Day 4 - Socialization/Stimulation

So now it's time to work on littlepuppy personalities. This is another aspect of my waiting for many years in the breed before raising a litter that I think is going to help me.

You see, this litter isn't a litter of sweet pet Aussies. They may very well turn out that way, but these were bred primarily to be working ranch dogs. As such, they are most likely going to have reserved, protective temperaments. I'm not kidding myself about what kind of homes these pups need to go to. Having the Fury was a major education for me. I worked hard to help educate others, too. I've even written articles for my website and the Aussie Times (ASCA's newsletter) regarding this working Aussie temperament.

Fury was a bit of a surprise and, at some times, a major heartbreak. I didn't know how to deal with her tendency to control people who were in her space by heeling them. I came from a super friendly dog who could tolerate anything. No longer did I have a dog I could take downtown and tie out while I went shopping. I actually had to tell polite kids that yes, my dog does bite.

Don't mistake this for aggression. Fury is not an aggressive dog. I always just tell people they need to consider her more of a person - would you walk up to a strange person and rub all over them? What would they do in response? That is the same response for Fury. In fact, I feel very much that her non-stranger-friendly personality is indicative of her higher-than-usual intelligence as well as her bond with her people - at trials she is not concerned with other dogs or people because of her reserve, and would rather not be bothered.

As I show above, there is a double-edged sword with a personality like that. If I didn't have strong breed mentors, things could have ended VERY differently for us. I do not intend to put my puppy buyers in that situation.

So how do we do that? We select homes that understand their potential personality (and are appropriate and even appreciative of it), and we socialize the heck out of them.

So, after tail docking yesterday, I let the puppies chill for a while. But just before bed, my roommate, Casper, and I set to puppy stimulation exercises. These exercises were developed by Dr. Carmen Battaglia, and they are scientifically proven to provide puppies with enough stresses at an early age that they develop a lot more hardy than puppies not exposed to this. I feel this is very important as the personality that Fury and Ben can create has to do with intolerance of pressure in the form of people or dogs in the dog's personal space. Learning how to suck up uncomfortable situations should help them deal with it better than not. But again, it's all theory, right?

Puppy Stimulation in Practice

So, step number 1 is to hold the puppy and tickle their toes with a q-tip. Casper here is holding her upright, also, which is step number two, but honestly, some of these little guys wriggle A LOT. It's interesting to really see their personalities start to come out when I interact with them. Who handles what is quite an eye opener.

Step 2 - Hold the puppy perpendicular to the floor but upright for 3-5 seconds.

Step 3 - Hold the puppy perpendicular, but with her/his head down for 3-5 seconds.

Step 4 - Hold the puppy in supine position for 3-5 seconds (on their back).

Step 5 - Put them on a damp and cool towel for 3-5 seconds.

Optimus Prime and Dactyl are by far the most mellow about this so far. Reid, holy moly, Reid, CHILL OUT.

Thoughts on This

Even if the stimulation exercises don't do much - they're going to help us in two ways.

1. Fury can barely tolerate my holding/manipulation of the puppies. When I picked up the first puppy to do this, her screaming made Fury start shaking and wanting to get up and check on her. By the end, Fury was used to the screaming and realized that both Casper and I weren't going to do anything to her puplets. I think it's important that Fury understands that while they are her charges, I get to do what I want to them, too.

2. Some of the puppies are not very tolerant of handling or manipulation right now. Better get them used to it sooner, rather than later. I'm not sure when I'll start inviting people by the house to check out the puppies, but my job starts now and the Howard Street family consisting of me, Laura, and Casper (and by default, our honorary fourth roommate, Yishai) can work on it as Fury is comfortable with us.

I also think it's important to have positive puppy relations, so I am also interspersing a lot of sweet, loving puppy touches throughout the day. Just don't wnat to get over involved. I trust Fury to do her end and I don't want to stress my happy, thriving little muttlets.