Just wanted to let you know that Spaz (Bear) is doing great. I took him to the vet last week and he is 45# and in great shape. He is a very outgoing, rambunctious, always on the go little fellow. Luckily we have an acre that he can run around in or I don't know what we'd do with him. The funniest thing, that I'm hoping to get photos of, is how he's made friends with our neighbors calf. They run up and down the fence line playing with one another. The first time I saw it I thought Spaz was chasing or going after the calf, but after watching for a few minutes I realized the two of them were taunting and playing with one another. We are hoping to get Spaz a playmate soon before he wears out his brother (our other dog, Tank).
Anyway - I'll send you pictures as soon.
Thanks.
Rhonda Felde
Albany OR

Susan,

Toby is a great dog (he just weighed in at 62lbs at the vet, and I’d say it’s mostly muscle).

Some of the interesting things we’ve noticed/observed:
He drops to the ground and rolls in interesting/good scents (he’ll do this outside, in the dirt, plants, etc. as well as inside, when he smells lotion or perfume).
He likes to point his butt at you, and will back up into you with it (we sometimes call this ‘butt domination’)
He loves his toys and will fetch them by name (unfortunately, we can’t get him the plush or stuffed toys anymore, as he completely destroys them, often within minutes)
He has the longest tongue we’ve ever seen in a dog.
He only has a very few teeth on the lower left and right mid sides of his mouth.
He is an incredible jumper.
He can be very ‘talkative’ or vocal, especially if he wants something, or is frustrated and doesn’t think you’re paying proper attention to what he wants
He loves the water (although only when he gets to choose going in, he’s not crazy about baths or washing) and he’s started getting into the shower when we’re done
He loves slippers and socks, and will open closet doors to get to them... He also frequently brings the item to you, apparently hoping that you will engage him in play (kind of like saying “Hey, look what I have.”)
He drags his bed around the yard, placing it where he wants it.
At night, he will frequently run around the yard ‘on patrol’, and will crash through the bushes, into the fence, and sometimes bark, in an attempt to stir up any creatures which are out there (usually none, but infrequent visits from Possums and Rats keep him on the lookout).

That’s all I can think of right now. As I said, he’s a great dog, and we all love him very much. He’s not quite as ‘gentle’ a dog as we had hoped for, but he has personality and charm for days.

Hope this finds you both doing well.

Best,
Mike Clements

Susan,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write and to correspond with our trainer Shaun. We have made good progress with Toby, and I believe your input has helped us modify a course of training that might have worked counter to his instinctive responses. He is very intelligent and is also very forgiving and eager to please. He finished up with Shaun this week, and he and I have been having some good fun practicing the things we learned (we did opt to skip the ‘down’ since this seemed to be a command that was so counter to his nature)... As I work with him and become a little more confident in our cooperative relationship, I may try to incorporate a gentle down... But I’m really open to your input here. (I had thought you mentioned at one point using a gentle down technique with them, but maybe I’m confused here.)

Anyhow, our biggest struggle has been with jumping up, and with biting. I think much of this has to do with being a puppy still, and so we’ve been working on harm reduction and on letting him know that the behavior either hurts us or isn’t acceptable.

There are some times he is such a puppy... And we say that he is ‘Tazzing’. At these times, he’ll start running around the yard at maximum speed, almost seeming to pick some of the more complex routes that require him to navigate through, over, under or around things... And he’ll proceed to run large figure 8 patterns, or other looping shapes. Anyhow, it’s funny and also quite impressive to watch (unless he takes a turn too hard and wipes out), and he’ll do it until he’s quite worn out.

On a really good note, I think his training has help measurably... Both in his understanding of what we’re asking him to do, or telling him not to, and in my confidence in handling him. We had a very brisk walk this morning, with him ‘heeling’ and ‘sitting’ nicely, and he had a marvelous ‘stay’ for about 90 seconds at 25-30 feet, with some distractions in the background. Did I mention that he’s very smart?

Anyhow, I have printed and passed your suggestions along to my wife and daughter. We are all enjoying him, and, I think, learning how to better integrate him into our family with respect.Thanks again, and I would welcome any other suggestions or information you would care to share with us.

Best,
Mike Clements

Dear Antje,



I have been asked to respond to your questions regarding Carolina Dogs (hereafter referred to as C.D.s) as I am now the proud owner of one and had many of the same concerns that you have. My husband, Rich, and I live in the hill country of Texas, and we share our home with seven cats, one Carolina Dog named Belle, and two domestic rabbits. We love animals of all types and share our property with many, including deer, rabbits, raccoons, possums, and armadillos.



Belle came to live with us when she was 8 weeks old. She was affectionate, energetic, and playful right from the beginning. She is also quite engaging and likes to be part of our life and activities. She is very cautious about new situations and needs to be able to check things out—people and other dogs—before she feels comfortable. We tried to get her accustomed to regular car trips with us, but found that it just made her anxious. She does, however, love riding in our little golf cart which we use to take her down to her favorite spot on the river, or just to ride around the country roads which she is familiar with. C.D.’s are very “pack-oriented” and do not like being separated from their family. When she was about six months old, we tried leaving her at a boarding kennel and she became extremely anxious. If we have somewhere to go, she is happiest being left at home in familiar surroundings with her “pack” of kitties. We don’t travel much and have not yet had to leave her for any extended period, but when we do we will have a neighbor come over to feed and exercise her.



In keeping with Belle’s cautiousness, we have observed that she is very interested in other dogs but that if the other dog is aggressive or assertive in approaching her, she will run. On the other hand, if the other dog gives her space and allows her to check them out first she becomes buddies. I think the more socialization with other dogs from an early age the better.



One of my biggest concerns was how my cats would get along with Belle and, like you said, whether she would respect them in their household. We have seven cats and they come and go as they please through a cat door to the outside. At first I think Belle saw the cats as “littermates” and would chase them and try to play with them. Needless to say, this did not set well with the cats and we began seeing less and less of them as they preferred to be outside where they felt safe. We never felt that Belle would intentionally hurt one of them, but as she began growing and we saw how fast and strong she was, we realized that she could accidentally hurt one of them. We consulted a trainer and she taught us to use the command “off”, starting out with little bits of meat, so that Belle would learn to leave it when she heard that command. Once she learned the basic concept of the command, we progressed to using it when she would start to chase a cat. Now that she is older and has settled some, she has developed a unique relationship with each cat (because anyone who owns cats knows that each of them has his own unique personality, too.) One of them she adores, and he adores her, and they sometimes groom one another. Our youngest cat, Sunny, insists on joining my husband and Belle on their walk every morning. Basically, though, they have grown accustomed to each other and the cats know by now that a well placed hiss and spit in the face will send Belle running if she gets too rambunctious or too persistent in her attempts at play. So, to sum all of this up, it has taken some effort on our part, but has worked.



The National Geographic special that was released recently, called “Search for the First Dog,” portrays these dogs as very adept hunters, and especially in packs. I won’t lie to you and say that they don’t have this tendency. But, just as with the cats, training from an early age is important. We were especially vigilant when the young fawns were born this season. They are so very tiny and vulnerable. Belle usually will chase deer out of our yard but as soon as they have crossed the magical property line she lets up and comes back home, happy that she has done her duty in protecting the pack’s territory. Many dog breeds have this natural instinct to hunt and kill, and if they are left to run free and are unsupervised and untrained they will do so.


Forgive me for being so lengthy in answering your concerns. I truly respect you for taking dog ownership so seriously and for wanting to make sure that the dog you adopt will fit into your life. We have found that our Belle needs a lot of love, consistency in training, and lots of exercise, and she gives much love in return. Please let me know if I can be of any further help to you. Sincerely,

Sharon Harshman

California Carolina Dog in The Netherlands

Susan,

We know for sure it is all worth the trouble, we did'nt know it would be so diffecult and we feel very very thankful wou are going to all of this!!!
Yesterday i was very stressed out because everywhere i called to to get information a did not seem to get any answers.
Well her from you after the Ver appointment

thank's and lots of love and greetings, Willy and her wolfpack

Hello Susan,

Are there no 'normal' airlines any more in this world, where things are easy?????

i send a picture from the wolves, just to cheer you up!

many greatful greetings from here,

Willy

Hello Susan,

Yes our beautyful little girl is home and greeted by our wolf pack and they are all very happy and sweet with each other!

At 8 o'clock am we where at the airport, the flight had some delay, but as soon as she arrived at cargo, i good be with her, and it was love at first sight!!! She licked my hands and face and sat on my lap during waiting for Andre who went to custems for the paper's that took 'only 3 hours'!!!!
She had food and a botle of water in her kennel and she was ok! she had not eaten but when a gave it to her in my hand, she started directly!

She was very sweet in the car, slept on my lap, we stopped for coffee and water with boiled chicken for her and she followed us as if she had always been with us.

We are so happy with her and can't tank you enough, it was more then worth all the trouble and stress a hope for you to, we've called her Selvaggio witch is Italian for savage.

there are some first pictures for you so you can see she is allright!

lots and lots of love from us and now afcourse also from Selvaggio!!!!


Hello Susan,

I have a question but first of all, we are so happy with our little orange ( onbeleaveble colour so beautiful!) female it is as if she has always been with us our Fiero is her gardian she watches her closely all the time!

We've been asked to write an artikel about the Carolinadog in the Onze Hond, a famous dog magazine in Holland and a would like to mention your name in it. Perhaps a could use some of what you have wrote on your site about the origian of the ras, and mayby you have some pictures of your grown up dogs, tell me if you are allright with this and i good sure use you know how.

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