KumaAkita

You had better keep an eye on Elbie next week, he may just get smuggled away to be a companion for Kuma!!

Great photos! They look like they were enjoying themselves

cool... *sneaks over to have a look*

ooohhh.... I'd be interested in sledding my boy. Don't think he'd be super fast, but I reckon he'd pull a heap! Can't make it this weekend, but would be interested in more info!

Hey... isn't that Scrapy Do's theme from Scooby Do?? (Scrapy being Scooby's nephew...) Or am I just showing my age here

Looks like Cowboy and The Gang had a great day... awesome cake!

Completely agree... We had an episode at the off-leash park last weekend. Kuma's a hefty Akita but is only nine months old and still a baby. He was being harassed by a couple of older dogs - they were trying to "mount" him. One owner was organizing her life, chatting on her mobile and not watching her dog, and another owner said to us "oh, it's just because he's young" yeah, that's a great excuse... I felt like saying to her, "so if we met for the first time at a party, and I came up and smacked you in the face, that would be acceptable???" it's basically the same thing Needless to say we left pretty quickly and won't return there in a hurry.

It's not the ears that I noticed first man... those eyes

My favourite time Kuma did it was while we were out on our morning walk... he was trotting along and the all of a sudden "fffffrrrrtttt" and then a bit more walking and "fffffrrrrt". God it was funny!

oh they're sooooo cute! Kuma's not that smart. i can get him to watch, touch, sit and down... that's about it! Actually maybe he is smart and I'm just not a good teacher!

Hey Elbie... we went to BDOC for our first session this morning... we were inside for the "parent's" session. Hopefully we'll get to meet next week! Elbie's lookin' really cute

Well, whenever I talk to my friends that have small children they tell me stories and I can only laugh and say "My dog does that!" and "Okay, I know dogs are not children, but seriously, my dog has done almost the same thing." and "Oh yes, that happened to me once, with the dogs, naturally." It's embarrassing and I try not to say it too much, but the facts speak for themselves. Kids and dogs do a lot of similar things. They ain't remotely the same, but they are not worlds apart. They are both mammals for starters, that puts them firmly in the same world. Now consider they are both social, both dependent on human adults, and not that far apart in their mental capabilities. My OH watches kids with almost exactly the same affectionate, doting smile he directs at dogs. They hit a lot of the same buttons in us as well. I've often said what I love about dogs is it's like having a perpetual three year old that is entirely capable of looking after themselves. All the fun and a fraction of the work and supervision. It's semi-facetious. I like dogs because they are dogs, but I'd be kidding myself if I thought I didn't especially love their qualities that remind me of kids. I don't think we're going to have kids, but I don't have a problem with the practice run with a dog provided the dog is treated appropriately and fairly over the course of its life. I'm guilty of that too! then when people tell me that babies are soooo much harder than dogs, I reply in a mock tone "what, don't your babies put themselves to bed when they're tired...? No...? Oh, I thought they were the same..." I agree with Corvus, they are not the same but they aren't entirely different. One of my girlfriends was talking about how her 2yo took all her toys out of the toy box one by one and put them on the rug... Kuma has done the exact same thing!

Gotta give the kid credit... that there is entrepreneurship. ;)

I think we've actually met that Shiba Inu (can't be too many around...) very cute little thing! you'll be amazed at the size difference. At the dog park at Forde yesterday there was a Japanese Spitz. Cute little white fluff of a thing. Soooo much smaller than Kuma it was hard to believe that they were originally from the same family! BTW - I love your signature KTB. I am an absolute dunce at those things so will go sig-less for the time being!

oh oh oh we'll be there! We've got the "parents only" session next Sunday, but our boofer will be there from the week after! We've been going to the off leash dog park at Forde for the last few weekends, Kuma's been really good. He's a funny dude and lets all the little dogs jump all over him! He has the turning circle of the Titanic, but tries ever so hard to keep up! Looking forward to meeting y'all soon ETA: Well done to Elbie for passing his classes... such a good little boy!

I got a sample pack of the chicken kibble in a better homes and gardens gift bag. Kuma ate them like it was crack! We used it as treats and he loved it...

Agree completely... Well said KTB

ooohh... maybe we can have a Canberra meet! I'm looking forward to meeting Elbie when we start at BDOC!

Kuma had the same problem - on one of his top canines. We were told that they'll sort themselves out, but if they didn't within a suitable timeframe (ours was by 6 months of age) then we'd have to get the vet to yank them. So, one Friday I booked a vet consult for the Monday evening... his tooth came out on the Saturday morning. If I'd known all it took was a vet appointment, i would have booked it earlier

I don't think it's cruel... perhaps there's a part of the yard you can't see that has a kennel or more protection for the dog? Our Akita has a kennel, he doesn't use it. He prefers to sleep on the corner of the concrete in a spot where he can see the entire yard. He is sleeping inside at the moment, but we're thinking he can graduate to nights outside. He gets too hot inside. When we get home from his walk he automatically stands at the back door kinda saying "hot... hot... hot..." and heads straight outside onto the coldest piece of concrete!

I was going to say the same thing - Elbie can play here with Kuma! He doesn't like his kennel and would rather find a warm spot to sleep in all day. If its raining he gets the laundry, bathroom and hallway - all tiled areas.

We feed Kuma on the Advance Puppy Growth for Large Breeds as recommended by our breeder. He is only on dry food with a tin of sardines once a week as a "sunday special". He does well on it and doesn't seem to have a problem. We did switch to ScienceDiet for a short period and he wasn't such a fan So far he's beyond the growth charts for his age category - about 44Kg at 7.5 months!

I think I met the Shiba Inu the other morning. We're in a new suburb so there's tradies everywhere and the other morning there was this little fluff ball guarding the back of a ute. Kuma just wanted to say Hi and this little guy was all set to do his "job"! The owner just laughed. The next morning he was fine, no barking and let us up to pat. Kuma was very gentle with him... I'm almost certain it's the same pup at BDOC. I am waaaayy better at remembering dog names than their human owners - but then again, you're always hearing their names being repeated all the time "Good Boy, Kuma, Good Boy!!"

Haven't seen anything particular for dogs, but have a couple for attaching to my bike helmet when riding at night. Check your local sports or bicycle shop or try online... The ones I have attach like a key ring and could easily be adapted to fit on a dog's collar. I've often thought about carrying a camping light with me in the dark - I use a path that's not too well lit and in the wee hours of the morning I'm a bit paranoid!

oh Spottychick - Pepper sounds like a character! I would bash wings with a meat tenderiser for Kuma - he's not a big chewer and would try and swallow them whole. Once he got a bit bigger we moved onto rib bones and now lamb shanks.