domingo, 24 de abril de 2011

New update on Kikko

(Versão portuguesa abaixo)

I haven’t been here for a long time, as I’ve been incredibly busy at my jobs. However, I’ve had people ask me how Kikko was doing, so I guess it’s really time for an update...

 You know that saying “you only appreciate what you no longer have”? Well, in this case the general idea applies, but in reverse.
Over the last couple of months I haven’t had much time to work the dogs as I’d like to so I haven’t even been able to work well on the desensitization to the car noise. However, the question about how things were going got me thinking, specially about the last couple of weeks. And I realized that more and more often, when I arrive home, I think Kikko has “died” ;) – I am able to park and get home without having a choir of out-of-control barking. I also realized that during this time, he has been a lot more controlled on the leash, when I take him to the yard. Instead of continuing trying to “lift off”, when the leash pulls on the collar, he has been able to control himself and not pull – which my arm really appreciated! And when it is time to get home, he no longer starts to eat grass as if he was in a cow herd and there was no tomorrow!
So, overall, I see Kikko’s having a lot more self-control than before!
(Ok, granted, this weekend we’ve been having some set-backs, but my mom’s over for theEaster, so I’m hoping these are due to kikko’s excitement with her here, instead of one of those “2 steps forwards, 1 step back” situations.)
A little over one week ago, his barking went to an apparently totally out of control phase, it was really hard to get him to shut up (usually I just need to tell him to). However, since them there have been days he doesn’t even bark. So I think (or should I say I hope?) we are starting to head towards extinction of the barking due to anxiety…

A large Dachshund male on the left, a small Drever female on the right
Having breed a Dachshund litter and a Drever litter (breeds with the same overall type and similar function) with a 15-days age difference, it was possible to do some interesting comparisons. I know it is a small sample, but then again there are no Drevers in this side of Europe for a better comparison… but it seems to me that, overall, as puppies Drevers tend to be a much more immature than Dachshunds, taking longer to develop certain habits. They have a big difficulty in exerting self-control, they take a long time to house-break… but on the other hand they are also a lot “softer” than dachshunds, with less problems among them and eternal sweethearts! :)

In my Drever females, I’ve noticed that after their first heat they tend to change a lot, behaviorally – they become more extrovert, less shy, more “lady-like”. Kikko’s last sister is in heat right not, so this may be a sign that he is also starting to mature himself. Finally! ;)

(You have no idea what I'm talking about? No problem, just read the first part of the series,the second part of the series and the third part of the series)

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