Meet my new little boy Shayde!

] Shayde is a 17 week old Thai Ridgeback puppy .

I’ve actually had him for 9 days. But with a new (not housebroken pup), the birds, as well as the rest of my already busy life... I got SO extremely busy, that I didn’t even have time to sit down and post until now! Or when I had a moment of time, my eyes were literally closing.

Potty training is hard.. he’s gets it with poo thank goodness, but he has yet to be 100% with pee. It’s very tiring to have to watch another being all day every day at all times! I’ll be SO glad when it’s bullet proof.

Here are some pics . We have planted grass... I can’t wait for it to come up! Then we have plans to take out the old carpet and put in laminate floors and rugs.


Trying to catch snowflakes lol

Ridge pattern

Nap time

Toys!

What great pictures, a great looking puppy -- I just LOVE the blue!

Raising a puppy is certainly no easy task! I remember house-training with Zuko. So many ways to go about training too. What worked for us is we just went outside every hour in order to give him many opportunities to go where he was supposed to. He got praise when he went and a treat, and he soon began to understand what 'go potty!' meant. He had it figured out in a week.

Can't wait to hear of your adventures!

Thanks Jackie . We’ve gotten through an entire day of no peeing in the house, and he walks to the door now. I’m sure it’s going to take time to make it a set in stone habit.

He seems super smart, but stubborn. We are going to private training once a week, and practicing, and socializing as much as possible. Then when time permits; reading a ton of material on current dog training methods, behavior, and psychology behind establishing pack leadership. As was warned, I can already see he’s not a “golden retriever” in terms of training and willingness to please.

I can’t believe how much he’s grown in just the past week!

Ha HA! Oh boy can I relate to your post. I am co-caring for my daughter's 12 week old black labrador. He is from Gun Dog parents so is very bright and it took 2 weeks to get him fairly reliable about which part of his world constitutes a toilet!

Tomorrow he gets his last inoculations and at last we'll be out in the real world. We have had him just 4 weeks and now he's almost too heavy to carry for long. Thank goodness he can soon go on a lead for walks out and about. He's doubled in size, but you can't take your eyes off him! I used to know what sleep was!

T00syd, I used to know what sleep was too . Caring for a baby pup 8-12 weeks must be almost like having a baby! Last time I had a pup that young I was a child, so it wasn’t all on me. I’m glad Shayde isn’t a complete “baby”. He’s almost a teen though... maybe worse in some ways!


At 4+ months old, he sleeps a good 8-9 hours solid which is nice. The part that is killing me is that in recent years, my schedule has enabled me to sleep in (a little) and stay up quite late. The birds are accustomed to waking up when I’m ready. Now I’m up hours earlier than I’m used to, jumping immediately out of bed (so fun.), throw clothes on and take the dog out. Plus being ‘extra’ busy now, and my eyes are starting to close when the sun is still up! I’m getting used to it. Now I’m just “tired” but not “exhausted” anymore .

Beautiful in a very wild or steampunk way, if that makes any sense.
Can't take my eyes off of his lines.

Thank you Gail! I totally get what you mean by that

In fact, Thai Ridgeback Dog (or TRD), are known as a “primitive” canine. A breed developed by natural selection, rather than by man. Kinda like the Dingo?!

They are a breed said to not be for beginning dog handlers. Well, I had years of “book knowledge” in behavior and training LOL, and owned dogs before, but it looks like we are a beginner in an advanced class now haha. We all know you can read and research all you want and still nothing replaces actually “doing” it hands on. Like when people prepare you for having a baby lol.

Shayde is extremely intelligent, easily bored, independent minded, stubborn and testing already at his age, and already is showing guard dog instincts!! We are socializing him more every day. All pretty typical of the breed.

I’m stepping it up! I’m throwing myself into this, educating myself all I can, and not giving up! I’ll do this, and Shayde will be a well behaved Canine Good Citizen one day no matter what it takes.

I guess it’s like someone who’s only owned a cockatiel before, then they get the large Macaw.... steep learning curve, but the right owner who’s serious about learning can do it. I actually know someone who has.

When he’s not being stubborn and independent, he’s very loving, and I can tell he knows who mommy is . Mommy is the Pack Leader. Don’t forget it. .

Sweet new pics, Jules! And I really love his name! Shayde fits quite well. A breed developed by natural selection rather than by man, eh? I'm curious. Has that had an effect on the breed's lifespan? Do they live longer than comparatively sized dogs?

Thank you Stephen . The TRD is said to have the same lifespan as other dogs of similar size. It’s too bad that canines are a species that just don’t have a long lifespan, generally speaking. Especially us bird owners can see it that way. TRD are not a short-lived breed, but development by natural selection doesn’t necessarily make them “extra” long lived; however, it does make them generally healthier. They don’t have the plethora of breed related health issues that most purebred domestic dogs have.

Interestingly, as a breed that has developed to be self-sufficient, they mature much faster than many other breeds. I read this, and it does seem to hold true. I noticed that he is developmentally ahead of his age in terms of behavior.

New pics His ears aren’t cropped. They naturally are supposed to stand erect, but some puppies can use ‘help’ to assure the ears form well.

weirdest looking parrot I ever saw... :18:

Oh I remember my posting days with Zuko!! I'd get done wrapping his ears as hubby held him steady and he'd give his head a shake and -- zing! -- one of the posts would fly off and I'd have to start all over again. Even without being cropped I can't wait to see what Shayde's ears will look like when they're standing on their own!

clark_conure said:

weirdest looking parrot I ever saw... :18:

Click to expand...

I know, he is a bit.. uh... different. A wingless species, with hair instead of feathers, that walks on the ground with 4 legs. Also a beakless species; he has teeth instead! ...and he’s already 19,051 grams and growing quickly!

itzjbean said:

Oh I remember my posting days with Zuko!! I'd get done wrapping his ears as hubby held him steady and he'd give his head a shake and -- zing! -- one of the posts would fly off and I'd have to start all over again. Even without being cropped I can't wait to see what Shayde's ears will look like when they're standing on their own!

Click to expand...

How many weeks did it take Zuko’s ears to stand on their own? As of yesterday, Shayde’s will stand for about an hour without tape, then you can see them falling. His siblings already have their ears up, and some didn’t even need taping. They don’t get posted like cropped ears do, but I use a single q-tip for each ear. The lighter the better for him. If there is too much on him he’ll scratch at it more often and it comes off in 1 day. I did it this last time yesterday, and so far so good. I had to clean the oil off with disposable facial wipes, and did it while he slept. So easy that way, and almost impossible when he’s awake.