“Snorri”

Training engagement (low/medium/high):

One Year: High- Snorri is so smart! He’s able to learn quickly and really enjoys classes. We’re not as great about practicing at home, but when he’s presented with games and directed play at home he’s fully engaged.

Three Years: Medium- Snorri works with his trainer on redirecting attention away from moving cars, vultures, and deer (all of which are a constant in our neighborhood and a never-ending source of excitement). Since Snorri is not very food motivated, it’s hard to prevent him from reaching threshold upon seeing one or all of the three. Still, as he’s matured, Snorri resets sooo much more quickly (for example, when he was 8 months old, it took him 5 minutes to calm down; now it only takes 10 seconds).

Energy level (low/medium/high):

One Year: Medium- Snorri is averaging about 5 miles of leash walking per day and can sprint up to 28 miles per hour in our neighbor’s fenced yard (he gets to do this 3 times a week). The rest of the time Snorri is able to chill out (lay on the floor and sleep and amuse himself with a chew toy for 20-30 minutes at a time); then he’s up and looking around for the next adventure. He really turns it off in his crate where he can sleep all through the night. We’ve only left him in his crate during the day for a max of 3 hours and then he’s out with us sitting in our backyard and playing catch with frisbees and balls.

Three Years: Medium- In a typical day, Snorri gets 2 long walks, runs around in the backyard a few times, and plays with dog friends for about an hour. He’s willing to go on a longer hike if the terrain and smells are new. But, if it’s the old familiar paths, he’d rather do a shorter loop with frequent breaks to sniff and observe nature.

Biddability (low/medium/high):

One Year: High when it’s a fun activity; Medium if he’d rather be doing something else, though he’s not hard to convince

Three Years: Low-end of Medium- Snorri is so sweet and he wants to please us. He’s excellent about heading into his crate for a nap or bedtime when we ask. He, of course, sits, lays down, rolls on side, hops up when asked. But he has a mind of his own about coming when called or settling. For recall, we have one fail-safe technique involving standing next to the garden hose, counting down 3-2-1, and turning the hose on; Snorri LOVES to bite the water out of the “shower” nozzle setting! Other than that technique, it takes him a little while to respond- he does eventually come, but usually he gets sidetracked/over-threshold. For settling, if he’s at threshold, it’s really hard for him settle. Our failsafe is putting him in his crate which calms him. He’s very much like a toddler…if he gets barky and/or over-stimulated or too tired, he needs a nap.  He’s never ever off-leash unless he’s in a fenced-in area because of the lack of recall. Thankfully we have a large fenced-in area and several of our neighbors do as well.

Vocality (low/medium/high):

One Year: It was Medium, but it’s now Low. Starting at about 5 months old, Snorri’s barking increased in response to noises outside and, while outside, full blown barking meltdowns/pulling-on-the-leash to chase cars, deer, and vultures. Poor guy would get really worked up and it didn’t matter if we had a good smelling treat or a fun toy in front of his face. So, our strategy was to keep him away from the stimuli as much as possible. We also had to curtail free-romping in the back yard because anytime a car/deer/vulture went past (which is often), Snorri would get into a bark feedback-loop which seemed to stress him out and also annoyed the neighbors. We finally decided to try a vibrating (no shock) bark collar ( DogRook ). It worked immediately- he barked once; the collar beeped and vibrated; and Snorri was like what the heck is this, I don’t need this happening. Since we started using it on May 10 th Snorri only barks occasionally when something is super stimulating; he mostly watches and/or chases to the fence line, but doesn’t bark. Or if he barks, it’s only a couple of times rather than getting into the loop. He doesn’t seem particularly bothered by the vibrating when it happens, it just distracts him from the barking-spiral and redirects his attention. He’s good with cars that are far off, but walking on the road when a car passes is still too stimulating. Overall, it has made him less reactive to noises even when he doesn’t have the collar on. We never have the collar on him when he’s in his crate. He wears it in the backyard and on walks, but we take it off in our neighbor’s field and when he’s playing with other dogs. He’s really now a Low bark dog.

Three Years: Highest level- though Snorri never barks at people (including people he knows and complete strangers). He rarely barks at dogs and, if he does, it’s because he’s frustrated that he can’t play with them. Snorri is incredibly quiet most of the time, but when he barks, he gives it his whole heart. The focus of barks are mostly cars, vultures, deer, and thunder. We encounter this barking for a cumulative hour of the day.

Prey drive (low/medium/high):

One Year: Medium for bugs, lizards, and chipmunks. Very high for chasing cars, deer, and large birds.

Three Years: Low- Snorri likes to chase chipmunks and lizards in the yard, if he catches them (not often) he just boops them with his nose. He definitely wants to chase deer, cars, and vultures, but I think that’s less about hunting and more about trying to chase them away or herd them.

Human social (reactive, aloof, neutral, social):

One Year: Social! He loves people, wags his tail and wants lots of pats. This is one of the reasons we fell in love with Icies. Seriously, he is so good with people!

Three Years: Social- Snorri would like to greet everyone! We have family and friends at several different senior living facilities in town and he is a hit at each of them. He wags his fluffy tail and sniffs everyone, receives pats and never jumps. He doesn’t bark when someone enters our home, instead he awaits their hellos. He seems happiest when there are a bunch of people in our house, like his pack is all together!

Dog social: (reactive, aloof, neutral, social):

One Year: Social! Also, another reason we love this breed! Snorri is happy to meet every dog and immediately matches/determines the other dog’s play style. He’s gentler with older dogs and more rambunctious with younger dogs. He’s had dogs in “his” house and he’s not territorial. He’s also visited other dogs’ houses and been a great guest.

Three Years: Social- Snorri loves all dogs and is very good about gentle greetings and matching their play. With the older ones, he’ll roll onto his back or parallel play. With the younger ones, he’ll wrestle. With the youngest ones, he allows them to jump on his face repeatedly (for hours!) even if it’s not his favorite form of play. He has multiple dog friends in our neighborhood and usually sees 3 or 4 each day including a long play session each afternoon with our Corgi neighbor named Gertrude. If a dog is unfriendly, Snorri immediately learns to give it space.

Environmental sensitivity - (scale of 1-10, 10 being very reactive/unable to redirect and 1 being sleeping and/or completely engaged and able to ignore the world):

One Year: 4- When we’re playing frisbee or ball, he usually stays focused on the game, but he’ll sometimes stop to go over and watch a car pass. When we’re on a hike, he’s mostly able to stay on the trail and only zig zags if some smell has crossed the path. When we’re at a puppy class, I can keep him focused on me with really good treats unless the other dogs are running around or making a lot of noise.

He has a hard time with thunderstorms. We’re still working on the right combination to calm him down. Trazadone takes the edge off, but if it’s really thundering I take him in the laundry room, run the dryer, play music, and I wear ear plugs. He’s able to settle in there if I can block out the thunder sounds. Our vet recommended with try Sileo Gel so we just ordered a tube.

Three Years: 2 or 9 depending on the stimuli- if it’s a vulture, deer, car, or thunder, he’s going to bark, spin and/or on the leash, but once the stimuli is gone, he returns to a happy 2- not reactive and unconcerned.

Confidence level (scale of 1-10, 1 being afraid of the smallest change/shadow and 10 being completely unafraid in any scenario):

One Year: 9- He’s mostly fearless- meeting other dogs, running through the woods, jumping over logs, visiting other people and their houses, and splashing in the little creeks we have around here. He’s cautious about encountering new animals- like turtles. We also think he’s been through a couple of fear periods where he’s been a little jumpy but they’ve passed within a couple of days.

Three Years: 9- Snorri is curious and confident. He’s not worried about strange textures underfoot, water for wading and swimming or any indoor decor. He’ll boop things he doesn’t recognize to figure them out. He’s pretty fearless!

Velcro (scale 1-10, 1 being very independent and aloof and 10 being living in your skin at all times):

One Year: 6- Snorri is a great blend of wanting to be near me and Killick and being happy on his own. He follows us around the house or comes to check on us if we’re out of sight, but he’s also happy being outside on his own exploring the back yard. If I let him off leash in the woods with deer around I’m not sure how far he would run before he’d turn around- I’m guessing Snorri would come back sooner than Kafka, the border collie we used to have. Still, I don’t plan on testing it.

Three Years: 6- Snorri definitely likes to be with me and Killick but he’s not clingy. He follows me to the bathroom, of course, but is also happy to lay on the sofa or in the corner while I’m on the computer for work or in the kitchen cooking. He also really likes is crate and typically doesn’t protest being in it or the process of being put in it.

Affectionate (scale 1-10, 1 being not ever seeking or giving affection/attention, 10 being the most affectionate dog ever):

One Year: 9- Snorri loves to give kisses and get rubs. He’ll lay down at your feet for a few minutes, then his puppy energy will kick in and he’ll have to move around. He’ll cuddle for short bursts and he lets me carry him in my arms which makes the both of us happy! I’m guessing he’ll get even more cuddly as he gets older.

Three Years: 7- Snorri approaches everyone in our family (and strangers) to receive pats and hugs before moving on to investigate other things. He rolls onto his back and requests belly rubs and full-body massage especially in the evenings. He lets me carry him around and seems to enjoy it. And, when he’s really happy, he’ll baby-corn-nibble on my shirt or pants leg. After a good massage he will generally get up and move to a corner for some alone time.

Problem solving skills/independent thinking: (scale 1-10, 1 being needs help with everything/can’t generalize, 10 being puzzle master):

One Year: 10- Snorri is a puzzle master- whether it’s puzzles with hidden dog food, or how to get at the chipmunk in the woodpile, he’s excellent at figuring things out!

Three Years: 9- Snorri is amazing at solving puzzles and his attention span gets longer and longer as he matures. He can snuffle around for food in the yard or dig for a chipmunk for 30 minutes without break. He solves those plastic dog puzzles (even “expert” level) so quickly that we don’t get much use out of them because he gets bored with them. Snorri likes to make up games for us to play- rolling balls back and forth in novel ways and the like. The only reason I didn’t put 10 is because Snorri eventually gets frustrated and asks for help if it’s taking him too long to get to a treat.

Off switch?

One Year: Yes, Snorri has an off switch that seems to be getting stronger as he matures. He can turn off after a good day of playing as well as overnight or when he’s in his crate. He does like to be engaged so “settling” only lasts so long until he wants to do something, but he’s not overbearing about it.

Three Years: Yes-ish- Snorri is mostly chill- he doesn’t get into things, he isn’t demanding of attention, but the only surefire way to get him to settle down and sleep is to put him in his crate. And, when he encounters a flying vulture, running deer, or moving car...this is our familiar refrain.

Favorite activities:

One Year: Water- he loves being sprayed off with a hose (and in the shower!) and splashing in creeks; playing with frisbees and balls; chasing cars along the fence line in our neighbor’s field; playing with dogs, especially good energy matches; and being carried.

Three Years: Sniffari walks, swimming, biting water from the hose, wrestling with his best dog friend Gertrude, finding treats wrapped in soft toys, chasing rolling balls down the hall, digging (fast and deep!), hanging over the sofa arm to observe the room, and sleeping on his back at the end of a long day. He seems to love heavy metal music as well…it calms him.

Personality quirks?

One Year: Sometimes when Snorri is chewing on something he shouldn’t, our attempts to redirect are met with an obvious, “The alternative chew toy is nice but I want to continue chewing on the forbidden object!”…he reserves his most adorable vocalizations for one particular squeaky ballerina toy. Currently he really doesn’t like having his nails clipped or hair brushed but he loves being dried off with a blow dryer. When we give him an ice cube no matter where he receives it, he goes to the refrigerator and pushes it under and then looks to us to help retrieve it.

Three Years: He gets bored with his food quickly so I’m constantly bringing home new flavors/brands. He has a stomach of steel- he can eat things like new dog food or Kraft singles and it doesn’t seem to effect his stomach or digestion. We mostly give him the healthiest food but he really prefers the worst food! He doesn’t love to take pills so we coat them in butter (he has us well trained).

Pros?

One Year: Snorri is so amazing- I feel like his personality is all pros. He’s always smiling, wagging his tail, and ready to go see what we want to go see.

Three Years: He has the sweetest personality! We’re never worried how he’ll respond to strangers and other dogs or children and babies. He’s also ridiculously cute with his funny little “eyebrows” and wild ear hairs.

Cons?

One Year: The barking was a bit stressful because we knew the neighbors were listening, but, with the collar, that’s no longer on the radar- we even got a thank you email from the neighbors.

Three Years: It’s impossible to limit Snorri’s exposure to cars, deer, and vultures where we live; so, starting around 6 months he seemed always super-stressed, even when inside. We could just tell that, even with all the puppy classes and training we were doing, he wasn’t able to relax, focus, and enjoy being a dog. So, in consultation with our trainer and our vet, we started Snorri on Fluoxetine 20mg 1x per day; Gabapentin 100mg 2x per day; Clonidine 0.3mg half in the morning, half in the evening. The difference was and is profound. The medication has allowed Snorri to truly relax and be off-duty- he engages with us, he’s able to focus on games/play for so much longer, he can nap in the middle of the room, and he can be outside without getting stuck in a bark-loop. About a month ago we tried easing off on the Gabapentin…immediately the pervasive anxiety and hypervigilance returned…restoring the dosage brought him back to a much more relaxed state.

As Snorri matures, we’ve seen even more improvement in his happiness. Hopefully we’ll eventually be able to ween him off the meds, but for now, they’ve really helped him.