Visiting mom and dad!

Last Saturday we visited Wookie’s dog-mommy and dog-daddy in Ghent, where she comes from. We bought her from a breeder, Van de Moesdongen, who raised Wookie the first eight weeks in a very social way. She lived inside the house, not outside in a dog run or something. This means that she was used to all kinds of things you find inside the house: electricity cables, chairs, rugs, … all stuff that she wasn’t supposed to chew on. The breeders had four dogs of their own, and getting to know other dogs at a young age is very important in order to get your dog socialized enough.

Cobe van de Moesdongen & Eleni van het Kumtichshof.

Of course she wasn’t perfect when we got her at eight weeks. Accidents were bound to happen, because playing is so much more fun than running over to find the paper where she was supposed to do her thing on… And she did bite some things into pieces, like a cute keychain I had hanging from my bag… But I believe she was somewhat ahead of other pups the same age.

Her home-mates were three other Schipperkes (mom, dad and grandma from dad’s side) and one big Rottweiler-Dobermann mix… or something like that, because it was an abandoned pup they found somewhere along the road and they decided to keep it. It’s a real darling, size doesn’t matter! When Wookie was just a few weeks, she only saw her mom of course, but later on she played with all four friends around, and her little brothers and sisters.

Near the end of eight weeks you could really see that Wookie’s mom got tired of them. Five pups are rather heavy: they constantly fought for her attention, stole her food, and tried to get her toys… From a certain point onwards, a bitch usually doesn’t really “take care” of her pups anymore. Not that she wont defend them, but she believes them to be able to take care of themselves from then on.

Strange to see that Wookie and her parents don’t recognize each other anymore! From the moment we walked in, Wookie’s mom attacked her, as if to make clear from the start who’s boss around there. Eleni’s companions could play outside, but Wookie had to stay in, as if to say “don’t you dare to feel at home here”…

Eleni keeps an eye Wookie…

I was afraid that we’d have to keep an eye on them both all the time that afternoon. Eleni proved to be a rather dominant bitch, so we knew she’d take the lead. But Wookie has learned to give herself up, so after some growling and snapping, Wookie went down on her back, and everything seemed to be ok from then on.

 …but after a while they hug each other!

I think Schips are a bit racist. They only like to play with their own kind! I’ve never seen Wookie as happy as Saturday. Usually she likes to meet other dogs, but not really enthusiastically… She ran around the whole yard, she seemed unstoppable, she kept on running! Her mom and dad wanted to play to, they’re still young (I believe about 5 years). Grandma didn’t really like all that fuzz, she and the big dog went to lie down in the sunshine.

 Biiiiiiig yard!

We also know that they don’t recognize their daughter anymore because of the fact that after some four hours of playing, Cobe seemed to get indecent interest in Wookie…! We didn’t take any chances and went home… the poor fellow! Haha!
Apparently a mix of father and daughter isn’t necessarily bad. A mix of brother and sister on the other hand is a very bad idea. But anyway, it’s still a bit early!

Soon Wookie will be jugded at the Antwerp Dogshow. The breeder believes she’s growing up to be a very nice Schip, and her chances in Antwerp are really good. Wookie’s dentals are perfect, she only needs to be ok with standing on a table. I’ll tell you more soon about her first Dogshow in Ghent last February!

We had a great sunny afternoon, and we took a very very tired doggy back home with us. We believe she had great fun too!