KumaAkita

I think this is not a "must try" but a "mandatory requirement" *nods head seriously* :D I saw Kyojin's Dad and Sister in the ring the other day, plus took some photos of Kuma's siblings.

Oh, ok... how about I add my little video of Kuma and his buddy Sanchez? Edited coz I was having trouble with this embedding video stuff

Kuma is an avid TV watcher. We have our TV hung on the wall and when animals come on the screen Kuma is up, alert and watching. Horses and cows particularly garner his focus - I think he wants to round 'em up! But dogs, especially other Akitas, also fascinate him. He does do the run around the house trying to find these errant animals! Oh, and he will watch NRL - but only if the Bulldogs are playing. We can watch at other times and he shows no interest, but when the Doggies run out in their blue and white uniforms, he's sitting front and centre watching the game. Weird. The one thing he has an absolute dislike for is the Sunrise Cash Cow. Goes off his trolley when that thing is dancing on TV.

We're a two human, one dog family with a CX-9, so Kuma's chucked in the boot (with the 3rd row of seats folded). If I'm not mistaken there are plenty of restraint points in the back of the CX-7, so you should be able to use a chest harness and clip the dogs to one of those. Kuma's on a flat collar when restrained in the car. We have a removable doggy barrier sectioning off the boot so he's a happy camper and can't interfere with the middle row of seats. Best photo I can find here is: Are we there yet? by shibburd, on Flickr Alternatively, if you can spare the space, you could grab a crate. You can get foldable ones that are curved to fit in with the roofline of your vehicle and are easy to store. ETA: Oh and I should mention. We upgraded to the Big Car so Kuma had more room... only now I'm not allowed to take him in it because his hair is too messy! :rolleyes: Husbands, who'd have 'em?

Oh Teebs... you did your very best. Its a blessing little Tip knew love and warmth before he left. RIP King Tip.

Great advice Huski! I didn't even know there was a K9Pro Thread!! *sneaks off to glean some tips*

Well done D&R! Welcome Rumor... looking forward to the photos!

Thanks muchly everyone! I'll go a-huntin' for some new clippers. Poor Kuma's nails are shredded by our crapped out ones, so I'll have to take him on a gentle stroll around the neighbourhood footpaths to wear them down a bit... he won't stay still enough for me to file them! Champs Dad - I'm pretty sure Kuma would run a mile if I used a "machine" on him. He submits to the torture of nail clipping, but I think the next step would be pushing our friendship too far! But thanks anyway!

:D

KylieGirl - I agree with Wuffles... Echo isn't Dumb, he's smart as a whip! Kuma's the same, and having met Satch I can say he's the same too. Kuma does not do repetitions. Not for love nor money. Ever. Our first beginners class at BDOC our trainer said "Let's do puppy push ups 5 times". This meant Sit/Down/Sit/Stand 5 times. That's 20 commands! At 8 months old, Kuma couldn't string 4 commands together, much less 20 commands! He could work out that if he picked up his toy and put it in our laps we'd throw it... he just did the things that he wanted to do. He also knows that he doesn't have to jump into the back of the car - all he does is put his front paws up and look all pathetic so we lift him in... why jump when my humans lift me? See... he trained us. When it came to his official training, my real lightbulb moment came when I realised that it isn't Kuma who's preventing him learning, it's the trainer (i.e. Me!). I kept seeing Ava at training knowing she's the same age as Kuma and is so much further ahead than he is! Oh... her heeling was to die for! Kuma spent more time sniffing blades of grass than learning to heel. I also saw a lot of Elbie (and then later Hoover) and all the wonderful tricks he could do! Oh... "bang! You're Dead!" "Shy!" and all Kuma could do was roll over onto his side *sigh*. I took a step back and thought about what would make me happy and what would make Kuma happy. I realised that we needed to be stronger with our NILIF practices, I had to let got of the ideal that Kuma would be an Ob Champ and do the perfect heel, or be the Trick Champion and play dead at the point of finger guns. Most of all, I stopped overthinking everything and enjoyed him for the pup that he was and envisaged the adult dog I wanted him to be and worked towards that. In the end, we just wanted a well behaved dog and he's now maturing into a really gentle, lovely boy. It's easy to get caught up in the DOL-iverse and by reading some of these threads think that you're doing the wrong thing. I strongly believe that you need to think about what kind of dog you want Echo to be, and enjoy his puppyhood as much as you can. I remember your thread about Echo and his exercise... I think that you're on the right path with the trick training and mental stimulation as opposed to physical activity. As I said before, you need to gather all your perserverance and try and out-wit him. If you get a chance, read up on an Akita! I think you'll find that they have much the same temperament as Dobes... So we have the same challenges. I can tell you from experience - there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Happy Birthday to Max! 4 Walks A Day!!?? ;) Kuma gets 30 minutes every weekday morning, weekends he'll get one walk if he's lucky! He's a lazy bugger who is back asleep by the time I leave for work every morning... He'd die if we did 4 walks a day. KylieGirl - I have a lump of a dog who didn't really "get" training until about 2-3 months ago. As a youngster, he'd learn a few things, but then give me the doggy equivalent of flippin' the bird and walk away. There was a period from about 6-12 months where we would have gladly given him to someone else (well, not really, but you know what I mean... ) He didn't listen, he wouldn't work at obedience, he wouldn't work at home, he'd push every boundary he could. He's now matured a little, and is starting to listen and has relaxed a lot, meaning we can start focussing on more training. Echo is obviously a really smart boy, and has worked out what will get him a reward. I have a feeling that Echo is like Kuma in many respects - aloof, independant and stubborn. It will take patience from you, but you just need to wait him out. Have a look at a training in drive program, that might give you some pointers on how to harness his love of toys into giving you the responses you're after. It's something that's on my list of things to do with Kuma, but haven't yet gotten to! KTB has given you a few good pointers! Heck, I can't even get Kuma to sit/stay or down/stay! But his stand is great The other thing you could do is gave a look at The Evil Beagle on youtube - that's Huski on DOL. From what I understand her little beagle was much like Echo when she came home, and they are now hugely successful at ob trials, and generally have a much better relationship. Good luck! oh, and he's looking just beautiful! sooo shiny. Now... for a photo (this is a photo thread afterall!) This is Kuma on the way home from tamworth the other day. It's an 8 hour drive, he slept most of the way but would occasionally stick his head up for a squizz out the window. Musta scared the bejeebus out of any following cars! Are we there yet? by shibburd, on Flickr

We have a cheap (<$10) pair of nail/claw clippers that we bought when we got Kuma. They've now (understandably) crapped out... Happy to pay for good ones, can anyone recommend a brand?

Poor Ziggy! He's probably just coming to the realisation that something is different... "hey... where are my...???" Hope he's ok and that you can manage to keep him quiet and entertained over the next few days. Kuma would like everyone to know that he really dislikes the Cash Cow on Sunrise. He nearly jumped into the TV this morning because the bloody thing was dancing. Silly Puppy

The video footage would be worth it, though! Oh God, it would be Funniest Home Videos worthy, that's for sure! You'd hear "Ruby! Up!" then *crash!* *Sound of breaking bones* Followed by me sprawled head first into the dirt. "Ooffff..owwwwww...getoffme...Ican'tbreathe!Ruby!" And Ruby going *Bum wiggle, bum wiggle* "Did I do it? Huh? Mama? Did I do good? Hey? Whaddya think? Mama? Geddup!" :D :D :D Yeah, do it! When you win AFHV you can spend the money you win on physio and restorative treatments!! I really want to teach Kuma "up" so he puts his paws on my shoulders, but am wary of setting a bad precedence (i.e. he'll do it when I don't want it). He already paws up to my waist and tries to hug me

I paid a bucket load for Kuma and didn't bat an eyelid. He's worth every cent. I didn't even go in with a pre-conceived notion of how much a puppy cost, as soon as I saw him I knew I'd pay anything. (well, nearly...) I understand more now than I did then, and I still think I got a good deal. He comes from good lines, his littermates are excelling in the show ring, and (most importantly) he is the absolute perfect gem of a dog for us. BUT... the most important thing that I feel I bought was surity. To the extent that you can, I know the temperament of my dog, I know how big he'll be, I know inherited traits, I know any potential health issues that may arise. I saw his mother, his granddaddy, his other siblings, where they were born, how they were raised for the first 8 weeks... I can also call my breeder if I need to - I don't maintain regular contact but have let her know milestones in Kuma's life as well as any issues we've noticed (like his teeth are pretty ordinary, something she may want to think about in planning ongoing litters). Even with what little I knew at the time, I knew that buying a "rare breed" from a "registered breeder" would be expensive.

I can get him through my legs, but only if I lift one leg slightly off the floor and he ducks (my inseam obviously isn't 74cm!) Well, you've seen the photo of Mr KumaAkita with Kuma on his shoulders, and that was a fleeting moment captured in time. So having him perched on my shoulders for an extensive period of time is a long shot. That, and I can't ski! I do believe I forgot to welcome Diesel&Ryder to the thread! So sorry for my rudeness. I adore the colour of your pupplets! beautiful! Kuma is like your guys... "you expect me to do what? But why, dear lady? It seems pointless to me and on that basis I respectfully decline your request".

Wowzers! That walking backwards through the leg thing is weird and clever! There's your benchmark KTB! I expect to see Hoover and Elbie walking their back legs up a wall next time I see 'em! D'ya reckon I could get Kuma to jump through my arms

Binx - just pick one dog, and start taking a photo each week and upload. It's easier if you set up a flickr account (if you don't have one already), then you can create a set and keep your photos together.

Oh... so you don't want an Akita then??? It'd be smaller than Mindy for a little while (like 8-9 months) so you'd have time to get used to the size What are you thinking about getting??

Oh KTB, lovely photos as always. I adore the two of them staring at you... sooo cute. It must be getting cold. Kuma put himself to bed early last night. Normally he's chillin' on the floor while we're watching TV and we have to lure him to bed, but last night he got up and lay in his crate. We left him there for a little while longer and he didn't move... funny little bugger. I was going to suggest lilli_star that you use a hot water bottle for Ruby, but then remembered that she's a chewer and you'd end up with scalded dog and rubber everywhere

That's a bit crap!!!! I get 13L/100 in my 2001 Hilux forby. That is with an after market turbo and bigger tyres towing a trailer!! The new turbo diesels are supposed to be better If this is aimed at the CX-9 figures, like I said... it's only 2 weeks old with just over 1000Km on the clock, so the fuel economy will improve once the engine has worn in properly - likely a 20-30% improvement. Currently averaging 13L/100Km round town with most of the trip through fuel burning roadworks (40Km/hr bumper to bumper) so all in all not too bad. My Liberty GT Wagon was giving me worse figures! Apparently the new TD Territory has quite poor fuel economy figures. OH's work was looking at them for their fleet, but opted for TD Mondeo instead.

yeah, well... um... maybe I didn't really look at the size, just at the price

I did see that K9Pro have them on special at the moment http://www.k9pro.com.au/products/Heating-P...Warm-a-Pet.html Can't give a recommendation on this product - or any heat pad really - I've not used one... I doubt that Kuma will ever need one, he lies on the freezing concrete in the middle of winter (damn him and his spitz coat!). But I think that using it like you said - like you'd use your electric blanket - sounds sensible.

Adding my next lot of photos and that should make me up to date... W14/52 W14/52 In Profile by shibburd, on Flickr W15/52 - a new toy that has been "lost" because the squeaker is beyond annoying to all human lifeforms. W15/52 SQUEEEEEAAAAKKKK! by shibburd, on Flickr But I very nearly went with this one... Pfffffftttt by shibburd, on Flickr

Ford Territory now comes with a Turbo Diesel engine - but is very exxy on fuel (13L/100Km highway driving, up to 18L/100Km round town) I just upgraded to a Mazda CX-9. Oh how I love it. It's got heaps of room, huge boot that fits a dog crate and matress, Kuma, luggage... 7 seats - my 6'4" hubby can sit in the rear seats (just). Rear aircon. sat nav, blue tooth, reversing camera, all the bells and whistles! I am getting good fuel economy (mid 13L/100Km round town, got down to about 11L/100Km on highway driving). it's just under 2 weeks old so the fuel economy will improve. Worth a look in my opinion