Freja Met Rohan's Grandma & Opa

This afternoon my husband's parents came to visit and meet Freja. Freja was napping in the kitchen when they arrived, but she perked right up when Opa gave her a squeaky toy that they brought for her. Freja did not bark at them.

She does, however, bark at the cats. I am working on convincing her that the cats are part of the pack and should be respected.

Ears Up

Here's a shot of those ears standing all the way up. Our neighbor who came into the yard to see her has GSD's and she commented about Freja's ears being up already.

Playing with Rohan

This morning we went in the back yard so Rohan could play ball with Freja. Freja was more interested in Rohan than the ball.

The ball is behind her and she's running towards Rohan. Notice that her ears, while held back are not collie-style this morning. She has been holding them up more and more.

We invited one of our neighbors into the yard to meet Freja this morning. Freja was her usual charming, friendly self and flopped herself over for a belly rub.

Freja & Her Bunny

Freja's favorite soft toy is her large squeaky bunny. The bunny has high pitched squeakers in its feet, a low pitched squawker in its body, and crinkly stuff in its ears. She likes to chew on it and use it as a pillow.

Rainy day...

I stayed home with Freja and Halle again today. I have allowed them a little more supervised time together, and did a "sit" training session in the kitchen with both of them. Of course, Halle already knows how to sit, but I thought it would be a good exercise for her anyway. It was also an opportunity to teach both of them "leave it" when each tried to take the other's treats.

We also worked on going up the stairs for about a half an hour. Freja will now follow me without much hesitation up the stairs. Down the stairs is a different story. She still won't come down. Well, one step at a time, right? ;) Halle assisted in the going up stairs activity and was surprisingly not grumpy towards Freja while we were going up the stairs. She even allowed Freja to puppy lick her mouth without snarling or baring her teeth, which is what she usually does when Freja tries to puppy lick her.

It's raining out today and Freja doesn't seem to like the rain much. I have taken her out several times and she quickly does her business and then looks at me as if to say, "Are we done now? Can we go back in the house?"

The picture above is from yesterday. I'm not taking my camera out in the rain ;) .

Isn't she lovely?

Freja is a pet quality Shiloh Shepherd. She cannot be a show dog and she cannot be bred. She has an underbite, which is a recessive genetic trait that should not be perpetuated. Her underbite does not bother her and she can eat and drink and play just fine.

Despite this flaw I think Freja is an absolutely beautiful girl. Her coloring and markings are very pretty and her ears are almost all the way up already.

Even better: she's an absolute sweetheart. She loves belly rubs and snuggles. She is very smart too. This afternoon I spent about a half an hour with her and Halle in the kitchen teaching Freja how to sit. I think she is getting it pretty well. I am going to try asking her to sit for her dinner the way we ask Halle to sit for her dinner.

Running around the yard...

I went back to the pet supply shop this morning to buy a 30' training lead. We don't have a fenced yard and it makes me really nervous to let Freja run around free. She almost always comes when I clap my hands, but I don't want to risk it. While I was gone to the store I left Freja in her ex-pen in the kitchen. She managed to tip over her water bowl while I was out. I guess I will have to get a tip-proof water bowl.

I took her out in the back yard for a romp and some photos when I got back.

Freja is home!

I drove up to the airport to pick her up last night. The plane landed a few minutes early, but she wasn't brought over to the Cargo pickup place until 9:55pm. I cleaned her up a little bit and then we headed home.

Freja was very good in her crate in the car. She only whined a few times then settled in for the rest of the ride.

Above is a picture of Freja in our kitchen after her first bath.

Tomorrow Night!

Freja will be flying into Bradley International Airport (BDL) tomorrow night at 9:32pm!

Wednesday!

Freja should be here on Wednesday.

I have one more thing to pick up at Choice Pet Supply: Nupro All Natural Dog Supplement.

We can't wait!

Shopping

I can't say enough good things about Choice Pet Supply in North Haven. The staff are all knowledgeable and friendly, especially the manager and the night manager, and they have a wide selection of excellent quality pet foods, toys, beds, and other supplies. Yesterday we went shopping there to prepare for Freja's arrival and I was able to get almost everything that was on my shopping list right there.

Freja will be eating Eagle Pack Holistic Select Large & Giant Breed Puppy formula food with some additions & supplements per the recommendation of her breeder. Large and giant breed puppies have special nutritional requirements in order to prevent orthopedic problems.

Freja's Picture on NZS web site...

We don't have any pictures of Freja of our own yet, but here is Freja on her breeder's web site:

http://www.newzionshilohs.org/dual.jpg

Freja is a black & silver dual colored Shiloh. Doesn't she have the sweetest face?

While we wait...

Our to do list:

1) Puppy proof the house.

2) Teach 3.5 year old son NOT to leave his toys laying around in any rooms other than his bedroom. (I'm thinking this lesson will not be learned until Freja chews on something.)

3) Make puppy shopping list.

4) Sign up for puppy kindergarten.

5) Remember to charge camera batteries.

Freja's Blog

Hello, and welcome to the My Friend Freja (ISSR Shiloh Shepherd) blog. I hope to use this blog to provide pictures and updates of Freja and share information about her breed, the Shiloh Shepherd.

Freja is a 12 week old plush coat, dual-colored Shiloh Shepherd puppy who will become part of our family next week sometime. Her parents are Val and Acer at New Zion Shilohs (http://www.newzionshilohs.org). The breeder is the Shiloh Shepherd breed founder, Tina Barber.

The Shiloh Shepherd is a developing breed founded by Ms. Barber. Ms. Barber's family has a long history with the German Shepherd Dog breed from which the Shiloh Shepherd breed was developed. You can read about the history of the Original Shiloh Shepherd breed at the Shiloh Shepherds web site at http://www.shilohshepherds.org/.

I discovered the Shiloh Shepherd breed quite by accident one day when I was reading listings for German Shepherd dogs on Petfinder. One of the listings showed a picture of a very large male GSD-looking dog and the description said, "possibly part Shiloh." I had never heard of the Shiloh Shepherd and out of curiosity I did a Google search for "Shiloh Shepherd" and lo and behold I found the Shiloh Shepherds web site and the associated Shiloh Shepherd Forums. The dog pictured on the first page of the forum at the time bore a remarkable likeness to an "old style" German Shepherd Dog my family had had when I was a very young child. That image alone struck a chord, and with further reading by all descriptions the Shiloh Shepherd was also in many other ways very much like that particular dog, Max, and I was intrigued and wanted to learn more.

After reading a lot of information, chatting with the numerous Shiloh owners, breeders and admirers on the forums, and attending two pet events where I was able to meet a Shiloh Shepherd breeder, Sheila Masse of Rising Star Shilohs, and several real Shiloh Shepherds (Manny, Joy, Sezar, and Timber) in person I knew that the next canine member of our family would be a Shiloh.

Our family consists of myself, my husband, our 3.5 year old son, a 10-13 year old beagle and two cats. The humans at least are excited to welcome our new addition soon!