Having grown up with German Shepherds, I always was a fancier of that
breed. However, I didn't like the looks, health and temperament of the
modern day shepherds, and I moved on to a different breed.
Well - that is, until I met Elvis, Tessa's dad. The rest is history, as
they say.
I was so impressed with his character and temperament, and when I found
out that he was going to be a father, I got all excited about the prospect
of owning a Shiloh Shepherd of my own. Did I mention, that Elvis is quite
handsome, too?
I immediately checked out Skye, the mom-to-be
of that litter, and I liked what I saw. She is a very pretty girl, and
I had a good feeling about her. I contacted Gloria and she found me 'worthy' to
own one of her pups, and so the long wait began. Let me tell you - eight
weeks can be a long, long time, but we've all been there, right?
In the end, I had to decide between three gorgeous puppy-girls, and the
decision was not an easy one to make. I picked Tessa, because she came
running up to me every time I called her.
So Tessa moved in with us. It took her about two days to adjust, and her
curiosity won over her fear of all the new things she all in a sudden had
to encounter. She loves to be a little drama-queen at times, but forgets
all about the drama after a few minutes.......... What a clown !
She quickly made friends with her new "brother" Daytona, who
was not quite sure how to handle this little whiny fluff ball. He put up
a brave face and decided to be a good boy, no matter how much she was bouncing
on him and perforating his floppy lips with those pointy, little shark
teeth of hers. He also taught her that being a little brat doesn't get
her anywhere and she respects him tremendously. Well, looking at this
behemoth of a dog, who wouldn't? BTW: On day two with us, her ears
went up and have been up ever since. Wow ! Also, I had to take her out
the first night and from then on she slept from 10pm until 6am. GOTTA
LOVE HER !!
Tessa
enjoys meeting people and every other day I take her to the school bus
stop to pick up the neighbor kids. They love her and enjoy running and
playing with her. Quite the wild scene! On her second day with us, we
took the first trip to the local nursing home. Daddy Elvis came along for
support and this visit was a first for both of them. They were a huge
success with the resident, and everybody enjoyed petting them.
I am very confident that Tessa will be a wonderful therapy dog. We've been
visiting the nursing home a couple of times now, and she is just a doll.
When she gets tired from being cuddled, she will lay down and
go to sleep. I just love her disposition - she is cautious, but inquisitive,
and quite the little talker too.
The first vet-visit she spent on top of the treatment table with a pile
of dog-treats in front of her. While she was munching away, the vet examined
her, took her temperature, cut her toe-nails and gave her two shots. She
never even looked up!!
We have started puppy-class. Yeah !! She is being trained using the "Animal
Learn Method", which endorses positive reinforcement only. (Jean Donaldson,
Ian Dunbar, Pat Miller) Tessa walks now fairly nice on a leash, is a 100% housebroken,
knows a few commands, and loves to learn new things. She is the teacher's pet
and gets to demonstrate to the other pups how things are done, and she also gets
to show the timid puppies not to be afraid of the bigger ones, by being very
sweet and gentle with them. Her paw is about as big as the head of the Yorkie-puppy
we met in class, but they made friends very quickly, and the little Yorkie is
not afraid of her anymore.
She has been with us since October, 15, 2005, and it feels as if she has always
been a part of the family. She fits right in and I can't wait until I can take
her for longer walks in the woods and do more things with her. (She hasn't received
her rabies shot yet, and I don't want to take the risk, plus she's still too
young for hiking. )
I plan to have her certified as a therapy dog and maybe later on as a therapy
dog for disaster stress relief, which is a bit more demanding. Also, I will continue
obedience training and eventually may start some rally obedience with her. She
is really fun to work with and we will be approaching the "let's-test-mom" phase
soon. Normal puppy-development and nothing to worry about. Tessa is definitely
a keeper, I think I'm getting hooked on Shilohs. (Love you, Daytona !!)
Thank you Skye, thank you Elvis - that doggy-marriage sure gave us a
wonderful fur-kid.
--Sabine Arndt-Coutinho,
12/08/05
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