Skipper turned 3
Today exactly one week ago it was a special day for Skipper. He was celebrating his third birthday, and even though dogs themselves have no idea about such things, we always want to make something special out of it. And that means spoiling the dog in question with something that makes them happy. Because, even though we give them a lot of love every day, and what they need even more, a birthday should also be an extra special day for a dog where they are 'put in the spotlight'.
No ingredients for baking a treat
So what are you going to do then? I had nothing in the house to make a tasty treat for them ... and that is also a bit difficult, because at Skipper we also have to take into account as little gluten as possible in his diet. Fortunately, it's not as strict as it was with Lex. But Skipper also has an intolerance to gluten. Fortunately, no outright allergy like Lex had. Nevertheless, we always feed the dogs gluten-free food to avoid this problem in the future. Because an intolerance can easily turn into an allergy, and we wouldn't want this guy to develop an allergy like Lex that would give him many problems, from guts that are always upset, and finally the development of an elephant skin with no fur. grows more, but where fungi and bacteria will have free rein, and so the dog always has itching. Skipper now has a beautiful coat with no skin problems, and we would like to keep it that way. That makes it a bit more difficult to make treats for them off-the-cuff because I then have to have the ingredients at home in advance. And now I didn't…
Of course it's already a party for him if he can be outside with me ... that's where he prefers to be. All three dogs are always happy about that. Playing outside, or just lying in a mountain of leaves and looking around. Barking when something comes along… and especially playing with balls. In Skipper's case, this is holding 2 balls in his mouth, and then playing a "Get me if you can" game. I take 3 steps in his direction and he runs away as fast as he can.
Playing fetch
He also loves to fetch, but not when the other 2 dogs are also outside. Or he needs to be sure there are enough balls… Lol. You could say he is quite possessive when it comes to balls. Whether that has anything to do with the fact that he also has balls, I can't say for sure. LOL. No kidding, he loves to play outside and also go for walks, although he still finds that very exciting and is still far too focused on everything he thinks he sees and hears in the distance, so he doesn't really walk along relaxed . We're working on that, and it's getting better. Yet I still notice things every day that tell me that as a small puppy he had a real lack of socialization.
Into the woods
And as much as I enjoy walking for hours through the woods with a dog with me, that fun turns into "must-do" when your dog isn't walking along with you as relaxed as you hope. The moment a walk is no relaxation for me and for the dog, but just really hard work, then the fun of walking disappears and changes into a "must".
Normally I would take Myla with me if I want to go for a relaxing walk myself. Of all three dogs, Myla is the only dog who has been properly socialized as a puppy, and she is also the only dog that came to me as a puppy. Both Lana and Skipper are rehomers, we took Lana from the shelter when she was 3 years old, and we took Skipper from other people when he was just over 1 year old.
Puppy's imprinting phase
Now you probably think, but just 1 year is still super young! You can teach that dog anything. Correct! You can indeed teach a dog that is only 1 year old everything, but what you can never give him again is the confidence that he should have received during his socialization period as a puppy. A puppy's imprinting phase is the most important phase in his entire dog's life. This is where the foundation is laid for the rest of his life, and a very important step is taken to later develop a social dog who reacts calmly, is not afraid, and simply trusts himself and his own instincts, but at this stage normally also built the bond between owner and dog. And this imprinting phase… is unfortunately very short. This PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION PHASE, depending on the breed of the dog, starts somewhere around 3 weeks of age… and ends somewhere between 9 and 14 weeks! And we did not go through this phase with Skipper. In fact, I don't know what he went through as a puppy, I don't know where he comes from, which breeder should have laid his foundation. I don't know which dogs his parents are... all we know is that he finds many things very exciting, and that he bounces like an idiot whenever he sees other animals t. Except when he sees cats… he doesn't react very strongly to that. We can tell from this that he lived with cats.
People in the woods don't walk their cats
Unfortunately, when you go for a walk in the woods you usually don't meet people who walk their cats, but you certainly do meet a number of people who walk their dogs. And in the woods it is a known fact that most dogs run loose. Which in fact is not even allowed because there are wild animals in the woods. Anyway, what is not allowed, or what is not happening. There is quite a difference. And even that other owners let their dogs off leash, I actually don't mind, I do keep Skipper on a leash so he can't do weird things, but what I do find a problem is that most people who let go of their dog, don't have control over their dogs at all . Which means I sometimes have to work really hard to keep Skipper in check. And how I can control a 50-kilo German Shepherd that is bouncing like an idiot, while another dog is doing everything possible to get to my bouncing dog, is sometimes a mystery to me. That other dog doesn't always have good intentions. Owners often shout from afar, “He doesn't do anything”, to which I now just as cheerfully call back to avoid problems and confrontations… “Oh that's great, mine will eat him”. I'm 100% sure this wouldn't happen, but it does help to let the owners run to their dog so he can't get to my dog. And when I meet the same people more often, they often choose well in advance to put their dog on a leash.
I choose for MY dog
It may not be nice of me, but hey, I want to spare my dog all this fuss and any confrontations. Because I know he can't handle it right now. He must be given the opportunity to build trust. And that doesn't work if he's thrown into a situation every day that he finds TOO exciting. Calmly building up is required, and unfortunately not all dog owners understand this. And then I say very honestly, then I choose to be the anti-social bitch for a while, then I choose for my dog. I don't know those other people, I have my dog with me every day, and I want to protect him and give him a nice experience so that he can enjoy his walks.
And on his third birthday that was his birthday present ... a walk in the woods together. Just him and me, strolling through the woods. Quietly taking our time, paying particular attention to what was happening in the distance. Where Skipper paid attention to what was happening in the distance, but together we made sure that we didn't encounter anything or anyone ... and so Skipper finally just had a lovely walk.
Working together on small things, practicing together with things he finds exciting, but at a sufficient distance so that he does not fly into a 'bounce mode'. Taking the time to discover everything. It is also not easy to be so big, when in essence you are still really small and because of the circumstances you have simply got a huge mental development delay that you have to catch up. People expect you to already know and be able to do everything… while you haven't learned how to deal with everything yet.
We've been busy together, and we still have a long way to go, but we've come so far together. And with a lot of time, patience and love we will get there together.
Anyway… Skipper had a happy third birthday! On to another year together… let's mark this post as a starting point, and see where we stand on its fourth anniversary together next year.
I'll share my stick with you.
Wooof woof I'm Wooda P von Morgan Haus Hater of Bunnies and squirrels.
I'd really love to run really fast with you!!!
Woof woof woof, YES ... I love to run really fast! And I love sticks, but ... is it really bad that I usually don´t share them?
Bark bark bark bark. Actually it's really cool when I share my stick and we get to play tug of war with it!
I never knew sharing toys was so cool but sometimes you have to have your own stick...
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Skipper is beautiful wishing him a belated happy birthday
I bet he loves walking there
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :), I truly enjoy exploring the world virtually each Wednesday seeing walks from all around the globe and feeling I am there and experiencing it all myself, such as I did in your post just now :)
Happy birthday day to it.
It seems like it had a whole lot of fun thanks to you..How sweet🥺😊