Completed A Delivery Of The Best Sort I

[Tazrae]

Timestamp:91st of Spring, 520 A.V.

The sailors started arriving as soon as the tide came in. Like all things in Syka, deliveries were made by wheelbarrow. And this morning it looked like a small army of them was headed towards The Inn. Randal could only go so far, making furniture and filling the Inn with useful items. However, there was so much more that could not be made currently in Syka. Some of it had to be ordered from Riverfall, which Tazrae had done to outfight the rooms. Curtains of gossamer fabric, light linen bedding, pillows, and throws. The kitchen needed utensils which had to be ordered.

The actual pots and pans had to come in as well, manufactured over in Riverfall since there was no real production here in Syka yet. Luckily, the Settlement had a potter and she'd just delivered - the previous day - the rest of the tableware, serving platters, and bowls that Tazrae would need to set up the Inn. She was happy to see it all arrive.

What she didn't expect to see was Juli leading the second round of wheelbarrows with something very large squirming in her arms. Tazrae came out on her deck to greet the second round of deliveries and leaped down the steps to approach. She greeted the sailors with words of gratitude and invited them to leave their crates just on the deck - that she'd see to their unpacking and inventorying.

Juli's burden, on the other hand, needed immediate attention. Tazrae was thrilled! She could barely contain her excitement as she approached her friend and whispered softly.... "Is that for me?" She asked, absolutely positive it was too good to be true. In Juli's arms was an enormous puppy with the biggest feet she'd ever seen.

The creature was mostly white with splashes of greyish black all over it like someone had splattered it with paint. "I know I asked James to look for me a puppy, but are you sure that's actually a puppy? It's the size of a pony!" She said, stepping forward to pet the creature that was now wiggling in Juli's arms and openly panting.

Juli laughed. "It's an Imperial Watcher. There's a healer outside of Riverfall that breeds them. They came recommended so father got a puppy from there for you. It's spendy at 50 gold mizas which he tacked on your bill separate from the building bill from Randal, but I think he's worth it. They are super protective, huge, and really good companions. He will be loyal and guard you since you live here all alone. And best of all, Tazrae, he will be a good friend to you... one you need. I cannot imagine what it is like setting off on your own, traveling here, starting an Inn all by yourself. I can't imagine how lonely it must be. Take him... you can settle up with father later. He'll be in port for a good ten-day or more before he heads back." Juli said, handing what turned out to be about twenty pounds of puppy to Tazrae.

The future Innkeeper blinked back tears even as she fought to hold the puppy in her arms. "What is his name?" She asked, petting the dog and covering his head with a few kisses. The pup licked her in return, a friendly sort with a huge whipping tail. He didn't try to get loose, in fact, the lazy creature settled in more firmly in the future Innkeeper's arms and began to chew on her sleeve, growling playfully. Tazrae laughed as Juli answered her.

"He has no name yet. It's for you to give him one once you figure out his personality. The breeder sent along a handwritten scroll with all kinds of information on what he eats, how to care for him, and what to expect of him as a pup. She has some training advice in here too. He comes with a collar and leash, and she advised to only feed fresh meat and vegetables to him, though he can have rice too. He will eat a lot of food always, so be forewarned." Juli said, reaching forward to pet the puppy one last time.

"Father said he had a lot of fun crossing the Suvan with him, but to watch out he has accidents often at his age. And his accidents are super-sized, if you know what I mean." She laughed, patted Tazrae's shoulder, and gave her a little wave.

"You two take care... I need to get back and mind the mercantile." She added, tucking the big multi-page scroll under Tazrae's arm out of the puppy's reach. "I just wanted to see your face when he was delivered. And honestly, I can't wait to see what you'll name him." She added, already halfway down the path towards the cobbled road.

Tazrae looked down at the creature in her arms, a huge smile on her face. The pup whined slightly and she leaned over and sat him down in the salt grass that was all around the almost completed Inn. The dog bounced around happily, squatted to piddle, and then got distracted by some colorful bug it began to chase. The puppy had a collar on and trailed a leash which Tazrae promptly chased down to grab. She didn't yank it tight though. Instead, she simply held onto it and let the dog explore. He did so until he grew bored and came back to her feet. He sat down and whined prompting Tazrae to bend over and pick him up.

She hugged him tightly, and headed off to the porch to sit down and read all the information the breeder had sent to her on the scroll. The shipment of crates from the Veronica could wait to be unpacked. The not-so-little life that was now in her hands could not.

Word Count: 1021

[Tazrae]

Tazrae set the enormous squirming puppy aside, letting him down to roam around as far as the leash would let him as she unrolled the instructional scroll and read a letter of greeting from the breeder in Riverfall. The woman introduced herself, talked a bit about her dogs, and then got into the specific personality of the puppy she’d sent Tazrae.

“Imperial Watchers are a very old breed. They were heavily popular in the Suvan Empire because we see their carvings all the time on old Suvan ruins. Not much literature survives from that period of time, but we do know that they were used as hunting dogs and guardians. My Imperial Watchers are bred especially to be Guardians of property and are raised around a lot of other animals from when they are small. They are chicken safe – meaning they won’t hunt domestic chickens they see you tending – and are good with creatures like horses. I’m not sure there will be many horses in Syka, so you might take the time to introduce your puppy to the animals that are common. He will be friendly to them as long as he sees you or other humans working side-by-side with them or tending them.”

“Those that hunt with Imperial Watchers often call them Boarhounds, for they are great hunting boar and can move fast enough to get out of the way of the tusks of the boars. You can take them on hunts for deer and small animals too. My bloodlines aren’t especially gifted animals in this, however, so don’t expect him to take to it naturally… his hunting will have to be taught. What he will do is guard your property and those he considers under his watch very thoroughly. He should naturally greet intruders with a bark unless he knows them, but he will always let you quietly know you are no longer alone. This will not have to be taught. It’s already bred into him. And he will be fiercely protective once he decides you will be his human.”

Tazrae paused in her reading. The puppy had wandered back to her and was nibbling at her leather sandal as if fascinated by its texture. She reached down and stroked his head but firmly told him “No!” about using her good sandal as a chew toy. The puppy sat down abruptly, whined, and seemed to look around to see if there was anything else to do. Tazrae felt bad for him a moment. She wondered if he missed the other puppies he was most likely raised with.

After a moment, she went back to her research.

” So, more about this little guy. He’s from a rather large bloodline. Captain James Chaliva looked through my kennels and selected this little guy especially from his littermates and from the two litters I had at the time. He will be a rather large dog, probably on the heavier side of what I normally breed. He told me a bit about you – all alone running an Inn in the jungle – and I knew this bloodline would be what you would want. This pup will grow as much in his first year as a human child grows in their first fifteen. You will need to provide him with rules and consistent training daily so that when he gets to his enormous size, he will be someone you can control and admire.

Please raise him inside. Imperial Watchers do not do well chained in a yard. He will more than likely not want to leave your side. And for the first season or two, you have him, I suggest you take him everywhere. It's very important that he get socialized with other people and other animals. Imperial Watchers are not aggressive by nature nor are they anti-social, but there is always the exception and you want to give him the best start you can. Let a lot of people handle him. Let him see new situations. If you are on boats a lot, let him ride along with you. Teach him to swim. Don’t leave him alone with children. Children can be mean to puppies and don’t understand its not okay to pull their ears and things like that. I do not know you, but James has assured me you are a level headed soft-spoken young woman. I urge you to be consistent with your corrections, using a firm unexcited tone when you do so. Don’t utilize quick movements and high-pitched squealing because this will excite him and disconnect his brain from what he’s learning. Loud and harsh corrections, spoken in anger, will also scare and intimidate him… so avoid those as well. My Imperial Watchers learn best through consistency and repetition with love and positive reinforcement. “

Word Count: 797

[Tazrae]

“So… I can’t yell at you, make high pitched or angry sounds…. And I have to be very very very repetitious. This breeder is putting a lot of information about you in these scrolls.” Tazrae told the puppy who had once more started chewing on her sandal. She reached down and tapped his nose gently and said firmly “No.” She had to do it twice before he blinked and stopped, looking up at her with a whine. She rewarded him with a stroke of her hand down his head which caused his back end to start wagging.

“I hope she included in these instructions what you eat. It seems a little important to be left out… oh and how much. I have no idea about feeding a dog.” Tazrae admitted, then opened the scroll a bit more to find out just what she needed to read.

” Since he’s four months old, you’ll notice he does three things consistently… eat, sleep, and potty. You need to be giving him three to four meals a day consisting of fresh meat – raw organ meat is the best – mixed with a scattering of vegetables and rice. He can have sweet potatoes, carrots, tomatos – just about any kind of vegetable or fruit - besides grapes that he wants. They love to chew on corn so give him an ear or two to eat the corn off of and then chew the cob up… its good for his teeth. He can have any and all fresh bones, just don’t give him any cooked bone. Cooked bone because rubbery and can lodge in his throat. Any raw bone he crunches up passes through him and does him good in the intestine. When hes six to nine months old, cut his meals back to two a day with the last one being two hours before bedtime. Then make sure he has a playtime and a chance to potty before bed.

If he has any medical problems, see a healer specializing in animals immediately. Also, while he is still young make sure you introduce him to a healer and let that healer befriend him so he knows its someone that he can trust if an emergency arises.

That made sense to Tazrae. She’d head over to the Panacea when she had a free moment and introduce the puppy. The Innkeeper doubted Syka had anyone who actually specialized in animal handling or healing, but then she hadn’t gotten around to meeting everyone just yet. There was still a possibility that someone was a healer, but the folks at the Panacea would know that.

She rolled the scroll back up and unrolled the second one. Tazrae was curious to see what this one contained.

”By now, hopefully, you know how to feed your puppy and how to treat him. If you follow further below, I’m going to give you some helpful suggestions on training him. The reality is that every moment of your time with him should be a teaching and training situation. The socialization I talked about earlier? That’s part of that training. From the moment they are born, puppies begin learning. And right now? It’s his prime time to get some firm lessons in his mind. There are just a few things you have to remember. One, is that he has the attention span of a fly. Make your hardcore firm training sessions firm and end on a positive note. He can be learning sit, down, stay… those kinds of things right now.

Imperial Watchers have notorious fear stages… they get bold, but then they have periods where everything makes them afraid and suspicious. It might be a leaf blowing in the wind or a strange sound. Fear periods come and go, so work him through it. If something makes him afraid, don’t force him to face it, but coax him to investigate or repeat the action that made him afraid but gently so he can see there is nothing to fear… especially with sounds, new actions, etc. It shouldn’t have to be said but never hit him. Never loose your temper. I’m not saying you won’t get upset. I’ve seen them tear apart expensive furniture for fun as pups and I’ve even completely exploded. But you need to walk away and deal with it later when you aren’t hopping mad. If most people did this in life, the world would be a better place and maybe even the Valterrian wouldn’t have happened.

Anyhow, my biggest advice for food training is using food luring. Find what he likes – dried meat often works wonders – and break it into small pieces. Then start teaching him with the food rewards. Sit is the easiest to learn. Repeat the command and show him the food. Most Watchers will automatically sit, but if you sort of swoop it towards him and up, he will naturally squat for it. Some pressure on the back end may be needed the first couple of times, but if there’s food involved, he’ll do it and do it often. Once you progress through sit, start on down. Get him sitting and then draw the food down towards the floor and see if he won’t follow and lay down to get it. Stand is easier. A squirmy puppy wants to move so one in the down position will stand easily if you rise up too. Stay is harder. I’ll let you figure out a lot of this on your own. Each dog is different and each dog learns at its own rate.”

Sit, down, stand, stay... Okay, they were four things that Tazrae could get Creature started on today. She'd dry a little meat out... she had leftover pork for sure, and far more of the scroll to read. Learning was hard work, obviously, for the pup in question was passed out in the sun snoring. She couldn't help but smile.

Continued in: A Delivery Of The Best Sort II

Word Count: 984
Thread Count: 2,802

[Tazrae]

Grading!

Tazrae:

Animal Husbandry +5, Observation +3, Socialization +1, Research +4, Teaching +2

Puppy: Imperial Watcher, Imperial Watcher: Old Breed, Hunting/Guardian Dogs, Imperial Watcher: Property Guardian, Imperial Watcher: Livestock Safe, Imperial Watchers: Boarhunting Specialists, Animal Husbandry: Teaching No!, Imperial Watcher: Grow As Much In His First Year As A Human Child In 15, Imperial Watcher: Needs Rules/Consistent Training, Imperial Watchers: Raise Him Inside, Animal Husbandry: Socializing New Puppies, Animal Husbandry: Be Consistent With Corrections/Firm And Unexcited, Animal Husbandry: Train With Repetition/Love And Positive Reinforcement, Imperial Watchers: Need 3-4 Meals Per Day As Pups, 2-3 As Adults, Imperial Watchers: What They Can Eat, Imperial Watchers: Never Loose Temper, Never Strike, Animal Husbandry: Training With Food Luring

Note: 1 Imperial Watcher, Leash, Collar, Instruction Scroll