We are moving closing the posting to the story of Skye – Wolf Dog and created the blog – The Story of Silver the Wolf Dog here – http://thestoryofsilverthewolfdog.com/b2evolution
We will be moving past entries for a frame of reference and will keep this blog alive until enough time has passed for the listings to update through the search engines.
Please update your bookmarks to the new url.
She got her last shots and she ventured out to the back yard to meet the other dogs. Dragon and Lady.
They are our outdoor dogs with good shelter, a nice comfy condo doggie house. Dragon is over 105 pounds, an Akita Shepard mix, Lady is a Chow mix.
Silver has met both at the back door but we have restrained her from going out till she was up to date on all her shots. Well, now she is and out she went.
In her typical fashion she is not afraid of much but does not approach without being cautious. Watching from a distance close enough to be near by but not close enough to interfere I watched as she interacted with them.
Dragon is hundreds of times her size. She would drop low and crawl low to him when he would growl. Not being deterred by his growling she would retreat and then approach once more with the same crawling stance and then pause when he would start to growl. Much unlike dogs who seem to just run up and say hey and then suffer from a reaction from the other she manifested different behavior.
She spends a little time with them each day as we slowly get them all use to each other.
Little Silver is not so little anymore.
She is about the size of a six month old puppy now and she is just over three months old, new pics soon, this weekend.
She makes a vet’s visit tomorrow to get her third shot so she will be able to walk on the leash and run with the rest of the dogs here.
Her habits and knowledge of the world grow as much as she does.
She was eating puppy food mixed with moist adult dog food but now she prefers dry dog food without the moist or at least a treat. We feed our pack members Nutro brand dry and moist food. We also treat them to Nutro brand snacks which they all love.
We were carrying her out the front doors but no more. She complains as she is big enough to walk out all by herself and comes back in by herself. She has made an escape to the back driveway where her pack members are behind the gate and she just nuzzles up against the fence to be near them.
It should prove interesting for all of us when she takes her first walk on a leash this weekend. More about that later.
Silver is racing down the growth highway in the fast lane.
Mentally she has learned and exhibits news tasks and behavior, sometimes on daily basis.
For instance; she would sleep with us in an area on the headboard that has a shelve and a mirror. She would curl up in there and snooze the night away. It would not be unusual for me to wake and find her nose in my eye and she was sound asleep. She would migrate down onto my pillow during the night. Or I would find that I had been evicted from my pillow nearly completely and she moved onto it during the night.
She now wants to sleep on the floor with the other dogs and is quite content that way. Pack behavior.
She still wants to sit with me in my recliner and have a chew on a large piece of raw hide but not as much any more. She is more content to lay or play on the floor whether or not the dogs are in or not. She prefers to be down on the floor and roam around.
Bathroom breaks have changed a lot. When she was sleeping in the Wolf Dog den, aka headboard cubby hole, she would whimper in the night when she need a bathroom break. Spread out a pad for her and she would do what needed to be done. And then back to la la land for both of us. Now, she as she sleeps on the floor. We were concerned that she would need a break at night so we placed out a pad near the bedroom door, which is closed when we sleep to prevent any nocturnal wanderings, and she has had one potty break that was not on the pad and the rest have been on the pad.
She is getting better about bathroom breaks in general. Most of all we have to be aware of what she is doing. Meaning; she does wander and whimper at times and we must piece together wether or not it is a whimper for a toy or play time or a nap whimper, etc. She does, most of the time, try to head to front door leading to our porch which she knows as the way out to the front where she is let out to do what needs to be done. We also place a pad near the door leading out to the back yard as she knows the pack goes out that way and she has shown interest in going that way for bathroom breaks.
Silver is very much showing signs of more and more pack behavior and where she fits in or at least where she believes she fits in and this will prove a test for all of us as she ages. She is not treated any different, except that she cannot go out back with the other members as she is not fully up on her shots; one more series, she would eat in a medium sized crate to allow for space from the other house dogs and now she eats with her dish on the floor just like the other members. We do have to monitor closely should another be fed at the same time as she will race to the other bowl and she is pushed away with a firm hand and reminded that dish is not for her and she is to leave it alone while the other eats. We do not pamper her as she is the pup. She is treated as a full fleged adult and member of the group.
She has exhibited what might be termed agressive or protective behavior of me or my chair when I am sitting in it. If another dog comes close, usually the puppies that we foster, she will let out a growl and a wolf dog bark which is not really like a dog bark, kinda a bark yodel howel, and she will square up her shoulders as it to imply back off!
She is told that both verbally and physically that it is okay for the other to be near should she race to the chair and try to confront the other and she does stand down.
We brought Silver to a local vet to be spayed.
She weighs in at nearly 7 pounds now and is 12 weeks old. The vet’s office told us that as long as she is over five pounds we could have her spayed.
Dropping her for the operation we both braced for the verbal onslaught. When at home and when I leave her sight in the morning to let the other dogs out she whines, howls and screams. So we both thought she would do the same.
We all went into an exam room to discuss and weigh her and meet with a vet tech. Silver was quiet and calm. Put her on the table and she settled down and the vet tech cuddled her and Silver enjoyed the cuddle. Leaving the room and office we were expecting the commotion we hear at home. Later on in the afternoon the vet tech called to tell us Silver came through the operation just fine and she was quiet as a church mouse! It just figures. She wanted to embarrass us!
Bringing her home we tried to keep her activity level down but that is like trying 
to stop a speeding train. She is energetic and was she hungry! She made quick work of her choice of dry and moist food and a good drink of water.
In the past few days I have noticed a marked difference not only in physical appearance but also her mental state or thought process.
It may seem cliche, but she has grown so much. She is matruing right before our eyes so much more than any other pups we have had.
She knows how to show us what she wants. Be it food or water. She shows the other dogs where their boundaries are with her. A male foster we have now, a mixed breed lab and border collie, comes to close to the bed she rushes to the side and barks and sputters at him and he backs down and moves away.
We both recognize what is happening and we deal with it with a firm hand and a calm and in control mind set. Silver loves the other dogs but when they get a bit to much or intrude on her space she will let them know.
Our learning and growing continues
Much like a child pets have to make decisions and choices while they are young and learn from them.
Silver is doing this when it comes to other dogs. We leave dry food out in bowls in the house, she cannot go outside as she has not had all her shots yet, for that occasional snack that they would like after being fed in the morning, between 5 and 6 a.m.
Silver learned that some dogs do not like others in the dish at the same time and she was growled and snapped at. Being present during this learning process no harm came to her of the other dog.
She backed off with her ears down and scampered to a corner of the kitchen to ponder what happened.
Later on in the day she and another dog, our Aussie Shepard mix almost a year old, became closer friends. Up until this point when Silver would approach, Callie would snarl and bark and run off.
Here they started to mix it up a bit more. Silver would go over and play growl and snap and try to tug fur and she would get a glare and some teeth bared and she would lower her ears and drop to the floor in submission, which is good for her to learn and after a few seconds start the whole process over again. Until they were playing with each other.
Later on we have this mayhem breaking out almost in my lap. I have a green recliner and they decide to mix up right next to me.
Notice the position of Silver, feet up in the air and belly and chest exposed. 
She was having a ball. They played off and on for about a half hour and then it was nap time for Silver.
Little Silver is growing up so quick. Day by day we see new behaviours and adventures.
Yesterday, we the rest of the pack and fosters went upstairs and Silver decided she was going too.
She made it to the fourth stair and then stalled 
and had a panicked look on her face and she started to yodel/howl that she does.
So we walked and said, “well you got this far so come down with the rest of.”
And she yodeled and howled some more and whimpered. We left for a moment to figure it out and she made her way to the eleventh stair, which was going up.
And when informed her of her navigation error, she gave us a look like, well just get me down from here!
And then one of her playmates decides to pass her going down.
She likes his tail and paws and fur. Makes a great chew toy and he does not mind at all. There share water and food.
Yesterday evening about 7:30 Silver is on the floor and she whimpers at me and heads to the kitchen. I follow her and tell her to show me what she wants. I have done this as I followed her into the kitchen and she would stop where her water or food is. She either wanted her food or some water.
This time she stopped where we keep the biscuits. We give our dogs and fosters good quality treats and Silver has been given some in the same place as the others and now she knows when she wants a treat where to go. And she is two months and four days old.
Quite something she is.
Not only is Silver getting bigger day by day, physically, she is getting more mature mentally day by day.
We have three foster dogs with us now. A Shepard/Collie/Husky mix female and a Beagle mix male. The Beagle mix walked by Silver as she was laying down and she put her ears down and rolled onto her side and exposed her tummy and chest to him. He gave her a sniff and she remained motionless and he went out his business.
Silver also likes to get in on toy time with our Chow/Rottie mix. He is about 70 pounds and I dunno know maybe, 10,000 times bigger than her. And when he has a toy, stuffed animal, that he is in the process of destroying by tearing it too shreds, Silver will get right in and get in on the fun. He growls as to warn her that it is his and she will lick his face and nuzzle him and then they get right back at it.
