[nagdu] puppy update

[Julie J.]

We went to look at the puppies yesterday and to pick my puppy from the litter.  It was quite the adventure.  the breeder is also a cattle rancher.  The farm was very remote.  All of our GPS options had no suggestions on how to get there.  So it was my hand written directions, a map and a couple of phone calls for clarification. Only a few wrong turns, two road construction detours and still we were within the time window I had planned.

Once we got there I was greeted by the adult dogs.  They have  a male who is the father of the litter.  He’s a big dog, probably 28 inches at the shoulder.  There are two females, one is the puppy mama.  They are also dog sitting a 3 year old male from a previous litter because the owner is deployed overseas for military duty.  They also have a Border Collie who is supposed to help with cattle chores.  Generally speaking, I would have been a bit hesitant to jump out of the pick up with 4  adult Dobermans right there, but these were lovely dogs.  They were all friendly, calm, well mannered, curious and obedient.  

After meeting the parents, we went to go look at puppies.  There were ten puppies in all.  They each wear a different color collar for easy identification.  Four of the puppies were already spoken for.  that left me an orange male, brown male, black male, blue male, yellow female and pink female to choose from.

The orange male and yellow female were the dogs the breeder had suggested for me.   I had spoken with her by phone before we went out so I had an idea of the puppies personalities before we arrived.  The orange male scored a couple of 1’s on the Volhard puppy temperament test.  I felt he would be too dominant and too much of a handful for me to want to deal with on a daily basis.  I like a  bold dog, but I don’t want constant testing and power struggles.  When I met him, he was more mouthy than some of the other puppies.  All puppies mouth and chew, that is what puppies do, but the amount, the intensity, how quickly they chomp after you remove them and how hard the naw can be indicators of their personality.  I felt like I’d need a shark bite suit with the orange pup.

The black pup was the runt of the litter.  His personality was similar to the orange, but a bit less intense.  Size was a concern.  That along with his personality being a bit out of my comfort zone removed him from consideration.

The blue puppy was an interesting character.  He scored almost all 3’s on his puppy test.  The breeder had said he was not very interested in much of anything.  He prefers to lie in the shade and watch the world go by.  I thought he might be a possibility because of his more laid back, less intense nature.  Not so much.  He wasn’t interested in being petted or interacting with me.  When coaxed to follow, he’d take a few steps, think better of it and wander off to do his own thing.  I need a dog who is a lot more interested in pleasing people than this puppy.

The brown male had test scores very similar to the pink girl.   the breeder had said that he tends to hang back when there are new situations or new people.  She felt he was less confident than the other puppies.  He wasn’t much interested in interacting with me.  when encouraged to approach me, he was reluctant.  I kept him as a possibility.  Training and experience could help him, but he wouldn’t be a dog for large cities or too much variety.

The yellow girl was the next choice of the breeder.  She scored 2’s and 3’s with a 1 on touch sensitivity and prey drive.   She wasn’t as chewy as the orange pup, but still what I’d call mouthy.  When interacting with her, she was insistent that she be the center of your attention.  She was a bit high on the energy meter, but not as much as the orange or black.  A fair bit higher than the blue though.   Her prey drive was a concern.  I would have always had to be aware of squirrels and cats when out with her.  Training could manage the tendency, but it would always be something to be watchful of.  I think ten years ago, she would have been a good dog for me.  I think now, though, she is too much.

That leaves the pink puppy.  She was the first to greet me when we arrived and the last to leave.  I don’t know if there’s any actual significance to that, but in this case it  proved out.  I chose the pink girl.  She scored all 2’s and 3’s on the Volhard scale.  The breeder described her as softer.  She’s a softer dog than most of the rest of the litter, but I wouldn’t call her soft.  She is very friendly, eager to interact with me, a healthy amount of energy, normal level of puppy chewiness, and she calmed down and settled in my lap fairly quickly.  She will be easily trained.  She will be adaptable.  She’ll need some challenge in her work, but she won’t need something different every day to be content.    She might challenge the rules from time to time, but it won’t be a constant power struggle with her.

We’ve decided to name her Jetta.  I had a short list of names I liked, but wanted to wait to meet the puppy before picking one.  None of them really fit her.  Kiddo came up with Jetta almost immediately after the question of names came up.  It fits her.  So Jetta it is!

She was born June 8th.  She currently weighs about 8 pounds.  She is black with mahogany markings.  Most of the rest of the litter has the more traditional rust markings.  Her’s are darker.  Kiddo also says that her markings blend into the black instead of one color stopping and the next starting distinctly.   She’s a bit more delicately built than the other female.  Still she should be around 26 inches tall and 75 pounds or so as an adult.  Her tail is docked, but I’m leaving the ears floppy.

I’ll get to bring her home in a couple of weeks, somewhere the beginning of August.  She’ll spend a week or two here.  Then it’s off to the trainer.  I know I’ll miss her while she’s away, but I know the trainer will do a much better job of preparing her to be a guide than I can do.  I’ll get updates and hopefully will be able to go visit her.

Several people have asked about the trainer.  I wanted to make sure she was okay with me giving out her name before I did so on a public list.  She’s good with it, so the trainer is Meghan Walen.   I’m super excited!  She has owner trained, has raised several service dog puppies, has trained advanced service and guide dog skills, has a great approach to training and has the same philosophy of blindness and guide dogs as I do.  

I’ll keep updating everyone every few weeks if people are interested.   It’s going to be an interesting adventure!

Julie