Yeah, he's getting bigger everyday! Today we met our friend, the Welsh Terrier (I mistook it for a Lakeland, but then again it's pretty much just a size difference). That guy is 9kg, so Kuma is already bigger than him. He made a GSD run away in front of us, but he's always afraid of Kuma, WTF?! Kuma, as usual, just wants to play, but I guess the Terrier gets scared when Kuma freaks out in his attempt to play.
Dave - Nop, the attack was a continued thing. This was the better shot. Normally she's the one to start the attacks, she goes to him, slaps him on the nose and gets on her back and starts wiggling with her paws reaching out. Sometimes she even purrs!
Awww. That sounds adorable! Please try to catch that on video for us. It sounds like they're getting along really really well! I'm very happy about that.
How have things been going with the potty training?
With the potty training, things are improving a bit. Less accidents, less pee-and-walk, when inside during the week he goes to the newspaper more consistently. On weekends or whenever we're home, he goes out frequently and always delivers .
So we're back from the vet. Kuma got his last shots today, including rabies. He's now 12,2Kg, so he grew 1,2Kg in a week! In a weeks we can go out for longer and with less concern (I can't wait, and I bet Kuma will love it). He also got his first Heartguard, and we got a pack of 6 that we can go and trade if he surpasses the weight they're aimed at (that was nice of the vet). Both of them got dewormed and the vet told us that Nyx might in fact be 4 months old. We'll only be kind of sure about that when she changes her teeth.
There was a little guy in the vet's office that should be less than a third of Kuma's size, but he had the fight in him. He kept growling at Kuma and actually gave him 2 or 3 of those rough warnings. Kuma was just there, looking at him, with his tongue out, he couldn't care less.
That's great! I bet you both are going to enjoy the increased outside time. Kuma sounds like a cool cat! Joey would have been all over the other dog trying play. He hasn't quite learned to pay attention to other dog's warnings yet.
Kuma is not always the cool cat, I think that will come with age, if it comes. After the vet this afternoon, we went for a walk and we me a woman with two pugs. As soon as Kuma spotted them, he was pulling on his leash like mad and his tail was going all over the place. One of the pugs just kept barking with what seemed fear, the other just came and was huffing and puffing and wanting to play. They sniffed and Kuma started to rough house a bit, pawing at the tiny tiny pug. I can't wait to get him out to get used to people, cause he still goes crazy when he sees someone outside, he wants attention, but then he goes for the hands which can be normal since he's a pup, but he can be rough and he's getting stronger everyday. Today we met around 8 kids and they all gathered round and Kuma was just crazy, trying to get them all and say hi and have them pet him. Of course he was going for their hands too, so I ended up getting my hand in the line of fire to prevent a kid from getting scared and pull back, probably ending up with a cut. So my hand is a bit mauled, but he didn't break skin. He left a mark, but no skin was broken.
Yeah, I'd say all of that is normal for a puppy. Despite all the socialization I've been doing with Joey (two daily walks and lots of play dates) he still goes nuts when meeting other people or dogs. I always warn people that he's still mouthy and keep him away if he doesn't greet them gently. I'm finally at the point, after a few weeks of practice, that if I pull him away from a situation and stand in front of him he'll surrender and stay behind me. Before now, he would do everything he could to get around me and get to what he wanted. So hang in there Rui! Kuma will pick things up in no time at all. :-)
Yesterday, on our last walk of the evening, Kuma started showing fear towards our own reflection on two of the main doors of two building close to us. His tail would go down, not between the legs, just down, and he would let out this mini bark, while looking straight at our reflection. I tried to ignore it, but he's was kind of refusing to move without looking back, so I thought I would give him the chance to face his fears. I started walking towards the door, at first he was resisting it a bit, but I told him to come and he took a few steps and eventually we got to the door. Getting there I tapped on the glass, pretty much over hi reflection which led him to go there and sniff and lick "himself". I let him stay there a bit and then guided him to the other building. Again the same thing, a bit of resistance at first and then he went along and sniffed and licked. Though his tail would not go up until we stopped being in the range where he could see the reflection, the reaction of looking back every two steps went away and as soon as we turned the corner, his tail was back up.
Sounds like you handled it well, and it sounds like a pretty normal Akita puppy thing. Akita are wary of things they have not seen or expereinced before. They are also thinkers, so they study the objects and grumble at them (like the bark you mentioned) untill they feal they understand.
As they get older these types of things slow down and they get more confident. The only thing you can really do is make sure you don't reinforce the fear.
Also, Akita are stubborn and can be a bit harder to deal with when it comes to fear, so patience and positive reinforcement is the way to go.
I basically agree with Brad, I think you handled it well. Joey hasn't experienced his reflection yet, but the first time I picked Lucy up and stood in front of a mirror she was clearly a bit uncomfortable. It was almost like she was trying to figure out who the other dog in the room was. Now, she doesn't seem to even notice anymore. I'm sure, if you continue handle it just like you did, Kuma will loose interest very quickly.
HA Miko growled and barked at her reflection so much my friend with whom she was sleeping (when we first got her) covered the mirror so he could get some rest.
I remember Mika's first reaction to her reflection too. She barked, than play bowed, barked, wagged her tail and repeated a few time. After 5 minutes, she tapped the mirror with her nose and then figured it out. Keigo was pretty cool about it, but he saw me in the mirror, so I think he understood.
With his mirror reflection, he's always been ok. I think this happened because it was dark and, being building doors, the reflection was fuzzy. Last night it didn't happen, so I think he's over it...for now.
congrates on the puppy leonberger,iam also waiting for my dog to have her litter which will be in 4 weeks and cant wait as i will be keeping 1 to go with my other inu`s,cant wait
Kuma lost his first tooth!! One of his top incisors! Yesterday when I got back home, I was petting him and I felt something hard stuck to his side. I went to see what it was, to pull it out and I find this small tooth. El Gordito started changing his teeth! He's so cute with out a tooth! And his right ear seems to be up too!
Yeah, he's started shedding! Between what he blew and what I brushed out already, I could have almost another Kuma. He has a strip of what I'm thinking is adult fur too. It's a bit darker than the rest...
OMG OMG OMG Rui! That is just precious! I can't believe how gentle Kuma is with her. I can't believe how big they are both getting. That's amazing how his giant paw can be placed so delicately on her. I think my favorite part is when she stalks him from behind that thing, runs up, and he just body slams her over his head with a soft flick of his paw. ADORABLE!!!!!!!
Do us all a favor and stop neglecting the spam damn it! :-P
Thanks guys! The little guy is gentle, yes, but this was his low-energy-I-just-woke-up-from-my-nap kind of gentle. He has his rough moments! A few days ago a clump of Nyx's fur came out mysteriously when Nat stroked her right after she ran from him. It's a timing and protocol thing. When he's sleeping, she wants to ambush him and play. When she wants to stay quiet in her place, he wants to lick her or nibble, hehehe. Never a dull moment.
Comments
Time for a little more Kuma and Nyx spam...
These were all taken today, since we were home. It was a public holiday.
He is so cute! I love the last two pics, he like "Man I wish I could do that..."
lol!
So cute... he is growing up nicely, very handsome.
wow!! they are getting big!! Nyx is precious! And Kuma looks like he could be Hilo's brother
Yeah, he's getting bigger everyday! Today we met our friend, the Welsh Terrier (I mistook it for a Lakeland, but then again it's pretty much just a size difference). That guy is 9kg, so Kuma is already bigger than him. He made a GSD run away in front of us, but he's always afraid of Kuma, WTF?! Kuma, as usual, just wants to play, but I guess the Terrier gets scared when Kuma freaks out in his attempt to play.
Dave - Nop, the attack was a continued thing. This was the better shot. Normally she's the one to start the attacks, she goes to him, slaps him on the nose and gets on her back and starts wiggling with her paws reaching out. Sometimes she even purrs!
How have things been going with the potty training?
So we're back from the vet. Kuma got his last shots today, including rabies. He's now 12,2Kg, so he grew 1,2Kg in a week! In a weeks we can go out for longer and with less concern (I can't wait, and I bet Kuma will love it). He also got his first Heartguard, and we got a pack of 6 that we can go and trade if he surpasses the weight they're aimed at (that was nice of the vet). Both of them got dewormed and the vet told us that Nyx might in fact be 4 months old. We'll only be kind of sure about that when she changes her teeth.
There was a little guy in the vet's office that should be less than a third of Kuma's size, but he had the fight in him. He kept growling at Kuma and actually gave him 2 or 3 of those rough warnings. Kuma was just there, looking at him, with his tongue out, he couldn't care less.
What do you guys think of this?
As they get older these types of things slow down and they get more confident. The only thing you can really do is make sure you don't reinforce the fear.
Also, Akita are stubborn and can be a bit harder to deal with when it comes to fear, so patience and positive reinforcement is the way to go.
She has NO fear.
And his right ear seems to be up too!
Here goes a video I made last week while I was home sick...
If you had any doubts Akita were patient, I think this is proof
Kuma is so handsome! He's really growing!
Do us all a favor and stop neglecting the spam damn it! :-P
The little guy is gentle, yes, but this was his low-energy-I-just-woke-up-from-my-nap kind of gentle. He has his rough moments! A few days ago a clump of Nyx's fur came out mysteriously when Nat stroked her right after she ran from him. It's a timing and protocol thing. When he's sleeping, she wants to ambush him and play. When she wants to stay quiet in her place, he wants to lick her or nibble, hehehe. Never a dull moment.