"Cici" aka "mouse", aka "peanut"
born Dec. 14, 2007
Dam: Ch Huzur's Hasari Leydi
Sire: Adana's Bono at Caatskill
Cici is a female puppy I have kept from my first litter, she was the first one born; she wiggled herself into my heart when she was only 2 1/2 weeks old when she crawled into my lap, wiggled her tail and wanted to lick me.
At 12 weeks old she is very loving but also very independent. She already alerts to potential threats and runs to the fence, tail up and barking. She is very good with the chickens at this age; she gives them space and doesn't show any interest in chasing them. She is friendly with the goats, no interest in playing with or chasing them either.
Cici gets along well with everybody, she has the same beautiful red color as her mom, she is well proportioned, she runs fast, is agile and sure footed.
8-month update: Cici is 27 1/2 inches, still the smallest of the group. What she lacks in size (she really isn't that small for an Anatolian), she makes up with her personality. She has been a very serious guardian from the time she was only 8 weeks old. Nothing escapes her; she alerts to things at a greater distance than the other dogs.
She is highly cautious of unknown things. When we had some rain I put on a yellow raincoat, not even thinking about how the dogs would react. Cici went into serious defense mode, and for a moment I was wondering if she would go as far as to make contact, but she didn't. I didn't say anything just stood there, and she was blocking my way barking and keeping an eye on me. She would not stop this even when I spoke to her. Only when I took off the hood was she willing to entertain the idea that I may not be a monster or intruder.
I will see in the fall whether she does better with the chickens or the goats.
She has a keen sense of smell: a few days ago I saw her outside in the yard, and she was very obviously trying to locate something by smell. She was zigzagging the area with her nose in the air; it did not take long to figure out where the rawhide chewy was and she pranced off with her prize. If there is anything edible on a counter or crate she knows it, and if I don't catch her while she is thinking about it, she will help herself to whatever it is.
Cici is very diplomatic in her interactions with other dogs, she often uses exaggerated displays of submission to get what she wants, she manages to worm herself near Nanuk's food bowl while he is eating and isn't satisfied until her nose touches his bowl, she then waits until he walks away from his bowl, and it seems like he is playing along as he always leaves a few pieces in it for her to relish on. She is my special girl.
One year update: Cici is now 28 ½ inches and weighs in at 90 lbs. She is filling out nicely. It is amazing to watch her go from a standstill to a flat out run in an instant. She is a powerful, highly athletic and agile little girl.
She doesn't have much interest in the goats, though she is good with them and has never tried to chase them. She seems to be a lot happier hanging out with the chickens. She has always been good with the chickens, has never once tried to chase them. Otherwise she is an all around great little girl, Miss Personality, never misses a beat.
For a while she wouldn't give me much attention when we were at the obedience class or the park, but this has changed, and she is quite attentive now and enjoys the teamwork. She is also getting a lot more social off property, happy to meet other dogs and approaching people. She still doesn't care for people to reach out and pet her; she takes their treats politely, begs for more, but petting is reserved for special friends.
She continues to be very diplomatic. She hadn't been around her sister Enya since the end of their heat cycle, and Enya gets rather standoffish with dogs she hasn't been around daily, so Enya was growling, but after a while things settled. Enya still wasn't inviting Cici to play, so little Cici rolled on her back acting like a submissive little puppy (she is really good at putting on that "I am just a little puppy show"), all the while batting at Enya with her feet and wiggling on her back trying to get Enya to play. Finally Enya grinned and relaxed. I was so proud of how Cici handled this situation. The two of them have since been spending time together again. The next time I had them together, Cici just took the initiative and started pouncing on Enya; they then acted like they were really, really happy to be together again and have done well together since then.
Cici has an incredible sense of smell; she walks into a room and knows if and where anything edible is. When she was younger she was constantly grabbing stuff from the counter if I forgot to put it away, but she has started to leave things alone and to wait patiently for me to give her something instead of helping herself to whatever she wants.
She is my special girl
Cici at 2 1/2:
Cici is still about the same height but when I weighed her recently she was 98 lbs. I was surprised; I really didn't think she would weigh that much.
She has learned by testing me over and over that I am really smarter and more powerful than she is and that not doing what I ask makes her the loser of something she would have wanted. So she is really good now about cooperating with me.
Her sisters do not get along with her, but Cici continues to be best buddies with Ayla and her mother. She and Ayla love to wrestle and to race around shoulder to shoulder. They can be running fast and then all of a sudden one of them decides to really turn it into a race and takes off, then they continue running at a much faster speed.
Hard to describe what makes her so special: she is loving, she is so alert and bright, she is very diplomatic but never forgets what her goals are -- just a fascinating little girl.
