Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Guests


Over the last months, we have had a lot of guests (one of the reasons I have not been posting much lately).  It is always nice to be able to welcome visitors, whether long time friends or new ones.  Hearing at first hand what is going on in other parts of the world – the dog world primarily, of course – is always fascinating and it is fun showing visitors my little corner of the world.

Habibi, however, does not share this opinion. For him, these strangers disrupt his perfectly controlled domain, interfere with the daily schedule, and worst of all, invade his household.  I can understand his point of view – once he has inspected them and sniffed the details of their own dogs, then there is nothing more of interest to him.  He is not interested in conversations. Sitting and watching my friends and me talk is boring.

He has his own ways of preventing boredom.  I am always careful to explain the rules for meeting Habibi.  Habibi likes to make an impression – a BIG impression – on newcomers. This means circling them and barking ferociously so that they will understand clearly whose house this is.  He has never tried to bite anyone, that is not the purpose of this game.  The purpose is to see the visitor react – that can be very entertaining for him.  Visitors that clearly show discomfort in their body language, back away, or on the other hand try to talk to him and hold out a hand in a friendly way (“Who are you to be friendly to me?!!! I am the one who decides on when to be friendly!!!!”) are a joy to him – action, reaction, what a great game making people jump to your bark!

Visitors are told to simply ignore him and to come in and sit down.  Experienced dog people are the best at this, they know how to control their expressions and body language, walk past him and sit down.  People with less dog experience do try – but Habibi immediately recognizes the signs of insecurity, that stiffening of the body and sideways glance.  If he was a person, he would be laughing out loud at this point.  People that are particularly unsure of themselves may end up getting a nose nudge to the posterior – that little jump away is absolutely hilarious to Habibi.

Once people sit down, he takes up his position in front of me, sitting or lying on my feet and observing the conversation.  But once a guest has chosen a seat, that is where he needs to stay.  Getting up to go to another room is not allowed, Habibi stands in front of him barking until he sits down again.  For those that Habibi has marked as the insecure, even reaching forward to pick up a coffee cup may result in a warning growl – “You are moving! Watch it!”

Guests that stay overnight are a bigger problem for him.  Once they have settled into the guest room and he sees that he can’t get rid of them so fast, he grudgingly allows them to move around the house.  However, things like getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom are definitely not allowed.

My last houseguest was a real dog person who spent a few days here.  Why a real dog person? Habibi decided that – from the minute she walked in the door, he approved of her. No barking! He jumped on her, solicited attention, sat on her lap on the sofa when we were chatting in the living room.  I have never seen him so unreservedly friendly to a stranger.

But even with her, there are house rules.  She was allowed to walk around the house, to go into the kitchen, take a glass of water or even make a cup of coffee – but to open the refrigerator and take something out – no!  Going into her room was fine, but bringing out odd objects, like a camera, was likely to result in barking.  And of course, getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom…fortunately, she was not a person that did a lot of night wandering.

At the moment, life is back to normal for Habibi, no house guests.  Sorry, though, there are still a few due to visit soon…





Who is coming????


With the holidays coming up, for those that enjoy reading my little stories, you will enjoy my book, “Tails of Shaar Hagai”, fun for all dog and animal lovers, and available from Amazon.com – a wonderful holiday gift.
And for those that want to know more about the very special Canaan breed, my new book, “The Israel Canaan Dog” is available from www.icdb.org.il

And also – Have Laptop, Can Travel!  Illustrated lectures and seminars available on a wide variety of doggy subjects.  I have given talks in a variety of countries and events.  Inquiries are welcome.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Friend



I just got word that a very good friend passed on a few days ago.  She had been valiantly fighting cancer for several years, doing her best to both overcome the disease and not let it stop her from living her life in the meanwhile.  There was even a happy period when she seemed to have succeeded and to be cancer free – how happy we all were.

But cancer is an insidious enemy, and in the end could not be defeated.

What is strange, though nowadays it seems to be more and more common, is that although I really considered her one of my best friends, we never met in person.  We met on the internet, and all of our friendship, discussions, exchange of opinions, support, commiseration, and celebration, was carried on on-line.  One of my wishes was to at some time be able to meet her face to face;  this will never happen.  But I never had any feeling of knowing her less well, or of her being less of a friend, than people that I see frequently and can shake hands with.  The opposite was true, I think that we had a deeper and more serious relationship than I have with many of my “real” acquaintances.

What a strange world we live in, where our best friends are virtual.  But, if we really think about it, until not so very long ago, many deep relationships were carried on for years through writing letters.  Remember those?  Waiting for the mailman to come and bring the next chapter of the adventures of our friends?  And those were the days of real letters, pages and pages of information, not the shorthand of email…

Most of my dear friends, and especially those that I value so much but that live so far across the world that I might never actually get to meet them in person, I have met through the dogs.  Through lists, groups, people that expressed interest, photos on line, and many other possibilities, but always having in common the love and passion for dogs that develops into friendships that expand to many other interests and activities.  Friendships that continue for years and years, as there are always things we have in common and that we can “talk” about.

For Habibi and all of the other four legged friends, all this sitting at the computer and concentrating on incomprehensible words on the screen is impossible to understand – running around and chasing a ball outside would be much more fun.  But I really have you to thank for being responsible for my participation in this world that is so fascinating and contains so many wonderful friends.

I deeply miss my friend, and can only believe that she is at peace and accompanied now by all the four legged companions that enriched her life and brought us together.  Rest in peace, Sally.  We will meet face to face sometime at the Rainbow Bridge…

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Heat


This summer I became a believer in global warming.  I have always preferred warm weather to cold, and for all the years I have been living in Israel, I never had trouble with the climate.  Yes, the summers were hot, very hot, but I never found it to be that difficult to cope with or to prevent functioning normally.

This year has been different.  I am sure that this summer is hotter than any summers for a long time.  What the statistics say I don’t know, but everyone I talk to about it agrees with me.

Of course, there is that tendency when talking about the weather to be sure that it is the hottest, or coldest, or worst storm in the last twenty years, or the most rain or the least rain – no one really goes to check the facts, we know what we are feeling, right?

I refuse to consider that with each year of growing older, maybe the weather is getting worse – for me… The weather really is worse!

The dogs agree with me – it is hot!  I find it very hard to do much of anything during the day. The dogs also spend most of their time lounging in a shady spot, unless there is a really strong reason for getting up.  The dogs start their activities at about four in the morning, while it is quite cool, and have their morning running and barking time, which ends at about 6:30 or seven.  By then it is already getting hot.  My schedule is quite similar, though not from four – five or five thirty is the start of my working hours.  The same is true in the evening – from about five or six it starts cooling off and that is play time, until nine or ten at night.

Although I am a morning person by nature, I can’t say that these hours are really my preference.  Couldn’t you guys wait until six?

But I can look out the window in midday, and although most of the dogs have found themselves cool spots in the shade, there are some that are lying out in the full sun, obviously enjoying it.

Habibi is not one of those.  Desert dog?  No way!  There is a cool house, air conditioning – his place is inside.  He goes out for necessities – one of his necessities is periodically to check if there is anything out there that has to be barked at – and then places himself on the top step leaning against the entrance door, just to make sure I don’t miss the fact that he is ready to come in.

I have been trying to use the air conditioning as little as possible – yes, for “green” reasons, but more because electricity is so expensive these days.  But with the weather of July and August, I have given in, and use it for a good part of the day.

Habibi knows exactly where the air currents go, and his sleeping spots are right in the line of the cool air.  If I change the angle of the fan, he will give me a pitying glance, lift his nose to test the air direction, and calmly move to a better spot.  He may be a bed dog most of the time, but at this time of year, he gets on the bed only when the air conditioner is on and is blowing a cool breeze across it.  He then sprawls across the bed to catch every bit of refreshing air across his whole body, leaving me struggling to find a place for my legs. 

I am counting the days until the end of summer…

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Why a Dog?

When I was growing up, my family were not great animal lovers.  Though they appreciated the beauties of nature, nature belonged in the park and forest reserve and certainly not in the house.  So my unending desire for a dog was a strange and incomprehensible idea to them, and I never really managed to fulfill my desires while I was living at home.

But one of the first things I did when I left home and got my own place was to get a dog. And I have never since been without one, and usually it has been many.  Over the years I have discovered that I prefer spending most of my time with them, rather than with other people…

I don’t have anything against humans.  I am not one of these people who uses dogs as a substitute child or in place of a family. I have a family, a daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren, and enjoy spending time with them. I brag about my grandchildren like any proud grandmother – to my surprise, as I never expected that I would be one of those!  But I always go home to my own quiet time with my dogs.

The dog is the only animal that, for whatever strange reasons he may have, chooses to be with us rather than with his own kind.  A dog will gladly leave playtime with his four footed friends to come inside with his people.  Considering how people often treat them, it is really amazing – dogs usually get much more respect from other dogs than they get from us.  We people use them as toys, as dolls, as substitute babies, as status symbols, and at times as a target for our frustrations, rages, instable and inhuman and inhumane behaviors.  And the dogs still choose to be with us!

They look up at us with adoration, even when we very well know that it is not deserved.  They are always ready to accompany us anywhere, and will conquer their justifiable fears of artifacts of the modern world to be with us.  They are never too tired to go for a walk, a ride, a visit, and are willing to give all that up in a flash if what we decide that we want is to sit in front of the television. 

I can tell my dogs anything.  They listen and they don’t criticize, or tell me that I could have done that better.  I can cry, and they don’t tell me to get a grip, they simply lick my tears.  When I am depressed, they clown, and their persistence pays off - eventually they do make me laugh.  They are never indifferent when I come home – it may have been no more than going to the neighbor’s for five minutes, but they are thrilled to see me come back.

I talk to Habibi and he always listens.  He usually has very intelligent and considered responses, and if he doesn’t, he has the sense to keep quiet.  But ignoring him is not an option – he is there, he is my companion in everything, and a wet nose or insistent paw are always there to remind me I am not alone.

The question is never “Why a dog?”, it is “Why on earth not a dog?!!”

Friday, April 27, 2012

A True Collie

Lida was the fulfillment of a life long dream for her loving and devoted owner Harry.

She was one of three puppies in a carefully planned litter.  Her mother was a bitch I had imported from Brazil and her father was imported from the US, both from outstanding bloodlines noted both for beauty and excellent temperament. As one of the major goals of my breeding program was to produce dogs that could become working service dogs, these characteristics are as important to me as show wins.  Lida’s two sisters indeed did go on to become service dogs, one working with an epileptic child and the other with an autistic child.

Lida was the most beautiful, and I thought about keeping her. But after Harry got in touch with me and I got to know him, even if only through correspondence and mutual friends in Greece, where he lives, I knew that Lida couldn’t have a better home than with him.  He had always wanted a pedigreed collie, and now finally had the possibility, and I could make his dream come true.

Lida had to stay with me until she was seven months old, due to the regulations for importing dogs into EU countries from Israel, and it was really hard to part with her.  But Harry welcomed her with an open heart, and she quickly adjusted and returned his love.

Harry lives in Athens, and Lida learned to live as a city dog.  She was a favorite of friends and family, and also had a successful show career, becoming a Greek champion.  The only problem she had in the show ring was enthusiasm – she was so happy to prance around, meet people, and show off, that she often carried her tail quite high and always in motion.  But despite her happy tail, she had a string of wins and excellent critiques.

I visited them in Greece, and saw first hand how much they loved each other, and what a lovely person Harry is. I was really happy with my decision to let him have this happy girl.

Motherhood was another successful experience for her, she produced a lovely litter of puppies, and the most beautiful daughter stayed with Harry.

Harry’s mother, quite elderly and frail, was living alone in a village outside of Athens.  She dearly loved Lida and the affection was mutual.  Harry had Lida’s daughter at home also, so decided that it would be great for both his mother and Lida if she had a country vacation.  Lida could give Mrs. L. companionship and she would have a nice yard to play in, rather than the busy Athens streets.  The arrangement worked out really well; although Lida was happy to see Harry on his frequent visits, she was very bonded to Mrs. L. and very satisfied with country life.

Greece is a country with many problems these days, and the rising crime rate is one of them. One of the reasons that Mrs. L. was so pleased to have Lida with her was for the additional security that having a dog provided.  Lida was a very perceptive dog, and instinctively knew who were welcome guests, and who needed to be barked at and not allowed to enter the yard.  There were a number of situations where Lida stood in front of Mrs. L. at the front gate and wouldn’t allow suspicious strangers to come any closer.

And then one day a month or so ago, I received the tragic news – Lida was dead.  Robbers had broken into Mrs. L’s little house and Lida had attacked them to protect her beloved partner, and was beaten to death.  As Lida lay dying, Mrs. L. was beaten and dragged across the floor, her purse and money were stolen, and she was left lying bleeding on the floor.

The cruelty is still impossible to comprehend.  Harry is heartbroken and his mother feels that she has lost a true member of the family, another being that she loved like a child, and that lost her life defending her.

There are no more words to describe this.  Lida was six years old when she died.

This is the story of a true collie.


Addition:  We have been notified that Lida has been honred posthumously by the Collie Club of America for her bravery and devotion, with the Shining Star award.  It is a great honor and also a comfort to us all.



Friday, April 6, 2012

Crossing the Jordan

Dogs don’t really care very much about borders.

I have been asked, many times, if the Canaan is really an Israeli dog, found exclusively within our borders.  The truth is that free living dogs of this type are found throughout the middle east – the borders have changed many, many times through the centuries, but the dogs have always been there.  What is true is that, although there are dogs of this type in various places, there has been absolutely no interest anywhere in the middle east other than in Israel in preserving these dogs and developing them as a breed, keeping records and pedigrees, and all the other “bureaucracy” that our world requires these days to present a dog as a purebred.  So the Canaan is indeed Israeli, and almost all the foundation stock and the dogs that have subsequently been introduced into the gene pool have been born in Israel.

This does not mean that we are averse to Canaans that may come from across one border or another.  One of our very first dogs was a tiny puppy that was brought across the border from Petra in Jordan, who became known as Sufa me Petra, one of the foundation bitches of the modern breed.  I have seen photos of lovely Canaan type dogs in Egypt, in Jordan, in Syria, in Lebanon.  However, politics dictates that there is a border in between.

So I was thrilled when I was able to get in touch with a fellow in Jordan who had two young Canaans that needed a home.

As ever, in our modern times, the internet was the way we got in touch.  The story was that these two youngsters had been raised in a village and were intended to be guard dogs. For a reason unknown to us at this point, the owner decided he didn’t want the pups anymore (about four or five months old), and he brought them to a veterinarian in Amman to be put to sleep.  The vet, obviously in the profession because of his love for animals, refused to put two strong healthy pups to death and took it upon himself to look for someone to adopt them.  Mat, an American living and working in Amman, saw the notice by the vet, and decided to take the dogs temporarily to find them homes.  He was unable to keep them permanently, as he had a 13 year old pet dog that would in a few months be coming to Amman with his wife, and wouldn’t be able to live with two young active pups.

The vet told Mat that the dogs were Canaans.  Mat is a dog lover but not an expert in breeds, and would never have thought that they were anything but mixed breed street dogs.  I have great admiration for this veterinarian, who does not have much chance to see a wide variety of dog breeds, and to identify the two as Canaans was exceptional.

Mat’s wife, in the US, put up some posts on the internet to try and find someone to adopt the dogs, and her post was forwarded to me by a friend in the US.  I immediately got in touch.

The photos Mat sent me were not very good. We talked on Skype and he tried to get the dogs to stand up and let me see them, but they were not particularly interested.  But from the bit I did see, and from his description of them and their behavior, they definitely seemed to be Canaans.  I told Mat that if we could get them to Israel, I would certainly take them and either keep them here or find good homes for them.  Homing them here would certainly have a much higher possibility of success than in Jordan, where there was little interest in keeping dogs as pets.

Crossing the border is not a simple affair, and certainly not with dogs.  After some discussion, Mat volunteered to take care of all the necessary vaccinations and paperwork, and to take a day off work and drive them to Israel.

Although mentally the distance between Israel and Jordan may seem huge, in fact it is only about a two hour drive to the border crossing, and another two hours or so from the border to my place.  Mat planned to get to the border at 8 a.m., so that he could get here early and then drive back – he had to be at work the next day.  He would call me when he was at the border.

8 a.m. came and went, and another hour passed, and then another…I was getting very worried.  What if they wouldn’t let him bring the dogs in?  Who knew what problems could occur?  But finally he called.  He had crossed through the Jordanian checkpoint – it had taken over two hours, not because of the dogs, but because of the long line waiting (even at 8 a.m.!) and the paperwork, and now he was waiting to go through the Israeli checkpoint.  Hopefully, this would go more quickly.  He would call me when he was through and on the road to my place, so that I could also explain how to get here.

Another few hours passed, and no call.  I tried to call his cell phone and got no answer.  My friend Eytan, who was very interested in the Canaans and had come also to meet Mat and see the dogs, and I were again getting very stressed – it was already mid afternoon.

The dog alarm system activated, telling me with their barking that a stranger was here.  And there was Mat!  His cell phone, a Jordanian number, had stopped working as soon as he crossed the border….wonder why….so he couldn’t call, and he just drove straight here.  Obviously aside from initiative, he has great navigation skills…

He was surprised at the attitude of the Israeli border guards, though.  He said that when he went through the Jordanian checkpost, no one was in the least interested in the dogs.  On the Israeli side, everyone came over to pet them and ask about them.  Wow, he said, Israelis do love dogs!

And here were the dogs!  Love at first sight!  They are indeed Canaans, and lovely ones.  Their ears are still only half up, but they are only about seven or eight months old, and otherwise they are beautiful.  And super temperaments!  The two, called Jenny and Jimmy by Mat, walked into this strange place, with dogs all around barking at them, with complete self confidence, tails up, and joyful to meet new people, outgoing and sure of themselves.  And after a few minutes, they decided that the yard where we were standing was their territory and they began to guard it from a neighbor who passed by. 

Jenny and Jimmy have settled in very well, accepting their new home with no problems, following me around and demanding attention as if born here, and starting to meet the other dogs.  Their yard has become their territory, and the other Canaans, after looking them over, have admitted them to the “canaan society” – they obviously speak the right language.

These two dogs can prove to be an incredibly valuable addition to the gene pool of the Canaans, as they come from an area that we have never had access to.  And aside from that, they are lovely dogs, and it is a pleasure to have them here.

And we have a new friend – Mat had to drive back almost immediately, but will come to visit in Israel again when his wife arrives.  He has learned about the Canaans and become fascinated by them – as do so many when they get to know the breed.  So he may become “our man in Amman” and maybe we will have the chance to get more dogs from across the Jordan.

Borders don’t matter to dogs.

Exploring their new territory

Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Thing Without Wings

Kerri is the daughter of Lilo and Habibi and, as you can imagine, the combination has resulted in a very “Canaan” personality.  Her registered name is “Kerach Dak” which means “thin ice”.  People have asked me why – well, Kerri is always on the edge – from a small puppy, she was the first one forward, the first one to notice things, to react, very active, very fast – in short - pay attention, thin ice!

A few weeks ago, Kerri went to her first dog show.  She was out with me quite a lot as a puppy, going with me to work and meeting many people, but as she got a bit older, I was very busy and had to devote more time to some of the other dogs, so she stayed home.  A pretty girl, I decided that at 16 months of age, the time had come for her to start her career.  So I entered her in our club show.

The show was held indoors in a small hall – although dog shows in Israel are very often held outdoors, at this time of year the weather is very chancy.  This was a completely new place and new experience for Kerri, and I really wasn’t sure how she would behave. 

The Canaans were scheduled to be judged last, but I got there quite early, so that Kerri would have a chance to look around, get used to the new place, and meet all the new people.  Rather to my surprise, as the Canaans are typically a bit suspicious about new things, she was thrilled to be out and about, and all the new people meant lots of attention and petting.  She proved to be as expert as her father in manipulating everyone who came in reach to pet her, with nose nudges, climbing on laps, and sweet expression.  Wow, this dog show thing was fun!

Finally our turn came to enter the ring.  Kerri behaved like a pro, gaiting nicely next to me, happily letting the judge examine her, standing nicely as he wrote his report.  I was feeling very relaxed and very, very pleased with her.

Then, in a fraction of a second, she was gone.  She had jerked the leash out of my hand and all I could see was a silver streak heading for her crate and the friends who were sitting with us.

I quickly ran over and brought her back in the ring.  But now she was crouching, uncomfortable, suspicious, unhappy – what had happened?  Something had affected her, a dog does not behave like this without a reason, but I couldn’t imagine what – I had not felt or noticed anything!

I asked the ring steward if there had been any sudden noise, if something had fallen over – no, there was nothing.  And Kerri was still telling me that there was danger here….

And then I looked at her carefully and saw where she was looking. She was looking up.  And when I looked up, I realized what had happened.  The hall was quite high ceilinged, at least four meters high. Suspended on wires from the ceiling were some small, round advertising signs.  Apparently, there had been a random gust of wind, and the signs started to rotate.  Kerri spotted these dangerous things without wings over her head, moving around in a suspicious manner, and decided that discretion was the better part of valor and took off for a place that she knew was safe – her crate!

The judge, a very experienced dog man from Poland, was very kind and quite amused.  He told me that there were three breeds that were aware of everything going on around them, over their heads as well as on ground level – the Saarloos wolf dog, the Czechoslovakian wolf dog, and the Canaan. It’s okay, he told me, this is normal behavior. 

So Kerri after all got her class first place.  She returned to her safe place and to all the admiring friends, to get some more petting before we left for home, very happy to leave the place of the things without wings over her head.


Kerri and friends at the show


Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Enthusiasm


Briza, like all Canaans, is an excellent and devoted mother. But while some are very worried and protective, Briza, even in the first days after her puppies are born, is quite happy to leave them for a few minutes, to go out and relax, and get a bit of fresh air and sunshine.  That is not to say that she is not vigilant – she is completely aware of what is going on and whether anyone not approved might be getting close to her family.  But she remains relaxed and calm unless there is really a reason to react.

So two and a half weeks after her current puppies were born, when I observed that she was lying with them constantly and not leaving them, I knew that something was not quite right.

On examination, I found that indeed there was a problem.  Several of her nipples were swollen and hard.  She had obviously developed some sort of infection in a few of her breasts.  This was a very unusual situation; the Canaans are very healthy dogs and I had never had this with any other bitch.

She of course was examined by the vet and started on a course of treatment.  The puppies seemed to be fine.  They were plump and content, not crying and not seeming to be lacking in anything, and she was caring for them with typical Canaan devotion.  This in itself amazed me. I am sure that the condition must have been very unpleasant to her, if not downright painful.  In any other breed, I would not have been surprised for the bitch to abandon the puppies, not wanting to be touched, and certainly not allowing them to suckle.  But Briza, on the other hand, did not want to move from her puppies and let them climb all over her and suckle to their hearts’ content.

However, I was worried that she might not have enough milk, and that the puppies’ demands would be hard on her.  So I decided to give the puppies some supplemental feeding.  At the age of two and a half weeks, they were certainly old enough to get some additional food.

I decided to prepare bottles with milk substitute to give them extra feeds a few times a day.  To start with, the puppies made faces and tried to spit the nipple out when I put it in their mouths.  “This isn’t the real thing!”, they seemed to be saying.  “We know what real milk tastes like!”  But most of them within minutes learned that this was food, and grabbed hold of the nipple and SUCKED!  After a few feeds, they were sucking so hard that they could have been lifted into the air and left dangling there, held up by the strength of their nursing. Not that I tried it, of course, but when on occasion they grabbed my finger by mistake, I could certainly feel the power!

Two of the six puppies, however, were very stubborn.  They were sure that this was not real food, and it took them about two days to decide that they really could drink this stuff.  They were plump and full, and obviously were indeed getting fed by Mom. So why bother with something strange? But finally they agreed to take a taste and then also grabbed on and took advantage of the offer of additional food.

There was no point when the puppies seemed to be hungry or not getting food from Briza – she cared for them all the time, and they were very plump and happy.  But if they were being offered an extra treat – well, why not?  I actually, at times, started to wonder if a puppy could explode from eating too much….

For these puppies, I had now become a second mommy.  They just had to hear me coming and their noses were in the air, all of them screaming, “Me, me, me!!!!”, as they stretched up to my hands to be picked up and fed.  They were aware of my approach from a distance and scrabbled over one another to try to be the first in line for the bottle.

Three weeks of age is when I usually start offering puppies additional meals, usually special early age puppy kibble moistened to make it soft.  So now was the time to start the transition from supplemental milk feeds to real food.

Canaan pups never have a problem in starting to eat.  The collie puppies sometimes are very hesitant, and it can take them a few days to get accustomed to the idea that this stuff is food and it is supposed to be eaten and not spread around the nest.  But with Canaans, you can immediately see those little noses start to work and they usually dive right into the dish and start to slurp it up.

With most of Briza’s puppies, this was the case – I offered them a dish of food, and they quickly realized that this was good eating.  But there were two that refused. They kept following my hand around, with their noses in the air, and tried to climb up my legs.  “We know you bring milk!  Where is it???? We want the milk!!!!!” was the attitude.

Canaans can be very stubborn in trying to get what they want.  Although I knew, by now, that Briza, herself totally recovered and full of energy again, was feeding her puppies very well, I still felt that I might as well go on giving a supplement, just to be sure…So when these puppies, one cream male and one red female, decided to refuse to eat, they won – I fed them their bottle.

Finally, after a few days, I decided that they were not going to beat me, and I refused to give them the bottle.  It took them one missed feed, watching the other puppies guzzling down the food with enormous enthusiasm, and finding that I was ignoring their nose in the air demands for milk, to decide to join in and eat.  And of course, when they started to eat, it was with the typical enthusiasm.

Even drinking water warrants enthusiasm.  When I put in a water dish the first time, they almost climbed in it, and drank and drank and drank… Obviously, anything I was about to offer, was something to get excited about.

The puppies are now five weeks old, and getting several feeds a day of kibble.  I don’t think I have ever had puppies that are so very enthusiastic about eating.  They seem to be as wide as they are long, and don’t stop until they have cleaned the dish.  Briza, who would have enthusiastically cleaned up any leftovers, is left with her own portion, which she says is less tasty…



Saturday, February 11, 2012

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........

Aggression is one of the catchwords of our modern world.  I have, over the last years, had a lot of questions on the subject of aggression in dogs.

In centuries gone by, people didn’t worry about being called aggressive.  They did what they had to in order to protect their loved ones and their property, and that could mean the necessity for aggression in greater or lesser degree.  It was not that they preferred to behave that way, but that was one of the necessities of life and survival.

In our modern world, we have developed other and, we hope, more effective ways of dealing with our problems than blatant aggression – or perhaps we have learned to disguise our aggressions behind a camouflage of manners and proper behavior and legal systems and such.  We teach our children that aggression is not the solution and that they should not beat up the other kids in their class.

We also expect that our dogs should behave and never be aggressive.  But we neglect to consider a number of factors – aggressive behavior is part of the language of the dog, they don’t have words to express these things.  This behavior  can look extremely aggressive to those of us who don’t really understand, but in fact it is communication.  Dogs are equipped by nature with tools that are meant to support this behavior.   Although we educate our children how to behave in ways that will allow them to communicate effectively and circumvent the necessity of aggression, we often don’t do the same for our dogs.

There are many different breeds of dog in the world, a very great percentage of them being dogs that we have created, through selective breeding over a period of, in some cases, even thousands of years, to suit our way of life.  They were bred to perform a wide variety of tasks, which required a wide variety of behaviors.

My collies, who were originally bred to be sheep dogs, to be gentle with the lambs and kind in their work, and that never had to be aggressive in protection of the flock, since they developed in an area where there were no large and vicious predators, are not aggressive.  They are outgoing, friendly, playful, and nurturing to people and to other animals, and for them meeting another dog means a possibility of a new friend and a lovely romp.  I would never breed from a collie that was aggressive, as this is completely opposed to what the breed is supposed to be.

The Canaans, however, are different.  I myself have learned a great deal over the years that I have lived with them, and one of my conclusions is that first of all, we must stop calling them “wild” dogs.  Dogs by definition are not wild animals.  There are no dogs that are wild, all dogs, even dingoes, which are the most shy and difficult to keep as pets, have a natural tendency and connection that draws them to the vicinity of man and makes it possible to easily build up a mutual relationship.  Having had a number of dogs, over the years, that were brought to me as totally “wild” adults, I can testify to their immediate interest and willingness to relate to me.  The Canaans can more accurately be called feral, free living or pariah dogs, but they are dogs, not wild animals.

Wild animals also are not indiscriminately aggressive. Aggression can be very dangerous and can result in injury, also to the aggressor, and therefore damage the possibilities of survival. 

Dogs that  are free living have to use aggression to survive, to protect themselves, their pack mates, their territory and their resources.  The amount of aggression used is the amount that is necessary to achieve the necessary goals, and in most cases it is much more a show than actual aggression.  It is communication – we may threaten someone verbally, shout, gesticulate, without doing more, and a dog may threaten with facial expression, bared teeth, body posture, growling and snarling, and never more than that.  The understanding is there.

There are many different kinds of aggression – territorial, resource guarding, protection of puppies, position in the hierarchy, sexual competition, and so on.  The levels of aggression and causes can be widely varied, but the language is the same.

In Canaans, this language is very well developed and full of many subtleties that we are not even aware of, but it is definitely part of the breed character and is used to the degree that the dogs feel necessary and appropriate to the situation.

We humans are probably one of the most aggressive species in existence.  But we teach our children from a very young age that these impulses must be controlled and that there are alternatives that are just as effective and even more so than the use of violence.  Our dogs, when raised and educated properly, and when related to correctly, also can learn very effectively to control aggressive impulses and to use alternative behaviors. 

However, we must always consider the breed and the background of the dog, and never be complacent, with the idea that every pet must be sweet and passive under all circumstances.

Out of the many different breeds available to us, if you want a dog that is soft, sweet and never aggressive under any circumstances, you have a wide choice of breeds that are like that.  Why on earth should you choose a Canaan and then try to make him something he isn’t?


Wednesday, January 11, 2012

More Canaan Journeys - The Beast of War

Over the years, I had a number of dogs that had roles in plays, movies, or commercials.  It was very challenging, and as long as it was only once in a while, it was fun – I would never dream of doing it as a major full time job!

The biggest film project that I was involved in was an American movie made in Israel in 1987 called “The Beast of War.”  It had a real Hollywood cast – Steven Bauer, Jason Patric, George Dzundza. The story was about the war in Afghanistan, and, as at the time filming a movie in Afghanistan was not highly recommended, it was decided that Israel was similar enough in terrain and modern enough in facilities to be an excellent substitute.

The script had a number of scenes that involved a pack of jackals or wild dogs.  The film company soon discovered, on their arrival in Israel, that a pack of trained jackals was not readily available (surprise, surprise!)  However, it was suggested to them, by someone highly intelligent I am sure, that a pack of Canaans might just suit the purpose.

I was contacted and requested to bring one of the Canaans to an audition in one of the fanciest hotels in Tel Aviv. The hoteliers were not enthusiastic when I showed up in the lobby with a dog.  But film companies spend a lot of money in hotels like that, and we were allowed up to the director’s room so he could see the dog.

I had brought Yitzhar with me, since he was the wildest appearing of the dogs.  Yitzhar had a very penetrating and wolf-like stare that could be very discomforting.  The director was indeed impressed, and I was hired to provide a pack of five dogs to work in the movie.

This was not a simple task.  Getting five Canaans to work together, off lead, and in some scenes from a long distance, without them deciding to have a free-for-all in the middle, was not easy.  The pack consisted of three bitches and two dogs, all of which were already obedience trained, and which, fortunately for me, already had experience working together from a previous movie we had done.  So after a short refresher course of who was the boss, we were able to get down to business.

The actions that were required of the dogs were not easy.  The story involved a Russian tank crew that gets lost in the Afghanistan desert, and the dogs track them.   There was even an attack scene involved.  This was of course the hardest to train the dogs to do, as Canaans are not the type of dog to attack without a good reason. I knew that I would not get the dogs to really attack on command, and I had no desire, really, to encourage the dogs to bite.  I decided that the best way to accomplish this scene was with food.  I explained to the film company just what equipment I needed for the training, and they promised to provide it.

One evening late, my daughter Dorcas and I arrived home from an evening out, and, to our horror, found a man’s body lying on the porch in front of the door.  After the first shock, on closer inspection, we found that it was a human sized dummy (at least six feet tall) dressed in a Russian army uniform, exact in every detail down to the boots.  This was to train the dogs.

The method was simple.  In the film, the dogs were meant to jump up and attack a man who was left tied out on a huge rock.  So I tied the dummy up on a terrace of about the right height, and started to hide tasty pieces of sausage in its clothes and boots.  The dogs quickly learned that they would find treats if they starting searching the dummy and they quickly learned to do this with great enthusiasm, leaping up on the dummy and competing with each other to find the sausage.  As I hid the treats inside the clothes and boots, and inside pockets, they learned that they would have to grab, pull, and even tear the clothes to obtain their goal.  On camera, I knew, this food-digging would look like a real attack.  As the dogs were competing with each other, they also growled and snarled, which made it all look very authentic.

Finally, rehearsals were over and the time had come for filming.  The movie was being made near Eilat, and we stayed on location.  The scenes with the dogs were expected to take about a week to film.

The location was out in the desert.  For the Canaans, it was like coming home; they immediately felt perfectly comfortable.  It was very hot already in May, with the temperatures already close to the summer maximum.  This didn’t bother the dogs. As we sat around waiting for our scenes, they dug themselves deep holes under the scrubby bushes in the vicinity and lay there comfortably sheltered from the heat and glare.  Being Canaans, they also very quickly took possession of the territory, and would not allow other crew members to approach “their” bushes.

The dogs, of course, were physically in very good condition with thick shiny coats since most of them had a career in the dog show ring.  The director felt that they looked too good for the role; they needed make-up!  The movie’s make-up expert was not enthusiastic about the idea; she had worked on all kinds of actors, but never on a dog!  However, she had no choice, and the dogs ended up with all sorts of brown and black powder rubbed into their coats to make them look scruffy.   The filming went well.  I was very proud of the dogs’ performance. 

There were some very difficult scenes.  One was the opening scene of the film, a close-up that showed the dogs sleeping on a ledge in the desert with the sun coming up.  Suddenly, one dog lifts his head and alerts, and then the others also come alert.  This was very difficult for several reasons.  First of all, I had to train the dogs to “sleep,” in other words, to lie flat and still with their eyes closed.  They had to do this even though all the crew and cameras were only a foot or two away.  Another difficulty was to get only one dog to raise his head first, while the others remained “sleeping.”  And the scene had to be shot exactly at sunrise so there was no possibility for numerous retakes.  The dogs performed like troopers and I was tremendously proud of them!

In another difficult scene, I left the dogs with a few of the crewmembers, and I was taken about a kilometer or so away across the desert.  The dogs were let free and I whistled to them, and they came running to me.  The scene beautifully pictured a wild pack running across the wilderness.

Of course, the dogs, like any actors, had their moments of temperament.  It was very hot, the workdays were long, and sometimes the dogs got fed up.  One day, while waiting for a shot to be set up, the two males, Yitzhar and Tiggy, lost patience and decided to have a go at each other.  As I tried to separate them, the bitches, inspired by the boys, decided to join in.  Trying to separate five dogs on your own just doesn’t work!  I called to the crewmembers standing around to come and help.  None of them was willing to get near that snarling mass.  Finally, I just waded in, grabbed a dog, lifted it out, grabbed a crewmember, told him, “Hold on to this dog!” and went back to grab another, in the same way.  In a few minutes, everything was again calm.  The dogs felt better because they had worked the edge off of their nerves, and no one had been hurt.  The crewmembers were not in such good shape, however; it took them a few days to get over the trauma, and I seemed to have gone up in their esteem for being ready to wade into the battle.

On another day, when I was off the set for a few hours, one of the dogs got loose, took possession, and wouldn’t let anyone into “his” part of the location.  For several hours, everyone had to detour around that area, until I got back and called him off.

Finally, we got to the final scene with the dogs, which was by far the most difficult.  This was the “attack” scene.  In this scene, the “hero” of the film is left staked out on a rock in the desert by his fellow soldiers, and the pack of wild dogs, who had been tracking them throughout the movie, find him and start to attack.  The hero manages to save himself by rolling a grenade into the midst of the pack, which explodes and demolishes the pack.

As is obvious from this description, this scene was not likely to be something the dogs would enjoy doing.  Of course, the “explosion” of the grenade was simply a harmless smoke bomb.  But I knew that the dogs would not at all appreciate having even a harmless smoke bomb exploding at their feet, and I had warned the director that this had better be the last scene the dogs were expected to do, because after this, they would not have fond memories of the set or the people involved.  I also warned him that they had better get it right on the first take, as there was no chance that the dogs would agree to participate in a retake.
Everything was set up.  The scene was being played by a stuntman since the star was not about to expose himself to the chance of being bitten by accident.  The stuntman was rather nervous as well. He asked me if I was sure that the dogs wouldn’t really bite, and I assured him that he was safe.  He took up his position on the rock, and I planted sausage in his boots, pockets, and other parts of his clothing.

The dogs hadn’t been fed that day, so that they would be really eager to get the sausage.  We did a rehearsal, and everything went beautifully.  The filming began.  The scene was filmed several times, from different angles, with the explosion being the last shot.  The dogs performed beautifully in the first shots, running up to the rock, leaping up and grabbing the sausage out of the actor’s clothing and boots, which on screen really looked as if they were attacking him.
And then the time came for the last shot.  The smoke bomb was set in place, the cameras rolled, the dogs were released, and BOOM!

The dogs, as one, turned and ran, heading for the distant hills.  No one was going to get another chance to set off a bomb under their feet!  I whistled frantically, and gradually, four of them turned back and returned to their familiar resting holes under the scrub.  But the fifth, one of the bitches, Hava, continued running like a small brown streak of lightning, until she disappeared into the hills.
As this was the last shot on this location, the crew was all packed up now and ready to go home.  There was a van waiting for me, to take the dogs and me home. Our job was finished.  “What are you going to do now?” the driver asked me.  “Wait,” I said.

The other vehicles drove off on their way home.  After an hour or so, the site was abandoned, except for me, the dogs, and the driver, who was not at all happy about the situation.  We all sat there quietly as the sun disappeared behind the mountains.  As the dusk thickened, there was a noise from the direction of the van, which was parked with the door open.  There sat Hava in the van, ready to go home.  Now that everyone had gone and she was sure no one would set off any more bombs, she was ready to come back.

Well, that had been an interesting experience, but I was glad that it was over. Or, I thought it was over.

 About a week later, I got a phone call from the director.  The shots of the attack had been damaged in the developing laboratory and were unusable.  The scene would have to be shot again.  Would I be willing to come down again with the dogs for a few days?

“You must be crazy!” was my first response.  “These dogs are not stupid - they are not going to be willing to get anywhere near the spot where you blew them up!” But this was a critical scene in the movie.  "You have to do it for us." He pleaded. "This is one of the most important scenes in the film!" "But I really don't think the dogs will perform," I answered.  "We'll pay you time and a half if you are just willing to come down and try," he said.  "No, we'll pay you double!" This was very convincing.  "Well, okay, I'll try it," I answered, "but I certainly can't guarantee that you'll get the scene you want."

 So once again the dogs and I arrived down in the desert.  The dogs were definitely unhappy about the idea; the location had very unpleasant associations for them.  However, I had not fed them for a day, and they were hungry, and when I got out those tasty little pieces of sausage, they started to show more interest in the idea. 

Canaans are very much dogs with minds of their own, and cannot usually be “bought” by food.  However, among the five, there was one bitch, Terra, who was a true chow hound willing to do anything for a tidbit, and now she was hungry.  Two of the others were also willing to consider approaching the spot in order to get their treats.  The last two, true Canaans through and through, were very suspicious of the whole thing, and hung back on the fringe of the group, not willing to come up to the rock where terrible things had happened.

I informed the director that this was about as good as it would get.  I also warned him that this time, there was one take only and after that, he didn’t have a chance in hell of ever getting any of these dogs anywhere near this location again.
The take was a success, though in my opinion it was not as good as the first one that had been ruined by the lab.  The dogs took off, but by now, having been through the whole thing before, didn’t run far.

I waited eagerly for the movie to be released. I wanted to see the results of all this hard work.  But “The Beasts of War” was not a great success in the U.S., and never got to the movie theatres in Israel.  Finally, after a few years, it came out on video, and I managed to get a copy.  I thought it was a pretty good movie, actually, and I was really proud of the dogs.  They looked great on screen!  All of the several weeks of work, of course, came down to a few minutes of screen time - but I was proud of it!

The movie has now been showed on Israeli TV, though I don’t think anyone realized that those are Canaans “starring” in it…



For those who have enjoyed this entry, it is an excerpt from my book, "Tails of Shaar Hagai" - many more stories like this....

Sunday, January 8, 2012

More Canaan Journeys

A few more stories of Canaans that came home…

Pashosh was a puppy that we brought back from the desert on one of our trips, along with his brother, Pereh (who is one of Habibi’s grandfathers).  The two tiny puppies were pulled out of their den under an old oil barrel when they were about five weeks old and handed to us by the Bedouins.  And of course we took them – even though we were of course interested in having them, if we had not taken them, they most likely would have been killed.

I couldn’t keep two more males, so Pashosh went to a friend who had a few Canaans, loved the breed, and kept them as pets and guard dogs.  He lived on the edge of town and had a large nursery for various types of palm trees, and the dogs had solved the problem of thefts.

Pashosh grew into an excellent guard dog with a very strong temperament.  He was extremely devoted to his owner and family, consisting of his wife, and two grown sons who did not live at home but visited often.  But outsiders were absolutely not allowed.  Pashosh had to be closed in the house or back garden when other people were around.

By the time he was about two years of age, he had a few bites to his credit – not real bites, but nips that showed that he meant business in his job of guarding.  My friend could control him very well, but his wife could not, and was afraid that the result would be more serious.  So the decision was made, sadly, that Pashosh would have to go to a new home.

A  new home was found, with another farmer who wanted a serious guard dog and did not have a lot of people coming around.  Pashosh had never done any travelling in the car, even his vaccinations were done by the veterinarian coming to the house.  So when he was loaded in the car to go to his new home, this was a totally new experience. The new place was about 30 kilometers away.

Two days later, the new owner called my friend to tell him that Pashosh was gone – he had managed to pull his head out of his collar (Canaans are quite expert at this), and had run off.  No one had seen him since, although they had looked.  My friend drove out there and tried calling him and looking for him, to no avail. 

Three weeks later, my friend got up in the morning to find Pashosh, filthy and thin, sitting outside the gate waiting to be let in.  He had come home over 30 kilometers, through an area that he was totally unfamiliar with, and also would have had to cross several major and very busy highways to get there. 

Needless to say, Pashosh was welcomed home and any thoughts of rehoming him were forgotten.

Next case:
Shelley and Dvash were two young Canaan females of about eight months old that I exported to the US, to a breeder friend.  She had been breeding Canaans for several years and had a number of dogs and was well acquainted with the breed and its quirks.  She lived in Massachusetts in a small town, and her house was on the edge of town adjoining a national forest area.  She had a well fenced kennel with big yards for the dogs to run in.

Well, never underestimate a Canaan.  A week or so after the girls arrived at her place, they decided that the call of the wild was too tempting to ignore, dug under the fence and took off to the forest.

Of course, all authorities and people in the vicinity were notified.  My friend got many notifications, “Yes, we have seen the dogs, they are running around in the forest.”  They did not go far, enjoyed being in sight of people, but stayed out of reach – when anyone tried to get close enough to catch them, they laughed and romped off into the trees.  My friend tried calling them, and they laughed at her as well, and would eat the food left for them when there was no one around.  This was fun!  Why come back?

After a few days of freedom, Shelley and Dvash seemed to decide that they had milked all the possibilities of this new life style and it was time to return to “civilization”. The next time my friend came out to offer them food, they came over with wagging tails.  Time to go home…

Then there was Ella.  Ella grew up as the beloved house pet of an elderly woman who lived in a Tel Aviv suburb.  When Ella was 4, the woman passed away.  Ella was rehomed in a moshav about 20 kilometers away, with a family that were very animal oriented, breeding horses, and with another Canaan mix for a companion.  She adjusted very well and was very happy in her new home, and loved by her new owners.

On Yom Atzmaut (Israel Independence Day), it is common, as in most of the “civilized” world, to have fireworks displays.  The following day, Ella’s owner called me to say that she had been terrified by the fireworks and had run away in a panic and couldn’t be found.  This is a very common occurrence, many dogs get lost on the “fireworks holidays”.  He searched the whole area, notified all the vets, put up posters – but all to no avail.  There was no sign of Ella.

Three weeks later, he called to tell me that Ella had come home, thin and dirty, but fine.  He had no idea where she had been all that time, but she was glad to be home.

I am quite sure I know where Ella was.  She was still fairly new in this home, and suddenly there was something terrifying happening.  So the logical thing to do was to run back to her former home, where she had always felt safe.  20 kilometers is not that far, but it can take some time.  When she got there, though, she did not find anyone familiar – her former master was gone, there were new people in the house, and there was no one there to welcome her.  So there was nothing to do but to return to her new home, which now was the most familiar and safe place.  Being a Canaan, she was clever enough to avoid the perils of the journey – highways, strange dogs, strange people, and to get home safely, to owners who were very glad to see her.

Canaans like to make their own choices, but when they choose, they are determined…


Pereh and Pashosh in the Bedouin camp