Kizuna Eurasiers

The other day a friend asked me if I'm planning on doing dock diving with Howru. The short answer is, if we ever get to that point, sure, we'll try it out. But that's not really my goal with all the swimming we're doing lately. My goal, or rather, this experiment, is an effort to see how much confidence I can build with him with this exercise. You see, Howru is a bit of a cautious boy. One of the things that he has trouble with is unstable movement/surfaces. Things that wobble, move while he's on them, etc. can take a while to learn (i.e. baby teeter). So my goal with all this water time is to help him build that confidence to go from a solid stable surface (the ramp and dock) into a space where he literally has nothing under his feet (the water). Eventually, yes, I'd love for him to confidently yeet himself into the water from the high dock, but it's not because I want him to play the sport - it's because I want to see him very secure in his own body and his surroundings to the extent that he feels entirely comfortable performing that move. . . . #hokkaidoken #nihonken #ainuken #北海道犬 #日本犬 #アイヌ犬 #nativejapanesebreed #primitivedog #primitivebreed #sensitivedog #akcfss #akc #swimming #waterdog #dockdiving

The other thing I (the human) am working on these days is a canine conditioning course, so of course the dogs get to participate in my homework assignments there too 😉. Lili is in heat right now (hence the sparkly ✨ pants) and growing her coat 🧥 back after the puppies, but that's not stopping her from playing at some fitness exercises. This is the last rep from our little session working on a "hop sit", which she executed beautifully 🤌🏻. Not pictured are all the reps where she got ahead of herself and stepped into the sit on the platforms, started pivoting around the platform, or tried to kick back into a stand after getting into a sit, all in an attempt to figure out what I was asking for so that she could get her cookies 🍪 faster 🤪. Anyway. She loves this, and it's great for getting her back in shape after having the puppies. . . . #eurasier #eurasiersofinstagram #eurasiersofnorthamerica #useurasier #eurasierlove #eurasierlife #dogsofinstagram #instadog #akcfss #akc #purebred #purebreddog #caninefitness #canineconditioning

A little bit of fitness fundamentals with the puppy princess 🩷👑. What we're teaching here is the beginning of a stand in a neutral position (also known as a square stand or a stack). What we're looking for is forelimbs and hocks straight and perpendicular to the ground. The topline should be straight (for Eurasiers, will vary depending on the breed). Bui gets pretty close in this video - upon reviewing it, it's clear that I need to move the front target back a smidge because the front legs are a little too forward. Once we've developed more fluency in this and her rear foot targeting, we can move to a smaller rear foot platform which should help with the precision aspect. She's been having fun with these little conditioning exercises and figuring out what I'm asking for! Keeping her in good physical condition is very important also for the sake of her special little foot. . . . #eurasier #eurasiersofinstagram #eurasiersofnorthamerica #useurasier #eurasierlove #eurasierlife #dogsofinstagram #instadog #akcfss #akc #purebred #purebreddog #eurasierpuppy #puppy #caninefitness

🩷 A snippet of puppy training games with the princess 👑 We played a few rounds of name game + restrained recall + hide and seek. Bui is already pretty good at coming when I call her name, so I had my partner hold her back in another room while I called her in a different room to make it a little more challenging for her. This was the hardest rep for her but she was very persistent and did a great job finding me! (featuring Leif wanting to get in on the 🧀 reward) . . . #eurasier #eurasiersofinstagram #eurasiersofnorthamerica #useurasier #eurasierlove #eurasierlife #dogsofinstagram #instadog #akcfss #akc #purebred #purebreddog #eurasierpuppy #puppiesofinstagram #puppytraining

🩷 A little socialization outing with the baby princess 👑 to the hardware store. It was a really challenging environment but she did a superb job acclimating and exploring! We got to walk through some automatic doors, sniff the shoes 👟 of some employees, eat a lot of cheese 🧀 from both the human and from strangers, watch one of the employees tape up a roll of fake grass, and sniff 🐽 sooo many things. And now we're back home and resting in our pretty crate like good little princesses do after a big adventure 🩷. . . . #eurasier #eurasiersofinstagram #eurasiersofnorthamerica #useurasier #eurasierlove #eurasierlife #dogsofinstagram #instadog #akcfss #akc #purebred #purebreddog #eurasierpuppy #puppysocialization

A little bit of bitey face 🦷 between Bou and Lili Mom 😍 . . . #eurasier #eurasiersofinstagram #eurasiersofnorthamerica #useurasier #eurasierlove #eurasierlife #dogsofinstagram #instadog #akcfss #akc #purebred #purebreddog #puppiesofinstagram #puppies

The 🩷 B twins 🤍 turned three weeks old yesterday! The human has been feeling quite under the weather the past couple days so there's not been much energy to do much other than watch the babies do their thing, but here's a summary of all the changes we've had this past week: 🦷 Teeth are erupting and they're well on their way to earning their "Baby Shark" titles! 🏃‍♀️ Over the past week they've gotten much more coordinated in their toddling - it's almost at the level of full walking now. 🏠 We upgraded their digs and they're now in a 4'x8' pen to allow for more space to play and to start potty training. 🚽 We introduced potty pads during the week and as of today, both babies are very consistently moving into the potty area on their pen to pee and 💩. So far they've not really tried to do their business in their play area at all (and if it ends up there, it's because Mom decided they needed to go right then and there), so 🤞🏻 it stays that way. 🤸‍♀️ They've started playing with toys, each other, and Mom. 🪀 We're introducing something new to the puppies every day now that their eyes are fully open - sometimes it's a toy, sometimes they get to do a little bit of exploration outside of the pen. 💅 We've switched from clippers to a gentle Dremel for their nails now. ⚖️ Both puppies are well into the 5# range. 🙋🏻‍♀️ Their personalities are starting to show a little bit! At this point, Bui is a little more thoughtful whereas Bou is more adventurous. They're already so big and so cute and my heart ❤️ can't take it 😭. . . . #eurasier #eurasiersofinstagram #eurasiersofnorthamerica #useurasier #eurasierlove #eurasierlife #dogsofinstagram #instadog #akcfss #akc #purebred #purebreddog #eurasierpuppies #puppies #threeweeksold

Early Scent Introduction (ESI) ESI is a problem developed by Gayle Watkins of Avidog to help develop scenting capabilities in baby puppies. Eurasiers are not a working breed, but as a handler, I enjoy engaging with my dogs through scent sports, and both Lili and Howru really enjoy the sport as well. While these puppies are not necessarily going to homes that will be doing scent sports, scenting is a great way to engage and enrich dogs, be it through snuffle toys, sniffy walks in new places, scent work, etc. In performing ESI with the puppies, the goal is to help develop their interest in scent for the future. Today's scent article was an Earl Gray tea bag 🍵. Clearly Bui decided almost immediately that she absolutely was not a fan and noped out of there right away 👋🏃‍♀️💨. . . . #eurasier #eurasiersofinstagram #eurasiersofnorthamerica #useurasier #eurasierlove #eurasierlife #dogsofinstagram #instadog #akcfss #akc #purebred #purebreddog #newbornpuppies #earlyscentintroduction

Here's our #gopro recording from today's Advanced Buried trial. Buried is pretty much always the hardest element for us in AKC because we rarely ever practice it 😅 (thankfully it's similar enough to containers that practicing that is good enough). Count how many times I could have called alert and it would have been false 😵. I always have to remind myself to be really patient with her in this element and to rely on an actual change of behavior instead of her typical "look back" 👀. . . . #eurasier #eurasiersofinstagram #eurasiersofnorthamerica #useurasier #eurasierlove #eurasierlife #dogsofinstagram #instadog #akcfss #akc #purebred #purebreddog #akcscentwork #scentwork #nosework #noseworktrial

These two babey menaces are grown up enough that they've gotten some health testing done! Both have confirmed not-wobbly knees 🦵✅ (normal patellas). Health test results for Leif (Kizuna Argent Leif) and Aiko (Kizuna Adventurous Aiko) are linked on our website and publicly available on OFA. Hoping to get more tests completed for all three boys as they pass the two years old mark! . . . #eurasier #eurasiersofinstagram #eurasiersofnorthamerica #useurasier #eurasierlove #eurasierlife #dogsofinstagram #instadog #akcfss #akc #purebred #purebreddog #healthtesting #ofa #puppies #eurasierpuppy #puppiesofinstagram

If you've been following us on Howru's old account, then you'll probably know that cooperative vet care is a big thing for us. Howru has a strong sense of bodily autonomy. He will not 🙅‍♀️ let people touch him if he doesn't understand what the contact will entail. If you try push him without his consent, he will simply not cooperate in all the ways you can imagine and not only will the required care not be performed, you can absolutely bet he will not forget this for next time 😡. So, it's really important for us to ensure that not only is he comfortable with the body contact required for common vet procedures, but that he's an active and willing 🤝 participant in the process. Today we practiced a few different pieces involved in getting an eye 👀 exam, which is the last bit of health testing Howru is missing in OFA. I'm super happy with how he did in this clip with Monique (@teachinganimals). He offered her multiple solid chin rests and with good duration too 👏! The last time we worked on this in the clinic a few months ago, he was still feeling a little leery about offering this behavior, plus discomfort with the amount of associated pressure, and today he was very comfortable and confident with what we were asking of him. He did express that he was *not* a fan of the light 🔦 shining directly into his retina, but that's pretty understandable because it's the first time he's experienced that - even at home we have not yet used a strong light with him. So that's what we'll work on next for our homework, until he's comfortable with that as well. All said, there are still many more challenges to overcome (dilating his eyes at a health clinic is going to be a huge hill to climb), but this progress is a lovely glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel towards his eye exam. And every piece of handing that Howru becomes more comfortable with in turn helps him become a more confident dog 😎 . . . #hokkaidoken #nihonken #ainuken #北海道

Agility trial with our resident Miss Fluffy Butt! We didn't qualify in either of our runs, in part because of handler error and in part because of inconsistencies with doing the weaves. That said, it's okay to not qualify! Every run is a learning experience for me as a handler to figure out what can I do better with how I set up the antecedents and how I am handling her in the actual ring. In our Jumpers run, clearly she wasn't feeling much speed in the weaves. And then coming out of the tunnel, she had built up so much speed that she passed me and I was too slow calling the jump which led to a refusal. So that's at least two things to keep in mind as we continue training - building more value, speed, and commitment in the weaves (and if possible, in as many locations as possible), and giving direction to her sooner, especially if she's moving faster. On the bright side, she's showing more enthusiasm and speed in the ring, which has been a bit of a struggle lately compared to in practice. I may have been skimping a bit on her rewards lately, so I'm making it a rule to keep the reinforcement high value from now on, since it's an important part of the picture. We're going to try again in two weeks! . . . #eurasier #eurasiersofinstagram #eurasiersofnorthamerica #useurasier #eurasierlove #eurasierlife #dogsofinstagram #instadog #akcfss #akc #purebred #purebreddog #thisisakc #agility #akcagility #agilitydog

Howru participated in his first level 2 trial in nosework! We were entered in a NACSW Level 2 Interiors trial today with Let's Talk Dogs. We didn't title, but it was a very good learning experience! Nosework with Howru is a very different experience than with Lili, which, I knew! But it was a very fresh reminder of that fact. We went 0/2, 2/3, 2/2, and 1/1 in the four searches. Howru needs time at the very beginning to acclimate, usually at least thirty seconds. He doesn't have the same search style nor does he indicate a hide the same way - he's a little bit more subtle, which means more work on my end when it comes to reading his behavior. We're trialing at a lower level too, which means that there are aspects of the searches that I, as a handler, need to keep in mind to help both of us succeed. For example, in the first search, I noticed that there were some chairs set up in the environment. Normally I like to let the dog take the lead in terms of what things to search, but at this level, when there are specific items set out in the environment, chances are there might be a hide on one of them. It probably would not have hurt if I had stepped in a little bit and led him over to that area for a little bit more detailing, especially if I'm not seeing that he appears to have caught scent anywhere else yet. I was also reminded that I shouldn't focus too much on waiting for a "final" indication from him (usually a nose freeze on source). I trusted him more in the subsequent searches that, if he was doing a lot of sniffing on some piece of furniture, he probably found it. Overall, I'm really happy with how far he's come along in learning the game. There are a few more level 1 trials coming up that we'll try our hands at, though I'm not too confident in how we would do in vehicles and exteriors - the outside elements are a whole different beast for an environmentally sensitive dog. But one step at a time :) Enjoy this video of the third search!

Emmett trying reeeeaaaaal hard to get momma Lili's attention 😆

Lili at her first agility trial in nearly a year! This was in NADAC, a very beginner-friendly agility organization. We'll primarily be trialing in AKC in the future, but NADAC is nice and casual and good for warming back up to trialing.

Cat toys make for good puppy entertainment 🐱🧶🐶

Pascal, our Mr. Adventurous, exploring the kitchen for the first time.