Christmas Tree Confession

It was a while ago since Kenzo joined me at work in our Danish office. As I had no appointments that day, and only boring paper work to look forward to, I imagined it would be a perfect opportunity to bring Kenzo with me once again. We could take some breaks playing in the snow and add some fun to a day that otherwise had a very pale outlook.

The reception area of the office building was ornamented with a Christmas tree, positioned right by the entrance door in an attempt to add some seasonal inspiration to the armies of office workers passing through each day.

While wrestling with two computer bags over my shoulders and Kenzo's leash in one hand, I opened the front door. Two people approached, and in an empathic moment, I stood still and kept the door open for them, while we exchanged good morning hello's with a smile. Love that about Denmark, where people are so polite, and you even greet complete strangers in the mornings and afternoons. It gives such a good start of the day.

Continuing into the hall, the leash suddenly tensed. I looked back in surprise, as Kenzo usually just follows me, and what I saw next made my heart skip a beat. Kenzo stood by the Christmas tree, with one leg lifted, his sprinkler system already in the "on" position. I jerked the leash in some kind of automatic emergency response my brain fired into my right arm - sorry Kenzo - to interrupt the image that now is imprinted in my memory forever.

Nobody else was in the entrance hall, which softened the total embarrassment of the moment a little. I quickly dropped off Kenzo in our office and returned with some cleaning agents. My mind was working overtime. He never did that before. It was so easy to teach him as a pup that a Christmas tree in the house doesn't mean he just acquired an inside potty service. I was baffled.

When we went for our first walk, I kept Kenzo on my side that was opposite to the Christmas tree just in case. I knew that for a dog, no cleaning agent in the world could have covered up the odor, and it would have been a magnet to Kenzo despite my cleaning attempts. Two men were standing beside the Christmas tree, looking at two small puddles. That can't be, I thought, I just cleaned it.

"Some bastard just let his dog pee on the tree", one of the men said. "Really?", I replied cowardly, realizing that other office dogs had of course picked up the smell, and every male dog now passing by the tree, went on a mission to drop off their own business card. "You couldn't do that, could you?" the man said smiling to Kenzo. "Eh ... no ... nee", I stuttered. I felt a glow rushing up to my cheeks, something I hadn't felt since high-school. I am such a bad liar.

The man, still looking at Kenzo, concluded, "You are a good boy". We really had to move on now, as this was becoming too embarrassing, but that meant making a risky pass of the Christmas tree. This time with a full bladder. And the men would also see the letters G.U.I.L.T.Y. that someone must have painted on my back in the meanwhile. Taking a deep breath, a leap of faith, and three steps later, we made it passed the tree. Kenzo The Merciful didn't punish my dishonesty. "You are, you absolutely are, a good boy", I whispered to my partner in crime.

Wizards Marc and Cheryl, and their Hovawart, Kaspar

I am very excited to introduce you to some very exotic Hovawart Wizards, Marc and Cheryl!

I first met them through Facebook as they stood out from the "usual" Hovawart crowd, because of the place they live: Bangkok, Thailand. Truly a Hovawart family in paradise.

Thank you for participating in the Hovawart School of Witchcraft & Wizardry!

Hovawart Wizards: We are Marc and Cheryl, and live with our three boys, Andrew, Jonathan and Matt, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Hovawart: Kaspar is our Hovawart, and luckily for Kaspar our family lives just outside Bangkok in an area where there is plenty of space for him to run free. There are birds to chase, other dogs to play with and various sized monitor lizards from 2 feet to 8 feet! It is very hot in Bangok, but Kaspar finds cool places in the crosswind, and can usually be found in any air conditioned room. Kaspar was born in May 2009 and is an unneutered male.

Marc spends lots of time through his job visiting farms around the world. While in Germany a few times, he came across farms with Hovawarts and really liked these dogs. he mentioned this to one of his German colleagues and due to German efficiency, the next thing we knew Kaspar was in Frankfurt waiting for his flight to Bangkok. He arrived when he was 5 months old. He is now 35kg and very active.

Kaspar is an excellent family dog. He likes being around us. Although he is quite big, he is very quiet. He only barks if someone is at the front gate or walking too close to the front gate. We have a swimming pool but he prefers the dirty canal and has only jumped into the pool once. Sometimes he will sit on the step at the edge of the pool so only his feet are wet.

He likes to wrestle with Marc and loves being brushed and tickled by Andrew. Although Kaspar is rarely leashed, he keeps close to us during his walks and will generally listen to our calls to heel. We notice that as Kaspar gets older he is more interested in being with us and less interested in chasing other animals around.

Kaspar has been on holiday with us to the beach. We enjoy having him with us, but it is a challenge because there are many stray dogs in Thailand, and the culture of having pets inside is not present. However we have found some hotels that allow us to have him with us. At the beach Kaspar likes to sit at the edge of the water. He finds spots under shady trees and most of all he likes being with us. 

If we go away and leave Kaspar with someone he does not know, he will not eat until we get back.  Recently we went on a trip to a national park and only realized once we got there that a new regulation meant no pets were allowed in the national park (which was an island about 2 hours away by speedboat).  We had to leave Kaspar on the mainland with someone he did not know at all. The carer told us that on the first day when she took him for his walk, he broke free and found a spot near our car. He did not move for 2 days, did not drink water or eat any food.  At the other end we were also worried and cut our island holiday short so we could retrieve him.

That was an eventful holiday – we drove down the road to Phuket (about 3 hours) and the next day we were on the top of the mountain waiting out the tsunami warning. Kaspar met another Hovawart at the top of that mountain. He was a black dog about 10 years old. His owner was a German long-time resident of Phuket.  We heard that during the Tsunami recovery in 1996, Hovawarts were flown in to find people in the debris. I would really like to know if somebody reading this could confirm if that was the case?

We like Kaspar because he is intelligent, loyal and protective. He treats each member of the family different, based on their age. We figure that on his list we rank in this order: Marc, Cheryl, Andrew because he spends lots of time with Kaspar, Sita (our maid) because she looks after him a lot, then Matthew the littlest and Jonathan.  Marc encourages Kaspar to jump up and kiss up, but Kaspar never jumps up on little Matt and is always calm and gentle with him.

Kaspar's daily routine looks like this: he wakes up around 5am and goes for a 5 - 7 km run with Cheryl. It is cooler in the early morning while it is still dark. On his run Kaspar greets his other friends, sometimes has a play and is home about 40 minutes later. He runs free without a leash because the compound is enclosed and there is not very much traffic. There are many fields and little canals that he gambols through. The rest of the day is meant for relaxation.

Kaspar eats some breakfast (dry dog food) and then spends most of his day sitting near Cheryl (or in any aircon room if available!) or catching the crosswind by the front door. He gets another walk in the mid afternoon after 3:00. The children come home from school starting at 3:30 and Kaspar is there for a jump, pat and a lick. Kaspar has dinner after the family at 6:30 pm. For dinner he has meat with carrots, greens and rice specially prepared for him. Between 7 and 9 he goes for his last walk of the day. Our house has quite a big garden, so he is free to roam around during the day. Sometimes if he is eager to see his friend he will jump over the back wall (only about 2 feet) and sneak out. But he is soon back and waits patiently for someone to open the front gate.

***

Hovawart Wizards, like Marc and Cheryl, try to provide real life information for Muggles - those not yet touched by the Hovawart's magic - to learn more about Hovawarts in the Hovawart School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. A place where Muggles can read how we play, what kind of training and activities we undertake. What makes Hovawarts special to us, and how they made us into Wizards. The role they came to play in our lives. And the hard times we shared. Helping Muggles to make the best choice possible if a Hovawart could be the Magical Creature for them, or at least what to expect.

• Do you have a Hovawart? Congratulations! Then you are officially a Hovawart Wizard too and you are invited to join the Hovawart School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. Read more on how to participate here.
• Meet more Hovawart Wizards here.
• More general information about the Hovawart breed is here.

Hovawart TV: Sand Paintings

This Hovawart can draw sand paintings, zig zag style:

Wizard Deanne and her Mystery Hovawart, Gus

I am very excited to introduce you to our Hovawart Wizard, Deanne!

Deanne is actually not sure Gus is a Hovawart. He is a Mystery Hovawart. You'll have to decide for yourself. He sure looks like a Hovawart to me.

Thank you for participating in the Hovawart School of Witchcraft & Wizardry!

Hovawart Wizard: I'm Deanna in Port Townsend Washington. I'm a nurse in a small community hospital.

Hovawart: Gus is my Hovawart, although I actually don't know his breed but he sure has the look of a Hovawart. Gus is about 1.5 years old. I chose St Valentine's day as his birthday because he is a sweetheart.

I found Gus abandoned on the road in new mexico at about 6 weeks old. I took his picture when I felt he would make it. He was pretty dehydrated when I found him and the vet thought he had distemper.

Gus has a grouchy older sister, a Catahoula cross named Zoe and 2 new kitten friends, Halvor and Magnus. Gus lets Magnus "nurse" on him, and he and the kittens sleep together most nights.

Our first year was rough. Gus was not well behaved and I was at a loss as to what to do. We met a bouncy Newfie pup at the dog park and his owner got us in touch with a trainer, Tim Reiber, who has made a huge difference in our lives. We are taking advanced obedience classes, possibly trying for BH and schutzhund in the future. We have started tracking as well.

Our days always have a long walk/run in them, some obedience work and maybe a practice track. We live near both the beach and the dog park so we usually go one or the other several times in the week. Zoe is 14 and not so much fun to play with- from Gus' perspective. The kittens are fearless and he plays very nicely with them, most of the time.

I love Gus' big brown eyes. His playful yet gentle nature. I doubt that he really has any Hovawart in him, but he sure looks like one and his personality and nature certainly fit everything I've been learning about Hovawarts since I found out about the breed.

Gus is friendly to other dogs, gentle with puppies and likes to roughhouse with other big dogs. He is often very shy with new people and does not readily allow strangers to pet him. He will often put himself in front of me when another dog approaches.

My best advice: train. These dogs are so smart but also willful.

***

Hovawart Wizards, like Deanne, try to provide real life information for Muggles - those not yet touched by the Hovawart's magic - to learn more about Hovawarts in the Hovawart School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. A place where Muggles can read how we play, what kind of training and activities we undertake. What makes Hovawarts special to us, and how they made us into Wizards. The role they came to play in our lives. And the hard times we shared. Helping Muggles to make the best choice possible if a Hovawart could be the Magical Creature for them, or at least what to expect.

• Do you have a Hovawart? Congratulations! Then you are officially a Hovawart Wizard too and you are invited to join the Hovawart School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. Read more on how to participate here.
• Meet more Hovawart Wizards here.
• More general information about the Hovawart breed is here.

Hovawart TV: Rescue Bloopers

Hovawart Kim is a rescue dog in Slovenia, and she has her own promotion film - with a wink:



Fearless, courageous, excellent smell ... and foremost, a healthy sense of humor.

Small Victories

While I work with Viva's "main" issues, like fear of dogs and sudden sounds, I don't give other, smaller issues, a lot of thought. One of those is her dislike of the water hose. I guess I don't have to control everything, so if she dislikes something as trivial as a water hose, that's fine by me. And with the bigger issues pending ... I always have a first things first attitude. And of course, my gender prevents me from multi-tasking.

It is good to know that even when you have plenty of lame excuses like I do, you can still be surprised with progress.

When we return from our daily walks, I play a little with Kenzo and the water hose, and use it to fill up a small pool Viva likes to cool her paws in. She always keeps her distance, wait until I lay down the water hose, and then rushes into the pool.

You can imagine the look on my face, when suddenly Viva showed up very close to the water hose while I was filling up her pool. All I did was stay quiet - and took out the camera:

"Oh my, this is really awfully close"

"Hmmm, it doesn't seem to do me any harm..."

"Let's do it then"

"That was not bad at all"

"I can do this!"

These small unexpected victories are the best. Just like her earlier nice behavior at the groomer's. I like to think it is because of all the work we put in, it improves her so much, that she can take the smaller battles herself. But maybe it is despite my efforts, and Viva can do it a lot better independently, without me prodding. Either way, I love it.

Don Kenzote and Lady Viva

As Viva "told" us during our last visit to the island of Rømø, the Danish West-coast is one of her favorite places. With it's large and open spaces, Viva can spider the horizon for anything approaching. She likes early warning best.

When Lady Viva wants it, she gets it.

This time we touched down further north down the West-coast, on a narrow strip of land, dividing the Northsea from Ringkøbing Fjord. It has beaches and sand dunes as long as the eye can see. And although this area is more crowded in the summer, the weather in September only attracts the all-weather die-hards due to the seasonal storms and rapidly dropping temperatures of the approaching autumn. Which in short, is perfect Hovawart weather.


View Larger Map

The ocean was too rough for some actual swimming. The combination of storm and strong currents was simply too dangerous. It was not necessary though, to convince Kenzo & Viva to adopt a stay-on-all-four tactic when venturing into the roaring surf.

Kenzo, still the water rat of the couple, seemed to show the proper respect instinctively. He has experienced being rolled-over by waves before, and probably learned his lesson the hard way already.

At first it made me reluctant to play with him, afraid to throw a tennis ball too far in the surf. Kenzo's enthusiasm cured that quickly.

Throwing not so far was just as much fun. And in the chase Kenzo charged the waves and hunted the foam hovering about. Like a modern day Hovawart version of Don Quixote.

Don Kenzote.

He loves his ocean, the surf, the roaring of the winds, being in the middle of nature. Don Kenzote was in his element.

That's why we ignored the leash laws - it is required for dogs to be on lead until September 31 on all the West-coast beaches.

As I see it, not letting Don Kenzote enjoy his ocean, is downright cruel and I would have payed the fine with pleasure. If I got one. Thankfully that didn't happen.

Of course, we leashed up again when we could see any people approaching. And I must say, other dog owners did that as well, which was great for Viva, so we could pass by in a calm way - meaning a big circle.

Viva was not the least interested in getting wet, as she likes her swimming water nice and calm. And she found a new game for the occasion, to wait until Kenzo got the ball retrieved from the surf, and then steal it from him. The new big hit.

A few toe dips in the shallows was just fine for the Lady. Not that she could keep it very dry, the weather conditions made sure plenty of water came down from the sky. And when we ended up in a hail storm, we were literally washed off the beach.

I asked for Hovawart weather when we left home: "Let it rain! Let it storm!". We were not disappointed.

Today is our last day before we return to Copenhagen. Not only for the dogs, also for us humans there were a lot of things to see and do, like small fishing villages with nice restaurants, together with a lot of history - the remnants of the Atlantic Wall, the many shipwrecks, museums - and art inspired by the elements. I am sure we keep coming back for more.

Pet Friendly Travel Outcasts

There were plenty of dogs in the main walking street of the small fishing town "Hvide Sande" (white sands). The majority of them were German tourists traveling with their pooches, doing some shopping, having lunch or just strolling casually. Pedestrian traffic sometimes came to a sudden halt in a web of flexi-leashes, with dog owners admiring the shop windows at one end and their dogs meeting at the other end.

Two German couples came around the corner, one of them with two dogs. A Great Dane and a St. Bernhard. The dogs immediately reacted to the sight of all those canines in the street. The woman holding their leashes wanted to retreat, but the other couple - their dog remained calm - seemed to insist, pointing at a place further down the road. They continued down the street.

The dogs became more distressed. They started to prance and barked at any dog that came into their sights. A feisty Beagle was the first to respond with a counter bark, and soon other dogs joined in. The woman - using all her force to restrain those two huge dogs - stumbled into the first side street she could find, accompanied by an orchestra of barking dogs, rolling eyes and cold shoulder turns.

In the side street she found a parked car which she used as a cover for the dogs passing by. When some would venture into the side street she was in, she hovered around the car, making sure it was always in between her dogs and the ones that were approaching.

She send her husband back to convince the other couple to leave, and he commuted back and forth with messages for a while. It took a while to convince the other couple, but they finally came over and left the area together. The woman was relieved, and when our eyes met we exchanged a little nod and a smile. From one pet friendly travel outcast to another.

That day I left Kenzo & Viva back at the house we rented, having already learned my outcast lesson. I only take Viva to places where we can avoid other dogs. And in the middle of the day, between hikes, we leave them for a little nap, while we do some sightseeing, and maybe eat a little lunch. I really hope the German couple will also find a routine like this, and that they continue to travel with their dogs. They just need to find a way that works for them.

We outcasts can travel too, and all we need is some additional planning and give it some extra thought. Find out what we can enjoy as a team and what not. And the end result is rewarding for us all, as Amy Burket wrote so eloquently in "Pet Travel: Dogs With Issues", a post written to my heart.

Leave Me Alone

Sometimes, not often, Viva puts up her "leave me alone" face. Maybe it was the hot temperatures during that particular day. Or maybe she just had a bad hair day.

It is difficult for me to leave it with that. A Facebook friend wrote, after seeing the photo: "She looks as though she knows a thing or two - I have read about her on your blog. Glad she has found her home. Dogs come to us for a reason - often to teach us something we didn't realise we need to learn... The eyes are the mirror of the soul - one of my favourite sayings."

Viva does know a thing or two and according to Stanley Coren, it is possible dogs do have a memory of things that happened in the past. And if eyes really are the mirror of the soul, it is not looking good in Viva's case. Was she dwelling in the past during these "leave me alone" moments? We will probably never know.

Whatever it is, Kenzo picks it up too. Viva means the world to Kenzo. He always looks after her and protects her. I saw him change after we took Viva in, now 3 years ago. Taking care of his big sister has become his number one priority. And when Viva has a "leave me alone" mood swing, Kenzo always charms her back to her happy self:

Kenzo making himself cute ... Viva ignores his attempts

Getting closer ... ignoring becomes difficult for Viva

Viva lunges ... "get away!"

Now Viva is standing up, maybe a play-bow?

Teasing by stealing her favorite squeaky toy?

That worked! Viva is playing.

I am investing a lot of time and effort in Viva's well-being, but I am not on top of the pyramid, with the responsibility to make everybody happy, healthy and fulfilled. Certain things I cannot fix or understand. Taking care of each other is team work. We all need each other, to be the best we can be.

Hovawart TV: Blonds Have More Jump

Diamond is a blond Hovie with a slight energy surplus:



Red Bull gives you wings?