Shiloh's and Kids

This weekend, the neighborhood kids were out in force- and played with Kona all weekend. I was concerned about the weensey ones (4 year old twins across the street) playing with her as they're about the same weight- and Kona is sometimes gentle- sometimes playful.

She was soooooo good for them- not just for a couple of minutes but every time they came over to play with her which amounted to several hours over the weekend. They figured out how to get her to sit, lay down, stay, etc. Kona handled fine for them, as if she was showing off for her piers. A couple of times they put a leash on her and walked her around the yards. Kona gladly followed- not a tug- I don't think she even knew she had the leash on. It was particularly impressive because she's past the "baby- follow you anywhere" stage. And, the kids are at different stages- yet she fully adapted to them- gentle with the little ones, playful with the older ones.

Now... I'm just not that good of a trainer.

The things that make her special like this are things she was born with. You can't teach these things, not this young. The fact that at 35 pounds she can be handled by a 35 pound child, gleefully, consistantly, and without incident, is a matter of breeding. She's just born with something special and it's very neat to see. I had to laugh when the kids (4 year old twins) were looking at their mom through the splitrail fence, one on each side of Kona, and Kona sitting in the middle- ears up, tounge hanging out, just like one of them. She was completely in her element. The Mom asked asked how it could be that she's like this "all the time" I said I had no clue... and that's the truth...

3 Months Old!

Kona is now 3 Months Old!
She is growing so fast, she goes to the vet Saturday- I wonder how much she weights?
House/Crate training has been done for a while now (I can't leave her alone of course, but she's learned how to live with us and respects our things, well, except our socks), no health concerns or behavioral concerns to speak of- just a really great pup. She gets along with other dogs, as long as she- the bouncy pup is allowed to approach first, if another bouncy pup approaches her- she runs between my legs until she feels more confident... Funny... She's great about kids, we have twins that just turned four in the next house over- she is completely different with them than she is with Alex. She soaks up the belly rubs from the little kids and plays chase with Alex. They wear each other out- it's great. Except, when I tell them to cool it- then they take their respective seats and just stare at each other- each waiting for the other one to break first. It's like having two kids...
I can't count the number of times people tell me "My pup has never been THAT good". It's funny really, I felt for a while like it was the calm before the storm- but I'm starting to get that the dogs are really like this. I'm still in awe...
It's so hard not getting her a friend right now. There are so many great ISSR litters coming up- check the emotion- I need to focus on her right now.
Maybe next spring/summer...