I received a late birthday/early Christmas post from BrownStone Cascade Mt. Shasta, aka Alaka'i.
Hi Kay Lee,
Ka’i and I still go out to monitor trails regularly in the
nearby Palos Verdes preserve, and try to make it up to the mountains when we
have a free weekend. Ka’i is growing more and more comfortable running out in
front of the bicycle so we are getting closer to having him pull it. He seems to
have a fear of large tires, and has been suspicious of them ever since he was
very little. We are making progress though. At 2.5 years, he is still just as
energetic and anxious as ever.
We’ve taken a break from obedience courses, but
boy do we need to start back up. I’ve come to accept his over-the-top excitement
in greeting people as part of his personality. However, I’d really like to work
towards the day we can greet someone without fear of him knocking them over/out
with his airplane propeller tail and excited head butting. Ah, yes, I taught
Alaka’i to head butt. At first it was an adorable “come give mom a hug” trick
where he would run over and push his head against my chest. Now, well, I have
created a 70-lb whip-tailed, kissing billy goat-dog. Whoops. He is incredibly
smart though and as I mentioned before, always manages to turn the tricks I’ve
taught him to his own advantage. For one of his new tricks, I call out “Not it!”
and he will put his paw on his nose as I put my finger on my nose. So, these
days when asked to do an involved task such as “get the ball”, he will respond
by trying to do the easier trick of putting his paw on his nose as if to say
“get the ball? Not it!” He is rarely vocal, but is always sure to let me
know how displeased he is to have to get his own leash. To this day he still
grunts and groans the entire time he drags it to me.
I’ve also attached some
pictures of our last camping trips to Big Sur and to Palomar Mountain where we
had a miraculous 6-8” of snow. Ka’i was as happy as I’ve ever seen him.
He
really loves to dig in snow/sand and plays some sort of head burying game with
Justin.They’re a funny pair.
Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year to you and your family Kay Lee!
Aloha,
Nari, Justin, and Alaka’i