a puppy towards the house than away from it.
She's been much better with the walks in recent days. She goes a little further each day. I like the suggestion about putting her in the car and taking her places. We'll definitely do that.
My goals with raising this dog are:
- happy, calm, and fulfilled, obviously
- I want to trust her to not eat my house when left alone for reasonable periods of time
- I want to be friendly to people and poilte to other dogs
- I want to her to stick with me when we're out
- I want to be able to take her to the office from time to time and have her be a clean quiet calm dog
- I want to be able to drive her to my dojo, hold a calm down-stay while I get changed and am out of sight, then be generally calm and friendly while I am training, hold a down-stay while I get changed back into normal clothes, then ride back home with me.
Obviously it is important to me that she be cool with being in places other than her house and her yard. So I guess I'd better get on that. Today marks her first whole week living with us, and I think the focus this week was bonding all around. We were marking up good experiences like "eats food when offered," "takes treat from hand," "sits occasionally on command," "makes it up or down the stairs," "is good at the vet," etc. Well I guess this next week we'll step it up a little and include some trips around town and visits with strangers.
The Puppy’s Rule of Twelve
Positive Paws Dog Training ©2002 – Margaret Hughes – 707-935-6142
Adapted with permission from Pat Schaap’s Rule of 7’s
Make sure all experiences are safe and positive for the puppy. Each encounter should include treats and lots of praise. Slow down and add distance if your puppy is scared!
By the time a puppy is 12 weeks old, it should have:
(If your puppy is over 12 weeks start right away with this socialization guide.)
Experienced 12 different surfaces: wood, woodchips, carpet, tile, cement, linoleum, grass, wet grass, dirt, mud, puddles, deep pea gravel, grates, uneven surfaces, on a table, on a chair, etc......
Played with 12 different objects: fuzzy toys, big & small balls, hard toys, funny sounding toys, wooden items, paper or cardboard items, milk jugs, metal items, car keys, etc.......
Experienced 12 different locations: front yard (daily), other people’s homes, school yard, lake, pond, river, boat, basement, elevator, car, moving car, garage, laundry room, kennel, veterinarian hospital (just to say hi & visit, lots of cookies, no vaccinations), grooming salon (just to say hi), etc....
Met and played with 12 new people (outside of family): include children, adults (mostly men), elderly adults, people in wheelchairs, walkers, people with canes, crutches, hats, sunglasses, etc….
Exposed to 12 different noises (ALWAYS keep positive and watch puppy’s comfort level – we don’t want the puppy scared): garage door opening, doorbell, children playing, babies screaming, big trucks, Harley motorcycles, skateboards, washing machine, shopping carts rolling, power boat, clapping, loud singing, pan dropping, horses neighing, vacuums, lawnmowers, birthday party, etc…
Exposed to 12 fast moving objects (don’t allow to chase): skateboards, roller-skates, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, people running, cats running, scooters, vacuums, children running, children playing soccer, squirrels, cats, horses running, cows running, etc…
Experienced 12 different challenges: climb on, in, off and around a box, go through a cardboard tunnel, climb up and down steps, climb over obstacles, play hide & seek, go in and out a doorway with a step up or down, exposed to an electric sliding door, umbrella, balloons, walk on a wobbly table (plank of wood with a small rock underneath), jump over a broom, climb over a log, bathtub (and bath) etc....
Handled by owner (& family) 12 times a week: hold under arm (like a football), hold to chest, hold on floor near owner, hold in-between owner’s legs, hold head, look in ears, mouth, in-between toes, hold and take temperature (ask veterinarian), hold like a baby, trim toe nails, hold in lap, etc…
Eaten from 12 different shaped containers: wobbly bowl, metal, cardboard box, paper, coffee cup, china, pie plate, plastic, frying pan, Kong, Treatball, Bustercube, spoon fed, paper bag, etc......
Eaten in 12 different locations: back yard, front yard, crate, kitchen, basement, laundry room, bathroom, friend’s house, car, school yard, bathtub, up high (on work bench), under umbrella, etc....
Played with 12 different puppies (or safe adult dogs) as much as possible.
Left alone safely, away from family & other animals (5-45 minutes) 12 times a week.
Experienced a leash and collar 12 different times in 12 different locations.
I think she's just not sure about the harness and leash, and she is not sure about the world - its interesting, but she is not ready to charge straight into it.
I'd like to get her good enough on the leash that I can walk her up to the village center on farmers market day - I think that would be great.
I spent the first 2 months taking her everywhere I could think of, and I think Marion's tips are great. It just takes time and effort. Haru also was born and raised in an outdoor kennel with her 'pack' so everything was very new.
I was just very careful not to push her too much, watch her carefully, and if something was a bit much at first, get her out of the situation and distract, but try again right away.
Wouldn't worry too much. If you work through it, good things will come. Haru is now exactly what I want her to be in terms of balance in her temperament and reactions, though she did start off on the slightly fearful/hesitant side.
And btw, congrats on the pup! My wife loves white dogs. If we didn't have a size limit, there's a good chance we would have ended up with a Kishu or Shikoku. Just saw some the other day at the regional Nippo show, and they were beautiful.
Kenshi, you have a fair idea of what you want from this puppy. I would only suggest that you ease her into her roles that you envision her as an adult. In other words, if you want to take her to a dojo (am I the only person on the planet that may not know what/where that is???) or to the office, then take her to those places briefly, let her say hello, walk her around, and leave. If you can't do that for your office, take her there on a weekend, walk her through, get her used to the area now. She can't do a long down for you yet, but you can get her accustomed to those places you want her to go later. Ditto for the car -- if you'll be driving her to places, then start taking her for short rides now.
Not eating your house is a management issue. She doesn't look the type, but there's always crates, kennels, xpens if she should get bored.
And lastly, and this is just ME, I want a puppy to get used to off-leash following, right away. I take my puppies off leash on hills and fields and hikes, obviously not at soccer games WHILE they are young and impressionable and want to follow you because where else are they going to go in a strange environment? I want the puppy to take some responsibility right away for being off-leash and keeping an eye on me. I won't have a dog that I can't have off-leash. I can't live with a dog whom I'm fearful about if it by chance jumps out of my car, or gets out the front door. I want a dog that is comfortable being off-leash, period because he experiences it all the time -- I can't envision spending the rest of this dog's life only on-leash outside. Now, Carleen will tell you you can't because they are a hunting dog. They said that about my Basenji, too, and guess what. As an adult, I let him loose with my other dog and with a pocketful of cookies and said, let's go, we're going this way and darn if he just didn't come along.
I do this BEFORE they learn they can run like the wind away from you. Then, when they hit about 4 to 7 months or so and get that independent adolescent streak in them, I put a very long line (40 or 50 feet) on them and let them trail it on our walks so that I have something to step on as they go zooming by, and have something to enforce with if I call.
I realize this is not for everybody, and many people will only feel safe outside of their yards if they have their dog safely leashed. And that's OK. Different strokes. But for me, part of my enjoyment is watching dogs run free, playing with each other or just running for the sheer love of running. Not to mention which, probably 80% of dogs who zoom in the agility ring are dogs that are never allowed the freedom to just run -- why wouldn't this become obvious to the owner? You take a dog who has never tasted freedom outside of his backyard, and show him a great big open space with a bunch of equipment on it -- why WOULDN'T he run around in circles in sheer glee? I can spot them every time, and often by breed.
I find it amusing that people will look you straight in the eye and say, "You can't take this breed off-leash." Fill in the blank: Boxer, Siberian, Afghan, Fox Terrier, Beagle, Borzoi, Pointer, Irish Setter. Then you go to a college campus and find students who have never been told this about their chosen breed, playing ball, lounging around on the grass, walking around the campus -- the dogs come right along, follow right along, stop at sidewalks and sit before crossing the street and the student says, WHAT? when you tell him you can't do that with his breed. SAY WHAT? But, it has to be learned early, before the dog becomes a runner -- and you can't just take a six-month old puppy and suddenly set him free. Doesn't work that way.
If it scares the bejeebies out of you (not you, Kenshi, I'm talking the generic you) to have a dog loose, I always suggest taking him to an enclosed area first -- tennis courts if you can find them, fenced in baseball or soccer fields, somebody else's large yard. A long line, a bunch of tasty treats and you're on your way. Anyway, it's certainly a personal choice to leash or not to leash, and how you want to live with that dog.
Tomoe is extremely mouthy. I know puppies are all mouthy, especially 10-week olds who are about to lose their puppy teeth. But it is interesting how when I take the submissive play role with Tomoe on the floor and let her attack me, she totally goes for my throat! She's nicely bite-inhibited, and we reinforce that (mostly by saying "OW!" and opening her mouth by pressing against her gums - if you try to do the "ignore her to show there are negative consequences" thing doesn't work well at her age - she just finds something else to do).
Very strong denning instinct. We have a low deck, and she finds it rather comfy and snug. Of course there is no way we can get to her under there, and she has furthermore decided that this is the most HILARIOUS thing in the world. Which is fine but we let her out to do her business before bed on saturday night, when it was raining here, and she went under the deck and curled up into a little ball as though she was settling in for the night. Not helpful! Working on training her to come out of there.
How dog reactivity starts: dog comes in with its face. Ears go back, tail goes down, head goes side-to-side frantically looking for an exit. Other dog is calm, sniffs, decides not to press the matter, and turns away to attend to its owner. Tomoe's ear immediately spring forward and she is now pulling on the leash trying to "pursue" the other dog.
Encouraging thing, though, with people, it seems like if she has met you once before she is likely to let you hold your hand out so she can sniff it, with a tail wag.
Last night I started playing tug-o-war with Tomo-chan.
I attracted her to the toy, and she bit down on it and I gave her gentle, soft resistance against her pulling.
Then at one point when she gave a sharp tug, I let go of the toy and told her what a good dog she was.
Then I approached her while she had her toy and I stroked her to get her relaxed. I did NOT take her toy, because I wanted her to know that it is okay for me to walk over to her when she has something.
Eventually she puts it down and I pick it back up and we repeat.
I've been reading some Natural Dog Training stuff and I am hoping this will give me the ability to tap into the prey drive as they describe.
Anyway, she is getting big, her adult fur is coming out. She is gradually getting better on walks - I try to let her sniff a bit when she wants to, while keeping her off the common areas where they may be wild animal or other dog poo, but I try to keep her moving when she stops to use her eyes or ears.
She has shown different levels of responsiveness to my corrections. I have come to think that this is because I belie my own seriousness when I correct her. When I forget to take the cat food up and she goes for it, that's not as serious as when I see her start to dig under the fence or show too much interest in the cat's bed. I startled her so much when she was sniffing at the cat bed last night, I gave her hiccups!
Also, she was chewing on my arm and started to bite too hard, so I yelped, and she immediately stopped biting, ears went forward, and she licked the spot on my arm she had just bitten, then looked at my face as if to apologize.