I’ve been sharing a lot of wacky Solha stories lately. But I don’t want to give the impression Solha is a “bad dog,” she’s a great dog, so today I thought I’d focus on her normal, non-super power canine attributes.
Number one, we’ve had her just over two weeks and she’s only peed in the house twice. I think that’s pretty good. She caught on very quick that bathrmoom breaks must be conducted outside.
Number two, she knows her name and comes when called (with a few caveats, keep reading).
Number three, she knows how to sit and lay down on command.
Number four, she’s wonderful on the leash. I’ve taken her on two three and a half mile runs so far and she doesn’t try to drag me or stop on a dime. She does become a bit more frenetic when we happen upon another dog, but that is normal for a dog this age.
About the leash. Every time we take her outside Solha must be on the leash. We learned this lesson the hard way. The second or third day we had her home, Jake took her off the leash for a second to jog with her around the property. She became so excited and giddy by her newfound freedom in such a lovely setting that it was like watching a hippie at Burning Man whose magic mushrooms just kicked in–she became ecstatic, loopy, psychedelic. She leapt, she darted, she jumped, she swan dived, she ran further and further away from Jake. He yelled at her to come, but she was too far gone and ran off into the woods. We searched for her everywhere, calling and cajoling, until I finally found her…sitting quietly on our front porch.
She’s done that a couple of times. So we’ve learned to keep her on the leash at all times until she mellows out. I imagine it’ll be a good six or seven months before she can be trusted to walk untethered.
Oh, about her name. I’ve had more than a few people ask me how to pronounce her name. The official pronunciation is “soul-HA,” which means “peace” in Dari. But I’ve heard Jake identify her as “Soul,” “SOUL-ah” and “Soul-HA.” So I call her “SOUL-ah,” which I find easier to say than the clunkier, Kung-Fu-ish “soul-HA!!”
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With Solha ending up on your porch, i guess she knows where home is. She sounds like a good dog.
I am glad that life is settling a little bit for you and your family.Your website is the highlight of my day,with the Solha Saga making me laugh and sometimes shed a few tears.Thank you for taking the time to keep all of us informed.
So pleased to hear the positives with Solha – thanks Jessie. And I have a hunch it is only going to get better. Take care.
SOUL-ah is looking great, coat is starting to look healthier and only a few ribs showing. Observe that big ole smile on her face!
“…that it was like watching a hippie at Burning Man whose magic mushrooms just kicked in–she became ecstatic, loopy, psychedelic.” You are hilarious! I laughed so loud here at work that my colleagues turned and stared at me. Hope Jake is transitioning well (and you and June, too!)
Number five, she smiles when she sleeps (see photo).
Dogs are such knuckleheads.
And she grins in her sleep! You’ve gotta love a grinning dog.
Probably dreaming about her next escape…
At least she knows more than a horse I once watched a man try to sell.
Trader: now this one here is a good looking animal.
Customer: is she broke?
T: oh….yeah.
C: what all can she do?
T: well… Let’s see. Uh. She will stand, tied.
Ah, she can drink water. Uh, and eat hay. Oh, yeah, I taught her to sh-t. An I believe that’s about all.
Ha ha ha!
I’ve been following Solha’s story and journey. So glad that she has found a wonderful home and can finally settle down and feel at peace.
Blessings
Diane
Solha is lovely, and you have your work cut out for you, because she’s an Akbas, a type of what is called Anatolian Shepherd Dog here in the US. She’s a livestock guardian dog, bred for centuries to be independently capable of protecting a place or a flock without human guidance. There are few dogs more capable of figuring things out, but that intelligence makes it hard to stay one step ahead. Thank you so much for sharing this story! If you’d like support in figuring out how to understand, contain and train her, please contact the National Anatolian Shepherd Rescue Network’s yahoo group for owners – http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/NASRNownersupport
Mugsy, THANK YOU for checking in. I have forwarded your email to Jake, who I am quite sure will be very interested in learning more about this breed!
Please tell Jake he’s quite welcome to join, sometimes it helps even if only to know you’re not imagining what your dog just did. I found my girl on top of the fridge once, really wasn’t expecting that when they said “agile.” A search through the group’s archives on “escape” would be entertaining and informative too.
Oh how I would love to see a photo of a dog on a fridge! Ha ha ha!
I’d give anything to have that photo, but my reaction was to jump out of my skin. It’s just not what you expect to see, 80+ lbs of dog just perched up there like a cat. Annie also spent several nights investigating all the kitchen cabinets, so, imagine that you’re all alone in the house, but suddenly, you clearly hear someone open an UPPER kitchen cabinet and rifle through the cans, let that door slam shut, flip open another one, rifle… repeat. I had my trusty sword in hand as I crept down the stairs, terrified an intruder was there, wondering where my guard dog was. There she was, standing on her hind feet on the kitchen counter, cabinet doors open, her whole upper body buried inside, investigating, tail doing a casual happy wave as she mused on what might be edible. One thing about these dogs is they don’t respond well to anger, harsh voices, shouting, or any type of negative training methods – those can backfire in a variety of ways, but especially by drawing the dog’s attention to whatever upset you in the first place. I put the sword down and calmly suggested she get down from there. She wagged at me, happy to have found interesting new places to forage, and got down casually, easily, athletically, as gently as you step down off a curb. The next day we went over MINE and YOURS, my two most important commands. I marveled at Annie’s abilities for 8 years, and still miss her terribly.
Thanks to Mugsy for posting this blog on NASRN. This is hysterical. I fostered an ASD for 3 months and she would do the same thing – if there was a way to escape, she would and she would be found romping with the neighbor dog or after frantic searching we’d find her waiting on the front porch. They are true escape artists!
I think I’m a little late to the party, as I just found you (Jake’s mom babysat my kids), but can you tell me what happened to Cowboy? My kids and I loved that dog!
Hilarious! Thanks for sharing!