KumaAkita Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Hrmmm... time for a playdate anyone? wuffles - Did someone say playdate?! *shoots hand up in the air* +1 I was just thinking that Kuma needs some socialisation with other dogs soon, he hasn't been out of the house much lately! Your house is lovely! I may just have to toddle up the hill ;) Re the fence, have you thought of contacting the builder behind you and asking that they put in the fence sooner rather than later? They may be accommodating if you explain that you have the dogs and would like them in the yard. Or they may be able to sort out the storm fencing to cover the back gap. Just a thought - most builders are fairly accommodating. Glad you're enjoying your new job... (and at least you don't have to go to Hume every day! ) KumaAkita - I love that photo. Close favourite to the one with Mr KA carrying Mini KA on his shoulders. Sadly enough, that photo seems to have disappeared from the thread :'( Maybe a glitch with Flickr? This one??? Hey lovely people! ;) I've had a pretty crappy* day today (* times that by about 10, and add a few more expletives and you might get an idea), but have cheered up a bit looking at all the pics ;) hope you have a better day today. KA- Did I miss the pic of Kuma in Mr KA's lap? Or did you mean, that was the next one you took? Nope you didn't miss it, I haven't posted it... it's not the best photo in the world and I think the OH may get a bit peeved if I shared it on a public forum! Oh, welcome Kyliegirl - Echo is adorable. I've not had much to do with Dobes, it will be interesting to watch them grow up via the thread! Max#1 - little Max is looking cute. What a great bunch of friends he has! I think mood has a huge impact on how our animals behave. If I'm a fouly, Kuma is often mirroring that. If I'm happy go lucky, so is he. Its all a bit cesar millan, but sometimes if I start out in a bad mood I try to switch to being 'happier' so that he's not so much of a shit. Niques - soooo glad James is home safe and sound, if somewhat altered. I'm sure that he'll be back to his usual self soon enough. Maybe a good bath and a good feed is all that is needed. Oh, and cuddles from mum often help Kuma is getting toooo smart for his own good. We've been watching old eps of Law and Order on Foxtel most nights (yes, we're boring old fusty fuddy duddies) and at the end of the episode it's bedtime. For the last few nights, Kuma has refused to go to bed and gone all limp spaghetti on us. We've resorted to picking him up and pushing him onto his feet. All rather funny, but not something we encourage. Last night he was very excitable and wanted to play most of the night. He only settled about 9:00 pm with L&O finishing at around 9:15. As soon as the closing theme started he jumped up and stood at the back door plaintivly asking to go out! Little turd. Didn't want to got to bed. We steered him in the direction of his crate and zipped him in. He gave us this "yeah, I know but I had to try" look. Wow, long post! I had better get to work... have a great day one and all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minxy Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Naww, lovely photo KA. I hadn't seen that one before. These men are such big softies when it comes to their doggies it seems - Kyojin was a lot smaller when these photos were taken. Not sure OH would be too keen for these cuddles anymore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KumaAkita Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Minxy he is soooo cute! Like a big squooshy teddy bear. And yes, OH is a softy when it comes to Kuma. Especially when he's talking to Kuma (and thinking I can't hear him!) When Kuma was little that was the only way to calm him down - hold him in our arms like a baby. Had to stop soon enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyliegirl Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) Betsy- thank you! glad your play date ended well! I am sure you had a good sleep that night Niques- lol, at least James is now home and happy maybe a bath is in order to get rid of the smell? I dont mind dog smell, but you can definitely tell when its not your dogs smell. Wuffles- good to hear :D Shame your not in bris I would have loved to have introduced Echo to your pair. Clastic- OMG your house is amazing, the kitchen is a dream! I am jealous! KTB- thank you! I can assure you no negative experiences came from reading this thread :D I always loved logging on each day to reach the adventures of puppies here Max- your boy is looking lovely, I would probably avoid that dreaded puddle though black water does not sound good Kuma- thanks, he is quite the character Kuma has trained you well, he has his own personal slaves to carry him to bed lol! Mixy- gorgeous photos! so fluffy and cute Boy was it warm midday yesterday, Echo had to come inside to cool down, but before that I gave him his meat Popsicle! I put one of his bones in a tub of water and froze it, he loves it. He also really enjoys just sucking and eating ice cubes so I brought him inside and gave him an ice cube to enjoy too. Then that weird storm came in and knocked a tree over in our neighbours front yard O_O so me and my OH helped cut it up and remove it off the road. Echo's training is slow, he is now finally getting "sit" but he is always looking down so he never responds unless he sees the hand signal, will need to work on focus/attention. I guess it would be hard for a puppy to constantly look up at us though. I am assuming he is just a slow learner, oh well patience patience Edited January 19, 2011 by kyliegirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betsy Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Minxy - Great photos. Boy those man-eating Akitas look really scary :rofl: :D Niques - sounds like James had a bit of fun having a playmate all day! I am sure it won't take long and he will be back to normal James Wuffles, Clastic, KTB, KA and other Canberreans, I am very jealous of your playdates. Clastic - great house! Looks very dog friendly too... I still have boxes left unpacked and I moved over 12 months ago Ravenau and Kyliegirl, love how we now have puppies on this thread so we can all get our fix (see most of us now have grownup - well in body anyway - doggies) Max - sounds like the flyball is going well. I will probably not start until mid year. Will do normal class first term then I hope Ziggy will be up for agility second term, then flyball! He is not quite focused enough off lead, but certainly has drive, so think it will work out! Well, after reading this thread, I went out to buy and set up a worm farm today! Poor worms, having to eat dog poo! Does anyone else do this? Oh, and I was speaking to my mum - she is ready to start looking for puppies (her old BC was PTS last year) I think she is looking at getting another BC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) Mars and Ava had a big play at the dog club yesterday evening. They are totally in love with each other, sorry to all the other dogs Ava has met but I think Mars is definitely her boyfriend When did the other Canberrans want a play date? I was even thinking Australia Day, in the morning, if anyone is free. kyliegirl: I'm guessing you've already tried this, but reward reward reward any focus from Echo... the second he looks at you give him a treat or pat or whatever he likes as a reward... even if it goes look treat look treat look treat look treat over and over again. Or it might just be one look and one treat. Either way, EVERY time he looks at you during the day, reward him I did this with Ava and she is very focussed on me (but I will admit she is very food motivated so that made it easier). Edited January 19, 2011 by wuffles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max#1 Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Morning all! Kuma and Minxy: Last night there were two new dogs at the park and one of them was an Akita! I felt very knowledgeable as everyone was asking 'what's that?' as they were approaching and I was the only one who knew! (Its an Akira I told them all.... :) ). This Akita loved Max, particularly because he loves being chased, and this girl loved chasing! At one stage Max had an Akita, a Lab, a Wei (can I shorten it like that?), two Boxers and a Wei puppy (eeek! so cute!) chasing him around the park - he was LOVING it - with the princess Brittany watching on. It was quite a site. I'm also grateful for the puppy fix on here! The Wei puppy at the park is now five months old - and there's many coos as she's so lovely with her puppy-style-run across the park. I was particularly happy with the way Max played with her - he wanted to play with me, but she kept nipping him to entice him, and eventually he had to give in. But it wasn't bitey-face, more like he was nudging her with his nose while they were lying on the ground - then they'd both get up and take off in opposite directions thinking the other was chasing them. Very sweet. Betsy - you might be surprised by how focused Ziggy is on you off-lead! We're mostly off-lead for recalls, which are rewarded by games of tug. And where a dog would rather play with the other puppies, the instructors are very helpful with strategies. Its more 'real life' recall, than what happens in obedience classes I find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenau1 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Astrids toileting: She doesn't sniff around or anything anymore like she did when we were first housetraining her and she definitely seems to understand fine that she is to go outside to the loo. It's just that she won't let us know, like KTB's pup she just goes to the door and when it doesn't magically open she doesn't know what to do . A dog door would no doubt solve the problem, but we have two inside cats to that rules that out. I've started to teach her to scratch at the door when she wants to go out so we will see how that goes. The bell thing sounds like a good idea too! In other news, yesterday she learned to bark and growl! In the past we've had the odd bark here or there but yesterday :rolleyes: she sounded like a scary dog lol. It started when I washed a little door mat and just draped it over the fence to dry and Astrid decided it was against the natural order of things and went nuts! Barking and growling at it. And then she went around the whole yard barking at almost everything from her kennel to a cable tie thing on the gazebo. She seemed quite pleased with herself. Kyliegirl: Echo is gorgeous, so handsome! Go the Dobes . Astrid is my first Dobe, my last dog was an Alaskan Malamute and she's a dream to train in comparison. I think maybe boy dogs are harder? Not sure but Astrid could sit, wait, high five, target touch with her nose and drop within the first couple of weeks we had her. She seems to pick things up really quickly... apart from 'stand' that is! Astrid loves ice too! I give her her lunch frozen most days and she's hilarious to watch if you give her ice cubes, chases them all over. It will be interesting to watch them both as they grow as I think they will be quite different! I expect Echo will be much, much bigger (Astrid is working line). betsy: Sounds like Ziggy had an awesome time :D Niques: Oh gosh, I just read about the whole James thing! That must have been terrifying for you! Glad he's now home safe and sound. wuffles:The bike sounds like so much fun! I am looking at one of these http://www.trike-bike.com.au/ for when Astrid is old enough to run beside a bike. Is Ava worried by the bike at all? Clastic: Hope all goes well today with Pepper getting her stitches out! Lovely house! And I have the same Velociraptor toy as you My Dad bought mine for me a few years ago now and I love it! Cats hate it though Max#1: FLyball looks like so much fun. Astrid picks up on my general moods for sure! KumaAkita: Kuma is so smart! I can picture the picking up and pushing, that's exactly what I used to have to do on occasion with my Mal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 wuffles:The bike sounds like so much fun! I am looking at one of these http://www.trike-bike.com.au/ for when Astrid is old enough to run beside a bike. Is Ava worried by the bike at all? Ava isn't worried by it at all... I didn't have to do any desensitisation or anything, she just ignores bikes when they ride past on our walks (even though Satchmo hates them and cringes if they get too close). I have a hybrid bike so it's nice and upright and pretty comfy! The only problem will be finding suitable places to take her, I think... it is illegal to ride with a dog on roads or anywhere road rules apply :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 Only a flyby post because I have had an absolutely Shocking day so will catch up a bit later. Here are two doggies in a crate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilli_star Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Only a flyby post because I have had an absolutely Shocking day so will catch up a bit later. Here are two doggies in a crate. Hugs Koala. I've had a week of them this week Your doglets though, as always, are loverly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KumaAkita Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) Mars and Ava had a big play at the dog club yesterday evening. They are totally in love with each other, sorry to all the other dogs Ava has met but I think Mars is definitely her boyfriend When did the other Canberrans want a play date? I was even thinking Australia Day, in the morning, if anyone is free. kyliegirl: I'm guessing you've already tried this, but reward reward reward any focus from Echo... the second he looks at you give him a treat or pat or whatever he likes as a reward... even if it goes look treat look treat look treat look treat over and over again. Or it might just be one look and one treat. Either way, EVERY time he looks at you during the day, reward him I did this with Ava and she is very focussed on me (but I will admit she is very food motivated so that made it easier). Australia Day AM should be ok. Don't think we have any other plans... Kyliegirl: I was going to suggest the same thing as Wuffles. "watch" is a very good place to start your training. Now I just have to hold my finger up to my nose and Kuma looks me in the eye. Morning all!Kuma and Minxy: Last night there were two new dogs at the park and one of them was an Akita! I felt very knowledgeable as everyone was asking 'what's that?' as they were approaching and I was the only one who knew! (Its an Akira I told them all.... :rofl: ). This Akita loved Max, particularly because he loves being chased, and this girl loved chasing! At one stage Max had an Akita, a Lab, a Wei (can I shorten it like that?), two Boxers and a Wei puppy (eeek! so cute!) chasing him around the park - he was LOVING it - with the princess Brittany watching on. It was quite a site. Akita/Akira... close! Akitas love to chase, so if Max enjoys being chased all's well in the dog world. There are some dogs that don't like being chased... then there are dogs like Ava who will come and "annoy" a dog like Kuma in the vain hope of being chased How old was the Akita? Sounds like you've got a great group there. KumaAkita: Kuma is so smart! I can picture the picking up and pushing, that's exactly what I used to have to do on occasion with my Mal! Yes, yes he is. Too smart for his own good. Limp spaghetti weighing 47Kg is not fun! Only a flyby post because I have had an absolutely Shocking day so will catch up a bit later. Here are two doggies in a crate. Your boys are looking adorable! Looks like they're getting on famously. :hugs: to you. yell if you need anything You too lilli_star - Hope your week gets better. *sigh* Kuma has started lunging at runners on our morning walk. Well, one runner in particular. This guy runs faster than any other runner we pass, but I'm not sure if that's the reason or if it's because the guy also acknowledges me (with a "hi")... Kuma is not being aggressive, just wanting to chase him. I'm moving off the path and trying a few other techniques, but nothing much is working. I think we desperately need to get some socialisation and get back to training. Plus this morning when we got home, he was lounging on the back patio and then started barking his head off. I went outside to investigate only to find a plane overhead... they must have been flying lower this morning because we don't normally hear them. Little turd... Edited January 21, 2011 by KumaAkita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 To add some more photos to the thread.... Here are my first three '52 weeks of Ava' shots... week01 by wufflesx, on Flickr week02 by wufflesx, on Flickr week03 by wufflesx, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilli_star Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Oh Wuffles, I love those photos! Especially the second one. I wish Roo was that focussed She had a great time at MDTL's house. MDTL kept saying how good she was and what a lovely, well-adjusted dog she is She's welcome any time, which is good because next weekend is my older sister's birthday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyliegirl Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Betsy- haha yeah i realised some puppies were much older here now good to hear your mum is keen on another bc I am curious, what would require more exercise - a border collie or a dobermann? I have heard dobermanns just never stop! and I am seeing this with Echo Wuffles- yep have been doing that constantly I am being as patient as possible lol, he is very slow at learning at the moment. OMG your girl is gorgeous in those pics, she is very unique ravenau-thanks! I think you are right boys are slower, your girl sounds so intelligent compared to mine lol! KTB- cuute, that crate is so huge but it looks perfect for sharing ! kuma- wishing you luck on stopping your puppies lunging, that would scare a few ppl! maybe he is having a relapse? We are lucky in a way, we live close to the archerfield airport (two suburbs away) so we always have planes flying pretty low near us and during the floods we had helicopters flying overhead every 5 mins, some even landing a few hundred meters away and flying very low past us during take off so Echo has gotten used to them pretty quickly and no longer reacts to the loud noises. Echo is teething now, he turned 12 weeks Thursday and his ears are now beginning to do crazy things, mostly they go flying nun style and lay flipped backwards so I have to keep plopping them forwards, may need to tape them down. Koda has decided Echo needs to be put in place and has been approaching echo and giving him a swat or two, I have told him off for doing so but thankfully he isn't using claws. I gave echo a carrot today to chew, he loves carrots and really enjoys chewing on them so it should help his teething. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minxy Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Betsy- haha yeah i realised some puppies were much older here now good to hear your mum is keen on another bc I am curious, what would require more exercise - a border collie or a dobermann? I have heard dobermanns just never stop! and I am seeing this with Echo :D Wuffles- yep have been doing that constantly I am being as patient as possible lol, he is very slow at learning at the moment. OMG your girl is gorgeous in those pics, she is very unique ravenau-thanks! I think you are right boys are slower, your girl sounds so intelligent compared to mine lol! KTB- cuute, that crate is so huge but it looks perfect for sharing ! kuma- wishing you luck on stopping your puppies lunging, that would scare a few ppl! maybe he is having a relapse? We are lucky in a way, we live close to the archerfield airport (two suburbs away) so we always have planes flying pretty low near us and during the floods we had helicopters flying overhead every 5 mins, some even landing a few hundred meters away and flying very low past us during take off so Echo has gotten used to them pretty quickly and no longer reacts to the loud noises. Echo is teething now, he turned 12 weeks Thursday and his ears are now beginning to do crazy things, mostly they go flying nun style and lay flipped backwards so I have to keep plopping them forwards, may need to tape them down. Koda has decided Echo needs to be put in place and has been approaching echo and giving him a swat or two, I have told him off for doing so but thankfully he isn't using claws. I gave echo a carrot today to chew, he loves carrots and really enjoys chewing on them so it should help his teething. Ooh, you live very close to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Awww, how cute is Echo? Mine won't have a bar of carrots. "Ew mum, that's a VEGETABLE, you expect me to eat it?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clastic Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 When did the other Canberrans want a play date? I was even thinking Australia Day, in the morning, if anyone is free. Australia Day AM should be ok. Don't think we have any other plans... Thumbs up to a morning playdate, hopefully won't be too hot earlier on. :D Will be back later on and catch up on posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyliegirl Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) Ooh, you live very close to me Oh wow really? where are you? I am in darra thanks wuffles! he is definitely quite the character! we took echo to the corinda pet cafe today to socialise him this morning, there weren't many dogs when we got there (I only wanted him to observe other dogs not play so this was the best place we could think of which would be best for this) but enough people to give him some socialisation and also a very well built fireman taking donations for the flood! He was offering dog washes for free and Echo didn't mind one bit when he bent down and gave him some affection, although he wasn't too keen on taking the liver treats from him lol. He handled the amount of ppl great and did not jump up for attention and kept walking with us, the only time he became a little scared was when a mean old black bin bag came flying around near us, but I came to the rescue and stomped on it and then he checked it out and was perfectly fine :D We ended up declining a free dog wash as I wanted to make sure it was a positive experience for him so I donated some money and we went on our way . I would say the whole experience was pretty positive, he met a giant fire man in bright colours, a man who ran past us pretty close, a group of teenagers, children on skateboards, some random adults and got to see some poodles passing by and some noisy cars/trucks and different smells. We only stayed for about 20 mins but I felt that was more than enough for him at that stage and it was getting quite warm. Edited January 22, 2011 by kyliegirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 Just another flyby from me, will catch up soon. Hope all the Canberra doggies are unfazed by the strange thunder storms of the afternoon. Our two seem immune to thunder now which is a relief. I've been occupied with funeral and wake preparations - poor doggies have been sadly neglected. We had the funeral/farewell for Papa Koala this morning and although it seems strange to say it, it was incredibly beautiful. It was a gorgeous and sunny day and I couldn't believe how many people showed up. Many weren't 'invited' - they just showed up through word of mouth or because they'd read the death notice in the paper. Former colleagues from recent times and also from many years ago. There were many funny stories, happy stories - there was no dressing up of stories, making dad out to be some kind of perfect person he wasn't - they were genuine, wry, heartfelt stories of affection and love. There were work colleagues that during dad's illness visited him at home and at the hospital every day, sometimes twice a day with coffee and conversation. There were people who hadn't seen him for years but came to pay their respects. People were openly sad but there were more smiles and happy memories than sadness. Seeing grown men wiping their eyes as they told me things about dad was oddly comforting. It was also weird how much dad's former colleagues knew about us, how they said that they felt like they knew us because he was always talking about his kids, about his family. One guy drove seven hours from Melbourne to attend the service, another guy drove three hours from the coast ... There were many flowers and we were standing in a huge garden under a huge gum tree with a beautiful blue sky around us and I know that Papa Koala would have liked the service, that he would have been a bit surprised by the large turn-out and he would have laughed louder than anyone else at the jokes. For the wake, both my brother and I were baking like demons yesterday so we had stacks of food. I'm still so sad about losing him but there's something extremely lovely about know that so many people out there cared about him and miss him now that he's gone. Speak soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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