Reintroducing the Brindles
Greetings! I'm Chrystal, a forum member from a while ago who moved away to a rural area that didnt have internet (went from Verizon FiOs to poaching pretty tenuous Wifi spots...). After 2 years I'm back online again at home and so hope to return as a contributor again. I think a lot on my dogs- too much sometimes- and I have always valued this Forum as a place for curious minds and thoughtful discussion. I learned a lot here before my hiatus!
I'm an artist, a snowshoer, a tracker, and an enjoyer of the forest in which I live. I write a lot. I have a day job part time at a ski resort, working in the print shop making ski trail signs and many other printed things. My husband, daughter and I live in a small house on 2 acres in the Green Mountain Nat'l Forest with 3 stripey dogs and 2 elderly cats. We have trails right outside the door into the woods and a swift brook on the eastern edge of our property, which makes fun exploring an 'anytime' thing. I have fenced a good deal of our yard so my dogs have a safe place to play and relax with us, but we also walk in the woods nearly every day for at least and hour (workdays) and often more (weekends). Recently I improved our fence to include 200 feet (i think?) of solid cedar fencing along the more civilized sides of the yard to make things easier for my reactive dog, Sage, who has trouble keeping his cool sometimes when the coonhounds up the road give him sass, or when xc skiers pass by on their way to the Catamount Trail.
Reilly is my 9 year old sighthound mix. She has prey drive to spare and has achieved a great deal of reinforcement for hunting activities over the years- chiefly rabbits, meadow voles. Reilly is extremely well socialized- she can go anywhere with me and be relied upon to behave predictably and calmly, coolly. She is the strong silent type, not demonstrative, aloof. At home she is an excellent alert dog- she barks judiciously and really imposingly. She is an incorrigible beggar for food- loves fruit and veggies, and oatmeal. She has old worn down soft greyhound teeth, and has become a bit lumpy in her old age. She has had 4 lumps excised since the fall from her head, neck and side, two have been mast cell tumors. I worry a lot about that. She is a rock for me and I am not ready for her to age out on me. Reilly likes playing with the other dogs, hiking in the woods and rolling on the grass in the sun.
Reilly-senpai:
Seiji ("Sage") is my 6 year old male Nihon Ken mix. (His mother was a Kai- dad well mixed, looks like.) He's the reason I found and joined this Forum. He is a reactive dog, and we have gone through a ton of learning together, and evolved emotionally and philosophically a tremendous amount in 6 years. A lot in the last 2 since I have been off-forum! Over his life, we've taken classes, adjusted expectations & activities, consulted with some well known trainers and behaviorists in person. Workshops, Reactive dog classes, Veterinary Behaviorists, Zoloft ... some stuff worked more than other stuff, and all that will come out of me in other threads, but to be concise- he is improving since we moved to Vermont, came off meds, stopped reading books and working on new 'training' (read: stopped trying so hard, truly accepted not only his limitations, but my own as well.), and it continues since we got Juno. His redirected aggression is waaaaaaay down in a pinch, too. We're 'turning the wheel' again so I feel happy with him and myself. Just taking him as he is right now and me as I am right now. Reactive dog work is wrenching for the human too, is stressful on the family, and we've been there. but its getting a lot better! Sage is also a real love bug, a fair play-er, an excellent frisbee-catcher and wide receiver. He enjoys a roll in the snow, belly rubs, kissing, human visitors, chase, tug or dog-rasslin with his girls. He caught a squirrel once, loves mud, water and snow, and used to really enjoy the A-frame and dog walk agility structures (anything UP) back when we'd rent the ring. His best out-of-family pal is my sister's yellow labrador, Cleo.
Juno is my Kai Ken. She's a year old and I'm really happy with everything about her. Juno is a Yamabushi dog (Haru x Riki) and littermate of Heidi's Sosuke, Julie's Kyuubi and Marsha's Taka. I will give Juno her own detailed thread, but to be brief- I find her to be bright, joyful, cooperative, eager, really affectionate, curious, beautiful, responsive and active. She has earned my trust time and again and is as reliable as any dog on the trail. Her eagerness to play and hike makes her super fun to train and play with. She is the perfect sidekick for me and teammate to my other brindles, and I am really grateful that the Andersons saw something in her as a pup that told them she'd be right for me. She has been an excellent friend to Sage- perfectly dog-savvy and confident enough to not let his emo-dog nature get to her. I think Sage benefits a great deal from his relationship with Juno- she doesnt take things personally, she wisely gives him room when he's feeling crowded, yet is ready to play if he says he's in. Juno is tough enough to play hard with the big dogs- she's a sprightly 26 lbs to their 70 apiece. She is very charismatic and has won my husband (once a firm "no dogs in the bedroom" guy) over so badly that he bought on his own initiative a special "dog-proof coverlet" for our bed so she can curl up with us. She is busy and enjoys toys a lot- she has a cute caching habit and i often find her small toys hidden when I pick up clothes from the floor, or straighten a blanket or a throw rug. Like many other kai, Juno is all-terrain/all-weather and climbs steep banks, large boulders, toppled trees and swims brooks and ponds eagerly.
I think often about adding a 4th dog to the team, and who that should be. I think four is the most I could keep and have the kind of relationship with all that I love best while keeping the level of management that I feel comfortable maintaining on a daily basis and can afford. Im not ready yet- I feel like Juno needs to be the youngest a little longer, and it would probably be kindest to wait till my old cats (17 & 18 yo) pass on rather than subjecting them to another puppy- but thinking another well-chosen kai would fit our pack well!
I'm an artist, a snowshoer, a tracker, and an enjoyer of the forest in which I live. I write a lot. I have a day job part time at a ski resort, working in the print shop making ski trail signs and many other printed things. My husband, daughter and I live in a small house on 2 acres in the Green Mountain Nat'l Forest with 3 stripey dogs and 2 elderly cats. We have trails right outside the door into the woods and a swift brook on the eastern edge of our property, which makes fun exploring an 'anytime' thing. I have fenced a good deal of our yard so my dogs have a safe place to play and relax with us, but we also walk in the woods nearly every day for at least and hour (workdays) and often more (weekends). Recently I improved our fence to include 200 feet (i think?) of solid cedar fencing along the more civilized sides of the yard to make things easier for my reactive dog, Sage, who has trouble keeping his cool sometimes when the coonhounds up the road give him sass, or when xc skiers pass by on their way to the Catamount Trail.
Reilly is my 9 year old sighthound mix. She has prey drive to spare and has achieved a great deal of reinforcement for hunting activities over the years- chiefly rabbits, meadow voles. Reilly is extremely well socialized- she can go anywhere with me and be relied upon to behave predictably and calmly, coolly. She is the strong silent type, not demonstrative, aloof. At home she is an excellent alert dog- she barks judiciously and really imposingly. She is an incorrigible beggar for food- loves fruit and veggies, and oatmeal. She has old worn down soft greyhound teeth, and has become a bit lumpy in her old age. She has had 4 lumps excised since the fall from her head, neck and side, two have been mast cell tumors. I worry a lot about that. She is a rock for me and I am not ready for her to age out on me. Reilly likes playing with the other dogs, hiking in the woods and rolling on the grass in the sun.
Reilly-senpai:
Seiji ("Sage") is my 6 year old male Nihon Ken mix. (His mother was a Kai- dad well mixed, looks like.) He's the reason I found and joined this Forum. He is a reactive dog, and we have gone through a ton of learning together, and evolved emotionally and philosophically a tremendous amount in 6 years. A lot in the last 2 since I have been off-forum! Over his life, we've taken classes, adjusted expectations & activities, consulted with some well known trainers and behaviorists in person. Workshops, Reactive dog classes, Veterinary Behaviorists, Zoloft ... some stuff worked more than other stuff, and all that will come out of me in other threads, but to be concise- he is improving since we moved to Vermont, came off meds, stopped reading books and working on new 'training' (read: stopped trying so hard, truly accepted not only his limitations, but my own as well.), and it continues since we got Juno. His redirected aggression is waaaaaaay down in a pinch, too. We're 'turning the wheel' again so I feel happy with him and myself. Just taking him as he is right now and me as I am right now. Reactive dog work is wrenching for the human too, is stressful on the family, and we've been there. but its getting a lot better! Sage is also a real love bug, a fair play-er, an excellent frisbee-catcher and wide receiver. He enjoys a roll in the snow, belly rubs, kissing, human visitors, chase, tug or dog-rasslin with his girls. He caught a squirrel once, loves mud, water and snow, and used to really enjoy the A-frame and dog walk agility structures (anything UP) back when we'd rent the ring. His best out-of-family pal is my sister's yellow labrador, Cleo.
Juno is my Kai Ken. She's a year old and I'm really happy with everything about her. Juno is a Yamabushi dog (Haru x Riki) and littermate of Heidi's Sosuke, Julie's Kyuubi and Marsha's Taka. I will give Juno her own detailed thread, but to be brief- I find her to be bright, joyful, cooperative, eager, really affectionate, curious, beautiful, responsive and active. She has earned my trust time and again and is as reliable as any dog on the trail. Her eagerness to play and hike makes her super fun to train and play with. She is the perfect sidekick for me and teammate to my other brindles, and I am really grateful that the Andersons saw something in her as a pup that told them she'd be right for me. She has been an excellent friend to Sage- perfectly dog-savvy and confident enough to not let his emo-dog nature get to her. I think Sage benefits a great deal from his relationship with Juno- she doesnt take things personally, she wisely gives him room when he's feeling crowded, yet is ready to play if he says he's in. Juno is tough enough to play hard with the big dogs- she's a sprightly 26 lbs to their 70 apiece. She is very charismatic and has won my husband (once a firm "no dogs in the bedroom" guy) over so badly that he bought on his own initiative a special "dog-proof coverlet" for our bed so she can curl up with us. She is busy and enjoys toys a lot- she has a cute caching habit and i often find her small toys hidden when I pick up clothes from the floor, or straighten a blanket or a throw rug. Like many other kai, Juno is all-terrain/all-weather and climbs steep banks, large boulders, toppled trees and swims brooks and ponds eagerly.
I think often about adding a 4th dog to the team, and who that should be. I think four is the most I could keep and have the kind of relationship with all that I love best while keeping the level of management that I feel comfortable maintaining on a daily basis and can afford. Im not ready yet- I feel like Juno needs to be the youngest a little longer, and it would probably be kindest to wait till my old cats (17 & 18 yo) pass on rather than subjecting them to another puppy- but thinking another well-chosen kai would fit our pack well!
Comments
Love reading about your brindle pack and as I've stated on facebook, I am a little bit envious of your hiking grounds
I am also an admirer of your artwork, you are truly talented
EDIT: I have to add that I teared up reading your re-intro. I do miss seeing Seiji on here, FB just wasn't doing it for me, lol
O.
M.
G.
CHRYSTAL IS BACK!!!!!!
Oh how I've missed Chrystal's whit and insight.
Promise you won't go away for so long again. Please promise! :-)
I am so glad to have you and the brindle pack back.
Your brindle dogs are gorgeous! I especially LOVE Juno's markings and coloring!
Too excited to keep it a secret, plus Tara always figures these things out anyway
One of Nio and Ayu's sons will be coming to Vermont to hike with us, and be part of our Stripey Clan at the end of November!
This is the last animal we will add to our home for a very, very long time, so I had to think about what I really wanted to go forward with thru my forties and our daughter growing up, going to high school, then college and so forth. When Raye goes to college in five years, I will be very surprised if I still have my old cats (currently 17 & 18 years old and admittedly very rickety) or Reilly (almost 10, two cancer surgeries) or even Sage (a prematurely greying, anxious but strong 6 1/2)- it could be a rough five years, but you never do know! When we are empty nesters, it will nice to have the pair of mature kai. In the meantime, I want Reilly to carry the culture to Pup while she is still into it. Rei is an excellent Chief and good with pups and she models perfect hiking behavior. A couple years under Reilly's tutelage will encourage good customs in Pup. "It's just What We DO."
I have always wanted a solid, stable, reliable male dog- kindof a boy Reilly, but more affectionate- and I think this exact breeding of two attentive kai with healthy play and prey drives, eager responses to training, beautiful kai-ness, loving and fun natures, combined with the way Brad & Jen raise their puppies provides the best possibility of that outcome. I feel extremely lucky to be getting one of these boys! When they are older, Jen and Brad will choose, and I look forward to seeing them all develop, watching their videos. (It is interesting looking back at Juno, nee "Tika," in her puppy videos...she has always been confident! I think Confident, Diplomatic and Resilient play very well with Sage- I always have to consider Sage- and he has blossomed with such a friend in Juno.) I'd like a bigger Kai to go with Juno, but really temperament is everything!
Thank you, Brad, Jennifer, sturdy, handsome Nio and beautiful, happy Ayu!
That last picture Brad took of Nio just melted me, and Ive always liked Ayu. Was so happy when she had 3 boys!
It is also neat (for me) to know a breed more by having two- Ive always had mutts, and they are so different from each other anyway, that my kai pair will teach me a lot about what's kai, what's Juno etc. Depth vs breadth kind of thing.
Thanks as always for the cheering and support! Now we watch them grow up!
Ayu is such a beautiful kai ken and Nio is handsome of coarse.
So true!! Mei is obviously a mutt Kai to me. But then I got Mika and I realize that she's sooo Kai in nature. I know what's Mika, what's Koda, and what's Mei, but now I have a way better understanding of what's Kai.
Congratulations!!! I had already figured it out. he he.
you're hilarious...nothing gets by you, huh?