Shhh!!

He's VERY SNEAKY!!!!!

My wife had gotten several cut logs and stumps to make a sort of "camp circle" for the kids to play around/jump on and piled them up near the porch, pending actually placement in the yard. Kona decided this was his own forest primeval and "hid" there for several minutes sniffing EVERYTHING!

Speaking of kids, RC is doing very well with Kona, working on things like "Stay" and "Sit" with him. She's the only one who can get him to go to his crate ("Place") without tossing a treat in first. (She gives him a treat afterward.)

PS- I should note that Kona's timidity issues are WAY better. On this morning's walk (5AM) he barked at a jogger wearing a head lamp, but that was an unusual enough sight that I wasn't too worried about it. I still made him sit and stop barking, though. 

Housebreaking & Training

Kona is still having the occasional accident in the house. It's very frustrating, because it means I need to keep him in the crate more and limit his play time in the yard until he learns that's where he's supposed to go. All part of a young dog, I suppose.

We're considering having a trainer to come in and work with my wife and oldest daughter. Kona could use the stimulation and it might help him bond a bit more with family members besides me.

Absurdly pleased with himself after killing a vicious stick!

FDiT (Frisbee Dawg in Training)

He seems to have the jumping and running/chasing skills. That leap in the vid puts his face even with mine (I'm 6'). We'll need to polish the "catch in air" and "fetch" aspects a bit, though. He LOVES his soft flying disc, so I think I can motivate him OK with that.

Blast from the Past

Just because, here's a pic from the rescue group of Kona when he was MUCH smaller.

Cats & Crates

Now that he's been home a few days, we're settling into a sort of routine. One thing I'm trying to do more consistently is crating him. He's been really good "in the box" the last couple nights, so I think we're OK there.

Another issue that I had been concerned about was our cat, Moose. He's over 18 years old and, while healthy, not exactly a bundle of energy any more. I was worried about Kona being too rough or aggressive with him, they seemed to avoid incident for the first few days. Until Sunday evening.

Kona was finishing his dinner when the cat got too close to the bowl. Then, well...



...he shoved the dog out of the way to see if he wanted any and Kona slunk off.


PECKING ORDER: ESTABLISHED!

Settling in

Kona has some timidity/defensiveness issues. Things that startle or confuse can make him raise his hackles and bark or growl. He has done this in several different situations now: if one of my daughters is swinging on the swingset or playing in an excited way (high, loud voices), people on bicycles, people in hats (?), another dog on the park path. I believe most of this is familiarity issues and getting settled in.

I was able to extinguish most of his swingset barking with the help of my 9 yo. I held Kona on lead as she would sit still on the swing, then walk over to pet him. Back and forth until he figured out she was the same person whether she was on the swing or not. Then she swung gently a few times between "visits." Eventually she could swing several times and he would ignore her, lying in the grass and just looking around.

I take this as a good sign that this could be overcome so easily, but I can't do this for every  contingency. He needs to develop more confidence. Hopefully as he grows more accustomed to his new home, that confidence will build.

A wubba is a Good Thing!

YAYZ! I CAN HAS HOME NOW??

We adopted Kona from an adoption/rescue group this wek. He came home Tuesday, 8/21/12. As near as we and our vet can tell, he is a German Shepherd/Blackmouth Cur mix (probably with a few others thrown in as well). He's a neutered 8-1/2 month old pup and very sweet (We're using New Years Day 2012 as an estimated birthday). He's about 20" at the withers and 35 lbs. now. I don't think he'll get a lot taller, but we hope to beef him up a little over the next few months (to ≈ 45 I expect). This is him at the adoption show a couple weeks ago.

It was the ears really, that landed me this gig. I know I'm gorgeous, but it was the ears that closed the deal. I mean LOOK at them!

He's been home for two days now and things are going well. He's getting the hang of his new name and some basic commands. He's had a few bumpy spots, like the noise from the kids startling him a bit, and a couple minor bathroom issues, but things are calming down. Right now he's sleeping at my feet as I type. I still miss Zeke a lot. We had him for over 13 years and he was over 14 when he passed away two months ago. Kona is a lot different from Zeke despite several surface similarities. They are of a size, both mutts, both bright and curious. Kona is a bit more excitable than Zeke was, but I may be remembering "old" Zeke more than the younger version.

Right now I'm trying to get Kona into fetch and (hopefully) frisbee. He needs a way to burn off his energy, and anything where the dog does the bulk of the running around is a plus in my book.

Here are a couple more pics since he came home.