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Animation, Animals, Comics, Cartoons, Scripts, Screenplays, Musicals, Children's Books, Music, and more!!!!!!....... My dog is big....REAL BIG.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Sophie:10 Weeks

I measured Sophie this weekend. She has grown an inch and a half (at the shoulder) in 2 weeks. She is now 16 inches at the shoulder. We have moved her from her medium sized crate to her extra-large crate. She definately has some room to grow in that big thing. She seems to know her name, and seems to understand the word, "no".
She is getting better on the nipping...but we still have to keep working at it.

I put together a huge dog kennel for her over the weekend. We won't keep her in there alot...only an hour or so a day. It is approximately 12 feet across X 24 feet in depth. I also appended two gates so they ducks can be along side her. It should work out great. She will now have the chickens, pheasants and ducks all around her on one side of the kennel, and the rabbit on the other side.

We have been introducing her to lots of people lately. It seems like whenever we are outside and someone drives by, they have to stop and say hi to her....and us...but mostly saying hi to Sophie.

We gave her a bath the other night. She seems to love the water. I was really impressed with how good she was. She was wonderful under all those bubbles.

She is running and excercising alot more. She is really clunky and funny to watch. Its like she is in slow motion. Her big clunky paws attatched to those thick forearms crack me up. She is a master at digging which is another thing I am trying to keep her from doing. ugh.

We heard her howling for the first time the other day. I was across our proprty talking to our neighbor. I was watching her in her kennel, but I don't think she could see me. So she started howling.

Her eyes are brown with white around the pupil/iris. Just almost like a human eye. Most dogs I can remember having didn't have white in them...they were all brown/ black....But I can't remember......its pretty cool though.

see ya.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Sophie: 9 1/2 weeks

Sophie is changing alot. Not only is our favorite anatolian shepherd growing fast, she is also learning to adjust to our home.

She is nearly too big for her "mini crate". Its a medium sized pet port. I already have her giant crate waiting for her to move in when she is ready.

Sophie is understanding the word, "no". She also knows her name. She is getting a little better on her nipping...but we still got a ways to go. We play a fun game I learned about in a book. One of us will hide with a treat in hand and call, "Sophie, where are you?" She follows our voice/ scent and finds us. Then we give her the treat. She likes the game, and of course, loves the treats. (we use small cubes of cheese, small pieces of bacon, or small chicken chunks.)
This will hopefully teach her that when we call, "Sophie, where are you?", that she will always come running.

Although we have a large yard (nearly an acre), I am going to install a 20 foot kennel. I need to know that Sophie is secure when she is outside. (not only for my sanity, but for her protection, and others too! ). She will be an inside and outside dog throughout the day.

Monday, June 23, 2008

SO- OH! - PHIE

Sophie was a handful this weekend.

It's mostly my fault. We had some family obligations so she was kept in her kennel an hour or two more than usual on Friday and Saturday. She definately had some pent up energy. She ran around the yard and played alot. It was the most active I have seen her since we got her.

She is still nipping. We are still trying to curb it. Yesterday as we were leaving for church, her teeth caught hold of my daughter and wife's dress as we were walking out and tore a small hole. They were not happy about that.
After I scolded here for nipping at the kids, she got mad at me when I put her in her kennel.
I kept thinking, "When she gets twice the size she is now and gets mad at me....boy, am I in trouble." hmmm........ This is definately getting old.

Sophie had 3 accidents on our kitchen floor this weekend. I'm not sure how that happened since we took her out for a minimum of15 minutes "to do her thang" before each accident. (she DID go too) We were also in the very room during each occurance.

She isn't liking her leash very much. When I try to walk her, she usually plops down, or just stands there like a stubborn mule. I gently pursuade her, and after a few minutes of coaxing, she will walk with me. But she wants to be in charge of where she is going.

I am going to have to boost the "treat intake". Maybe she will bend over backwards for me once she gets the flavor of bacon on her tastebuds. She is definately the hardest dog to train that I have ever experienced...I knew it was going to be a challenge.........however, she is still young.... there is still time....

I just need more patience........

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Sophie: 9 WEEKS

Sophie is 9 weeks tomorrow. We measured her should height at 14.5 inches. She has grown nearly an inch since we got her a week ago.

We are still trying to nip the nip. She is getting better....but we need to keep at discouraging her from nipping at our legs, calves, and pant cuffs. I took some pics of her sharp teeth. I will post them later.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Sophie is folding clothes

Man, if only Sophie could fold clothes....Hopefully, Sophie didn't create any holes in my slick duds with her pirahna teeth.
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More chillin

Look at them big paws. I cut her nails tonight. (after this picture)
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Sophie Hanging Out

Sophie is chillin' like ice cream filling. How do you like that groovy brown carpet? Sweeet.
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Nipping woes

Yesterday, I had to get creative to stop our nipping Sophie. I'm serious. She's turning into jaws. That little thing has pirahna teeth and man, do they hurt.

So I decide that enough is enough....I get down on all fours, and stare into her face. Her head tilts. Then she looks at my juicy calf-muscle. She comes at me....(picture in slow mo).....her teeth gaping, tongue flapping in the wind, slobber dripping down her chin....(actually, she isn't a slobber dog....I just added it for effect purposes)....gums bared.....eyes turn bright yellow, her large paws show talons spread out like a werewolf......she lunges for my thick juicy calf-muscle.

But alas, I stop her dead in her tracks. (no, I didn';t need my crow bar...)I basically yelped like a dog that was just kicked in the groin by a horse. Sophie stopped immediately and had a really puzzled look on her face. I could almost see her thinking about what had just happened.

After that, she didn't nip at all. It was funny.....but necessary. I suspect I will have to do it again, just so it all sinks in.

heh heh........

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Sophie is a bit nippy.....

Sophie is still a bit nippy. I got a little impatient with her last night because she wouldn't stop nipping at my pant legs. Her teeth are extremely sharp. I did read that if you receive an anatolian before 8 weeks, you may have problems with them not understanding their biting power. Mostly because they nip at their siblings and learn quickly the power of painful a bite.

Sophie was funny last night...she was laying on her back and I was tickling her on her chest and under her neck. She looked like a laughing hyena. She really was smiling as though she was laughing. Her pointly teeth were baring at me. It seemed as though she liked it. I wish I got a pic.....maybe I will at a later time.

Things we are doing weekly:
- clipping her nails
- bath

Things we are doing daily:
- potty training
- brushing
- crate training
- leash training
- nipping the nip in the bud
- praising, but staying firm

Alot of work, but worth it.

Rambo: The Daddy

Here is a cool pic of Rambo from Clear Creek Kennel.
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Sophie: 8 1/2 weeks


Here is Sophie hanging out in the yard. She is never far from her ham bone.
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The Ducks

Here is a pic of our recent addition to our yard. We bought 2 female Blue Swedish Ducks. They are quite comical. We think we have a male/ female but aren't quite sure yet. Sophie loves following them around the yard. The ducks are very "people friendly" and love to eat bread out of your hands.
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Sophie: 8 1/2 weeks


Sophie is exploring the yard. She loves our chickens, pheasants, ducks, and rabbit. She is curious about everything...especially mud and dirt.
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Sophie: 8 weeks

This is Sophies first ham bone. She has spent many hours gnawing on this bone. Its got to feel good on the sharp little teeth.
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Sophie at our home in Utah


This is Sophies first day at our home in Utah. (June 11th, 2008) My wife made her the pillow she is comfortably laying on.
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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Rambo and Faleena

This is Rambo and Faleena. They are the parents of little Sophie. (Faleena is days away from giving birth to our Sophie.This pic was taken sometime in April)

Our Sophie was born on April 20th, 2008.
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Rambo is Sophies dad

This is Rambo. He is the daddy of my little girl, Sophie. Rambo is a huge 175 pound Anatolian Shepherd. He looks like a tremendous gaurdian, doesn't he? The breeder tells me that he is quite the gentle giant.
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I heard Sophie bark today......

Sophie decided to bark today. It was her first. It wasn't loud or anything...just a little bark.

One thing I have also noticed is that she twitches alot while she sleeps.....Like mini convulsions. I've also seen her convulse while she is awake. I'm not too concerned...yet.

Yesterday she decided to play in the dirt. (I had 14 cubic feet delivered to my house for a home project that sits in my driveway.) It didn't help that I was watering. Not only does she love to put dirt clods in her mouth, but she loves to roll around in it. She can really make a mess. The fact that she likes dirt concerns me a bit because I don't want giant dirt mounds, mud holes and deep moon crators and caverns in my backyard.
So when you read that an anatolian shepherd loves dirt, you best believe it.

I'm going to post some pics of her brothers, sisters and mom and dad.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Sophie: 8 weeks

Sophie is 8 weeks. She is changing day to day.

Before I get into her 8 week details, I need to back up and go to the beginning.

I have tried getting an anatolian shepherd for a few years now. I have contacted many breeders, read through many contracts, and spent many hours on the phone, email, etc. None of the breeders felt right for me. I was really turned off by all of the rules, restrictions, and legal mumbo jumbo that they crammed in their legal docs. I felt like anatolian breeders were in this exclusive club and they had to authorize you if they deemed you worthy to partake of the anatolian culture. I guess if the best interest is keeping the dog purebred and away from puppy mills, it would be worth all the scrutiny.

Anyway, a couple years ago, after alot of research, I found a breeder in Alabama. We spoke several times and I felt really good about him. At the time, I barely missed his current litter. I kept in touch and now a year later, after sending him a deposit, we have a wonderful new addition to our family.

The puppy was $1000. I paid a $500 deposit and was in line as 3rd pick. I spent another $150 to the breeder for his charge to get her ready(pet crate, info etc) to ship to us from Alabama to Utah. Total to the breeder was $1150.

It was pretty painless. And the breeder was great to work with. His kennel is called "Clear Creek Kennel" and can be found on the web easy enough.

We were mostly concerned about our new puppy as being a dog that is good with children. So far so good. We also have some farm animals, so she needs to be good to them as well.
So far so good.

Now back to the 8 week details........

We are still amazed by her soft furry coat....it almost feels like a soft wool. Many have commented on her coat. Her claws are really long and sharp. No wonder an anatolian is a digger. With the size of their paws and claws they can probably dig to China.

We have not had one problem with Sophie being potty trained. She lets us know when she needs to go. She hasn't had one accident in the house. (whew!) She is also being crate trained. We have had good luck so far.

I would recommend ordering the ASDI booklets for puppies and for anatolians. They have been very helpful along with an anatolian book by Richard Beauchamp. All can be found here.
http://www.anatoliandog.org/choban_chatter.htm


In the past few days Sophie has been in a playful biting mode. We're trying to curb her of that. I bought her some nylon rope and a juicy ham bone which she loves. When she nips, we tell her no and give her something to gnaw on.

One thing that has been a struggle is her leash. She is so stubborn. When you gently tug her with her leash, she plops down and won't budge an inch. It's really funny for now. Hopefully she will get over that really soon.

She really sleeps alot. I wasn't prepared for how long she sleeps. She can sleep for 2-3 hrs at a time. Then she'll get up, play for an hour, eat...then sleep for a few more hrs.

We have been socializing her alot with humans. Mostly neighbors and family. Once she gets her second round of shots, we will try socializing with other dogs.

We feed her Purina puppy chow and have eben advised by the breeder to keep her on the puppy chow for at least 1 year.

Other than that, she is smothered in lots of love and we are having a blast with her. Hopefully she is liking us too.

We think so.

Until 9 weeks..
see ya...

Finally! Our Anatolian Shepherd arrives! 8 weeks.

She has been worth the wait. She is simply beautiful.

I have been reading, studying and wanting an Anatolian Shepherd for nearly 10 years.
She arrived to our home in Utah on June 11th, 2008 all the way from Alabama.

I headed to the SLC airport and arrived within minutes of her plane arrival. I was pretty excited (as were my kids who were waiting at home/ some in school).

I wasn't sure what to expect. The plane ride was at least 5 hrs with a stop-over in Atlanta. I just hoped she wasn't frazzled from the ride. I was also worried about her ears and what the altitude would do to her. I just hoped for the best.

When Delta finally transported her over to the cargo hub, I got my first glimpse of the beautiful pup. She seemed very shy, and sorta shaky from the trip....but overall, seemed to have faired rather well. I really took it slow and walked her around to relieve herself. I put her in the front of my truck and tried to comfort her before heading home. She was a little nervous and timid. She cried a little...but seemed to calm down after 5 minutes.

When I got her home, I let her wander around the yard where she sniffed out the chickens, ducks, pheasants and our rabbit. Then after a bit of adjustment time, I rang our doorbell and a couple of my kids/ wife came out to greet her. Thier first impression was how soft her coat was and how sweet her eyes looked. (not to mention her big feet!) She is also very gentle and sweet.
She allows us to pet her from head to toe as well as love her.

We let her play awhile outside (she really likes it outside) and she played with the ducklings for awhile...then got bored of following them around.

My wife made her a big soft pillow bed. She curled up and slept alot. She would wake up, and scoot closer to whomever was near her and go back to her nap. She ate a little....but not much. We figured she needed to recover from the flight and transition.

I took her out before bedtime and let her sniff around outside. She found our fallen walnuts and started chewing the shells. She fell asleep at 10pm and slept throughout the night without a whimper. (we expected her to cry as other pups in our past...but nope...not a peep.)

I woke up at 5am and let her go outside.
She seems a little better. She is slowly adjusting to our animals, children etc....
(She definately seems to feel more at home when she is outside.)