Tulips, Spring, and super Nice Times!

Alright! So I am still in amazing mood resulting solely from the shining, warm sun and the green, green, green world!

My partner in crime, Chris, is gone this week, traveling for work, so I am staying in the city with Koda. I am not super comfortable hiking with him alone. I like having a partner, just in case, especially while Koda is still learning the basics.

Yesterday, we checked out Westland Hills Park and their dog park, which was smaller than my dad's backyard and kind of bare and sad looking, and also occupied by two VERY aggressive little terriers, haha. They were snarling when we approached, so we left.

Today, we joined what seemed like EVERYONE in Albany at Washington Park. Last weekend, the annual Tulip Fest was held, so the park is gorgeous, full of color, and just plain fun right now. It was good for Koda to be in what really felt like chaos at some points, screaming children, dogs running off leash, bikers, runners, strollers, canes, people wanting to pet him, etc, etc.

He was patient while I looked at the flowers and took his picture. He finally got to see the fountain full of water! He took a little drink -_- uck, haha, but I am excited for him to go swim there on a super hot day in the city!

We walked around the lake, and he explored.

Koda got to watch the geese, which he loves doing, and has yet to try to jump in after them!

He got to ignore all my attempts at a self-portait of myself with him, in fact, actively ruining every shot:

He looks like he is going to eat me here :D

But all in all, it was a great day at the park! Still struggling with leash work, but he will sit when I tell him and stay (most of the time). He has another obedience class tonight and there is progress, which is what matters.

Moral of the story of this post: take your dog to Washington Park if you live in Albany! It is beautiful, in the middle of the city, teeming with life, and your dog will thank you!!! Especially if you can trust him/her off leash, there is a huge dog park where the dogs love to play with each other!

Just enjoying life!

Spring is in full swing, rain and all. On the days we get that are sunshiney and bright, out we go! Here we are back at the Corning Preserve, watching ducks and bike riders.

Koda is back into his collar and off the gentle leader. Cue sad face. Pulling is back and still a struggle to deal with. However, the gentle leader rubbed a spot under his eye raw! He might not be big enough yet for the large gentle leader, that is the only reason I can figure for this small malfunction, it worked perfectly with my other shepherd.

We are still having fun, though, just working a little harder for it!



And I will be biased and say how BEAUTIFUL Koda is becoming. His sweet eyes just slay me and his beautiful coloration makes me so happy :D

And I will leave you a picture lastly of Koda's favorite new activity, playing soccer defense! He loves to defend against you kicking the ball and practice heading the ball back to you. It's kind of amazing to watch his precision, how high he can jump, and how agile he is. Love it!



Plotterkill

A few words to sum up this hike: muddy, slippery, misbehaving dog (shortly before the neutering).

I didn't even remember that I had pictures for this. Not sure I wanted to remember it! Koda was pulling me everywhere. We have since gone to obedience school, gotten a gentle leader AND gotten neutered and are having much better walks/hikes!

So, very sorry for the picture quality, but Koda was not having it this day.

Not sitting still for the camera!

And, for you, a PDF map of Plotter Kill Preserve. It really is beautiful (though I will caution it is slippery in bad weather)... it has many waterfalls and is a gorgeous hike right in Rotterdam, just about 15-20 minutes outside Albany.

And lastly: SPRING IS HERE. There is little to no snow surrounding Albany, the Catskills are clear, and we see the Adirondacks in sight!! We hope to get up north for a hike before the dreaded black fly season *shudder*

Happy Trails!

Some updates!

All is going well with Koda! Spring is coming full force into the area, complete with days of intense, pouring rain! But we brave it and have a good time anyway. :)

Koda is looking pretty full grown right now, which scares me, because he is only 7 months old! I cannot imagine how else he is going to change in the coming months.

We have a vet appointment scheduled on Thursday, a pre-check up for neutering. I am definitely a proponent of neutering. We aren't going to breed him, so why risk anything else? I wouldn't mind a little less testosterone running through his body, either! But, seriously, I've known dogs that haven't been neutered that had problems later on and had to be neutered at an older age, which is riskier. I'd like to get it done now.

However, his testicles haven't dropped yet. (TMI?) So the doctor is going to check them, see what can be done, what our options are. But, hopefully, we will have his surgery on the books soon. (Oh, I am going to be a mess when that happens... surgeries make me nervous, especially on animals!).

I had to go down to NYC this weekend, and on our way north, we did some hiking in the Hudson Highland area (Bear Mountain, Harriman State Park, etc). We didn't have Koda with us, but will be taking him down there soon! All the snow is gone and it is dry! I think it will be a great option while the Adirondacks are in their crazy mud/bug season. We can slowly work our way up north, to the Catskills and then to the 'dacks :)

Well, I'll post more updates and pictures when I have them!

Spring is Coming!!!

And while Koda may be born to romp in the snow, he is surely enjoying how much more often and how much LONGER we get to stay out and play!

He loves getting on park benches (as do many other dogs, as  the old paw prints hint at!)

He is getting humongous... approaching his 6 month birthday, he was already weighing in at almost 50 pounds! (today is officially his 6 month birthday, but I am not sure exactly how much he weighs)

His behavior is getting better and better. Some of it I attribute to him simply getting older and being able to quell his excitement more, but some of it has to be the fact that we are working on it all the time! He listens pretty well, sits and stays like a pro, and is super sweet to humans. One thing I am having trouble working on: he just wants to wrestle every dog he meets! He isn't aggressive, but he is overly physical and I have to rein him in, because it makes the other dog's owner nervous.

But, time and exposure I am sure will help that! We go to the dog park and the bike path, where there are tons of dogs.

So, I will leave you with some pictures of Koda, growing as the spring starts showing through the barren landscape of the Northeast!