"PR" BrownStone Cascade Mt. Karuk
Karuk (Mt. Shasta, Mr. Green) is now Alaka'i - which means something fitting in Hawaiian - was whelped quite dramatically between the front and back seat of the van on the way home from the vet. Fortunately Karmin was in the back seat and able to catch him when he came flying out as Koyuk jumped to be with me in the front seat. Unfortunately we were not prepared for a whelping and there was no place to pull over, so slippery Karuk and his placenta were placed in the warming box with his sister and brothers to ride the last mile.(If I haven't said how wonderful Karmin is, I do need to. She is a teen girl. This was her first whelping and thus far she had caught fraternal twins while I was across the room with Wy'east and with nothing more than an: "oh, Kay Lee we have another puppy", dealt with a birth in a moving car. She stayed for all the births and came over to help with all the weigh-ins and milestone pictures. I could not have whelped this litter without her. And past about week two, would not have had the pictures).
Alaka'i (nickname Ka'i) weighed 11 oz when we got him back to the whelping box.
For a year summation Nari wrote: "We are still working towards earning a CGC.
I'm trying to convince him that "sit-stay" is more fun that "jump-play." It's a
hard sell but we're getting there. Our trainers reassure me that they see a
difference with each passing class. Even after the CGC we'll continue on with
obedience training. I've decided to wait on re-entering conformation workshops
and shows until he is calm enough around other dogs to safely walk the ring. He has a great
personality and is a social butterfly, but that doesn't seem to translate well
to conformation practice. We haven't given up though! Should Alaka'i ever lose
interest in every bug, rock, or leaf on the ground, I think he would be great at
rally competition! He is smart and responds very quickly. We'd like to try a
rally competition within the next year (or so). We love hiking with Alaka'i so
we'll start working towards a pack dog certification as well. Other than that
Best of Breed we won at the AKC 4-6 month puppy show, we have not tried entering
any other shows. He has earned many titles and nicknames around our house, some
of which are: Sir Sniffs-a-Lot, Crazy Ka'i, Whiny McWhinerson, Marky Mark,
Hungry Hungry Hippo, and Dirty Dawg. I'm certain he thinks that "Leave It" is
his name as well.
Admittedly I have become one of those people who
thinks that every story about my dog is the greatest thing EVER.. If I could summarize the
past year with Alaka'i in a word, it would be "compromise." One of the funnier
compromises is that we no longer shut the bathroom door, but he must patiently
wait at a polite distance. Haha. Instead of poking his nose into our shower
while we bathe, we have him bring us a pile of his toys and we will play fetch
as soon as we're done. Alaka'i would wake us up with frantic cries at the crack of dawn
and run crazy circles trying to give us a morning tongue bath. If he
is willing to wait quietly until the alarm goes off, the absolute first thing we
do is give him 5 minutes of morning cuddle and belly rub time before leaving the
bedroom. No exceptions. Who can complain about starting their day with puppy
snuggle time!?! I can't remember what life was like before Ka'i cuddles, but it
has replaced coffee (gasp!) as my morning pick-me-up. I have never had/met a dog
like Alaka'i who responds to things in such a clever and sensitive way. It seems
as if the more freedom we give him, the more positively he responds. Alaka'i reminds us to be more attentive, present in the here
and now, and to follow our instincts rather than trying to follow a rule book.
He, like us, is just a happy goofball, often going against the tide, and we love
him all the more because of it!"
Happy Birthday you handsome, 66.7 lb, boy!
