-------------------------------------------------
Puppies' Diary - Part 1.
This page was last updated: 2006-08-12
-------------------------------------------------
March - April 2002
This page tells you the story of the first months with all three puppies in the house.
21st of March, 2002 - Who are the
puppies? And the first 3 days in the house.
30th of March, 2002 - The first couple of weeks
with 5 dogs in the house.
12th of April, 2002 - Everybody is settling in.
It's been a while, since I wrote last time. And this is because so many things have happened that I have been a bit short of time for writing.
First, as I wrote my last "article" under about Fuji, we were on our way to Hamm in Germany to celebrate the German Akita Club's 25th Anniversary. It was a really wonderful weekend! We had a wonderful time, talked to so many nice old and new friends, and saw a lot of beautiful Akitas (and American Akitas) as well. Thank you to everyone that made this weekend possible, and thank you to everyone that made it a special weekend for Dennis and I.
Fuji stayed the whole weekend with Monica and Louise, and though he seemed very happy, whenever he saw Dennis and I - and of course Tora - he did very well "on his own" according to Monica. So, one could say, it was a great socialisation training for our little friend, the long car drive, the ferryboat, the hotel, the other dogs, the show on Sunday etc. And meeting his new girlfriend "Aibu", the little Italian girl that is going to live with Britt in Norway, when her vaccinations are ready for it.
Of course the two of them very happy to "find" each other, and were playing right from the beginning.. And so the base was founded for their "re-homing" with us and Ikiru and Tora.
We also met Kotei at the show on Sunday, poor guy was away from home without his "big brother" Gamba, so he was being quite happy to see Ikiru and Tora... It's always nice to meet friends, when you're feeling lonely.. I guess that goes for dogs as well..
Of course Ikiru and Tora found the weekend less "wonderful" than we did, as they were left alone at the hotel for some hours on Saturday afternoon, and then left in the car for Saturday night - and then Sunday at the show, they just had to lay down most of the time and "behave"... Could you think of anything more boring? We did manage to take a nice walk on Saturday morning, before the Seminar. But the rest of the weekend's walks were only short walks for "doing their business", so I am sure, they found themselves to be a bit neglected those two days...
And, I am sure, had they known, we were bringing two more puppies home (besides Fuji), they would have found someone else to join than us... Yes, we did come home with a total of three puppies. One for Sweden, one for Norway and one for us...
Mr. Saporito from Italy did namely bring us a "replacement" puppy, because of Tora's hips. That is, he actually brought two female puppies - one 3 months old, and one 4 months old for us to choose from. I choose Kanzi partly because, I liked her the best of the two puppies, but also because of the calm and trustfully way she greeted Ikiru and Tora, when Mr. Saporito took her out of the car. As our dogs are living with us in the house and are with us "everywhere", the temperament is the most important issue. But of course, I do hope for her to become "a little beauty", when she gets older... Right now, she seems to be a very sound little dog, so I am really looking forward to follow her, as she matures.
So we are now not only having two puppies in the house, as we expected, but three puppies. So far, they are doing really well together. Although, three isn't the perfect number for a "puppy gang", they all seem to be enjoying their time together. The first day or two, Fuji and Aibu seemed to be "best of friends", probably because they knew each other from the weekend in Hamm. But it didn't take long for Fuji and Kanzi to find out that they are almost of same age and size, so they match each other perfectly - even better than Fuji and Aibu. But most of the time, when they are playing in the garden, they play "fetch each other" all three of them. I think, Tora is a bit jealous, he just was beginning to get used to having Fuji around and being his "idol", and now Fuji is actually more interested in "the girls". Especially the first day or two, it was very funny to watch Fuji, as he was "guiding" the two newcomers around. It was very clear that he "knew everything here", because he had already lived here for a month. But, today they actually played a bit all four of them (Tora, Fuji, Kanzi and Aibu), so I am sure, they will find out eventually. Of course we do hope that Tora and Kanzi will make friends, as they are going to live together for hopefully many years to come.
I haven't been doing much with the pups this week, as I felt they should have a chance to settle in and "find themselves again" after the weekend in Hamm. They have been spending lots of time exercising each other in the garden, so I do not think, they have been missing anything. But of course, they have to be socialised too, so I am going to start taking them out tomorrow.
The next 4-5 months are going to be "lots of fun", but also "lots of hard work", if I am to see to that all three puppies are properly socialised and cared for... And it will be a fine balance of on one hand letting Kanzi enjoy her time in the "Kindergarten" with Fuji and Aibu, and at the same time have her integrated in our small "pack" with Ikiru and Tora, so that they will still be functioning as a group, when Fuji and Aibu leaves for their respectively new homes. I do sincerely hope, I will succeed in this - and of course I will tell you more on these pages about how things work out for us and our little group of dogs.
*******
Well, if you have a look at the time that has passed since my last writings, you will have an idea of, how much time 2 grown dogs and 3 puppies require... That is, if you want them to be properly socialised.
We have had the most wonderful weather the past week or so, so I have spent quite a lot of time walking dogs.... 1, 2, 3 or even 4 times a day... Trying to not change too much for Ikiru and Tora, and at the same time giving each puppy a chance to get to know the World on its own - or with one or two of its friends from the Kindergarten.
I try to alter between shorter walks in the village and longer walks in the forest or at the beach. Between walking Kanzi alone or with Fuji or with Ikiru and Tora. And walking Fuji alone or with Kanzi or Aibu. And walking Aibu alone or with Fuji. Only once have we tried to walk all 5 dogs at one time, when a friend was visited us, and went for a walk with us in the evening.... Funny how the youngsters are getting exited as soon as Ikiru and Tora are coming with us... It is, as if it is really something special, and the puppies really want to show that they can keep up with the older dogs....
But besides this one walk with all the dogs, I think, what we enjoy most of all are our walks at the beach. I know, Ikiru and Tora really enjoy the free run at the beach. And now it also seems to become the favourite place of the puppies... They are quite funny to watch, as they are investigating everything, the water, the sand, every smell... Even the birds that are now gathering at our beaches to start their journey up North are very exciting to watch... Aibu seems to be wanting to "go and get" the birds... If it wasn't because her paws would become wet, which the little lady doesn't seem to like... Fuji and Kanzi love to dip their paws in the water, but they do not like it, if their bellies get wet.. Not yet, that is... It might be because the water is still quite cold...
It is also fun to get to know the personalities of the puppies, as they get more confident and are showing more of their differences. Fuji is a real "boy", just about 5 months now, and quite naughty and testing us quite often. He still looks to Tora as his idol, but not so much, as he did, before the girls arrived. It is clearly that he is now part of the Kindergarten - but also finds it fun to bother Tora... Tora on the other hand doesn't take quite as much crap from Fuji as before - actually he doesn't take as much crap from any of the pups, probably because the three of them would really be annoying, if he didn't set clear limits for, what he accepts. I think, he finds it quite funny to be "big brother"... at least most of the time. Ikiru still isn't very fond of the girls, especially Kanzi with her age (4 months) and strong personality is being told quite often and with a "firm hand" from Ikiru, who is Alpha-female in our pack.. And so far she seems to accept it without questioning.... Aibu is still the "little one"... With her 3 months of age, she is clearly the youngest one of the group, and has to accept to sometimes be "toy" for the other two... Especially Fuji can be quite hard on her, if she is getting tired, before the other ones, he uses the change to bully her... But she also has a temper, so so far she has been able to manage the older ones on her own. I only interfere, if I sense it becomes too much for her - mostly, if she actually wants to take a nap, but Fuji and Kanzi are still awake and playing. To us, and everybody, she is very friendly and really wants to be scratched and padded... Fuji on the other hand is a bit more reserved, and needs a little time to accept people, before he says hello and want to be padded as well... And Kanzi is even more reserved, and it is also quite clear that she hasn't experiences quite as much as Fuji has till now in her life (4 months). I wouldn't say, she is really frightened or shy, but she is a bit un-secure , and still needs more socialisation, before she becomes as free and outgoing, as I want her to be.. But, I believe she is like Tora, who has second to none interest in other people, and only say a short hello, if we have friends over, the rest he will leave to Ikiru.
Now in the Eastern time, we have spent some extra time with the dogs, we have made a new fence for them, so they get a larger playground, and I believe they have been enjoying these last days a lot... So now I am very interested in, what they are going to say on Tuesday, when I have to get to work again... Probably nothing, but one never know.....
Happy Eastern to all of you, see you in a couple of days for the next part of this ongoing story....
*******
-------------------------------------------------
Visitors since 04.01.02:
-------------------------------------------------