ISSR Shiloh Shepherd - New Zions Midnight Mischief

An original ISSR Shiloh Shepherd from New Zion Kennels the home of the breed founder herself - Tina Barber.
New Zions Midnight Mischief, known to his friends as "Mischief" or mostly just "MC" now lives with his forever family of five humans, and one BIG (Shiloh) brother - Kola. MC is an amazing puppy who is not only quite stunning to look at (something about those light eyes ... ) but is extremely smart and very loving to his family. We look forward to many adventures with MC ....!

Me ... MC

Me & Kola

Me & Kola
Mom said I should have a picture of Kola on here .... so here .... oh look that's me sitting on his head

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Friday, June 20, 2008

Me - oh yeh the big thing behind ..... that's Kola ( at least you can see his face this time ....... )

MC's advanced behavioural class


By now your human should be well trained to respond to the basic commands, making life pretty good for us pups. However you may notice as you get bigger they will begin to slack off in their worshipful attentiveness. They no longer rush home to let us out thinking we are bigger and can wait longer for things etc.... they may also reduce the number of treats assuming they don't have to respond to every little thing we do with something yummy. Here are a few pointers to remind them that you are the one in charge.

If you are 'abandoned' for the afternoon, or their priorities appear to be two-legged stuff .... throw yourself dramatically to the floor, ignore them completely, then make sure your displeasure is obvious by chewing something they hold dear before they get home. Be discerning in your choice, for maximum effect choose a vintage piece, I myself prefer a hard chew, perhaps something in antique walnut or a nice mahogany, but I have heard of similar success with soft furnishings too, perhaps a nice rug .... your choice really. A nice finishing touch is to leave a little suprise somewhere too .... even if you can hold it for longer now - you may not choose to, so there!! Just remember a little pee goes a long way in making humans go bananas .....

It is unlikely that you will need to repeat this behaviour, much as you think they're not listening sometimes, they will get the message quite quickly that you cannot be taken for granted ... and yes their world jolly well should revolve around you !!

You should begin to hear them speak in awed tones - 'oh we can't leave him for too long' 'we'll have to be home for the puppy' etc... You may also hear the poor things berating themselves, shouting and using bad language as they chastise themselves for ever leaving you, they have at this point realised the error of their ways and will be far more attentive to your every whim, just as they should be!!

Now I should advise that it is wise to return to perfect puppy mode once you have their attention, if you begin to hear them planning where to put the extra large crate, you are pushing your luck too far! By this time an appropriate number of chewy toys should be scattered through the house to appease you and you should turn your attention to those. You may even choose to do something nice for your human ... perhaps help them out once in a while by making sure they are nice and early for work. Remember an active human is a happy one so waking them around 5am allows a productive start to the day, then they get to appreciate the dawn chorus as well as the lovely dewy wetness of the grass (my favourite for an early morning roll). They will probably only be able to mumble their thanks as they are struck speechless by such a nice gesture........


Keep up with the training .....
Life is good ...... MC

Saturday, April 19, 2008

How to train your human - by MC

Sit/Stay - Preferably try this when your human is sitting on a nice comfy couch - hop up on their lap and prompty fall asleep, nice and warm and snuggly ... the human should remain in the sit until you release them.Try to practice this and other simple obedience training every day - they will soon be absolutely devoted to you.


Recall - It is fun to run, and if you practise your smile whilst running toward the human you will teach them to 'recall' just how much they love you and they will be so thrilled you returned to them they will shower you with lovely treats and pet names and generally make complete fools of themselves. Once in a while make them wait a little longer just to make sure they exhibit the proper gratitude.


Down - Humans seem to like it if you roll on your back and show them your tummy - this is a good way to teach the down and also encourage bonding with them - the human should immediately drop to the floor and rub your tummy whilst saying nice things to you ... try to practice this after you've eaten - nothing like a full tum and a nice belly rub.