Maturation

So I had expressed some disappointment with Rippa getting dumped at the dog show so heartily. I've been thinking about this and watching her grow up . . . I think that her "sometimes wide" front isn't going to fix. Fury has that, too. It's genetics, not maturity.

I had a friend who shows in conformation commiserate about that: "we breed dogs that mature slowly, nothing wrong with that."

But you know what? My dogs did not mature slowly. At six months old, they look like adults. No knobby needs, no puppy coat, no awkwardness. Most are well on their way with training programs. I just took Rippa out (she was bored) to work with my two jumps and she's got most of Fury's commands on an elemental level and we have not formally trained her at all (she's Y's dog - he can do what he likes). Sure, they'll fill out, but I don't think they are going to "mature" more and show me anything different.

Why?

Because it doesn't pay to have a slow maturing stockdog. Now, there's something to be said a slow maturing dog that lasts a long time, but something more to be said for early maturing and long-lasting dogs. Fury's mom was put down recently at 14 but was on cattle at that age. Bekka's Blue dog is still running agility. I was not sure when I thought Rippa'd be ready mentally for formal stock training, but I think it is now. She's a little iffy about large dogs (HACKLES UP! EEE!) at the dog park, but that's different.

Learning a lot through this process. Things you don't know to ask. But they make sense in hindsight.

Videos

Piper and Bekka

Rippa's new trick

Trust me, she's not hungry. She does this for hours if I have her and Y's not around.

My puppies are frickin' awesome.

So, I went to Chicago for a week with Yishai and we made a “little” side trip (3.5 hours) to visit Piper with her owner at an agility trial.

  Piper, if you remember correctly, was one of the higher drive puppies, and also the one we’d all tagged as maybe the hardest to raise so I wanted to be sure she went to an experienced home. When Bekka asked me about her (and she only wanted her), I wholeheartedly agree. Bekka has Fury’s aunt (ie, her mother’s litter sister) and a whole mess of dogs with the same lines. She competes a lot in agility, has stock, and is plain going to have an awesome home.

How awesome, I couldn’t fathom. She regularly sent me “THANK YOU SO MUCH” emails, but when I went to see her, I was estatic.

Piper remains the best structured puppy of the litter that I’ve seen. She is, however, a tiny, tiny dog. Here she is being measured by the 16” NADAC wicket (which is really 18” high).

She’s at least an inch UNDER Fury. Now, she’s 7 months old so she could totally grow, but . . . I really did not think it was possible to unintentionally end up with a smaller dog than the Fury – who is the smallest Aussie I’ve ever known that wasn’t bred to be small on purpose.

Bekka is always kidding that Piper is a blur, and she’s really not that bad. On top of that, I think that Bekka LIKES her that way and encourages her to party-hardy. I have a pretty good feeling I could make her mellow out pretty fast if I wanted to. But that would not be FUN! And that is what Piper exists to have and spread and I love it.

(Yes, too lazy to rotate this messed up one, big upload going on on Flickr)

She’s reserved initially and then friendly with everyone and every dog. Yishai was super disappointed she didn’t remember him, but she was still happy to be our friend as we fawned over her so much that someone asked us if she was a new puppy we just bought from Bekka! Quite the opposite!

Also, remember her coat being more . . . earthy than the other merles? Not so much anymore. Very interesting. She, too, has the tweed merling.

And so does . . .

EMMA!

 

Her owners came through town to help move my roommate out to Sacramento and left Yishai and I wine, a card thanking us for being good to Laura but mostly for Emma, and a bunch of photos.

Little Emma Fie Pie, the “bland” little puppy of the litter that never really caught peoples’ eyes has really grown up to be a looker, eh?

And if she looks like she’s lacking in “tuck up” – she is . . . remember I told her the Alzehiemer’s patients feed her? And she’s also pretty low energy – apparently despite her full capability, she refuses to jump on things, the Flowers actually lift her into the truck still. I guess I got them well paired – she doesn’t wanna exert, and they don’t mind helping her. I’d be poking her with sticks – my working dogs are gonna jump, dang it.

Take Piper for example, she FLOATS into the second-story crate in the big ol’ Ford 350 of Bekka’s.

(Yishai took a look at the above photo and goes, “a little straight in the rear still, but whatever.” Is he not the best-trained non-dog guy ever?)

And PS. Got home from vacation and find that Rippa’s ears are starting to think about going the way of Fury’s, only lower. Well, whatever. Good ears are good ears. Still watching that front of hers . . . love her however she turns out.

Photos of the merle girls.

First up, we have a happy Daiquiri (permaname, I think) and her big sis Rocky.

And then, rejoice - photos of Hyper Piper!

Also, totally copper! Coolio!

Nothing from Moto or Emma lately, though Emma is coming up to SLO next week (but sadly I will be gone). I hear she is kinda fat from all the Alzheimer's patients giving her snacks in the home.

It's official.

I mail off all Daca's paperwork to Santa Cruz tomorrow. They're committed.

It's been a hell of a ride, and I am quite sure more stories to tell . . . but for now. Goodbye and good luck! I'll post photos and updates as they come in. ::smooch::

Puppy blog is kinda wrapping up . . .

Well, it's been fun, hasn't it? Okay, not always been fun, but real. If I continue regularly posting, it's just going to be "Life with Fury and Rippa and Yishai" and that's not what I want to do with this. I'll post photos and videos and puppy owner updates when they're awesome, but beyond that, I think it's time to say goodbye to the blog for a bit. Daca seems to be settling in with her owners quite well, they're taking her to a behavior consultant next week but I think all has happened for the greater good.

Took Rippa to a dog show and got dumped royally but not all that surprised. I need to train her to gait, she moves fine when she runs away from the action, but coming back to the judge, she's not so down and pulls to the side and looks like she's wide in front when I am pretty sure she's not. I'll probably post photos from that show. Then I got strep throat, so that will teach me. I don't know what, but it will.

I will give you something interesting I know, but have been reading lately so it has reminded me: dog neoteny. I am reading Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation right now and there's a long section on how domesticated animals are really just baby versions of their wild selves. She states that dogs are really the equivalent of 30 day-old wolves. In the wild, baby wolves have floppy ears and blunt noses and they bark. But they don't when they get older. And I have always believed this to be so - and have read it before.

And there is some serious variety in temperament in this litter, but I wonder if "degree" of wild can be that drastic based on physiognomy. When I got the Fury, I got a real sense that she was a lot more wild than my past dogs, especially her immediate predecessor. Behavior and looks-wise, she's a lot more so.

And let's look at the litter:

From reports, the two most friendly are Emma and Moto - both puppies with snub noses, lower energy, and drop ears. The middle puppies are Reid and Rippa - again, a little more narrow in the nose, a little more energy but still pretty mellow, and drop ears. Reserved, but mostly friendly. And then there's Hyper Piper and Daca - both of them have the Fury's high-half ear. Daca's got a bit snubbier nose, though (as Yishai likes to call her - she's a "short snout"). Both are higher energy. Reserved, and take work to make friendlier.

I dunno. Just something I think about. I'm always looking to learn something. I don't know what the next few years will bring. I have people on a wait list now for a repeat, but I also just found out that Fury's sister may have produced epilepsy, but it was with a totally different sire (one out of California working lines). I am not that worried, but we'll see. I may be living out of a cardboard box for all I know. Or like, pregnant and too smart not to start this up again. Yishai is worried that it really was hard on me and I am not sure he's eager to see me do the emotional damage I inflicted on myself again. But we get older and wiser. I like to think that feeling bad keeps me honest and looking for the lesson.

We'll see. Time will tell if this was a success and worthy of doing again, either with Fury or the Rippa bear (though that will take convincing of Yishai, on paper she is co owned, but I told him in no uncertain terms that in real life, she is his should that need to be decided).