White Shepherd Stories

Look At Me, I'm A Show Dog!

Last week I downloaded all the information about registering Andiamo in UKC (United Kennel Club).  He came to me registered in FCI.  UKC accepts dogs registered in FCI and so does AKC.  While I was at it I checked the events section on the UKC website. I noticed there was a show in St. Helens, Oregon on the 12th and 13th of September 2015.  I recalled that I could possibly get a temporary number, by email or phone, if all else was in order and so might be able to do that, and get him in the conformation show. I thought the practice would be good for him.  Since he is only four months old, he is only qualified for the Novice Puppy, Non-Licensed show.  He would be able to get ribbons, but he would not accrue any points yet.  When he is six months he can start showing in a regular Puppy class for 6 month - 1 year old pups. After he is 1 year old he can move into the Junior class which is for dogs 1 year to 2 years old. Next comes Intermediate, which is for dogs from 2 years to 3 years old. At 3 years he will be considered an adult. If he earns a championship before he qualifies for one on the age classes, he moves into the Champion class instead and works toward the Grand Champion class.

I had a couple questions, which UKC said I could email to them.  I was surprised at how fast they answered my questions regarding changing his name slightly and about whether to list him as a Berger Blanc Suisse or a White Shepherd.  They said I could name him whatever I wanted as long as the name fit in the boxes.  I added his sire's name to the name I had already given him, and I left the name the breeder had given him, Amadeus. 

So I can now introduce you to:  "Arezzo's Andiamo Amadeus".  I really didn't think I was going to be able to change his name, so I had not been working on it.  I ran it by my daughter and we both like it.  I call him Andiamo ("Let's Go" in Italian).  Arezzo is a small Italian village.  UKC calls the breed White Shepherds.  His UKC Pedigree is not as pretty as his FCI Pedigree.  I won't do anything about that until after he gets some titles, then I can order a fancy Pedigree from UKC and frame it. 

Andi's coat is easy to groom.  Since the dogs swim nearly every day, I do not actually bathe them very often.  I decided he needed his ears cleaned and his toenails cut. Andi is over 45 lbs. now.  What a chore to clean ears!  All that and they don't even look any different.  Next came the toe nails.  They are not hard to cut.  Although I use a small grinder on the big guys toe nails, it was not necessary on Andi.  I just used regular nail clippers.  But what a job it was... I was armed with lots of treats and nail cutters still it was almost impossible.  I gave him treats after every toenail he let me clip.  I got to the last foot.  He was getting tired and irritable and so was I.  I was about ready to give up, as we had to leave for Journey's agility class.  Suddenly, instead of fighting to get away, he climbed into my lap and actually cuddled up and gave me kisses ... talk about melting my heart!  I quickly finished the last foot and gave him lots of love, treats and hugs.  Not the best job, but it will do. He is close to being ready for the nail grinder, as I have been letting him watch the big guys get their nails done.  

I was looking for something he could wear, in the bag of dog show stuff. The only collars I could find that would fit were chains.  I no longer use them on my dogs, and I don't like any collars that are real thin - too much danger of injuring his throat.  I decided on a simple black flat collar, about 1/2" wide.  I had a leash that was thin, with a smaller size snap clip, so it didn't look as if it was loading him down.  That was it for his show gear - pretty easy (except the toenail part).  

We had to get up at 5:30 to feed everyone and pack our stuff. I was not taking the other guys as it was going to be too hot and the show ring area is not as big as where we do agility.  I just took one soft crate, my chair, and a couple chew toys. I had his brush and treats in my bag. We were good to go after I gave greenies to Pirate and Journey to try to ease my guilt for leaving them.  

I drove to the Lewis & Clark Bridge and crossed the Columbia River to Rainier, Oregon. The river is the state line.  We headed (east) up river to the town of St. Helens, about 25 miles.  Found a great place to park, under a huge tree.  I took the crate and chair inside.  I got my arm band and went back out for Andi.  We did not show until about 11:00.  Andi was fine with the running part.  Judge Richard Klatt was very nice and he really liked Andi.  I helped him to see Andi's teeth.  Andi did not like that part, but when the Judge said something friendly to him, he jumped in the Judge's lap, all wiggly and full of kisses.  The Judge really enjoyed him.  We had no other White Shepherd puppies in the class. So we went on from there. The second show started shortly after the first show and went pretty much the same as the first show.  That Judge, Don Wells, also was really amused by Andi's friendly outgoing nature.  The shows each ran in their own ring side by side.  We made it to the Best in Show Novice Puppy ring.  Too bad it took so long.  I had to wake Andi.  He had enjoyed a lot of playing with our neighbors and was overdue for his naps.  

Rogan (the Cattledog) & Andiamo

Rogan was only 9 months old and he really liked Andi.

 I did put Andi in his crate every so often and encouraged him to take a nap, but he was having such a good time .... and I was taking him outside for walks, a lot.  I was getting worried because he did not want to take care of business in a place where he was not familiar.  As time passed and nothing happened on our walks I grew more nervous about it.

We had a very nice woman next to us, with a Basset Hound.  Have to say, he was one of the most handsome Bassets I have seen.  He fascinated Andi.  I think maybe part of his curiosity was that he had never met a dog that was older than he is and still shorter. The Basset's name was "Little Man".  He was very pleasant, but not very expressive at first, so Andi was a little unsure about him.  He did a lot to try to be sure Little Man would like him.  He even kissed him, and Little Man kissed him back.  

Above is Little Man after he won Best in Show!  (Told you he was one good looking Basset).  He was also a bit of a thief.  Every time we were gone for a while, he would stick his head in Andi's crate and borrow a toy.  He always gave it back though.  He was such a cuddly, sweet boy.  

Well, Andiamo did as well in the second show as the first one.  Once again the winner of the Novice Puppy Best in Show was the tiny American Eskimo Dog.  She was about the size of a guinea pig and all white fluff.  She was adorable. She belonged to one of the members of the host club.   

We were finished by 2:00 PM.  The big brothers just wanted to sniff Andiamo all over. He was happy to be home and greeted his brothers, then went to sleep immediately.  I was not far behind, as we had not gotten much sleep the night before. We woke up for dinner, then not long afterwards we all went to bed.   

The next morning the big guys thought it was a little much that we were leaving them home alone again.  We hurried with breakfast and gave them treats, then we were on our way.  I promised the big guys it was our last day.  

Andi got his (by now) usual set of ribbons: Best Male Novice Puppy, First Place, and Best of Breed Novice Puppy. I told him they were going to look great in his picture and they would impress his brothers. He was not into ribbons.  The Judge was Debbie Orwin.  

Once when we were called for a class, we were hurrying around to the entrance of the ring and I looked over at my little buddy as he ran at my side.  He was enjoying running.  He was into the flying trot with his little chin up in the air and his tail out behind him.  He looked so cute. I wished I could have had a picture of that.  

When he was not playing with another dog or the kids who visited him on and off, all day, he enjoyed watching the other dogs in the rings.

The kids are back!

--- and look who is in heaven!  

Jasmine (on the right) and her brother, Christian on the left are Andi's favorites. Jazzy, as her brother calls her, just seems to have the gentle touch that Andi loves and she knows the places on his tummy that he loves to have tickled.  They are all such nice kids and good dog handlers.

 

Andi is gently mouthing Christian's fingers.  Beautiful kids completely trustworthy with the ways they were loving my sweet puppy (and I am really particular what kids, and how they handle any of my dogs).  

The Judge in Show 2 was Al Orwin.  We were on our last run for the Best of Breed Novice Puppy.  Andi was so tired it was difficult for him to keep running, but he did. Finally, as we ran toward the Judge, on the diagonal I noticed Andi's head was tilted a little funny, as dogs sometimes do when they have an itch near or in the ear.  We had such a short ways to go I just tried to distract him and I urged him to run faster so he didn't think about it. Such a short ways to go .... nope, he sat down on the runner and scratched what itched.  Just for a second, then he got up and continued running to the Judge.  The Judge had a huge grin and Andi reacted to that by jumping up to play with him.  Andi was happy.  The Judge was happy. And I could not be more proud of my baby boy in his very first show weekend.  

"Oh good, they are right where I left them, so good to be home. I really missed my brothers".

Almost Four Months Old, And A Kindergarten Graduate

 

On Saturday Andiamo will be four months old.   Time has passed way too fast.  I want him to stay our baby, but I also want to see him grow up.  It is a tug-of-war on my heart. Andi will go to one more kindergarten class, just for fun, then he will be starting Companion Dog Obedience on Monday, September 14.  This class is really just Obedience, and will take him through to getting his CGC (Canine Good Citizen title). We will concentrate on the basic behaviors such as absolute recalls; stay; leave it; heel (or walk with me) which in our case will mean just to stay within about 10 feet.  I train "heel" too, but I am not concerned with competition Obedience.  I just need a casual performance from my dogs.  I want to know they will not jump out of the car when the door is opened.  I need to know they will stay put when the drive-thru gate is open on our property.  He is already doing this!  :o)  I need him to "leave it" when he would be inclined to pick up a piece of food on the ground, or get into some deer poop. I do not need the precision that competition obedience requires.  I don't need a perfect heel when we go on walks, but I don't want to be pulled on the walk.  I also want him to be friendly, but he must keep "4 on the floor", no jumping on people.  These are the things he will be learning in Companion Obedience.  He already knows some of them, but he will get better.  It is much easier to train a 4 month old pup how to walk on a loose leash, than to teach a strong adult dog how NOT to drag you down the road. He does not pull me now and I just want to be sure it stays like this.  He also does not jump on people and I am very pleased with that.  He is learning to greet new dogs without jumping on them or getting in their faces. He was house-trained in two weeks or less and he is very easy to train.  He loves to please me.  

All of my White Shepherds have been easy to train except one.  Quest was a demon and a clown.  It did not make me love him less, but I suffered a lot of frustration.  He settled down by the time he was about 3 to 4 years.  It was worth all the frustration.  He was worth the frustration, and in his defense, I was not as good a trainer as I am now. Also, I had less time to spend training him than I do now.  As he matured he became the best agility dog I could have imagined.  He was everything I wanted in a dog, it just took a little longer than it did with Spirit (my first WS).  Quest was the best at nearly everything I let my dogs learn.  He was very "high drive" and various instructors who helped me train him, found out (just as I did) that Quest would figure out his own way of accomplishing most anything.  It was never what you expected but often a better way of doing it.  

Just as an example:  My dogs all enjoy the interactive toys, where a tiny treat is hidden under a plastic bone, or cup, or is in a tiny drawer of a board game.  They have all leaned to open the little drawers or lift the little cups to find the treats.  Quest preferred the more direct approach.  He would just pick up the entire board and shake it.  It worked.  The treats would fall out of the drawers, or out of the cups and bone molds.  It also got him attention, which was his strongest motivation for most anything.  There will never be another Quest, and I suppose that is just as well, as I don't think I have the energy and patience to handle that anymore.  In spite of it all, he was working on his Masters in agility and he absolutely was the most dependable agility dog you could imagine.  I could practically stand in the center of the barn and just verbally direct him. When once, he passed the entry to the teeter and, he found himself at the opposite end, which was several feet in the air ... he did not bother with going around to the end he was supposed to enter,  he just reached one foot up and hooked the end of the board and brought it down - then he walked up the board and rode it down to the ground, and went on with the course.  He had his own ways of doing things and I have to admit I enjoyed him more than I can say.   

Andiamo is the teacher's pet, without a doubt, she even admits it.  She said it surprises her because she is a "Labrador person".  I don't believe she has ever really known a White Shepherd, but Andi has her hooked.  She adores him and she is so impressed with how smart he is.  She said she has never met a German Shepherd with a temperament as good as Andi has.  She uses him as a demo dog and continually asks me, "has he already been trained to do this?" The answer is always no, but he does watch and listen while she explains things. Some people have asked me if it took long to teach him English. It didn't :o). I think he may already know numerous languages. He may be an old soul; my Spirit was.  

Andiamo already knows that when I tell him to stay, and then I open the drive-thru gate, he must stay put in the spot he is in when I direct that behavior.  He knows he must not jump out of the car until he is invited.  He does not jump on people.  He comes when he is called (almost all the time), and he is learning "leave it".  When I ask, "what have you got", meaning what is in your sweet little mouth, he normally will spit out the rock, or new found toy (of sorts).  Occasionally I need to reach in and help him decide to eject the item. That is one of the things we need to work on perfecting.  He will come back to me when I call, approximately 98% of the time.  That, of course will get worse before it gets better.  My aim is 101%.  I am very consistent and absolutely determined when it comes to something that can mean his safety.  He already knows the basic "sit", "down",  "shake hands", and then there is "no bite".  A lot of that has to do with his teething situation.  He makes good use of frozen wet wash-clothes.  I can live with this a little longer, while he gets his beautiful new big boy teeth.  When I say "ow" he stops biting and kisses me instead.  Did I mention that I am crazy about this puppy?

I allow my adult dogs to tell Andiamo when there has been enough biting.  He did not get the nickname of "Gater-mouth" for nothing.  After Pirate stopped playing with him for a few lonely and sad days, he has gotten the picture about chewing on his family members. He loves Pirate and Journey.  Journey won't put up with it, but Pirate is a softy and he let Andi chew on him too much.  I was assuming that Pirate would correct him, as both Spirit and Quest would have.  When I started seeing scabs on Pirates neck and his cheeks I realized I needed to step in and help him a little.  It took a few days.  Now Andi knows what not to do and Pirate trusts me to help him keep the little "gater-mouth" in line.  

So now the training becomes more intense, still fun, but more important and with a lot of praise and pride over success.  This little guy, Andiamo, is a perfect candidate.  He is smart as can be and he really likes to please me.  The hard part of having multiple dogs, especially smart ones that enjoy performing, is that you cannot just train one.  I try to allow at least 15 or 20 minutes for each dog if I am going to work with one.  It doesn't matter what you are training, just that you are spending one-to-one time with each dog and that they feel the pride of accomplishing something.  We always end our training sessions on something that is done right.  You don't need expensive treats. Although if you have something really flavorful it is worth holding it back for things done especially well.  I use Natural Balance dog food rolls, made by Von Patten. I slice it and then dice it into tiny bites.  All my dogs love it, it is high quality and it is not expensive.  

 Below are a few memories from kindergarten:

"Oh wow, a new classmate and she looks like me!"

"Hi, I am Andi, want to play?"

Andi plays "slap the floor" with Chet.

Another Shepherd - now Andi's new best friend.

"That is our instructor, Kim on the right side of photo.  On left is Diesel and her mom; next is a little Dachshund; then my new Shepherd buddy (he will be in my Obedience class too, maybe I can find out his name".

"One of my friends accidentally slobbered on my head a little, but that's okay".