Snowy Socialization

So we had about an inch of snow stick last night. It's wicked cold, so it didn't melt when it reached the ground or streets. While Kona has seen snow before, this was a bit more of a "real" snowfall (stayed around a while, more powder than slush, etc.). He had a grand time when I let him out this morning.

Later, a neighbor brought their dog, Tucker over. Tucker is a large black lab mix (probably close to 80 lbs.) and plays pretty rough. Kona's first experience with Tucker was when he visited our neighbor's yard to play, and Tucker spent most of the time knocking down and pinning Kona.

= < Fun for our favorite cur.

So this time, Kona's over a year and the play date was on his turf. There were the normal raised hackles and barking when they first saw each other (both on leash), but eventually they calmed down enough to play. The pattern was similar, with a lot of aggressive play by Tucker, but Kona figured something out pretty quick: He can outrun and outmaneuver Tucker!

What followed was several minutes of Tucker chasing Kona, but losing several steps on him when Kona would turn on a dime and sprint the other way. At one point, Kona leapt OVER Tucker. It was pretty hilarious, and I extremely annoyed I didn't have at least the phone out to get some of this footage. He had his jacket on, though, which I think helped him last longer in the cold.

Basically a lot of this.

By the end, Kona was chasing Tucker a bit too, so I guess once the initial crazed energy was burnt through, they could play a bit less aggressively. In the end, Kona was one tired pup. Which is, IMHO, a very good thing.