Kona has had a great week -- he continues to blossom and show us what a playful, good boy he is. He's learned a lot and so have we. Here's what we learned this week:
Kona is definitely housebroken - he whines and/or goes to the door when he needs to go out. And when he lets you know he needs to go out, you shouldn't really dawdle.
Kona enjoys a snuggle on the couch and on the bed too -- he will wake you with a kiss on the cheek and if you don't respond quickly enough he will kiss your ear - very softly.
He is not all that excited about being in his crate. Right now, we're feeding him in his crate with the door open so he can learn to feel good about that experience. He is very leery about any actions on our part that look like he is being tricked into going into his kennel other than to eat. On the other hand, if you do put him in the kennel, he is very patient, but he doesn't like it, not at all.
He respects a baby gate but does better when he has a buddy to play with.When he comes in from outside, right before it's time to go to bed, he gets energetic - we've learned to give him a toy that has a few treats stuffed into it that he can chew on and transition to sleepy time. It's worked out well for all of us!
Kona *really* enjoys playing outside and running laps in the fenced back yard. It's almost as if he knows he needs to burn off that energy. After playful romps outside he settles in for a mid-morning nap - some more laps-- some more naps and playtime when the family gets back together in the evening. Right now, my husband is home during the day so Kona has ready access to the yard.
Kona eats twice a day but he is not particularly motivated by food right now.
Kona goes to bed (with the magical chew toy) and gets up with me at 5:30ish in the morning. I think he'd be glad to sleep in but doesn't want to miss any play time with our resident dogs.
If Kona doesn't have toys, he might find one on his own -- he loves to find shoes that you've forgotten to put away and prance into the livingroom with them, hoping you'll chase him. I think it's a familiar game. We are trying to teach him to bring the shoe to us and trade the shoe for a treat or acceptable toy.
Kona has a cute habit (well, cute so far) of sneaking into my purse and stealing kleenex. Just kleenex. Go figure.Ok, and he really doesn't like my knitting - he showed me that by destroying the project I was working on. I've learned to put that kind of thing away now, it's just too much temptation for him at this point.
Kona is a fun, energetic dog who is eager to learn. He'll be at the Petco in Des Moines this Sunday, please come and meet him!