Jen - Sorry, I missed your question. By toeing out, I mean that Kuma's arms don't quite stay parallel (when he's relaxed) and his toes kind of point outwards instead of pointing straight ahead. Don't know if it makes sense. I think this photo shows it better
Brad - Yeah, we learned quite a bit form Silvia. She's still very nice, always willing to help. I mean, we saw her prepare at least 2 dogs that weren't hers, both days.
Lindsay - That's probably his favourite thing in the world, kissie distribution.
Romi and Brad - What clean up? The only thing I did was tie my hair back. I didn't even shave :-P
Great pics! Congrats to Kuma! It's interesting to see the show pictures, and had no idea that the dogs would have so many different handlers over the course of a show. How do you determine who will handle the dog, and what portions of the show! Kuma looks like he doesn't mind it one bit, and performs well for all the different handlers.
They don't need to have different handlers. It's just that I wasn't feeling confident on it after what happened on Kuma's first show, so on Saturday Roberto and then Silvia handled him, to show me some tips. Then on Sunday I figured I had to do it someday and what better day than that? Then on the Junior Male, Silvia offered to show him again.
Beebe stands like that (although she is nowhere near Kuma's breeding caliber). The receptionist at work who does the Belgian breeds called it standing "east to west" in the front when they do that.
He lost a bit of weight 2/3 months ago, when he was adapting to Orijen. He has, since then, been growing at a steady rate. He's now the same weight he was before Orijen (last time I weighed him, two weeks ago) but feels more solid.
This weekend we had a little trip to the mountains of Serra da Estrela (Where Estrela Mountain Dog comes from), with my parents and my sister, so Kuma could get his feet on some snow. It was a great time, and he's exhausted on the sofa, he doesn't even want to eat.
Spam time!
In the car, on the way there
The view from the mountains
Going up!
Kuma meets snow! It was very natural, like he had always been around snow. No fear, no prissy feet. Just started chomping away at it! And hopping like crazy! He had a blast!
Attacking my sister, when she fell
Another good chomp at the snow (he went at it so much, his gums started bleeding, we had to stop him)
This rock formation on the left is called "Cabeça do Velho" (literally Old Man's Head)
At the house we were staying in (this was a long exposure and Kuma just kept moving around, heheh)
Rui: Love the pics and videos of Kuma in the snow, and love the cabin you stayed in! Josephine loves to eat the snow, too. Not sure why that is, but it must be like a kid eating a snow cone to them! Kuma looks like he is in his element!
Thanks guys! We had a really great time, although a bit tiring. Kuma really seems to be comfortable pretty much anywhere we go, it's impressive. And although I'm very biased, he did grow into a beautiful dog! And is still growing.
Brandon - Yeah, we did stay pretty still. That's a 2,5 sec exposure :-) The one fo Kum on the floor is 2sec and the one of Nat and Kuma on the sofa is 1sec.
Comments
Kuma's show photos are awesome! He looks great in the ring!
I agree with brad - you do clean up nice :P
Jen - Sorry, I missed your question. By toeing out, I mean that Kuma's arms don't quite stay parallel (when he's relaxed) and his toes kind of point outwards instead of pointing straight ahead. Don't know if it makes sense.
I think this photo shows it better
Brad - Yeah, we learned quite a bit form Silvia. She's still very nice, always willing to help. I mean, we saw her prepare at least 2 dogs that weren't hers, both days.
Lindsay - That's probably his favourite thing in the world, kissie distribution.
Romi and Brad - What clean up? The only thing I did was tie my hair back. I didn't even shave :-P
Thanks for sharing the pics!
It was a great time, and he's exhausted on the sofa, he doesn't even want to eat.
Spam time!
In the car, on the way there
The view from the mountains
Going up!
Kuma meets snow!
It was very natural, like he had always been around snow. No fear, no prissy feet. Just started chomping away at it!
And hopping like crazy! He had a blast!
Attacking my sister, when she fell
Another good chomp at the snow (he went at it so much, his gums started bleeding, we had to stop him)
This rock formation on the left is called "Cabeça do Velho" (literally Old Man's Head)
At the house we were staying in (this was a long exposure and Kuma just kept moving around, heheh)
Today, before coming back
His first reaction to snow
Kuma is so freaking handsome, he is really turning into an amazing Akita. That last pic is just perfect.
The video's were fun too - he really did seem like he's been around snow his whole life.
The place you stayed looked really nice too!
Great spam, thanx for sharing.
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Looks like you had a nice time, it's beautiful there. Kuma looks like he belongs in the snow.
Our Tsuki gets crazy about eating the snow, too
We had a really great time, although a bit tiring.
Kuma really seems to be comfortable pretty much anywhere we go, it's impressive. And although I'm very biased, he did grow into a beautiful dog! And is still growing.
Brandon - Yeah, we did stay pretty still. That's a 2,5 sec exposure :-) The one fo Kum on the floor is 2sec and the one of Nat and Kuma on the sofa is 1sec.
The first pup (we didn't get his name)
Seeing eachother
Meet and greet (sniff)
The second pup, Flor (flower in Portuguese). She's a firecracker.
Kuma is simply gorgeous!!