Postcard from Kijkduin

We are back at the beach in Kijkduin, Holland. Kenzo is having a blast. Jumping waves, swimming, fetching, taking muddy baths and enjoying his pal Joska. Viva is not on the video - too many dogs for her on the beach - but she is doing great too. Lots of walks, and she behaves well with the occasional dog she meets. Greetings from Holland!

Hovawart on the Hunt

Viva faced with the problem of choice. What would it be? Duck? Or stick? She couldn't make up her mind:

Kenzo - coming in from the right - steals the stick. What was a dilemma before, just became an easy choice. Duck vs. Kenzo-with-Stick is a no-brainer:

The stick is gaining more importance quickly, Viva goes into full pursuit mode:

And we have a winner, Kenzo returns to shore in retreat:

Some decisions are not so difficult after all for a - former? - resource guarder. But hey, those ducks are still there, maybe Viva could have it all?

Identifying articles on the track

After a long winter stop, the arrival of spring also announced the start of a new tracking season.

Kenzo was excited to be reuntied with his tracking buddies in tracking class. He tracked, sniffed for marihuana and searched like there was no tomorrow.

Nothing was forgotten or needed rehearsal. We picked up right were we left before winter. After two hours of tracking, I got a very tired and satisfied pup home with me.

After the new start we made last year, armed with all we learned on our nose work summer boot camp, I wanted to set some goals of what we would like to achieve. Kenzo's tracking style is now very good. His style is methodical and nose down, as it should be. He excels at finding the start of a track, is not distracted by turns and corners. If there is something "big" left wishing for, it is how he identifies the articles found on the track.

Kenzo does stop and quickly inspects any article he finds on the track, but now the track has become such a great reinforcer for him, he quickly resumes tracking again. What I would like him to do - like you see the tracking champs do - is to lay down when he finds an article, with the article in between his front paws, while he waits for me to come and pick it up.

Here is a short video on how you can train that:

Easy, right? This is how:

1. Lay some treats on the article, Kenzo will stop to eat them
2. Give a "down" command, while laying some new treats on the article
3. Take away the article while laying some new treats, to keep Kenzo down

The idea is, after enough rehearsal, Kenzo will know the drill and starts to lay down himself for each article he finds. Enough rehearsal is the culprit here, and last year we trained it at least one-hundred times, I called the trainer in despair. She asked how many times we trained, "at least 100 tracks" I answered. "Try 200 tracks" was the reply. "and if that doesn't work, try 300 tracks". "Kenzo needs the time Kenzo needs".

And there is no shortcut. Some in class start training it separate from the track with a clicker. This made things worse because their dog is now identifying all articles by laying down. You only want them to identify by laying down when they are on the track.

We are past the 150 mark now, and I promise to show you a video of Kenzo identifying articles all by himself. Only Kenzo knows when that will be.

Kenzo Neutered: Did it Help?

When I noticed Kenzo’s additional sniff of Viva’s private parts, I knew it. Viva was soon to come in season again. The first time after Kenzo’s neutering, now almost four months ago.

Would it work out? Or would Kenzo still stop eating and sleeping? Would he whine and cry during the weeks that lay ahead? The vet gave no guarantees, a lot of dogs display no change in behavior after being neutered and it could solve Kenzo’s anxiety. Or it could not.

With Kenzo’s extra sniff four months of worrying and feeling guilt also ended. Almost daily I wondered if we did the right thing. At the end of our wits and desperate because of the ill effect on Kenzo’s health we decided it was the only thing left we could do – with the emphasis on in our case, as spaying Viva is not an option due to her general health condition and neutering is not a decision taken lightly. And with Viva in season again, we would get the long awaited answer.

We anxiously watched how their interactions unfolded and in particular how it affected Kenzo. It went even better than we could have hoped for. It was such a relief. He never whined or cried. He slept fine, and most important, he kept eating the meals as he is used to. True, he was excited. He had not forgotten how to parade like a peacock and did his best to court Viva with every opportunity.

We are in the last week of Viva’s season period now and we drove to Holland yesterday with both dogs in the car. Something that before Kenzo’s neutering would have been virtually impossible. Kenzo would have started to hyperventilate and eat his way through the crate to reach Viva. With only one more week to go I am ready to exhale my biggest sigh of relief ever. And I am so happy for Kenzo.

His behavior towards other dogs hasn’t changed in any way – which was one of my main objections now proofed to be unfounded. He has taken on some more pounds, probably also because he finally is eating well. We can manage that so far with more exercise, as there is no sign he is slowing down.

I wonder why it took Viva four months to come in season. So far she managed to repeat it every two months. Maybe the vet was right that it was a response from her body. As she said Viva’s improving health made her blossom and with that handsome guy around, nature called out “it is now or never”. If that would be the case, Kenzo’s neutering will help Viva as well, as she will move to a more natural cycle, and she stops wearing her fragile body down.

I hate the expression, but have to admit that I truly am in the middle of a “win-win” situation. There, I said it.

There Is a Time to Think and a Time to Act

In the previous installment about Hovawarts and Temperament I mentioned how responsible Hovawart breeders have the temperament of their puppies tested. What did this test reveal about Kenzo? And did the test help us understand Kenzo better?

When we visited Kenzo's breeder for the first time, we met both Kenzo and one more Hovawart puppy, his brother "Izak". At 12 weeks old, they were the litter left-overs. The families they were destined to join had regretted their decision.

While Kenzo's brother continued to interact with us, growling, biting my shoe-laces and jumping up, Kenzo had retreated to the garden after a first greet. There he laid down, leaning on a fence, and enjoyed the view he had over the fields. Still playing with his brother, I asked the breeder which one he would recommend, considering we would become first-time Hovawart owners. He nodded over to Kenzo, "That one", he said, and added, "He is more mellow". Would it be my newbie decision, I would have chosen Izak, but I followed the breeder's advice.

When we took Kenzo home, we also got a copy of his temperament test report. Over time I became fascinated by it, as the test confirmed some of the things we started to observe with Kenzo.

KENZO'S TEST RESULTS

In short, Kenzo missed most of the "desired" behaviors in the test that would qualify him as a working Hovawart. He remained cautious in his contact towards the tester during the contact tests. He was interested in the ball used for the prey drive test, but sniffed it before grabbing it. In the fight drive test he cautiously took hold of the object but quickly released again. Overall, his drive was low in these areas. No need to say, that his brother Izak scored high values.

In the social- and stress tests he did very well. He was an active, calm and balanced participant and used most of the time for the test to engage and showed no signs of stress. In the defense tests Kenzo displayed a high drive, he made no flight attempts neither did he respond with aggression. There was a little defender already present in that small puppy.

THERE IS A TIME TO THINK...

We soon experienced, like the test predicted, that Kenzo is a little reserved and craves some encouragement. He needs time to think things over. He remains cautious towards people he doesn't know, even if they would come with his favorite toy. When he gets a new bone or treat, he first takes a short sniff, before he gently takes it. Any new thing we bring in the house, from coffee-machine to doormat, has to be investigated thoroughly.

He chases squirrels but has never hurt one despite ample opportunity. Even when he catches one, he quickly releases. Kenzo doesn't value resources. His favorite toy, or place to sleep, is happily shared with Viva, and before her, with any dog that visited.

In our "Shutzhund" class it also became very obvious. When Kenzo was presented with the "guy with the arm" he grabbed it cautiously and quickly released again. It took a couple of additional sessions for him to understand that this was a game and getting hold of the arm was fun. The day we got a replacement trainer, he didn't bite, as he had to think over this new situation.

In all types of training we did in the past or still do today, like obedience and tracking, Kenzo needs encouragement and some time to solve a problem. I learned not to try to help him, as he will only look up at me for guidance and I want him to do the problem-solving himself. He is quickly labeled as "shy, not confident" but that is not true. He just needs some encouragement and a little more time, and maybe allow him a second or third try. One of our trainers who knows Kenzo since puppy hood takes pride in always giving Kenzo a new puzzle to solve. We both enjoy seeing him go through his elaborate thinking process.

AND A TIME TO ACT...

The test also predicted a little defender. And indeed, Kenzo does not need a lot of thinking when we have an unexpected visitor on an unexpected place. On the contrary, he is as fast as lightning. Kenzo has by now made a number of "arrests" - he stops a person and keeps them on the same spot until I arrive -  in which he judged a person as a threat. Maybe you remember his drugs-bust, but we also witnessed arrests where people would come on our property, or when a "suspicious" person would approach us or other people he knows very well, outdoors.

When we were involved in an outdoors search exercise, the trainer I mentioned before was present in the search area. A Ranger suddenly appeared from behind a mud wall and walked straight to the trainer. She looked at the man while the expression on her face changed, probably wondering what the man wanted. Kenzo was the first of the group to notice this change in her expression. While I looked up to see what got his attention, he was already on his way to make his arrest.

Although the trainer was very flattered and touched when Kenzo jumped in to "protect" her, Kenzo's high defense drive is something which is difficult to manage properly. When I am outside I am always aware of the surroundings, to prevent him from making any further arrests.

If anything or anybody strikes me as odd, it is guaranteed Kenzo will be next to notice. It took a while, but when I let him know it is alright or recall him he listens fine and relaxes. It means a lot to him knowing I am aware of any "threat". The problem is when he notices something before I did and I therefore act too late, and he makes his own decision. Although I am certain he will not bite, people might understandably mistake it for getting attacked, maybe hit or kick him, and things could go wrong from there.

The odd thing is that we also trained arrests on "Schutzhund" training, but on that stage he always refused to arrest any new person he did not know. Clearly he distinguishes between the two and only acts this way when he perceives something as a threat, as that is how he is wired.

I am still grateful for the breeder, giving the advice for Kenzo as he did. For a first-time Hovawart owner, one drive is more than enough to manage.

Siberian Winter

We have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of some snow. Could last year's snow fun repeat itself over here in Denmark? There is nothing like watching Kenzo & Viva catching the snow zoomies. I would sure hate to miss out on that.

When a high-pressure over Siberia had temperatures plummeting all over Europe, our anxiety levels went equally on the rise, but snow continued to avoid this part of Denmark. Until last week, when we finally woke up to the sight of a landscape covered in white. Just a little, enough to cover a Hovawart paw, but snow nonetheless.

We all rushed outside, only to stop abruptly as Viva came running back to us with a bleeding paw. One of her nails was hanging on a thread. We rushed to the emergency vet, who patched her up and gave us some antobiotics to prevent infection. The nail could be safed, Viva was lucky!

On return, Viva went right back to play some more. Although slippery due to the plastic bag wrapped around her brand new red sock.


We have been lucky before this winter. I found out we had run out of fuel and there was no heat. When we got the tank filled up again, the heaters refused to start and we had to call a repair-man. It took a little week before the heat was restored while the temperature outside was well below -20C/-4F.

But we have one of those traditional Scandinavian Masonry Heaters that runs on wood, and the whole family camped around it for a couple of days, enjoying the warmth and the company. We pretended to have our own little winter adventure, sipping on some Glögg and with two Hovawarts on guard to keep the trolls at bay.

It seems we have everything winter could bring covered now. We are ready for spring to arrive!

The Fearful Dog Therapist Strikes Again

Do you notice the little figure in the middle of the photo? It is Kenzo on the beach we visited in Holland. He is looking at a path that leads down from the sand dunes onto the beach. From this path his pal Joska the Viszla - and my dad - usually appear.

But they were late for the beach that day. Kenzo decided to sit down in front of the path and waited, in his best imitation of Hachikō. He sat down for 10 minutes, letting other dogs pass by, until they arrived.

They have not always been that happy to see each other. Joska is very competitive towards other males, but fearful of them at the same time. It is like his testosterone is pushing him to act in a way he doesn't feel confident about. When Joska and Kenzo first met two years ago, Joska was not amused and very nervous. He only allowed Kenzo to showcase a full display of every calming signal in the book.

Somehow, during some of those meetings in the past, Kenzo discovered Joska's soft spot. Joska and my dad love to play fetch above anything else. Even though Kenzo has a game of fetch low on his fav list, body-checking is still his uncontested number one, he recognized fetch as the key to forge a closer relationship with those two. And decided to favor the game's company over the game type.

At first Kenzo was calm. Trying to appear not interested, as not to annoy Joska. Nowadays he is a fully accepted member of the fetch team. It took Kenzo more than a year in the smallest steps possible to get there. Desensitization carried out in perfection.

To give you an idea of how they play today, in their own version of fetch, watch this short video:


Did you notice the mutual play bows - even my dad - and how they play with two balls in the game?

Watching the three of them greet when they reunite after a long period of living apart in different countries and see how they engage in their own private game is a joy. For Joska it is very special that he can bond with another male dog.

Kenzo does try to introduce the body-check into the game and he made a fine demo once. As soon as Joska was on his feet again he decided to avoid further demos, and give this new play concept some further thought.

Like before, Kenzo never ceases to amaze me how he can make any dog feel good. Even if it takes him more than a year to achieve it. But a year is a small prize to pay for obtaining a real friend, as I realized when I saw him sitting on the beach, waiting for his new BFF.

***

Related post: The Small Fearful Dog Therapist

Plastic Surgery For A Hovawart

B-day. The day of Kenzo's neutering. My subconscious made it's final move: surely the appointed time with the vet was a mistake? But the vet - she is starting to get to know me - called after us with a reminder of the appointment.

And so Kenzo went on the operating table, well on his way of becoming 100% gorgeous to famous movie stars like Katherine Heigl. Have you not seen it? According to Katherine dogs are already 98% gorgeous, and removing two tiny little not-so gorgeous obstacles - according to Katherine - is the only thing needed to reach a one-hundred-percent of absolute gorgeousness.

As you can see on the photo, he didn't feel gorgeous right after the procedure. But despite small red eyes and wobbly feet he made sure to cover Viva with ear-nibbles on return. After all, he is 100% gorgeous now, and he knew Viva must have been looking forward to his return.

Everything went well. After all it is a simple procedure. And as soon as the anesthesia started to wear off, we got a smile too - although still with small eyes. It feels good to be gorgeous. Or doped? Alright, maybe both.

To all you commenter's on last week's blog, FB and Twitter: thank you for your thoughtful support and for cheering us up. You guys rock!

There Will Be No Small Kenzo's

But she is still my girl

Kenzo is getting neutered. Yes, we did embark on a project to show him, get his mental- and health state tested. And maybe it would lead to small Kenzo's, eventually. But we are going to leave that path.

I hoped it would take a year, and in that time Viva would only come in season twice. Not that we want to breed Kenzo with Viva, her health doesn't allow to be bred and neither does it allow a risky surgery getting her spayed. But the issue is that Kenzo with his manhood intact just goes through the roof when Viva is in season.

During Viva's season period he is howling and whining and only stops from pure exhaustion. He hardly eats, drops a lot of pounds and doesn't find joy in many other activities. Not even tracking which he loves so much otherwise. For us it is heart breaking to see him that way and we worry for his health.

Normally a female dog would come in season once every half a year. If the project would take a year, it would have meant we had to go through two more episodes. I thought we could handle that. But Viva changed the plan. Since we started, Viva has been in season three times, meaning she is in season every other month.

Every other month. Thats just too much, and not something I want to put both Kenzo & Viva through on such a regular basis. So Kenzo is getting neutered. There is a risk it will not change his anxiety when Viva comes in season. We tried chemical castration, and it had no effect on his behavior otherwise than that he was shooting blanks. But since we cannot spay Viva without risking she wouldn't survive the operation, I can't see any other options.

Their will be no small Kenzo's. In many, many years from now when he would have passed away, it would have made us happy knowing his unique spirit was living on inside some small Kenzo's enjoying their own life. A nice thought. As long at it doesn't hold us back from enjoying the life we have now. I guess giving birth offers a touch of immortality and therefore can blur our judgment sometimes.

Kenzo can have a more fulfilling life with joy and fun, doing the things he wants to do, than being bothered by what he needs to do. I am here. Kenzo and Viva are here, lets make the best out of it, right now.

Hovawart on the Job

Viva defending the company colors

Taking your dog with you to the office can be a lot of fun. Kenzo and Viva join me regularly. We all refer to them as the "Complaint Department".

Now they never read their job description, and a Hovawart will make a guarding job out of anything. Which makes it a little bit more challenging in our case.

Viva is the easiest. She loves people and showers the whole office with kisses. Not everybody in the office appreciates that, but it is hard to stop her when she is in love-mode. Viva needs me to be in eye sight due to her separation anxiety though, making sanitary stops quite a challenge.

Kenzo should have been even easier. He is raised as The Ultimate Office Dog: after all, he grew up in an office. We started our business at the same time we got Kenzo as a puppy. As with most businesses, we started in the garage. And when we were hiring, we couldn't pay a lot more than the wages. We cleared the 1st floor of our house and arranged it as an office space. People were walking in and out. The front door and the door bell were active all day long.

Kenzo was growing up in the middle of all the activity and I guessed myself lucky with some free and necessary socialization. He moved between the ground- and 1st floor as he pleased, and had a lot of fun with his self-appointed role as the doormen. Already that time he was suspicious of new faces, and he needed some hours to decide if my call that it was alright was indeed accurate. You cannot deny those Hovawart guarding genes, especially in a Hovawart male.

It could have ended here would I not have made some mistakes. I took Kenzo with me to basic "Schutzhund" training, just to see if it would be something he would like. He didn't, but he learned enough to pick up some skills he could use. Showing disinterest in training class to "arrest" (barking in front of a person) someone he "knew", didn't mean he didn't learn.

He just applied it in situations he himself deemed necessary. Which sometimes lead to hysterical situations, maybe you can remember his latest drugs bust - revealed in the comments section. Again a typical Hovawart, thinking independently and making his own decisions.

Viva joining the family has changed Kenzo in many ways. Being the man in the house, not neutered, and having "his" girl Viva, made him a lot more ambitious as well. I noticed it all too late, making it more difficult now to get him off the podium he created.

We all got a shock - after we moved to a real office - when a visitor came in and Kenzo decided it was time for his first office arrest. We straightened it out quickly and Kenzo and the visitor quickly became BFF, but I remembered looking in his eyes, this has been a great reinforcer for him. He gloated.

The worst I could do is to not take him to the office anymore. Socializing never stops, especially with a Hovawart. We keep some precautions and Kenzo is on leash all the time. When somebody he doesn't know comes up to me I have to be vigilant and step forward myself. Relieving him of taking a decision on what to do. He is constantly aware, and so should I. This is enough to prevent any "unpleasant" situations from happening.

We all had a laugh last time, when Kenzo decided to take a good nap and stop looking at the door closing and opening all the time. He lost seeing the point I guess, as he knew all those people coming in and out anyway. Yet there was a new person coming in without speaking - he would have picked up a new voice - and sat down in a waiting area.

I thought Kenzo knew - he always knows - and took him with me to go for a walk. Still half a sleep he looked at the person while we passed by but still nothing. I said hello, and as soon as the person responded, we all could see the confusion on Kenzo's face, he missed that one! Even his bark sounded disappointed. To make it worse I rewarded him, now he really was confused.

This post is for all my awesome co-workers. A big thank you for putting up with us!

Look at That, Not at Me

No time to look at you, I am looking at that

Dogs learn from each other and copy behaviors of each other.

For Viva I hoped she could benefit from Kenzo, observing how he interacted with other dogs, and how he handles situations that would otherwise impose fear on her.

The exact opposite happened. Viva is making good progress – thanks to BAT (Behavioral Adjustment Training) – but Kenzo is going in the opposite direction. They are copying alright. But it is Kenzo that is doing the copying, not Viva.

Looking back, Kenzo’s change in behavior already started to develop ever since our very first encounter with an off-leash dog together with Viva. Viva snared at her, and the other dog snared back. Kenzo stepped in between the two ladies before it could escalate any further. He did not snare or growled, just moved in between them while making himself as large as possible. The other dog left. I thought it was just Kenzo being his diplomatic self, like he has done so many times before.

This scenario repeated itself with other dogs. And then one day Kenzo decided to act in a preventive way, and moved in between before the other dog could reach Viva at all. And in small increments, he became a little more persuasive as well. Without me noticing it - I was glad for the help while in the background trying to somehow keep Viva from going berserk -, he was learning a lesson I did not want him to learn. Aggression can pay off.

In the mean time Viva became a lot more relaxed due to the progress we made with her BAT training. She became so much more relaxed that I could start doing some “Look At Me” with her on our walks. When another dog approaches, I can use it to have her focus on me. She can still respond to a “Look at Me” only meters away from another dog.

Kenzo gave “Look at Me” a different meaning. For him it was a signal another dog was approaching – which in itself was correct - and he made himself ready to scare them off for Viva. Instead of looking at me, he would scout the surroundings for any dogs and locked in on them as a guided missile system. No matter how much I tried training it with Kenzo separately, on a walk together with Viva, Kenzo mistook it for a warning that danger is approaching.

Now I found myself in a situation where Viva was improving, but Kenzo was clearly in a downward spiral. Not something I would have expected, to say the least. And I needed to fix it fast.

I discussed it a lot with my Twitter pals, and while I chatted about it with @kimhalligan1 and @positivelydog, I got some great advice. According to @positivelydog  Kenzo was an info-seeking dog and with them “Look at That” (LAT) works better. That meant I actually had to reward him for looking at the other dog, instead of trying to have him to look at me. She sent me this LAT video from Leslie McDevitt – author of “Control Unleashed” - and off we went to try it out.

It was easy to train, as I can reward Kenzo for what is natural for him. When we are on a walk these days, we are just asking for a “Look...”. Viva looks at me, and is rewarded. Kenzo scouts the horizon, finds the dog, I praise and he looks at me for a reward. Jackpot!

It is such a small thing when you think of it, but it makes a huge difference. Having regained focus of both Kenzo & Viva once more we can move forward again as a team. The negative downward spiral Kenzo was in has been stopped. 

Waiting for The Happy Days

Where is that tracking dude? We are tired of waiting

During some crazy weeks for the business in which we worked like madmen on a bid for three huge "call for tenders", life had to wait.

Walks were just sufficient. No tracking. No training.

Kenzo's activities suffered the most. I canceled his mental test in our show or neuter project, canceled ring-training, canceled mid-week obedience classes, canceled the tracking exam.

Viva's vet visits, the holiest of the holiest, were of course uphold. She is in thriving health, and the latest Cushing's test with blood work came back just fine. I even got her groomed, but that is a different story.

Kenzo & Viva seemed to quickly adapt to the new routine. Spending their time waiting for the happy days to return. I worked a lot from home, conveniently keeping my own guilt feelings at bay. Being the active dogs they are, I expected a lot more protests and new "behaviors". Apart from occasionally stealing some laundry and taking their self-invented guarding duties a little more serious than usual, nothing out-of-the-ordinary happened.

No need to say that the first thing we did today - now all work was "finished" - was to go out for some well-deserved tracking. After Kenzo finished jumping up on me and slobbering my face, he did his best imitation of a vacuum cleaner, while Viva provided a background barking choir, in anticipation of her turn to track. They have just been waiting. Politely and patiently.

Happy days have returned. And while I write you this short note on what we have been up to, Kenzo & Viva are laying at my feet, in a deep and fulfilling sleep from a couple of hours of nose work. Just how we like it. And how it should must be.

I know I'll have to do this smarter next time. On top of all I forgot, when you bid on a "call for tender", you can occasionally win. And that's what happened, we won one already. 

A decade ago I spent a lot of time on books and seminars about balancing work and life and postponed getting a dog. How ironical. All those lessons were in vain and I needed a dog to get the message across. Now I only have to act upon that.

Father and son

Finally the big day arrived. Kenzo participated in his first dog show ever and delivered a "good". But we will remember this day for something completely different.

4 years ago, when we got Kenzo from the breeder, we also received a stack of papers. Inside all the papers was a photo of his dad "Odin". A personal message to Kenzo was written on the back. Kenzo's mother was a black and brown Hovawart. But Odin was a blonde, just like Kenzo. We always kept that photo and wondered if Kenzo would grow up to look like - and act like - his dad Odin.

The breeder unfortunately retired, and contact with the litter and both parents was lost before it could start. But we were glad we had the photo. I researched Odin, officialy named "Chaccomo vom Bohrertal", and found out he even made it to Danish Champion 2009. And when Kenzo reached maturity, he did become the spitting image of his dad on the photo.

When we drove up the parking lot to the show area, people were walking their Hovawarts and made show preparations. I couldn't believe my eyes when we drove by one particular couple. The resemblance with Kenzo was striking, and then it flashed through my mind: could it be Odin?.

What must have looked like an emergency stop, I hit the brakes and opened the car window, asking: "Is that Odin?!". The man, surprised by the sudden commotion, gave a hesitated "Yes?". And I answered: "I have his son in the back" and got Kenzo out of the car so we all could meet.

It felt like a family reunion. Kenzo and Odin couldn't care less, but for us humans it was a little emotional roller-coaster. For us it was awesome to finally meet Odin in real life. And for Odin's parents it was awesome to meet the lost son.

Kenzo (left) and his dad Odin (right)

As we were all nervous for the show, this wasn't what we needed to calm down, but we got through the day before entering some state of nervous break down. Kenzo, aka "Sveablik's Igor", got his "good" and we were all proud.

Due to my ill preparations and non-existing knowledge of ring-etiquette, Kenzo pulled this one through all by himself. Odin's dad gave a lot of good tips from his vast show experience and told were we - read: me - should improve. Odin himself scored an "excellent".

After we came out of the ring, people came to see Kenzo up close, arguing how it could be he didn't score higher. A Swedish breeder fell in love with him and asked me a thousand questions about Kenzo, scribbling everything down on a piece of paper.

From the jury report it showed that Kenzo scored highest on the shape of his head. It is so distinctive, and also what he has in common with Odin. The reason I could pick Odin out of 60 Hovawarts in a split second was his face. Other areas praised in the report were the width and depth of his chest, and his overall angles. And last but not least, probably the most important of all, he was judged a "Freundliches Wesen". German for a "Kind Spirit". Thats my boy.

We had to leave early and couldn't stay to see the finale, as we had to see to Viva back home. All those dogs would just have been too much for her. It was an amazing day, mostly thanks to Odin and his dad. A dog show can appear to be all talk about lines and characteristics. But when you know and love the dogs personally, it is so much more than that. I am so glad to have found this missing piece in Kenzo's tale. Boy, I am so proud of him, that sometimes it hurts.

Guarding Dog In Action: Hovawart Intruder Alert

1. "Who's that?". Here Viva and Kenzo notice a person at the end of the drive way and start to focus. Viva is on the left. Kenzo on the right.

2. "That's far enough". The person is approaching. Very clear body language of the lips in this one.

3. "Alert!". The person moved over the threshold. Kenzo sounds the alert.

The Hovawart is a guarding dog. They are wired to act suspicious towards anything new and unfamiliar that approaches their domain. If I would have opened the door and greet the person while telling them it is alright, Viva would cover the person in kisses right away. Kenzo would still be suspicious though. He will accept the situation, but will not loose the person out of his sight. First after a while or with a second meet, he will be able to relax more.

Anything the person would do during their first meeting to approach him, he would reject with a loud bark. How differently Kenzo behaves when we our out. Just yesterday in training class a person he didn't know came up to him, bend over (!), gave him a hug, and looked right into his eyes. Kenzo is maybe not thrilled when that happens, but he allows it.

I took these pictures when I caught Kenzo and Viva doing what a guarding dog does, and posted them on Facebook. They were so popular I thought you would like it if we shared them on our blog as well.

Kenzo in the Surf

We just returned from a 2-week trip to Holland. I had to work a lot, but spend all my time in the evenings with Kenzo and Viva. The place we usually pick for our stays in Holland is pet friendly and close to the beach.

Viva feels comfortable because she knows the place by now. And Kenzo loves it so much here because of the beach. There is only one thing on his mind as soon as we arrive. Where is the beach! When we go for a morning walk, he is determinately pulling me in the same direction: "it is over there, come on, hurry!"

The weather was bad during our stay, but Kenzo doesn't care about that. He loves to play fetch in the surf.

When there is a good surf, he loves to jump over and through the waves. Sometimes a wave catches him and he disappears for a short moment, until he surfaces again. With a huge smile on his face.

Kenzo working on his timing

Although wet, some of the evening walks were accompanied by spectacular sunsets and we enjoyed the view on an otherwise grey day.

The sun did come out one single day though. To Kenzo's disappointment, as there was no surf.

Where is the surf? I want the bad weather to return!

Hovawarts are no natural water dogs like Newfies, Labs and Retrievers. But they can enjoy it, just like any other dog. We got Viva swimming in a couple of weeks. And she was 6 years old and didn't like water when we tried first. Maybe one day she loves it as much as Kenzo does.

On one of our walks we met this fun Retriever, that preferred sand over water. Here he is together with Joska the Viszla - one of Kenzo's Dutch friends - in a fine display of team work. You dig, I get a sand rub!

You dig, I get a sand rub

Kenzo & Viva got doggiestylished!

The breed ban series we are running on our blog touched a lot of hearts. So many people voted - today we have more than 1100 votes, woohoo! And votes keep on pouring in. Many also blogged about and shared the petition. Some show their appreciation with other gestures, like Karen Friesecke from DoggieStylish.com. Look what we got in the mail today:

Kenzo (aka Bronco Billie) & Viva (aka Calamity Jane)

How cool is that!? Awesome new leather collars, with matching leashes for the finishing touch. Ooh-la-la! Kenzo is going to be a show off on the upcoming dog show in September. It can be me, but I already notice his ego boost starting to erupt in the picture.

Thank you Karen! You are so generous and kind. We dedicate the collars to the Danish fight against BSL, and will donate the value to the association Fair Dog in your name.

What a nose boot camp, dog shows, and neutering have in common

I am excited too!

During last week's tracking class, Kenzo did his worst track ever. You couldn't even call it a track. I picked up Kenzo and our tracking backpack right after work. I noticed the sight of the backpack didn't arouse him like it used to. When we started tracking, he showed no interest. He put his nose down because I asked him, but the nose was quickly up in the air again. Sniffing frantically for something I could only guess what was.

What to do?

I was worried. Did I train him too hard or too much, trying to achieve more focus on the track? What did I do wrong? And more important, did I spoil Kenzo's fun in tracking, and should we give up tracking and look for another sport he would like to do? The trainer observing Kenzo's failed track was stunned and didn't know what to say. She was as sad as I was. I remembered our trainer went to a training school every summer to brush up her nose work knowledge and asked her if they would accept mere mortals like Kenzo and me at this school. She was worrying too much about Kenzo to note my clumsy and rude attempt for a second opinion. She scribbled the name of the school on a piece of paper and said I should try to contact them, although she didn't give us much chance.

Boot camp!

That's what I did when I came home. I wrote a long mail to the school why I thought Kenzo would qualify to join their ranks and the waiting for an answer started. We maybe didn't had much to show for in achievements but hopefully the passion for tracking touched the person on the other end. After a couple of days I got the answer. We were accepted! Kenzo was shocked with my impression of a happy dance. I also received the 3-day program with a lot of tracking and scent discrimination trained by - among others - the Danish Champion in Search & Rescue. I am thrilled to take part in this.

It is not just the nose

But lets return to the evening after the track went sour. The next morning on our walk Kenzo continued to act differently and I started to realize what actually was wrong. It wasn't Kenzo that was walking, but it was the nose. Or should I say hormones. When we came home and I gave him his breakfast, he didn't eat it. That was the final clue. Someone was in heat and Kenzo knew who it was. Later in the afternoon the black German Shepherd dog - one of Kenzo's sweethearts - and her owner passed by our house and they confirmed what I suspected. Kenzo's bark was high-pitched and frantic when he noticed them. Kenzo is in love, once again.

One more project

Kenzo's neutering has been postponed for too long. Some Hovawart experts were impressed with Kenzo's mental state - ok, he looks good too - and urged me to consider breeding with him. To do that correctly, it involves a lot of health- and mental tests, and also earning prizes on dog shows. A project that will easily take 6 months up to a whole year and I have been postponing it ever since. So we will set this in motion too. It will either work out or not, but we will close it off with Kenzo enjoying his retirement from the dating scene having him neutered.

Maybe I am in denial, my wife says it is my lame male subconscious that makes me postpone. She is probably right. What else can a nose boot camp, dog shows and neutering have in common? I therefore officially and publicly pledge that this is my last and final postponement attempt.

The 10 best pictures of Kenzo and Viva

If you follow us on Twitter or Facebook you know I almost daily upload new pictures of Kenzo and Viva to Twitpic. One of the fun things about Twitpic is that it shows how many times a picture is viewed. So which photo's did you like best? Here is a top 10 of the most viewed:

#1. Kenzo trying out his new Jesus shoes

#2. Kenzo: "Please?"

#3. Viva the Sofawart

#4. Kenzo the Wet Hovawart

#5. Viva: "What do you mean ... resource guarding?"

#6. Hovawart soccer world cup

#7. Kenzo Love

#8. Dancing with Hovawarts

#9. Kenzo the Dirty Hovawart

#10. Kenzo: "How do you mean ... outgrown?

Now if you like really original dog pictures, tune in to Karen Friesecke's Dog-a-Day project and subscribe to her blog. It will wake you up in the morning with a smile for the remainder of the year.

The fearful dog owner

this new policy doesn't seem to work

Despite Kenzo's excellent reputation with small fearful dogs, he does not have that same therapeutic effect on some fearful dog owners.

There is one person and his dog, we call them "Big and Little Kurt", and both are terrified of Kenzo. Big Kurt was already afraid of Kenzo before he got Little Kurt. He send killer looks our way when we met on a walk. Polite greetings were not returned. I never thought that to be a problem, as not all people like dogs and even more people do not like big dogs like Hovawarts. So I just made sure to be polite and didn't give Kenzo the opportunity to greet him.

To my surprise Big Kurt was a dog person after all. I met him on a walk where he just got "Little Kurt". The cutest puppy, a terrier mix. With Kenzo on leash and approaching with a smile to break the ice, Big Kurt was not happy at all to see us. Big Kurt took Little Kurt up in his arms and walked right passed us with the usual killer look. He repeated this a couple of times, I tried to stop for a conversation, but Big Kurt would just mumble something in response and continued on his path, with Little Kurt in his arms.

What if...

I started avoiding them because this couldn't end well. What would Little Kurt think of us? We must be something horrible when my dad doesn't let me meet them? When Little Kurt grew up to adolescence the local dog drums already talked about him as not very well socialized. Especially with larger dogs. This didn't surprise me, but what really did surprise me was that Big Kurt now had decided to always walk Little Kurt off-leash.

Our first meeting with Little Kurt off-leash was a disaster. I don't blame him, he was setup to fail. We were on a narrow path and approaching the next corner when Little Kurt appeared. I made a quick turn with Kenzo. Also Big Kurt appeared around the corner. But he didn't put Little Kurt on a leash. I was stunned he continued walking towards us with Little Kurt ahead of him. After a few more moments Little Kurt decided to close the remaining gap and launched at Kenzo. Barking, hysterical, snapping at his face and legs.

Normally my reaction is to drop the leash, but my instinct didn't let me do that in this case. Kenzo could break Little Kurt in half with one bite. Using the leash to keep Kenzo's head away from Little Kurt I thereby sealed their faith forever as mortal enemies. And in addition it was the start of Kenzo's uncomfortable relationship with the leash. I should have dropped the leash and let Kenzo defuse the situation, but Little Kurt's fierceness made me choose otherwise.

Big Kurt was chasing Little Kurt in a circle around us. And finally stopped the spectacle by kicking Little Kurt so hard the little fellow squealed in pain while he was launched in the air and fell down a couple of feet away. Now I have had it with Big Kurt and to put it short we finally had our first conversation. Just not the intelligent kind.

Locked in battle

We still regularly meet, I always make a turn and recall Kenzo when he is off-leash. Big Kurt never makes any attempt trying to avoid us and keeps on coming head-on with Little Kurt off-leash. I don't know what he is thinking, but he is not helping. Kenzo is bracing himself for an incoming attack, he has no calming signals for Little Kurt as he would have for other small fearful dogs. Neither does Big Kurt seem to pick that up.

I am so worried. This will end wrong. We are heading towards the next confrontation. Even worse, I also had Viva with me on some of the walks where we meet, and she will show no mercy. Little Kurt doesn't stand a chance and I don't want him to get hurt. Neither do I want Kenzo and Viva to end in dog fight with all the consequences for their behavior towards other dogs. When something would happen to Little Kurt all fingers will point at us, fed by prejudice around larger dogs and Hovawarts in particular. With the current razzia-like situation in Denmark against dog bites and trigger happy authorities I worry for Kenzo and Viva's safety too.

What can I do? Nobody seems to know where the Kurt's live. As it turns out, nobody actually talks with them that could pass the word. I started to make small walks by myself trying to find both Kurt's and have a talk. At least we should be able to establish some common rules, like stop coming towards us and always put Little Kurt on leash as soon as they see us coming. So far I have not met them yet. It is such a shame all of this happened, Kenzo would have been an excellent therapist for both Kurt's.

I hope some owners of smaller dogs read this that are afraid of larger dogs. I understand how you must feel meeting larger dogs that can possibly harm your dog. Please leave a comment if you read this and tell me what we, as larger dog owners, can do to help Big and Little Kurt.

Viva La Bella

Viva La Bella

We do not usually have a "Wordless Wednesday" - posting pictures without words on wednesday - on our blog. But I couldn't resist after taking this wonderful picture of Viva today. We named it "Viva La Bella". Me adding these comments didn't help either we will ever get wordless on any wednesday whatsoever.

We tried to get Kenzo in the picture also, but he was too busy with things that matter more to him:

Viva:"Kenzo wait for the photo", Kenzo: "No time, the snow could melt"