Hiking areas are starting to be hard to come by. Alot of areas do not allow dogs that to irresponsible owners. Very flat and the mosquitoes can be quite bad during the summer. Anymore I limit my hiking to my parents land. Only place that it is really safe.
@Hinata23 Yeah it is! My sister and her husband moved to Vancouver, WA in January and have been posting pictures all the time. It's beautiful and the weather is really nice too. Very cool for most of the year. The military isn't happening (as prior service, only eligible for Reserves, which they forgot to mention until the very end, and they don't have much education assistance) so I'll be finishing my Associate this year then transferring to FAU or UCF for Computer Science. Once I'm done it's definitely hitting the road back to San Fran or somewhere near Washington to be close to my sister. Endless terrain for dog hikes and other fun outdoor stuff!
@cezieg That stinks... but I'm happy for Ren! I wasn't sure how she would react once you left. Sounds like you have a pretty sweet plan for the future!
It's a bit of a let down but it just put's me on a focus for my degree vs holding out for funding for aviation, which I can do as a hobby no big deal!
@brada1878 It also means Ren can have a little brother in 2-3 years instead of 5-6 years... so I may have to be calling you or @poeticdragon in a years time for 2015/2016 I'm definitely going to look into Flagstaff more. It sounds like a great area!
@MontanaKai Out of curiosity what kind of collar is that? Kong?
@thegela Thanks. I feel really lucky to have such amazing access to the outdoors. I've always enjoyed it growing up, but it's crazy how much adding a dog motivates me to get out even more. I think this is the most I've ever hiked in the winter. Where are you from?
@cezieg The Pacific NW is amazing as @Hinata23 mentioned. I spent my first 10 years of life in Alaska and I've been in Bozeman now for 20. I have a brother in Portland, OR...definitely wouldn't be a bad place to end up. It's a little busier than where I am, and to get to the less traveled trails you have to drive 30-45mins whereas for me it's more like 5-10mins, but out there you have coastal access which is a good tradeoff. Bozeman, as small of a town as it is, actually has a growing high-tech scene, which may be interesting with a CS degree. As Brad mentioned, Flagstaff is really nice too. I was able to check it out when I picked up Orry.
I'm actually not sure the maker of Orry's collar. I got it at one of our local stores, and they had their own branding on it, but I know they didn't make it. I cut off their tag though because it bothered me. It's a really nice store (dee-o-gee.com) though, so I'm sure they use a good company for their collars.
@brada1878 Took Orry downtown over the weekend. He loved it, and had no problem receiving all kinds of attention from adults, kids, and other dogs. Thanks for the suggestion!
I live in Toronto! Too much city, and not enough nature! As soon as some commitments are done here, we're planning on picking up and moving to a cleaner and better place for a better lifestyle. (Hopefully after 2-3 years!)
@wrylybrindle hahaha Algonquin is a 4 hour drive from Toronto!! Not really a trip we can take often! But definitely when the weather gets warmer on a long weekend, I plan to make a camping trip out of it!
He's over 6 months now, and continues to be a really great pup overall. Some of you may have read in the "Off Leash" thread that @brada1878 started some time ago that he was having a minor fear issue as we went down trails and came across people. Well, as it turns it, I figured out his problem. He's so incredibly dog social that he simply wants to return to the top where, on a busy day, he typically meets several dogs. In other words, it was not fear related at all....he wanted to play. I noticed it one day when we were about a quarter of the way down, and he gave me "that look," the same one I had seen when we came across other hikers. However, in this instance it was only the two of us. After the look, he turned up the trail and kept going. This particular trail is very steep and wide open (covers about 1,000 ft in half a mile or so), so the distance between the two of us was only about 250 vertical ft. I still could see him for the most part, but had to hike all the way back up. When I got up there, he was just hanging out with his pals...such a punk!
It's funny because when I was researching Kai, I was very paranoid about them being dog aggressive. Instead, he's so dog social that my most challenging off leash issue is now getting him to come to me when passing a dog going the opposite direction. He's starting to do a little better with this though in the past week, so I think it may fade a little as he gets older.
He's grown quite a bit in size in the past month, and he's now almost outgrown his second puppy harness. He'll be upgraded to a big boy one soon.
He did have some digestive issues for while, and kibble just wasn't helping, so we ultimately put him on an all raw diet...this has so far been amazing and solved his sensitive stomach issues!
So that's what Orry has been up to....here are some pics at 6 months of age:
Yay! It's Orry!!! His red is quite deep- I love it! He's got a really nice balance of light/dark color, too. It's so nice to see Brother O- Im glad you figured out what he wanted to tell you Please give him some pats from me, and a lick on the ear from his brother- well, you dont have to give him that It's the thought that counts.
@WrylyBrindle Yeah I really like the balance between the light/dark as well. I think the first pic is a pretty good representation of what his coloring looks like in person. The deep reds come out especially strong in the sunlight. I will definitely send some good pats and thoughts Orry's way for you and Matsu!
wow... He is looking really nice! Very handsome Kai.
Interesting about the GI issues... Ayu and Nio have never had GI issues, but I have seen other dogs from Ayu's same lines (like Tyson) go through a "GI Sensitivity" phase too. Always males too. Hmmm...
@brad1878 The GI issues were interesting. We had started him on Orijen which is fairly rich for puppies from what I understand, but even other high quality brands weren't firming up the problem. Several weeks ago he threw up his food for several days in a row, and after a vet visit, we decided to go the full raw route. I really think it has solved the issue, though we're keeping an eye on it. It may have been somewhat of a puppy thing too, but I didn't want to wait around too long to see if it would pass.
A blacker Leo that looks like Ayu is a really cool description! I've always loved those two (only seen Leo in pics but he is a very handsome Kai). Really, all of the Kai I've seen from Yamabushi are exceptional, and it's great seeing their similar looks and personalities develop.
Watching this litter grow up has been a lot of fun. All of the pups I've been following are awesome....not surprising considering Nio and Ayu are some of my favs!
Those GI problems sound very similar to my Shiba's issues, but his is an ongoing thing. I never know what's going to set him off. Rawfoods have helped tremendously but every now and then he has a digestive reaction to, something, and I have to try to figure out what caused it and avoid that particular item.
Thanks for the picture updates, he looks so handsome! Akuma has a sensitive stomach too, soft stools were a big issue but adding some pumpkin and dry sweet potato has really helped us. He looks so at home outdoors and it sounds like you've done a great job training him!
@rafatturi Thanks for the pumpkin tip. We were using that for a while and it did help a ton when he was on kibble. With straight raw food he doesn't seem to need it that much now or even at all. Hope all is going well with you and Akuma!
@MontanaKai That's great you found the right balance for Orry! Before we got him, he ate raw and still had soft stools at times so we knew that wouldn't fix it so we just had to play a little to find the right balance. Things are well here, we love Akuma, one of the family
Comments
Wait, I thought you were enlisting???
@brada1878 It also means Ren can have a little brother in 2-3 years instead of 5-6 years... so I may have to be calling you or @poeticdragon in a years time for 2015/2016
I'm definitely going to look into Flagstaff more. It sounds like a great area!
@MontanaKai Out of curiosity what kind of collar is that? Kong?
Yeah, I wish we had hiking areas like that around here, too. There are a few good trails here and there, but SO many mosquitoes in the summer.
@cezieg The Pacific NW is amazing as @Hinata23 mentioned. I spent my first 10 years of life in Alaska and I've been in Bozeman now for 20. I have a brother in Portland, OR...definitely wouldn't be a bad place to end up. It's a little busier than where I am, and to get to the less traveled trails you have to drive 30-45mins whereas for me it's more like 5-10mins, but out there you have coastal access which is a good tradeoff. Bozeman, as small of a town as it is, actually has a growing high-tech scene, which may be interesting with a CS degree. As Brad mentioned, Flagstaff is really nice too. I was able to check it out when I picked up Orry.
I'm actually not sure the maker of Orry's collar. I got it at one of our local stores, and they had their own branding on it, but I know they didn't make it. I cut off their tag though because it bothered me. It's a really nice store (dee-o-gee.com) though, so I'm sure they use a good company for their collars.
@brada1878 Took Orry downtown over the weekend. He loved it, and had no problem receiving all kinds of attention from adults, kids, and other dogs. Thanks for the suggestion!
He's over 6 months now, and continues to be a really great pup overall. Some of you may have read in the "Off Leash" thread that @brada1878 started some time ago that he was having a minor fear issue as we went down trails and came across people. Well, as it turns it, I figured out his problem. He's so incredibly dog social that he simply wants to return to the top where, on a busy day, he typically meets several dogs. In other words, it was not fear related at all....he wanted to play. I noticed it one day when we were about a quarter of the way down, and he gave me "that look," the same one I had seen when we came across other hikers. However, in this instance it was only the two of us. After the look, he turned up the trail and kept going. This particular trail is very steep and wide open (covers about 1,000 ft in half a mile or so), so the distance between the two of us was only about 250 vertical ft. I still could see him for the most part, but had to hike all the way back up. When I got up there, he was just hanging out with his pals...such a punk!
It's funny because when I was researching Kai, I was very paranoid about them being dog aggressive. Instead, he's so dog social that my most challenging off leash issue is now getting him to come to me when passing a dog going the opposite direction. He's starting to do a little better with this though in the past week, so I think it may fade a little as he gets older.
He's grown quite a bit in size in the past month, and he's now almost outgrown his second puppy harness. He'll be upgraded to a big boy one soon.
He did have some digestive issues for while, and kibble just wasn't helping, so we ultimately put him on an all raw diet...this has so far been amazing and solved his sensitive stomach issues!
So that's what Orry has been up to....here are some pics at 6 months of age:
Soaking up the spring sun!
@WrylyBrindle Yeah I really like the balance between the light/dark as well. I think the first pic is a pretty good representation of what his coloring looks like in person. The deep reds come out especially strong in the sunlight. I will definitely send some good pats and thoughts Orry's way for you and Matsu!
Interesting about the GI issues... Ayu and Nio have never had GI issues, but I have seen other dogs from Ayu's same lines (like Tyson) go through a "GI Sensitivity" phase too. Always males too. Hmmm...
Snf
Watching this litter grow up has been a lot of fun. All of the pups I've been following are awesome....not surprising considering Nio and Ayu are some of my favs!
Those GI problems sound very similar to my Shiba's issues, but his is an ongoing thing. I never know what's going to set him off. Rawfoods have helped tremendously but every now and then he has a digestive reaction to, something, and I have to try to figure out what caused it and avoid that particular item.
He looks so at home outdoors and it sounds like you've done a great job training him!
@rafatturi Thanks for the pumpkin tip. We were using that for a while and it did help a ton when he was on kibble. With straight raw food he doesn't seem to need it that much now or even at all. Hope all is going well with you and Akuma!
Before we got him, he ate raw and still had soft stools at times so we knew that wouldn't fix it so we just had to play a little to find the right balance. Things are well here, we love Akuma, one of the family