"Hi
Karen,
Just
wanted to take a minute to give you a quick update on Utaha. We all love
him dearly. He is now 11 weeks and weighs 33 pounds. He has the most
unique and fascinating personality of any dog we have ever owned. As an
example, we put a large square basin for the dogs to drink water from
outside. Instead of just drinking from it, Utaha, climbs in with all 4
feet, then drinks, or he climbs in with 4 feet, then sits on the edge of
the basin and sits there for awhile and just passes the time of day. At
first we thought this was just his way of adjusting to our warmer
temperatures, so we got him a small hard plastic wading pool, which we put
a couple of inches of fresh water in each day. He gets in the wading pool
and splashes around a couple of times a day now, but he still likes to go
climb in his drinking basin, stick his head under water and blow bubbles,
go figure! Do any of your other dogs do this?
Our male collie Dakota should be nominated for sainthood. Utaha tries to
chew on him constantly when they are together, but Dakota seems to know he
is a baby and the worst he does is growls when Utaha chews too hard on his
legs or face. We often come home and find them cuddled up in the backyard,
asleep together.
We
have been taking him to my daughter’s kickball games, to the park (he
likes to swim in the pond there) and around the neighborhood to meet all
kinds of people and get used to other animals, so we can take him on
picnics, camping and similar stuff. At first he was very shy, but he is
really becoming a very well mannered little socialite. He is really calm
with little kids, and will let adults pet him as long as they hold out a
hand, then wait while he sniffs it first. I work with him about 20 minutes
each morning on basic training stuff (sit, stay, heel, down, …) and
learning the boundaries of our front yard. I have been doing this every
day since we got him, and am amazed how much he has learned at such a
young age. He has all the basics understood, and we are working on the
parts that come with time and practice, like doing them when there are
distractions, like a squirrel nearby, cars going by, etc., but I am really
impressed with him.
Anne
Kells"
______________________________
“Hello Karen,
Just wanted to drop you a note to see how you and all your dogs are doing
and also to give you an update on Utaha.
Utaha has developed into a most magnificent animal. We all get
a laugh out of people driving by when we take him out for a walk.
They can't take their eyes off of him as they pass by. We have had a
couple of people nearly wreck their vehicle not watching where they are
going but rather watching the Utaha. Of course they all have to come
over to check him out. The kids love it when Utaha sticks his head
in the car window and gives them a lick. Adults on the other hand
have a look of "You are holding on to him, RIGHT!!!!"
We are constantly amazed at
his intelligence. About the only issues we have had with him is that
he does not like to ride in a vehicle for long periods of time but he
is getting better, and because he is misses his play companion he can get
a bit mischievous/devilish. A couple of examples are:
1)
When I go out to check the pool baskets.
If I am not watching him CLOSELY, he will sneak up behind me, grab
the basket or cover (this is not limited to pool baskets, it can be
anything I am work with (i.e. tools, lawn mower bag,...) and take off
running. At this point the game is on. He will run away and
drop the item and stand over it until you get right up to him, just
close enough to allllmmmmost reach it, then he will grab it and take off
again.
2) We don't know what it is about glasses, but he loves them. No
ones glasses are safe. When anyone comes over to swim if they take
their glasses off and he can sniff them out he will take them. So
far we have only had to replace one pair.
Once you catch your breath you have to laugh at him and yourself for
chasing him all over the yard. Travis, our youngest has his
number. When ever Utaha take anything of his, he will go to the
refrigerator and grab a tidbit. Utaha will drop what ever he has and with
the speed of light run to him for it (don't be in his way - the voice of
experience, he will knock you off your feet :-)). At this point you
can get what ever it was he had… Utaha loves the water and
loves to swim with our family and friends.
On a totally different topic, I have been reading some of the comments by
others on these wonderful animals and would like to add my two cents.
These animals are fantastic. They are intelligent,
strong, and friendly but they are not for the person that wants a lap
dog or believe that they can ignore and leave them locked up
indoors or outside all day without interaction. They require lots of
love, attention and training. If you are willing to spend the time
you will find that you do not have a pet, but a friend, companion and a
member of the family.
Thanks! Darren, Anne, and
Utaha”
_____________________
“Hi Karen,
We
wanted to update you on Tehyatala and Utaha. Karen, Tala is one of
the most magnificent animals we have ever seen (next to Utaha of
course). Tehyatala graduated puppy training school with flying
colors and the instructor should be contacting you to get on your
waiting list. He could not believe how intelligent she is and kept
commenting on how quick she picked up on things. The instructor
has one of the biggest Great Danes I have ever seen (and I used to own
one that I thought was huge 36” at the shoulder and weighed in around
175#). During the play sessions at the end of each class, Tala
would rather play with the big Dane than with the other pups, and he was
not to sure how to react to her advances. I guess being around
Utaha has given her the idea that she needs to run with the big dogs.
Utaha and Tehyatala are inseparable. They eat, sleep, play and try
to see how much trouble that they can get into together. While
Utaha has settled down some, Tala is a ball of energy. Thank you
for your wonderful animals and the fantastic additions to our family.
We now have 4 children (Shannon, Travis, Utaha and now Tehyatala) and 2
cats. We are attaching a couple of recent photos of Tala and Utaha
feel free to post them if you would like. Take care.
God
bless you and your dogs,
Darren
and Anne”
