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Puppies like to chew.  And Jaws could be the poster puppy for chewing canines.  They say that puppies chew to relieve the pain of teething. They usually have their adult teeth by 6 months of age – so we still have a few more months of this maladaptive masticating ahead of us.  My human has frozen wet wash cloths – and Jaws is interested in them for about 2 minutes – tossing and flinging them around the room.  They act as fairly dangerous projectiles while they are still frozen.  We also have every form of chew toy available – spread around the house.  He has his favorites – deer antlers are a hit.  He also likes sticks, carpet, chair rails, mud, pant legs, his leash and the hair on Velcro dog’s ears.  My human is constantly offering him the “correct” thing to chew – rather than the roster of inedible, inappropriate options.  

One thing that has been QUITE remarkable in the past few days – my human actually had a 20 minute period when we were all in the same room, hanging out and sleeping.  She literally looked to the heavens and said a thank you to God for the moment of respite.  

Time to bug my human to play fetch.  Jaws hasn’t quite figured out the game yet.  He runs out to get the ball, and races back to my human at full speed and then JUST as he is within grabbing distance, he veers off to the side and runs past her. Shades of Paxton…

Have a happy Saturday.  You know I will!

Well I think Elroy AKA Jaws has already grown.  Honestly – I am pretty sure he is bigger than the day he arrived.  I’m thinking I had better start being nice to him – he will soon be bigger than me. I realized in my excitement over getting a puppy I never really said much about his breed – the Berger Picard.  Also known as the Picardy Sheepdog, Picardy Shepherd or “wild thing.”  OK – that last one is my own label.

They originated in the Picardie region of France – and they are one of the oldest French herding breeds.  Like us PONs, they nearly became extinct after the War, but due to the efforts of some devoted fans, they saw an increase in numbers.  Although they were first shown in dog shows in Europe in 1863, it was not until 1925 that they were officially recognized in France.  They were recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club in 1992 and just last year were recognized in the Herding Group by the American Kennel Club.  They still remain a pretty rare breed.

There actually was a movie that featured a Picard in 2005 – Because of Winn-Dixie.  Now while movies portray us dogs as well-behaved, adorable companions – one needs to keep in mind that movies are movies.  Just like us PONs,  Picards are probably not for everyone.  Words to describe the
Picard include lively, goofy, hard working, intelligent and stubborn.  Sound familiar?  But if trained properly, they can excel at Obedience, Rally, Agility, Herding – you name it.  Keep in mind though, that training in the KEY.

The boys can grow to 25.5 inches – and girls to 23.5 inches.  They have a harsh coat which requires minimal grooming.  Bonus. They come in two colors – Fawn and Brindle.  It’s a bit confusing as the Brindle can also be referred to as Gray.  On top of that, there are variations in the Fawn and the Brindle.  My take on this – they come in a light color and a dark color.  I think Jaws could be called a Dark Fawn or a Fawn Brindle – but who knows what he will look like as he gets older?  Maybe he’ll be purple. 

Picards carry their ears erect – and we see moments of that with Jaws.  Sometimes he has one ear up.  Sometimes two.  And sometimes he still looks like the Flying Nun.  

Like us PONs,  Picards need to be socialized a lot as puppies – as I mentioned the other day.  We see that Jaws is STARTING to settle in.  He will actually fall asleep and RELAX – outside his crate.  When he gets the puppy zoomies, he is C-R-A-Z-Y.  He jumps and leaps and even does somersaults. Of course my human panics as she doesn’t want him to hurt himself.  But TRY and stop him.  It’s like picking up a crazed porcupine.

One difference that I see between PONs and Picards is that some Picards can be described as “picky eaters.”  Clearly that is NOT the case with PONs!

My human is THINKING that Jaws MAY be a good herding dog.  His mother loves sheep.  Jaws has a tendency to walk BEHIND the group of us – and he also LOVES to nip at heels. And pant legs.  I see lots of money going into obedience school for this guy.

When my human took Jaws to the Vet the other day, he looked at my human and said “Do you stay up at night reading Rare Breed books?” He knows my human well.  He also knows she loves learning and trying new things.  Having a Picard is a whole new experience – and even though it is a BIT chaotic right now, we have a feeling this is going to be a fabulous journey!

So Velcro dog decided he wanted some attention. But trust me – it’s not like we are not getting plenty of attention – even with our new addition.  The Hulk is still visiting AND my human is on vacation – so she is home with us almost all day.  Except for a few hours when she had to go into the office on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Anyway, we all went down to the lake on Monday and Velcro dog and I stared as Jaws not only went in the water – but he actually SWAM for about 30 seconds.    While he was training for the canine water Olympics, Velcro dog and I were munching on some grass. When Jaws got out of the water, he raced around like crazy and my human headed back to the house with him and me.  But Velcro dog had disappeared. He eventually came – after what seemed like FOREVER – but was probably about 5 minutes.  And all was right with the world.

Anyway, the next morning Velcro dog seemed fine.  We all went for a long walk, he ate his breakfast – or should I say he inhaled his breakfast, he had a good poop (not that I care – but as we know, you humans take stock in such things) and he was full of energy.  Until about an hour after the walk.  He climbed up on our so-far-indestructible dog bed and promptly threw up his breakfast.  Well – if you want to send my human into a tailspin, throw up.  She immediately tried to rack her brain and figure out why.  She did inventory on the dog toys and all were accounted for.  So she figured it must have had something to do with what he had eaten down by the lake  Most likely a LOT of grass – as we all seem to find the grass at the water’s edge most delectable. She waited a while and tried to offer him a biscuit – which he refused.  That’s when my human REALLY began to panic.  A PON?  Refuse food?  She raced to the internet.  It’s not as if she hadn’t figured out that this bout of nausea was MOST likely related to his absence the day before – but you know her. Time to Google all the possibilities.  What a horrid human behavior – you deliberately drive yourselves crazy. Velcro dog seemed out of sorts – but keep in mid that he IS a drama king.  Trim his nails or even groom him and he acts as if he is being tortured.  So IMAGINE him with stomach upset…

While my human was Googling, the air suddenly turned blue.  Compliments of moi.  That grass really WAS good.  

My human fawned over Velcro dog.  He got double the attention.  But within a few hours, he was feeling FINE and he was starving for his supper.  My human gave him a little bit – to be sure his stomach was ok.  He gobbled it down and all stayed down.  And yours truly never felt better, besides the fact that I could have cleared the room several times that day.

The next day, all was again right with the world.  Everyone was eating, drinking and pooping fine.  I ALMOST tried to play with Jaws outside but then I changed my mind.  I’m still playing hard to get.  

Just another day in paradise!

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I don’t think I understand Jaws yet.  He does some pretty strange things.  Here are a few examples…

• He will try to grab and chew branches, leaves, grass even rocks as he goes for a walk.  But give him something edible, like a small piece of banana or apple and he doesn’t know what to do with them.  He plays with them.  Rolls on them. Stares at them.  Jumps at them.  Barks at them.  Chews them.  Spits them out.  Rolls on them some more.  And then MAYBE eats them.  Very odd. 

• He likes to dig.  His treasurer (remember I don’t use the word “litter” for puppies – I prefer a “treasury” of puppies – so his breeder would be his treasurer) DID tell my human that he likes to “garden” and she wasn’t kidding.  He is an expert hole digger.  Expert.  

•  He is like one of those “push-up” toys.  You know the kind I mean.  They are little figures on a base, and when you press the base, they collapse.  Release the base and they pop up again.  Just like Elroy.  He collapses on the lawn in the shade.  And goes totally limp.  And then BANG – he’s up again.  And going crazy.  Biting.  Barking. Spinning.   I think I like him better when the base is pressed.  

Monday marked his one week arrival.  I MAY be starting to warm up to him.  I don’t growl when he walks by and I am right there waiting when he comes out of his crate – with my tail wagging.   But then I leave him alone.  But I AM interested in him…and it IS nice to have someone else in the house whose alternate name is “No-no.”

The adventure continues!

You humans.  It is so interesting to see how you deal with us as puppies. You fret and worry about our “socialization” – because, as I understand it, if we don’t experience a whole lot of different things – including people, places, animals, sounds, and even textures during our “critical period” which goes up to around 16 weeks – we will grow up needing psychiatric help when we are older.  So you humans do your very best to make sure we are well-adapted, sociable beings.  

So to be sure that Jaws doesn’t turn out needing sessions on a psychiatrist’s couch (which he would no doubt chew), my human has been exposing him to all kinds of things, places and people.  This supreme effort to expose Elroy to the world, also serves to tire him out – which as we all know, a tired puppy is a happy puppy.  Or maybe it should be a tired puppy has a happy human.

So yesterday, our day began with a walk with all three of us on the trail. Socialization #1.  The Hulk walked with Velcro dog – who can actually be allowed off leash as he never runs away – even when he sees a bunny.  My human walked me and Jaws.  And all went well.  She didn’t need to carry him at all.  When we arrived home, she THOUGHT he might be tired.  Fat chance – the walk wasn’t 50 km.   After breakfast, Jaws had his first visit to the Vet – just for a puppy orientation.  Socialization #2. Everyone was happy to see him and most the staff had never met a Picard before.  They were Googling photos of adult dogs.  Jaws was quite well behaved, until the Vet trimmed his nails.  Now he behaved – but he exhibited a PERFECT PON imitation.  We told him to.  He screamed.  It’s not as if the Vet cut his nails too short – he just decided to be very vocal about how short they should be cut.

After the visit to the Vet, my human wasn’t done with him yet. Socialization #3.  She took him downtown to the Halifax waterfront – a mecca for tourists, cyclists, baby carriages, dogs, boats – you name it.  Socialization overload.  And Jaws had a blast.  My human had to keep telling people what breed he was.  And no one knew a Picard.  Go figure.  He was a happy, outgoing boy.

So when he got home, Jaws was POOPED.  

He slept for several hours.  And when he woke up, my human THOUGHT he might still be sleepy – so she tried to get a decent photo of the three of us.  Well THAT was a circus.  Velcro dog and I stayed in place, but the squirming worm with the needle teeth who has the attention span of a gnat was just a tad difficult to capture.  And we each took turns sticking out tongues out at the camera.  

The top photo you see was one of the best and happiest shots taken – and note Jaws is holding a stick.  That was the ONLY way to get him to stay in place.  And he has already caught on to the variety of weird and wonderful noises my human makes to get our attention while she acts as the puparazzi. He ignores her.  Total picnore.  I have taught him well!  But I doubt my human is finished with us yet…just wait until she brings out the holiday attire…

I’m not confessing anything.  Maybe it was me…and maybe it wasn’t…

Our house looks a bit like a tornado hit it.  Taking care of Elroy is a full time job!  There are dog crates set up in places where we never see them – there are chew toys scattered everywhere – including some new additions, the kitchen floor is so muddy we could grow a garden indoors and there is a pile of laundry sitting on the floor waiting to be loaded. Included in the laundry pile is that pair of dog sweat pant my human lives in.  The ones that are covered in dog hair and slobber.  But yesterday morning, my human grabbed that pair to take us on our morning walks.  This time, she took Jaws and Velcro dog for the walk – so they could have some “bonding time.”  And all was going great.  At one point, they came to a pond, and low and behold – two ducks were on the pond.  More socialization for Jaws.  One duck kept quacking – he was smallish so my human wonders if he was the offspring of the killer duck.  Jaws didn’t quite know what to make of them.  He stood and just stared at them.  So my human grabbed her iPhone out of her coat pocket to get a puparazzi shot.  But Jaws doesn’t stay still for very long – so she missed the shot.  And she went to put her phone in the pocket of her attractive sweat pants.  And she could feel the phone traveling down her leg into her rubber boots – or Wellies as they say in the UK!  She put her hand in her pocket and Ooopsie – there was no pocket. It is G-O-N-E and so were all the tiny pieces of kibble and kibble crumbs. 

I’m not pointing paws – but I DID see Velcro dog eyeing that laundry pile…

As I say…never a dull moment!

So how does one begin to train a dog with the attention span of a gnat?

As you know, we PONs LOVE our food.  So training us with treats is actually quite simple.  Now Elroy SEEMS to like food – although at dinner time he is not exactly like us PONs. He is pokey.  And he sometimes gets distracted while eating – so he stops and does something else.  Unlike us PONs.  We are like vacuum cleaners when it comes to food.  Put down food in our dishes – and it is G-O-N-E.  Elroy eats,  sees dust on the floor, checks it out, goes back to eating, hears a noise, checks it out, goes back to eating, stops to scratch, goes back to eating…it’s not a QUICK process.

So obviously Elroy’s attention to treats and training is very similar.  He starts off wanting the treats – and will do some things – but whatever you do, you can only make the session last less than 30 seconds – or his attention is gone!  So far, my human can get him to “down” by basically luring him with a treat.  But “sit” is not in his vocabulary.  She is trying to teach him NOT to maul her hand when she has a treat – and is trying to teach him “off”.  She had a handful of treats and would not give him any unless he backed off and stopped chewing at her hand.  Her hand took a real beating – BUT he did seem to get the idea.  We’ll see if he remembers today!

My human had him outside watching Frodo and I doing some obedience training.  She was hoping it would rub off.  We dogs DO learn from one another – and he WAS paying attention.  For short periods of time. 

Despite his lack of lasting attention, he IS observant.  He listens to every bird, and was QUITE interested in listening to a squirrel in a tree.  In this photo, there was no bird or squirrel.  Just branches moving in the wind.  Go figure.

He is also doing well with his house training.  Mind you, my human takes him outside 473 times a day.  And he has figured out that if you go to the door and squeak, she will take you out. Whether you need to go or not.  So he IS kinda clever – I’ll give him that.

I’m still pretty much ignoring him, but I realize the return period is probably quickly coming to a close.  So I guess he is staying – and one of these days, we MAY play together.  Once those teeth come out…

So there are advantages to a new puppy in the house.  New toys.

Jaws likes balls.  I mean REALLY likes balls.  He likes the treat ball – even when it isn’t  full of treats.  Now THAT I don’t understand.  

 But he can’t pick it up – so of course, my human had to go hunting for a ball he could pick up.  We used to have one of those Jolly Ball things years ago, but Bucket head ate the handle off.  That would have been perfect.  But not to worry – my human found a great option – a Chuck It ball that is a bit pliable – and it has indentations – so it can be carried.  Well not only did Jaws like it – but so did I.  And Velcro dog played with it as well.  He’s not as exuberant as me or Jaws – but he does bring it back.  Good times.

Yesterday Jaws met Jackson again.  We were all together.  And this time, he QUITE liked him.  Given the fact that those two enjoy the water so much, I think they will become good friends.

I do have a question though…what’s with those ears on Jaws?  They flop around and sometimes they stand up on his head. Apparently they will eventually stand straight up. But right now – well they look too big for his head.  Perhaps I should call him Babar instead of Jaws.  Nah – Jaws is really best.  Ask poor Hulk.  He is such a softy for us dogs – he lets us get away with murder.  So every time my human looks at him when he is with Jaws, the Hulk is bleeding.  His legs.  His hands.  My human says he has to be more firm with Jaws – not mean – but firm. Between killer ducks and now a killer puppy, the Hulk is really getting beat up during his visit.  We have him so well trained – dogs rule.  Good thing my human isn’t quite so soft.  This place would be utter chaos.  Even more than usual.

Have a great Saturday.  You KNOW I will!

OK.  So I was good yesterday.  I never growled at Jaws once.   I just pretty much ignore him – but I do watch his antics too.  He is QUITE the entertainer. And he keeps my human hopping.  He is into EVERYTHING.  So she bought what she THOUGHT would be the solution.  She bought this stuff called Fooey.  It is supposed to be like Bitter Apple. To a Picard, I guess Fooey is French for “tasty.”   My human doused the stuff on a table leg.  And Jaws continued to gnaw on the leg.  Nothing fazes him.

And talk about persistent – he is even more stubborn than a PON.  Which, I know is hard to believe.   He loves to lie in the shade.  He detests the sun.  And who can blame him – it’s hot in the sun.  But when he lies in the shade – well just TRY and move him.  GOOD luck.  If you want him to move – like to come in the house, he just goes limp.  Totally limp.  And no amount of enticing with treats will get him to move.  And he is not exactly a tiny guy.  The same thing happens if you take him on a walk.  He sits down and refuses to move. Yesterday on our morning walk, my human ended up carrying him for a good part of the walk.  Frodo and I just look at him.  And the BEST routine is what we call the pre-poop prance.  When he races and prances back and forth on the leash just before he poops.  I mean it is like some kind of circus show.  Fascinating.

My human has been sure to give Velcro dog and me some quality time too – she knows we are feeling a tad put out by our new arrival.  And I must say, I MIGHT warm up to him.  He tries so hard to get us to play.  He does the whole play bow thing and barks and growls.  It’s just those needle teeth…when do they all come out?  I think I would quite like him if they ALL came out at the same time….and he had NO teeth.  

The adventure continues.

Every day is a new adventure.  Night #2 Jaws slept right through.  It’s no wonder – he never stops all day long.

Several of the neighbors came by to meet him. And he was quite the social butterfly.  While Velcro dog barked.  Teaching him wonderful behaviors. He also met Jackson but surprisingly wasn’t too sure about the big black dog.  That’s OK – he has plenty of time to get used to the neighborhood.

I’m still not sure about him.  I mean he’s cute and all – but this really is an adjustment for me.  I grumble and growl at him – those teeth are like needles and I want NO part of them.  Right now he is steering clear of me.  But I do like to sniff him while he is sleeping. 

Jaws REALLY likes to get into things.  No electrical cord is safe.  So we are now living surrounded by toys.  In the dark.

And those needle teeth sure like to chew.  My human is buying stock in Bitter Apple.  She is buying one of those industrial paint sprayers and dousing the entire house.  Furniture.  Carpets.  Doors.  Walls.   We can move back in next week.

And yesterday he did something that neither Velcro dog or I would EVER, EVER do.  He walked in the lake.  Seriously.  First he stood and looked at it.  He then put a paw in.  And then he WALKED in. Frodo was absolutely mortified.  Check him out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnrnZiXwRIw

My human has been reading about dog adjustment times with new puppies.  It’s not like she hasn’t had new puppies and older dogs before.  But it has been some time – and she can’t recall how long it took others to adjust.  It’s not uncommon for it to take several weeks before we are all feeling comfortable.  Of course my human,  wants us to be one big happy family NOW.  Patience woman.  Patience.  My goodness – she is a challenge to train.