Whoop! Whoop! New puppy alert!!!! (Malinois) General Chat

I'm as pleased as Punch with her. She has the potential to be the bombproof GSD I want her to be. She's quite a feisty little madam too and has Ollie wrapped around her little finger. He absolutely adores her and is letting her get away with murder.

Thank you. Yes she certainly is gorgeous.

I gave Tia a chicken wing for tea and didn't expect her to make much progress. Ollie watched from a polite distance hoping she would give up...but no, she ate the whole thing although it did take 20 minutes.

I really hope she does turn out to be that bombproof shepherd (she is certainly showing all the right signs). Zak is my first totally bombproof shepherd and he is an absolute pleasure to own, have around and to show off

I've just caught up on all your adventures first choosing a breed and then finding a puppy and her settling in - so great to read about a good breeder and a puppy who is on her way to being bombproof Well done with her, she's gorgeous

Thank you. It was a bit of a roller coaster until I knew for sure I could have her. Now she's here she's just amazing. The more I throw at her the better she gets.

Today we went to a puppy party at the vet's. There was a completely mad chocolate Lab, a feisty Parson Russell and a very small quiet Border Terrier. When we put them all on the ground the Lab and PR went beserk tearing around like loons. The BT decided would stay on his owner's lap to begin with. Tia decided to sit under my seat and take stock. After 5 minutes she came out and played very nicely but was completely outclassed by the mad Lab. The Lab was heavier and stronger and Tia kept ending up pinned on the floor, so I kept pulling the Lab off. Tia went back for more though every time. This video shows Tia playing with the Lab but using the desk and a row of seats for cover. You will also notice who ends up in the water bowl. ;-)

I have exchanged phone numbers with the owners of the Lab and PR so they can meet up and play again. In the meantime Tia is going to join the gym and start working out.

Here are some stills

Tia has a date with the Parson Russell Terrier on Monday morning. She needs a bit more time to limber up before a rematch with the Lab.

We have been practicing walking in the garden with the house line attached to Tia's harness and she's getting really good at it. We just went for a very short stroll along our road to make sure we've got the hang of it before our puppy socialisation class tomorrow. We sat on the wide grass bank outside my house for a while watching the world pass by. Then we went for a 10 minute wander and she was totally unbothered by traffic or cyclists. She trotted along beside me, stopping for a sniff occasionally. Such a good girl!!

And she's had her nails clipped and ears cleaned so she's looking her best tomorrow. ;-)

Tia and I get went for another 10 minute stroll along the road and saw a woman being dragged towards us by an adolescent Golden Retriever. "Come and play with the puppy" I hear her saying. Errrrrrrm no. I explained that only small puppies and carefully selected adults were coming anywhere near her and she just didn't get it. "She needs to meet other dogs" I'm advised. Good grief, the world is full of numpties. She will be meeting plenty of other dogs her size/age over the next few months.

Tia went to Puppy Pre-school Socialisation this morning which went very well. It was partly in a grassy paddock and partly indoors in a training room. Tia was very confident with the instructors and other owners, in fact she would approach them and introduce herself. She was initially quite reserved with the other puppies but after about 5 minutes was happily greeting them all. They were a very calm bunch of puppies overall, although that will probably change next week. I fell for the sales pitch and bought (another) interactive food dispensing toy. I'm building up quite a toy library, but I have two friends with puppies to loan them out to.

All still going swimmingly then I see Perfick!

Loved the puppy party video - that Lab really was rather boisterous Tia could handle it though

She is coming on a treat and will no doubt be another ambassador for our wonderful breed.

I have had two brilliant weeks with her. Sadly I have to go back to work next Tuesday so she will be left in the care of my OH, who is perfectly capable but works from home so won't have so much time to do so much stuff with her. She's just fabulous, she lies on my lap quietly whilst I clean her ears, poke around in her mouth, clip her nails and brush her. She's totally at ease with strangers, whether they are men women or kids. She's very polite to other dogs and puppies and likes to take stock before rushing in. She takes herself outside for all her poos and wees if the door is open. Her recall is virtually 100%. She's crate trained and doesn't mind being left alone whilst I take the other dogs out as OH doesn't always work in the kitchen where her crate is. She eats whatever it given to her, raw or kibble but she does prefer her kibble not soaked. She sleeps through the night other than when I take her out for a poo and wee at 4.45am. She doesn't make a fuss about my son eating his breakfast before early turn at 5am as he just ignores her so she goes back to sleep. You can't ask for more from a puppy. It's going to be really hard going back to work. :-(

Here is a picture of the boys testing out the new toy. Dusty couldn't be bothered with it but Ollie had it emptied in 15 minutes. If you look carefully you can see Tia in the corner of her crate wrestling her tea out of a Kong.

And here she is doing what she does best...pushing her luck with Ollie and getting away with it. "How about if I put my nose ON your chew?"

Oh no - going back to work will be soooooo difficult. It is great OH is at home to keep her company and do bits with her, but it isn't a substitute for doing it all yourself. You will have to console yourself with the fact that she is such a dream pup that she won't suffer at all from having a bit less done with her on a daily basis.

I love the photo of her pushing her luck with Ollie. He really must like her

I work shifts so I'll still spend a lot of time with her, just not as much as over the past 2 weeks. But she's got her beloved Ollie (who absolutely adores her) and my OH for company. Dusty is still doing his best to ignore her, although he was seriously told off yesterday by Ollie for being mean to her.

Here's a short clip of Tia with the new toy in her crate. It's supposed to develop the problem solving part of her brain rather than the emotional part. She gets quite cross with it and bites it and flings it around her crate, which does tip a few bits out. The problem solving part needs a bit more work.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi6jVVL-78A

Tia has been pushing her luck with Dusty my Springer who is either a total wimp or an aggressive bully with submissive dogs. Tia is not a shrinking violet and has been walking up to him and (very politely) taking chews off him, which I don't want her doing. So I decided I would not help Dusty out unless he made an effort to help himself.

Dusty had a chew and Tia wandered up to him very politely intending to take it off him. He gave a tiny growl which she ignored so I praised him and took hold of her harness and propelled her away from him. A few minutes later she walked over to him again and he gave a slightly louder growl so I praised him again and propelled her away from him. The third time he gave an ear splitting snarl and lunged at her and snapped. He then lay there growling at her. A total over reaction really but I praised him as it had the desired effect and I didn't need to move her away. She then slunk away and lay down by my feet. Hopefully Dusty will continue to apply his new found confidence.