Weekend Fun

Finally.. A reprieve from the rain.. Normally would seize the opportunity and head to a trail or a ball park however Kassa really needed his nails trimmed so we headed to a GPA meet and greet instead. Kassa was a very good boy. He didn't snap at the oncoming poodle whos owner decided to let charge through the pack. People who saw Kassa at the meet and greets before we got him were impressed at how relaxed he was. He even spontaneously sat. I have never been able to coax him to do that before but BINGO.. he just got tired of standing. People were generally impressed, I'd say, so they snapped a picture for the email group.

Sunday morning we had rain (and we went for our hour walk anyway) but it broke mid afternoon. That means BALL PARK. It always starts out with a good run then into fetch. That's right Fetch. He is bringing the ball back and dropping it at my feet now.

After Kassa gets tuckered out he just takes a little down time. The wet muddy grass was no deterrent.

So this provides a good opportunity to work on "Come". At this point I am far more concerned about function than form. I call he comes, I'm Happy.

And now its time to go home. Although Kassa is often eager to go to the park he is more hesitant to come home. This means a little more coaxing to get him into the cab of the truck. We have a system down now though. If you notice the red tie-down attached to the handle can be used to pull the door shut behind him. This is after I scoop his bum with the other hand to make sure his tail is clear. I usually only take Kassa on short trips in the truck and I drive like a little old lady.

This morning I noticed that the pads on his instep were warn down. Any advice would be appreciated.

A morning adventure

This morning when Kassa and I were getting ready in the garage we smelled skunk. As you can imagine we were pretty cautious heading out on the road. But despite the cold temperatures Kassa was ready to walk. I think he is part Canadian. As long as he has his coat on cold is no deterrent. He doesn't think much of rain though.

We headed to the top of a hill that is on one of our routes to get a better view.

Not a bad way to bring in a morning

When we got back home I noticed something odd in the back yard. Thinking that the aforementioned skunk had gotten hold of someone's purse for food, I checked out the documents and discovered it was my neighbors. I gathered up the papers and headed over to her house. On the way over I discovered her car window had been broken out thus not the work of the skunk. So just a word of warning. Lock your car doors and don't leave anything in your car that even looks attractive. You don' t know who is walking around a dark property late at night.

A new strategy.. or perhaps an old one.

Ok .. I'm feeling slightly badly about my outburst yesterday regarding off-lead dogs.  Especially as the other pet owner was so completely understanding and friendly.   I've decided to do the following to address Kassa's "other dog" issues.

Firstly I'm switching back to the "gentle leader". The greyhound rescue folks originally had him on this type of leader instead of the Martindale collar. I was a bit surprised at this because they also said he walks with you pretty well and doesn't tug on the leash. I think they had him on this because with the gentle leader you can quickly and easily pull his head to the side.   There were a few dog encounters we had earlier where I did this and the result was far less stressful.

I also picked up a can of "Spray Shield" which is supposed to be a pain free way to deter aggressive dogs.   I should be able to use this on a loose dog or Kassa as the case may warrant.

Lastly I have initiated contact through Dogs & Kat.  The rescue group had a pamphlet of hers with the reading material.  I hope she can recommend some program to help socialize Kassa better.  Jennifer over at neversaynever greyhounds earlier recommended that I have Kassa be a fly on the wall in a dog training program.  This would help him become more comfortable with other breeds.

Please Please Please Keep dogs on a leash

Yes I know your dog is the essence of friendliness and wouldn't hurt a fly.
Well guess what.  "My dog isn't ready for unsupervised social
interaction."  Seriously.  If your dog is loose and approaches my
dog and my dog thinks yours is being aggressive, its going to end badly for everyone.  To the gentleman whose Newfoundlander's ear Kassa wouldn't let go of,  thank you for understanding it was your responsibility to keep your dog contained on your property.  I'm very glad we all kept our cool and didn't have to argue or be disrespectful.  I'm also glad that no serious injury ensued by either party.  Kassa just got a few cuts on his nose and the Newfoundlander ear was intact.  That said, I don't like having to put a rear naked choke on my dog.  That works well by the way. Using pressure points didn't do anything.  Right after work I'm off to buy some pepper spray.  So if you are looking out the window wondering why I'm spraying pepper spray at your beloved poodle as he runs up to us off lead,  It's because the law says you have to have it on a lead or contained on your property and I don't want it to get hurt.

Happy New Year

Well although it was a quite relaxing holiday, it was definitely the weekend of the dog. Kassa and I checked out some different routes and what was supposed to be a 2 mile hike ended up being a four mile hike. For the couple that wished Kassa and I a happy new year. I'm sorry if I was somewhat abrupt. You see inside humans can pee anytime they want and dogs can't... but outside the reverse is true. Despite the rather urgent end to our walk we hit some nice spots and I think have developed two new routes to take.

Kassa and I also went to Cane Ridge Park. We scouted a Remote Control Airplanes air field there. The air field is managed by the Middle Tennessee Radio Control Society. Unfortunately there were no flyer's there that day but we will try another time.

The ball park itself was not as dog friendly as I would have liked, so Kassa and I abandoned this park and went off to Nolensville for a quick game of throw. It would be called fetch if Kassa actually brought the ball back instead of running around with it until he gets tired and lays down.

Kassa got a new closet this weekend as well. Given the fact that I have never built anything square in my life I don't think it came out too badly. The doors need a little adjusting but over all I am pleased with it.

Finally after some "Down" training Kassa practiced some of his special forces training. camouflage