Scarlet’s and Kobi’s new adorable and fluffy Komondor puppy needed a name to fit his bright future. He was born on Valentine’s day and loves people and animals, so they chose Attila the Hun (shortened to Atti), but there is a valid reason! Attila, the human, was feared by his enemies and as Atti is
destined to grow into their ranch’s guard dog, protecting their sheep from predators, the name fits him to “a - T”.
Scarlet is from Hungary and admires the magnificent Hungarian Komondor dogs famous for their skills of guarding and protecting families and animals. This is her fifth Komondor. Their breed is hard to find in the USA, so she had her brother ship her their first two from Hungary.
After their last dog passed, the couple
looked locally for another. Atti’s breeders wanted Scarlet to show him, “But, I wanted a working dog,” said Scarlet, “not a fluffy show-life dog, but one of purpose. The large breed is calm and a good working dog. They suit our farm and family.”
“When we brought him home, at ten weeks of age, he joyfully assessed everything. He was not afraid of any animal or adventures. Most young animals are cautious, but not Atti. He already displayed the wonderful Komondor traits of
being affectionate, fearless, and gentle. He was curious about the chickens, ducks, goats, sheep, and especially our barn/house cats. He was not afraid of the large animals either.”
To raise a good puppy, who fits in with your life style, obedience classes are mandatory. The classes bond you as you learn how dogs understand differently than how people purr-seave things. Every day Atti works on his “homework”. He now sits and stays, but like most young
students, the hardest is “staying” still. Training him is vital because he will soon weigh 130 pounds and Scarlet and Kobi don’t want him running the farm on his own!
Komondors are independent thinkers and, in this too, Atti excels. When he sees something, he steals it! He then stealth fully carries it into a corner and hides it.
“We have found ‘hidden’ dish towels and shoes,” explained Scarlet. “Like human babies he is
teething, and our shoes innocently became his teething toys. We are keeping the house extra tidy until Atti learns the house rules! We are also elevating everything for two reasons: 1) to be able to find it and 2) to preserve it.”
Ati is clever. He has several loot hiding places. One is under the bed, where he stashes his findings to further investigate (chew) later. His humans eventually uncover the missing articles, “...like my outside work shoes were
in the closet behind boxes,” said Scarlet, “No clue how he got them there after they mysteriously disappeared - one at a time. The shoes are a tad chewed, but still wearable outdoors.”
Their puppy is now so big that their kitchen table is very tempting for him! Atti can rest his chin on it! He then rolls his big-brown-pleading eyes over to each of his doting parents with the telepathic expression, “Please, please, can I have some of that tasty looking
food?” or “How soon are you going to be finished before I can have some?”
Because of Atti’s eventual adult size he sleeps next to the couple, but on the floor in a big round dog bed. “He snores,” admits Scarlet. “We forgive him because we love him and we snore, too.”
Adult Komondor coats grow into long cords, or dreadlocks, that resemble a floor mop, so they are often called 'mop dogs.'
Because of our Pacific
Northwest’s rain, Atti’s hair will be kept short. “His hair magnetically attracts all the farm muck,” said Scarlet, “and it dips into mud puddles, and sweeps the ground.
On rainy days we have to rub him down before the goop dries and falls on the floor. Once it does, he looks clean, but not the flooring...so all our carpets are being taken out for easier maintenance.
We are working on training him. He is fabulous with sheep, but hard
with the ducks and hens, so we keep him on leash. He loves them but when they flutter he thinks they want to play and responds by excitedly bouncing and frightening them. He is a fast learner, and very intelligent, so it will come.
Our other Komondor’s were so gentle. We had a ‘bummer’ lamb (weak), so the dogs curled up to it and took care of it like a mother sheep. You could tell they knew the lamb was a sickly baby in need of warmth and comfort. It was
heart touching and we know that Atti is going to be the same guardian to the sheep and their lambs. After all, he is a family member and a farmer like us.”
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