Socializing Working Aussie Puppies

Before I write this, I want to acknowledge to my audience that (a) I am not an expert on this and (b) I am generalizing a LOT. This is obvious enough in my own litter about personality ranges.

But I wanted to respond to the comments from a couple of days ago, mostly the questions Anniken raised, which were good. Being my first litter, I made assumptions with Daca that I'm not going to do again - that people knew to do what I do, or what the Aussie culture I live in does. We live and we learn, right?

Anniken described her own experience with her dog who went through a fear period like Daca's but eventually became the perfect dog for her. And she asked, "Do you think that socialization is different for Aussies?"

I want to refine this question a bit - for "working" Aussies. Fact of the matter is that "Aussies" encompasses a lot of components. First, we have two basic strains: working and conformation. There is certainly intermixing, but most dogs fall under one of two categories. Some argue they are entirely different breeds in terms of temperament and even looks (after all, one thing I've noticed is how FUZZY the conformation puppies are that are the same age as mine - my puppies just look like small adults with the level of coat they have). And I probably align with the "some" people. At this point I do have a fair share of experience with both types that I feel pretty confident in saying so.

Here's my case in point: I had two conformation bred Aussies before Fury. So, Fury's about six months old and I go back to grad school at Cal Poly, which has a lot of ag land. I'm running through these fields where there's a lot of Jersey cows who are friendly - and one comes up and I pet her. Then she puts her nose down to say hello to Fury, which I think is sweet as hell until - - snap!

Fury nailed her on the nose! The horror!

Of course, I did go out and get myself a high-octane stockdog puppy that isn't worth her salt if she doesn't grip a nose when it puts pressure on her. You have to rethink these things with a stockdog. My conformation dogs, who did not have instinct to work livestock, would have just smelled back, maybe even licked the cow.

Side note, here's a photo Yishai sent me on that same run with Rippa encountering the same cows. She was a bit intimidated, as you can imagine. I was proud to hear later that she did try to turn back a calf that ventured too close. :)

Anyway, so in response to Anniken's comment/question, yes, I think working Aussie puppies can need different socialization. One of the things that I have encountered through all this is that EVERY knowledgeable Aussie person/trainer I've talked to about Daca's fear aggression says the same thing, "Sounds like they tried to play 'pass the puppy.'"

I did that to Fury. Here's what pass the puppy is: your young puppy seems a little adverse to handling by strangers. What do you do? Common dog training lore says you hand the puppy to as many strangers as possible to socialize them. So when I got Fury, she didn't like it so I did that. She didn't even really like me when I came to get her. Her breeder was like, "She'll bond." And she did, but that's because Fury is a classic reserved Aussie. And what did I do? I put pressure on her to like everyone by giving her to strangers. Which she hated. And now Fury doesn't like a lot of handling from strangers.

Why is that? The breed standard for Aussies (in ASCA) says that they should be reserved. Reserved is not "shy" as in scared. It is "ehh, you're a stranger and I could care less. I'd rather you not touch me, thank you." The AKC standard actually changed this because they added something in about a "keen but friendly gaze."

A dog that inherently doesn't want to be loved by strangers is not going to love having handling forced on them. Think about a reserved person - do you think making that person go to parties is really going to work to make them socialites? No. That's not how they're wired.

Reserved is good - it keeps dogs out of trouble and if you're interested in competition or real work, it keeps your dog focused on you and not on other distractions.

So, if you know your dog isn't going to love everyone and everything it meets, you have to let it be itself. With these kinds of dogs, you don't allow people to force their way into the Aussie's world, you let them find their way into the stranger's. Reserved puppies need the ability to have an out - if they are uncomfortable with a dog or person in their face, shoving it closer is not such a good idea - let them get space. This goes doubly on a lead, or else you get leash aggression along with dogs frantically trying to protect their personal space.

If you are used to a dog that's bred primarily for show or for what many breeders like to call "for temperament" (and what they mean is friendly and tractable), a working Aussie's a whole new ball game and you have to rethink your strategies. Show dogs have to be friendly - they have to ADORE showing to really get an edge in that venue. They have to say, "Look at me! Put your hands on me! Adore me!" Same with a "for temperament" dog - only in this case it's less about showing and more about, "Poke me, prod me, I don't care, I love you anyway!"

The funny thing is, having come from the former's background, and having a reserved Aussie now, the reserved Aussie temperament makes so much more sense - is so much more smart. I remember Terry Martin once saying something about "No dog of mine will ever let himself get stolen." Exactly. My dogs, and working dogs, know their owners. They aren't going to be all thrilled about the dude next door. It's good.

But it's not so good when you don't expect it.

I was watching Rippa this week at a meeting at Yishai's house: people were calling her to come over and play and she was like, "Mmmm, nah." She came over in her own good time. When I got there she was all excited and ready to party and got a little more outgoing with everyone else, before she decided to go back under the desk and take a nap. Folks picked her up and she tolerated it, but she clearly didn't *like* it. And I keep thinking that if we had played "pass the puppy" with her - she very likely could have ended up the same way as Daca. Who knows?

All I do know is that it's not that the puppies weren't handled enough. ALL of my puppies are relatively calm, respectful, and well bonded to their owners. They all liked handling and playing with strangers in their early puppyhood, and they were well socialized to all types of people. Pass the puppy is NOT the solution here - we're dealing with something entirely different.

But, as I say with generalizations, that's all this is - Emma in my litter is absolutely a little show dog. Adore me! Look at me! Touch me! It's too bad her angulation is so straight.

10k Puppies

So the big goal for Yishai with his dog is that he wanted an "Adventure Puppy" - one he could take mountain biking, backpacking, and to events. Rippa's been under training for this for a bit, she attended a social function at our climbing gym, a triathlon, and now she was the main event at his San Luis Mountain run 10k today. The day before we took both puppies to set up, but I didn't think I could manage my job and also Daca's social issues so she stayed home today (and is happy as a clam sleeping on a couch pillow next to me while big, scary stranger house guests move around and she could care less - improvement!)

Rippa did a solid job as an event puppy. She wandered the grounds and checked in with Yishai and I, and then would camp out at my feet while I timed. And then go venturing forth, but then come back when it gets crowded and hectic (ie, race meetings and finishes). Yishai's appreciating that while she's tolerant of people poking at her, she's also reserved - she stays close, ignores stuff, and doesn't get herself into trouble. There was one incident with a strange dog that she got into and started tearing around the field with this poor dog on a leash wanting to charge after her. Cute, but poor other dog!

Lemme off lead, dad! OFF OFF OFF!

Yishai proudly displaying his puppy - which makes all the other event folks happy, too.

Yesterday was kinda funny in a couple ways - when we got there, there was a big social picnic in our spot we had reserved. I had both puppies on leashes while Yishai unloaded his truck. As per the plan with Daca, I carry around a lot of chicken to reinforce good behavior. The problem with this is that Rippa is very food protective - if I feed the two puppies together, I keep their bowl separate, and Rippa will actually leave her food to go try to take Daca's (so I loom over her and threaten bodily harm and she quits). She and Daca have gotten into some good brawls over food situations, but we're learning how to manage the dogs all together right now.  Anyway, so I am sitting there with the puppies and this group of ladies asks me what kind of dogs I have. I proudly (knowing my puppies are adorable) say, "Australian Shepherds!" and not ten seconds later they tear into each other over chicken that has fallen out of my pocket. Nice breed, right? Four month old puppies going at it? I am trying to separate them by holding their leashes way out and someone asks if they're playing - this guy trots over to try to help me, but with Daca's fear of strangers I was like, "No no" and finally Yishai came and picked up his dog and we chilled again. They were back to playing. Yes, I, Kristin McNamara, provide excellent ambassadorship to the breed.

Other than that, it was a nice day. I let both puppies roam freely all day, and Daca got to learn that she can avoid strange dogs and people without incident and my friends came over to feed her chicken and she quickly let them pet her. It is such a heart breaker right now. Everyone who meets her says they can tell she's clearly friendly, but she just can't take the petting. She runs up to people and gets in their laps happily, but hands come out and it's all over. Oh well, she's better than she was. I'm gonna have to figure out how to work stuff out around strange dogs, too.

She really is going to make someone a wonderful dog. She is just really nice, very calm, very sweet. She's super biddable, whip smart, and is always asking where the party's at. I keep looking at her as the total objective of my breeding - take all the good in Fury and improve it and you have Daca - better coat coloration, cuter (although her muzzle's kinda short for the standard, it is also ADORABLE), all the drive, none of the sass, all the intelligence and spunk. And, as I said, I actually think she's underneath it all very friendly (which she was when she left here, too - which is precisely why I sent her to the home I did). She really wants to meet people, but I think she's afraid they'll grab her and not let go or something. It's really a weird thing going on for her. Hope she grows out of it, but all of my friends are on board with helping, and I even have a bunch of business acquaintances encouraging me to take her on rounds to their offices for socialization. I have to say, my network is amazing.

Puppy photos!

Moto sent me another email yesterday - he's got all kinds of cute quirks that he's trying out on the Groblickas. He also sounds like he's still lazy as all heck. Boy dogs!

But he finally learned how to smile for photos and stop looking sad!

Also, where'd his ears go?

No new photos from anyone else, but I did take a couple of the kids here:

Rippa shows off one of her tricks/quirks - she likes to get up on Yishai and ride him while he does pushups.

Daca and Fury - twinsies.

Couch tussel - Rippa's looking pretty awkward these days.

Eatin' the front yard grass.

Approving the new patio furniture.

Dog couch - which is actually the nicest couch I have. The woman sold it to me for $100 because she was having a baby and "we only allow microfiber in this house for babies." Okaaaay.

Have I told you lately how squishably adorable I am?

So Daca's coming right along. She is much calmer than when she got here. She's no longer freaking out about strangers. Yishai and I spend a lot of time evaluating our approach to her. She is so cute, and so nice, and damn amazing in every way that it's heart breaking to see her react the way she does when she's intimidated. But progress is happening. In a little over a week here, she's a much better dog and we're finding our rhythm. Yishai's currently got her on errands and I have Rippa at home. SHe's wandering around our climbing gym and looking at people and totally cool with it. So, yay. Perhaps she can be brought back to be a good wittle dog. 

After all, dogs like Daca are why I bred Fury. I didn't do it to keep a dog for myself, I did it to propagate talent, drive, biddability, loyalty, beauty, and most of all - intelligence. She's all these things and more. She's going to be someone's amazing heart dog that can do anything that person wants her to do and do it well. They just have to accept that she needs her space and doesn't necessarily need to be touched/held/whatever by everyone who wants to do it. I was watching Rippa at a meeting Yishai had at his house. She's very tractable, tolerates all kinds of shenanigans, but she also is allowed to do what she wants - if she's not feeling it, she leaves. I think that's all Daca needs to learn how to do.

Just stuff

Fury has totally, utterly blown her coat for the spring, and it's about a half-inch long everywhere except on her belly, where the fur she lost for puppies is growing back and about 2 inches long. She looks like hell.

But isn't this a cute shot of Fury and Daca on my bed? Reminds you that they look exactly the damn same. Daca ended up with Ben's head, though. Short, adorable muzzle and higher head planes.

People were having a hard time deciding who the mother was because of the size, but Daca is the tiniest thing. Also the cutest.

We're making progress with her - lots of walks have mellowed her out - she's got her manners with the dogs and people now, and she's getting how things work. At first she was barking at strangers and dogs on sight, now she walks past them calmly, maybe checks them out. We still have barky and aggressive episodes, and it can be quite frustrating, but mainly because Yishai and I want it fixed. I was talking about just having to take time out of my day to make sure we arrange the right social visits with the right people and he goes, "I definitely want to share that responsibility with you, in fact, I would like to take her for walks, just her and me." Tara Aussies is definitely not just me anymore.

I really need to take some photos of Rippa. She's totally growing up to be the dog I wanted to breed. Beautiful, nice structure, good bone, great temperament.

Back to Daca, I decided to make up some chicken treats for her and have strangers feed her - that works pretty well, she runs straight up to them as soon as they squat and looks for the chicken. (If Rippa is with her, she's super bummed - it sucks being the "good puppy" - no chicken for you, unless Yishai insists!) The sad thing is, though, she's still terrified. When they run out of chicken, she will sit in their lap and take a nap or lie down next to them and put her head on their thighs but they can't move to pet her without her losing trust. They just have to sit and talk. But this is huge from a few days ago. I think she'll come back just fine. Fury was always reserved, but she is actually kinda outgoing so long as she trusts. Chris (my photographer friend) chickened her and in about five minutes she was rolling all over him and letting him rub her belly. I think she's actually still really a friendly dog, she just needs to get over the idea that strangers are to be scared away. It's kind of sad to watch, but I have faith. She's an awesome little house dog, though. :)

Moto also sends his regal regards from Pennsylvania (and so much for button ears!):

Moto's learned to write

It seems that Sam, Alina, and Chelsea the cat have been hard at work with Motzi: he's learned how to write and sends me emails and photos all the time! And he's doing awesome at his new home.

He's doing a great job of adjusting and I am so grateful for my puppy homes that keep me regularly updated.

Patrick's been lame about not sending me oodles of stuff (Kathryn does okay), but I was worried about the incoming Curry/outgoing Moto day so I begged for photos:

So, huzzah!

I will post photos of Curry (though I have changed her name back to Daca, which she still answers to) soon enough, but let me tell you that she is squishingly adorable and totally the same puppy that left. Does all the same funny little behaviors, is sweet, lovey, responsive, biddable, but needs some direction in life. I am definitely glad that she came back instead of staying at her home. 

She's going to have some work done with me, but she should still make someone a bang up puppy once she finds out that being afraid is stupid. She is fear-aggressive with dogs and people, but if both leave her alone, she approaches the on her own accord. I took her to Kathy Warrens and she gave me some good solid advice about what to do with her, and I'll be taking some of my own knowledge and applying it to her (this link shows you the basic plan: https://www.msu.edu/~silvar/fear.htm). 

She's an amazing little kid, though. She does flipping backflips and banks off the couch when she plays, it's cool to see. Talk about agile! She's fitting in great, though she and Rippa had to have some serious words to sort out that she was definitely not the alpha bitch in our household, but we're having fun in the mean time. We took her downtown and she did great walking around with cars and people and sirens, and then I took her to a bike demo and she slept through the noise and jostle and craziness, so not too worried. She just needs some space.

One thing I've learned from all this is that if I have a litter again, I will keep them for twelve weeks. Rippa, Moto, and Emma seem a lot more mature than she does. I think all the walks and gradual exposure did a lot for them in making them super stable. Moto kind of buffs at things he doesn't understand but gets over it. Rippa is friendly (with some reserve, but interactions are fine, she just may not jump out of her skin over it) and calm, same with Emma. I feel like had Daca benefited from that extra time with us, she'd be a different story than she is right now. 

Anyway, there's the realities of breeding. I had to break someone's heart, and I'm no longer empty nested. She's fun, though, and I have seen HUGE improvements in her since she got here two days ago. Just needs to know her place and learn that stranger interaction is not so bad.

Lena Flowers and Emma

This is too cute not to post. Look how pretty!

Incoming/Outgoing

Well, it seems the Horowitz family survived two puppies for Passover (and I guess his mom loved them), and Moto got on his plane today and at 9:29 pm, Alina and Sam will have their new puppy. The people at Delta were kinda mean, they took him, locked him up and away he went. Yishai didn't even get to say goodbye. Yishai doesn't like that kind of thing. He sounded pretty sad about that.

Happily, they decided to keep his name - so both the boys got permanent litter names. ::blows air on her fingers, polishes her shirt in a gesture of pride::

And not an hour later, I got a call from Continental that Curry had landed a full hour ahead of time. When Yishai picked her up, she was stoked! I mean, STOKED! He says she is exactly the Curry that left, adorable, and squishably cute. I have been on pins and needles about her coming out of that crate a mentally unstable puppy, but so far, so good. The change in his voice is remarkable. He is so excited to have her back. She still does that silly paw thing (you've seen it in videos, she paws at your face). I have to admit, I'm pretty excited to have her back, too.

Maybe this was why I needed to place Motzi. You never know about life, eh? You have best laid plans and then, SURPRISE!! I'm excited to have everyone home tonight.