child safe home test

Kassa faced a new challenge this weekend. He has been around children of various sizes at meet and greets but this weekend we had guests which included an 11 year old, 7 year old and a toddler. We had everyone sitting down and the toddler on his moms lap when we introduced Kassa. He made a bee-line right to the toddler. I was there to intercept. His tail was wagging and his mouth was closed. He was just very drawn to the boy but in a friendly way. The biggest danger seemed to be the toddler getting knocked over. After introductions Kassa chilled and lay down on his bed. Overall Kassa was a superstar. He tollerated a nose grab by the toddler with no signs of agression or frustration. Of course I was right there to help the kids on how to pet Kassa and how to be "gentle". I couldn't be prouder.

Humanoids have invaded!

It all started with business as usual. A Saturday morning Kassa and I did a short walk. Then after some chores we headed to the Greyhound Meet and Greet (at the 100 Oaks Pets Smart). I like to take Kassa to get his nails trimmed at the M&G's because the money goes back to the adoption group. We did a little ambassadorship. I think one couple was really interested in Kassa (but he's mine I say .. Mine! :) ). There were a lot of dogs there and it took some time to get to the trimming. Next we headed out to grab some groceries and some dogie treats. I got Kassa some deer antler. It is supposed to be healthier than raw hide chews and it doesn't splinter like bones do. The only problem is that he doesn't like it as much as the chews so I will have to alternate if I want his teeth to be really clean. The next stop for me was supposed to be Judo. Alas, I was running 20min behind so no Judo for me. It was a beautiful day so Kassa and I decided to make the best of it and head to the ball park. Small humanoids had invaded! The nerve of using a ball park for Baseball! I decided to go up the road to the dog park. After all I have never actually seen a dog there. There must have been 15 dogs in that park. This nice weather may be the end of me. The adoption group warns against taking the hounds to dog parks so I bit my upper lip and we headed on to the Model air plane fields at Cane Ridge Park. Kassa and I watched the planes for about 30min. They had 3 different planes in the air while we were there and there were some pretty nifty stunts going on. We also got to do some ambassadorship for the greyhound cause. I have to figure out the best approach for handling kids who want to pet my boy. He is fine with kids, but some kids don't have a lot of experience and pet him hard or get near his eyes. In the end there was no game of fetch but we still got to spend a ton of time together. My wife, Kassa and I headed to Edwin Warner park on Sunday. We took the Harpeth Woods Trail which is a 2 1/2 mile hike. Kassa was really excited and by the end quite tired. I like this trail because it is an actual hike in the woods with a lot of rocks and hills rather than a stroll through a grassy meadow. It was a bit muddy in places but over all quite pleasant. I was really pleased with with the people on the trails that had dogs. Some were off lead but they had excellent recall. They usually put them on lead to pass us and those dogs that didn't gave us plenty of room. Kassa was a really good boy with all the dogs both big and small. I think his socialization is progressing quite well.

Run!

New chew toys, morning belly rubs, long morning walks, snow, hikes in the woods and socializing with other hounds are all things that my boy Kassa enjoys tremendously. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING compares to the joy I see in him when he is running flat out chasing that red ball. I wind up and chuck that ball with all my might and he is on it after the first bounce. If I could bottle that joy, I'd be a millionaire. Another great weekend! Kassa got to the ball park twice in addition to our morning walks. I did some electrical work up in the attic on Sunday and there is just something about coming down the latter and finding Kassa sleeping on the carpet at the bottom that warms the soul.

Weekend Warriors

Well firstly (and I know that this is not directly related to Kassa) we ran (what I will humbly say) was a fantastic Judo tournament this weekend. I was really proud of how our team came together to pull it off. It did mean that my best boy got to spend all Saturday with his mom. She took him for his walk etc.. and they had a great time. Sunday we attended the Greyhound Winter Gathering that was held in Murfreesboro at the livestock center. It was a great place to meet other greyhound folks and was so good for Kassa to mix and mingle :). They had an area for the dogs to run as well as an area for vendors to sell doggy items. There was a pot-luck style table set for snacking and lots of doggy treats for the kids. I really enjoyed sitting back and enjoying the efforts that all the organizers made to put this meet together... especially after just coming off of the Judo event that I had just helped run. This morning I decided to give Kassa a treat and drive him to the ball park instead of going for our normal walk. He had a grand time and I was right on schedule and back in the house to head to work by 7:30. At that point I realized dropped my cell phone in the ball diamond I had to drive all the way back. Sigh... Well I found it so all is well however sometimes things do not go as planned.

Dear Deer

Well no pictures today. Kassa and I went out for a walk this morning and saw a family of 7 white tale deer. I fought off the strange temptation to turn Kassa loose and let him chase and we passed on our merry way. This morning there was no Kassa waiting for me when I got out of the shower. He was downstairs chilling on the couch. Sigh. I guess he is over the remainder of any separation anxiety he may have had. I've been preoccupied getting things together for running a Judo tournament on the weekend. After that is over I'll have more pics and stories of my favorite pooch.