The Puppies in their new homes....
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Smoothie/Natasha
ChunkyMonkey/Shadow
Sundae/Juno
PeanutButter/Kiska
Pistachio/Kava
ChocolateChip/Max
Jubilee/Dreamer
Rocky/Stryker
Cheesecake/Cheesecake
Superman and Mocha
Natasha (aka Smoothie)
Two things Natasha was not prepped for. The Air Conditioning unit outside (No big Deal) and the TV set. Man did she freak out when I turned on the TV. She's OK now but, could not figure out how to get to the people inside the box. Funny!
If she does not want to go outside for potties, Jack rounds her up and out the door she goes. They sleep together and eat together. Jack's also teaching her about the cats. They hiss, he pushes her away with his nose. - Mark
pics showing how a 11 week old Mal takes down a 6 month old Lab with no problem. She is a devil girl. But we love her to pieces. (note...every picture Mark sent Natasha was on TOP - that lab never had a chance lol!)
Funny thing happened today while I was cleaning the cat's litter boxes. The boxes are in the basement which is one place Jack and Natasha are not allowed. Jack knows this very well already but not the little Devil! There is also a kitty door so the cat's can go thru and we can leave the big shut. While I'm cleaning the boxes normally, Jack sits at the top of the stairs until I'm done. I shut the door but the little Devil can squeeze thru. Jack was very upset about this and yelled at Natasha until she stayed out. As I'm cleaning the boxes I can hear Jack just talking away to Natasha. She was being very stubborn so I went to see what she was doing. Jack sticks his head thru the kitty door so Natasha could not get thru all the while talking to her, telling her, there's no way you are getting down here and that's final.
He respects our decision and is making dam sure she respects it also.
It's fun to watch Jack play with her outside. He starts running and when Natasha can not keep up, he slows down until she can. He looks back as to say, hurry up slow poke. You can throw a tennis ball, which Jack gets first every time, but after making her chase him, he gives the ball to her every time. -Mark
Then today I'm going upstairs to get ready for work and Natasha wanted water because her bowl was empty. I told her in a few minutes I'll fill your water. She normally drinks from the toilet like Jack taught her. I'm upstairs when I hear all this noise. I went to look down the stairs and here's Natasha bringing her stainless water bowl upstairs and drops it at my feet. Think she's telling me something!!
She loves to grab my remote controls and put them on the floor just so I have to look for them. Jack and I had fun today with the cats. Two of them were on our bed sleeping when Natasha kept trying to jump on the bed. Jack warned her many times not to do this. All of a sudden you hear two thuds on the floor. I sprung off my bathroom throne to see what was all the clatter! When I see two pissed off cats who are a little more fatter! One has Natasha around the neck while the other one grabs her tail! She lets out a scream and high tails it out of the bedroom, never looking back to see what attacked her! Hilarious!! - Mark 7/10
4th of July Pics 11 wk puppy pins 6 month old Lab
Shadow (aka Chunky Monkey)
They are actually doing quite well - much better than I thought they would be this early on. Koani is already being protective of him in the back yard with the neighboring dogs at the fence - but not aggressively protective - just when he is a little scared, letting him stand under her chest while saying hello. She also has taught him how to use the doggie door already - don't know if that is a good thing quite yet... Di
Now about screaming - OMG - we went to the grocery today - first time he has been left alone in the house (well, Koani was here). He hasn't been doing all that well with the crate training during the day - bedtime is OK - so we have been practicing leaving him in the den (tile floor with ALL computer cords securely tacked up and out of any access to him) with a baby gate in the door way. Well, he has done OK when he is in here with me while I am working on the computer and then when he falls asleep, I leave him in here. He cries when he wakes up and we tell him he is OK and wait until he settles down to let him out. Today we took them on a pretty long walk, came home and put him in the den. He fell asleep and when I put the baby gate up he was fast asleep and didn't even know it. We figured he would be out for a couple of hours so we went to the grocery store. HOLY SHIT - when we got back, we could hear the blood curdling screams from the driveway. Our neighbors pool cleaning person was at her house and she went in and told our neighbor that she was afraid someone in the house next door was abusing a dog because she could hear it screaming and crying so much. Our neighbor, Diane, just laughed and figured that we had left him alone - she knew he had not been without one or the other of us at home yet. Poor little guy - I felt so bad - I rushed in the house - left the groceries in the car - and picked him up to calm him down. He HATES - I mean HATES being confined!! I remember Koani being like that when she was a baby, but she had Hunter to cuddle with - he never snarled or growled at her one time - not from day one.
Mister Southern Exposure has been sleeping now for about 4 hours this afternoon. We had a very busy morning with a LOT of playing - Koani and Shadow were actually playing and chasing for a long time - and then a nice long walk. It was great to see her being so nice with him. I just have to watch her because if she whaps him one with her big 'ole paws, he cries like a baby (which he is...) But, I sure wish he would sleep that long through the night... He still gets me up at least twice during the night to go out and piddle - then right back to bed. But, I guess I would rather have him wake me than not...
Shadow has been a REALLY WILD CHILD all evening - Mr. Sassy, grabby, bitey Boy. Koani still snarls at him when he gets under her skin - and he knows to back off. I still yell at both of them - her for snarling and showing teeth and him to leave her alone - but I have been trying to just monitor it and let them work it out. One time I thought she actually snapped at him, but what she did was put her mouth over his and just kind of held him there for a second. She didn't clamp down and he didn't cry - he just froze and then backed off - then went over to nuzzle and say he was sorry. It still scares me sometimes, though. (Cindy's note: that's what Mom Jazzy would do too)
Kava (aka Pistachio)
We put the crate up and put his towel in it and he immediately relaxed and went into the crate. We think he sees it as a safe spot. He got pretty bold pretty quickly and came out, but if anything unexpected happens he runs back into the crate :) He came out to eat, and then went back into the crate. He came out and got a drink...and went back into the crate. Eventually he started wandering around the kitchen without going back to the crate immediately. Not bad progress for the day!
He's gone out to pee and poop, although he did pee on a rug we left by the back door (near his crate). We are having a bit of trouble letting him outside. We've got the xpen set up outside the back door so that he can go out and do his thing without having us always watching, but he doesn't like the two steps outside. He can come in fine, but he wont go out himself.
All in all I think he's been a tough but good day for him. He's been moping a bit, but he was also energetic and wanted to play with us. - Kris
We had a major step today in overcoming his shyness. I'm not sure if it was just today that he was feeling bold or if he's getting more comfortable, however we took him to get his dog days (registration) and he was pretty comfortable despite having some traffic around. Later I took him for a short walk to see some of the birds at the storm water pond across from our house; He dragged me along as he chased after a Killdeer. He's been getting more and more curious about the robins and grackles that land in our backyard from time to time. Finally, the neighbour's kids (3 young girls) were out playing on the swing set and they wanted to meet him. I said he's really shy, but much to my shock he was curious about them. They were able to feed him treats and pet him, and it wasn't until all three came at him that he got a little nervous; no shaking at all however, so that's a really big step.
He's becoming more vocal, and when he's really excited if I run around with him in the house he actually barks at me. :) He's a real stubborn one though (as I'm sure most Malamutes are). He likes to poke his noise into whatever you are doing (or eating!) and he doesn't like the word "no" much :)
7/8/08 Things have really come a long way. Kava is completely comfortable on our main floor and in the yard now. For a while he was afraid of the bathroom and laundry room (we have mostly kept the doors closed since there are things he could get into: paper products etc). He will venture into the bathroom and laundry room now if we leave the doors open. He was even willing to follow me up to the landing on the stairs to the second floor yesterday. So far we have been keeping him on the main floor since it has no carpet and the second floor is all carpet. We have been sleeping on the main floor with him rather than bringing his crate to our room. This way we are closer to the door for early morning potty call too :) Speaking of which, potty training has been going very well. No accidents since Friday (fingers crossed that this continues). Occasionally he has to be reminded to go out, but he is usually asking to go out when he needs to.
We had a busy weekend. Saturday morning we took Kava with us to do our shopping. I sat outside with Kava at the deli where almost everyone who went in stopped to say hello. We even met one person who recognised he was a Malamute! Kava was good with all of the attention and only tried to hide once when someone rode up on a bicycle. After the deli we took Kava to the market, he and I sat in the shade at the edge to watch the bustle while Kris did our shopping. Kava was great, it might have helped that he was pretty tired as he just lay quietly beside me. We had a few visitors to see him which he accepted quite well. As we were walking up to the market we passed a bernese mountain dog, we paused briefly to say hello and Kava didn't mind him in the least. We were pretty surprised since he's been afraid of most of the dogs we've seen around our neighbourhood. I can only guess that he was used to seeing big dogs and most of the other dogs around here are small/medium.
Saturday afternoon Kris' parents visited with their ten year old chow/boarder collie Zeus. Kava kept wanting Zeus to play and Zeus didn't want any part of it. Zeus would growl and turn away from Kava and Kava would walk up and start mouthing off at Zeus.
Thursday Kava will have his first half day home alone when I go back to work. Today I put him in the crate with a toy for his afternoon nap and I took a book out to the front porch to give him some practice being left alone. He cried for about two or three minutes and then settled down to sleep (I cheated and I snuck around back and peeked in the window to check on him). After about an hour he woke up and started crying and howling again. I left him for 5-10 minutes hoping he would settle down again, but he didn't seem to be letting up. I waited for a lull and then went into the house and let him out. I'll try again tomorrow. --Jen
Max the Defoliator (aka Chip and Now Dawson)
Boy has it been a busy day! Here is a new nickname: Max Defoliator. Die petunia die! Time to move the planters... Another one: Tree-boy (he is hilarious... I will send you pictures of him in his spruce tree) plus he managed to find one still-gooey spot of green paint and got a dime-sized smear on one elbow. Washing and brushing lightened the color to a sort of minty green so now he is Mint Chocolate Chip. I have also discovered the Law of Telephones: the minute you answer an important phone call, the puppy pees on the floor.
He did ok with me sleeping on the couch next to his x-pen. He whined a lot last night because he was lonely and then again this morning (not sure why... I think he might have been bored and wanted to go outside.) He has been in and out of his crate (I have not shut the door yet) but likes to sleep on the floor on his potty towel, even though it was a new one and not the one from home (he already pooped on that one). Peeing outside is going very well, however he seems to prefer pooping inside. I have begun removing all fringes from his sight, because he loves stringy things. I should have known when you told me about the tags. Max and the cat are getting along surprisingly well – there has only been one little hissing incident and Max went flat on the floor and laid his head down – I guess the cat won that time! Jill
Max is apparently allergic to food containing wheat or soy products. He is also a really picky eater.
Our vet recommended Science Diet Lamb and Rice. Max ate that for one day and then decided he didn't like it! I then visited our specialty pet store (the only one in town) and they discussed a lot of the disadvantages of large company commercially produced dog foods. They don't carry any of the big name brands except for Science Diet and Innova. It is remarkable to learn the variety of conflicting opinions on this topic.
Because of all of the differing information I kept getting from various sources, I did some research on Malamute nutrition and food appropriate for large breeds. It is too bad that Max did not like the Solid Gold dog food, because it seemed like a really good option, but the food trials even showed that a lot of dogs just don't like the taste and will not eat much of it.
The only way I could get Max to eat it was to stuff his Kong toy with it!
The food I am using now is Nature's Variety Prairie Lamb Meal and Oatmeal medley. It is a bit higher than I would like for the calcium (about 1.8%) but it does have the 1.4:1 ratio of Calcium to Phosphorus, unlike a lot of the other dog foods I looked at which were closer to 1:1 or in one case 2:1.
This food follows the AAFCO guidelines for balanced nutrition at all life stages and has 26% protein content, which is supposed to be ok considering that the meat ingredient (lamb) is in the form of dry meal. The food also contains a zinc supplement which should help with the skin issue. Max seems to love this food and he has stopped scratching and biting at himself the way he was when he first got home. I would hate to change his food again so soon when he is finally eating normally (he finishes his whole meal when I give it to him rather than playing with the kibble all over the floor). What is really interesting is that once I figured out the food problem, Max started sleeping peacefully in his crate every night (except he still wakes up to pee, of course!). He must have felt miserable!
I don't know if anyone else is experiencing any of these issues but if they are, they can email me if they are interested in what I have learned. Hope things are going well. --Jill
(Cindy's note: there was no wheat or soy in the food we were feeding. Main ingredients are chicken, corn, rice and brewer's yeast. So I think Jill is on to something. Gotta get the forum going!)
After we talked this AM Max decided it was a day to be a little angel. I had a meeting at my house this morning and he greeted my colleagues politely and then went to sleep for about 2-1/2 hours (probably since he spent the night screaming and peeing in his crate!). We went for several walks today and he is great on the leash. Of course I am sure my neighbors are convinced I am absolutely nuts because I keep walking in circles and reversing directions when he gets stubborn and pulls. On a couple of our walks we went to our small pond. Max's favorite game is to leap into the tall grass (taller than he is) and get a case of the crazies rolling in the grass and clover. I have to really watch him too, because he likes to eat bugs (eew) and the clover attracts lots of bees!
The best part of the day was when we took him to meet some friends. They have four LARGE dogs. ...He got to come out and meet a 12-year old golden retriever and a 1-year old german short hair. There was the very beginning of a growl, but a simple "no" nipped it in the bud. When Max tried to hide behind Jack, Jack just got up and moved... Saying "you're on your own!" Then there was lots of sniffing, and some playing. After that Max got to meet a flock of chickens (through a fence, or he would have had another meal!). Jill 7/10
TreeMax
PoolMax
HouseMax (still waiting for Remax and OfficeMax....;-)
Max returns and becomes Dawson - in his new home.....
All seems to be going well!! Shelby and Dawson run through the yard, play and wrestle. Sometimes I think Shelby is alittle rough, but I keep an eye on them. It makes me nervous that Shelby can put her mouth over his entire neck. But I monitor the playtime. You can tell Dawson is getting more comfortable in his new home, as he is starting to get alittle more "naughty". He can fit through the fence around my flower bed. Last weekend he got in there and destroyed my lillies and another plant, plus dug a little hole in the flower bed. Hopefully soon he will be big enough to not squeeze through that fence! My Dad got the 1/2 door up between my kitchen and dining room. That will work out well. Although, he can fit through the cat hole my Dad cut in the bottom of it. It couldn't really be much smaller because of one of my big cats. So I have to put an addl babygate in front of the door. A smaller hole was cut out of the babygate, so the cats can still get through, but Dawson can't. So like the fence around the flower bed, he won't be able to get through it for much longer. I believe his separation anxiety is better than it was the 1st week. He doesn't whine as much when I leave. The 1st week when I would leave for work, I could hear him as I was backing out of the driveway. When I leave now, I don't hear him. So I think he is relaxing alittle more. He gets sooooo excited when I come home for lunch and at the end of the day. Like he hasn't seen me in years or something. He goes insane! oh yeah, Dawson is drinking and eating just fine. His stools have been good too. - Caren
Kiska (aka Peanut Butter)
Kiska was a real trooper in the car (all 16 hours). She played in her crate and in the back seat. We made a bunch of stops at rest areas and everyone asked about the beautiful (good breeding!) little husky - I educated them. :-) We met a man who owned two mals he got from some Eskimos while living in Alaska. He took one look at her eyes and said "yep, that's a mal!" We managed to stop at the Texas state line so we could get her "welcome to Texas" picture. Too bad it was 9:30 at night - the pictures are too dark! When we got home, we walked around the kitchen and living room (her areas for right now) and she sniffed everything. Something visibly "clicked" in her head and she knew this was her house. I took off her leash and she literally ran laps around the house - kitchen, living room, kitchen, living room - barking and jumping for 30 minutes.
Kiska likes to hang out in her crate, but as I suspected, prefers sleeping on the tile in the kitchen. She has been absolutely great walking on the leash. She comes to me to put it on her and doesn't pull when we walk. Amazing! She has been great about pooping outside - no accidents at all. When we use the leash, she pees within the first 5 minutes - must have been the "rest stop" training. The only problem we are having is in the house - the carpet seems to confuse her. She thinks the entire living room is one large pee towel. ...She cries if the baby gates are up and the two of us are on opposite sides of them, but she's fine if the gates are down.
I cannot thank you enough for pairing me with this sweet little angel. We've already bonded, and I expect we have many good years ahead of us!
Dad and I took Kiska to the local community band July 4th Concert in the park. She was an angel! She walked quite a ways from the parking lot to the park and saw tons of people and heard lots of loud noises. She did great! She sat on a blanket in the shade for 90 minutes and listened to the concert. She drank water, ate snacks, and watched people and cars come and go. She never fussed and she never barked or howled. She shifted position a couple of times, but otherwise never moved! Kiska wasn’t fond of the applause, but treated it as any loud noise – she looked around and went back to what she was doing. Strangers petted and talked to her. One lady even knew she was a Malamute! She was cute in the car. She was so tired (missed her evening nap) that she curled up on Dad's lap and once we got going, her eyes closed and she passed out. Poor baby was exhausted!
Juno (aka Sundae)
She is finally adjusting to us and the neighborhood. Juno and I have been taking morning and evening walks together through the sub and I've noticed that she is carrying her tail higher, which I'm at least taking as a sign of confidence. We have been expanding our territory over the past few days and I have been trying to tire her out, which usually means I'm the one who is tired. I finally found a dry day and some time to mow my lawn, so it was her first exposure to the Tractor. Zan stayed with her and I made several passes, so by the end she seemed pretty used to it. We have also exposed her to the "Ride" in the car. She handled it like a champ! I had a request from Zan's office-mates and our Administrative Assistant for a visit, so Juno and I headed to Ann Arbor. She is quite the celebrity and I only hope it doesn't go to her head. Between that and meeting some of the neighborhood dogs we are exposing her to more and more. We also found out that she can be quite the speed demon - she picks-up one of her squeaky's or the rope bone and proceeds to run full tilt from the family room to the TV in the living room and then makes a figure-8. Maybe we have an Iditarod Champ in the making LOL. We also found she has a foot fetish - attacking toes if we are barefoot. she licks and bites them, which we are working to correct.
I have a new appreciation for what you have been through with 11 puppies. Over the past few days, I have not had much sleep. Well, after 4 nights, we finally got Juno to sleep the whole night in her crate! She only whimpered a couple of times, but it was short. The secret was Hot Dogs! I shut her in the crate and waited for a while. then gave her a little piece of Hot Dog. Then increased the time between. We still have more training to do, but she is very smart. Next stop - the Breezeway and curing the separation anxiety.
We are still trying to get the potty training thing down, but with limited success. Most of the time she hits the towel we put down, but there are times when we take her out and wait, but nothing happens. She comes back in and pees on the rug! We grumble and clean it up. Poop is pretty much hit or miss too.
Dreamer (aka Cherries Jubilee)
Dreamer is living up to her name - she truly is a dream (with a few normal challenges). So far she rides well in the travel crate. We stopped at the pet store for the leash and poop scoop. Mike carried her and she christened the store with proper vomit that covered the whole isle side to side. She loves her fenced space where we can all run, and we actually saw the beginnings of a "wild dog" run, when her butt starts to pass her front paws. We found out the water bowl we had was a little too large when we saw her trying to put all four paws inside. We figured that was a good time to fill up the kiddie pool. Hot sunny day but at this early stage Dreamer wanted to sit under my chair watching Sophia play. Heaven forbid she can't see all of us - she'll set into a mournful howl.
She is eating at the 3 times we do, which is great. Walking on the leash like a pro when it is just the three of us. Last night on our block and today a walk to the bank (she was welcomed inside with oows and aahhs and of course treats). However, when we went to the local park I had to carry her because it was to overwhelming, but she sat nicely with me will Mike and Sophia played and even enjoyed the attention of a few families. First night sleep a bit rough but hoping after a slightly active day that tonight might be better. After much mourning howling and scraping she would calm down when Mike let her sleep on the floor by his side of the bed. The crying would begin if his hand should leave her head and she also had to sleep on some of his clothing.
All is well so far with the cats... After brushing Dreamer she rested next to Sophia and the moment Legend came to sit on my lap Dreamer got up to get in between. I placed Dreamer next to me and let Legend stay on my lap - Dreamer responded by giving Legends ear and face a thorough licking. Legend stayed for the whole ordeal and refused to leave during as if to say "I'm only leaving because I'm done sitting not because you cleaned by ear and face with your gigantic puppy tongue".
She is the most calm, beautiful dog. She really is bringing a little extra joy to our family. - Kate
Stryker (aka Rocky Road)
We just got back from Muskegon a few hours ago! Stryker had a busy first day and did VERY well. He went to a fish fry and met my brothers dog Diesel, but he pretty much slept under the picnic table the whole time we were there. Then we went to my sisters's and het met her dog Dexter and Grandma's (My mom's) dog Zannie. He got to experience a fire pit and he loved laying out in the dirt and grass by the fire, in fact he was didn't want to go when it was time to leave. We slept at Grandma's house and he loved it there. We put up the kennel and he went right in 
and laid done, fell asleep and slept through the entire night until 7am, went outside and pooped and peed. We spent the day today hanging out at Grandma's and playing with Zannie, no accidents in the house. He has had a couple accidents since we got home.....I think he thinks all the rug is one giant towel!! We went for a walk and he did really good on the leash. He got to meet the grandkids tonight and is a little shy of them, but they are all sitting in the living room relaxing right now!
We are all doing great and he fits right into the family, so thank so much for picking him for us!!! We will keep you posted and will send pics of our adventures!! - Beth 7/18/08
Cheesecake (aka Cheesecake)
Cheese goes home the end of the month (until then she's helping Superman and Mocha ravage our house!)
Superman and Mocha
They're here now, and always will be! Holly has been teaching them the "tug game" tonight - a game she taught her own puppies. She grabs a toy and shows them how to play "tug" with it. Funny how every mom has her own parenting style (just like people!). Jazzy likes to race around and play pin the puppy, while Holly teaches them to play tug. She's having a blast playing with the two grandkids! Holly says she hasn't had this much fun in a long time. She looked SO happy!
Mocha is a little mouth. She's found if she "yells" it gets our attention so looks like I have something new to work on. She's doing great with crate training though! Superman has been having issues with his crate at night - whimpering and crying to come out - but when he does he thinks it's playtime instead of pottytime. Fortunately, nothing loud, just some heart-rending crying that is harder on us than him. Potty training is not going well at all. With 4, it's almost impossible but I'm trying anyway - gotta start somewhere! If I don't put a towel down, they go where they please so at least with the towel I have an idea of where to look when to shoo them outside and don't find any surprise puddles.
Today I moved everyone (Riggs, Mula, Jazzy and all 4 puppies) back into the "welping room". They are going to get crate trained and potty trained somehow! There's a lot of tension right now between Mula, Jazz and Riggs - Jazz believes they can do no wrong (except when they bug her) and gets on Mula's case for getting grouchy with the puppies. Riggs not as much. So until it sorts out this will be interesting. I live in a gated community for now - gates on every doorway and even in the hall....Gracie gets her spot back and so does Holly...so now Pod is yelling at Holly....anytime you do something like this it disrupts the status quo....
I'm trying to get Riggs to help me take them out to potty but it kind of backfires - they see him pee and want to stand UNDER him...not exactly the plan I had in mind. Then he gets frustrated because they gang up on him and he can't do his poop (takes a lot of concentration you know!)....I think the only one that's actually getting the idea is Rocky (at least today). Seems like it rotates - one day one will do well, then it all falls apart the next day, next day another one will get it and so on...I think this is going to take awhile lol~...
Today was a day of destruction...they ate a printer cord, peed everywhere (like hello....towel or preferably outside????), tried to eat some hornets who are nesting on the porch, and then when I tried to cut Superman's nails he threw the biggest hissy fit I've ever seen. Took both of us to hold him down to trim his feet and finish the nails. So it was brat day. Maybe they're missing Rocky? 7/13/08
