You may know it - it's been planned for a long time - that vacation with the family, without your dog children.
Immediately thoughts like "Who is even qualified enough to look after my dogs?" - "CAN anyone even look after them like me?" - "Maybe a holiday without a dog isn't for me" come to mind...
But, I was going on a skiing holiday, and not just any skiing holiday. Our first holiday together as lovers. I had to get along, because even though I love my dogs, I also love the one who enriches my life every single day, on two legs.
Funny enough, you would think that it was the Malinois that was the hardest to find a foster for. A special breed with needs and temperament that is not for everyone. But, the Pirate's breeder is a star and she has had Olli stay overnight before, so she took her for me. So the Pirate's father and brother had to live with the space-invading Olli for almost 10 days.
It went beyond all expectations. Olli smashed a fair number of teddy bears every day - to show what happens to naughty Permand charmers aka PellePirat's father, who like to talk about teddy bears in front of the ladies. On the last day, however, Permand had to interrupt Olli's smashing of teddy bears - perhaps he was tired of all his winning teddy bears from his heyday in the show ring all over the world.
The only thing Olli was unhappy about was that the Breeder had not read the instructions from the dog's mother... LOCK ME IN NOW!!!! I can still see you standing in the kitchen, Breeder!!
The Pirate was offered to be looked after by one of my students. And My, the small, tough French bulldog. It went quite well after Carina had learned to speak Pirate, My tried to speak Tibetan and the Pirate tried to speak French.
The Pirate is not an easy dog to take care of. Although he is sweet, funny and loving. He is also really unsure of other dogs right now, he was upset for a day, he shows resourcefulness towards people (like biting due to many changes in his life) and he has an energy level both physically and mentally that can drive any experienced dog handler crazy.
But, Carina handled him with the loving and firm hand that he needs. He was allowed to lie on the sofa and cuddle. He has learned to "play" dog games (and got so excited that he even stood and looked up at them in the living room when he thought it was playtime). He has gone on long walks, chased ducks, bathed, been cuddled on the sofa and he and My figured out how to play in a way that they could both join in. And even though he wasn't entirely on board with the idea of having a French bulldog lying on top of his fur this time, I wonder if it will be OK next time?
Both dogs are welcome back with their respective extra mamas. I'm personally happy about that. Good dog sitters are what we need. So we can have a vacation with the people we love. .... We have talked about taking a summer vacation with hiking, where the dogs can come along ;) Shit, I'm a terrible dog mom... Those dogs mean EVERYTHING.
Behind the scenes of this week's blogger:
Tina Hougaard is a trained dog trainer, currently training to become a behavior therapist and is passionate about training, especially Nose Work, and runs PowerDog. She is the happy owner of the beautiful and cheeky Tibetan Terrier Pilou aka PellePirat, with whom she trains obedience, tricks and Nose Work.
Olli is the newest member of the house. A Malinois bitch who will hopefully also step her beautiful paws into LP, tricks and Nose Work.
Where and how do you actually leave your puppy puppies for care?
You may know it - it's been planned for a long time - that vacation with the family, without your dog children.
Immediately thoughts like "Who is even qualified enough to look after my dogs?" - "CAN anyone even look after them like me?" - "Maybe a holiday without a dog isn't for me" come to mind...
But, I was going on a skiing holiday, and not just any skiing holiday. Our first holiday together as lovers. I had to get along, because even though I love my dogs, I also love the one who enriches my life every single day, on two legs.
Funny enough, you would think that it was the Malinois that was the hardest to find a foster for. A special breed with needs and temperament that is not for everyone. But, the Pirate's breeder is a star and she has had Olli stay overnight before, so she took her for me. So the Pirate's father and brother had to live with the space-invading Olli for almost 10 days.
It went beyond all expectations. Olli smashed a fair number of teddy bears every day - to show what happens to naughty Permand charmers aka PellePirat's father, who like to talk about teddy bears in front of the ladies. On the last day, however, Permand had to interrupt Olli's smashing of teddy bears - perhaps he was tired of all his winning teddy bears from his heyday in the show ring all over the world.
The only thing Olli was unhappy about was that the Breeder had not read the instructions from the dog's mother... LOCK ME IN NOW!!!! I can still see you standing in the kitchen, Breeder!!
The Pirate was offered to be looked after by one of my students. And My, the small, tough French bulldog. It went quite well after Carina had learned to speak Pirate, My tried to speak Tibetan and the Pirate tried to speak French.
The Pirate is not an easy dog to take care of. Although he is sweet, funny and loving. He is also really unsure of other dogs right now, he was upset for a day, he shows resourcefulness towards people (like biting due to many changes in his life) and he has an energy level both physically and mentally that can drive any experienced dog handler crazy.
But, Carina handled him with the loving and firm hand that he needs. He was allowed to lie on the sofa and cuddle. He has learned to "play" dog games (and got so excited that he even stood and looked up at them in the living room when he thought it was playtime). He has gone on long walks, chased ducks, bathed, been cuddled on the sofa and he and My figured out how to play in a way that they could both join in. And even though he wasn't entirely on board with the idea of having a French bulldog lying on top of his fur this time, I wonder if it will be OK next time?
Both dogs are welcome back with their respective extra mamas. I'm personally happy about that. Good dog sitters are what we need. So we can have a vacation with the people we love. .... We have talked about taking a summer vacation with hiking, where the dogs can come along ;) Shit, I'm a terrible dog mom... Those dogs mean EVERYTHING.
Behind the scenes of this week's blogger:
Tina Hougaard is a trained dog trainer, currently training to become a behavior therapist and is passionate about training, especially Nose Work, and runs PowerDog. She is the happy owner of the beautiful and cheeky Tibetan Terrier Pilou aka PellePirat, with whom she trains obedience, tricks and Nose Work.
Olli is the newest member of the house. A Malinois bitch who will hopefully also step her beautiful paws into LP, tricks and Nose Work.