Buddha - our new dog!

Look at this adorable raccon-face!
Buddha, our new puppy!

Every once in a while, life does not take exactly the turns you've planned for. And this is a very sweet example.

Ronny and I are a bit over-enthusiastic when it comes to dogs. We just lov'em!

I am an educated dog trainer and clickertrainer, and used to have courses in puppy-training and everyday obedience in Trondheim when I was a student.

Our Labrador-German Sheperd-Border Collie-mix Oluf is a 7 year old superdog, who was relocated to me when he was three years old.


Booouuuunce

He had tons of stress-related behaviour to deal with, but today he is a very sweet, goofy and well-functioning dog. When he got used to clickertraining, all his energy came to show, and he is amazingly eager to learn new tricks. A thing with Oluf though, is that he has obviously not had enough training on being calm as a pup'.

He has a very low patience, and he also handles "weird" activities badly. For example, watching us fishing or slacklining while being calm? Not an option in Luff's world. With lots of training he has gotten better, but the behavior patterns from his earliest years have become stayers.

Oluf doing his fav' activity

Because of this, we have fantasized about having a dog from the beginning of its "puppyhood", and raise it to handle every situation like being in a boat, camping outside the tent, being able to stay calm while we are doing other things and so on. A husky would have been a nice breed, when it comes to norwegian winters, also since we're fan of drag skiing. But there are pro's and cons with every breed. Huskies tend to have a bit harsh temper, and they're known for not being easy to make sheep-clean (= not attacking sheep).

So, we just put all dog-plans on hold.

But this Saturday, I met Eldri, a friend I haven't seen in a while. Mulla was there too, and of course we started to talk about dogs. We always do (^.^) Eldri now has four Irish Red Setters'; Aero, Mille. Ilva and Jazz!

I told her the thing about us wanting a true wildland-dog, and she replies "But Guri has a litter right now, a mix between Alaskan Husky and Irish Setter!". I was like ..... well I don't know, the plan for us was not to have a dog right now. But these were PERFECT! The gentle Setter would calm the Husky temper, and the Husky fur and body would be perfect for sled pulling, drag skiing and all the winter fun!

We agreed to meet up at Guri's the next day. Just to watch, nothing more. But there they came tumbling, eleven puppies! Amagaaaad! Kyoot overdose!

They were total cuteness! Especially one, with his racoon face and naughty behaviour. Gah!

Buddha, 6 weeks. It looks like someone used a paint-roller down his nose!

Another thing that is VERY important, is how the puppies are socialized. Some Huskies grow up in a cage outside, with almost no contact with other than their litter and mother. Not a good start if you wanna drag your dog everywhere in the world later on. What the puppy experience at early age, will manifest in later behaviour.

At Guri's, the puppies are used to other people, different dog breeds, sheep, goats, horses, cats, rabbit, doves and a peacock! Can it be any better? Also, Guri trains with positive reinforcement, and not by the principles of dominance (that's why I hate Cecar Millan and his dog abuse!). My kind of breeder!

So many good things! But still... It came a little sudden. Ronny and I thought of it that night, and came to the conclusion we were not ready for another dog yet. Our appartment is tiny, and Oluf is a handful.

But in the morning, Ronny texted me : "Errr.....I'm looking at pictures of him right now. Seriously, he's so fine! Is Buddha going to be our dog?". And then we had to visit Guri a second time to have a closer look at the rascal. He is pure perfection. A dog we can clickertrain into freestyle, agility, pulling sleds, drag skiing, hiking, carry a pack, and everything a best friend can be involved in.

So yesterday we decided. Buddha is going to be ours!

We're picking him up next Sunday, squeeeee!

Now we have to work on making the appartment puppy-safe, watch all the great films by Fanny Gott, and prepare how to work with two dogs - of course Oluf will not be left out! He is still numero uno!

Why Buddha? To us, the name represents our hippie-style and happy laidback way of living. A perfect dog for us!