Couple Pictures

I caught Kaiah in the middle of a game of chase with Marley.....

Look at all the cute little fluff growing in on her face!

Trip to the Dog Park

We took a trip to the dog park on Monday and in doing so I learned that Kaiah is not particularily fond of car rides. It seems that she becomes very stressed and drools an excessive amount and even threw up in the car about half way to the park. I thought about turning back at this point but I knew that once we arrived she would have a great time. I choose a smaller dog park and for the first 10 minutes we had the place to ourselves. Kaiah and Marley were running across the park chasing each other. Then this huge wolf hybrid showed up and I was a little nervous. The owner asked me if my dogs were friendly and I said they were. The wolf dog was very shy dog tail between the legs but the dogs got along great. Marley and the wolf dog would play and Kaiah would stay out of the way and just bark at the two dogs. Kind of like a mother telling her children to play nice. But they loved the experience. The wolf dog would chase Kaiah and Kaiah would chase the wolf dog. They played for about 45 minutes and she had her tail up was barking and playing. I knew she would have a good time and it would be worse the dreadful car ride to the dog park. I actually saw her run at full speed in our small yard she does not get to do that. She would streak across the dog park looking for her pal Marley.

Weekend

Kaiah had her first experience since settling in meeting new people! Our friends came over for dinner last night and Kaiah happily greeted them and was practically begging for attention from them. Despite all she's been through, this little lady has a lot of confidence! She happly greets people on our daily walks and bosses Marleya nd the neighbor dogs around like no other! She barks by the back door when she needs to go out and goes to her kennel when asked. She loves bones and toys of any kind, size or shape! She also loves a good game of chase with Marley. She's becoming a very fun little dog and we have no doubt she will edventually settle rigth in with the perfect family.

Update

Kaiah is happily chewing a bone on the rug in the den. She was more timid than usual for few days after her spay. But in the last few days she has been back to playing in the yard, chasing Marley around, and going for long walks. She is taking treats from our hand. However, this hasn't helped us much in the training process. She still doesn't seem to understand the concept of "rewards." However, I belive we are making progress in name recognition as well as the "kennel" command when we go to leave for work in the morning.

So far so good!

I think there’s been a mistake!!

We were under the impression that we getting a dog that was scared, timid, and that would huddle in the corner and shake. However, Kaiah is most definitely not that dog. In fact, in less than a week she has taken on several traits that are eerily similar to Marley. For instance, Marley chases squirrels, so does Kaiah, Marley barks at other dogs, so does Kaiah, Marley wants to run after other dogs on walks, so does Kaiah. Marley enjoys roughhousing in the backyard, Kaiah joins in. In fact Kaiah was chasing Marley around the yard at full speed. Marley goes up and down steps, and as of yesterday, Kaiah does as well. Believe me we are not complaining. She is just as normal as any other dog (whatever normal means). She is still a little shy in the house but compared to day one is wondering around more, spending much less time in her kennel, and playing more. It is so nice just to be able to let her out in the morning I just open the door and she goes right outside and takes care of business; although, getting her to come back in can be a bit of a problem. She is really thriving by having a routine; I think that this is the best thing for her. We are going to start training and teaching her some manners (not that she has bad manners). Although we will probably wait on that for a little while until she is done recovering from her spaying. I have no doubts that she will be a good dog for someone and that she will live a long and “normal” life.