Wishing you all a very Happy Festive Season and a New Year full of wonderful...... Dog Training!
TOYS FOR CHRISTMAS
By Raewyn Saville - Dec 13
I guess we have all heard the sensible people of the world telling us not to give or get animals for Christmas, as you probably won't want them by the New Year.
What rubbish. The vast majority of people who give or get a new puppy at Christmas time have planned and waited and ordered their pup or been looking at the Animal Shelters and SPCA for ages. Christmas might be a good time to get a new family pet as there will be some extra time off work for some, to settle their new animal into their lives. I can only imagine the look on the face of a child presented with an 8 week plus puppy on Christmas morning. That will have Granma's ipad working overtime sending pics to all her friends.
It is now the third Christmas since I got my puppy on the 24th December. What a thrill. It still thrills me when I think about it. I had had a sad month and a half by then as a puppy I had chosen from the SPCA had been run over on the main road near my house. I was there at the time and it was a horrible thing to see. Because I had 'Pai' I had not tempted myself with puppies that I knew had been born and that I would have dearly loved one of. The mother dog was a lovely terrier called Spirit. Spirit had been working in Conservation and coming to Agility Beginners with Amy Knopers. I just adored Spirit, she was a trier, she tried hard, she worried if she got it wrong and she had character. She was mated with a Border Terrier male. I have always had a soft spot for Border Terriers, mostly because people make a hash of their training. They say they are un-trainable, difficult, independent. I knew they were a tough wiry character but I am at a stage in my dog training life where challenge is a must or I will go off the boil.
My last training for myself was 'Chan' the pit-bull, whippet, sharpei. He was easy to train to do what I wanted in dog sports but challenged me with his dog on dog aggression. We got that sorted and it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Well looking back it seems easier. One forgets after the dog is trained how frustrating and disappointing dog training can be on occasions.
Chan was 4 by the time I got my Christmas pup. Anyway I went to the Knopers and chose Fae Spirit. I asked Gus if he would release her to me at 7 weeks and he declined. He liked his pups with their mothers a full eight weeks. I accepted that. The man had principles and he was prepared to stand by them. That would mean that some time in the early new year my pup would be ready to come home. I tried not to get excited, but hey getting a new life to share is exciting.
I got a call from Gus Knopers on the 23rd of December, asking me to help him train a Border Collie. He was having real difficulties with it and wanted to bring it over to me on 24th December. I thought it was a bit odd but he sounded desperate (I should add that Gus Knopers is a very experienced dog handler) and we dog handler/trainers have to stick together. I had such a lot to do on the 24th, you know what Christmas Eve is like. Anyway he pitched up and parked in the shade on my front verge. I met him at the gate. He was waiting at the back of his ute. He threw up the tailgate and yanked out a Toy Border Collie on a lead. At the same time Amy got out of the truck with my baby Fae in her arms and handed her over to me. Magic. I was overcome.
So since then I have decided there are a lot worse things that could happen than for families to enrich their lives with a new puppy. Christmas and New Year were spent that year going outside every hour for pid-dles, mopping up piddles, scooping up the other, playing tiny puppy games, and watching my other three dogs involve the pup in their lives. There was never a bad word spoken by any of us. My dogs just loved Fae right from the start.
Having had a run of rescue dogs, found on the side of the road, or from the SPCA or taken into care from a family that couldn't cope anymore, the brand new straight from the mother dog puppy was something I had almost forgotten. I had forgotten the snuggling into the neck and the little sucky mouth and the 'I need you' expression on their dear little faces.
Fae turned into Fae the Fat Fairy, for the first year with her little Tutu and wings. Then last Christmas she wanted to be 'Fae the Angel on top of the Christmas Tree' with her white Tutu, wings and halo. This year she is Santa Fae. Two years on and three Christmases, Christmas will always be Fae and Fae will always mean Christmas to me.
Incidentally if you want to do your own rendition of 'How I got my Puppy for Christmas' Pam and Dave, Club members at Dog Sports Rotorua have a delightful litter of 8 Miniature Schnauzer Pups for sale. Ready to go Christmas Eve on the sleigh with Santa Fae. If you want the ideal family pet or a hard work-ing Agility Dog this breed could suit you very well. If you have a big dog in training at the moment, get a little one to go with it.
I am training right through Christmas and New Year. If it isn't a statutory holiday, I will be at the Stock Car Club training as usual. Come and join me and do some quality catch up over Christmas, I look for-ward to seeing you.
Pam & Dave’s 3 week old miniature Schnauzer pups ph: 0276788331
