My little madam was again less confident than I expected her to be last night at club. From coming out of the van I felt she was clingy and unsure. On going into the hall she was pretty nervous and barked at some dogs .. and indeed was a little unsure of some people. They key to Kaiah is food, so a quick "ahh" for the barking and distraction with food and within 10 mins or so she was quiet and settled. Puppies go through lots of different stages in growing up and the "fear period" affects puppies at different times of growth. So no I'm not worried about her, her recovery in 10 mins or so proves it's not really a big deal ... but because of who she is I am surprised! Anyway I guess another very important lesson learned ... with dogs, as with most things, we continue to learn all our lives, so if we have two youngsters again then they must do more individually. Kaiah had always seemed to be the ring leader, the most confident of the two ... but it's no good being part of a duo, they must be individuals!Her other behavioral trait is something that I have no idea what to do about. She is already obsessed with me. Someone asked me years ago, I guess with Mikey, "what do you do to make these dogs so obsessed with you?" Hell I don't know. Is it a bad thing? Well mostly maybe not but it can be difficult when at a show and you need help with handling .. or even need the loo. Mikey use to throw a huge tantrum as soon as anyone else dare hold his lead. That lead was his attachment to me and soon as anyone else took hold of it he knew he would be taken away from me. Must admit Ziva was the same, but as I don't show her it was never really as issue! So is there anything I can now do with Kaiah to make her like me a little less, or at least be comfortable away from me? Well everyone can give her a biscuit and anyone who wants to can stand her and take her round, but the obsession surely stems from home life and I don't know what to do differently? I walk them, I feed them, play with them, cuddle them, sing to them (Yes I do!!!) but to me that's what any person does when they live with and love a dog ... singing maybe is optional! Some other GSD folk don't seem to have the problem to the same degree and one said to me last night, tongue in cheek of course that maybe her dogs don't don't like her as much as mine like me!
Anyway Ian is coming up today, we are going to put the ring in the field. Let the training begin!
