Best Buddies

Kumo went to visit his best buddy, Titan, the other day. Titan is Tim's parents' pit bull pup and he and Kumo are practically like brothers.

It had been a while since Kumo and Titan had seen each other, but Titan's huge growth spurts didn't seem to phase either one of them. Kumo races circles around Titan, but Titan has been practicing on his own time and is now able to run with Kumo. It's so cute! They get along really well and play non-stop whenever they're together. It's often really comical to watch.

To the Beach!

I've been delaying the post of Kumo's first beach trip so that I could edit all the video clips and post them together, but it's taking too long. (Not to mention I got a little bored with it).

Kumo's first impression of the beach was great! He ran around crazily, digging madly here and there in the sand. The wind kicked up a lot of loose, dry kelp pieces and made fun chasing games for him too.

He did a lot of "deep sniffing" with his nose in the sand, which was both funny and sort of weird.

 Kumo doesn't like water.. In fact, he will go out of his way to avoid water. The ocean experience was no different. He would run up and down the shore with us while the waves receded, but as soon as the waves started to roll back in, he was up on dry ground in a flash! Even after watching some Labrador Retrievers bound into the water for their favorite toy, Kumo wasn't convinced that getting wet was worth any trouble. Guess we won't be playing fetch in the water.. Positive side is we won't have to worry about Kumo getting carried out to sea.

Dig! Dig! Dig! Dig!

Kumo helped us dig up sand for sand sculptures like when we went to the snow. And just like before he was only helpful up until he started digging INTO our sculptures.

Kumo transforming into a SEA MONSTER!!!

Kumo was surprisingly patient with us while we tried to attach eight tentacles to his body.

The force is strong with you, young Obi-wan-Kumo-bi!

 He's actually pretty chill for a puppy. We were probably sculpting for a good twenty minutes and he just put up with it. On our trip, we confirmed that he does not like sleeping in unfamiliar places. He seemed to refuse to sleep in the hotel we stayed at and only slept in the car during rides.

Pet-a-Palooza!

Today we took Kumo to Pet-a-Palooza at Rusch Park. There were tons of booths for everything from pet rescues to pet supplies/accommodations. And of course several radio station booths. Many people made out like bandits with huge bags stuffed with freebies from each of the booths. Barenaked Ladies and Alex Band had a free concert too (missed that).

Kumo saw Genki from his meetup group and had a good tousle with him in a clearing between booths. They played like they were best buddies and attracted a lot of attention from people nearby.

While there, we got asked about Kumo a LOT. He got mistaken for a variety of different breeds...


Is that a...

Basenji
We had one lady say, "What a beautiful Basenji! I had three. They're such wonderful dogs."

((-________-'' Sure you did lady...))


^__^; Actually, he's a shiba inu.

Fox

"He looks just like a fox!"

"He looks wild like a fox! Should you be keeping him as a pet?"

Shiba Party 2010

Saturday, we attended the Shiba Party in Novato, CA, hosted by the Shiba Fanciers of Northern California.

It was a big potluck style picnic, where people could show off their shibas and meet other shiba lovers. It was also an optimal place for potential future shiba owners to meet breeders, owners, and shibas to determine if they are right for the breed.

Kumo did surprisingly well. We were a little wary about taking him to such a large function.  However, he jumped right in, eager to meet and play with the other shibas and people.  (I think our dog park/meetup trips are really helping.)

Kumo made a lot of friends and even started trends. He ran around crazily and dug in the sand, so followed other shibas. Kumo jumped on and across the rocks, so folloed other shibas. So cute!! Kumo was so comfortable there, he even put himself in a family's picture with their shiba. He just scooted in and sat next to the other shiba, then moved to the other side of the kids and sat in a second (more balanced) shot.

We entered Kumo in three of nine competitions: tallest shiba, reddest coat, and most naked.  Kumo got to walk in a "show ring" and everything. It was kind of silly, but still fun.

He actually won second place for Reddest Coat and fourth place for Most Naked. So proud of our Kumo!

The Shiba Party was a lot of fun. Definitely worth the two hour drive. We sort of hope the next one will be at an actual dog park. It was a little difficult letting the dogs play while trying to keep their leashes untangled.

Shiba Inu Meetup May 2010

Today was another fun-tastic day at the dog park with our meetup group!

Kumo still had a slow start, but he did better than last time. The first time he was overwhelmed by all the other dogs that were eager to greet him and their barking scared him.  He cowered, hid behind people's legs, rolled over submissively any time another excited dog approached him and even ran away with his tail between his legs.  I felt like a bad shiba mommy, like as if I didn't socialize him at all. :(

At this meetup, Kumo made great progress.  He was only really timid for the first 15 minutes.  He found his buddy, Kouki, from last time and ran around with him. Over the next hour he was running around playing with all the others.  He even got over his fear of Sulu. Now, Sulu is a chihuahua-shiba mix and a super-barker - which scared Kumo and made him roll over (even mid run) in submission when ever Sulu came running after him, barking. Kumo finally realized that Sulu is all bark and there's nothing about him to be feared.  He even played with Sulu in the end too.

Kumo playing with Leah

I think these meetups are really helping Kumo - and me.  He's getting used to large groups of people and dogs.  He's also building confidence as he finds his place in their pack.  Confidence enough to get a little cocky even...

Kumo punks a dog at the park. And he's not sorry.

Can't wait for the next meetup!

Kumo Meets Mr. Black Kitty

Amongst the many new neighbors moving in this past few weeks, Kumo made a friend. Kumo named him Mr. Black Kitty. They seemed to get along pretty well.





Hope to see Mr. Black Kitty again. He reminds us of Bella - very friendly, meows loudly. Wish we could keep him.

Stalker Kitty

On our walk back to the apartment, Tim and I got stalked by Mr. Black Kitty, who came out of NOWHERE! And followed us home.

Kumo is always really hyper when we first get home, so he was a little too rambunctious and scared him off. So Mr. Black Kitty just chilled on the edge of the stairs.