That sounds great. I'll let you know next time I'm in Edmonton so we can meet up.
Apparently Rollo didn't really think much of the hike. I took the packs down from airing out and was going to put them away today. I guess while I was at work he was mischievous..
He chewed through a waist band, a buckle, and two straps on two of the packs. Looks like I have some impromptu repairs to do. This is totally out of character for him, I can't remember the last time he destroyed anything that wasn't his toy. Little bugger, haha!
That looks like it was an awesome adventure! Meitou wouldn't have crossed that log bridge at all. He would rather go through the water. I don't know if he would do a suspension bridge either, lol.
It took a lot of work to convince him to go over the log bridge, it was skinnier than it looks in the picture.
I was surprised when he had no issue at all with the suspension bridge. The bridge was even missing a step to get up onto it, and we were going to pick him up, but he leapt over the gap right onto the bridge deck, hauling me with him. It was so neat to see the switch in him from the first obstacle. Then when we got into the steeper valley sections he did very well scrambling over all of the large, downed trees. I was really impressed with how he took everything in stride.
Not a bad way to spend the afternoon! He even swam, even though the swim lasted about three seconds. There wasn't much left to that stick by the time we left.
Nice. We bought one of those floaty things they use to train retrievers. Yuki isn't a big fan of swimming either, but he loves that floaty thing so gives it a go.
That describes Rollo's first 'swim' perfectly . I convinced him to go up to his neck in the water, he took one more step then did about three paddles before freaking out and heading for the shore. He was not impressed.
He was very happy to be lying on the blanket in the sun chewing on the stick.
He is always pretty relaxed, in every situation we've had him in. We got lucky with him! He is such a joy to have around.
The past couple of days Rollo has taken a lot of interest in the TV. If there are animals on TV he will listen, look directly at the screen and then tilt his head from side to side. It's pretty cute. I'm sitting here cutting out laminated bits for my wife's class and he's just hanging out watching tv.
Out for a walk after the first big snowfall. He was so excited about the snow! He bounced around a lot and were sniffing all of the footprints. It's pretty late for our first snowfall of the year here. Rollo loves it!
Yeah it's here to stay likely until March this year. It's supposed to be a really mild year here.
About 2 minutes after we took this picture, both my wife and I were walking on the trail over the soft snow, stepped on some black ice and both landed on our rear ends at exactly the same time. There was probably about half a foot of snow down so it was a soft landing. We both had a really good laugh at it, while Rollo was investigating why his humans were broken. He loves the snow, and I'm glad he's a hearty breed with a good double coat. We have friends with big pitbulls who can't take their dogs outside for more than a few minutes without them freezing, even wearing a coat.
We just got in from a walk. We had a fox tailing us for a few minutes. Rollo was bouncing around and loving the fresh snowfall. As soon as we spotted the fox about 50 feet away, his instincts kicked in. He activated beast mode and sent the fox running the other way in a hurry. I don't ever think I've seen him get that angry before. He was lunging, snarling and barking at the fox. I guess he can tell a wild animal from another dog pretty darn well. He knew right away even from a distance in the dark.
Hahaha awe, I almost feel sorry for the fox!!!! I imagine a fox would smell wildly different... But the farm dogs I grew up around used to gallivant around with coyotes. Wonder how he'd react to a coyote?
I am curious what Kaja would do in that situation. We've been like 8 or 10 feet from deer before... Kaja got very loud then, begrudgingly giving me sits in hopes I'd let her go! I didn't, of course, but all in all the family of deer weren't bothered and didn't get scared off... Guess she's not as frightening as she thought she was xD
Haha I guess Rollo is a bit more intimidating, deer go scrambling into the bush when we pass by them. Wild animals make him go pretty crazy. You're right about the scent I'd wager.
It probably didn't help that once we spotted the fox, we did a bit of a 'false charge' at him. We ran towards him for a few feet until it turned and booked it the other way. I think the fox regretted its decision to try and sneak up on us.
We just took Yuki up to a local ski area to see snow. They have statues of a momma bear and cubs. He was not happy; hackles raised, growling. I had to bang on the statue to show him it wasn't real. He still gave them a suspicious sniff on the way back just to make sure.
Rollo is looking to be a promising hunter. Katsu can smell animals from a long distance and will sometimes persuade me to go follow that trail. It gets annoying and yet, it's a quality I adore about him.
Rollo has the same reaction as Yuki when he comes across those silly gaint inflatable Halloween and Christmas lawn ornaments. He is NOT a fan of those, especially the ones that move. He doesn't growl or bark often, but he gets mad at those every time.
I think if we were ever to hunt with him he would be an excellent tracker with some training. He is extremely scent-driven when we go outside. He stops to smell all of the footprints in the snow and wants to follow every game trail in the woods.
One of the local dog training companies offer a 'nose work' class that trains them how to use their nose more effectively. I'm interested to check it out when the next class starts up in the new year.
@TheYeti Yeaaah those inflatable decorations are, as far as Kaja knows, filled with the breath of evil itself and I shouldn't trust them for a second. See, they're going to kill us with shards of Christmas lights the moment we turn our backs. But Kaja knows what's what and always let's them know she has her eye on 'em (good thing she's looking out for me).
Shikoku noses. I came home one day and 'snuck' in, hiding under a blanket and waiting for the dogs to find me. Kaja was the only one who sniffed me out. You should try the same, if you haven't already! It's absolutely adorable. They get excited because you're home and also that they found you!
I've discovered that I can no longer play dead to get Rollo all riled up to wrestle. He used to lick/nibble on your ears and stand on your back.
Not anymore. First thing he does now is go right for one of your butt cheeks and chomps down. I guess he has found it brings us 'back to life' really fast.
He is still a huge fan of the dog park. The past few times I've been there he has run into dogs he had his puppy kindergarten class. It's like he recognizes them right away because he heads straight for them no matter how many others are in the park. He always comes home exhausted after wrestling and playing chase. It's hard to get him out of there!
If katsu didn't like male dogs, katsu and rollo would play so well... It's such a shame, katsu can get along with male dogs but it takes him a quite some time to warm up. They have to have a very happy go lucky personality for katsu to like, and they can't stance him either.
He does the same thing to me, he'll nip me on the butt or side to get a reaction out of me, and from there we wrestle lol.
Well, Rollo definitely has that 'happy go lucky' personality. I think the two of them would have a blast unless rollo pestered Katsu behond what he could handle. This dog is persistent when he plays.
Here's one for you. A squeaky clean Shikoku! He was a trooper, and the groomer made him look and smell fantastic. I really enjoy that these dogs don't have an oily skin like a golden retriever. After a few weeks without a bath, our dogs growing up would start to smell pretty funky. Rollo didn't smell at all even after months without a bath. It's great!
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Apparently Rollo didn't really think much of the hike. I took the packs down from airing out and was going to put them away today. I guess while I was at work he was mischievous..
He chewed through a waist band, a buckle, and two straps on two of the packs. Looks like I have some impromptu repairs to do. This is totally out of character for him, I can't remember the last time he destroyed anything that wasn't his toy. Little bugger, haha!
I was surprised when he had no issue at all with the suspension bridge. The bridge was even missing a step to get up onto it, and we were going to pick him up, but he leapt over the gap right onto the bridge deck, hauling me with him. It was so neat to see the switch in him from the first obstacle. Then when we got into the steeper valley sections he did very well scrambling over all of the large, downed trees. I was really impressed with how he took everything in stride.
We've been trying to get Kaja in the water as well. We can get her to go in up to her neck but then she gets concerned and heads back xD
He was very happy to be lying on the blanket in the sun chewing on the stick.
He is always pretty relaxed, in every situation we've had him in. We got lucky with him! He is such a joy to have around.
Katsu has started that a little recently too. He'll tilt his head to some of the sounds and occasionally stare at the TV.
About 2 minutes after we took this picture, both my wife and I were walking on the trail over the soft snow, stepped on some black ice and both landed on our rear ends at exactly the same time. There was probably about half a foot of snow down so it was a soft landing. We both had a really good laugh at it, while Rollo was investigating why his humans were broken. He loves the snow, and I'm glad he's a hearty breed with a good double coat. We have friends with big pitbulls who can't take their dogs outside for more than a few minutes without them freezing, even wearing a coat.
I am curious what Kaja would do in that situation. We've been like 8 or 10 feet from deer before... Kaja got very loud then, begrudgingly giving me sits in hopes I'd let her go! I didn't, of course, but all in all the family of deer weren't bothered and didn't get scared off... Guess she's not as frightening as she thought she was xD
It probably didn't help that once we spotted the fox, we did a bit of a 'false charge' at him. We ran towards him for a few feet until it turned and booked it the other way. I think the fox regretted its decision to try and sneak up on us.
I think if we were ever to hunt with him he would be an excellent tracker with some training. He is extremely scent-driven when we go outside. He stops to smell all of the footprints in the snow and wants to follow every game trail in the woods.
One of the local dog training companies offer a 'nose work' class that trains them how to use their nose more effectively. I'm interested to check it out when the next class starts up in the new year.
Shikoku noses. I came home one day and 'snuck' in, hiding under a blanket and waiting for the dogs to find me. Kaja was the only one who sniffed me out. You should try the same, if you haven't already! It's absolutely adorable. They get excited because you're home and also that they found you!
Not anymore. First thing he does now is go right for one of your butt cheeks and chomps down. I guess he has found it brings us 'back to life' really fast.
He is still a huge fan of the dog park. The past few times I've been there he has run into dogs he had his puppy kindergarten class. It's like he recognizes them right away because he heads straight for them no matter how many others are in the park. He always comes home exhausted after wrestling and playing chase. It's hard to get him out of there!
He does the same thing to me, he'll nip me on the butt or side to get a reaction out of me, and from there we wrestle lol.
And looking quite a bit like his mom!