Central Asian Ovcharka
Transcription
Central Asian Ovcharka
SECOND EXTENDED AND REVISED EDITION Irena Sehner ASIAN plus Aura IRMA Publishing DEMONS Irena Sehner ASIAN DEMONS Copyright © 1995, 1999, 2000 by Ph.D. Irena Sehner. All rights reserved. Prague. Czech Republic. Copyright © 1995, 1999, 2000 by Editor Ph.D. Jan Hollauer. All rights reserved. Prague. Czech Republic. Copyright © 1995, 1999, 2000 by IRMA Publishing. All rights reserved. Prague. Czech Republic. Irena Sehner ASIAN DEMONS IRMA Publishing 2000 CONTENTS Several bluffs for an introduction 13 Preface to the second edition 15 Several words for the introduction 21 Chapter one The Central Asian dog is when … Chapter two Exterior of Central Asian dogs Chapter three Standard of the breed Chapter four Breeding in the countries of origin Chapter five We are guarding, watching, protecting Chapter six Beware, bad dog! 23 63 93 111 124 136 Chapter seven Breeding of Central Asians in the Czech Republic Chapter eight 142 Character of the dog 164 Several bluffs for the closure 242 Chapter eight CHARACTER OF THE DOG I consider it an offence to the canine race when I hear: The bitch is so clever – she can almost talk! stated the female dog Aura firmly. Oh, how sensitive you are, Aura Aurovna? said the dog Mon honestly surprised. While I communicate tens of meaningful things with one look, people have to say tens of words to communicate one stupid thing! said Aura. Before we talk about the character of a Central Asian, please first think about our character, about yourself. I know it is a hard job. Nevertheless, a moment of self-searching never hurt anybody and since you are considering purchasing a Central Asian puppy it will only be beneficial. The only exception is my friend Vaclav – once he was searching his inner self and returned home after two days, totally drunk, without his apartment keys and ID. Nine months later he was called to court to pay alimony for a child whose mother he 165 Character of the dog says never saw! Why do I tell you this? Maybe because he is also a passionate dog lover. In a weak moment he confided to us that he has a weak spot for bitches! Oh well, Vaclav will never change. However, let us concentrate on the basic formula: I + Central Asian pasture dog Anybody who wants to raise a Central Asian dog must have, for his own sake and that of the public, a clear idea about the dog’s specific character. The person must know what is possible to require and what is not, and more importantly, what to expect from the dog. An understanding of which requirements placed on the dog are nonsensical, or even non-permissible, is necessary because they contradict its physical and psychological qualities. One must be aware that he will have a hard time forcing this kind of dog to do something against its will, which means against its nature. It is very easy to turn a peace–loving dog into a wild animal. This metamorphosis can be brought about only, and I mean only, by man and not by the dog. Everyone who wants to breed or own a Central Asian must come to a non-distorted conclusion for himself of whether he is able to communicate on an every day basis with the animal in the same way as with an equal partner. And, unlike many of his closest relations, the animal has a real personality. He must evaluate if he will have the constant patience to rectify the behavior and actions of a huge, dominant animal, not by means of physical power but with the power of his reason, a bond of positive emotions, a kinship of souls and a resonance of mutual consideration. 167 Character of the dog He must be able to honestly say to himself – I am choleric, a freak and a hot head. I feel like kicking something or somebody quite often, or would like to kick out my employee, break my mother in law’s neck, shoot my wife to the Moon without a space suit, set my own run down house on fire… Such an individual has a lot of work with controlling his own aggression. It is absolutely wrong to add more worries or nerves with an Asian, Caucasian, Rottweiler... Firstly his negative feelings and mental divergences will be automatically transmitted to the animal causing it, not by any fault of its own, to be worked, into an aggressive frenzy. Secondly, there is a serious risk of financial penalties if the dog gets out of hand and bites or kills a stranger. A psychologically unstable person can not bring up anything but a psychologically unstable animal. He must consider if he is capable of casting away the traditional view of dogs as subordinate creatures in all aspects. He must also know if he is able to respect and worship a pure natural element that if taken in good hands will serve him as the regulated courses of wild rivers serve man. The owner of the Central Asian must not only love cats but must understand their individual character and magic soul that comes from being a not totally domesticated beast of prey living close to man for hundreds of years. Why? Because the Central Asian is rather more like a huge cat, a cat cunningly living in a dog’s skin! That is why! My many years of experience confirm that owners of fantastically managed Central Asians and Caucasians are not only enthusiastic dog fans but also “cat people!” Let us be honest with ourselves at least once in our lives, and if we come to the conclusion that we are not psychologically, physically or financially strong enough to keep such an animal, let us not acquire it! It is not any shame to admit the above listed circumstances – vice-versa, it is much braver and more admirable than pretending a scenario that does not exist, because the truth will float to the surface sooner or later anyway. The person who can Irena Sehner 168 perfectly manage a stubborn Dachshund or a saphead Chow-Chow is as admirable as the person who can perfectly manage a Central Asian or a Caucasian. Oh my God, my dog is an intellectual! Dogs of this or that breed are real specialists for courses of action in certain areas. If you re-qualify, for example, a Doberman to become a pasture dog, and I can tell you this is a very demanding job, it will never turn into an exemplary “shepherd” although it is highly intelligent for work. As an instinctive guard it is perfect. For example a Collie manifests an instinctive inclination towards running around and herding a herd into “a pile” without training even on the occasion when this herd is only the members of the family who have gone on a Sunday stroll. Also, nobody 169 Character of the dog has to teach a Manchester terrier how to catch mice, rats and other gnawing pests because it is an instinctive hunter who attacks everything that is small and moving around in a confused way. The Central Asian is an instinctive superb protector of a herd or man. Regarding its work intelligence the Central Asian is actually a workaholic! However, it and it alone can decide about the work effort. You should also show your intelligence, especially social intelligence, and leave its paw free! Do not train it for protection since this training only truly spoils its style and awakes an instinct, which is sleeping with only one eye closed, that man is an aggressive creature because he is weak and cowardly. Reconcile yourself with the fact that the dog knows best when and with what intensity to intervene. Reconcile yourself with the fact that your Central Asian dog, although not trained, is quality in all circumstances. The dog that has clearly defined and strong instinctive task intelligence is also the most suitable for this activity. On the other hand it does not have to be able to adapt to environments where its natural behavior is not suitable or it is not required because it has a lower adaptive intelligence (central Asian dogs and other natural breeds). On the contrary, dogs without high instinctive intelligence usually brim over with high adaptive intelligence and thanks to this they usually behave perfectly in different situations and environments where it is necessary to adapt quickly and change their behavior based on needs (Doberman, Poodle). Therefore it is not Irena Sehner 170 possible to bring up and train a dog of this or that breed in contradiction to its inborn abilities and skills. If you manage to complete the trying training because you do not have anything else to do anyhow its result will always be nothing special and temporary. Your dog’s behavior is what you deserve The scheme of cause and effect works very precisely with animals because their actions are not inhibited by, as it is with people, Godly testaments, conventions, morals, societal protocols, laws, fear of policemen, of the financial office, fear, what would neighbors, mother in law say… The behavior of the dog in all its deeds, are consequently marked by purely specific causes. While analyzing the behavior of the dog it is also necessary to consider its natural characteristics, which are formed by upbringing and training. This means by the influence of people (conscious or unconscious) and that of the environment it lives in. Dogs’ needs and wishes are natural: those that are created based on instinct. If we go out for a stroll with Aura, to which I call her attention with the word “walk” (other activities are defined with equally appropriate terms such as “uriningaura”), it is her who chooses one of our many trails. It is that easy to fulfill the modest wish of a most loyal girlfriend. 171 Character of the dog My mother had it more laborious when she used to make doughnuts for our German shepherd, who would go crazy for them. “Haryk told me that I should make doughnuts!” was announced with the same commonplace tone as if my father had wanted her to “whip up some goulash.” My mother never disappointed little Haryk. If your dog seems to be sleeping in its den like a hoopoe it does not have to be as it appears. Its sense organs continuously work and obtain much information from the surroundings. Aura, when sleeping and also when fully conscious, sometimes reminds me of a living radar, very captious radar indeed. She easily catches signals from alien civilizations and my “transmission” from the distance of several meters she “overhears.” Man can not even imagine the amount of information that he is unable to pick up with his senses but is being processed by the brain of a “deep” sleeping dog: a local walked down the street they are frying steaks in the next house Mr. Novak is coming home drunk as a lord (beer, rum and grain alcohol) Mr. Dvorak is coming home with three queens (mother, daughter and daughter in law); and have a look at this; the biological clock announces to the dog that it is 5 o’clock or the time of the master’s return from his job so it means he gets up and moves towards the outside door. I believe that different smells, sounds, feelings and visual images crop up and take place in the consciousness of the dog, which awake different emotions and behavior in the dog. I believe that the dog has the same living color and broad screen dreams like me and that Aura is even quite grateful to me if I, while she is caught in the middle of some wild dream and she is squealing and twitching her paws because the scoundrel wolves greatly outnumbered her, turn her over on her other side. Dogs are living organisms, living creatures, and their internal mental world is far from being bad off and is not just some 173 Character of the dog primitive copy of the internal world of a human being. The more I learn about people and dogs the more I think the opposite is true. I have believed for a long time that the internal world of humans and the internal world of dogs, although they seems to go through a totally different dimensions, intersect each other at certain moments and sometimes even overlap. I have started to believe that the internal world of many dogs is richer and more soulful than the internal world of many people! It is sufficient to observe a dog carefully and we can quite easily recognize three types of behavior: instinctive behavior, behavior obtained through upbringing and by training and the behavior as a result of elementary rational activity, which is described by some specialists as a priori thinking. Instincts – strength and power of Central Asians Every human whelp must learn about the world step by step. However, each puppy is a world of its own. Every human whelp learns wisdom from books. Each puppy carries its wisdom in its blood. People gave a special name to dog wisdom – instinct! Instincts are complicated in born forms of behavior that are particular to animals of this or that kind. They are elemental in the ongoing changes in the nervous and hormonal systems controlled by hypothalamus. The most important are instincts ensuring the physical survival of the animal to which the instinct of self-preservation comes first. Dogs of natural breeds do not take well or directly hate being in a place that they deem as unsafe and that they have not chosen as the safest themselves. If they are touched or someone comes too close to them, with or without the agreement of their master, the acceptable limits of security for the dog may be broken. Irena Sehner 174 The response of the nervous dog is usually to either runaway, or in the case of the Central Asian – to make a defensive attack. Based on the self-preservation instinct an orientation-searching reflex is established. The animal thoroughly studies a new situation and is afraid of unknown objects unless it is convinced that there is no threat. Not only a wolf living in the wilderness but also a tamed wolf balks and runs away when it perceives even the slightest change in the surroundings that most dogs would not even register. The Central Asian immediately registers the slightest difference from the normal. A puppy is afraid of the unknown (animal, phenomena) but observes it from what is called the run-away distance. A female behaves with the same caution. Mighty sovereign dog-male goes immediately to explore the novelty. Of what, of whom should I be afraid you madcap? Of nothing and nobody! The wheelbarrow that the bricklayers left on the sidewalk in front of a pub induced terror in small Aura – there is something in the way that has never been here before and therefore it should not be here at all unless it is waiting for us to cut our throats! And so she sat down and waited to see whether the enemy would run away after growling and giving a warning bark. In this case it meant wheel away. Nothing! The enemy stayed atrociously in one place because the bricklayers had not finished their drinks. It was clear that the bag of cement would not move holding steady as concrete! With the words: “Aura, you little coward, just have a good look. I’m not afraid,” I moved slowly but persistently so that she would not consider me hotheaded towards the wheelbarrow. Aura did not feel at all willingly to go towards the death. However, her nature told her not to leave her Human and so she was sneaking crouched down behind my heels. Only when I bravely touched the passively lying sack of cement and NOTHING happened, she decided to sniff the alien. With the expression “Of course I told you there was nothing to be afraid of!” she continued on her journey. The self-preservation instinct is much stronger in bitches than with male dogs. The self-preservation instinct is also the foundation for the instinct to economically manage energy (so called energy economy). Thanks to this instinct the animal does not exhaust itself to the point that it would die but saves its energy as much as possible. The instinct of energy economy is especially particular to animals living in the wilderness, which commonly go through long periods of starvation and their journey for water often means tens Irena Sehner 176 of kilometers. The function of this instinct is obvious in natural dog breeds. The Central Asians belong among exemplary savers of energy. When accompanying a herd they use every moment to rest. In environments different from their flock of sheep the dog usually lies calmly and watches the coming person with a calm to phlegmatic expression and turns only its eyes to follow him. While the body of the animal is in an absolutely calm state, its mind works like a Swiss watch. It evaluates events that are going on and anticipates any coming action. A Central Asian at rest reminds me of a TV switched off but there is a film is being recorded to a videotape. From the electro-technical point of view I am on the level of Zulukafr, which means that I am honestly confounded with each apparatus (beginning with a kitchen robot and ending with a lunar rover). I am literally fascinated by the computer inside of the Central Asian’s head and confused because I have not found a button there. Before I got used to Aura’s “energy stashing away,” I considered her behavior towards me offensive. I call her and she – madam – does not even bother to turn towards me. “Aura, come here!” and she does not care at all – as she can see and especially sniff I am not going to give her anything to eat, and those banal things I am going to tell her she can hear from the living room as well as from the kitchen, so why should she get up! “Aura, my white dove, you drive me nuts!” More or less economically acting individuals get segregated in dog packs, “workers” and “idlers,” while the dogs of natural breeds really evoke the image of a troop of loafers. Perfectly accommodated to life in rough climatic conditions they “thoughtfully” manage with the warmth created as a byproduct of their functioning organism. As it is known, the body temperature of dogs of big breeds is 37,5–38,5˚ Centigrade and the animal tries to maintain this temperature. It achieves this by producing more heat in cold weather and gives off as little as possible; in hot weather the production is brought to a minimum and the dog tries to dispose as much of it as possible. I consider the so called leather bear mouth muzzles, which firmly presses dogs’ mouths, while the poor dog breaths only through its nose and can not keep evaporating through the tongue an atrocity. In the summer heat you can kill the dog by this otherwise fashionable muzzle. I do not know who produces this type of muzzles and why they think they are suitable for dogs. I know only one suitable way to use these muzzles, which disables the opening of the chops – to distribute them in the Parliament and Senate! If the temperature of the air is higher than the temperature of its body the dog moves as little as possible; it lies “spread out” on its belly, sticks its tongue out and breaths faster so that it would somehow cool itself down by evaporating the moisture from its tongue. On the contrary it moves more, consumes higher amounts of food and it protects itself against coldness with thick downy hair in the winter. If it lies down, it tries to occupy as little space as possible – it arches its back, draws all its limbs under its itself and hides its nose under its back paws. It coils up into a little firm spot, which prevents warmth from escaping and protects itself from the outside coolness. The first winter in Prague Aura used to sleep in a glassed in balcony or in the hallway of the apartment. The little balcony wasn’t much warmer than the outside and the hallway, I had the feeling, was not any warmer than the little balcony. She used to lie curled up like a hedgehog in a little white firm ball and when I spoke to her so that I would find where she actually started and where she ended a little black point of a nose would came out of somewhere and somehow untangled from a wool ball as a wave of warmth passed its breath across me. I was flying away as soon as possible from the frosty balcony with light frostbite all over my 179 Character of the dog body followed by the entertained look of the dog miss from which warmth and good humor was shining. She spent only a minimal amount of time in the apartment because it was overheated for her taste. She manifested summer dog behavior in an exemplary way – she was breathing quickly and was feverishly evaporating. She was lying flat on her belly or was spread out on her back, which is something that properly brought up dog girls do not do, and she was outright ostentatiously showing us that she suffers like a dog thanks to the fact that we did not acquire very thick warm downy hair. So that we would not look like sissies and outcasts in her eyes we heated the apartment minimally and with strong colds, slowed down body functions and totally frozen mental processes we survived to see the spring come. My husband acquired a beard for this winter. I do not know really if he succeed because this is unfortunately only snout under fur! The instinct to deal with the heat economically and maintain a consistent inner body temperature is a significant feature especially of natural breeds. Also belonging to the group of instincts ensuring the physical survival of an animal are the hunting instinct, the nutrient instinct and the protective instinct. The second group of instincts consists of zoo-social instincts, which help the animal become a rightful member of an animal group similar to itself. These instincts can be implemented only by living and working together with other individuals of the same kind. In the collective appeal of the pack the animal first finds itself in the roll of a whelp. During this period the mechanism of imprinting is initiated. This is a way of learning in which the whelp at a significantly sensitive age (4th–7th week of life) creates the conception of mother for the rest of its life. This learning takes place on the basic sense level of sight, sound, touch and smell. Thus imprinting is an inborn instinct through which the animal whelp very quickly, almost at lightning speed, remembers the image of mother, if it is in touch with her on a natural daily basis. Then it concentrates its zoo- Irena Sehner 180 social behavior and sexual behavior on animals of the same kind as its mother. The adult animal finds itself in the role of sexual partner and parent. All parental instincts correspond with the particular kind of animal whether in the role of the master of the territory or as a foreigner, when the territorial instincts come into place, in the role of a pack leader or as a member of the pack with a programmed in instinct of hierarchy, and also an instinct for maintaining individual distance and an instinct for maintaining maximum distance. The third group of instincts is created by instincts aimed at the future. The dominant instincts are instincts of freedom and orientation instincts: the need for movement, action, new sensations, and to learn habits which can become handy one day (open- 181 Character of the dog Irena Sehner 182 ing a refrigerator, pantry, cellar doors). Mon even adopted behavior aimed at the political future: When you greet him, Honor to work, comrade! he gives his right paw to the visitor. When you greet him Hi, my friend! he gives you the left one. He never makes a mistake. These instincts are acquired by games and by imitating the behavior of adult animals and later those of people. Through games the whelps obtain habits necessary for life. Through games they practice and make them more precise. To be able to develop these instincts you need siblings and contemporaries. If a puppy does not have the opportunity to play with furry friends, their place must be taken by a human, who should be professionally and psychologically prepared for this role as best as possible. Especially during the imprinting stage the dog learns throughout the contact with people to understand and mimic man’s facial expressions and bodily movements. It learns to accept his non-verbal signals (movement of a hand, movement of eyes, whistling). With the maturing of the animal a nerve mechanism, which is responsible for instinctive behavior, matures in its brain. In connection with the physical development the programs of sexual, aggressive and territorial behavior mature after puberty. An intelligent animal is able to learn throughout its entire life. To increase the training of for example a Boxer or a Dachshund after reaching the age of one year or so is very difficult if not impossible. German shepherds, Labradors, Poodles, Doberman, pinschers etc. possess a disposition to learn new bits, orders and (then especially) entertaining things for their entire lives. They are all and all clever dogs, which are able to skillfully join previously learned practices with new ones. Thanks to your dogs you can comfort yourselves that you are not only surrounded by idiots. How does it work with the Central Asians? The same as with genius children. They drive you mad! They hate monotonous activity (so they liven things up); they learn everything quickly (but their master must not know about 183 Character of the dog it!); they are able to evaluate (phenomenon, events), compare (for example size of goodies – Aura always picks “purely by accident” the biggest one); they can count (tomcats always regularly got three baby-cookies. Nobody ever thought of taking the sweets from the other one because it was fair that way – everybody had the same amount. However, Aura and Mon one day got “by mistake” Irena Sehner 184 only two cookies. They did not take the third one from tomcats because to pick from a weaker one is not fair – they stood in front of me and waited for me to correct my arithmetical mistake). They are able to associate exactly and quickly observe the connection among incentives, which they accept and the activities coming from them. They are able to anticipate what can be and what can not be expected… They can be quite baffled and totally finished (this state of mind is technically called stress) because we, unlike them, do not know what we want but we keep bothering unless we get it! Then we are pissed off that we have it. I can tell you a proper dog would get distemper! Aura was able to sit without movement in the corner of the garden and watch a German shepherd while he was training. It consisted of an order: “Come to me!” then “Sit!” then “Lie down!” then “Bring it!” Feeee – a stick flew through the air, for which the German shepherd, heart in hand, darted after and grabbed it in his teeth. “Bring it!” another order sounded. The silly dog obediently brought the stick. It was taken from him and instead of a word of praise and reward an order followed: “Sit down!” then “Lie down!”... After one hour all the orders sounded to me like: Auf! Nieder! Auf! Nieder! Aufneederaufneederaufneeder…Donnerwetter! For God’s sake, what is the bitch doing there? I was surprised. Is she still entertained by this? I was shaking my head because with the creative doggie girl this was a thing unheard of. I was fed up by the “training” myself and in my head, like a pursuant wasp, only one idea was buzzing: One more minute and I will go and cut this guy’s throat! “Little Auuraaa, I haave something!” I saang to her like a Great Trainer. She did not even move. “Aura, come to me!” I ordered to her like the greatest Trainer of beasts of prey, Snake Charmer, and Ghost Buster of all times. She did not even move. Aura, come here! COME HERE! I screamed in a craze Irena Sehner 186 believing that she did not hear me. I was confused because of our eighty-year-old hard of hearing grandfather. I even waited for a little while that maybe I would hear from the corner of the garden: “Did you say something my love? TANGIER? What happened with Tangier? One of you is going to Tangier? If you sat home on your ass you would be much better off!” She did not even move. “Ma’am what are you doing there!” I asked with respect in my voice. She registered the formal way and change of tone and turned her head towards me. I could see how confused she was from the very bottom of her soul – she did not know whether she should cry or laugh at the fiddling of the German shepherd! Instincts are clearly set for each kind of animal. They evolve only extremely slowly during the lives of hundreds of sequential generations and only with great difficulty do they adapt to the natural environment going though gradual evolution. Natural selection 187 Character of the dog is strict and does not allow animals with malfunctions in their inherited programs of instincts to survive in nature. Animals are not born with highly developed instincts. Instincts, like every born in (unconditional) reflex, must proceed throughout these stages: maturing, fixation and decline. The group of instincts directed at the future is natural especially to young animals. Older animals more or less suppress these instincts. These instincts depend very closely on and work under the influence of the function and activity of glands with internal secretion producing hormones. Just as the intensity and time with which and during which these glands work are individual, so are the influence of instincts for each animal. So that you ladies would understand it better I will explain it in another way but read it only quietly for yourself! Or you know what? I will put it into brackets for you. (It works the same way Irena Sehner 188 with men. The sexual potential depends on the working productivity of the sexual glands. If their activity is not keeping up with your sex drive it does not help at all if you put your man down in your marital bed, cast him further down by crying, hitting him, revile him in a harsh way or choke him by the weight of your bosom! You simply have to turn somewhere else for breeding purposes! And that is it!) An owner of a dog should always look to the meaning of instincts – strong incentives for behavior. It is always wrong to punish a dog for its instinctive behavior although it may seem “unworthy” of a “civilized” animal since we, and many times unknowingly, personify the dog with our ideas and desires and 189 Character of the dog push them on it. In principle, we pull the animal down to the level of human by which we hurt it because not every human is up to the level that every dog is! We see in our dog a close person that is missing from our lives. It’s a partner in dialog , a loyal discreet friend, which we are missing. It is the only one who does not tell us that we blab nonsense and that we are dreamers removed from reality. The opposite is true. It listens to us carefully and its admiring look means only one thing: “By God you are right as usual! You are simply a genius!” And because it is used to watching TV with its master it barks out: “It must be great to be great, my little clever screen, isn’t it?” When our child does not like to learn it is a delight to have a dog that likes to learn! When your husband is hideous (huge beak, fatty gut, crooked angora toothpicks for legs), how ennobling it is to have a well built champion dog at home! If you come home from work and you ask: “Mother where are the kids?” and she replies, “I am weeding the linen!” how comforting it is to have a dog intellectual at home. When the entire family is afraid of burglars, murderers and mice, how encouraging it is to have a dog protector at home! All these requirements laid on a dog are fulfilled to the very last point by the Central Asian kept with love! Ph.D. Irena SEHNER, Austrian Baroness Publishing editor, journalist, writer. Breeder of Siberian cats, Scottish Folds, An owner of pasture dogs from Central Asia Irena Sehner was born in Sobeslav 9 February 1952 and graduated from Charles University in Prague, College of Journalism (field of film and television), and after her graduate studies in International Politics, received her Ph.D. She is the author of a charming story book about cats and dogs called, About Transmigration of People and Animals, a humorous novel about an unconventional middle-aged woman, So What?, and a successful monographs about Central Asian and Caucasian dogs titled, Asian Demons and Sharks in Dog’s Skin. Currently being printed are two books which are written in a very witty way – the continuation of her first book about the Central Asian dog, Asian Demons – Things That You Have Not Learned About Them Yet and How To Feed Dogs – the dog equivalent to How To Feed Cats. The sequel to the novel, So What?, is ready for publication and is called What is the Matter? She is currently working on a monograph about British, Siberian and Scottish Fold cats. A gift-style monograph about Persian cats, Persians – Cotton Candy Pussyfoots, is being prepared for printing. Lovers of German s;hepherds will be pleased by a humorous yet serious monograph about the breed – My Youth with a German Shepherd. More books about other dog breeds are being prepared.