Sadie's Pack

This week Sadie became part of a pack. Her pack has 3 other members that have been here long before her. It is too early to tell where she will fall in the pecking order but after this weeks observation I don't think she will be happy being the omega. She challenges each member of the pack every chance she gets and will only back off from my alpha female.

Her pack consists of Lizzy a shepherd/collie alpha female and Pepper the omega female border collie. That leaves Storm, my ISSR Shiloh Shepherd male, somewhere in the middle. Since packs commonly contain an alpha male and an alpha female then that would make Storm the alpha male by default but not by attitude he defiantly respects Lizzy as the alpha.

You might have noticed that I did not say that I am the alpha male. Most trainers would stress the fact that the owner must be the alpha in order to control the pack however I am not convinced that this is the case. I am human and by definition I can not be a member of the pack and I do not think my dogs look at me as another dog. I will not breed with the alpha female and I will not fight with the alpha male for leadership. I will however use my dogs pack instincts to help them adjust to life in the world of humans. I look at my role more as a Teacher, Supervisor, Mentor, Drill Instructor or in other words Trainer. A lot of trainers say that you must be the alpha. I think frequently they do this in order to justify unnecessary use of force under the guise of becoming the alpha member of the pack. I would much rather let the job of alpha be determined by my dogs amongst themselves and I am happy to take on the role of Trainer. To say that only the alpha male or female can train a dog is like says that a father is the only person that can teach a child.

As trainer one of the problems I faced this week, or I should say mistakes I made, was the way in which I brought Sadie into our home and introducing her to her new pack. Storm and I are very close and Sadie was the first thing to come between us. His reaction was rather unexpected. I expected some jealousy, maybe some aggression toward her or forcing his way between us but his reaction was totally unexpected. He wanted nothing to do with her or me and for the first time he would ignore me when I ask him to do something. This from a dog that would either do or try to do anything I ask of him. He became totally independent. The dog that would not eat until I was in the room started eating if I was not around. The dog that would bound at full speed when I whistled totally ignored me. The dog that would jump up on the table to be groomed as soon as I picked up the brush now waited his turn. The dog that would get into the shower after me just so that he would get toweled down each night would now wait in the next room. He had to be coaxed into the house if he so much as saw Sadie inside. Fortunately I quickly realized my mistake and saw what I was loosing. In my enthusiasm for the new puppy I totally ignored what I have had and treasured for over a year. My solution was to let Storm help train Sadie. So far he has taught her to put both front feet into the pond when getting a drink so that she can have wet feet when it is time to come into the house. He taught her to only eat out of a flat dinner plate and not out of a bowl and I swear he taught her how to fart. What ever he teaches her it will be well worth it because he is back to his old self and even solicits play with her during which he is in-creditably gentle even when she is hanging from his jowls.

Next post Sadie's Schedule

Introduction

Introducing Wolf Creek's Sadie of Zion aka Red Girl aka Sadie

Born: 6/30/05
Coat: Smooth Brown Sable
Temperament: Hard

I acquired Sadie (formerly Red Girl) from New Zion Shiloh's in Fillmore NY on Saturday September 17 2005. Sadie is an ISSR Shiloh Shepherd and destined, along with Zion's Perfect Storm, to be the foundation of my kennel Wolf Creek Shiloh's of New Franklin, Ohio.

Even though Sadie is already almost 4 weeks older than I prefer to acquire a dog I will put off her training until I have observed her long enough to customize a training program based on her unique personality. I have helped many clients train their puppies but this will be the first puppy of my own that I have trained in quit a while. Most of my clients come to me with adult dogs that have either never been trained or improperly trained. This is a unique oppertunity for me that I have been looking forward to since I decided to resume breeding.

I have not done any breeding since I gave up on GSD's over 25 years ago. I just did not like the direction the breed was heading and I could not tolerate the the Politics. The basics are still the same but I still have a lot of catching up to do. I am learning that you can not avoid the politics no mater what breed you choose but at least the ISSR Shiloh's are heading in a direction that I not only support but will dedicate the most precious thing I have to offer, my time on this earth.