Kuma's first day out!!!!!

Leonberger · May 2008

We took Kuma out for the first time, on a place with loads of people, now that he's fully vaccinated. We had a blast! The result is Kuma sleeping since we got home, an hour ago. So here go the photos and a video...

Oops, only noticed now that the text editor had died... so I'm leaving the link for the Picasa album of Kuma. The photos of today should be the last 15.
http://picasaweb.google.com/kuma.nyx/Kuma?authkey=LW8UlW9M69E

And here's the video...

bigdog01 · May 2008

Good job , he looks lovely. A bit of peace and quiet for a while then....LOL :)

Romi · May 2008

Congrats Rui and Kuma! Im glad you're finally able to get him out and about without worrying about him catching something. The place you went to looks beautiful and im sure you had tons of fun!

BradA1878 · May 2008

That's great Rui, he seems so happy!

He so handsome too... hhmmmm.... wait a minute..... I hate to do this to you Rui, but I think I found Kuma's girlfriend!

Izyda, Lani's breeder, has a red female that I think is sooooo cute... and I think she would make a perfect girlfriend for Kuma:

I know that's mean of me to do that to you... They would just be really cute together! (I can see phoenix turning red with anger at me now) lol. :c)

BradA1878 · May 2008

btw, sorry if I hijacked your thread. :c\

Leonberger · May 2008

Hi! This is Natasha. I don't know why you'd think I'd get angry - she's really cute!!!

Leonberger · May 2008

It's Rui again. If I win the lottery I'll go get her and give Kuma a GF. Right now he'll have to get by on his own. Speaking of girlfriend, Kuma humped a female today. This happened about 20 minutes ago on our last walk of the day. We met a couple that had two females, and one of them was in heat. She was melting over Kuma. Well, she was pretty much behaving as a friendlier than average dog, but her owners say she's agressive, so we agreed that she was being extra-super-friendly, ;-P. So Kuma starts playing with her, and gets his paws on her, like he always tries to do. In a flash he was humping her right shoulder. I pulled him back and told him "not without dinner and drinks, at least!". He was going crazy...which is not like him at all. Most of the times he's Mr. Cool. Even today at the park, loads of dogs came to meet him and he was playing it cool. Even a big GSD mix came full speed at him, to sniff and greet, and he just stayed there wagging his tail. It seems like he's going to be one confident cookie.

BradA1878 · May 2008

LMAO! Go Kuma... the ladies man! That's funny "not without dinner and drinks, at least!" - lol!

Natasha - I'm surprised you are not mad... I guess she is just that cute huh! :c)

phoenix · May 2008

You know Brad, you got me on a very good day. I was just telling Rui yesterday, the first outing was our payback for all the poop and pee we have been cleaning since he came to live with us!! I loved it! As Rui said, he was Mr. Cool. Many people stopped us to pet him, or if they didn't we kept hearing things like "Oh, look at that cute dog!" or "Oh, how cute, he looks like a soft toy!". He had teenage girls giggling over him!! He's such a flirt too! He likes kids too.
I was very happy with his behaviour. Also, since starting our dog training lessons, I got a lot closer to him. It's because his vaccines were almost done, so I could start taking him out when Rui wasn't home. It wasn't just cleaning after him anymore, it was doing something nice. Before this I just felt he was a bit of a burden, on top of an already busy schedule (even though I always loved him). He was stuck inside, I felt he was imprisoned here - comparing to his life when he was still with Silvia where he could go all around the garden and play with all the other pups. Yes, pretty pessimistic, I know.
I didn't know how to communicate with him. It was "No!" or "Kuma!" all day long. That wasn't doing any good either. That is why I got so frustrated a few weeks back.
Now, things are looking better. I am looking forward to more outings. Yesterday we were out for 3 hours with him - it passed really quickly and we all got some much needed exercise!
I don't know if I would want another dog in the house. She is a sweetie though!

Leonberger · May 2008

While I wait, for a few .zip files to bake (yes I came to work on a Sunday :-( ), I would just like to say that these outing are a great way to get to know him even better. He was playing with sprinklers, he wasn't sure at first but then he got more confident and ended up getting if by one of them. That was hilarious, after we made sure he was ok! The confidence he showed with the other dogs was impressive and a very good thing to see in him. He was very happy, didn't show any kind of fear or insecurity, even with loads of people around and the vast majority looking and commenting and some of those even stopping to pet him and talk to us.
Long walks definitely bring us closer to him and him to us, and the successful training too, it's a great thing that I don't even have to go up to him that much to stop him from doing something, most of the times a simple no will do or an "AH!". It will even stop him on his tracks while mouthing Nyx (the hard part there is controlling her).

Harlow · May 2008

What a handsome guy that Kuma is!

BradA1878 · May 2008

It's great you are getting to bond with him like that. I know exactly what you mean, when they are pups and not yet fully vaccinated they just seem like poo & pee machines. Once you get them out and start to see their personality you really get to bond with them.

If you are bother by the poo & pee in the house (and who wouldn't be) then you really picked the perfect breed... Out of all our dogs our Akita and our Shikoku are the least likely to go in the house. Hilo and Lani are pretty much perfect when it comes to that - oh and Ahi too.

When we take Hilo anywhere EVERYONE asks about him... our Akita get more attention than any of our other dogs.

phoenix · May 2008

That's great news Brad - about the pee/poop in the house! I'm very relieved!
Case in point, today Kuma's being really good - he's keeping everything under control and when we go outside he lets out these loooooong pees. I'm quite proud if him.
We're just back from a walk around the block and we took Nyx with us in her transporter box with a leash on too. She's not very interested in getting out, but she slept with the door open and there was a nice breeze. Good times! :-)

brandon_w · May 2008

Hooray for Kuma and his fun day out on the town. An even bigger hooray for the budding relationship between Phoenix and Kuma! It's great to hear that things are moving in the right direction.

dlroberts · May 2008

That's fantastic guys! Believe me, I know things are a little overwhelming with a new puppy around, but once you get to bond with them its nothing but love and fun times. It looks like all three of you had a fantastic time on your outing. He's such a handsome boy! I bet that female would be a perfect GF for him! :-) (is secretly hoping Rui or Nat wins the lottery)

phoenix · May 2008

Oh! I've never had anyone wishing I would win the lottery for me!!! LOL!

Just to update on my relationship with Kuma: Things are looking up. He just keeps impressing me! Yesterday he really showed us how much progress he's making in the 'loo' dept. I took him out for half an hour in the late morning and he peed and pooped outisde. I had to leave for work and I didn't manage to take him out just before I left for a quickie because he wouldn't budge! This was just before lunchtime. I felt guilty, so I asked Rui to ask his dad to go round the house in the afternoon. He came and took him out but didn't have enough time to clean up the one pee that was on the newspaper. I figure Rui's Dad came round at 4pm. I arrived from work at 9pm and took him out right away and he 'laked' and pooped! Sorry about the detail, it's just that it meant not having the usual 'pong' when I open the front door!! He was really good!
Oh,and he ate all of lunch and ALL of dinner in under 10 minutes - I was impressed! :-))

As a result, I'm having a chance at enjoying his company instead of feeling like a mop slave. He seems to like me more too and frequently asks for cuddles. I keep worrying about sharing myself between the cat and the dog when Rui isn't here. Nyx protests quite a lot when she sees me come in and take Kuma back out without saying hello. I have no choice because I have to make sure she doesn't go play in possible messes.
Anyway, I'm ranting on and on... the pets are great. Rui on the other hand is suffering from a lung infection and I had to stay home too because something I ate made me feel ill. :-(

ljowen123 · May 2008

sorry to hear about you and Rui being under the weather, but glad to hear that the bonding is really happening between you and Kuma.

dlroberts · May 2008

Ditto to what LJ said. I'm so glad you and Kuma are bonding! It's an amazing feeling when you win a dogs trust and affection isn't it? I hope you guys feel better soon, being sick sux. :-(