Back to "Dogs of my own" Contents Back to Home                                                                                    MY MUDI LITTER The first litter I have ever had was a Mudi litter, born in 1996 - already 10 years ago ! All was new for me, I was always discovering day after day ... So I took down notes almost every day, at least when something happened. I decided to stop my notes when the pups were 4 months old, and then I wrote only when some particular things happened. 21/06/96 : When I arrived, at 4 : 30 pm, all the 5 puppies were born, washed, just  a few umbilical cords staid yet. Csenengye accepts Kristàlyos, Etioline and the cat, but not Damounia. She chose the basket and not the little kennel for delivering. 22/06/96 : Csenengye jumps in the playpen when she arrives from the garden. The first time, she jumped directly in the basket, the pups were crushed and they cried, she understood and now she jumps besides the basket and then she goes slowly into it. 23/06/96 : It was already so yesterday, but now she is more and more virulent and fierce : Csenengye wants to attack every dog or cat who walks besides the playpen. She watches at me carefully when I am touching the pups. 24/06 : Csenengye wants to attack my dogs and my cat : so I took her out of the playpen and I called Damounia : the tail was between her legs, and Csenengye was fearing Damounia, that is right that Damounia bites every little dog who bothers her. Now, she doesn't want anymore to attack my dogs and my cat when they are walking near the playpen. She didn't show any fear with the man who was coming here during a few minutes, she didn't want to defend her pups from him. 25/06/96 : Some pups suck very strongly and draw the teats. Csenengye leaves them sometimes. 26/06/96 : Csenengye leaves easily the basket where are the puppies, more and more often and during a more and more long time. She was exciting against my cat, I gave her a little slap, she cried with revolt, so I took her nose in my hand to make her quiet. Now, I reprimand her strongly with my voice when my cat goes near her. Mester, the bigger pup, is inclined to push the others to suck where he wants to suck. 27/06/96 : It really seems that Csenengye have had enough of playing the mother role ! She goes out of the basket and sleeps far away from her pups, and she lets them cry a little before returning to them. I thought that she wanted to walk a little out of the playpen, so I put her in the garden, there I stayed with her, but she wanted to come back rather quickly. Then I put my two Kuvaszes in the garden and I put Csenengye with Kristàlyos, Etioline and Damounia in the yard. The two Mudis were running together, they seemed glad to be together again. Csenengye wanted to return to the corner where they lived together before ... Then she wanted to come back to her puppies, who were crying, they sucked and then she went out to find again the three other dogs. When she came back into the playpen, she let the pups cry ; I put Kristàlyos with them an her : she accepted perfectly, perhaps she would have liked that he took care of them instead of her ! She groaned and wanted to bite ... Damounia who were walking near the playpen. Kristàlyos was not at all interested by the puppies, who were not crying, and he jumped out quickly. But the Kuvaszes, who stay in the garden or in the yard, are very interested by the crying pups, and yet more interested if I show a pup to them through the veranda glass. Csenengye doesn't want any harm to my cat when I am with them. She would like to know what is there, behind the wall, in the living-room. She barks more and more when the others are barking. She didn't show any fear with big and unknown noises inside my house. 28/06/96 : Csenengye went in the yard a long time with Kristàlyos and the two bitches, and it will be so every day. When she comes back from the yard, she doesn't jump into the playpen immediately, she prefers walking in the kitchen and in the living-room. 29/06/96 : Csenengye leaves her puppies during a more and more long time, inside the playpen but also outside, in the house, she stays during a very long time walking in the house, just sometimes she comes back to see if they need something. When I put Damounia and Etioline in the yard, Csenengye jumped out of the playpen to go to the yard too, it was the first time that she jumped out of the playpen, but she did it again this evening. She ran after the cat, but when he stopped and turned to her, she came back quickly ! One by one, the two Kuvaszes came into the kitchen to see the puppies without the mother : gentle reaction. I felt some authority in Mester this evening, after he had sucked a boob enough, he went above his brothers to push them and to suck another boob. In the opposite, Masni, the smallest pup, doesn't suck a lot ; this evening, the brothers were sucking, there was no more place for him, so he gave up and didn't suck anymore. I took him in my hands, he stayed quietly, licking my hand. He seemed to like caresses on the head. When Mester gave up sucking, I put Masni on the boob, and he sucked. 01/07/96 : The pups, and even the less vigorous Masni, crawl and well move on the ground. Mester was clinging to my shoulder to climb up. Masni still doesn't suck very much. It seems that he is quickly tired. Today, when I put him on a boob to suck more, he moved away to snuggle up to Mester. In the opposite, Màrvàny was really hungry, he sucked during a long time, he seems to have more endurance than a pup like Masni. 02/07/96 : Csenengye always jumps out of the playpen now, and she walks through the house. When I was out, she had a pee in the living-room. 05/07/96 : The pups are licking one to another. All eyes are opened now. When I take the pups one by one to weigh them, Mester, Mano and Menyus often struggle, easily shout and cry. 06/07/96 : The pups, and not only the stronger ones, are moaning, groaning, shouting, alone in their basket, if something is wrong for them. They stay standing more and more on their 4 paws, they move well, they climb on their mother, they search adventure ... 08/07/96 : Now the first playpen is over and there's another one, larger but less high. Csenengye can walk through the whole house, and when the pups are able to leave the basket, they will stay in this new playpen. All the ears are falling. 09/07/96 : The pups are beginning to leave their basket. Mester is the first one. Csenengye let them take her own food, she seems not to know how to keep them quiet ! This evening, they want to go out all together.  All the pups leave the basket this evening. I saw Mester and Màrvàny standing up to pee or have droppings. Mester was awake when suddenly Kirandàly barked in the yard, Csenengye growled and stifled barking, then Mester gave one bark ; it was not shouting but really barking, and he seemed to be surprised with his own bark ! 10/07/96 : I gave them some puppy food on my finger : all have eaten, even Masni. 11/07/96 : The pups are playing in nibbling, licking, in group of 2 or 3. They are always out of the basket, in one group of 5, or in 2 groups, sometimes one is alone. Mester challenged Menyus, and they were "fighting", it seems that Menyus is the pup that Mester bores the most. Csenengye stayed with Kristàlyos in the yard all the day. She didn't ask to come in. The pups didn't eat their food, but when their mother came back, they rushed at her and sucked. After sleeping, they all ate their own food. 12/07/96 : The pups are walking best and best on their 4 feet, but the plastic ground is slippery. They go away and stand to have pee or droppings. They makes a lot of noise, often, and the tone is generally grumpy ! They all react when I wave the small bell, today is the first day that they react to this noise. If this noise or my voice make them wake up, they grumble strongly. 13/07/96 : The pups are moving better every day. They are often alone and not always besides someone else. They are interesting by anything that they meet : their toys and also my hand. They rather eat with food on my finger that in the plate. Sometimes they are groaning as they sleep. They are nibbling each other or their mother. They give each other some flap of the paw with authority ! Csenengye is out the whole day and come back in the evening : the pups prefer sucking than eating ! Màrvàny was crying, awake while the others were sleeping, alone in a corner of the playpen. I took him on my knees, then I put him near the cat, who is always gentle with dogs, then near Etioline : Màrvàny wanted to lie against Etioline. Damounia didn't want to be approached. 14/07/96 : The pups prefer to wait Csenengye and they don't eat much the food I give them, just Menyus and Màrvàny eat. I added some other toys in the playpen, Menyus went to discover them. He is more interested than the others with the objects, and he is more often awake and in movement. He is also interested by Csenengye's bowl of dry food. He likes being on my knees too. While I was washing a pee with the sponge, Mano approached, with curiosity, but with suspicion too : he gave a slap with his leg to the sponge ! 15/07/96 : Some of the pups are really fighting, without biting, but with strongly shouts and expressions. This evening, Csenengye didn't go into the playpen and the pups, who were wanting to suck, were trying to go out of the playpen. They couldn't. Then Csenengye went inside the playpen and let them suck. The pups were smelling my clothes. They were interested by anything and they wanted to know the world out of the playpen ... If I take a puppy, Csenengye comes. When they aren't hungry, if they are playing or discovering or sleeping, they don't have any interest for their mother. This evening, Masni was the only pup who ate in the plate, and he ate a lot. Then he moved to discover the toys, he pushed the ball with small bell. Masni has a nice mild look in his eyes. 16/07/96 : The pups better eat in the plate. At one time, they were together above the plate. They are often trying to go out of the playpen when they see their mother out of it. The pups are playing with my fingers, they are licking my skin or my clothes, they seems to know me. It is the first time that I notice it, but they come all together to me as to their mother. They are biting my fingers, they don't lick nor suck anymore, but they bite, they make experience of their jaws. They are high this time. They often stay siting during a few minutes. They are always interested by anything out of their playpen. They often sleep alone. My abrupt gestures make them move back, but if they are awake, they go to me and they like touches. But they don't like if I make them wake up ... They eat with my fingers and they like sucking Csenengye, but they also like her presence. When they move, it seems that sometimes they amble. Màrvàny too discovered the new toys and is now more interested with toys. 17/07/96 : The pups are beginning to bite the toys and to try to take them between their jaws. They push the balls, sometimes they push them strongly enough to make them roll. Mano tried to climb up above the playpen, but didn't succeed. 18/07/96 : The pups are trying to suck Csenengye when she is standing. They are glad when she comes back, every evening, for the whole night. The pups take a toy between their teeth, and they make it move. Menyus is always inclined to be alone, to sleep alone among the toys, and to have more contact with the objects than his brothers have. 19/07/96 : Another time, Menyus howled like a wolf and like his father. Màrvàny wanted to go out of the playpen. So I took him out of it and put him on the floor, near the playpen : he stayed here a few seconds, then he walked along the playpen when I helped him a little. Then I took him in the steps of the veranda : all his body was tensed in front of the unknown, even in my hands. Masni was eating in the plate ; there had been a noise, a sudden movement of one brother, and Masni came back away from the plate. 20/07/96 : While his brothers were sleeping, Màrvàny was awake and playing ; with Mano, just awake, he came to my hand to nibble my fingers ; Mano came back quickly to sleep on his brothers. Màrvàny stayed nibbling. I gave him a rag to nibble : he liked it very much, pull it in the playpen, and then he lied down on it. He played also with the "big" ball.  A little later, he was at about 15 - 20 cm from my hand, and he was growling ; I moved my fingers, neither slowly nor quickly, he continued to growl, to slap the floor with his leg, and then, while growling, he came to "attack" my fingers, like they play with each others. He wanted to go out of the playpen, so I took him out. He walked along and arrived to the wall, there he was shouting : I put him again into the playpen. 21/07/96 : This morning, when I came into the kitchen, 2 pups were out of the playpen. But I didn't thought to see who they were ... One more time, Csenengye had pee and droppings, now she will sleep outside also at night, perhaps that is the signification of pee and droppings, because when the pups were just born, she never had neither pee nor droppings ... Now she probably prefers to be outside with Kristàlyos. The pups prefer the dry food without water, they don't like it if I add water, but they eat very well dry food. I let them eat dry food as much as they want when Csenengye is not with them. I gave them water : they discovered it slowly, they drank a little but they played with water a lot ! This evening, Csenengye was staying out of the playpen, in front of her pups : Mano and Màrvàny succeed to climb up above the playpen to go to her. 22/07/96 : They ate a lot, excepted Mester who preferred biting my fingers when the others were eating. Menyus wanted to be on my knees, I took him but he preferred quickly to come back in the playpen to play with his brothers. Màrvàny too wanted to be on my knees, but he stayed there lying on me, he likes very much that and he is the more affectionate. Masni likes my knees too. He seems afraid when some sudden movements happens, even movements that are 1,5 - 2 m from him, like my skirt when I walk, he lies on the ground and seems really afraid, distrustful ; he likes very much that I caress him, but he comes back when my hand or its shadow arrived to his eyes. 23/07/96 : When I gave them water, all the pups rushed to drink ! Now they really drink, not only the nose on the water like the first time. 24/07/96 : When I wash the playpen, with a product that smell of bad, the pups move back. But not Menyus today : he barked, growled a lot, and "attacked" the rag I wash with. He bit my hand which wash or my clothes and shook strongly his head while biting. He was often growling when I washed the other days, but today is the first day that he "attacked" the rag. 25/07/96 : This evening, I stayed with the pups. All were coming to me but some quickly came back to sleep. They can stay awake playing with me about 1/2 hour. 26/07/96 : Their playpen was very dirty this morning, so I put the 5 pups out of it, in the kitchen, and I washed the playpen. When I put them again inside, they all went out in the kitchen but Masni, because that is very more interesting ! But they still go inside the playpen to eat or to sleep together. This evening, I gave them 2 baskets with synthetic fur, in the kitchen. This morning, Mester went out of the playpen. He went to my cat, nose against nose, at about 50 cm from the playpen - my cat is always gentle with dogs, especially all "his" dogs. 27/07/96 : Like his brothers, Masni likes very much to walk and play in the house, out of their playpen. But he is the only pup who doesn't succeed to climb up above the playpen ! So he cries and I take him out of he playpen. Today he went in the legs of Damounia and she bit him. Masni cried a lot, but he came again to the bitches, Damounia and Etioline. When Masni cried, all pups came back to the playpen, Mano and Màrvàny went inside, Mester and Menyus stayed outside near it. 28/07/96 : Perhaps the kitchen ground was a little cold, because this morning I found them in the baskets with fur ! For this morning, Masni climb up the playpen like the others. Damounia bit Mester although I and Csenengye were with them. Mester cried a lot and I took him in my arms, then he became quiet. 29/07/96 : This evening, Damounia was coming back to the house from the yard. She stayed inside the veranda, she didn't want to go into the kitchen because of the shouting and groaning pups ! Particularly, Mano was barking and groaning against her. She intimidated them while groaning and trying to bite, but she was fearing the 5 pups together. The pups are licking and playing with Etioline's hair. They are searching to suck. Etioline is black like their mother, but she is very big ! When they are "fighting", now they bite each others, groaning to intimidate, even with their toys. The tails are high, like sickle. They eat very much, they always prefer dry food. 30/07/96 : This morning, one more time the pups were with Etioline, who accepts them more and more. They begin to search adventure in the living-room, but they don't go far. They still don't go down the 2 steps from the kitchen to the veranda. This evening, when my other bitches went in from the garden, the pups followed them in the kitchen to the living-room. But they suddenly stopped just at the open door between the kitchen and the living-room : because the obscurity seems like a dark wall for them, I suppose. I was surprised to see Masni going to the bowl of dry food, then he pushed kindly a brother and ate ! Of course this brother was gentle, neither Mester nor Menyus ... 31/07/96 : Màrvàny was quietly eating in the bowl full of dry food, Mester arrived, shouting, he pushed him and ate : Màrvàny went away. 01/08/96 : They drink in the bucket for Csenengye, that is so much better ! This morning, they had pushed the board between the kitchen and the living-room, and they did it again : I must put something behind the board. This evening, I wanted to know how they react in darkness. I called them about 6 meters far from the kitchen, with light, in the dark living-room. The darkness was not complete. Mester, Menyus and Màrvàny came to me, Masni and Mano preferred to stay in the kitchen. When I put again the board, 3 of them wanted to go again into the living-room. They shouted, cried ... I put my hand to their heads, with brusque movements, they "intimidate" my hand but they don't want to bite anymore. Is this the beginning of "not to bite human beings" ? Now Csenengye don't see her pups anymore, because she has some problems with the boobs and she must have no more milk, but they always suck her. 02/08/96 : This morning, I gave them my fingers : they bit them as they did before. They are just 6 weeks old, and this is clearly to be noticed : they are all beginning to use amble when they walk, but amble is not yet majority. Now there's no playpen anymore. The kitchen seems larger, and the pups are running one after the another. They are playing, but also groaning and biting. All the pups are exciting. They groan and bite, each others, things, and also my legs or my clothes. While I was washing strongly the floor with a sponge and something that smell of bad, Menyus "attacked" : not only intimidation to the sponge like the other days, but he bit very strongly my arm that took the sponge. This evening, another time, I called them from the end of the first part of the living-room (5-6 m).  2 came a little, 3 stayed near the kitchen. I turned up the light in the living-room : the two pups stayed a few minutes, they seemed to try to search me, then they came back to the kitchen. I lighted up again the living-room and called them : they were coming a little. I gave a slap on my legs, so one came back quickly to the kitchen, and the others did the same : a group effect. One of them had pull down the tablecloth and some things were down, they didn't have the time to bite them but they probably would have liked ! 03/08/96 : The pups had eaten all their dry food this morning, and the weights are bigger ! For Csenengye is no more with them, they can have dry food in any time. When I arrived in the kitchen, they rushed at me as they did with Csenengye, with a lot of grumpy shouts. I had to make them away with my voice and my hand, then they became quieter. In the afternoon, I asked them to come to 5 - 6 m inside the living-room, only Menyus, Mester and Màrvàny came ; in the evening, I tried again : the same pups came ; I suddenly turned off the light : the 3 pups continued to walk to me, without being disturbed, but they had known the room a few hours ago. 04/08/96 : This time, the pups didn't wait my presence to shout and grumble. I let them did, and I get up from my bed at a time when they were quiet. When I arrived to the board, I stayed there about 15 - 20 minutes : I was waiting for silence ! Mester, Mano and Menyus are the most shouting ones. They rushed at the board, shouting, crying, barking, moaning. When I arrived at noon, it was the same thing, but during less time. When I came back from the yard in the afternoon, I sat down on a stair in the veranda. I took them one by one in the veranda : they were trembling, fearing in front of the unknown. One of them had fallen down from a stair, immediately he climbed up the stair. I put them in their basket but in the veranda, and I came back to the kitchen and pulled the door, I was expecting to wash quietly the kitchen without them. But it was not so, they immediately climb up the 2 steps and pushed the door to come into the kitchen. So they had no problem to climb up the stairs to come back, but they had some to come down the stairs to the unknown ... Only if I am in this "unknown", they try to go there. In the evening, I called the pups from the lighted living-room : Mester, Menyus, and Màrvàny came immediately to me, then they left me to discover the whole room ; Mano got time before he accepted to come to me, he went to the living-room but he preferred to join his brothers and discover the room than to go on my knees ; Masni didn't dare to come, I called him again and again, then he succeed to come to me, on my knees, but then he went down to go around and discover, to play too, and he went also in another room beside the living-room as his brothers did. During the day, I saw Masni going to attack Mester ! 05/08/96 : I tried again to make them go into the veranda : no success ! Masni is more and more self-confident. 06/08/96 : This morning, I took the pups in a plastic cage to the veterinary. There was a lot of shouts during the journey, in my car, and in the waiting-room of the vet, but what a silence when they arrived in the room with the vet ! I took them one by one, the vet put them something to recognize them, and I went off. When I came back again, they were awake, and of course tattooed and vaccinated, Màrvàny were still sleeping enough, he had more slept because his dewclaws were taken away. But only Mester and Masni were completely awake. 07/08/96 : This morning, when I arrived to the board, the pups didn't shout a long time : did they understand or was it because of the anaesthesia of yesterday ? When I was eating at noon, I put some cheese near their nose, and some other food morsels. Like these last days, they seems to smell something, and they search for the food, but they don't find it with their nose but while searching at random. They find the food when they arrive to about 3 - 4 cm of it . Today, Menyus approached the food, it really seemed that he had smelled something, but he walked around without being able to know where it was exactly ; then he walked on a right line above the food, he stopped about 40 - 50 cm farther, came back on his own steps and then arrived directly on the food, while turning the head right, left, right, left, as he was searching ; he stopped when his nose was just on the food, and ate, the other pups were still sleeping. In the evening, I threw food  again, some cheese, no one reacted, then Menyus, who were approaching the place where the cheese was, went directly on it and ate : did he see or did he smell something ? This evening, all the pups have been playing in the living-room, without my bitches. But they didn't dare to go into the WC-room. In general, the pups don't bite me anymore, they only bite my hand if I give it to them for playing. 08/08/96 : This afternoon, I was working in the garden and I let the door open : so the pups could go out into the garden. All the pups came into the dining-room, where is the door to the garden. They played a lot, but only 2-3 pups really dared to go outside, just near the door. Outside, they played to chew some grass. They gave up to sleep, and they preferred to come back in the kitchen to sleep. In the kitchen, I moved very quickly a little stick, then I knocked it on the wall, and at last I gave it to them : no fear at all, no reaction, but they were glad to be given something of course ! In the evening, I opened the door from the kitchen to the dining-room : all of them went there immediately, they like this room, there they play also a lot, and my cat was walking quietly among them. He refuses that they take his tail, and jumps on something. When my bitches Etioline and Damounia came back from the garden, the pups followed them into the dining-room. They tried to be accepted by Damounia, but she groaned, and I put her into another room. Then, I called them from the kitchen, with only 3 words, as I was taking the board : I was surprised, all of them came to me in the kitchen ! 09/08/96 : There was only little noise indeed this morning when they woke up. I think that Mester barks, perhaps another. I said a few words and he shut up, in fact he barks because of the noise I do. I heard just a few groans when I arrived at the board. So I could enter in the kitchen immediately. They played with me strongly. But if I also play strongly with them, they seems sometimes disturbed and they give up. 10/08/96 : There was also nearly no noise when I arrived in the morning : did they understand ? I tried to make them go into the veranda, but they stayed at the open door. I took Mester, who was afraid (is it because I showed him too early to my Kuvasz male Kirandàly, in the veranda ?), I took also Menyus, who was interested to go into the veranda, but he didn't dare, he stayed at the door. 11/08/96 : Csenengye was in the yard and she came near the door of the veranda, so the pups saw her : all of them went to her, so in the veranda, without any hesitation. Since this precise moment, they play in the veranda a lot, they like it, they go and come in the  kitchen and in the veranda, even if in the yard there's no more their mother but the Kuvaszes ... In the end of the afternoon, the pups were in the veranda and their parents in the yard, so I opened the door : all the pups went out, but Mester went out lately, perhaps because of this first time when he saw Kirandàly in the yard through the veranda glass. They only wanted to suck Csenengye, so I put her in the garden, and I let only Kristàlyos with his children. Kristàlyos was very interested to play with them, he seemed to make them running behind him. He made them tired, and then he could approach them without being rushed by them ! He immediately taught them the body language. Kristàlyos seemed to like very much this kind of thing ! The pups too ! When I made them come back in the veranda, I had to put a board, they really wanted to go in the yard one more time ! 12/08/96 : I put some hot water in their plate for water : they came to it but immediately came back : the protecting instinct. I didn't let them in the yard because of the rain, but they really love to stay in the veranda. In the evening, like the other evenings, they went to play and discover the living-room. Menyus was the first pup to climb up on Damounia's bed. When I called them to come back, 3 pups came to me and I put the board. Mester and Mano stayed in the living-room, as they saw the board, they lied on the floor and when I took them, there was a little pee under them ... 13/08/96 : There's always silence in a few minutes when I arrive in the morning. They didn't improve to search with nose when I put cheese on the floor. This afternoon, I let them play in the yard with Kristàlyos. The pups went one by one in different ways to discover the yard, they are not always in  group. They don't mind at all if I put again Kristàlyos in his garden and even if I stay into the house, behind the window - that is to say that they don't mind if they are alone in the yard. 14/08/96 : The pups shouted at night, because Kristàlyos was always groaning (my Kuvasz bitch Lénidiège is on heat). They went out to play with Kristàlyos. At noon, I threw 2 pieces of cheese while I was attracting their attention to another place ; one piece has been found quickly, because a pup was playing around. The pups were playing to run after each other, but when they smelled food, they reacted. The second piece was not at all near the place where they were playing. But Menyus seemed to smell something, he left his brothers and, the nose near the floor, he went on a right line to the piece of cheese. The cheese on the floor can be seen easily, did Menyus see or smell ? Probably he smelled at first and then he saw. This evening, they played in the living-room with my cat. Some pups barked strongly against the cat. 15/08/96 : This morning, the pups shouted during a long time before the silence I want. Then, I opened the door of the veranda, they went, and I pulled it to me : only Masni and Menyus came back into the kitchen, the others were groaning and barking during the whole time I used to wash the kitchen. I put some cheese on the floor, and I asked "search, search !", it seems that only Masni and Mester had understood that there was food and that they had to search, and they found. They searched with the nose to the ground, right, left, right, left, till they found. When the pups guess that there's some food on the floor, because of my movements or because they smell something, they are searching with the nose near the ground. When the pups came back in the kitchen from the living-room, this evening, Masni didn't want to come, although I had put again the board. He wanted to make the conquest of Etioline. Damounia was in another room because she growls and could bite them. Masni, lying on the floor, was moving little by little in the direction of Etioline. He was moaning, barking, watching, coming back under an object at less than 1 m, always watching. Then he jumped to her mouth several times, but she was putting her head away. Etioline lied down. So Masni approached her, moving quickly in circles around her head, but she didn't react, and Masni came back to lie at about 1 m. When he saw me, he came to me, I was in the kitchen, but he didn't let me take him. He didn't really want to come back in the kitchen ! He tried to get some interest from the cat lying on a seat. He stayed sitting, watching at him, but he got no interest from the cat, so he came to lie on a cushion, he got up immediately and came to me near the board, but he didn't let me take him. I succeed to catch him, on the back, he cried, so I caressed him and then I put him among his brothers who were already sleeping. 16/08/96 : This morning, 3 pups went into the veranda, and I let them barking there when I was washing the kitchen. The pups are exactly 8 weeks old today. 17/08/96 : This morning, none of the pups wanted to go into the veranda, although Csenengye was in the yard near the door of the veranda : all of them stayed in the kitchen. One of them was going into the veranda, but he came back immediately when I touched the door ! The pups went in the yard with Kristàlyos and me, like every day. But today, I opened the door between the yard and the garden, and the pups followed Kristàlyos and me into the garden. They played a lot in this new environment, they all like to discover other things. When they were on the top of the little low wall (60 - 80 cm high), they were searching if they were able or not to jump down : all of them preferred to go down with the stairs. They jumped down where the low wall is only about 15 cm high. They seems to know what they can do and what could be dangerous. They played a lot on another little low wall, very low (20 - 25 cm), they can climb and jump, and they like to be on a high place. I walked along the wire netting, Kristàlyos and the pups followed me. But Màrvàny and Mano stayed near the wire netting door, they were searching something into the ground, and didn't come till I went back to call them. 18/08/96 : In the yard, I put the blue bowl with 2 - 3 cm water. I put the pups inside. The first reaction was to leave, but they came back. Masni seems to like particularly being in water. They were climbing up inside the bowl, going through the water and leaving it to another place. In the garden, I made the ball of Lénidiège roll to them : the pups were running behind the ball, trying to catch it with their jaws (but it was too big), or to stop it while lying on it (Menyus did). This evening, in the living-room, they discovered where the dry food amount was : nothing else was no more interesting ... 19/08/96 : This morning, when I get up, the pups were in the living-room. They had pushed the 15kg bag of dry food behind the board. They had eaten a lot of dry food ! Like yesterday, they like discovering the garden and they were often going behind the house, although there they could no more see me at all : they don't need me any more in the garden. This evening, the pups have climbed up a few stairs in the living-room, and they played with some of my things that were lying there. 21/08/96 : I know now the reason why the pups are always going behind my house without me : they eat the plums on the ground ! Sometimes they took one and eat it in another place. Of course, there are quarrels ! There's no noise which disturb them, even the farmers' machines. There have been thunder, so I made them going back in the kitchen. They showed no fear of thunder. So I blew up a balloon and made it burst near the pups : complete indifference. Today, they are exactly 2 months old. 22/08/96 : This evening, while they were in the living-room, I pulled back the curtain of the shower. They approach, curiously, but they didn't accept to come down in the shower bowl, even if I was inside. 24/08/96 :  At noon, I gave them 5 apples, so there would have been no quarrel, but some pups let their stick and ran after another pup ! This evening, in the living-room, they wanted to eat dry food, under the stairs, so I put a board between them and the food : some pups were searching to reach the food between the steps of the stairs but they found that it was a little dangerous ! I pulled again the curtain of the shower, no one wanted to go down into the bowl. So I put  some dry food inside : all of them went immediately inside the bowl ! 25/08/96 : While I was giving food to my dogs in the yard, the pups put down the board and went in the living-room. The door from the living-room to the yard was open, so they began to came out, but Damounia bit one of them who cried a lot. The others came back. This evening, I was playing with them in the kitchen, some pups were exciting in biting each others : but if I put my fingers between the teeth of one and his brother, the pup don't want anymore to bite, he doesn't want to bite me. Now they don't want to bite me, but Mester still likes biting my clothes, he seems not to know that under my clothes I am there ! 26/08/96 : Today some persons came at home with their Labrador male. At first, the pups were a little afraid, because the Labrador was hurting them in movement, but he learned very quickly to take care of them. The pups were interested by the dog but also the human beings, they show no fear neither with the dog (but at the beginning) nor with the persons. But Menyus was really the one who wanted to approach the Labrador, and the persons, then Mano did too, the others were rather sleeping. But when one of his masters gave food to the Labrador, all pups came, and were given too of course. 27/08/96 : When some friends of mine came into the living-room, the pups were at the board and they were barking. So I took one of them in my arms, and showed him to my friends. I didn't understand the reason why, but suddenly he jumped down from my arms to the ground. 28/08/96 : This evening, I pulled back the curtain of the shower : all pups went down to know if there would not be some food ... They play with the cat very strongly, so the cat prefers to go out. When they were biting and growling each other, one more time I tried to put my fingers : they didn't want to bite me and they didn't growl anymore. Masni likes fighting now, not only he challenges fighting, but he goes often to a fight between 2 brothers. This afternoon, he went down from my knees to fight with Mester and Menyus who were already fighting. 29/08/96 : In the room with the vet, the pups were not afraid, excepted when they were on the table to be vaccinated. They liked to discover the whole room. In the kitchen, they noticed the presence of a mouse and they were searching it. 30/08/96 : I let them in the garden while I was working in the dining-room, so they could see me through the French window. They were sleeping near this door, but they were often far away too. 31/08/96 : In the garden, the pups were around me ; some persons on bicycle went near my wire netting. Masni saw them and ran away to them, and he was barking strongly. Immediately, the other pups did like him. I called them and especially I called the name of Masni, and Masni then the others came back to me. 01/09/96 : The pups went in the garden but today with the Kuvaszes. At the beginning, they didn't dare to move, they were afraid of Kirandàly, the Kuvasz male. Menyus was the rashest. When I went to another space in the garden, only Menyus and Masni followed me immediately with Kirandàly : the others came, but a long time after. Little by little, they were trusting in Kirandàly, who sometimes growled when the thinks that it was enough. Lénidiège always growled when the pups approached, but she always growls when some other dog of mine touches her. So they didn't go near Lénidiège, but they played with Kirandàly. 02/09/96 : In the yard or in the garden, the pups are now very well with the 2 Kuvaszes, with me or without me. They try to win over Lénidiège, who growls but let them approach her more than yesterday. They lick inside the jaws of Kirandàly and are often between his legs ; sometimes Kirandàly growls and seems to want to bite, and they go away for a very short time. Then I put them in the yard without any Kuvaszes but with Kristàlyos and Csenengye. They had not seen Csenengye since 02/08, that is to say for 1 month ! They rushed at her head and immediately Csenengye vomited to feed them. Menyus tried insistently to suck, I made him go away. They quickly gave up trying sucking, there is no more milk now in Csenengye ! She let them play with her as they wanted, and she smelled them completely. They are still HER pups. 03/09/96 : The pups were barking during a long time this morning when I arrived to the board. It seems that some of them have difficulty to control their behaviour when they are very exciting. The pups are more and more combative with each other, and this evening 2 were seriously fighting because of food. Sometimes fighting is just playing, sometimes not. They use their voices strongly to intimidate. 05/09/96 : Now, all mornings, the pups will be playing in the yard while I wash my kitchen. When she is with them, Csenengye "fights" her pups, and they are lying on their back under her : they are strong now, and I think that they obey because she is their mother, but not because she is stronger than them. When a Kuvasz growls, the pups are also lying on their back. They try to approach Lénidiège while they are lying on their backs. The pups are now outside a great part of the day, in the yard or in the garden, with the Kuvaszes or with their parents or alone. 09/09/96 : In the evening, they sleep on the bench or under the bench where I sit, and they would probably stay outside the whole night without being disturbed, but I don't know why I hesitate to let them outside at night. I saw Csenengye playing with a pup : the pup and her were taking a rope in each end, and they were pulling. Csenengye, although she is stronger, let him pull her on a few meters, and then she gave up the rope to make him win, and the pup was glad to run with the rope between his teeth. 13/09/96 : This evening, only 3 pups went into the kitchen to sleep at night. The others didn't want to come in, so the 3 first wanted to go out too ... 16/09/96 : For the first time, I put a lead and a collar to the pups, and I made them walk a few meters in the garden. Some were hitting back, rebelling, especially Menyus and Masni, but they came to me when I called them. 17/09/96 : I put some old food in the garden to the birds, but the pups rushed at it : till Kirandàly came, then all the pups went away. They were watching at him and only when they thought he was sleeping they tried to go to the food. If Kirandàly got up, the pups went away. Csenegye still vomit for her children, but in general they are no more interested. 18/09/96 : I was scolding one pup, then Lénidiège came to make him obey : a little pee from the pup. In the evening, one more time in front of Lénidiège, there was a pee from a pup. The Kuvaszes represent the authority ! 20/09/96 : I made them walk another time on a lead : no more resistance. They walked a long time. 21/09/96 : We went to the vet for vaccines. I was surprised, the last time there was neither fear nor apprehension, but today it was different ! I opened the doors of their boxes, only Menyus and Masni went out immediately, to discover the room. Then Mano went out too. Màrvany went out only later, and Mester more later too. All of them were trembling on the table and near the vet's hands ... 22/09/96 : I took the 5 pups with their parents to the "dog-school". I had time to walk a little with Masni, Menyus and Mano before the lesson, the pups were fearing and so barking to the other adult dogs and they didn't like to go to them. I thought it was too early to make them know big adult dogs who were aggressive with other dogs. So I walked with Màrvàny and Mester in the town. They were distrustful with cars and lorries and with people too. They walked always behind me, and their tail was rather low, but not between the legs. They walked aside when there  was a person or a vehicle, Màrvàny barked while Mester sat and watched. Mester was stopping and then sitting and watching every time that something happened. 23/09/96 : This afternoon, the pups were barking a lot : the Kuvaszes were playing in fighting. Like their parents, the pups don't like that. As I walked in the garden and spoke of plum to my Kuvasz, I was surprised that all the pups ran to the place where are the plums : so they had learnt this word - an interesting word ! One more time, Kirandàly rushed in the amount of quiet pups to make them afraid, it seems that now the pups have more self-control, but some are always crying. But the pups know perfectly when they can play with Kirandàly or lick in his mouth ! 24/09/96 : They walked in town another time, 2 by 2 but the last, and they seemed to like it ! Menyus is the most self-confident, but it seems that the pup who walks with him is also more self-confident than when he walks alone or with another pup. Mester stopped less than the first time. Màrvàny with Mester met a person who was interested by them, I put Màrvàny on his knees and Mester on mine, Màrvàny was very distrustful. Mano too is still distrustful. Masni was more self-confident, but he walked with Menyus. 26/09/96 : The pups walked in another town. Menyus walked first with Màrvàny then with Mester, and the two pups were more self-confident. Mano walked with Masni and both were rather distrustful. At a moment, someone collide with Masni, his feet knocked him strongly, Masni didn't shout at all, but he ran away before me. He wanted to go far away from this bad place. 29/09 : The pups walked in the town again. They seems to have more self-confident, and the difference with Menyus is more and more slight. Some little girls caressed them . The pups like to go into the car, and they come to me to have collar when they see we are ready to go. 30/09/96 : Kirandàly bit Mester when he wanted to be on my knees while I was sitting in the armchair in the barn. So all the pups slept away from me this evening. 01/10/96 : When I went into the barn to sit in my armchair, because now the weather is too bad to stay outside, the 2 Kuvaszes went near me and prevented the pups to sleep on my knees ; Mester looked at me but he understood that the had to stay away.  I didn't understand why the Kuvaszes were acting so, but I trusted them so much that I let them do. 02/10/96 : This evening, once again, the 2 Kuvaszes prevented the pups to sleep on my knees. I thought that it was perhaps something that is natural, something to make the pups become emotionally independent from the mother, so from me : the pups must develop a personality of theirs, without always me with them. 03/10 : When Kristàlyos is on the bench near me, now he growls against the pups who want to go near me : is this the same thing that with the Kuvaszes, the "father" must move away the pups from the "mother" ? Csenengye too growls against her children, she never did this before these last days. This evening, the pups slept far from me because the Kuvaszes were still near me. 06/10/96 : This morning a pup cried very strongly : I understood a little later that Damounia had just bitten Màrvàny. They walked in the town but with a part in a short wood : the pups are very different when they are in nature than in town. They are very more interested and smell always. They wanted to discover inside the wood. Masni walked with Mano and showed some self-confidence enough, but he was inclined to ran away when some persons approached ... In the end of the afternoon, I saw a strong (and real) fight between Menyus, Mano and Mester. They were standing on 2 legs and biting head and throat. Mester had nothing, Mano had slight wound on his throat, but Menyus had got a deep wound inside his ear, and now his ear is falling. 07/10/96 : In the end of the afternoon, I gave them a rope that I took in my hand while there was 2 ends for pups : Mester immediately bit the rope, but the others didn't want to bit the rope if I took it : when I let it to them, all pups but Màrvàny bit strongly and played a lot. Màrvàny was interested later than the others. 08/10/96 : I put to them an obstacle at the door of the barn, I put a hoop to make them go through : they did this naturally. So I put the hoop at about 10 cm from the ground : no problem for them to jump or simply walk. Mester was the first to go through, and the others followed him. But Menyus was refusing to go through, I threw something through, and he went. 09/10/96 : This evening, the ostacle was to go through a basket : all the pups did, but Masni and Màrvàny showed some hesitation the first time. They all wanted to "eat" the basket, but they obeyed when I told them not to do. 10/10/96 : While I just took Masni and Mano for a walk in town, 2 persons approached us to speak with me. Masni came under my car and was trembling. I took him in my arms, we were so near the 2 persons that he trembled a little more, then he became quiet; 12/10/96 : Two persons of my family came home. All pups but Masni wanted to be in their arms or on their knees, Mester was a little shy at the beginning. Masni was staying alone in the barn, so I took him and put him on one person's knees : he was trembling at first but then he was glad to be on their knees and asked it like the others. 14/10/96 : The obstacle at the door of the barn was still the hoop, but with another obstacle so the way through the hoop was shorter. The pups went through with indifference. 15/10/96 : The obstacle was a stepladder, the steps were in front of the yard. I had to put another obstacle to make them go through the stepladder and not go round. The first pup searched and found very quickly how he could go through, and all the others but Mano followed him, between the first and the second step. Mano preferred going under the first step. In the garden, Menyus was strongly fighting with Masni. Lénidiège came to him, looked at him, and he stopped and came back, she followed him and made him step back again. The Kuvaszes make the other animals and even persons obey with only their eyes. Then the pups have been perfectly quiet and Menyus didn't bark anymore to his brothers ... For several days, he often barks "inside the ear" of one of his brother, especially Masni but not only him, and he follows his victim anywhere he goes. 16/10/96 : The obstacle was a board on 2 breeze blocks : all of them went over, sometimes they jumped, sometimes they walked on the board. No one thought he could go under the board. 17/10/96 : The obstacle was like yesterday, but the board was bigger (no possibility of jumping) and was made of lathes, there was about 10 - 12 cm between the lathes and the pups immediately knew to walk on the wood without falling into the holes. The board was bigger than the breeze blocks, and when the pups were at the beginning of the board, it rocked. The pups were not disturbed at all, they knew with their instinct how they had to move their body to put again the board horizontal. There had been a strong fight between Menyus and Masni, no Kuvasz in the yard but I was there, and I took them away from each other. A little later, I'd just opened the door to the Kuvaszes, while 2 pups were strongly fighting again. I called Lénidiège, Kirandàly arrived at first and rushed "in the amount", and immediately after that, Lénidiège came and put her teeth on Menyus. Menyus went away, Lénidiège followed him a little. Then all the pups stayed quietly. 18/10/96 : The obstacle was a stool and besides a car tyre between 2 breeze blocks, so the pups had to climb on the breeze blocks before going through the tyre. Of course, they all went under the stool, so I put a large board to prevent this. Mester found that it was natural to go through the tyre, but not the others : I helped them the first time, then all the pups went through without any hesitation. 19/10/96 : The obstacle was a clotheshorse with a big rag. The pups preferred go round ! I pulled up the rag so they could see that they could go under : some did naturally, some others needed help. 20/10/96 : The pups but Menyus (who didn't want) walked in town. Now the tails are always high, but the pups go aside if there's a person or a big vehicle; The obstacle was the big blue bowl but its bottom was up. It was rocking when the pups walked on it, but that didn't disturb them at all. One of them was making the bowl rock with his leg. 21/10/96 : Today the pups are exactly 4 months old, so I stop my notes. The obstacle was a big case that obliged the pups to walk on a rocking board : they did without any problem. Another note : 16/11/96 : This evening, I was inside the house when I heard the pups barking strongly. I watched through the window. Lénidiège had just caught a mouse and she was acting as she tried to kill it without being bitten, I didn't understand because the Kuvaszes have no problem to kill bigger animals. Then she threw away the mouse, that was not dead but was trying in vain to move away, it couldn't move anymore the hindquarters ; Kirandàly, who likes running after thrown balls, went to the mouse but didn't touch it and came back. Then the Kuvaszes acted as if they didn't notice anymore there was a mouse there. So the pups dared to approach, but they didn't dare to approach too near. Then Mano dared and went to the mouse, caught it in his jaws and then came back quickly, all his brothers followed him to see him kill and eat the mouse, while both Kuvaszes were always acting as if they were seeing nothing. Then, and only then, I understood the reason of such strange behaviour from the 2 Kuvaszes, with a perfect coordination : I had just seen a hunting lesson from the Kuvaszes to the pups. Then : Masni was the one that the Portuguese chose and he left us on 29/11/96 to live in Portugal. Menyus was always barking in Masni's ears all day long, he stayed a few days before choosing Mester and then he continued to bark in the ears of someone, Mester. Menyus was still always fighting, but if one Kuvasz was near the pups, there was no more fight ... When the pups were about 6 months old, I took them in the dog-school, instead of their parents. One week 2 pups were walking together during the lesson, the following week the 2 other pups did, etc.  They had no problem to do all the exercises both together. In one of the first lessons, a German Sheepdog seemed to think that he could attack these two little dogs without any risk, but Mano barked at him with so much self-confidence that the German Sheepdog stepped back, and neither him nor any other dog didn't try anymore to annoy my little dogs ... In town or in the dog-school, Mano and Menyus were more self-confident, they rather distrust people but they didn't fear at all. Mester was more or less fearing people and a lot of things, while Màrvàny showed a phobia about human beings. Menyus had decided that he would walk behind me and not on my left but on my right, and he was always walking so but if we met a dog ( he was always trying to annoy every dog and I had to ask him to be quiet because he was barking and barking ...). I understood why Menyus chose this position when one day he showed me that he was watching all around us, and even behind us, from such a position, one day he defend me from some persons that had a strange behaviour behind us ... Menyus walked generally with Màrvàny, ahead of me, and on my right ; but one day, I took Màrvàny with Mano, and Mano was rather ahead of me in general ; I was surprised to see Màrvàny walking on my right and behind me, exactly like Menyus : Màrvàny was changing his behaviour according to the brother's behaviour ! From this place behind me an on my right, the dog can see a lot of things than he couldn't see ahead, but if because of something (or a corner) Màrvàny couldn't see well enough in this place, he changed and came beside me, and then returned to the right place behind me. I wanted to know what he would do if he walked alone with me, without any other brother to be ahead and protect me from all that could come in front of us. Alone, Màrvàny is always changing between being ahead and on my left (before a corner or a big obstacle, or if he couldn't see enough from the left place behind me, or if some noise in front of us made him want to be before me to protect me) and being behind me on my right (in general, or if some noise, some persons or vehicles appeared behind us). Menyus was always fighting his brothers, but one day I understood that the chief of all pups (and all Mudi) was Màrvàny. Màrvàny didn't fight, because when he was looking at another brother, this one was always obeying. Sometimes, Màrvàny had to put a leg on the back of one of his brother, but I never saw him neither biting nor fighting, nor even only intimidating, barking, he didn't need so, his eyes or his leg on the back were always enough ... Mano was the second, and the fierce Menyus only the third ... Mester was the last, although he seemed very dominating pup when he was young ... Mester wasn't very self-confident. Mester and Màrvàny were obeying easily when I gave them orders, Menyus was inclined to fly into a towering rage, while Mano, who didn't like at all any order, preferred to pretend not to have heard or not to have understood but always quietly. Because of some personal problems, I decided to search new masters to my "pups", who were already almost 2 years old. Menyus left us on 20/03/98, Mester and Mano on 21/03/98, and Màrvàny on 10/06/98. Màrvàny left his new garden about 1 month later, then he has been found again in December 99, 1 1/2 year later, when he wanted to attack some hen to feed. Ended : 19/06/06 Isabelle Coquinot Back to "Dogs of my own" Contents Back to Home