You’ve just bought your first Gordon and are now trying to figure out if what’s happening to you is something to panic over. This list won’t alleviate any concern but might give you some insight into things we’ve all been through.
HOUSETRAINING:
Gordons seem to be a very easy breed to housetrain. Using their natural desire for a clean bed, consistent training and a crate should ensure that housetraining is accomplished easily. Don’t expect them to manage the impossible though – total bladder control isn’t really possible prior to four months. If you’ve done everything correctly, but are still not having any luck, you might want to have the puppy checked over by your vet.
MARKING:
No matter how well a dog is housetrained, there is another stage to be aware of with a male dog. Around nine months of age, it may appear that they have “forgotten’ their housetraining lessons. That’s not necessarily the case but rather the growing male has found a new way to “communicate”. Don’t panic, just retrain the importance of staying clean in the house. However, treat it like a new lesson as this is a different thing to the dog than the earlier training.
ACTIVITY LEVELS:
While the Gordon is a fairly sedate dog as an adult, they still are rambunctious puppies that may test your patience and chew on everything. My favourite instructional video on how to cope with puppyhood is the Puppy Training video by Ian Dunbar (Sirius Dog Training).
APPEARANCE:
So, you bought a show Gordon and now it looks like a cross between an Afghan and a Beagle on stilts? Don’t worry if it’s 6 – 9 months old! Gordons grow in really strange ways. Some dogs seem like little adults throughout their growth period, others grow in spurts (first the front, then the rear). If the dog looked good and well-proportioned at 8 weeks, it will likely look good at 3 years. This is one breed you can’t expect wonders from at a young age even if certain individual dogs look great. Most Gordons look their best at full maturity – 4 or more years and knowing how your puppy’s relatives grew will be a clue as to what you might see. So, stop staring at him and just enjoy him for now.
FEAR PERIODS:
Many Gordon youngsters go through a fear period or two. Unfortunately, there seems to be no way to predict when it’ll happen (although most people see it at 6 – 9 months). Of course, show exhibitors say it always happens after they’ve entered a show. However, if it happens to you, don’t panic. That nice confident puppy that turns into a spooky idiot one weekend will likely return to that lovely stable dog overnight. Dealing with this takes a level, calm approach. While you don’t want to force the dog to do something at this stage, you also don’t want them to learn that this behaviour allows them to get out of any situation. Don’t cuddle when they show signs of this either. Both of these situations will teach the puppy that they can get what they want by acting afraid. Just stay calm yourself. Act like absolutely nothing is wrong, continue to take them out and about and your Gordon will soon accept your approach as the one that’s best for them too.
EXERCISE:
Your dog needs exercise to maintain proper muscle tone. However, when the puppy is young, too much exercise can lead to problems later. Being a large dog, a Gordon is not fully grown until about two years of age although they may have reached their full height at nine months of age. Until then, a good rule of thumb is to never force exercise. If the dog wants to do it, then it’s probably good for him. But forced exercise such as road-working, long distance running or obedience jumping can stress sensitive joint areas and lead to problems. This is usually just a matter of using common sense.
GETTING ALONG:
If you have more than one dog, you might wonder how they’ll all get along. I run all my dogs together although I do find that my presence and close quarters can cause some mumbling between them if I have several dogs together. Mostly, they work it out. Male dogs seem to be the most likely to try posturing with each other and throw in a little grumbling for good luck. I have found that it always sorts itself out with no fighting if I just ignore it and walk away. The girls are another question. Seldom do I have any problems with the girls. However, if two of them decide they don’t like each other, there is very little discussion and they may start to fight. These situations usually arise when one of them is coming into season so I avoid having two girls together at that time if I think they have issues. All in all, I find that the dogs are usually quite adept at working out their pack relationships and interference from people is what can complicate it.
SILVER OR WHITE HAIR:
It is not unusual for Gordons to develop white or silver hair in their back pant feathering or about mid-way down the tail. This hair seems to come in around six months of age and may stay until the dog is 18 months or older. Don’t panic....it will go away and is nothing to worry about.
BLACK TONGUE SPOTS:
Something that you might never notice, but might cause unnecessary concern if you see them, are spots of black of varying sizes on the tongue. This is only pigment and no cause for alarm. Some lines seem to produce these more than others and some breeders laughingly call them Best in Show spots.
REDDISH TINGES:
You should not expect your dog to develop a reddish cast to the black body coat If it does there are a few possible reasons. One, the dog is spending too much time sunbathing in the bright sun. I tend not to let my dogs out in the mid-day sun unless there are plenty of areas of shade (although some dogs don’t seem to take advantage of the shade). The other cause can be general poor health which should be discussed with a vet. Another cause can be stripping or stoning the coat which, while some people like the appearance, actually destroys the cuticle of the hair shaft making it susceptible to damage. Normally, any reddishness other than on the tips of the feathers is a sign of something slightly off with the coat and that usually is a reflection of the overall health of the dog. Simply keeping them out of intense sun or changing food may be all that’s needed. If that doesn’t work, you may want to have the vet give the dog a look over.
COAT GROWTH:
Some Gordons seem to mature slowly. That includes coat growth. Although males may have a reasonably nice show coat at two to three years of age, females may take even longer. Don't panic. That's just the way some lines mature. If the coat is shiny, and soft to the touch and the skin is not flaky, everything is probably proceeding normally. A dull, coarse or brittle coat should signal a trip to the vets.
