Slug dog

Yesterday Kai became a slug. I took her for a walk around eight in the morning and my daughter took her for a run around 11:30 am. She did not go on a big run, but my daughter said that she looked so tired that she decided to bring her home. I was gone for about two hours but when I came home Kai greeted me at the door. I was told that was the first she moved after her run. As my daughter was doing computer work for her Master's Kai laid down on the floor beside her and slept. She did not really move until after dinner, and that was because we ordered a pizza for the first time in several months. She loves to eat the leftover crust and managed to bug us until we gave in. Then after we were finished she decided that we took up to much space and would not sit with us while we watched TV. In actuality I was in what she deems her seat and would not come into the room until I moved, at which point she stole my seat. Lovely dog.

Summer 2014.

Kai's adventures so far this summer:
1. Lazy slug whenever it gets to 90 degrees, you can find Kai inside, on her favorite chair lounging.
2. Walking in morning and some evenings, depending on when her owner, me, feels like braving the heat.
3. Boarding while the family was away. Went to pick her up and she wanted to go back inside. I am pretty sure it had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with her desire to play with the other dogs.
4. Brought home from boarding, escaping out of gate causing a merry chase. I chased her up a hill, which I could walk, running just to keep an eye on her was a little moisture producing. She decided to go in someone's backyard and climb that hill, where she found some lovely barking dogs. This slowed her down just a tad, long enough for me to climb this hill on my hands and knees and have her run down the hill and watch me crawl back down it. Then she was off again, but this time towards home and downhill. She stopped long enough for me to catch up with her and I am pretty sure if I had gone towards her she would have taken off, so I sat on the curb. She came up next to me but just far enough so I could not reach out and grab her, when I got up she took off. She came to a road and I yelled stop and stay. She must have been tired because she actually listened. I was able to catch her. My dismay came when I realized I would have to carry her 4 blocks because I forgot the leash and my cell phone. 30 pounds is not fun to carry downhill, luckily not uphill. Husband passed by without seeing me, I was behind a tree apparently. Both Kai and I were a little exhausted from our run/walk. Hopefully, this will not happen again anytime soon.
5. Today she is playing with a monkey I bought her. She loves to throw it up in the air and catch it. I did not get her out this morning for a walk, I hope I can get her out this evening.

I will keep you posted.

Kai and children

We live near and elementary school and since Kai was 5 months old she has greeted the children through the fence. She sits and waits for them to go to and from school, that is on the mornings she decides to get up by 7:30. If she is not fence the children call her name and I have been asked on several occasions where Kai has been. She has also met up with children in the street and I have taught her on most occasions to sit or at least not jump on the kids. But I have never really had a child younger than 10 in the yard, so I was a little skeptical when a mom whose older kids were weeding my garden also left her 5 year old. But I need not have worried  because they became fast friends and Kai did something with that boy that I have never seen her do with the adults. When we play with Kai she gets her favorite toy, a Kong with fabric and strips hanging down, after a lively tug and war she releases it. When we throw it she brings it back, but again we have to play tug of war. When Kai plays tug of war she really swings her head and on many occasions I have had to drop the toy because she jerks my arm. So when the child picked up the toy I was ready for Kai to grab it and tug to roughly, but she didn't do it. She would touch the toy with her teeth gently and then back away, releasing the toy. She did this the whole time the child had the toy. I was very proud of my Kai for being so gentle.

Aping my husband

Kai has a favorite chair in the living room, and yes I know that you are not suppose to let dogs on the furniture, she likes to curl up in it while I am reading in the chair across from her. My husband has a favorite chair in the TV room, one that I bought for his birthday. When anyone sits in my husbands chair he looks at them until they move. Yesterday, I flopped down in the Kai chair to read the mail, and Kai came in the room. First she went to my usual chair and looked at it, then she looked at me, tilted her head, looked at my chair, then back to her chair. I could almost hear the what do you think you are doing wheels churning in her head. So I got up and moved to my usual chair, where Kai promptly jumped up into the chair I just vacated. Very much my husbands move. You got to love both human and dog.

Love

My Kai has calmed down considerably from the first time we brought her home. My daughter who just got back from England noticed it immediately as she no longer performed the noddle, wiggle dance while sitting in your lap. Kai is definitely a love bug. She would never let you hold her without wiggling, but since my son has been home,  she allows him to pick her up and cuddle. Yesterday she dissolved into his shoulder and stayed put, something that would have her lunging for the floor before. My daughter sat on the couch the other day and even though Kai likes the TV couch for herself, she jumped up to a place that was snug just to be close to her. Kai also worries about us when we are gone, you can hear it in her woeful bark when she sees us, I still think it sounds like "Where were you?" She is our little love bug and I am glad we were fortunate enough to find such a loving dog tucked up in rescue facility in a remote part of Virginia/West Virginia.

She knows

I have to travel once again, which means placing my pup at her favorite boarding spot. But she is moping around and has decided while I sit here typing to stand by my legs. I am on a stool, so her back fits perfectly under my legs. She is also looking at me with some very soulful eyes and sighing. She must have seen my bag or her bag sitting by the door filled with her food. How do they know? My Boston used to do the same thing when we were traveling. I will have to find some special treat while I am away and spend the first few days when I get back with a lot of puppy attention. Wish I could take her with me but it is a long drive and she is not the savviest car puppy. Maybe one day she will be able to travel with us.

Still Chewing

 I thought Kai was past the chewing things up stage, but last night I was corrected on that piece of information. Kai came into the TV room last night with goo on her face. We could not figure out where it came from, so I did a search of the house. Well, let me just say I found out where the gelatin came from. To understand you have to know that I am a breast cancer survivor, and that I elected to have a mastectomy but not reconstructive surgery. I use a prosthesis on my right side. I have several forms, one in which I use for swimming. I had place this on my bed as I packed for going out of town. Kai apparently felt that she needed to see what this thing was, so she chewed around the edges. I am thankful to be a girl scout and always prepared, because I had bought two of them, not cheap but you never know what can happen.

Today Kai was watching me fold laundry and had decided to jump on the bed. I am thinking what a good girl she is nestled up next to my husbands jeans. But I noticed that her jaw line was moving. She had one of the belt loops and was casually chewing it while I folded the laundry. If I had not noticed that little flick of her jaw, my husbands loop would be completely gone. I guess she is bored. I am getting ready to board her again, so maybe she will get some of her boredom to go away. I will give her a long walk tonight, unless we get a thunderstorm.

I guess I am going to go back to locking doors to keep Little Miss Mouth away from things. SO far she has left my shoes alone.