Sunday, April 10, 2011

Deliver us from temptation

Today I got to go see a 16 month old akita puppy named Kaeda. She had been taken back by the breeder when she didn't work out in her new home. (Sidenote: a breeder who takes their puppies back is one of the signs of a GOOD breeder!) They wanted me to evaluate her to see if what kind of home would be the best match for her because of her bounce back, and to ask about some behaviors she has been offering since being back with them. She is fabulous. She needs a little work on some basic house manners, and she needs to learn mouthing people is NOT appropriate play, but overall I was super impressed. She is very social and sweet and has wonderful focus. I could see her in an obedience ring with no problems. Or any dog sport for that matter, she loves to work! Now I do admit I have a thing for akitas. One was my "gateway" dog so to speak. So getting to work with a smart, motivated and stunning akita that needs a new home was very tempting for me. I could do a third dog. I've had 2 akitas in the house before. My biggest holdback right now is Jenny. Besides trying to get her skin sorted out, she is also a bit of a brat. Jack is happy to be bossed around by her but having a female akita in the house might be a tipping point. I have no doubt I could handle it but should I? In the words of a trainer friend "Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should". (Thanks Nancy!)
(That's her handsome daddy Ziggy on the left.) So I came home and called someone I had on my list of people looking for an akita. They sound like a great match. I hope it works out for everyone. If only to keep me safe from my own temptation!

4 comments:

jen said...

she is gorgeous! i'd have a hard time passing her by.

and yay for breeders who take back their dogs!!!!

dog whining said...

Wow that is great in two ways. First that the breeder would be willing to put the dog first and that the people who that the dog recognized that it was not in the best interest of the dog for them to keep it. If more people were this mindful of their animals that would be fantastic.

CoffeeDrinker said...

Hi,

That is a gorgeous dog. I myself am trying to start professionally training dogs. My blog is about me and Shih Tzu trying to get ready for the canine good citizen test. Any advice would be wonderful.

Marie said...

Hi Coffee Drinker,

My advice is to read as many books as possible on dog behavior, go to as many behavior and training seminars as possible, watch all the videos you can and volunteer at your local shelter walking dogs. For a start. :-)

For videos you can start with Kikopup on Youtube and for books and videos I love www.dogwise.com But I checked out your blog. You seem to have made a great start. Clicker training rocks! Thanks for reading!