Monster Mutt Dash

I had a race this morning- benefitting the Berea Animal rescue group. I figured I would take Kodo up there for social time- Mom had volunteered to hold him while I ran since I figured 5K even at my sloooow pace might be a bit too much for him.

We got to the check-in point and there were dogs EVERYWHERE! Kodo promptly forgot all his training and started tugging my arm off like all those badly trained dogs you see in the dog training shows- I was so embarrassed!! Even cheese wasn't helping. and he ALWAYS wants cheese.

There was another Berner there! I got to talking with his person, and it turned out he was almost 2, and came from at least the same sire if not both sire and dam as Kodo did. He was a very handsome boy with a nice (but not too heavy) coat.. A group of girls came up to us and wanted their picture with the two Berners. We also got a ton of questions from people walking by. When it is just me, a lot of people assume Kodo is a mix if they aren't familiar with the breed, but seeing two together usually clues people in.. :)

We got lined up at the starting line, and I decided to keep Kodo with me since he was still being so bad he probably would have pulled my poor Mom off her feet. I figured I would jog for about a mile or so, and just keep a close eye on him for signs of tiring. But I was barely into the race before my knee started acting up BADLY again, so I caved and did the one mile walk with Dad and Daphne instead. Which was fun, but I was still disappointed I didn't manage to at least run the distance. Greg managed to do well though he took third in his (very competitive) age group.

Afterwards we wandered around the site for a bit, petted other puppies, let people pet Kodo (he dealt very well with a very small child who came up to him, which definitely means he is calming down and growing up a bit). And there was a skunk rescue there so Kodo got to see some (I assume de-scented) skunks up fairly close. Didn't seem really interested though- probably a good thing! :)

Contemplation:

New Tricks

In the past week or so Bri and I have managed to teach Kodo a couple new tricks. He picked them up really quickly because he is brilliant (of course)!
"Be shy": flop over on his side and put his paw over his face.
"Wave": sitting down, he picks his paw up really high as if to shake with it.
"Bow": just like it sounds.. :)

Whenever Kodo gets really excited about dinner or a treat coming his way, he will start running through all the tricks he knows in quick succession without waiting for a command. Pretty funny to watch the puppy sitting, waving his paw, flopping over on his side, turning around, backing up, etc.. all with no commands given yet! The new tricks generally make the first appearances in his string of unsolicited tricks since we have been rewarding them more heavily as we try to teach them. "They'll have to give me a treat for THIS!!"

He is also smart enough to remember sequences- I feed him part of his breakfast as hand-fed rewards for obeying commands, and since I am groggy on work mornings I sometimes get into a routine of the same tricks in the same order. Whenever I do this for a couple days, he will end up anticipating my commands- that usually clues me in that it is time to change up the order.

Oh and his latest new trick that he did for the first time today- the chew-a-black-pen-into-plastic-shreds-and-leave-black-ink-all-over-the-carpet.... Really hoping he DOESN'T repeat THAT one!!! We think one of the cats knocked a pen off the counter for him to try to get him into trouble.. :D

RIP Tuffie-toy

We got home from work yesterday to find tons of stuffing all over the floor in the kitchen and the family room. I panicked at first cuz I though Kodo had chewed open a couch cushion, but it turns out he had just managed to kill one of his Tuffie toys instead. These toys are supposed to be for very tough chewers and to stand up to abuse really well. To be fair, he had had this one a while, and it was one of his favorites. He used to bounce around the family room in the evenings shaking it from side to side... Sometimes he would stand on one end with his paws to squeak the squeaker while tugging on the other end with his teeth. Plus it was his second-favorite tug-toy.. So all in all I think it lived a good life. Ohwell, off to Petsmart this weekend to find a 'tougher' Tuffie!! They have a ring available that is supposed to have 7 layers of stitching- will have to see if that helps!!

October 3 - 10-month weigh-in

We had to take Kodo to the vet to have them check up a little eye infection he was getting, so we got the 'official' weigh-in really close to his b-day. Ready? At 10 months, he is 89 pounds, and about 28 inches at the shoulder!!!