KumaAkita

I have the usual reactions - 1) cross the road with fear; or 2) ohmygodthatisthecoolestdogever! We get all sorts of people - once we get to know people he becomes a snuggle bunny and starts nudging in for pats.

Oh KTB! That's a cracker! That little corgi put sooo much effort into the jump and barely missed the wharf! Rav - I was telling OH about Astrid's presents. It's soooo cute! I have a few of those shots too... but then I get slobbery kisses on my camera lens (thank goodness for lens filters!) Minxy - Kyojin is looking sooo lovely! He and Kuma would have great rumbles (was it hot? They all look Exhausted!)

It might be a two person job until you've got her used to having her tablets. Poor poppet! Hope she's on the mend soon. You gotta love those stubborn doglets! We have to brush Kuma's teeth every now and then (he hates bones) and he clamps his jaw together SOOOOOOOO tightly and hides his head under his front legs so we can't get at him with the awful hatey stabby toofbrushy thing.

Goooooo Team Wuffles! Hope you have a fantabulous day tomorrow. I will be thinking of you Hope you're having a great time and getting all caught up in the excitement of your wedding. ps - hope your MIL is behaving

We have a 5xl Crate for Kuma and to buy mats that usually fit that size costs an absolute bomb. So I just bought a single bed doona and cover from BigW. Double it over and it's very comfy (yep, I got in and tried it out...)

Oh Lena! I feel your pain! Kuma is the "i don't do tablets" kinda dog too. He flat out refuses to swallow his tablets. So, it's a two person job in our house - me holding him steady and the OH sticking the tablet down his gullet, holding his mouth shut and stroking the throat. We always follow up with something super yummy. Good luck!

Lovin' this! Here's my contribution... "You are so dead" "I Made This!" (sub-titled "Ta Daaaaa!") "Doobe dooobbeyyy doooo!" "Look Mum!"

Kuma has two responses to his farting. No, three... 1. Shifty Eyes: pong what's that smell?? Look away and they won't notice it was me... 2. WTF WAS THAT???: Whip around and look at your rear end wonding if that sound/smell came from there... 3. Happy Chappy: usually when we're out walking 'fffft' 'fffffft' 'ffffffftt'. If I behave like nothing happened - it didn't happen. He gets called Stinky Bum Farty Pants for a reason

Helen what an awesome book!

The Fenster! Wow KTB - your little thread has quite a following now Wuffles - I love Satch in his hole! Kuma has found a few rutts in our yard that have occurred naturally with in the rain and he always seems to be lying in them. I agree with KTB - "Satch dug a hole, and it's fillin' with waaaaatteer' (said in true Dale Kerrigan fashion, of course) KTB - I can't look in those rescue pages, I think I'd adopt every dog that was posted. Gives me tearies. You're so kind hearted. Ravenau - Good to hear you are managing your condition as best you can - for some postive steps! Oh, and good luck with your breed search! choices, choices! Yes, Kuma was a little muddled about what was going on! He's heard me on the speaker phone in the car before and tried to talk to me (mwaarrr, moooos from the back of the wagon) but this was different because they were in the house. He was sooooo happy to see me last night when I got home - he nearly turned himself inside out with his wiggliness. Any new presents from Astrid? She is hillarious! Kuma only offers me toys - well, more like plonks them on my chest and squeaks them in my ear in the vain hope that I'll play Wizzle - Kuma gets the edges of our toast some mornings, but only if he doesn't beg. He particularly likes it if we have vegemite and cheese on toast because that means CHEESE!! Hmmm... yes - there have been a few threads that have raised my eyebrows of late. And posters too... Oh well, the joys of a public forum

Well... I'm still behind! I have photos on my camera to edit... but wow... I'll get there! Then I'm going to miss a few weeks because we'll be on holidays (Yay!!) But while I'm here: katalily - love your furkids in full flight! Look at all that coat! SammieS - Asti is soooooo cute! LL - Lottie does not look impressed ;) you bad dog mamma! Kirislin - Puck and Tag look so ferocious at play! Teeth!! Catherine - I love the intensity in Macca's face 'ball... I haz ball...' Evolving - Bob's awesome - he has some truely classic facial expressions Poocow - Moo's face is so cute! 'ok, so I'm here, and really wet, what next?' Helen - nice shot! cool fence... hmmm, may poach an idea :D Kirislin - w7 of Puck - wow... that's a whole lotta tongue! Wuffles - aaahh, Miss Ava. I can't resist that face Weibritty - Marlo is stunning. Piper - Jess in hot pursuit of the ball... awesome. Kuma's a ball chaser, he's got one with the rope tugs on it - Loves it ! CM - Lotus and Chesters fun day out at Kepala looked like a hoot (well, maybe Chester wasn't too sure ) Wish we had a Kepala! Kickss - Cute! Gooooo Team! Gila - Spence looks awesome in your shot... again, something I may have to pinch! Wags - I love Riley... he is always sooooo shiny! LL - Your w7 of Lottie is great! Soooo cute Fiona - w7 of Mortie, his eyes are great! out of the focal point, but still standing out so much MTD - aaawwwww... that's going to be the hardest part of our holidays! Packing up Kuma's stuff for his trip to the kennel :D Ok, think I'm caught up... sorry if I missed anyone. This is great fun! for sticking it out

Hope you're on the mend soon Jacqui! Lucky you have a furry friend to lend comfort. I was sick loads last year (stoopid gallbladder) and when I'd be home sick, Kuma would just chill out with me. He got a bit protective and would always sit on the edge of the rug, about 2m from me, facing the front door... if anyone came in he'd always be "first defence". Didn't always work tho - my hubby snuck in the front door and both Kuma and I were sound asleep and my hubby got all the way to kissing me on the forehead before the dog woke up!

Kuma gets pigs ears - he's not a chewer so he can take weeks to get through one, and usually I throw it out before it gets too small. He won't chew bones, he just licks all the meat off and then leaves them to go manky in the yard. So, in consultation with our vet, it was decided that chewing on the dentasticks and pigs ears a bit more regularly would be better for his teeth than not chewing anything.

Howdy everyone... Sorry, i have only skimmed the last few pages... I'm in sydney for work today and tomorrow Yay for Avas heeling! You guys are sooooo good... Must be such a nice feeling Poor Wizzle! You know you will have to make miss wee wizzle pay for all this pain she has caused you I think boarding school may just teach her . Oh and Miss G - she was just telling you to take care of yourself and don't do the ironing... Not trying to be naughty at all... She told me Hmmm Ravenau and the puppy deliberations! How exciting. If i was ever to get another pup, I think I'll remain a sucker for the Akita! I was on the phone to the OH earlier, and he put me on speaker phone. Kuma was so confused... He was wandering around the house trying to find me, and was getting frustrated when I was nowhere to be seen! Poor pupper! I'd just settle for Kuma to heel somewhere close to me, even if I have to continually stuff his gob with food. I have no illusion that he'll ever be anything more!

I have just PM'd you with a few suggestions As has been mentioned, there aren't many Akita litters every year (think there were only around 150-odd puppies registered in 2009) so getting in and talking to breeders early will not be a problem! Oh, and most Akita breeders (the ones I have had contact with anyway) can talk the leg off a chair when it comes to their favourite topic of Akitas and are more than happy to have an attentive listener. Check out the Akita Club of Vic too if you want more general info.

Kuma and I may come down on Sunday, depends on a few things tho... we will see We had a great night at training last night. He was really focussed on me for the first time since he was a pup. I used frankfurts and cheese left over from last weeks training, so they'd been in the fridge for a week getting all nice and smelly. He was jumping and skipping trying to get the treat We did some good heeling, walked nicely LLW and is starting to drop from a stand (something he flatly refused to do before!) Scared instructor guy wasn't as scared, and even came in for a pat Hopefully our original trainer will be back next week and we can go back to small classes. As a reward for awesome behavour (and because I was famished) we had maccas after training. Kuma likes mcnuggets Don't worry Betsy - as you can see from my last few weeks of training, we all have good days and bad days. Kuma is 15 months old and has only just started paying attention to me in class. Before that, he'd stand staring out at the other dogs and ignoring me completely. Hope your next training session is better. (oh and I agree, crap training session + tax = wine and chocolate) @ KTB stacking Elbie. I can totally imagine him wondering what in god's name you're doing... HOOOOORRRRAAAAAAYYYY for Fridays!

Ah, you see there is method in my madness. I have a few leads in the house, but find the Ezydog Soft trainer is great, it's got a padded neoprene handle which is soft on my little fingies His Ezydog Neo Collar is also padded with neoprene so won't rub off his gorgeous ruff. Plus it has a quick release buckle and velcro, so I can get it off him quickly, or it will come off if he gets it caught - very much a relief when I leave it on him all day when he's home alone. I walk him with the Ezydog checkmate because it's a limited slip collar and he's a ninja when it comes to backing out of collars - little shit has run down the road after slipping a flat collar, scared the crap out of me. It's not something I would leave on him all day, fear of it getting caught, etc. I use the Blackdog Infin8 Head harness so he doesn't pull like a train. He is awesome at LLW about 90% of the time, but for piece of mind for that last 10% I use a harness. I like to take the harness off him as a reward for good behaviour when out walking, but only when I can be assured he won't be an ass and lunge at people/ducks/bugs/fresh air... It's all about finding the tools that work for you! (oh and the animal of course ) Ike is looking fab! So cute. Me too. Maths was never my favourite subject. In fact, I was kicked out of every maths class in year 12 because I talked too much and distracted other students. No huge loss Astrids is looking lovely She and her PWD friend look like they had an unbelievably good time playing. I especially like the "stacks on" photo - Astrid's feet akimbo! * We have training tonight - it's going to be muddy at BDOC! Here's hoping our trainer turns up and we have a productive class this time. Unfortunately Mr KumaAkita's boss is in town, so they're going out for dinner and that means I'm solo at training tonight. Oh well... I knew it would happen sooner or later :laugh Oh, and for those who are interested in Thread Watch... there's a corker in General at the moment regarding the benefits of buying a pedigree. Interesting reading.

yeah, his fur is EVERYWHERE... oh well.. it's all part of dog ownership, right? Kuma's bed is actually a cheap arse single bed doona and cover from Big W. Cost $11 for the bed and $20 for the cover. Waaaay cheaper than any of the "dog beds" - especially to fit a 5XL crate. Best part is that it's all machine washable and dries quickly on the line

New ones of Kuma... He certainly doesn't look comfy! Max#1 - Kuma started doing that in the middle of the night last night, with the added muffled woofs. Cracked us up!

That's awesome! I could just see Kuma doing that. (not...)

For every day use, Kuma has an Ezydog Neo Collar (45mm wide) and run him on an Ezydog Soft Trainer leash. We use an Ezydog Checkmate Limited Slip Collar on him when we walk, but use a BlackDog Infin8 Halter for everyday walks (in conjunction with his checkmate collar). Because he's a big boofer, I feel I have more control with a halter, but like to take it off as a reward for good walking, and in which instance I need a limited slip collar so he doesn't back out of it. Ezydog were really awesome to deal with and I ordered their stuff over the phone. It was all expressed posted to me and CHEAP. The two collars and lead were <$55 delivered. EzyDog Website

Ah huh... that would make sense then. Oh and Foxiboy - we often end up wetter than Kuma when we wash him. I can highly recommend the hydrowash at Pet Stock down in Fyshwick. We just bought a chain collar and attach him to it... takes us about 30 mins for the big boofer, so I reckon that Ike would be done in half that. The best bit? They mop the floor afterwards :D

I wonder how they managed to gain access to the Breeders Community Thread, when us Mere Mortal Dog Owners have no such priviledge (or curse, depending on your perspective.) Oh well... Hope all the Canberra puppies are staying as warm and dry as possible in this miserable weather! One bonus is that our tank will be full again (after Kuma's auto waterer popped off the tap the other day and drained half the tank :D ) Edited coz my emoticons went haywire!

ooohhh... it's getting sooo close. You will be FINE. You just need to relax and enjoy this time - what happens, happens! Focus on the excitement and leave the nerves at home What are you doing with your fluffers while you're away?

But that would blow our cover! I wouldn't say Regulartors per se, more beacons amongst the wilderness of mundanity! Or perhaps DOL Addicts would be more appropriate The Cozy Corner provides a community service here by alerting followers to information on the forum that may be of interest/use to them.