Mendel at 10 months

Mendel is now 10 months, strong, active and 60 pounds or so; neither fat nor skinny. He is no longer scared of every new sight and sound.No longer barks at us, but he does bark at Moja. No longer slow to eathis kibble (but does counter surf and steal people food). In the woods, Mendel dashes about independently, looking like a tall, fast fox. He loves agility and had his first fun match. He is very alert to different smells and sounds, birds and squirrels. He's still crazy about people, but unfortunately, he nips and jumps on them if they do not pet him immediately. We are quite surprised he generally will not retrieve. He runs after things, but loses interest before bringing them back.

Mendel's fears

Three month old Mendel is afraid and will react to everything new. On walks he is disturbed and will react to anything he has never seen before: a blue mailbox, a parked motorcycle, a a bicycle left on the sidewalk, loud traffic, novel lawn ornaments, a blowing bag, a tall man, etc. We are also concerned about his stamina and lack of coordination. He tires easily and we often have to end up carrying him. Our breeder wrote to tell us that he is young and will soon outgrow this stage:

" Gradually expose him to strange things. Remember, he lived on a farm where he didn't hear traffic, city or town sounds. Go easy on pushing his with his endurance. Trust me, he will be athletic, but now he is growing at a rapid rate and this is taking his energy. He is also constantly learning to adapt to a new body, (longer legs, bigger feet, etc). He heard plenty of adult dog barking here as I have 16 adult dogs. He didn't hear lawn mowers, but heard plenty of tractors going by on the road. "

Mendel copies Moja

Mendel copies Moja's every action. If Moja chews on a stick, Mendel follows his every move.

Mendel settles into new home 3/30/2006

Mendel is settling into his new home. He sleeps in a crate downstairs. Moja is still not thrilled about Mendel. So we let Moja know he is still number one by having him sleep upstairs in our room.

Mendel's 1st bath

When we brought Mendel home we were disappointed with his gray color.  It turns out he was stained with newspaper ink.  After his 1st bath he has a nice color coat.

Moja meets Mendel 3/25/2006

Eleven year old Moja is not too happy about having a new puppy around. But Moja is tolerant and Mendel is extremely persistent. On the 1st night home Mendel tries to snuggle up to Moja on the kitchen floor and Moja protests with a quiet growl. So Mendel consents and lies down about 1 foot away. Over the next hour Mendel slowly sneaks his way over until they are lying next to each other. Mendel is content. Moja accepted Mendel's proximity for a brief moment.

Mendel and his Mom 3/25/2006

Mendel had only one sibling and they lived with very a devoted mom in a trailer behind the house. It was great seeing the interaction between Mendel and mom. Dad was in a Kennel out back. Mendel was a little scared on the drive home, but he did OK.

Here is a note from the breeder. Mendel is one of the two pups.

Here's the latest picture. As you will note there are only 2, the other pup was a still born. When people ask how big the litter is I always include the number born since that is the accurate #. We have still borns occasionally but it has no relevance on the health of the other pups as they die during the birthing process, separated from the placenta or too long in the birth canal. The pups are 6 and 7 lbs and quite strong and active. They are just starting to develop personalities. One is slightly lighter than the other. It is less noticable in person than in the picture.