Just this morning, Kona decided she wanted something to chew on, and I guess she saw Alex playing Jenga with his friend the other day. She also must have remembered where he put the box, because this morning she brought down the box (which had a string-secured pop off lid), carefully and deliberately opened the box, and choose the Jenga block which she wanted to chew. It was all very calm and well thought out. After I took those away, she proceeded to (calm and deliberately) OPEN, yes OPEN, the door to the pantry and surveyed it's contents as a human would- before she choose the unopened box of cheeze-its (time to lock the pantry). I find myself having to remind myself that she's a dog. When she and Alex are "talking" in the morning, he'll change his tone and inflection to say words, which she'll mimic to the best ability of a dog. Remember- she's only 10 months.

7 1/2 Months Old

In the spirit of Kona having cousins out west- I posted some information about Kona as she is now....

Cool things about Kona (Luna/Phoenix):

- Very smart and willing. She has been so much fun to train. Beyond learning the basic rules and obedience 'commands', she's come up with her own little cute things which were easy to put on que (head in lap, howling, "get daddy", "get Alex", get your ball, open gate) and she's just 7 months old.

- Easy to socialize, does everything that is asked of her- boating, swimming, hanging out at the farm, other dogs, handles well off leash, chill around smaller animals.

- Strong sense of pack. Sticks with us and tries to comply with the house rules.

- Stable- enjoys being with us, but is okay to be left as well. Just hangs out in her crate with her kong and watches animal planet. When we're in a new place she's alert but not anxious and defers for direction. When given direction, she confidently complies.

- Drive- needs one 20 minute walk. Doesn't have to be fast, and if we miss no biggie. She also needs attention in the morning, whether it's a game of fetch, tug, or chase. In the spring and fall I like to be out longer, she'll gladly keep up no problem. Always quiet in the house, and doesn't become restless (well, in the morning she does drag her toys around from person to person during breakfast to try to engage someone in play).

- Always good in a new place- enjoys car rides, travel, and (in the right weather) willingly hangs out in the car when I do errands.

- And, people tell me all the time how beautiful she is. I saved that for last, because I don't think about it as much now. I have tons of pictures on our blog, from 1 day to 7 months. Sometimes when she's sitting on the hill watching the butterflies I remember to appreciate how beautiful she is.

Kona is almost 6 months old.
Fun things she's learned include howling and swimming.
She continues to be Alex's best friend, especially with our recent move, and great company for me. Hu plays with her every morning, and I so enjoy watching a 50 year old man crawl on the floor with her squeaky toy. So, yes, Kona is training us well. We recently had a get together with other Shiloh's in our area. What fun that was. I posted a picture of Kona swimming at the dog beach in Annapolis...

4 Months Old

She sprouted legs overnight and the puppy fuzz is not so fuzzy (she's still really soft thought). Kona is coming into her own now, she is too much fun to work with- but we knew she'd be smart. What we didn't expect was the speed and degree to which she fit into our lives. She's been such a bright addition to our family I can't imagine what we ever did without her. I'm out with her all the time, she goes everywhere, and is really perfect- I couldn't ask of any more from her. I am so grateful to Jessica (breeder) and Tina (breed founder), and hope they check the blog on occasion to watch her grow up- I know they think about all their pups...

Shiloh's and Kids

This weekend, the neighborhood kids were out in force- and played with Kona all weekend. I was concerned about the weensey ones (4 year old twins across the street) playing with her as they're about the same weight- and Kona is sometimes gentle- sometimes playful.

She was soooooo good for them- not just for a couple of minutes but every time they came over to play with her which amounted to several hours over the weekend. They figured out how to get her to sit, lay down, stay, etc. Kona handled fine for them, as if she was showing off for her piers. A couple of times they put a leash on her and walked her around the yards. Kona gladly followed- not a tug- I don't think she even knew she had the leash on. It was particularly impressive because she's past the "baby- follow you anywhere" stage. And, the kids are at different stages- yet she fully adapted to them- gentle with the little ones, playful with the older ones.

Now... I'm just not that good of a trainer.

The things that make her special like this are things she was born with. You can't teach these things, not this young. The fact that at 35 pounds she can be handled by a 35 pound child, gleefully, consistantly, and without incident, is a matter of breeding. She's just born with something special and it's very neat to see. I had to laugh when the kids (4 year old twins) were looking at their mom through the splitrail fence, one on each side of Kona, and Kona sitting in the middle- ears up, tounge hanging out, just like one of them. She was completely in her element. The Mom asked asked how it could be that she's like this "all the time" I said I had no clue... and that's the truth...

3 Months Old!

Kona is now 3 Months Old!
She is growing so fast, she goes to the vet Saturday- I wonder how much she weights?
House/Crate training has been done for a while now (I can't leave her alone of course, but she's learned how to live with us and respects our things, well, except our socks), no health concerns or behavioral concerns to speak of- just a really great pup. She gets along with other dogs, as long as she- the bouncy pup is allowed to approach first, if another bouncy pup approaches her- she runs between my legs until she feels more confident... Funny... She's great about kids, we have twins that just turned four in the next house over- she is completely different with them than she is with Alex. She soaks up the belly rubs from the little kids and plays chase with Alex. They wear each other out- it's great. Except, when I tell them to cool it- then they take their respective seats and just stare at each other- each waiting for the other one to break first. It's like having two kids...
I can't count the number of times people tell me "My pup has never been THAT good". It's funny really, I felt for a while like it was the calm before the storm- but I'm starting to get that the dogs are really like this. I'm still in awe...
It's so hard not getting her a friend right now. There are so many great ISSR litters coming up- check the emotion- I need to focus on her right now.
Maybe next spring/summer...

Lots of Milestones

Kona has totally impressed everyone who has seen her. The vet loves her, the dogs at the dog park love her (though we're careful about who she meets and how), her favorite time of day is her morning walk when we go by the bus stop with all the kids. She sits for pets, and soaks it all up. She and Alex are best friends. They play together all the time, and seem to understand each other at a different level. She is doing well with her house training, and I expect that the 'accidents' in her crate will stop when we can get a solid stool- the wormer and all the changes have her a bit loose- but no accidents in the house (just the crate- and she doesn't cue me prior, but this too shall pass). Things I had to ingrain into other dogs in the past seem to come naturally to her, we just need to keep reinforcing this while she's a tot before she reaches the teenage period and feels the need to test everything... She's been a joy, and already we can't imagine not having her around. I am so greatful to Tina, Jessica, and Pam for their hard work which made it possible for us to have her.

She Has a Name!

We settled on "Kona". She's little like a bean and remind me of the colors of coffee. I also like names that are also places, and Kona is a beautiful place in Hawaii. So Kona it is...

She is doing well so far. Eating like a champ! Everyone loves her. She's protesting now becuase I'm typing with my feet up and one of her favorite things is to lay on human feet. I have a picture (which I will post after I download them) of her settling on Hu's feet while he was doing push-ups. Kona and Alex have become fast friends. It is very cute to watch them together. He's very gentle with her (remarkably so for an 8 year old boy), and she will seek him out if she hears him nearby.I've been a dog person for a long time- and have admired the people here and dedication to the Shiloh vision. But there is something different about the pup that is unexpected and I just can't put my finger on it. It's like she has a wisdom about her beyond her 8 weeks. It will be a beautiful thing to watch her grow up. We feel very lucky that Jessica let us have her! I'll post some pictures soon...

We Did It!!!!!
Jessica put up with my neurotic vacillating, and we are too excited for words that Hot Pink Girl is coming home with us...
She is due to arrive this weekend- more to follow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Two More Weeks!!!!

We have two more weeks to go and can't wait!

The last puppy pictures are from when they turned 4 weeks old:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=strausshausshepherds&aid=576460762388320556&pid=&wtok=GQYQN3rrh_tQ.WVrXiJk1Q--&ts=1170630092&.src=ph

I have a 'thing' for light blue boy, he just pulls at my heart strings. Purple girl looks like a sweetheart too. The LER is set for March 2-4, then we'll know which of of the little buggers will be our next family member.

Names? Hu has been stuck on Ranger, I have an issue with the name as one of my foster dogs carried that name, and though it would be a nice way to honor him, I still think each dog should have his own name. That said- if he pushes the matter he'll win- I'm a softie. We did talk about the name Canaan (pronounced Ka-nane) after the Valley in West Virginia. It is a beautiful place, strong and peaceful. If it's a girl, we like Seneca, after Seneca Rock- strong and beautiful.

I'll write again in two weeks!

About us...

About the Humans:
We started the blog to promote the Shiloh Shepherd, a breed in development, then thought it would be helpful to know a little about our human famiy too...
Our family consists of: Chris (me), my son Alex Alex, & my husband Hu Fleming
(note the pic of the cosmo... my drink of choice...) four college-age children who we wish would visit more often, and Alex (pictured with one of our foster dogs two years ago). Alex and I fostered dogs for the Humane Society of Harford County for a long time before the stars aligned and we were able to commit to a dog of our own. We recently moved to PA, Hu works for an engineering company and enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, college football - Go Mountaineers!- and travel (even speaks a bunch of languages...). Alex is a very fun, very smart little boy, almost eight years old- if Alex were a color- he would be yellow like the sunshine. I'm Chris, and love spending time with family and friends, I competed a long time with the horses- though it seems like a long time ago, and have a soft spot for big dogs dogs- obviously...

In the beginning...

We are starting a blog for the newest member of our family, who has just been born (1/8/2007), and has no name....

So much research went into finding just the right breed, the right breeder, and the wait. Our breeder (her link is provided under favorites- Strauss Haus Shepherds) has been so helpful during every stage, that we decided we had enough information to start a page for our new pup even before he (I think it'll be a he...) arrives.

Conception:

11/10/2006: From Jessica: This will be Luna's last litter. After much debate, we decided to give her one more opportunity to add some really awesome dogs to the upcoming Shiloh Breeding stock Luna's first date with Phoenix (by AI) was today. We will meet again on Saturday.

11/12/2006: From Jessica: We had our second "date" with Phoenix yesterday. It was a long trip! My primary vehicle broke down two days ago, so Luna, light pink collar girl, and I left early that morning in my 25 year old, leaky, Chevy Camaro. It was quite a trip! We had to drive to the airport and then through the "flood zone" near the vet's office and luckily the water wasn't over the roadway anymore, cause my lowrider wouldn't have made it!!Light Pink girl made it safely to her new home, and Luna and I made it home before the rain started again. (A good thing, because it rains just as hard inside that car as it does outside...LOL) We got a few laughs on our trip...here is this HUGE white shepherd sitting in the front seat of a camaro!!I feel really good about this "date". Start counting 63 days!!Jessica

Arrival 1/8/07:
Puppies started arriving at about 10:30-10:45 this morning. Looks like the final count is going to be 8!! I just got done poking around her belly and didn't feel any hiders So, we have 4 boys and 4 girls.4 of the puppies are dual's and 4 are sable. The last born has that gorgeous reddish-brown color like (grandma)Goldie. One of the duals I will have to have Ma look at....it looks quite "silvery"! Mama is nursing her babies, and all look healthy. Jessica