Arya, Say Hello World
So if you haven’t seen my latest Youtube video where I introduced Arya. I wanted to write about it as well for those who still appreciate the written word. So with that said:
Arya, say ‘Hello, World.’ World, say ‘Hello’ to Ayra.
Ayra at the time of writing this, has been mine for 6 full days now. And she has been bonding to me extremely well. But before getting into the nitty gritty of what we’ve been doing, how training is going. What our training looks like. And what the future looks like for us. I wanted to take a second and tell the quick story of how Ayra and I found each other. So with that, gather around the camp fire.
Obviously my life has gone through some changes in the past year. If you seen my Youtube videos, setting, and the dogs that I have trained or not trained are different that what was the most common motif in the videos prior. With the changes made, it took a long time for me to emotionally and physically to be ready for another dog. Especially the timing, not just the investment time of training, the logistical time of waking up early, extremely early in most cases (3 - 3:30, 4 AM in most cases). And getting home to let the dog out. Timing was everything, plus I’ve been traveling more. It almost became one of those it’s never going to be a perfect time. You just do it and adapt. Where belief in it all will work out is greater than logic.
So I decided to slowly start looking for a new dog. Slowly, did I say slowly? Because I just didn’t want a dog, I wanted the right dog. The question then becomes, do I get another German Shepherd or do I branch out and get something else. I decided to branch out due to the fact that I always admire and had great affection for Malinois’ and the Dutch Shepherd. I love them both, well all three. But since this is the season of change I decided on the Malinois or Dutch. But I kept leaning toward the Malinois. Although the Dutch is pretty fucking cool.
With my mind now set on the Malinois, I put out word to my friend Ed Reyes here in Orlando. Who I’ve been going to for years for dog training and advice. So he started slowly looking for me. I also had another friend of mine do some recognizance. She showed me a couple. One in town but they didn’t want anything to do with me when it came adopting there Malinois. They didn’t even want to see me. But once my friend found that out she told them they effed up. They wanted me to take a look at their dog for adopting but I lost interest because they pissed me off. Another one I went out to see was in Cocoa Beach. This dog was actually a Malinois and Dutch Shepherd mix. But this dog was defensive, and skittish, and wanted nothing to do with anyone. Very reminiscent of Ava and I didn’t want to go through that again.
Ed gave me some listings as well. But they were either far or out of state. I found backyard breeders. I found scammers. I found people wanting $500 just to look at their pups. I saw it all. But my biggest thing was patience. I had plenty, I wasn’t in a hurry. We even discussed the possibility of importing one from one of his breeders in the Czech Republic. It takes time, remember we weren’t just looking for a dog, we were looking for the right dog. And there are liter times who’s having one, when, what come from them.
Then one random after Ed shot me a text with video and pictures of Arya (formally named Wasabi). She was beautiful. She was already retrieving, messy but retrieving. She showed confidence, stability. I reached out to Jarvis Scott and said I can come and see her. I did. Drove the 45 minutes to see her and it was almost instantly that Wasabi took a liking to me. Spoke to Jarvis about training, and what kind he specializes in, PSA. A protection sport. I still want to compete a dog, but above all else I want a good, solid, ok I’ll say it, a Strong Dog. So I was picking his brain based on what he saw what she would excel in. From the little luring that I was doing with her he’s like IGP might not be bad. Which is what I was leaning towards. But obviously at 12 weeks old it way to soon for that. Initially he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with. Because she wasn’t from his current liter, she came from the liter prior. Using his own dog, the Ed helped train as the stud. So we knew the line was good, but he still wasn’t sure if he wanted to keep her or not. Ed had vouched for me beforehand trusting that I have the skill and capabilities to handle the breed. And after watching Wasabi and I play Jarvis saw and believed that to.
After being careful, a feeling of indifference, to point of being standoffish because I wanted to be objective when interviewing a dog, like all things you have to finally go with what you see, feel, and hear. I decided to pull the trigger on baby Wasabi. I did get a vote of confidence after speaking with Ed and Jarvis, I was like, ‘okay, don’t try and sell me what are your thoughts on her?’ Each had the same answer, ‘Like what I see. If I was looking for a female Malinois, I’d get her.’ I picked her up two days later. Within a day and a half Arya bonded to it to an extremely high degree.
Why the name Arya? She’s my favorite character on Game of Thrones. I told the story on my Youtube channel you can watch it to see how her story and Batman’s story arcs are similar. And being a Batman nerd, I seemed like the perfect fit.
Training
I’ll write a more detailed summary of our training. What I want from it, what I’m working on, what I’m doing differently. But right now it’s scheduling. Mostly her time now is in the crate. If we aren’t training, which all based around breakfast and dinner, maybe maybe a shorter third training session whether still with treats or with the ball to work on some prey drive. Breakfast throughout the week is typically around 3:45ish. First I let her potty from the night. Then I use her kibble for luring and shaping patterns and behaviors. I put her back in the crate and then do a short crate training session with raw food. This is helping her understand to stay calm in the crate if she doesn’t see me but also to go in and be comfortable. After 15 - 20 minutes to calm her stomach I take her out to potty and do a short walk.
If I have a short back I’ll race home to let her out to potty then back in. I’ve also been using treats when letting her out of the crate to create the picture of what I want. Also when putting on the leach so she knows it’s something positive. When I come home from work, I’ll do another short walk and maybe some obedience along the way or something with the ball. Then it’s back in the crate. Probably let her out again once more. This time maybe I’ll keep her out for 5 or so minutes to be with me and to roam the apartment. Then it’s the same process for dinner as it was for breakfast. Then back in. When we do the night walk I might go little longer this way she’s tired and will have zapped her energy and she’ll get a good night sleep.
Conclusion
It’s one been a week and it feels like Ayra and I have done so much. Obviously there’s more to do and Arya and I have much more time together. Have a lot more time to still get to know each other and learn from each other. She will test me, I will test her. But it’s her and I now. There is no doubt there will be times we love each other. Hate each other. Argue , get frustrated with each other. But it’s all based on love and respect from each other. Needless to say it will be entertaining. We’ll continue with the AM series videos on Youtube this way you can see her progress. Along with other videos that I want to share and think you’ll see value in. I will continue to update the website for members, currently there’s nothing, Slowly there will be so you’ll have access to information and video that I don’t put on Youtube or abbreviated videos. Cause I want this business and website to be profitable so I can dedicate my life to this trade and not have to work two jobs. I always said and if I haven’t, if it wasn’t for Ace I’d never know what dog training can be. If it wasn’t for Ava Strong Dogs never would have happened. Hoping Arya will take Strong Dogs to the next level So stay tuned.
