Hitachi shown at 12 wks old
This stunning, gungho, cheerful boy is16 weeks old today. He is one of 3 pups remaining from our Sept 17, 2023 Gemma x Copper litter - Hero, Hitachi, and Harmony.
First, a bit of a preamble...
I was gone for 10 days for both personal and puppy delivery reasons in late November during the time since my last blog. The days prior to my trip were spent dealing with real life - preparing the puppy-to-go for long periods away from siblings, in a crate, and around unexpected sounds. I worked with the other pups as well, but that's a subject for another post - or perhaps I'll add more here later (because I want to get SOMETHING published after so many weeks!).
During that time I was also dealing with a hubby with a contagious, fast moving flesh infection (long since healed now, thank God!); a broken washer and an entire household that needed disinfection before traveling [thankfully the pups were already living outside, so I didn't have laundry from them on top of it!] ; packing, etc.. then I was also snowbound on my journey, which ended up being a welcome rest, but still... another delay.
Unfortunately, all my travels ended up exposing me to influenza, so I was, frustratingly, bedridden and unable to continue working with the pups for much of the past 3.5 weeks.
I did train the pups in the few days after returning prior to falling ill. (I managed to video Hitachi's session, but wasn't set up for video with Hero. I filmed Harmony at that time, too, but never got those edited and uploaded.)
I was amazed at how well all pups did after my 10 days absence.
While still sick, I also managed to get out with the pups for a few minutes for a romp in the field with their mom, Gemma, on Dec 24th. Exhausting, but it was a warm day and I needed to get my lungs moving.
Ok.... so that sounds like so much excuses, but it has truly been a grueling season. Please bear with me!
OUTING
The day after I got home from my trip, Dec 9, 2023, Hero, Hitachi, and Harmony got to go on a car ride (they rode in lovely silence), and were exposed to a crowd of children and parents as well as a bonfire... and, surprisingly, fireworks... all for the first time! Unfortunately, it was dark, so we didn't get a lot of good video, but I'll share what I could glean.
Hitachi was waggy tailed with his first intro to children, but it was new enough he wasn't boisterous about it. When he started to become tired, he was placed in the crate for a rest and Hero was brought out. While he wasn't waggy, he was calm and also seemed to come through it on a good note. I'm sure both boys did some cogitating after their crowd-on-one hug fests, but I was very impressed with how they responded, and view it as a positive experience.
(Harmony is not as outgoing yet, so I decided that her best introduction was to stay in the crate where she could safely be exposed to all the noise, and children giving treats through the wire, without it becoming too overwhelming for her. The last thing we want to create is a negative experience. I'm satisfied with how that went.).
Speaking of which... I had no idea there were going to be fireworks that night! When the first rocket exploded nearby, I had to quickly quell my surprise and curb my annoyance that no one else was cognizant of the fact that that could be a make or break first experience for puppies. But the pups, after a quick glance at me to see what they should do, observed that I was not perturbed ...
...and enjoyed their sudden feast of kibble, so came through that sudden storm like troupers!
My hubby had taken a bit of video but then wandered away with my camera before the unexpected fireworks started. I was too busy calmly feeding pups and talking children through it (because one of the little ones was scared, b/c it was "sooo close!"), so couldn't leave to try to find him to capture it. However, I inserted a few fireworks with sound effects in the above blue linked video so you could experience it pretty much the way we did... out of the blue!
In Other News:
Seventy pound sire, Copper, had his OFA rads to test his hips and elbows on Jan 29, 2023. The x-rays look Good, but we're awaiting the official results (hopefully within the next couple of weeks). Copper's sire has OFA Excellent hips, his dam has OFA Good hips, and both have normal elbows. Edit: Copper's results arrived Jan 8!
All pups have received their 2nd vaccination.
Pics & vids of individual pups.
PLEASE NOTE: Any pics / vids are glimpses of moments in time and cannot be considered as the full representation of all traits and temperament nuances. However, they aid in overall assessment of each pup.
Hitachi
Hitachi is such a blast to work with, and a very quick study. This was his first training session with me after I'd been gone. I'm so pleased with these pups!
This boy is amazing. The early, reasonable yet firm expectations and handling of Hitachi has stood him in good stead as he's matured. He is friendly, super cheerful, eager to work and learn. Demonstrating the highest exuberance of the litter, he is about med-high for energy level yet will still have an off-switch.
Hitachi marker training with me Jan 2. These pups are growing so quickly!
And then here's his first collar and leash training session, which totaled less than 5 minutes in real time!
In my experience, this is the best way to train a pup to the leash. Pups have their own self-correcting little struggle AWAY from me, then discover that they can relieve the self-induced pressure by coming towards me, where praise and rewards result. This causes pup to prefer to be near me and know how to create a loose leash. On the flip side, I find that if I use a shorter leash and try to correct and train a pup beside me, they often end up wanting to avoid being near me because they connect the leash struggle with my nearness and involvement. And it all takes much longer!
So the longline and calm observation are key to a very quick, rewarding and effective leash lesson.
This boy is wicked smart and a problem solver. (First few seconds on a leash EVER, and he managed to figure out not to go around the other side of the rock!). That combo is wonderful for a working dog, but can also run a lonely or bored dog into trouble; he can be a Houdini at times (although he's never attempted to leave the pen he shares with his siblings outside). He appears to be like his maternal g-ma - she'd only get out of her area to get TO us, not to get away from us - which has also been his choice with his few breakouts indoors thus far.
I think he'll be best suited for a dog savvy farm, active city home, or family who are childless or whose children are older than toddlers. He's sweet, but going to be a pretty big boy who could easily knock a small child over in his enthusiasm. Â (I'm willing to consider applications from experienced homes that have younger children, as knowledgeable people can manage and train appropriate behavior - he catches on quickly.). Like pretty much any working pup, he'll shine best and work to his highest potential if he's raised with consistent, firm yet loving boundaries where he is not allowed to be the boss.
We weighed him Jan 6 and he was 31 lbs. Hero is similar. Harmony slightly less.
Hitachi is under consideration but technically still available. Please let me know if you're interested, and I'll put you on the contact list if the interested party ends up unable to follow through.
Hero
Hero is pretty similar in training responses to Hitachi but even more focused, less boisterous, quieter and more shadowy than his bro; he's medium energy level.
He's a sweet lover boy who lives to be right by your side.
This video from Dec 31, 2023 demonstrates that even the high value of other dogs and his mom were secondary in importance to him than being with me.
The reason his latest collage to the left is mostly muzzle shots is because he spent so much time beside me, sitting and asking for pets, when the rest were out playing with their dam that I got very few pictures of him away from me. (He did go and play but was usually under or behind others - making it difficult to get a clear shot - then regularly returned to me.)
While not being completely immune to puppy jumping, he has a natural sit which he proffers frequently (as seen in the Dec 24th vid with Gemma highlighted earlier in this post).
Hero's strong people focus means he will do best in a home that will give him one on one affection, along with gently consistent yet loving boundaries. He is a very balanced puppy but I think his sweet desire to be with and please people - such a great trait in a dog - would benefit from preventatively layered socialization and solitude for reasonable lengths of time to continue to keep a balanced outlook. (All pups need practice with solitude but given his great attachment to people I think it's worth mentioning here). Hero won't likely be happy as an outside only dog. This pup will thrive as an inside family dog who accompanies his owners outside or elsewhere; he wants to be very involved with his people.
Hero is available.
Harmony
Harmony is a sweet girl. She is a softer pup than her brothers. She also isn't as high energy as Hero or Hitachi. While a bit reserved and slightly more independent in some ways (although still attached to people) she, in spite of only having had 2 formal training sessions in the last month, was still very compliant to training. She catches on pretty quickly to new ideas once she's comfortable with the learning environment.
Of course, by now if I'd been training several times per week we'd be far further advanced, but given the circumstances, she's well within normal ranges.
Harmony's leash training session showed a very quick learner as well, with total real time being under 6 minutes. Hers was a bit different in content than Hitachi's. Normally I would just do the leash and collar intro alone but because she had ignored a 'come' command just previously, I combined that lesson with her collar and leash intro. She picked up on it rapidly, with a very pleasing result.
I think Harmony is best suited to a home that will focus on providing extra play and pleasant experiences and / or a working environment that will build her confidence in positive ways so she learns to be cheerful & confident during the less exciting / distracting-from-her-discomfort times. Harmony is happy and ready to romp in familiar environments or with more outgoing companions on new turf. But alone in settings that have things or sounds she's never experienced, she can be hesitant. For example, the other day after many days outside, I brought her into a dark hallway where a furnace was roaring. NOT something she's used to. I called her through there. She took a few moments to assess safety, but did eventually come to me and was rewarded. The next time, it took her less time to decide to run the gauntlet and come to me. A few more times of positive exposure and she will go through there without hesitation. She will probably also do best in a habitat that is not particularly loud or chaotic unless her owner is proactive and targeted in building and shaping her confidence levels appropriately to match. With some patience, she will come into her own.
Harmony is available.
Anyone interested in a pup from this litter, or being on our wait list for future litters (we must have enough interest before we'll deliberately breed again), please contact us & fill out our application form.