quarta-feira, 19 de abril de 2017

1 year in pyrshep land

Well, not exactly a year since I got him the day he turned 2 months… 10 months it is. It feels like a life time. I just realized that I never even introduced him in a blog post, so there we go. 

Shaggy was born on april 19th, 2016. At 12 months his hight is 46,5 cm and he weights 11.2kg.
He is the most adorable little thing in my universe. But after having a pyr shep in my life I think I need to write a blog post about them, more specifically about Shaggy, since nothing is a rule when it comes to dogs. They are all different individuals that have different upbringings and different personalities. 

Before getting a pyr shep I did the research, don't get me wrong, I read all the texts and blog posts. I talked to so many breeders and pyr shep owners, and at the end of the day I felt so ready to have my own crazy unstoppable furry thing. To be honest I always thought that they were over exaggerating things. I was wrong, lol, so so wrong. I think no one is ready to have a pyr shep… if you'r up for it you'll have to face all the craziness that will enter your life at once like a hurricane. They are real tasmanian devils, they can eat everything that is around the house, destroy all your things, climb the tables, window ceiling, make your other dogs crazy, all at once!

Definition of happiness

When Shaggy got here, just a little furry ball, so cute, so sweet, so adorable <3 but already a force of nature, lol. We all know puppies love to bite, I've been there and done that time and time again. I always spoiled all my puppies and never cared for destroyed clothes or shoes. Shaggy was never satisfied with only the clothes or shoes, he wanted my arms, feet, hands. If it really hurts and I complained he would just bite stronger and shake his head, it was so exciting for him. My arms were a mess, so red and full of bite marks, everyone I knew was mad at me for letting him bite me like that. But he was so funny, and would stop at nothing to get to play with me. Also, I learned very soon that pyr sheps hate to be told what to do, things should be sooo much fun that they really want to do it, or you have to convince them that it was their idea. I prayed everyday that he could please please please, lose his puppy teeth very soon. 

A tip for those getting a pyr shep, things should not be on the floor. Nothing. Really, they can eat just about anything! Shaggy's poop was always a thing of art, so colorful and full of surprises, lol. Pieces of paper, clothespin, flip-flops, pajamas (right Susan :P), any kind of plastic container, shoes, books, plants, sunglasses, key charms, lettuce, entire socks, well you got the idea. If you want to keep something out of reach, make sure it is somewhere that a cat wouldn't reach. Or a monkey... Shaggy is half monkey, I'm quite sure. Once, when he was about 4 months, I put him on the service room, while I trained some tricks with Mike. I'm telling you, it didn't take more than 5 minutes. I came back, and it was Shaggy's turn to train some tricks, when I gave him the kibbles as reward he wanted to eat but was crying and acting weird, so I touched his belly just to be shocked by an *extremely* swollen and hard belly. Back at the room he found the dog food on top of a table, ate a bit of the plastic and a ton of food. We rushed to the vet, where ultrasound showed food, a lot of gasses and something that the vet though was some kind of bone, but I was pretty sure it was mountain apple seed since we have a tree in the garden and he absolutely loves this fruit! Another thing my other dogs never even cared about. 

Shaggy is a genius of trick training. He love it <3 Probably I owe 60 percent of our relationship to trick training. Everything comes so easy, and even when he is so crazy that I think he can not possibly understand something while doing so many things at once, he always understands… That's one of the most exciting things for him. I started agility as a trick for him, some straight tunnels, some cik/cap, some bang games. So much fun! He was making me believe everything would be so easy. Then it was that time of the year, finals at university, not much time, so many things to do. Shaggy was progressing faster than I expected, so the little time I had we trained agility. Agility was no fun for him. Pyr Sheps only have time for fun things in life. Shaggy was frustrated, he would run away, lie down and stare at me. Good luck calling him back! He would not run off, just stare in frustration. I was frustrated too, and didn't know what to do. So many times I thought that we were not having fun with this… So I let it go, and focused on the fun again. Tricks, straight tunnels, cik/caps, running contacts. If you focus on your goals with a pyr shep everything will fall apart. Focus on the small things, trick training, night cuddles, laugh at their mischief, let them be as goofy as they want, play, remember to have fun. Now we are having fun in agility. So far from perfect or ready, but so much fun! 

In my experience with Shaggy he was way more stubborn than fearful. As a puppy he never liked people to get him, no one but me and my sister. He always loved to run and jump on my lap, sleep in my lap during competitions or seminars, sleep in my pillow at night. If someone else wanted to get him he would stretch his looong legs and put as much distance between them as he could, until he found an opportunity to jump off. He never cared about falling, as long as he could avoid contact with other people. I must say that he is so much better now. He loves everyone, and shows love to everyone. Dogs and people alike. Fear was always something that he solved by jumping on me, or asking me to hold him, just like a baby. My 46 cm lap dog <3 

There's so much to say about him! How he annoys High all day long, running after him to steal a ball while there are other 10 balls around the house. How he hates me when I blow on his face (he gets so offended!), how he tries to eat flies all day long. How he jumps in the swimming pool 20 time a day, and we probably will have to make a fence to keep him from swimming all day everyday. How he loves the Manner's Minder more than he loves me. But it would take me a life time to write it all.
 I just felt like I had to share a bit of my puppy with the world, and I don't mean to say that pyr sheps are horrible dogs and you should never have one. I absolutely adore Shaggy and I wouldn't change a single thing about him (maybe make him 3.5cm shorter :P) . He is crazy, stubborn, spoiled, unstoppable, but he is so perfect for me. I only mean to say that if you make the decision to have a pyr shep, prepare yourself for whatever comes. Make sure your relationship comes first no matter what, and remember to smile even when you want to kill him for destroying yet another thing. At the end of the ride I'm sure we will all have learned how to dance and laugh in a storm. 





                   Happy 1st birthday Grinch. Stay the same goofy thing forever <3 



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