He is a handsome boy! And those ears

He has a beautiful shape he's developing. He's going to be a stunner of an adult.

TwisterII wrote:

He has a beautiful shape he's developing. He's going to be a stunner of an adult.

That's assuming, of course, he makes it to be an adult!! If the other two don't kill him, I might! He's not bad, really, he's just a puppy ...

There's a lot more tan that's gradually coming in. His sire was quite a bit more black than Zeus is now, I think he'll more closely resemble his damn who is quote a bit lighter!

I feel you on the puppy portion. I had to purchase a tougher crate because Kasper has pretty much destroyed the wire crate by freaking out when he's in the very small amount that he is. He shook the crate around and managed to get it near a book shelf yesterday and chewed the spines off two books. he was laying around quietly friday morning last week and the instant I got on the phone he felt the need to go steal and destroy a package of zip ties. If I have a meeting toward the end of my work day too close to when we would usually go for a walk he will bark through it. Routine is set in stone for him. He just insists that the only reason Kye gets up is to play with him and is instantly in his face which is frustrating for Kye.

We had hoped shadow would have less black and more tan but he stayed really dark bicolor. When we got shadow his dad was sid black and his mom was mostly tan with the saddleback and she was super nice but just looked mean. His dad looked nice but was mean. He ended up with the mean look. I have a preference for ones with the friendly look and zues has it.

I was looking at shadow puppy pics of about the same age as zues even then shadow looked serious, like he had a job and knew it and was taking it seriously.

Tell you what Emily, Zeus is friendly - up to a point - if someone drives in he comes to the porch and watches them then decides whether to be friendly or not. I've never seem him even look like mean but he's definitely got a "You better not mess with us!" streak.

Even though he's being a real bear to train, he's got a job. It's one he's given himself and it's called "Patrol" A lot of the time he's out front with Avalanche and Sky but when he's not, I've seen him patrolling the back yard out where the brush begins. When - notice it's not "if" - he sees something he isn't comfortable with, he lets me know - in no uncertain terms. He may be a puppy but he sure can sound like a full grown dog!

I'm back with another "This dog's gonna be the death of me!"

I've got my "raised" garden bed put together and have been mixing on some "mulching" material to see if I can turn over enough to maybe grow something without the rabbits automatically eating everything that sticks its head above soil. They ain't gonna get a chance!

I had some potatoes from the crisis center commodities distribution ... some of them had sprouted before I was able to do anything with them and from past experience, sprouting potatoes are BITTER!! So I stuck them in the ground ... a few that were too small I just tossed off to one side and "juniour" decided that those tasted good - I guess. He hasn't bothered the ones I planted but the others were fair game.

We got about 5 pounds of yams (sweet potatoes) and they were okay but it was way too much for me ... stuck some in the ground to see if they'd grow and stupid pup has one <??> on the front porch.

At least neither of them are apt to more than give him an upset tummy but jeeze!!

Sky took off this morning and of course Zeus took off with her. I let them run for n hour or so and then decided it was time to see what they were in to. Especially since Sky loves to raid the neighbors midden ... they been over and he chased them off (good for him!)

Went out and yelled and a few minutes later Zeus is hell bent for the house!! I really can't get used to a dog who comes when I call him, it's been a while!

Lol wanna trade zeus for shadow. Doesnt everyone want a blind german shepherd that used to be very well behaved now he goes somewhere when you call him? 50% of the time he comes 50% of the time he starts to come gets lost and sits down.

Shadows biggest issue actually in hotels/motels didnt happen till after he went completely blind and now he barks at every noise. And well you know what a gsd sounds like

Naw, I don't ... remember mine is just a (60+ pound) puppy!

He and I have been having a few discussions about this "velcro dog" I don't mind him being close but when it gets to the point that he's tripping me I get unhappy (and he's gotten some light kicks out of the deal)

You know, I can tolerate him setting at the bathroom door when I have things to do but ... He's not a bad dog at all, just that there are times - like tripping me when I'm going in / out the door, I've got a cut on my hand where I grabbed the door to keep my feet under me, I was not a happy camper.

Mine trip me coming in the door in the hallway. But then the hallway is only 32 inches wide. Actually shadow is a great dog if your into semi antisocial german shepherds. When im home alone he lays across the front door. Even blind he still patrols the property line a d tried to attack my neighbor that cuts down the sagebrush. BUT he could care less about being right with me, being in the same house is good enough for him and he only wants about 5 minutes of pets in the am and 10 mins of playing with squeaky bone in the evening. Now spider is a velcro dog when it comes to jerry. That was very apparent wed night at the motel. If she could even hear him she was rushing back to him.

Im just glad we dont usually take shadow. To take shadow means putting tarps down in the truck (he gets car sick) and picking up an 108 lb dog. But i do need to work on his training a little, if thats even doable for a 10 yr old blind gsd. He walks where i am even with his back end and his front is in front of me. He doesnt pull but he was trained for personal protection. But now he walks into everything but still thinks its his job to do protection. Just not sure how hard it would be to work on his leash position in heal so i can give him directions on leash. At home he has been trained go right go left and back up but it doesnt seem to translate to on leash. But i dont walk him. Its not that hes horrible but i worry he could trip and get hurt. By gsd standards hes geriatric and on borrowed time.

Don't get me started on Velcro dogs tripping me... Z'ev is the king on that front. Especially at the kitchen stove!!! Not cool when you're moving large pots of boiling past!!! Complete PIA he is

I am the proud owner of a velcro dog free house. LOL

I had to laugh at the pups tonight. I put food down for Zeus first since his bowl is in his kennel right behind me. Then I feed the other two on the porch. Zeus was too busy playing and didn't want to come in ( !!!! ) and then when he did the others said he'd better stay away from their bowls --- meaning he couldn't get on the porch, meaning he couldn't get in ... poor baby!!

Spider has turned into a velcro dog in the last since about 2pm my time yesterday to jerry. Staying close like she does when she thinks a seizure is coming. We have been trying to figure that one out also. But she knows to move for the walker and not touch the leg he just had a knee replacement in. Id like to figure out what she picks up on because it might be that she picks up on the low sodium and that would explain the velcro dog right now because i can tell its a little low, or if she picks up on the actual seizure.

Mine will start reminding me to feed them about 2 hours before its actually time to feed them.

Poor Zeus - blocked from his own dinner

Hope Jerry is ok!

My guys start circling the food can about 1.5 hours before they're due. My challenge is to keep hubby from feeding them whenever they appear mildly interested. It's as if his purpose in life is to feed those dogs - it's a wonder they're not 5x5 and rolling!!!

We did a little outing yesterday at a winery a few miles down the road. Mostly a disaster. I've found a way for Z'ev to still climb into the 4Runner by letting him in the side door and flipping the seat bottom up on one side - sort of makes easy steps for him. But when we got there, the outside tables were in full sun and only a few feet in front of the band speakers - way to loud for either pups or us. So we got a blanket and sat on the ground under a pine tree off to the side. Walking on the uneven ground with the dogs was tough on my knee and worse on hubby's hip. And way too hot for either dog so early on the season. We went because of advertised "authentic" Mexican food truck (Mexican is a favorite of mine, hubby not so much.) First - I got a glass of wine, made it more on the semi sweet side so I could share with Wayne - which, turns out, with his very recent gout attack, he did not want but he had a taste - and the declared "just like Mogen David!" Damned if he wasn't right. I could have got the large bottle of Mogen David for what I paid for that glass. And I prefer my wines dry. And first I dumped a bit on my shirt. Then on my pants. Then the wind dumped the flimsy plastic glass all over the table

Then there was the "authentic Mexican." Yep. Just like Taco Bell. Well.. except for the prices. And finally, eating on a blanket with two food addicted Huskies did not go well. Aside from trying to keep them out of my food, my legs were straight out in front of me and there's the fragile skin thing with a newly healed tear and Ami's big clomping feet threatening to step all over my lower legs, sure to leave me bleeding. And that husband of mine? Absolutely useless with a leash. Can't get it through his head that just because the hand loop is 6 feet from the collar doesn't mean that's the only place to hold the damn leash. Apparently, short leash is not a concept in his universe. I finally dumped my food plate in his lap and let him feed the dogs

So much for a peaceful idyll on a nice spring afternoon

Hahaha i can get really authentic Mexican food and all i have to do is buy the ingredients. But we have 2 in south fork but different regions so different flavors but they ameicanize it a little but will do full spices if you ask. Then kips does mountain mex and a bunch of places in monte vista have texmex. When the valley population is 70% hispanic we get really got Hispanic food. But i would kill for an Italian restaurant.

Mine wouls not try and steal food because they know if they try they get nothing but if they wait till we are done then they get something.

Dont get on me started about hubby feeling bad and feeding dogs early. I discovered at one point jerry was giving the dogs lunch when i wasnt around. Or splinter starts acting sweet and yipping cutely and getting fed at 230 instead of 4. And now all 4 dogs are in a diet.

Weird spider loved her bison braid yesterday but today is just guarding it. We rarely do rawhide chews and only small ones with no knots. And ones that are both size appropriate for splinter and for shadow. Though splinter is on day 3 of his, i pick it up when they walk away and then they get them back when the go to the treat spot.

Anyway i was doing some research on the GSD breed and i came across that some are selective of what types of dogs they get along with and even specific dogs. I makes me wonder if i introduced shadow to another gsd or husky rather then a pit bull type if i would get a different reaction. Even with going blind he seems to still have the stalk and wait going on that is classic within Czech working lines. The stalk and wait really bothers me because i saw it go for a week before shadow bit the person. But ive seen him do stalk and wait on puppies also. We know he isnt a fan of puppies but i was looking at a litter of purebred gsds that were dumped at our local shelter because at 12 weeks they arnt sellable. If jerry hadn't just had surgery id load shadow and bring him out there.

"Authentic Mexican" that, of course, caught my attention first.  Living on the border I get my share of authentic Mexican - and on that note, saying authentic Mexican is like saying "an authentic Italian Pizza" ... there ain't no such thing!  When I was in Naples, one of my favourite hangouts was a pizzeria and, behold, there wasn't a drop of tomato paste in sight.  Plenty of meat and vegetables on a bread crust (I refuse to call it a pizza crust!) with some olive oil ... but that was authentic Italian pizza and a long call from the pizza in Genoa which vaguely resembled the American variety.
I habituated a restaurant in Houston whose owners were from Oaxaca (wah-ha-ka) on the southern Pacific coast of Mexico who put out some really great food that bears no resemblance to the Chili Pepper in Terlingua whose owner is from outside Chihuahua city which is inland desert.  And the thing that amazes me is that neither of them think that an abundance of chili pepper make good food!  

Wine - I like my wine like my coffee, plain, not sweet, and unadulterated!  When I could get it one of my favourites was a Mateus Rosé - while it seems to still be on the market the folks here don't know anything about it.  Our local liquor store is great if you want a Bud but otherwise pretty lacking.  I asked about a bottle of cognac - specifically Courvoisier VSOP - since mine is about dry (er, I bought it about 5 years ago, I drink a lot!) and they don't have it and aren't interested in getting me one bottle.  To my disgust, I've found that Texas law prohibits the purchasing of liquor of any kind over the internet -- okay, take that back, I can buy, they can't ship it into Texas ... ARGH!!!
I Just went looking for Courvoisier on line and ran into one that I'd take as a present from any of you who might be inclined ... it's called L'Essence de Courvoisier and the cheap bottle is only US$3,000 --- SAY WHAT????

The pups have been inside most of the day - so far - it's a not warm 62° and very windy 25 mph plus-ish.  For some reason they all decided to shift position at once.  

Obviously there was a musical group of some kind there and if the volume was loud, it was probably something I'd not stick around to listen to ... who were they, locals or ???

Zeus is getting twice the food the other two are - they each get two cups in the evening and he gets two cups morning and evening ... and he still looks skinny by any dogs standards.  I'm trying to decide whether it's strictly because of the growing up phase or if he really needs more.  
Avalanche has never been anything more that thin, not skinny but definitely not more than thin.  I tried to put some weight on him after I bought him home and decided that wasn't going to happen.  He's a good, solid, steady 50-55 pounds so I leave well enough alone now.  Sky is smaller than Avalanche and she also weights in at the 50 pound mark so she's a little chunky, not overweight but not as sveldt as I expect a husky to look.
Zeus' ribs are obvious but not pronounced and his tuck is definitely tucked ... I want a good healthy dog and I'm not sure that feeding him to bulk him up some is going to produce that.  Comments.

Shadow looked underweight until we neutered him at 6. But till he was 2 he seriously looked like he was starved no matter what he ate. It was all the chasing after me on the horse and 15 mile walks and stuff

My bar for authentic are two restaurants in the Oshkosh Wisconsin region - the first was Zacatecas in neenah -nothing Tex Mex about it (though I do love Tex Mex as well.) The other was a little shop in a strip mall south Oshkosh - I know it was authentic because it was in the middle of agricultural area, the shop was filled with Mexican ag workers, no English spoken and we created quite the stir when we walked in. They had the best turkey mole and I've been trying to recreate that for 20 years. Husband had a salad with cactus that was damn good as well. Oh - and my son's au pair when the kids were pre school age was from a coastal golf of Mexico community with such high crime, nobody went out of the house unless absolutely necessary. And while neither she not her mother could help me with the mole, she did make a mean cucumber salsa and some other things that had me salivating. My Eva food truck was none of those.

As for Mateus - was a family favorite when I was growing up. Living in wine country, lots of rose available that is reminiscent. As for Courvoisier - a favorite of my single years - hubby not a fan. Haven't had it in a hundred years.

We carry it at work, it sits next to the e j and the Hennessey. Alcohol is gross. I broke my i dont drink and bought something called a beat box. Basically its fruitpunch with an everclear aftertaste. Ski patrol refers to it as the party in a box. And half a serving gave me a good buzz and a hangover in the am.

We seem to have alot of stuff normal places dont carry which is funny for a store the size of a tiny house.

Spider really seems interested in the new ram commercial where they go offroading in the woods. I know she liked the jeep better then the ford but i didnt think she really liked the dodge either. Trails are closed anyway for mud season, wolf creek pass's upeer snowshed claimed my shock thing. Maybe a strut i dunno it has springs and what looks like a shock next to the spring. But it doesnt matter im not doing anything more then forest service roads and baby 4x4 trails. Not that the truck cant do it but i dont wanna have to go to a chiropractor afterwards. I can only compare trucks to a suburban and land rovers for off road capability. Gotta say the civic was impressive offroad and light enough 4 ppl could move it. The landrovers were nice the trucks and suburban were stiff and bouncy as shit. Back to the ram commercial, they act like all that shit is so impressive. My road is worse during monsoon season, and my driveway has a tendency to break vehicles. We do have some day trips planned for this summer tho i watched a video of engineers pass and decided thats probably where ill turn around.

@lostmaniac In general I'll agree about alcohol being gross but most of that is that I've spent too much time around people who have "self medicated" with it.

I have a bottle of Couvoisier (minus one shot - that I sip) which will probably last me another 4-5 years. I have a 2L bottle of Tanqueray that was a gift from a customer, I brought it down here with me 12 years ago and it still has a good few years left. I drink a lot!, can't ya tell. On the rare occasion that I buy a 6 pack I can figure that it'll last me about 6 months.

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with this dog. Some days he's a lot of fun, other days I'm ready to punt him out the back door! Today was one of the latter!! Pretty smooth till this evening. He went out with the others, then came in and pissed on the floor - shit dog, you know better! Then it came time for treats (dentastix) and they get them in age order. Avalanche is first - but Zeus bulled in, chomped onto A's treat and my hand in the process. Didn't draw blood but I'm not sure why - I got the treat back and he got clobbered. You don't bite the hand that feeds ya!!!!

Training has become a joke. He's 7 mos old today and the two things he'll do reliably are set and come. Lay down / stay are completely beyond his comprehension. He goes out back with me, away from the other two and even though he stays underfoot getting him to set / stay is about to drive me to drink and yeh, I've got the booze to do it!

Squirt had a biting issue at that age. Easy to fix for jerry. She bit him he bit her ear and she screamed and peed and never bot anyone ever again (except breaking Squirt/spider fights up). I giess it jist depends on how much you like pulling dog hair out of your teeth.

I gotta vent and you can all lambast me as you will.

There are things that the little monster does that make life fun.  Sky will initiate play and I'm good with that up to a point - that point is where we have three dog zoomies in my small living room, I'll even let that go for a bit and then it's "enough" leading to "enough" and maybe even "that's enough, damnit!!"  I don't like having to raise my voice and I've been doing enough yelling that Sky and Avalanche are getting gunshy - I seldom have raised my voice with them (well, okay teaching Avalanche to move back when I'm driving got a few...)

Problems I'm having:
I have a trash bag in the kitchen - it's off limits!  Zeus seems to think that rules don't apply to him.  When Avalanche got into the trash, I called him to the kitchen and swatted him with every piece of trash I picked up, not hard!  He got the idea and hasn't bothered the trash bag again - oh, I won't say he doesn't occasionally snjff when he goes past but I haven't caught him getting anything out of the trash.  With Zeus it's becoming an ongoing battle!
I've swatted him with trash and he's as apt to try to bite it as seeing it a a correction.

Ditto the dog food, he's learning that just because it's setting on the floor that it's not his unless I give it to him.  But I've seen him more than a few times walk past and stick his head in and grab a mouthful.  "Zeus! No!!" doesn't even phase him there ...

When the other dogs want out they go to the door and maybe whine a little, if I see them there (and I think I normally do) they get out.  Zeus has this thing that if the door's open he wants on the other side of it, NOW!!!  I'm standing there with one hand on a dog's collar and the other on a leash ... I have not been happy.  I started off with dropping the leash and putting my hand up but he bulled right past that.  Lately he's literally been getting kicked ... "Get back!"  He's getting the idea but it's s.l.o.w.... and I know he's not that dumb.

I talked to the fellow I got him from and he asked me how things were going, I told him part of it and his response was that I'm setting him up to fail.  Bullshit, I'm trying to set him up to live in the house he's in...  "Well, you need to be the alpha dog there, he has to listen to you!"  It'd be nice but I think he's learning from the Huskies ... a look that says "you want me to WHAT???"

There have been a few times I've been tempted to ask him if he wants Zeus back ... but I still have my desire to have a protection dog and all told I do see things getting better.  The country I moved into 13 years ago is becoming overpopulated.  I used to be able to look out at the mountains in either direction and count all the souse on one hand ... now I wouldn't be able to count them all even if I took my shoes off ... it's becoming rougher with a lot of the trash moving in and even the good folks moving down are thinking about moving away...

I'm tired ... in more ways than one.

Well we pick the trash up and set it on the counter. He is still in the stubborn stupid phase. And shadow lived in a 38 ft 5th wheel with squirt and splinter till he was 3. He was an antisocial puppy and became the antisocial dog. He loves me tolerates my hubby and has bit not nipped 6 people including a blm law officer and an airforce mp at kirtland afb. He didn't patrol, he actively hunted people and ive never seen that before.

Sometimes i think you confuse him. Anyway dog food bag is a really easy fix. Stick a few mouse traps in it and that will stop that.

So talk around our town is that within town limits (im not) there are 500 vacasa rentals. Does not include airbb or vrbo. My "neighborhood" has 90. The town has 600 full time residents and my subdivision has 400 full time residents. Can i bitch about the people building a house across the irrigation ditch and down the road that seems to think they can walk anywhere that doesnt have fence. They are from Minnesota. They let the 2 dogs run into my yard and the beagle came through the fence into my house and her response was to wave... and it happened again today... my property is posted the ditch trail is posted, i cant shoot trespassers here, even with a paintball gun. Still no one can build on the side of the ditch im on.

I want to move i just cant and dont know where anyway. South fork is slowly becoming a trailer trash version of vail or aspen or brek but housing prices have gone up 30% this year and have doubled since 2021.

I'm not sure what my little ( ???? ) idiot is seeing outside but he's been barking off and on all evening. I went out with him, he looked around and headed back to the porch - it's okay, all gone! But I never saw anything and even after we came in he's been barking. Avalanche walked up to the door, looked out and went back and laid down - seems to agree with my "Nothing there" 'course Zeus will stand there and bark at stuff blowing in the wind so that may be the case ... who knows.

I've got this Jolley ball (basketball sized rubber ball with a handle - originally designed for horse) and he'll ( both Zeus and Avalanche ) play with it, keeps well occupied with it. Zeus' brought it a couple of times and I'm NOT going to have a Jolly ball go flying through my house, nope, no way! He brought it in earlier and I set it beside the door ... he headed for it and I told him no, we've done this a few times but now it's still setting there and he's leaving it alone.

Really training him is a nightmare ... like I said earlier he's learning from the Huskies - You want me to do what?? I take him out behind the house (the other two are on leads out front) so there's no confusion from the others. "Set" not a big problem unless he wants to play. "Stay" no way in hell. If I try to use treats to train he's so interested in the treat that he plays NO attention to me.

New neighbor in about a half mile down the road, setting up an airBNB rental for RV's, looks like it's going to be about 5-6 sites on a 5 acre tract. I'm not impressed ... course the first RV that gets hung up on the road is going to make me laugh. I really don't mind a guy trying to make a buck or two, it's just that my house doesn't set far off the road and when the traffic gets heavy I could grow potatoes on my book shelves (or any other flat surface.) (( er, dirt road and lotsa dust!! ))

BAH HUMBUG!!!!!