Re: Show Me Your Pets!

[Kathryn Lacey]

Loki, that's an awesome picture of him. Are you going to make him festive for each holiday now?

[Loki]

I think that is a very good possibility.

[Digital Muse]

*grins Takun is getting his own fan club! Get him a facebook site!

[Loki]

I have trouble getting around to update my own facebook. Perhaps the day will come where I get bored enough to do so.

Tomorrow Takun is going to be taking his Canine Good Citizen Examination. The only portion that has me worried is the Distraction Test that involves a person walking near on crutches; Takun doesn't know what to think of them and gets nervous. I've been walking around the house often on a crutch for a week and have been making some good progress, but there could still be a different reaction when a stranger does it. I'll be sure to let you know how things turn out.

[Guest]

He is an Alaskan Malamute?
He is huge!

My grandmother has a female AM and she is small...just about 40lbs I think.
>_<

Aww!
I hope he does good at his exam!

[Digital Muse]

Oh! Good luck!, Loki! I've had several of my dogs used as visitation dogs and it's marvelous you are taking this first step with Takun, who is so obviously of a perfect temperment to go through it too.

[Silvan Arrow]

Yes, please do keep us updated, Loki. Actually, I have a question for you. How difficult has it been to juggle work/school with taking care of Takun and training/socializing him? I'm heading to grad school in the fall, but I also want to get a dog at some point once I'm settled and have a better idea of what my schedule will be. Right now, I'm seriously looking into Dutch Shepherds, which are like smaller versions of German Shepherds but aren't prone to as many health problems. Here's a random picture from Google:



And in keeping with the topic of this thread, here's a couple of random candids of my cat Hannah. She's such a lazy goof ^_^

[Loki]

Takun is officially a Canine Good Citizen!

@Silvan: A majority of the time constraints occurred when I first got Takun in order to help acclimate him to his new home. After that, the actual training was pretty simple; the trick is to have several short sessions so that the dog doesn't lose focus. 10 minutes for every 2 hours or so is more than enough to get the job done.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Silvan, your cat is so cute. XD

Congratulations, Loki! Is Takun proud of himself?

[Silvan Arrow]

Thanks, Kathryn! She likes to burrow under blankets and pillows, and Dad will often cover her up with a blanket when she's sleeping XD. She also tends to contort into funny positions when she sleeps (ie. paw over the face).

Congratulations to both Loki and Takun! And thanks for the advice. I've been doing some research, and the Dutch Shepherd is really intelligent so training shouldn't be too difficult. I guess my main concern is being able to spend enough time with him/her (I'm leaning towards a male) in between grad school classes and research. The last thing I want to do is get a puppy and not have the time to invest in making sure he's well-socialized, gets enough exercise, and doesn't spend all day home alone.

[Digital Muse]

@Silvan Arrow - have you considered contacting a shelter or breed-specific rescue group that you could get an older dog at? Often times, the expense of paying for the breed, shots and neutering are already done for you. The first year's expenses with a puppy are, of course, the most expensive. As a former trainer of Newfoundlands for water rescue, another good idea for keeping your dog on target is to play and play and play before a session, so all the excess energy is disipated. Then the short training sessions that Loki mentioned works beautifully. Always make it a game and you can't loose.

Another hint? Go to www.animalplanet.com and take the short test that will help you decide on a breed that will suit your lifestyle and living conditions. It's a great tool and makes you think of things you might not have when choosing a new best friend.

@Loki - Great job! I knew you two could do it. After all the posts about Takun, I almost feel like I know him personally. lols!

[Silvan Arrow]

@Digital Muse: I have considered going to a shelter, but I'm still leaning toward a puppy so he bonds with me from an early age. A major reason for me wanting to get a dog is for companionship and protection. Seeing as I'm single and don't see that changing anytime soon, I'll probably end up living on my own at some point in the near future after grad school, and I would feel safer having a dog around. That's one of the things that drew me to Dutch Shepherds - they're very protective of and bond closely with their people. Thanks for the training hints and the link! I'll definitely check it out. Of course, me actually getting a puppy is still a long way off, but I like doing the preliminary research early.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Silvan, there tend to be puppies at shelters, too. It's not just limited to grown animals.

[Silvan Arrow]

@Kathryn: Yeah, I know. It's just that the breed I'm currently looking at is hard enough to find in the US as it is, so my chances of finding a puppy at a shelter are pretty slim. But who knows, I have found a couple of rescue sites that may have puppies when I get to the point where I'm ready to buy one.

[Digital Muse]

@Silvan - Bravo doing the research first as opposed to getting a dog on impulse and then realizing you just don't have the means of keeping it. Too many people end up giving up them up again. It always breaks my heart when that happens.

[ImmortalSin]

Who wants to see some puppies?

On the 16th of April our dog Maximus was officially the father of 11 beautiful little puppies. He mated with Cammy, one of our neighbors dogs and she's been an amazing mother so far. For all of them to still be alive... well it definitely shows what a wonderful thing she is.

The photos aren't the best because she decided to whelp under their house (which is actually quite a safe spot, very dry and warm) but you can still see fairly well.

A bundle of cuteness and love.



Cammy's hiding spot and the terrain I had to conquer in order to reach her and the puppies.

I just love this photo. One of the puppies sleeping on Cammy.

And mummy's finally fast asleep after a long day of puppy-sitting.

I'll try to get pictures of them as they all grow up and post them here. Fingers crossed they all make it!

[Loki]

Dwwwwaaaa, congrats ImmortalSin!

That place certainly doesn't offer much in the way of headroom, how long did it take for the cameraman to wiggle their way to the puppies?

[Kathryn Lacey]

Those are really cute puppies. I hope they all make it, too!

Are you going to give them away once they're weened?

[Silvan Arrow]

SQUEEE!!!! So cute!!!! I hope they all make it!!!

[ImmortalSin]

Well I have some good news. I visited the house just before and crawled under to Cammy and all eleven puppies are still alive and well. They're making a lot more noise now! Hopefully they will open their eyes soon.

While I was under there Cammy slipped out and left me alone with the pups. I felt very privileged! That was when I counted them all and nudged any of them that were currently not moving to make sure they were okay, which they were.

Thank-you Loki! To get to where Cammy is it takes about five minutes. I'll tell you now, my ribs are aching from going under there but it's totally worth it!

Kathryn, we were promised pick of the litter by Cammy's owners and we are planning on keeping one. We already have a few people who want one and I'm sure the rest will go pretty quickly. We all agreed though that we don't want to sell them as pigging/hunting dogs (because many owners will just shoot the animal if it doesn't do what it is supposed to do). We'll be selling them too, if only to cover the vaccination costs.

Silvan & Kathryn, I have a feeling that unless something horrendous happens (like a bird or a snake gets one of them) that all eleven of the puppies will survive. It's been a few days now and they're all looking quite healthy. I'm so happy with how everything is going.

[Kathryn Lacey]

I'm really glad to hear that the puppies are doing wonderfully.

I'm really surprised their mother allowed you to be alone with her pups. A lot of times, even animals who love their owners won't allow them to go near them, especially not alone.

I think it's cool that you get the first pick of the litter. I hope the dog is a loyal and amazingly well suited to your family.

[Silvan Arrow]

Indeed, that is wonderful news about the puppies. If I may ask, what breed of dog are the puppies? The mother looks like...a pit bull, I'm guessing?

[Sighlent]

Gandalf the Grey @ almost 5 months. <3

[Kathryn Lacey]

I said it once, and I'll say it again: this picture of Gandalf is priceless.

[ImmortalSin]

Indeed, that is wonderful news about the puppies. If I may ask, what breed of dog are the puppies? The mother looks like...a pit bull, I'm guessing?

She's got ridge-back and mastiff in her and Maximus is a bull arab (it's a mix of mastiff, great dane, white pointer - lots of different breeds in him) so they'll be a mixture of the two. A few of the puppies have the same mark as she does (raised hair along their spine) and a lot of them have similar markings to Maximus. Almost all of them have a tail with a white tip on the end.

I visited them a few hours ago and all of them are still well. Cammy has been spending a lot more time out, rather than under the house with them but they're still being fed/protected. They've grown a fair bit too. Hopefully they will be opening their eyes soon.

[Shadow Moonseye]

Here's the newest member of my family! He doesn't have a name yet, but I'm lookin for a good one.



He seems pretty concerned about the camera in his face.



Exploring! By which I mean crawling down my stomach!

(blargh, I tried to make the pics smaller, but it didn't work. Sorry for the large images.)

[Kathryn Lacey]

OMG! Shadow, he's soooo cute! I love that one eye is closed a little more than the other... It gives him a perpetual ^O_o^ look. =3

I hope you find a good name for him.

Um... The pictures aren't that big...

[Silvan Arrow]

AWWWW!!!! He's absolutely adorable! May I ask how you acquired your little ball of fluff? Did you adopt him? Pet store? Other?

[Loki]

Like Kathryn said, he has a perpetual WTF? face. Cutest thing ever, he has a potential future in the internet's [insert phrase] Cat collage!

If only he had a pinky, he could make the perfect Dr. Evil pose.



Granted the cat has more hair, but they have similar blue eyes. Perhaps a name idea? XD

[Shadow Moonseye]

Hehe, yeah I love his little squinty eye.

Loki, I never would have made that connection myself! And that's a good suggestion. Hm...I think that I might have to ask people here for more name suggestions...

Huh. I guess my computer is stupid because they're huge on my computer.

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