Get your motor runnin'

Age:  12 Months

What more can I say? :)

First Birthday!!

Age:  1 Year Old!
Weight:  105 pounds
Height:  29.5 inches

Wow!  Can you believe it?  Piston is 1 year old already!  Time sure has gone by quickly.  We've seen a real change in our boy in the last 6 months, he's starting to mature a little bit.  Maybe the teenage "hearing loss" is almost over.

To celebrate his birthday, we took Piston over to his favourite park and gave him some off leash play time to do some of his favourite activies....sniffing, sniffing, some running, sniffing, sniffing, little more running, and last but not least, a nice dip in the creek to cool off and get a drink!

Enjoy the quick little photo gallery! (The last 2 photos in the gallery are actually movies.  To see them, you'll need to click on the still picture to open up the web gallery.)

Meet Otto-bot!

Age:  11 Months


We went to visit family at a rent cottage for the weekend and unfortunately they do not allow pets.  So Piston got to go stay with a friend and her new 5 month old puppy Otto.  Otto is a recent rescue and at best guess is a German Shepherd/Lab/Great Dane type mix.....FULL of energy and attitude!  Piston was so patient with the pup, despite the non stop requests for play.  They went full out, non stop for the entire 3 days they were together!

Channeling his Wild Side

Age:  11 Months


While visiting family in PA for the Family Reunion, we decided to go for a hike through the State Game Lands behind Grampa's place.  (These are the same woods from our Walkin in a Winter Wonderland blog post.)

With all the shade from the trees, I had a real tough time getting any decent photos they all turned out so dark.  However here are a few that made the cut.  But the green and brown of the forest was such a nice backdrop for his grey coat.  Sure had our wolf-ish boy looking right at home :)

Oh, and of course a video. Doesn't he look wild coming through the woods?  :)

Little Red Riding Hood

Age:  11 Months


While visit family, 4 year old Emily took quite a shine to Piston and he to her.  I wish I had gotten some better photos as our wolfy pup seemed like such a great match with her red dress :)

Here Emily was trying to give Piston the "wait' hand signal, but
he thought it was the universal sign for "sniff my hands" ;)

Meeting "cousin" Cloe

Age:  11 Months


During the 4th of July family reunion, Piston got to meet another playmate!  Cloe is a Golden Retriever/Yellow Lab Cross.  She is about 6 months older than Piston and they had a great time playing chase.  She is a great runner!  Piston prefers to trot, but he did kick it into high gear at times to keep up with her.





Click on any of the above photos to see the complete web gallery.

A/C Vent Hog!

Age:  10 Months

Piston is starting to get a sense that the weather is just going to continue to get warmer.....but fear not, he's found a solution!!

This is Piston crammed between the couch and the wall so that he can rest his head on the Air Conditioner vent!

Spring Ontario Chapter Meet 'n Greet

Age:  10 Months

Today we drove out to Silver Maple Kennels in Chatham, ON for the Bi-Annual Shiloh Shepherd Get Together of the Ontario Chapter.

We were able to re-introduce ourselves to the folks who helped us decide that Shilohs were the breed for us last fall!  We of course were proud to introduce our own boy, Piston! :)  We also had a chance to meet a few new friends who we knew from the forums but hadn't had the pleasure to meet in person yet.






Click on any of the photos above to be taken to the web gallery.

Put 'em to work!

Age:  10 Months


After lugging all of the extra brushes, sprays, towels and treats required for the dog shows, we decided it was high time Piston lend a hand!  Shopping at our local pet store, we were happy to find this Shiloh sized doggie backpack.  Below is a photo of Piston modelling his new pack :)

Down and Dirty

Age:  10 Months


We installed a "Doggie Dooly" in the corner of the backyard and Piston was quite sure we needed a hand with the excavation :)

IABCA Show Weekend - Pittsburgh, PA

lAge: Nearly 10 Months
Weight: About 95 pounds

Saturday May 16

Show 1

This was our first show EVER! The judge wasn't particularly impressed with us - in fact he did mention that this isn't something you just naturally do, most people train for it. So what can we say? We did win our Class - but that was easy being as we were the only male Shiloh in that age group. Next round he was up against the other male Shiloh puppies (under 12 months) and Scout took that honor. We knew it was going to be tough having never been to a show ourselves much less competed in one. The judge did provide some nice feed back on our written critique included below.

Judgement
Overall Impression	correct size & good bone
Coat	good texture & length
Head	nice size & proportions
Bite, Mouth	level & complete
Eyes	nice almond shape & dark
Ears	nice length
Chest	full to elbows
Front angulation	fairly good
Back angulation	fairly good
Top line	straight & sloping
Tail	fairly well placed, good length
Movement	good overall

Show 2

We had been there for a few hours now so Piston was starting to get a little more into the swing of things and this judge was a bit more accepting on Piston's puppiness. We once again won our class and then went on to win best male Shiloh Puppy. Next round, he lost to Molly as overall Shiloh Puppy - but that did give him best of Opposite Sex Puppy as he came out top of the boys. Below you'll find this judges comments.

Judgement
Overall Impression	noble proud carriage
Coat	double
Head	broad
Bite, Mouth	scissors
Eyes	dark, almond
Ears	erect, equal width at base to height
Chest	appropriate for age
Front angulation	nice lay back
Back angulation	balanced to front
Top line	straight
Tail	correct sit
Movement	lovely side gait with good R&D

Sunday May 17

Show 3

Ma told us he needed the puppy fuzz around his ears and head groomed so... even tho we hated to see that last bit of puppy fluff go, Margaret gave him a trim in the motel doing a great job blending it with just some short little sewing shears. We also had a full nights sleep instead of 2 hours and a 6 hour drive prior to the show. LOL. Now this judge really liked our boy. He talked to us afterwards about all the things he likes in this breed and the things he sees missing in GSD that we have. Some of the things he mentioned to me were his Wide solid backend. Broad Typey head, solid structure and just overall balance. He mentioned he has a lot of size and tho that can limit the working ability it is per the breed standard and he does move very well. He commented that he showed some puppyness but that he thought he has alot going for him. then followed that up with "but the handler needs some work."

Awww... not that its any surprise there. I never would've thought i would even TRY showing and suddenly here we are. So at that point I'm feeling like I'm the only thing holding him back... so much for no pressure. LOL. Below you'll find this judges written comments.

Judgement	Very good example of young Shiloh - lots of breed type
Overall Impression	Top Quality dog
Coat	great condition
Head	type
Bite, Mouth	scissors, full dentition
Eyes	dark brown
Ears	up alert good feathering
Chest	good depth and forechest
Front angulation	good balanced
Back angulation	good balanced
Top line	level
Tail	well set
Movement	moves great although still puppyish

Show 4

Ok at this point I was feeling some confidence and we had already totally exceeded our best expectations. So although i felt our performance was all on me, I was a little looser since we had done it 3 times and tho i knew i wasnt going to be able to get Piston to stand like a perfect statue i felt that we were gettting the hang of it and we had a lot of improvement. I could see around the 2nd and 3rd shows that he understood what was expected of him... tho he wasnt at all into standing around. Some dogs you could see they loved being out there with everyone looking at them and they liked to show their stuff. Well thats not our boy. He wants action... and is always scanning for something more interesting going on over there. But i did feel like he was giving me more of an effort now.

Well when we got in the ring it actually didnt go all that well. He got distracted on our down and back and lagged behind. That got the leash on his ears and he started to grab at it. This was something he hasnt done since like the first week we had him on a leash!! Good timing. Sometimes you just have to laugh tho. and thats pretty funny. There will be more shows and we will do more preparation. This was pretty short notice and we had only worked on mostly the trotting in a circle a few times because I didnt know how he would do going in a left hand turn and he never had a problem. I must say tho, these rings were really cramped for us. He really didnt enjoy the trot in them much.

Below you'll find this judges written comments.

Judgement	Decent example
Overall Impression	good example of breed
Coat	good thick and texture
Head	good planes
Bite, Mouth	good full dent.
Eyes	good shape and color
Ears	good set on
Chest	a little narrow in fore
Front angulation	good - 2 dew claws
Back angulation	good
Top line	good
Tail	correct set on and carriage
Movement	good loping

Best in Show

For our best in show comps I could see he was really mentally fatigued from 2 days of being restrained and he was pretty much done standing around. He was always in the front of the line except for 2 times and that made it super hard for us too. He kept wanting to turn around and check out the other dogs, at one point he was even looking back while running. I just didnt get his best out of him and for that i was dissapointed. I really wanted to represent our breed better and take best in show for all the Shilohs. But in truth we are truly ecstatic with 2 Best in Group and it was an honor to be in Best in Show. Good Job Piston. I am so proud of you boy. :D

We wanted to be there to represent the real deal vs. the slivers and i really wish they had been there like we heard. I'm looking forward to seeing All of Us vs Them someday.

Don't forget to check out the web gallery for more photos - including the rest of the Shilohs that were at the show!

Tight Fit

Age:  9.5 Months
Weight:  Too heavy to fit on the scale with David!

It is so easy to forget just how big our boy is getting!  But today....as he was trying to lay in his favourite spot in front of the door, it became glaringly obvious that he is not a small puppy :)

A more refined request to go out

Age:  9.5 Months


Thought we'd show off the much more refined request to go outside.
Be sure to compare the video below to his earlier performance here:  I Think He Wants to Go Outside...

Visiting the Lake House

Age: Just over 9 Months
Weight:  95 pounds

While visiting family in SC we took a trip out to the lake house where Piston was able to frolic with new friend Maggie who is a hound dog mix and Dawson the Jack Russel.  Okay, Dawson wasn't always the most friendly, but Piston and Maggie had lots of fun and she ran Piston until they were content to take a nap and do it again later!






Click on any of the photos above to go visit the gallery.

Way South of the Border

Age:  Just over 9 Months
Weight:  95 pounds

This spring we took a trip WAY South of the Border...south of the Canadian border that is!  We all packed into the car and drove 14 hours down to South Carolina to visit with family!  Alright, truth be told we didn't do the whole trip in one shot, we drove about 9 hours and then stopped for the night and finished the rest of the trek in the morning.

Initially we weren't so sure how Piston was going to handle such a long trip, but he traveled like a pro! :)  He very quickly recognized the pattern and would curl up and go to sleep as soon as we hit highway speeds!

One challenge we found however was "potty time".  Every pit stop we made...well, our explorer found all the new sights, sounds and smells to explore were just too much of a distraction!  He'd get out there and completely forget to go.  It wasn't until we'd get back into the car and back on the road would he let out a little whine as if to say "Nuts!  I knew I forgot to do something", but then he'd go right back to sleep.  The next pit stop would be no different either.  It was nearly 36 hours after we left our home before our stubborn boy finally took the time to relieve himself!  Proud to say that not once did he consider going indoors despite the activity level coming to a standstill.


As we traveled further south, it definitely got warm for our furry Canadian dog!  The snow had practically just finished melting back home! ;)  At one of the rest stops in North Carolina, there was a great shaded park that we spent some extra time relaxing in.  We found some neat outdoor taps that Piston could drink from!

Then we played in the water a little bit to try to cool Piston off.

Once we finally arrived at our destination, Piston was happy to greet his extended family :)

Can I Come Out?

Age: 39 weeks
Weight: 95 pounds

Before Piston is allowed outside, we ask him to sit and wait patiently until we give him the release word of "okay".

I thought he just looked too cute peeking around the door waiting to be released outside.

Oooooh Deer!

Age: 34 weeks
Weight: 90 pounds

David and Piston went for a walk in the woods this afternoon over in the Doon Heritage Park. The Park is all fenced in and hasn't opened for the tourist season yet. It's like our own private leash free park! Piston had a great time romping around in the grass, big fields, and the woods part.

One time when he was sniffing around the edge of the woods, Piston came back carrying a prize he was VERY proud of!

Can't blame him really, it's quite the impressive antler! David said it looked pretty fresh and figured it probably had been shed within the past few days!
It's bound to be his new favourite toy!

Piston Power Forged in Zion

Age: 33 weeks
Weight: 88 pounds

We received the form to get our Puppy Registration papers this week so it was time to finalize a registered name to go along with his call name. After much deliberation and lots of time with the thesaurus...we've decided on Piston Power Forged in Zion. I don't think we should have any problems with it not being unique enough! ;)

When we send in our Puppy Registration request we have to include a few photos...so here are some of the "glamour" shots we took over the weekend.

Ooops....blinked!

Awww...such good focus! Good "look" Piston!

My favourite shot ever! :)

Piston Tugs Daisy - Round 2

Age: 33 weeks
Weight: 88 pounds

Okay so it was Dylan who started the Tug-o-War...but Daisy thought she better get in there and see if she can't teach Piston a lesson this time!

New Bed!

Age: 32 weeks
Weight: 86 pounds

Looking quite regal on his new bed from Costco