My other "Gae"

In my last post, I mentioned that "gae" means chicken in Chinese.

As crazy as it sounds, I actually own several chickens now.  Their primary purpose is to lay eggs.  Their secondary purpose is to provide fertilizer for my fruit trees and garden.  Their tertiary purpose is to test my Korean dogs for intelligence - whether the dogs can understand the difference between domestic life stock and wild prey. 

Here are my current birds:

I have two Rhode Island Reds that are really production red hybrids.  They're about a year old and lay brown eggs. 

Lucy and Ethel

I have two Easter Eggers.  Easter Egger is a term for a hybrid that lays pink, green, or blue eggs.  These are 2 months old and should lay green eggs when they turn 6 months old.  My nephew named one Integral.  I guess the other one is Derivative then?

Integral

Derivative?

I have two Ameraucanas.  They're also about 2 months old.  These were hatched by a local who got eggs shipped from a breeder with good lines.  They were hatched out of turquoise-colored eggs.   I picked them up as "straight run" which means not sexed.  They ended up being one girl and one boy.  The light colored one is a female with a wheaten blue coloration.  The dark one has the plumage of a male blue wheaten Ameraucana.  I haven't decided what to do with him yet.  He hasn't started crowing so I have some time to think it over.

My brother-in-law wants to call the female "Chick" and the male "Ken."  My nephew wants to name one "Fluffy."

Sam Gae Tang

My mother has been feeling fatigued of late.  So we're making a Korean dish called Samgaetang, which is a Korean chicken ginseng soup.

Now, gae in this context certainly does not mean dog.  Koreans use a lot of Chinese words in their language and gae comes from the Chinese word for chicken.  In Korean, the vowel character for gae (개) as in dog differs from gae (계) as in this dish.   

계= Chinese for chicken

개 = Korean for dog

Pictured below are two of the ingredients, ginseng and dried jujubees.  The other needed ingredients are sweet rice and whole chicken.  Other variations toss in garlic and chestnuts.

When selecting ginseng for medicinal reasons, it's best to pick older, thicker roots that have not been previously steamed.  Steaming reduces the potency of ginseng (sweats out the medicine) and makes it safe for even kids to eat.  We ran into some younger grocers who didn't know the difference between steamed and non-steamed.

We purchased the fresh ginseng because we weren't finding dried, non-steamed ginseng from a reliable source.  (Herbal stores are not reliable per my parents because the stores get their medicine from China.)  The very top of the pictured roots still needs to be cut off.  You're not supposed to eat any part of the stem of the ginseng.

Below is an example of the final dish with a little bit of green onions as garnish.

Photo from here

Calculating a Dog's Age... in Korean

Unlike other Koreans, I'm a bit slow when it comes to calculating ages in the Korean way.  The shortcut to convert from Western to Korean ages is to add one year, but in actuality, the proper way to calculate a person's Korean age is to count their birth as 1 yr of age and then another year for each New Year that passes.  The reason for counting a year at birth is that a baby spends "a year" in a mother's womb before meeting the outside world.

When I had HwangJae meet a judge from Korea, that person assessed HwangJae according to his Korean age, just like how it is done for a person, despite dogs only being inside a womb for ~2 months.
 
HwangJae was born on Aug. 5,1993 and died Jan. 1, 2008.  According to the Western count, he died at 14 yrs of age.  In Korean, he died at 16 yrs of age.  He just barely made that age. 

ie. 
1 yr old = birth on Aug. 93
2 yr old = Jan 94
3 yr old = Jan 95
4 yr old = Jan 96
5 yr old = Jan 97
6 yr old = Jan 98
7 yr old = Jan 99
8 yr old = Jan 00
9 yr old = Jan 01
10 yr old=Jan 02
11 yr old=Jan 03
12 yr old=Jan 04
13 yr old=Jan 05
14 yr old=Jan 06
15 yr old=Jan 07
16 yr old=Jan 08

BokSoon was born on Aug. 19, 1996 and died Mar. 9, 2011.  According to the Western count, she died at 14 yrs of age.  In Korean, she died at 16 yrs of age.

SooNee is similar to BokSoon.  She was born Aug. 19, 1996 and died May 9, 2011.  According to the Western count, she died at 14 yrs of age.  In Korean, she died at 16 yrs of age.

So, there's a 1-2 yr discrepancy between the Western vs. Korean way of counting.  That's why it's common for Korean matchmakers to ask what year a person was born rather than their age. 

It makes me wonder if the average life expectancy of Jindos, 14 yrs, is based on the Western way or the Korean way of counting age.

No Stress Ears

PoongSoon's ears are starting to lift.  Her right ear now stays up all the way all the time.

When she tilts her head just so, the other ear flops straight.  It'll also stay straight for a few seconds after she just wakes up.  Guess she literally gets her beauty rest.  :-)

It's really nice not to worry about her ears going up or not.  Poongsans aren't an ear breed so there's not nearly the anxiety that I used to have with the Jindos.   Her left ear will probably go up, but it's perfectly fine if it doesn't.

A Melancholy Afternoon

I picked up SooNee's ashes today.  Like HwangJae and BokSoon, I had her cremated and her ashes placed in a wooden box. I gathered all the dogs' boxes and just looked at them for a moment.

HwangJae and SooNee were cremated by Circle of Life while BokSoon was cremated by Friends Forever so there are two different types of boxes.

When HwangJae died from bloat on 1/1/2008,  I made the decision to cremate HwangJae and keep his ashes.  I had reasoned that I didn't want to release them at a home that I knew I wasn't going to stay at.  I was going to release them on my dog property once I got one.  Now, I don't believe in animalistic guardian spirits or anything of that sort.  It was just my way of expressing my remembrance of him.  Even though I wasn't going to continue his Jindo line, he was really the beginning of it all.  

When BokSoon died from bloat on 3/9/2010, I was in the middle of trying to purchase a house so it was an easy decision to also cremate her.   

When SooNee died from her brain tumor on 5/9/2011, I had finally gotten a modest dog property.  It should have been time to release all the dogs' ashes.  It's only ashes.  The dogs are no longer there.  But I find myself holding back and trying to figure out why.  Perhaps I have subconscious hopes of getting an even bigger dog property with a higher dog limit.  Perhaps I'm resisting the finality of it all.  Maybe I'm turning into one of those crazy dog ladies that talk to urns.  (I hope not.) 

For now, I've decided to postpone the release until after I'm finished landscaping.  Afterall, it wouldn't be very respectful to place the ashes in an area that may turn out to be the next dog's potty area.

Kuranda Bed

I caved.

I had told myself that I wouldn't buy a Kuranda Bed because it looked so cheap and looked like something I could make on my own.  With plenty of broken sprinkler pipes laying around the yard, I certainly had enough PVC pipes to make something hand-made.
 
I certainly had enough dog beds.  An extra large foam bed that used to be HwangJae's.  A small foam bed that used to be SooNee's.  An outdoor donut dog bed that the Jindos didn't like but Jersey tore at the seams.  A crate liner which was still usable despite Jersey riping the middle into tiny pieces.  A rectangular stuffed bed that used to be the sister's poodles'.  Etc.  etc.

Just three of the beds.  More are in storage.

But I caved when I saw PoongSoon sleeping once again on the tile, trying to stay cool.  So, I ordered a Kuranda bed for her.  She didn't have problems adjusting to it at all.

edit 5/21/11:  Just wanted to share this pic.  It's only 76 degrees today.

Rain & Relapse

Owning a spitz breed normally means owning a dog that is clean and house-broken easily.  I thought house-breaking PoongSoon would be a piece of cake.

It was up until it started raining today.

Now, Jindos are notorious for hating to get wet without a good reason, and many of them don't consider peeing a good enough reason.  They are perfectly willing to hold it for hours if not a full day if it means not having to get wet in the rain.  It's worth the discomfort in their minds.

PoongSoon the Poongsan took one look at the wet patio and the wet yard and said she wasn't having any of it.

But she decided not to suffer for it.  So instead, she peed on the rug in front of the sliding glass door.  Then on the rug in front of the front door.  And then peed in my bedroom. Apparently twice.  I'm going to have to buy a ShamWow by the rate she's going at. Already bought another bottle of enzymatic cleaner. 

So PoongSoon's going back to lots of x-pen time until she's proven herself trustworthy even despite the rain.

What are they like?

There are some people that have asked me about Poongsan dogs and what they are like.

It's a bit presumptuous for me to say what Poongsans are like, with my experience of only owning one baby, but since there aren't many Poongsan owners on the web reporting in English, I guess I would just put my observations out there until there is more information forthcoming.

The first thing to notice is that Poongsans aren't Jindos.  They are a bigger breed that mature slower, with adulthood that is said to be achieved at 4 years of age.  They are less physically advanced than similarly aged Jindo puppies.  They very much have a puppy coordination.  While a Jindo pup at 8 weeks of age may be able to jump on and over a couch, a Poongsan pup at 8 weeks would be good at standing up on her hind legs with front paws on the couch hopping up and down.  At least that is what PoongSoon was capable of.       

In terms of mental maturity, I would say that PoongSoon was a week slower than my past Jindos in having the needed calmness to learn commands.  Once she did get that, she often gave the impression of not learning the commands on the first session.  However, when tested on the second session, she was calmly, perfectly doing the commands.   So, she either needs the break to percolate what she's learned, or she's not a showy student.  Obedience commands taught to date are "sit", "paw", and "down."    Once she accepts the leash, I'll work on "come," "stay" and other mobile commands.

In terms of cleanliness, she was house-broken in about a week.  The times she peed inside was when she didn't make it all the way outside.  It wasn't because she didn't make the attempt to pee outside or didn't let us know.

In terms of noise, wow, she has a healthy set of lungs.  She cried VERY loudly on the first two nights to the point that my dad slept on the floor next to her.  And she'll cry if she needs to go potty outside.  I worry if the neighbors can hear - and they're quite a ways away.  But on other occassions, she's VERY quiet.  I rarely hear her bark or play-growl.  Not when she sees the chickens, not when she plays with toys, and not when she plays with Jersey.  She single-barked at me once when I didn't treat her after a "sit".  That's about it when it comes to her barking.

Jolly Ball

I purchased a Jolly Ball on Friday.  I remembered how HwangJae used to love his back when we lived in Arizona, but we lost it during the move.  Originally meant for horses, the Jolly Ball is puncture proof and bite proof.  It took a while for PoongSoon to warm up to the toy.

You want me to do what?!?

Eventually, she mouthed it and pawed it.  I don't think it'll become her favorite toy, but it'll give her something else to do in addition  to digging.

Fun at Jersey's

My sister adopted a silver Terrier/Poodle Mix from the Escondido Humane Society a few months ago.  The EHS had named the stray Jersey.

Jersey, when I dog-sat her in April.  Yes, she tore up the bed.

Jersey is very much an active young dog, perfect for a family with active boys, but maybe a bit too intense for the older toy poodle in the family.  So, when PoongSoon visited, Jersey finally found a dog friend with whom to play full force with.

I have two videos of the original play date, but I need to strip the audio from it. (Help, anybody?)  The kids were LOUDLY playing in the background and so I recommend viewing the two videos on mute.

By the second play date, PoongSoon figured out that she doesn't have the speed to catch Jersey so she's resorting to ambush play.

Jindos are Nobles, Poongsans are Common Folk

More than ten years ago, I remember reading an analogy about Jindos and Poongsans.  They are like the Korean people but in different ways.  Jindos are like the Korean nobles in that they are selective in whom they associate with.  They really don't like getting dirty.  Poongsans are like the common folk, who are more social and less quarrelsome.  They like rough and tumble play and enjoy the land.   

When we were visiting the parent dogs, the owners both commented that Poongsans love the land and need land space.  ie. Not an apartment dog.

I wonder much about that analogy as I watch PoongSoon in our home and yard.  She likes to hang out outside and chill.

But she also likes to lay flat on her belly on the kitchen tile to the point of crying like a baby when we don't allow it. (ie. like 2 weeks ago when she first arrived)   

 
She definately loves digging in moist or cool soil.  She'll dig like a normal dog on her feet or like a weird dog on her belly.

 

For now,  I wonder if this love of the land is just her attempt to stay cool during our temperate San Diego weather.  San Diego is very different than the mountains of northern Korea afterall.

When she sheds her puppy fur, which is a tad long, it'll be interesting to see if she continues these behaviors.

Poongsan in disguise

PoongSoon is going through an awkward phase right now.  Her ears are slowly lifting.

The Great Pyrenees look on 5/1/11:

The Border Collie look on 5/8/11:

Poongsan Pup for Dad

For my dad's 70th birthday which was in March, he requested a Poongsan puppy as his last dog to raise.  In Korea and in the US, he had raised Jindo gaes, but he had never raised a Poongsan gae.

Since I was eager to raise one as well, I was all for it.  But I wanted a domestic dog first rather than an import.  If I were to import a Poongsan, that would set us off onto the road of importing SEVERAL Poongans.  I'm not quite ready to do that when I haven't even met one before. **   

In the US, there was an attempt in the late 1990's  to form a new breed, the 'American Pungsan' from just the first import group from North Korea.  They did so because later dogs from other sources were very different looking than them and there were people "making" Poongsans.  Unfortunately, several months into my research I found out that the 'American Pungsan' lineage has faded out in the US with no breeders left.  I would have to import from South Korea if I wanted to get a dog from the first import group.

So instead, we opted to get a Poongsan from southern California from a lineage that comes from via China.  My dad and I visited two sets of adult Poongsans and I was startled to see how big they were.  These Poongsans are considerably bigger than the first import group which were barely bigger than a Jindo.  These new Poongsans are thigh-high while Jindos are knee-high.  Still, we plodded on and evaluated the Poongsans as dogs.

Friendly towards people.  Not obnoxious.  Very quiet.  Respectful of the 4 ft fence.  Loves the land.  Decent physical structure.

We ended up with the last pup of the second set of Poongsans, but are leaving open the option of a pup from the first set.  We'll see how things go with just one.

Here is the Poongsan pup on the day we picked her up, which was two weekends ago.  My dad named her PoongSoon.

 

**edit:  Forgot that I did meet one male Poongsan before at a Jindo show.  He was a nice dog though a bit goofy.

In Memory of a Good Gae

This blog was created in memory of SooNee, my gae (dog) who passed away yesterday.  She was the last of my original "Jindo" gaes. 

SooNee as a pup.

She was bright dog who was limited by her owner's limited training skills.  She knew the usual obedience commands of sit, down, paw, stand, stay, come, round, heel, out, off, on, and back.  In obedience school, I remember her surprising me at her tolerance towards a male chihuahua pawing her face while she was laying down.  She could be an impatient learner, and she was apt to throw new behaviors at me trying to figure out what I wanted.  I wasn't very good at tapping into that.    Clickers?  What's that?

Later in life, I taught her to hold things for me.  She would fetch and hold a basket for me and then other items.

SooNee carrying her special basket.

I had to be careful that I didn't give her something that I cared about though.  She was apt to toss the item back to her molars and bite down to hurry me up.  Many a pencil bore her teeth marks in this way.       

When SooNee became a senior dog though, I noticed a change in her.  She was deaf and losing her eyesight, but beyond that, she wasn't processing or reasoning as well.  She was showing dementia-like behavior.  

When SooNee was at the end of her life,  she was diagnosed with a fast acting brain tumor that affected 3 of her limbs and her mental capacity (dementia-like behavior).  She could no longer stand or sit up in the span of one day.  Her dignity was in shreds.  When I looked into her eyes, I knew it was time.  She was born on August 19, 1996, so she was 14 yr of age in American years when she died.  When I'm thinking more clearly, I'll try to calculate her years in Korean years.

All though her life, I used to ask her, "Are you a good dog?"  A rhetorical question but one that I asked out of habit and often said out loud during a petting session.  When I left home for work, I often left her with the admonishment, "Be a good dog."  Saying "Goodbye" was just not me, I thought.   Too wussy for a sensible, pragmatic left-brained scientist I guess.

When she laid on the vet examination table, with the syringe being depressed into her vein, I couldn't say "Goodbye".  Instead, my parting thought to her, because she was deaf and couldn't hear, was "You were a good dog,  A VERY good dog."

She'll be very missed.  Rest in peace my dear SooNee. 

SooNee back in April.