Great new pics @WrylyBrindle ! It looks like you're getting some nice blue sky winter days like we are....such great hiking weather.
I really, really like Matsu! He's looking great as he grows up. He has definitely maintained that solid, strong look. I think Orry would really like hiking with him...you know, for some extra security lol. I think Matsu is the bruiser of this litter! Orry has some grit for sure, and I wouldn't call him skinny, but I really notice a difference in their front legs. Matsu's are super thick!
Time for the Monthly Matsu: He's modelling his new collar by the Forum's own Osy! It's awesome! The Kai 'Power Couple'. Matsu and Juno He's practicing with his backpack- I think he will be a good packing dog, becasue he is very sticky and 'travels' rather than orbits and hunts (which is more of a Juno /Reilly thing) Lots of off leash adventure with his brindle buddies. On last week's hike the dogs were spread out but Matsu was with me like always and we were moving through the trees off trail in an old logging section when he got about 2 stafflengths in front of me and stood still, barked his "Hey you!" bark. I thought it was a person so I made soft friendly talk to him but as I looked ahead I saw 3 moose in a glade there- not 30 yards ahead! They regarded us and then turned back among the branches, and my pup just gave out two more parting shot barks before turning, walking to my front and sitting. Good boy! I really am glad he kept his head and didnt do anything stupid like try to run at them.
holy hell he got big, he looked puppy in last months pictures but next to juno he seems huge! also that is the coolest kuroturo yet, so many stripes!
i love the power couple pic, matsu is like what are you looking at while juno is almost giving a siamese smile (remember the kids movie cartoon with the siamese cats? it reminds me of that)
Thanks, all! I weighed him on the way to class tonight- and he's 34 lbs (he'll be 6 months in 4 days) so his growth is slowing down for now. He doesnt go far from me so he probably doesnt need the bell, but I want to see a bit more how he does as he's getting into adolescence and may change some behaviors.
@cdenney -I also think Motts' kurotora is really nice. He's very much a black dog, his undercoat is black, (Juno's is red/gold) but his brindle stripes are quite even. He has one long stripe that goes over his back and all the way down his leg. A lady admiring him the other day described his stripes as 'rings' around his body. He's a Saturn dog.
@thegela - Juno is a kisser!!... I have to ask her to stop because she wont quit on her own!
Matsu looks great in the new pics (handsome and tough stuff as always)! I love the moose story. Growing up in Alaska, I was able to witness many dog/moose interactions which were always entertaining. I'm not sure Orry would've been so composed in that situation...he may have tried to go "play" with them. He's becoming quite social. Good job Matsu!
@cdenney I've been out of the loop for the past few weeks traveling, but I'll post some updates soon!
He looks so awesome, especially the last one where he does that "Stare off into the distance"-pose. You've probably been asked this before, but is that a bell on the collar?
@paranoidparrot Yep, he's wearing a swiss bell- it has a nicer tone than the cowbells. It's the poor man's gps collar He sticks closer than my other dogs but still, with the bell I dont have to visually see him to know he's running to catch up behind me or is slowly circling, sniffing a tree off tot he left somewhere. I can walk confidently along without pausing to wonder where they are
Since our last update Matsu has grown to 40 lbs, been to a Barn Hunt, the NIPPO Classic dog show, earned his CGC title and begun his Trail Dog work. He has also been maturing and learning some important things.
- Barn Hunt- This took a lot of learning on my part and taught me a lot about my dogs. Once I figured out what I was doing (mostly, pick up his subtle indication and let the judge tell us if we are right, not try to wonder myself) Matsu won his group (the "large" dogs over 18") at Novice level, and he and I had fun working it together and he liked hopping up on the haybales to a cheering crowd. He won a little bag of cookies and the esteem of many!
- At Barn Hunt, we met a lot of performance dog people. I have seen interest in the dog sports community in kai, and these people would ask me about their registration status. I think people already compete in certain agility leagues and if they are to pursue a new dog, want to be sure it is eligible to 'play' in that 'league'...so they were interested in topics like AKC-FSS, and the breeders, and the temperament and health characteristics. At least one person observed that Juno wore her CGC tag, and that also seemed to carry some cred in this crowd. Most significantly i think was their calmness and sociability- Matsu was really even and curious without being rude or hyper at all, yet when invited to play by a visitor, he would oblige. I think he was a good ambassador, and for that I am proud.
-At NIPPO Classic, he won his puppy group, and got some rosettes and a lovely bowl. He enjoyed meeting the kaigirls (Sachi, Juno's sister Taka, his mother Ayu...), and was polite to the kaiguys like Akashi and Ritsu. He loved Beth's shikoku Miyu quite a lot! An excellent social weekend for people and dogs!
- Matsu has climbed his first 2 mountains and packed some weight. He is my choice Trail Dog now, mostly because he is more "worky" and less "hunty" than my other hiking dogs. He is a dream loose-leasher walker, and he doesnt mind keeping to the trail, I can carabiner him to my belt and off we go. He doesnt seem to need to sniff and spritz every bush either, so I have really enjoyed being with him and working together to go up the mountains. He likes to meet people and doesnt bark at them, but neither does he jump on them. I think he enjoys the alone time with me and the snacks I share with him along the way.
- After we got back from NIPPO, I found out an evaluator was holding a CGC test the next week. I had been teaching him Stay, but only for a week. I decided to go for it anyway. He was in a completely new training center, and didnt know anyone but me- one of the other dogs rushed him and roared at him, but he's very resilient and I am a better advocate than I used to be. I shouted at the owners to hold their animal and trained My dog that when this happens, I will take it for you. You will be fine. I REALLY wont let anything happen to you.- stuff I wish I had done with Sage at this age. Anyway, the other dog went first and failed the reaction to another dog segment with more lunging and hyperventilating. Matsu and I went next and he did just fine- though it took some convincing to get him to down in that place with the other dog watching, and during the Stay the other dog barked at us, but I just looked calmly at him and he looked calmly (if uncomfortably) back at me and I said Goooood Boy, Gooooood Stay!! and smiled and walked back to him, and released him to stand and wag with much praise and rejoicing together. The other dog was asked to leave. Motts was calm for the supervised separation, and when I came back to the room we were congratulated and given our pass forms. I am super proud of him for being so cool under fire, and for passing the test with minimal formal preparation, as we hadnt taken a class (in anything) for months. We went home and found out later that he was the only dog to pass CGC that day. We have a pretty stiff evaluator!
- In behavioral news, he went through a time of space guarding where he would press against me as I worked and bark/rush at the big dogs if they came by. After much thought and observing him as I gave him information and took charge (by greeting the other dog with joy and happy tones, by giving everyone some pats, by getting off my duff, out of the chair, telling Matsu to Stay, telling the other dog to keep going by) I saw that he responds really favorably to information through demonstration, and he has no chip on his shoulder. The undesirable behavior reduced in intensity, duration and frequency and now all dogs are agreeable to passing through the studio with nary a lifted chin.
- I also had to work out feeding protocol. I was feeding Matsu in a crate in the studio, but he would guard the crate if a dog walked by and he was in there. The combination of food (which is extremely exciting to him), the crate, and the proximity of crate to my desk/chair which he was guarding in the previous story just made it all too HOT, so I folded up the crate and fed him and Juno together (sit for your bowl), then added Reilly back in and I just had to remain alert and remind everyone to MYOB verbally. Matsu sees that everyone shares the same respect and there's no need to worry. I can now feed all three at once, loose. Sage prefers to avoid crowds and sleeps late, so he chooses to eat later and that's fine by me. - I am really pleased with his workability, his devotion, and his interest in understanding How Things Go. On our regular forest hikes, he continues to be sticky, but follows one or the other girls on exploratory orbits. He is always the first to Find Me. The girls and I are showing him water is fun and where after the snow melted he would worry about jumping over water, he now wades in it and crosses well. He doesnt swim yet, but it's fine. All in his own time. - I am new to keeping an intact dog, but we are past the 8 month mark and nothing has happened that worries me. Yeah, as many of you told me, he is really interested in the girls' pee, and right after NIPPO he was really annoying to Reilly with his nose in her bits, but its toned down a little now. So far, so good! I was worried about Sage (anxious neutered male) coping with Matsu's adolescence, but it seems smooth enough. Sage need occasional reassurance and Motts needs to experiment. They have had a couple of disagreements (which would happen even if M was neutered) and I have been impressed with Sage's inhibition while making a firm point, and at Matsu's ability to forgive, forget learn and remain cheerful. He is resilient, calm and confident. He never loses his cool.
- Finally, I stopped crating him at night this week- I was a little worried back when he was being guardy that he'd need the clear boundary of the bedtime crate - maybe for a very long time- so I wouldnt have to deal with him deciding who couldn't be on the bed, etc. But the space guarding has been handled and he has joined the rotation of dogs for the evening. (Every night they start out in the same places but in early morning, everyone but Sage plays musical beds- they all agree on the choreography so its seamless.)
Comments
I really, really like Matsu! He's looking great as he grows up. He has definitely maintained that solid, strong look. I think Orry would really like hiking with him...you know, for some extra security lol. I think Matsu is the bruiser of this litter! Orry has some grit for sure, and I wouldn't call him skinny, but I really notice a difference in their front legs. Matsu's are super thick!
Thanks for the new pics.
He's modelling his new collar by the Forum's own Osy! It's awesome!
The Kai 'Power Couple'. Matsu and Juno
He's practicing with his backpack- I think he will be a good packing dog, becasue he is very sticky and 'travels' rather than orbits and hunts (which is more of a Juno /Reilly thing)
Lots of off leash adventure with his brindle buddies. On last week's hike the dogs were spread out but Matsu was with me like always and we were moving through the trees off trail in an old logging section when he got about 2 stafflengths in front of me and stood still, barked his "Hey you!" bark. I thought it was a person so I made soft friendly talk to him but as I looked ahead I saw 3 moose in a glade there- not 30 yards ahead! They regarded us and then turned back among the branches, and my pup just gave out two more parting shot barks before turning, walking to my front and sitting. Good boy! I really am glad he kept his head and didnt do anything stupid like try to run at them.
one more:
never get sick of seeing his pics
Juno is probably the prettiest Kai ever! She's beautiful!!! I want to kiss her!
i love the power couple pic, matsu is like what are you looking at while juno is almost giving a siamese smile (remember the kids movie cartoon with the siamese cats? it reminds me of that)
@cdenney -I also think Motts' kurotora is really nice. He's very much a black dog, his undercoat is black, (Juno's is red/gold) but his brindle stripes are quite even. He has one long stripe that goes over his back and all the way down his leg.
@thegela - Juno is a kisser!!... I have to ask her to stop because she wont quit on her own!
love him
@cdenney I've been out of the loop for the past few weeks traveling, but I'll post some updates soon!
Saya probably think it is a horse and want to make friends with it.
She loves my neighbor's horses.
@paranoidparrot Yep, he's wearing a swiss bell- it has a nicer tone than the cowbells. It's the poor man's gps collar
- Barn Hunt- This took a lot of learning on my part and taught me a lot about my dogs. Once I figured out what I was doing (mostly, pick up his subtle indication and let the judge tell us if we are right, not try to wonder myself) Matsu won his group (the "large" dogs over 18") at Novice level, and he and I had fun working it together and he liked hopping up on the haybales to a cheering crowd. He won a little bag of cookies and the esteem of many!
- At Barn Hunt, we met a lot of performance dog people. I have seen interest in the dog sports community in kai, and these people would ask me about their registration status. I think people already compete in certain agility leagues and if they are to pursue a new dog, want to be sure it is eligible to 'play' in that 'league'...so they were interested in topics like AKC-FSS, and the breeders, and the temperament and health characteristics. At least one person observed that Juno wore her CGC tag, and that also seemed to carry some cred in this crowd. Most significantly i think was their calmness and sociability- Matsu was really even and curious without being rude or hyper at all, yet when invited to play by a visitor, he would oblige. I think he was a good ambassador, and for that I am proud.
-At NIPPO Classic, he won his puppy group, and got some rosettes and a lovely bowl. He enjoyed meeting the kaigirls (Sachi, Juno's sister Taka, his mother Ayu...), and was polite to the kaiguys like Akashi and Ritsu. He loved Beth's shikoku Miyu quite a lot! An excellent social weekend for people and dogs!
- Matsu has climbed his first 2 mountains and packed some weight. He is my choice Trail Dog now, mostly because he is more "worky" and less "hunty" than my other hiking dogs. He is a dream loose-leasher walker, and he doesnt mind keeping to the trail, I can carabiner him to my belt and off we go. He doesnt seem to need to sniff and spritz every bush either, so I have really enjoyed being with him and working together to go up the mountains. He likes to meet people and doesnt bark at them, but neither does he jump on them. I think he enjoys the alone time with me and the snacks I share with him along the way.
- After we got back from NIPPO, I found out an evaluator was holding a CGC test the next week. I had been teaching him Stay, but only for a week. I decided to go for it anyway. He was in a completely new training center, and didnt know anyone but me- one of the other dogs rushed him and roared at him, but he's very resilient and I am a better advocate than I used to be. I shouted at the owners to hold their animal and trained My dog that when this happens, I will take it for you. You will be fine. I REALLY wont let anything happen to you.- stuff I wish I had done with Sage at this age. Anyway, the other dog went first and failed the reaction to another dog segment with more lunging and hyperventilating. Matsu and I went next and he did just fine- though it took some convincing to get him to down in that place with the other dog watching, and during the Stay the other dog barked at us, but I just looked calmly at him and he looked calmly (if uncomfortably) back at me and I said Goooood Boy, Gooooood Stay!! and smiled and walked back to him, and released him to stand and wag with much praise and rejoicing together. The other dog was asked to leave. Motts was calm for the supervised separation, and when I came back to the room we were congratulated and given our pass forms. I am super proud of him for being so cool under fire, and for passing the test with minimal formal preparation, as we hadnt taken a class (in anything) for months. We went home and found out later that he was the only dog to pass CGC that day. We have a pretty stiff evaluator!
- In behavioral news, he went through a time of space guarding where he would press against me as I worked and bark/rush at the big dogs if they came by. After much thought and observing him as I gave him information and took charge (by greeting the other dog with joy and happy tones, by giving everyone some pats, by getting off my duff, out of the chair, telling Matsu to Stay, telling the other dog to keep going by) I saw that he responds really favorably to information through demonstration, and he has no chip on his shoulder. The undesirable behavior reduced in intensity, duration and frequency and now all dogs are agreeable to passing through the studio with nary a lifted chin.
- I also had to work out feeding protocol. I was feeding Matsu in a crate in the studio, but he would guard the crate if a dog walked by and he was in there. The combination of food (which is extremely exciting to him), the crate, and the proximity of crate to my desk/chair which he was guarding in the previous story just made it all too HOT, so I folded up the crate and fed him and Juno together (sit for your bowl), then added Reilly back in and I just had to remain alert and remind everyone to MYOB verbally. Matsu sees that everyone shares the same respect and there's no need to worry. I can now feed all three at once, loose. Sage prefers to avoid crowds and sleeps late, so he chooses to eat later and that's fine by me.
- I am really pleased with his workability, his devotion, and his interest in understanding How Things Go. On our regular forest hikes, he continues to be sticky, but follows one or the other girls on exploratory orbits. He is always the first to Find Me. The girls and I are showing him water is fun and where after the snow melted he would worry about jumping over water, he now wades in it and crosses well. He doesnt swim yet, but it's fine. All in his own time.
- I am new to keeping an intact dog, but we are past the 8 month mark and nothing has happened that worries me. Yeah, as many of you told me, he is really interested in the girls' pee, and right after NIPPO he was really annoying to Reilly with his nose in her bits, but its toned down a little now. So far, so good! I was worried about Sage (anxious neutered male) coping with Matsu's adolescence, but it seems smooth enough. Sage need occasional reassurance and Motts needs to experiment. They have had a couple of disagreements (which would happen even if M was neutered) and I have been impressed with Sage's inhibition while making a firm point, and at Matsu's ability to forgive, forget learn and remain cheerful. He is resilient, calm and confident. He never loses his cool.
- Finally, I stopped crating him at night this week- I was a little worried back when he was being guardy that he'd need the clear boundary of the bedtime crate - maybe for a very long time- so I wouldnt have to deal with him deciding who couldn't be on the bed, etc. But the space guarding has been handled and he has joined the rotation of dogs for the evening. (Every night they start out in the same places but in early morning, everyone but Sage plays musical beds- they all agree on the choreography so its seamless.)
I love the second, third and fourth picture. The picture of him looking at you is so cute.
Shows bond he has with you.
Saya looked at me like that from time to time it's so neat. like hey there owner I'm happy to be with you. hehe
I still crate Goro... He like to wander around at night and it wake me up every time he gets up to find a new spot. (I'm a super light sleeper)