Yeti's first time outside

Over here at Dire Wolf Project headquarters, the land of floof and tail-wagging delights, there lives a 7-week-old American Dirus puppy named Yeti. Now, little Yeti is as white as freshly fallen snow and twice as fluffy. She is the embodiment of adorable and cute, but she has a little quirk that sets her apart from the rest of the puppy crowd – she has become a baby shark!

You see, Yeti is at that crucial stage of puppy development where she is learning bite inhibition. Most puppies have the luxury of several siblings to help them understand the difference between a gentle nip and a full-fledged chomp. But dear Yeti is a singleton puppy, which means she is a one-puppy show. So, she doesn’t have any furry siblings to teach her the fine art of soft bites.

In steps her trusty human friend – that's me! I have become the sibling she longs for, the one who can teach her the ways of gentle nibbles. Yeti bounds towards me, her fuzzy face all aglow with excitement, and her gleaming white shark teeth ready to chomp away.

And chomp, she does!

But you see, there is a tiny problem.

Human skin, unlike the tough, furry hide of a puppy, is a tad more fragile. Yeti's playful nips feel like tiny daggers, and my skin isn’t quite as forgiving. But that little baby shark never means any harm. She is all play, and her heart is as pure as her fluffy fur. So, I have become her guide in this great adventure of bite inhibition.

Whenever her baby-shark instincts kick in, and her teeth meet my skin with a little too much force, I let out a hearty "OUCH!" Yeti, with her big, curious eyes, pauses mid-chomp and looks right into my soul. It is as if she understands, and she is saying,

"Oops, I didn't mean to, I promise!"

Then, our playtime continues, but now, Yeti is as soft as a marshmallow. She has learned that those sharp puppy teeth can cause pain, and she doesn’t want her dear human sibling to be hurt. So, she has adapted, showing that incredible puppy ability to learn and grow.

We play bite and tug on toys every day, sharing laughs and giggles. Sometimes, our play sessions stretch for a whole fifteen minutes before fatigue catches up with little Yeti, and she starts to drift into the land of puppy dreams. But during those playful moments, my hand becomes the sibling she never had – guiding her, teaching her, and sharing in her puppy joys.

The tale of Yeti, the baby shark of the puppy world, reminds us that even the sharpest of teeth can belong to the gentlest of hearts. In the kingdom of fluff and fun, our little Yeti is finding her place, and her love shines as brightly as her snowy-white fur.

When I was playing with her yesterday, I came up with a really neat idea to help other baby shark owners.

I’ll draw up the plans and share them with you in a future email.

For now, though, if you haven’t seen my wonderful walk with Max in yesterday’s video, here’s the link:

https://youtu.be/kvW52GEIspM

While you are there, please like and subscribe!

I am going to share more short Yeti videos this week, plus feature Yeti in next Monday’s video.

It’s going to be fun and you don’t want to miss them.

Jennifer Stoeckl is the co-founder of the Dire Wolf Project, founder of the DireWolf Guardians American Dirus Dog Training Program, and owner/operator of DireWolf Dogs of Vallecito. She lives in the beautiful inland northwest among the Ponderosa pine forests with her pack of American Dirus dogs.