WOLFDOG THE DOG - memories and experience - part II
A day before the dog show in Poznań, there is a seminar in Obedience. The whole wolfdog team attends it and impresses everybody. A judge from France is amazed that wolfdogs can be so calm and…normal, that they don't draw in their tails as those he saw in France. The competition begins after the seminar. Amber gets a perfect position.
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Amber's first birthday is in the end of November. It's time for a summary. He gets a bowl full of meat and we celebrate eating a cake.:) Then, Amber has a shoot.
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After a year spent with Amber I know it was a good choice. I love and admire this breed. I know that the dog is ideal for me and his faults are not problem for me. We have experienced a lot together. Sometimes it was hard for both of us. There were times when I had enough of everything, but I know the worst is over. My dog is raised although I know what I can still expect (a fight for domination with Aster, running away to she dogs, rebels), but we are going to make it somehow:). Living with wolfdog is full of adventures and it's worth coping wit all the problems!
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Before Christmas we go to Hradek in Czech for a meeting and competition. It's cold when we leave, but in Czech it's rainy and windy. The only nice place is a canteen, but dogs are not allowed there. We drink liters of hot tea with rum and we try to practice. There are a few elements in obedience and a small Agility track. It's terrible to practice in such weather. Amber jumps beautiful, he doesn't avoid tunnels, but he runs away at the very beginning and so we loose points:(. Well, it's only fun. The rum was delicious :).
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We come back from Hradek with a cat:). They have dogs and cats in Peronówka so I got one kitty. It howls and squeaks all the way trying to get out. It turns out to be the nicest cat in the world. We call it Hradek in remembrance of our trip.;)
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New Year's Eve! Firecrackers, shots and noise all night long. I wanted him to have a silent eve this year. So we organize a New Year's party for dogs in the country, far from the city's noise with best friends. I want to get Amber accustomed to shots later. I don't want him to have too much of it at one time so that he isn't scared. So we play with dogs and walk in the fields. We can hear just a few shots at night. The dogs play together or are so tired that cannot hear anything around. The weather is beautifully sunny on the first day of the new year. We go for a walk and take some pictures of Amber on a haystack - the logo of Jantarowa Wataha. Our dogs run with balloons. It was a great New Year's Eve.
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I heard that wolfdogs like water. Some of them are said to be great swimmers. Ali, Amber's sister can even dive. But Amber is different. He doesn't like water! He makes his paws wet, but it's all. He didn't get entirely wet during his first vacations. I don't want to make him do anything although I was a little amazed. Next summer it's better. Amber immerses in water. But only when he is 2 years old he is really happy when he sees water. He swims to get a stick very willingly. He is crazy in water. That's the bee's knees!
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Amber liked eating when he was a puppy. Now he likes dog food, meat and sweets…everything:). He doesn't get sweets. His appetite is very helpful while training, but a little troublesome while walking because he can easily find every sandwich lying in the bushes. I tried to teach him not to do this, but it was not effective. I teach Amber good manners at home. He can only eat when I allow him. This is how we train obedience. I put his bowl on a floor. Amber is right next to the bowl willing to eat right away. I tell him to lie down and he waits until I tell him to eat. He is a good learner and isn't even mad about it. I make a real show of it at the beginning. First I pretend to eat of his bowl, I growl like a dog, wait a while and then let him eat. Later, I only remind him the whole ritual. I make it a full version when he gets something special.
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A little bit more about rituals. It's a custom in our house that if we buy something special for our dogs, for example cat's food, we make them sit in the kitchen one next to another in a certain order: Aster, Ava, Amber. We give them bites on a dog fork saying their names. Each dog waits for his turn. If Ava is not here we behave as if we give a bite to her too to make them confused. We say her name and they both turn their snouts although Ava is not there. The dogs are really funny. :)))
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Everybody wants their dog to look beautiful. This is why I take care of Amber's fur. His fur is beautiful in winter, from January to May. Unfortunately, there are not too many dog shows at that time. In winter his fur is thick, his ruff big and his tail luxuriant. But it's only in winter. As soon as first hot days begin he sheds his beautiful fur all summer although he spends most of the time in the garden. He doesn't shed a lot of fur in little time, but a little fur for half a year because he spends some time at home. It means that we have hair everywhere all the time and, of course, he doesn't look as he should on dog shows. On the other hand, it would be hard for him to bear a high summer temperature in such thick fur. He knows what he does.
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In winter in Leszno there is one of very few dog shows in Poland. It's a Champion' s show. When Amber was 15 months old he was allowed to take part in this prestigious show of the most beautiful dogs in the world because he became a Junior Champion of Poland very fast. The show takes place in February. Amber was well prepared for the show. He had thick fur.:) So we were lucky. Amber won in his breed!
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Amber is a year old when we get two cats. Amber knows only what a Rabbit is so it is a new experience for him. The cats are young, but very clever. They don't run away from the dogs. Our dogs learnt very fast that the cats are not even partly as interesting as the things they leave in their sandbox.;) Cleaning the sandbox is a winter hit. They stop doing this after some time, but still "clean" the cats every time they meet.
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Amber was ill at Christmas. Not only he. Of course, our visitors are to blame. ;) How could they not give anything to the dogs if the smell was so good. They got some fish and sweets. They got a real mixture and so their stomachs can't stand it. They didn't get anything on Christmas Day and on Boxing Day.:) Amber is not really interested in Christmas tree, but our cats are. They like the Christmas decorations very much…
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When Amber is a year old he begins competing with Aster. No more playing. When they were little they loved playing together, especially chasing one another. One would run with a stick and the rest would run after him. Amber set it all at the very beginning. He is the boss. He felt a need to remind this to Amber a couple of times. Generally, Amber keeps a certain distance, he knows his place, but why not to try and change it:).
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It's always worth trying. I don't remember how old Amber was, quite young anyway, when he loved approaching Aster's bowl which Aster hated. One day they came back from a walk, completely tired. Aster rapidly went to drink some water. Amber wanted the same, but he didn't make it. Aster bit Amber's ear. There was a lot of blood around, Amber squeaked and I am completely desperate. I imagined Amber without a piece of ear. I went to a vet who covered the ear. Now there is no sign of the fight.
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After some time they begin fighting more often. In the end, they fight during every walk. We thought that the dogs would settle the matters themselves as trainers taught us. Unfortunately, it was getting worse. I applied a tactic of a wolf pack: when the most important dog is around, you can't quarrel because all will be punished. All rows are finished right away and everything is all right! Sometimes, they growl, but one look is enough to make them quiet. Now Amber and Aster try not to cross their paths during walks. They are always good at home…
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A man will never have such important position as other dog. Of course, Amber knows that his lady is more important and more clever.;) I can see from the very beginning that there is a difference between how he treats me and Aster. For a wolfdog puppy a dog which is a half year older is the boss. He is obedient and a little shy in front of Aster. He has NEVER EVER walked before Aster!!! It was amazing! Amber always ran behind him or next to him, but always slowed down when he only approached Aster. He can see nothing wrong in running before me:)))
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Sometimes it is so hot that Amber stays next to his dog shed on a terrace with the room door opened. I leave him there when I go out for a while or if somebody is home. One day Amber was bored so he knocked over a chair and ate half of it.:((( It was a disaster for me because it was one of a set of chairs and now there it has no back. Fortunately, he left the main part of it so I was able to see how it is to be an upholsterer. I made it:). Later, I moved the chairs so that he couldn't reach them. Amber had his leash shortened. But one day Amber did an extraordinary thing. He moved a carpet with six chairs and a heavy table with the tips of his paws so that he was able to chew the carpet. In the end the carpet went upstairs, but was a little smaller than originally.
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But let's go back to the year 2004. It was the beginning of a new year and there were plenty of new challenges ahead. We need to work a little bit more before it's time to sit an exam in all the dog had learnt.
What I had observed during the training is:
-if the training is started early it has good effects, Amber remembers all commands and carries them out easily
-there are moments of revolt - he doesn't carry out a command simply because he doesn't want to - but the rebel is easy to defend by giving him something good or deepen it by making him do something
- I teach Amber by giving him something good every time he does something well. The dog is a little hungry and I have his favorite food. After about a year I arouse passion to a ball in Amber. He practices with a ball willingly, but it will never be his favorite thing to play. A she dog is always more attractive than a ball…
- Amber learns the schemes very quickly on a training ground. He learnt that the first thing to do there is to play with other dogs. So I spent about half a year to teach him not to do this. It was difficult because he squeaked, howled and didn't want to train. Finally I made it!
- fetching is not wolfdogs' strong point and Amber doesn't like it either. After training long he does it properly, but slowly.
- what Amber does best is jumping, he likes being active, so he could jump over everything and will never be bored.
- we achieve the best results when we train often but not too long, sometimes it's giving a few commands during a walk, sometimes 15 minutes in a meadow; an hour is a hard training after which the dog is completely tired
- Amber has no problem making any of the exercises, he learns fast and willingly, but does not always want to do all I ask him to
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We began a regular obedience course in spring. It was two months of hard work (6 hours a week), but the effects were amazing. Amber finishes the course with the best position and gets a cup. This was our first test.
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We go for a camp to Czech in the summer. Two weeks with other wolf dogs turn up to be perfect vacation! We made friends with many new people and dogs, trained a lot and… didn't have too much free time;) We came back home really tired but with great achievements- passing 3 exams in obedience and a 20 km run!
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Amber meets an adorable she dog Cita on a camp in Lazne and they become really close friends:) He does all he can but I am not going to be a grandmother this time:(((
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Karolinka from Bydgoszcz is our sunshine. She is always smiling, always has plenty of ideas and, most importantly, she doesn't mind our whims. She keeps her fingers crossed every time we have an exam. After the camp she puts her impressions in pictures. Karolinka, thank you for being here with us! I hope you will finally get your desired wolfdog!
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After we came back home Amber got seriously ill for the first time in his life. Exhaustion, high temperatures, a great deal of new experience and some stress are main reasons of his illness. He needs a few weeks to feel ok.
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Amber's attitude towards other dogs changes with time. All she dogs are his good friends, but he doesn't get on well with he dogs any more. He usually doesn't start fighting, but is not the one who would take no notice of others' provocation. Now the dog is a grown up so he feels like watching over everything around!
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Dogs in one pack behave in a very similar way. My friend's dogs would snore and move their paws in the same way. Our dogs lie on their backs identically. They show their bellies, their paws are straight. They are so sweet and they know about it very well!:) They always keep one of the eyes opened to see if anybody admires them…
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It's September, the month of dog shows and our meeting in Peronowka. Although Amber is now a grown up two-year-old dog he still doesn't involve in conflicts with other wolf dogs. There is an important event in Peronowka - bonitation. Amber was measured and inspected and the verdict was… P1- perfect with a standard appointed!!!
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This was a year of training. Amber is taking part in Obedience competition in November. He gets a perfect mark in class zero.
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November is also the month of the second meeting in Poznan. We are having a lot of guests as usually. This time we are visiting wolfs park in Stobnica. There is plenty of time for chatting in the evening. We don't stay up really late because we are having a competition in the morning!
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It's Amber's second birthday in the end of November. He has changed so much! He is no longer the little slim doggy with four thin paws. Now he's a big dog. He grew bigger! And I thought this will never happen!;)
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Only when Amber turned up 1,5 and when he had his pelvic joints examined we begun practicing running. At the beginning it was only a few kilometers but later we got to 20 kilometers. Amber loves running! When we arrive in the field he is going crazy and squeaks. He wants to run so much. 10 kilometers is just a small warm-up. In the first exam he needs to run 40 kilometers. So we really need to practice a lot.:)
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When Amber is 2 he already knows all the obedience elements very well. He learns pretty fast to give me the leash, shoes or a bottle of water when I have something good for him. He also knows how to jump or turn around:)))
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The first fight with another dog. It might not have been really dangerous but it didn't look nice. Amber gets to the dog's nape and they begin fighting. When I get to them he stops immediately. He really learnt a lesson.
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Ava moves out of the house at the end of the year. She runs away a couple of times and than she changes the house for good. Our two dogs seem not to have noticed this fact. However, when they see her through the window they howl really loud. Now we have two boys.
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Long months of teaching paid off. Now I can leave Amber at home or in a car unattended and I know he will not destroy anything. I can also leave him alone in the garden since he no longer remembers where he loved to dig so much:).
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If you love wolfdogs you also need to love their fur. Amber sheds his fur almost constantly: in summer because it is hot, in fall because he changes it, in winter because he needs to feel some chill and in spring because he changes it again. It's a pity you can't make sweaters out of dog's fur. I could have many of them!
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The older Amber is the more he likes to be caressed:). He puts his head on my knees showing that he wants me to feel him. He loves being scratched in his neck and right above the tail. You can see how good he feels then. He closes his eyes and then everybody can have him.
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Walks are a great opportunity to learn and to play. You can point a hidden ball, chase a stick or find the owner hidden behind a tree. :) You can jump above barriers or have fun with other dogs. My dog loves walking so much!
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The end of the year is sad. We say good bye to our cat Omar and to the Rabbit. L(( The cat lost his life being bumped by a car. The Rabbit was over 7 years old and died after being seriously ill. The Rabbit's death is giving Amber a very hard time. He lived in one room with the rabbit from the very beginning. Now the room is empty and silent. Amber is sad all evening and in the end he vomits. He is an animal and can feel everything.
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As a young dog Amber didn't have contact with children. I was a little afraid how he will behave in the new situation. But he passed the test excellent! It turned out that he is really careful with children. He listens to them carefully and is very eager to play with them. He lets them do almost anything and likes when they are around:)
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Next Christmas is a great occasion to spoil the dog! Our guests feed Amber with the most delicious things. He even refuses to eat the dog food. But after a few days of starving himself everything is back to normal.
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Amber's second New Year's Eve is very dog like. It is so cold in the summer cottage that we all have to keep pretty close to each other. We all lie down by the fireplace. Now it is warm. Amber can't believe how lucky he is when we sleep in one bed!!!
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In the beginning of 2005 puppies were born in Peronowka. Amber and I went to see them. But it was not a pleasure for him. He ran away from the puppies and didn't want to have anything to do with them. He would make a terrified face and escape. I wonder how he would react if he saw his puppies?
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It's been a half year since Amber's site appeared. Jantarowa Wataha. Old and new readers visit the website every day. There are guests from all continents with the majority of Polish readers, of course.:)
Thank you all for visiting us online! I hope that it has been fun for you!
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Amber loves watching the world outside the window:). Whether he is at home or in the car, he likes to know what is going on outside. But it's not only Amber who likes it. Aster's window is the one in the hall and Amber is not allowed there;). He has his kitchen window with a pillow on a parapet on which he puts his paws when he looks out of the window. The windowsill itself is too hard for him. He shares the pillow with cats. Amber watches all the people going past our house and barks whenever somebody approaches the door. He growls when he sees other dogs outside and barks when the dogs run. I taught Amber to react when I ask him "Who's coming?" He rushes to the window barking and looks around to see what meant. ;)))
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Wolfdogs are strange dogs . When they get irritaded or nervous they make strange niose! They make funny sounds by sniffing the air through their noses. It sounds like phoo, phoo.:) I have never heard other dogs doing that. At the same time they jump from side to side so that sometimes you can't hear anything but you know that there is something that bothers the dog. The strange sounds usually precede Amber's barking as if he had to start running before he can produce a good bark.
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That's right, barking! Wolfdogs don't bark too much in general. While some people consider it a great advantage as they don't like noisy dogs, others find it bothering. How can one get a good mark on a defense exam if the dog doesn't bark? A lot of points are reduced in this easy exercise.:(. Anyway what a dog is it if it doesn't bark? Amber is an exceptionally barking wolfdog. He barks when somebody rings at the door, he barks when people pass a car he is in, he barks at people and dogs behind the fence. This is normal for me. But he also barks on cue (like a Belgian shepherd) while training, sitting by my leg, he barks at a ball, he barks when he is happy… OK, it's enough, you will think he never stops barking:). Of course it is not true!
We began learning barking on cue very early. It is the easiest then. I would show Amber something really delicious which he was not able to reach:).He would get irritated and bark. Then I would say a command, he would bark one or two more times and get his reward. He learnt barking on cue very fast. The breeders were amazed to see him do that when he was 5 months old:). Now, he is learning to bark at a decoy a little bit longer, but barking will always be something pleasant to him…
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Amber is not only my dream come true and my lovely dog but also my everyday company and my best friend. I feel very close relationship with him, and I think he feels it too and reciprocates his feelings. We go everywhere together and sometimes I even take him to work with me;). We understand each other perfectly in every situation. One look is enough to know what is going on. Of course, it's been a slow process. Contact with a puppy is very limited. We learnt our language quite a long time spending a lot of time playing. We both gained a lot of experience in cooperation, obedience and a proper hierarchy through training. This is a great idea for spending time with the dog. Training focuses the dog's attention on the owner and is a great opportunity to relieve energy.
I was supposed to write about keeping contact with the dog, but I wrote about training instead:). But those two have many in common:). You don't know what you loose if you don't train your dog! It is a great experience!
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Our dogs always rescue one another. Of course, they would like to fight with other dogs together or smell everything around together and check out every new place. We had a very strange incident recently. It is March so it is getting warm. The whole family went for a walk to the lake. Amber would run like crazy:) and he got hot. But he was really stubborn and wouldn't dip in water entirely. So I helped him to jump of a pier a little bit. He started swimming, but instead of heading to the shore he would try to get back on the pier. He couldn't make it, of course. So we went to the shore so that he swims to us. When Aster (the Doberman) saw we are going away leaving Amber alone he jumped into the water to help him! They swam to the shore together. Soon, they were right next to us. That was amazing! It was even more extraordinary since Aster doesn't really like water and he certainly never jumped into a lake before…
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I began taking Amber for rides by buses and trains after quite a long brake again. We used to do this when he was little so that he learns a bit and so that he is not afraid of urban life. At that time, a half year ago, Amber was a little nervous every time we were on a bus. Now, it is MUCH better! Amber always lies on the floor or sits in the corner and is a very good dog. He likes being close to the door and looking out of the window all the time. He is likes it when people call him a good dog and pat his head.:) He even was on a bus during rush hour in a crowd and it was quite OK. The only thing he still doesn't like is the noise the bus makes when it arrives at the bus stop. Sometimes Amber would ride on completely different vehicles..;)
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At the end of March Amber got to know Pegi Hlas divociny, a she dog from Katowice. They had a lot of fun over the weekend. Amber was very faithful and would follow her everywhere. We shall see if there are any results of this "friendship"…
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Easter is a free time, long sleeping, a lot of eating and a lot of time for walking. We walked really a lot during those few free days:). We didn't walk too much before because we had to travel a lot… So it is a great occasion to check how Amber gets on with other dogs and how obedient he is after a long break. I was positively surprised. Amber walked next to me and didn't even find anything awful to eat. And, most importantly, I he came every time I called him even if there was another dog around!! It was a great Easter present from Amber:). We both got a little bit lazy recently and didn't train during winter time… but he behaved very well while walking! He would come every time I called him and didn't want to eat anybody;))). He ran around a pony with no fear and no barking. On Sunday at the end of a walk he got a great surprise. He was able to smell a horse.:)))
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Today we watched a movie together.:) I had already mentioned that Amber can see what's on TV, but he had never watched a whole movie before. The film was really interesting. It was about dogs, dog-teams and races. Amber would make funny noises when he saw dogs on the screen. He only peeped when here was nothing interesting going on. He spent two hours staring in the screen! He was a little nervous when the dogs run in his direction. He would then go closer to the TV and bark.:) He was also excited when there was a close-up of dogs' heads. A movie watched in dog's company is much more interesting. ;)))
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Amber got to like sticks.:) He would bring them to the garden, lie on his back and chews them. He is crazy if somebody is eager to tug or throw his stick. In the evenings we walk on a leash. We go along the forest. Amber doesn't like to be bored so he made up a new game. He cuts all trees on the way. :))) A moment is enough for Amber to find a huge dry branch and try to destroy it by breaking, pulling and twisting it. What is that? A desire to destroy or what? He never does it on the walks during the day when he is unleashed, but always on the evening walks. He grabbed out quite a lot of bushes along the road. Some of the sticks were 2 or 3 meters. Now he can only pick up the remaining dry twigs…
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It is amazing how Wolfdogs are able to adapt to a situation. Amber is very energetic and always willing to walk, ride a car or run as any other dog does. But if there is such a need he can simply do nothing… I had a chance to learn it recently. I got really ill two weeks before Easter. I had a high temperature, shiver and I was so weak that I was not able to get out of the bed for a week. I thought that Amber would be going crazy because he would be bored since there was nobody to walk him so he only went to the garden. I thought he would prefer to sit upstairs with the rest of the family or in the garden, but he spent the whole week by my bed. He would only go pee and be back in my room.:) He did NOTHING for so many days! He would lie, sleep or look out of the window... Sometimes I felt his warm tongue on my forehead;). This is one of the most wonderful traits of this breed. They always do what the owner suggests. If the owner wants to play the dog will play, but if the owner doesn't have time the dog would sleep. :)
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