Hot sunny days

I've not been posting for a while on how things were going. But we have been busy. What is it? Make hay while the sun shines?

We've been doing early morning walks and then late evening to avoid the heat of the day. Then short lead training bits during the day or bits of retrieve or stay training in the back yard. I had a really brilliant week with Grey this week. He felt like he had passed another corner and was slightly steadier and, you know, more grown up. He came away from other dogs easier. One one morning he more or less followed me round a playing field offlead while a rottie was the other side. I've been doing lots of reinforcement for being with me with the clicker and going out before breakfast. I tried some stay training in the field too, but I'm now looking at being more steady and careful with that on the advice of a friend.

And then there are days like today where it all goes haywire. He jumped on the dining table! Stole a mask from a lady's stall we were at in the old town and was incredibly over energised this evening and hard work. But then you get days like that.

But I have been really pleased to see that we can walk some distance on the flat collar now and again. So a huge YAY!

I forgot to post feedback on the second opinion on his teeth. The dentist said there is nothing more to be done. So I've booked in with a one to one session for ttouch, which hopefully will help him.

Another teeth update

I'm going to get Grey a second opinion on his teeth situation. They still seem to be bothering him and since he has matured things seem to have changed. His front teeth are jumbled and multi-layered. They clash and there is still some impact of the left canine into the upper gum.

It could be affecting his training and behaviour on the headcollar. Which is a bit of a catch 22 situation. I can't really handle him without one on. The dogmatic seems to be the best fit so far as far as his eyes go. But it's still not ideal. This will require ongoing treatment it seems.

Photos of Grey's bite from the beginning

Grey's bite at 16 weeks old.




Grey's bite at 27 weeks old after baby teeth have been removed and the adult teeth have come through. The issue hadn't righted itself and required further treatment. The adult canines are puncturing the upper palette and he is clearly overshot.






After he'd worn the brace for a couple of months and had had an adult tooth out:





Latest photos after the brace has been taken off. He's now 11 months old. Not sure it's looking too great. The front teeth have come through in more of a jumble. His lower canines still seem to be impacting on the upper gum. His teeth are a bit discoloured in parts where the acrylic plate was.

Grey's teeth update

His acrylic plate came out on Tues. I was a bit shocked to pick him up and grooves had had to be cut into the upper gum to make way for the lower canines. I'd hoped the plate would have been enough. It looked pretty sore. But by the next day he was fine and eating everything as normal. The vet said that the teeth are only halfway through and that he doesn't think they will grow the rest of the way. I'll try to remember to get photos done of the progress. Should be Tuesday. A small portion of the upper palette was ulcerated but not much for how long he's had the plate on. Hopefully this will be the last of the dental work.

New year, new teeth

Today I took pictures of Grey's teeth for the dentist. You can see how well the lower canines have done in moving forwards and outwards. Hopefully this means the brace can come off soon. The dentist has done a brilliant job in working on correcting Grey's problem bite.






In other news, I think Grey seems to have matured somewhat. His recall is really good again (famous last words). He comes back now on the whistle from 100m away with distractions. Woohoo!

I've also started putting his 'sit' on the whistle on a single short 'peep'. He's not got it fully yet, but I've only been at it for a day. I've started trying to add a cue to his thing of lying down in a drop to wait to greet dogs when we're out. No idea how long that's going to take. He's never been too great at connecting cues to offered behaviours.

Last brag is that Grey seems to have passed Level 4 'leave it' of zen. Over two days running he left food on the floor when asked for 30secs.

Lead walking is also much much better. I've got a zero tolerance of any pulling now, so trips out are little dances of me stopping, moving backwards, to the side, encouraging to keep the lead loose and no pulling forward.

I was thinking in recent days how really good for me Grey has been. I have a daily outing where it's like meditation. I just enjoy being out with him rain or shine. Here's to a new year with the pup.

teeth update

His teeth have come on really nicely. One of the lower canines is already in the right position. That was just after one and a half weeks. He'll go back in tomorrow and maybe have a side of the plate built out so it can work on the other side. I have to say, apart from the horrid trip for him to the vets that he doesn't like and has to be carried in like Scooby Do then it's not been too bad. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it. If it works it seems like a much better solution than having adult canine teeth out.

Poor poopy's teeth

Well, the next chapter of helping Grey with his teeth problem came upon us. He went in for his op at the specialist dentists on Weds. Poor pupster was really scared when he arrived at the vets and really didn't want to go in. Had to be carried in. He ended up having to have an upper adult canine out because it was obstructing where we want one of the lower canines to grow once they're pushed forward by the plate. The plate is glued to his upper teeth and will be in for at least a month. He had a course of anti-biotics and we have to apply a gel to his gums after each meal.

He was back to his old self the next day. We're supposed to stop him chewing hard stuff, which is er, kind of hard. He's a puppy after all. He sounds a bit like he has false teeth in when he's cleaning himself.

Growing up

Grey cocked his leg for the first time today. The event was all the less momentous for the fact that he'd first started to pee while in the basement of the house chatting to a friend. So quick rush to the outside after stopping him mid-flow and there it was, like the monolith in Kubrik's 2001. The leg was well and truly cocked. Thankfully, he's back to the girlie squat since then. While I'm happy for the boy to grow up, I was kind of hoping he might turn out to be one of those dogs that never gets the whole leg cocking business.

Noticed also yesterday that his adult lower canines are peeping through. Will have to keep an eye on them from now on to see how they come through in relation to his upper jaw. Fingers crossed.

Had a lovely walk with Nelly yesterday evening. Funny how different they are together when there are no other dogs around whipping it all up. Nelly swims a lot. So far, Grey hasn't caught on to the idea. He paddles out halfway and waits for her to come back with the ball.

Grey's teeth problems

We got the call today that Grey will have to have his lower canine teeth removed on Friday by a specialist canine dentist. He has an overshot upper jaw which has resulted in his lower canines sitting behind his upper teeth and puncturing holes in his upper palette. It's hoped that removing his canines like this that the adult teeth that follow will be able to be pushed in front. He may need to wear an acrylic plate, like a brace for dogs!

The slovaks are known for getting their teeth late. One thing I feel is imperative for such a new breed with such a small gene pool, is that where problems have been identified that those pairings are filtered out. Having to have him put under and having his teeth pulled isn't a nice thing. And this is just the start. Sorry Grey! Bo show career for you!

Here are pics of Grey's bite: