This page is dedicated to Shilohs that came from Solace Shilohs.

At five months - Ruger

Ruger is such and incredibly fast learner that it didnt take long for him to catch on.  He is 90% improved and getting better every day.  I was nervous at his last Vet appointment and asked if they wanted to muzzle him, but they said they would see how he does….turns out he did great and they were able to hold him still and give him shots with no problem at all!  I was so so happy and proud of him.  He pee'd on the floor because he was scared, but he was such a good boy and licked their faces when they were done!!

He has been much better at home too.  Still occasionally mouths when he is excited (open mouth on arms/hands) but doesnt bite like he used to.  We are making improvements in that area but still a little work to do until he doesnt mouth at all.  His big boy teeth are almost in, so that should help.  I would not have described him as a sweet dog before, but he is definitely now developing a sweeter nature as he gets older.

We are on week 2 of Obedience training. Ruger is the teachers favorite and always gets chosen to demonstrate.  I am excited to see how he progresses.

The best news is he is becoming very very attentive to our 2 1/2 year old son.  Recently at the cabin Riley started running down the hill away from the cabin and Ruger ran after him, cut right in front of him and stopped in his tracks so Riley couldnt go any further.  Ruger stood there and looked at me- while blocking Riley.  It was incredible!  He also did the same thing when Riley was half way down the deck steps alone…Ruger went down and blocked him so he couldn't go down anymore and Ruger didn't move until i came to Riley's side.  Riley isn't always happy that the dog is by his side everywhere he goes, but mommy and daddy certainly are!  This is one of the reasons I have always loved and wanted a Shiloh and Ruger has already exceeded my expectations in this area at such a young age!!

Update at 10 months - Ruger

Originally he “was” pretty head strong, stubborn and ‘mouthy’ until we established his role in the household.  He is now much more respectful, submissive and great to live with!     

For a while he was also unsure of strangers and new surroundings but is getting so much better now.

Submissive.  Loves all other dogs/animals and plays incredibly nice and gentle with dogs of ALL sizes.  He quickly rolls over to any dog that growls at him and would rather not be around those that are very dominant

He LOVES belly rubs and snuggles.  Turning into a huge loveable lap dog which is a big change from the first 6 months!

No prey drive, not gun shy.

Lots of “Play drive” although doesn’t fetch or chase balls, but loves to play with his stuffed toys/bones and keeps himself very occupied in the back yard flipping his toys around, dropping them in flower baskets, hiding them in the snow and then trying to get them out again. He bats toys around like a Cat would.  Sometimes he tries to flip his toys over the fence to the neighbor dog! 

Great around children (we have a 3 year old). He quickly learned to  ‘leave’ our son’s toys alone and is careful not to knock over kids.  However, Ruger does not like to be climbed on or when kids come from behind him he will quickly get up and move.  It’s almost like he doesn’t quite trust them – I can’t blame him J.  But then Ruger also looks after our son and will “herd” him and keep him close in some situations, which we love.  One time Ruger went into Riley’s room to ‘check’ on him when he was crying in the middle of the night.

Very vocal.  Doesn’t bark too much but complains and groans a lot. Very funny boy.  When he does bark, it is quite startling how big and scary he sounds- so contradictory to his personality!

Does NOT like to be confined- meaning he doesn’t like to be held down, or held still or trapped.  Less is more if we are at the vet.  He does NOT do well if they try to constrain him and does much better if you just pet him and distract him so they can examine him.  Does fine in his kennel though .

Always wants to be with us- and wants to come along in the truck wherever we go.

He is like traveling with a Rock-Star!  Of course he is so HUGE, strong and stunning and gets attention wherever we go.

I have had Ruger in some sort of class (obedience mostly) since I got him.  Just last Friday he graduated from a 4 week obedience level two training where I dropped him off every morning at a professional trainer and picked him up every night for 4 weeks.  We had 15minutes with the trainers every day to get our “homework”.  It was the best thing we have done.  Ruger is now an awesome respectful dog to live with.  He learned the following “reliable” behaviors:  sit stay, down stay, come, “go to your bed”, leave it, boundary control, and walking on a loos leash.   He is a joy to walk every morning and his collar never moves in front of my leg unless I tell him “free” in which he can then sniff around.    We are taking a month off of classes and then he will start an outdoor obedience proofing class for 2 weeks where the trainer will solidify his training in real life areas such as around the busy lakes/paths/stores/ dog parks etc…

After that will be K9 Good Citizen test sometime around his 1^st birthday.

------------------------------------------



Rocco
I can't believe Rocco is one year old!

I just wanted to share a collage of Rocco from the past year and give you an update.

Rocco is one of a kind! He has exceeded my expectations. He truly is amazing Laura.

Rocco is EXTREMELY loyal, he never leaves my side. This boy could play ALL day long too! I'm pretty sure he lives for the ball ;) Very obedient, a little bit of a stubborn streak but in the end he listens.

I can't go anywhere without someone stopping me and asking about him, quite the show stopper. Everybody that meets him loves him.

He is protective of his family, especially in his yard or house, but once he realizes I'm okay (5 minutes in or so) then he'll make friends, under his conditions. Which is exactly what I wanted.

He learned how to swim this summer! He absolutely LOVES it! He could fetch a stick in the water all day long, and then get out and play ball! The only time Rocco stops is if I do.

I could go on and on about how great he is and what amazing things he does but you know this all already! Because he's a Shiloh!


------------------------------------------



MisCi

My baby is coming up for a year old next month.  How time does fly, she is still very much a puppy despite her size and weight. She is long and sleek, tall but not overly so, but when she stands up on her back two legs she is very tall!

As you know I have told her on various occasions that if she doesn't shape up that's it she is going back to her Mommy by airplane.  You will be happy to know it was a jest (for the most part) and NO you can't have her back anyway.  Laura, she is SO VERY LOVING, how can one be too upset at her for too long a period when she comes up to you and puts her big front paws on your face, or neck, and tucks her very long nose round your face and neck and gives you so many kisses and love tugs on your nose and ears that all you do is end up falling down laughing and getting even more kisses. She is such a ham and such a love. She even loves the cat Blackie with a fierce determination to lick him until he is bald, which he is not quite so sure about, but the other day even Blackie gave up and decided he would have a go at nesting with her!  So funny to be part of this interaction with a cat that came to us when we had our other Shiloh when she was nearly a year old and the cat had been for the most part of his life a feral cat up here. CiCi and Blackie were quite devoted to each other and before CiCi passed away last year they would both be laying down in the back of SUV with the back up just napping with each other.  MisCi has not got to that stage yet but I still have hopes they will settle into a sleep pattern on the couch together again!

She knows her commands perfectly well, as to whether she will carry them out for you, well that is a totally different deal! This is one thinking animal we have here, she puts her head to one side, with those big ears straight up and gives you her brightest of round brown eyes and virtually says to you - No I don't think so, leastways not at the moment, maybe later, erm maybe not even then - when I am ready - maybe.  And don't bother about raising your voice, or lowering your voice, or adding extra unwanted words to the command, just a waste of time and breath really.

MisCi has now learned that she can jump the fence rather than find another way around it, whoopee see that rabbit I might be able to actually get it one of these days.  Look Dad I can jump that fence ever so much better than you can get over it and I don't even touch it, I do believe I can FLY.  Oh life is so fun here with my Californian/English parents we go for long walks and there is so much to sniff here, mountain lions, deer, coyote, skunk, raccoons, rabbits, ground squirrels and birds. So far she has only seen the last three which is just fine by us.  We personally have not seen a mountain lion for several years but there is a resident one somewhere around, paw prints have been spotted in the snow.

So, is your puppy wonderful, yes, is she mischievous, yes, is she loving, very, is she part of our family now, most definitely. Does she have a brain, undoubtedly, does she use it, most certainly when she wants to and normally to her advantage, is she stubborn - well let's just bypass that one shall we!  Is she social, you bet, does she love to play with other dogs, so much so I have a place where she goes for a play day and not only does she love the time spent there but Lynda loves her too as she loves all the dogs that she has for either the day or longer.

I do so hope that you feel that you placed 626 with the right family for her.  It was a time for us of huge heartbreak with the death of our most beloved CiCi with bloat and then finding that the vet's office messed up on the paperwork for her cremation and we never did have her remains returned to us.  MisCi is her own dog, quite different to CiCi but that is such as it should be, we cannot replace at will what we have lost, but we can most certainly recapture the feeling of love and fun and that unconditional love that only our pet's know how to give.

Thank you so  much for MisCi.

 ------------------------------------------

Mazi

Mazi is a very smart girl, with incredible play drive.  She is a pleasure to own, and train, with a soft temperament.  She is protective but never does more than bark at strangers, and stops when told to.  Mazi is very fit, and will play ball all day.  Her coat is a lovely plush length, without being too long or silky, it actually brushes out easily.  She is  not very big, about 27", but presents a stunning image with her energetic personality.  We love her dearly, and she fits into our little hobby farm perfectly.  

------------------------------------------



Mackie

PHOTOS OF MACKIE - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tayhall99/

Mackie is the most amazing dog we have ever owned.  Mark and I are both in our 50s and over the years have puppy raised 5/6 dogs.  Mackie is by far the easiest of all the puppies we have ever had.  She was housebroken in just a few days and quickly learned that all she needed to do was to ring the bell to ask to go outside within just a few weeks.  She has always slept through the night and is pretty content to just lay with us quietly playing unless we are going out for an adventure.

She has become the center of our world and has quickly become “the neighborhood dog”. If one of the neighborhood kids sees Mackie outside, an APB goes out and all the kids all come running.

This past weekend I worked out in the front yard with Mackie happily laying in the yard playing with her toys and watching the world go by.  She never leaves the property although will quietly go up to greet people that happen to be walking by.  She gently goes up to young toddlers and allows them to pet her and hug her.  She kisses every dog she meets so we have to be really careful to ask all the owners if their dog is friendly because Mackie can’t possibly imagine another dog not wanting a kiss from her.  So far she hasn’t had any “bad dog” experiences to make her afraid of other dogs, but she also makes it known to other dogs that she is submissive and sends “gentle” vibes.  I can’t imagine her getting into a scuffle with another dog because of her quietness of spirit.

I can tell you that I really think each puppy’s Shiloh parents have a huge impact on the puppy’s personality.  Mackie is so mellow and so loveable, which I think comes from Lolly and Aslan.  She has no prey drive, which we really like.  I know some Shilohs really do have quite a lot of prey drive and want to chase things and some people even find that appealing.  We love it that she’s interested in cats and squirrels, but doesn’t show any desire to chase them.  She would just like them to come up and greet her. She is even welcome to go with us to friends’ houses for dinner even if they have cats because she respects that she is a visitor in the cat’s home.  It really is quite remarkable.

She is incredibly smart and assesses everything new.  If she is exposed to something new, rather than be skittish or scared, she just sits back with her ears forward and assesses the situation.  She then seems to figure out very quickly that nothing much seems to be a threat to her and so quietly and confidently goes on her way.    We are certain she understands a fair amount of English because so much of what she does can’t possibly be coincidental.  As an example of many:  One recent evening, Mark was commenting that perhaps one of us should go up to her bed on the second floor to get her “backup” antler for her to chew on because she seemed bored.  A few minutes later we noticed she had disappeared….we were just going to check on her when she came clomping down the stairs with the antler we were just talking about….we both looked at each other and said, “that can’t have been a coincidence”.  She hardly ever goes upstairs by herself, but you could almost see the intelligence in her eyes and her saying, “that was a good idea….I did want that antler you were talking about so I went up myself to get it.”  Amazing!

She is funny and makes us laugh every day although I suspect she will be a mellow quiet soul as she gets older and more mature.  We’ve had other dogs that are really trouble makers as puppies and those really can make an owner laugh.  Mackie does have a sense of humor, but rarely gets in trouble…I can’t remember the last time she was reprimanded and she’s only 17 weeks old.  The last couple of puppies, the only words that were repeated over and over in the house were “Leave It, leave it, leave it”. ….we rarely have to do that with her because she seems to know what she should and shouldn’t have.

Like Lolly and Aslan, she is very vocal (not a barker though) and talks quite a lot, which is funny.  Two weeks ago, she was playing on the river bank with the older dogs and got in too deep and fell in over her head and got completely soaked.  She decided she needed to complain loudly about getting wet.  She talked and talked and talked for the rest of the time at the river, much to everyone’s amusement.  She wasn’t barking….just really complaining.  It was quite humorous.  After awhile it was apparent that no one was going to feel sorry for her for getting wet so she went back down to the river to think about going in again.  She didn’t feel quite brave enough for another swim, but I have no doubt that she will try it again the next time we take her.

 I am certain she could be a therapy dog and are doing a bit of research to see about getting her certified.  Her favorite thing to do is to lay down with someone with either her head on their lap or rolled over on her back so they can rub her.  As I said, she has a quiet soul with a demureness about her that is very sweet.

By the way, she was Rainbow Girl.  It is so hard to tell how they are going to look as adult from the way they look as puppies.  She went from dark gray to blond and is now getting a very definite black stripe down her back.  Shephards change so much in color that it’s really hard to tell as puppies.  I think she will probably have a solid black saddle, but we will just wait to see.  Both of her parents are gorgeous so she has good genes.  However, the most important thing to us is her darling personality, which I know came from Lolly and Aslan.  I think they are the perfect Shiloh parents if Mackie is any reflection of their mating.

 Laura does temperament testing and I wrote down what Laura said about Rainbow Girl (Mackie) which was:

She gave lots of kisses….so she’s affectionate (this was my note watching the pups with the testers)

• She has no prey drive.
• Is Independent.
• Is very vocal like her Mom & Dad (Lolly & Aslan).
• She is forgiving.

• Not very trusting.

• She is very submissive and although didn’t like being put on her back, did so because that’s what the person wanted her to do.  Will translate into being easily trainable.
• She is Curious.
• “Has a very sweet demeanor”.

Interestingly at 4 months old, Mackie is exactly what her temperament test above reflected….she is turning out just like what Laura said in the statement above based on how Mackie performed on her temperament test at 8 weeks.

We really love her, can you tell?  We think she is the perfect dog!!!!

------------------------------------------



Vandagriff

 We brought Vandagriff, (Asher/Tekoa), home in March of 2011 and we have not stopped laughing since! He's such a funny, easy going goofball, yet he's so focused and serious when we're on the herding field and while he has a fair amount of prey drive, he lives easily with our cats and seems to understand  when it's appropriate to exhibit that drive. We call him The Griff, our "little" hustler, because he's so charming and smart, it's easy to be manipulated by him! I could go on and on about how great he is, how huge, handsome and smart he is, etc. etc., but the really special part about him is almost inexplicable, it's like trying to explain how you've felt on the most perfect of days or falling in love, unless you were there and you experienced it, you probably won't fully get it. True story, he's that special...

Thank you Laura, you are a breeder who cares, you've been so helpful and followed through on everything you told us you would do. How a breeder makes you feel is such an important part of the puppy experience and you've gone out of your way to make things go as smoothly as possible, answer all questions honestly, and we think you're pretty special too!

 Click here to view Griff working at herding.

------------------------------------------



Misha

Misha is a great girl!!
She is an awesome family dog and loves children.  She is my constant shadow!!  Would recommend to all who love dogs, long walks and  playing ball, to have a Shiloh Shepherd.



If you have a Shiloh from Solace and would like to have his or her photos and narrative posted here, please send me an email with "Accolades" in the title.