Back to "Dogs of my own" Contents Back to Home                                                    B E A R    O R   T E D D Y   B E A R Kirandàly  flew from Hungary where he was born 13 years ago. When he arrived at home, he found three bitches : Damounia, Berger de Brie, Etioline, Newfoundland, and Lénidiège, my first Kuvasz. The three bitches were curious, not at all aggressive with him, they just tried to avoid him because he was biting every one and everything that he could find ! Lénidiège, the chief of the bitches, growled easily at him, but he seemed perfectly indifferent. From the first day at home, he was drinking in the bowl of water of the bitches, alone or with one of them, but when he tried to do the same with their bowl of food, they growled and he gave up. The first night, I let him in the living-room with Etioline and Damounia, while Lénidiège was in the garden. He complained a little when I left him, but quickly he was silent. In the middle of the night, I heard a strong cry from him, and I got to take him with me in my bedroom. The second night, he didn't complained when I let him ; I woke up in the night and I went to the dogs because I wondered whether the previous night he could have been afraid by something. I wanted to try to know what had happened this first night. And I knew. I heard exactly the same cry from Kirandàly, but I saw what made him cry : Damounia bit him - Damounia was of this kind of character that was afraid of a lot of things but that tried to bite every one that seemed weaker than her. I let Kirandàly with Etioline in the living-room, and I took Damounia apart near my bedroom. In the morning, when Damounia and I went down the stairs to the living-room, Kirandàly went to us ; when he saw Damounia arriving to him, he barked so strongly and so authoritatively that Damounia went back and refused to come till the pup were in front of her. Since this moment, Kirandàly was definitively above Damounia hierarchically. Kirandàly always showed a lovely character, but at one condition : to be respected. Lénidiège often growled at him, probably she wanted to intimidate him, perhaps she was already afraid to lose her chief place because of this Kuvasz male who would be big and strong one day  ...  When Kirandàly pulled her hair or her tail, she growled and he stopped : that was only justice. But one evening, while the pup was at home for about two weeks, Lénidiège was growling to Kirandàly who didn't do anything else than walk near her ; Kirandàly showed indifference, but suddenly Lénidiège threw herself upon the pup who rolled on the ground ; he had done nothing wrong to the bitch so he considered that what Lénidiège did to him was really unjust, unjustified and so unacceptable ; he got up as soon as possible, sat on the ground, growled strongly   with visible teeth, and then he threw himself furiously to her and bit her to do justice ... Lénidiège liked to attack any one with the slightest reason, but she was so surprised  - and perhaps she knew that she was wrong and so he was right - that she didn't riposte ...  It was really the first time that a dog on earth wasn't intimidated by her attack, she seemed to be unsettled. So I learnt quickly how my lovely teddy bear could suddenly become a furious bear ...   But Lénidiège couldn't accept such a defeat. Sometimes, she was playing fairly with Kirandàly, some other times she attacked him suddenly "without reason", just to make him consider that she was stronger than him. But Kirandàly was growing up and so he was becoming more and more stronger. Kirandàly was really a lovely teddy bear with me - I had learnt not to be wrong with him !  But when he was about 5-6 months old, he began to refuse to do what I asked - what I asked gently, I knew that he would have refused strong orders. He tried to intimidate me with strong barks every time that I asked him something. I went on to speak gently and softly to him, pretending that his barks made me completely indifferent, and my soft and gentle voice was generally enough to make him do what I wanted just because he liked to please me. But if I was wrong with him, especially if I tried to resort to force with him, he bit me slightly, just to do justice. So I learnt to get more self-control. Then, while Lénidiège still often tried to intimidate and sometimes to attack him, Kirandàly too began to bark to her, to challenge her.  When Kirandàly was about six months old, real fights started, and for a few years ... Neither Kirandàly nor Lénidiège really accepted that the other one could be the chief, the only chief. Lénidiège was first the chief, she tried to intimidate Kirandàly but he became stronger than her and she started to lose fights ... Nevertheless, it can be said that Kirandàly became the chief ; but Lénidiège didn't really accept that. Only about one year before she died, she avoided fights, but before that, she was always searching to fight Kirandàly, who easily fought her too, and fights were really often ...   Kirandàly always searched to bite the forelegs of the bitch, while his head was beneath hers, Lénidiège always pierced a ear of the male ; the blood torrent from Kirandàly's ear always needed that I intervened. But first I had to separate the two fighters, if my gentle voice didn't succeed to make them become quiet - just to please me, in particular Kirandàly -, I used a bucket full of water, that always had horrified Kirandàly, who didn't like rain too. Lénidiège didn't really succeed to intimidate Kirandàly, even when he was young. She had other means ! When the young Kirandàly was trying to win her round to him, Lénidiège was really a difficult conquest ! Once, I saw them through my home : Lénidiège was lying on the ground like a sphinx, Kirandàly too but just in front of her, his forelegs were near hers ; Kirandàly was turning slowly his head from left to right and from right to left, as he didn't dare to look at her ; then he tried, he stopped to turn his head and looked at her directly, but she growled and refused him, so he got up ... When he was older and stronger, and so she often lost fights, Lénidiège went on to try to win, but in another way. She often annoyed him when he was quiet, but when he started to be angry and so to attack her, she stopped so the anger faded away ; if she had do too much and the anger of the male didn't disappear when she stopped annoying him, she had found something that worked every time : she was pretending to be in guarding situation, pretending to listen and to bark as if something wrong was happening, and in such a case, Kirandàly always forgot his anger to listen and to be ready to defend, to guard - although every time I noticed that there were really nothing around, and the two Kuvaszes quickly stopped to listen and guard, but Kirandàly had forgot and didn't want anymore to attack her ... She was no more stronger than him, but she had realized how much power she could get on the male when she was on heat ... Once, I saw them while Lénidiège began to be on heat ; she wasn't ready to be mated, so Kirandàly was lying near her and seemed to be indifferent ;  she annoyed him till he got up and tried to mate her, but then she growled at him to tell him that she wasn't ready to be mated ...  Kirandàly simply lay down again ! Kirandàly was a good guardian too, but Lénidiège had priority rights ! She barked first and she went first to "the front", Kirandàly had to stay a little backwards, watching over all around, ready to go to another front or to help Lénidiège. The two Kuvaszes were always perfectly co-ordinated with each other when they were guarding. They were also co-ordinated with each other to educate all pups. Kirandàly was only three months older than Kristàlyos, my Mudi male, who arrived a few months after him. The Kuvasz and the Mudi males had always became friends, of course Kirandàly was the chief, but he accepted a lot of things from Kristàlyos that he wouldn't have accepted from any other dog of mine. He took care very much of my Mudi litter, and then of my second Kuvasz bitch, Csele. I don't why he didn't like my second Newfoundland bitch, Soléane, he seemed to only put up with her. He protected my first imported Croatian Sheepdog male, Fango, who became quickly his friend too. Like my other Kuvaszes, Kirandàly took care of me. My Kuvaszes didn't - and still don't for Csele - pull me when they walk on lead, because they wanted not to do me harm. Kirandàly , like any Kuvasz, bit very easily, but with me, he preferred to bite anything or any one else - for example, if I tried to take his temperature, first he reacted in biting my hand (the Kuvaszes are efficient guardians, they don't bite the weapon but the hand that takes the weapon), but just before his teeth arrived on my skin, he turned aside to bite the thermometer, because he didn't want to make me harm. But when he was younger, Kirandàly bit my hand several times because I was wrong in my behaviour with him, so I learnt how to deal with him - never resorting to force, not giving orders but asking gently, no injustice but respect, and of course love and love. Kirandàly was able to do anything for me out of love, but of course I wouldn't be allowed to take advantage ... Kirandàly was really friendly with a lot of people, but only if he met them far enough from our home. Sometimes some people seemed strange and he was then in a guardian attitude. But the same people that he liked on the road became suddenly potential enemies when they approach our garden, Kirandàly intimidated them furiously. One day, we were walking on the road near my home, while a neighbour was coming to us ; when he was near us enough, Kirandàly freed himself from his collar, went to the man and then walked quickly round and round him, in close circles, so the man couldn't walk to me anymore. Kirandàly was about 74 cm high (and about 50 kg), and no one would have try to annoy me when he was around ... He didn't like at all any other dog, neither big nor small, neither male nor female, and he was always searching to intimidate them. One day, while we were walking quietly on the road near my home, I saw in front of us two dogs without owner ; they were still far enough, but they were running to us ; Kirandàly was on lead with me, and he didn't want to make me harm ; so he stopped and stared at them ; the two dogs saw us, they suddenly stopped running, they seemed not to know what to do, then they turned aside and ran away quickly ; Kirandàly looked at them till they were far enough, then he went on to walk quietly with me - the Kuvasz has been used to protect livestock from wolves, bears, thieves and of course other dogs during centuries ... And the look of the Kuvasz is really a weapon ... Kirandàly had a special characteristic. All dogs are more or less able to howl like wolves, in general that is not really exactly like wolves. But when Kirandàly howled, it reminded people (and me) so much of wolves that I heard some of them speak of wolves, or react with fear. None of my other dogs, even my other Kuvaszes, didn't howl like him. One day, a Saturday evening, a bridal car procession were going on the road just in front of my home, and in such a case, tradition dictates that the drivers sound their horns in an unbroken stream. Kirandàly listened to this strange sound, then he sat on the ground, raised his head and gave a long, unbroken but modulated howl : he was answering to the "howl" that he was hearing ... Lénidiège liked very much tracking, and I did too ; I tried to make Kirandàly tracking, but how could we start, while I was alone ? I tried to asked him to search Lénidiège when I took him on lead just after a walk with "his" bitch : Kirandàly understood and found the whole way that she did. I tried that several times, and then I noticed that he really liked this "game", so I asked him more complicated searchings. But a few months later, Lénidiège died because of a cancer, although she was only 6. Kirandàly was really unsettled, during about three weeks. She was always annoying him, but she was the "indispensable nuisance" ! A few days after Lénidiège's death, Csenengye, the Mudi bitch, realized that she was the only bitch in the garden, Kirandàly stayed alone with the young Mudi from my Mudi litter, while the Mudi parents lived in a smaller garden apart, because the Kuvaszes didn't accept them enough ; Csenengye left her own garden to join Kirandàly and the others, I saw that one morning and I decided to let them so and to watch ; in the evening of the first day, I heard a cry from Csenengye, I looked at from the window and I saw Csenengye at the feet of Kirandàly who was growling strongly at her ; then Csenengye returned to her garden and she never tried again to go with Kirandàly and the other males, Kirandàly didn't accept that the Mudi bitch took the place of his so dear but dead Lénidiège ! A few months later, another Kuvasz bitch arrived at home, Csele was only 6 weeks old. Kirandàly wasn't at all friendly with her, but she was also a kind of "indispensable nuisance" and she succeed in a few weeks to become the indispensable bitch.  Nevertheless, Kirandàly educated her strongly. When all the Mudi from my litter went away while Csenengye was dead too, Kristàlyos became alone in his garden and I tried to let him with the 2 Kuvaszes : Kirandàly accepted him easily probably because they were young together, Csele accepted him too, although she attacked him sometimes, and the three dogs lived together a few years. Then a 4 months old Newfoundland bitch arrived at home, Kirandàly never liked her. He preferred not to drink that to drink after she had done - after she had left a lot of slobber  and mud into the bowl of water ... He educated her a little, letting Csele do more. In the opposite, he liked immediately my first Croatian Sheepdog, Fango, and less the bitch Snasha who arrived a few months later. In 2003, the summer was so hot that my aging Kirandàly would have got health problems if I wouldn't have asked him to stay inside my house. But finally he preferred to stay at home, he was already often lying - he was already 10 years old. Inside the house, he was not always a teddy bear and he could easily play the bear with my other dogs, especially when food was around. He was a professional food stealer - and he learnt quickly to open the fridge door, when I wasn't around of course. But times went away and Kirandàly was more and more aging. Last year, I took a lot of photos for his twelfth birthday because I was thinking that it would be very probably the last one ... My Kirandàly stayed an angel to me till he breathed his last. While he was aging, he was more and more teddy bear and less and less bear - it must be said that his strength was fading away little by little ... Kirandàly didn't wake up one morning. When I saw him "sleeping" so, there was so peace all around that I didn't break down. Only later I did. Kirandàly was such a loving dog that he was the "indispensable angel". But angels on earth are waiting for Heaven ... Ended : 05/12/06 Isabelle Coquinot Back to "Dogs of my own" Contents Back to Home