her venture into the world at large

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. 

so big so soon

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.

growing up so fast

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.