How can he be 6 months old already?

Today our little man is six months old. It seems unbelievable that he can have reached that milestone already but here we are. So where are we at, in terms of growth, character and training?

First thing is that his bark has 'broken', if dogs' barks do. What is for certain is that since a week or so ago he suddenly had a deeper more authoritative woof. He retains his wonderful 'woo, woo, woo, wooo' bark of surprise or alarm but again this have gone down tonally. He expresses himself better, or perhaps we understand him more! It helps that in many ways he has taken the lead from the Girls, his beloved Kayla in particular. So if he can't reach something he will woof. He asks to get up by plonking his front paws either on the sofa, or the arm of my chair depending on who he wants to lie near/on. Bless him, he can jump off, but not onto furniture still.

We had a very brief 'stroppy' phase, clearly driven by hormones. Was an absolute imp when I groomed him, wouldn't sit when given a treat, wouldn't come when called. You get the idea. Thankfully we seem to have returned to the lovely young man we know and love. Oh and the grotty little creature has been eating poo. Why do dogs do that when they reach a certain age, and are so pleased with themselves? At least we haven't had snails being brought in. Kayla and Bella both went through that phase. I vividly remember one night when I had gone to bed, Bella joined me, together with a toad!!

I've been working on 'come' with him, A vitally important command for me so that I can get him to come from me from anywhere, when Eric has popped out shopping or something. He's doing really well. I only have to call him and rattle my ever treat box and he comes sprinting in from the garden. Have  to say his recall is better for me than it is for Eric. Bribery and corruption, works every time!! 'drop' is very good, unless it's something he's particularly taken with, in which case he runs away from Eric. So funny watching Eric running after him. He's got a real turn of speed and dodges beautifully (Kai that is, not Eric). Equally funny is when he tries to eject something from his mouth, only for it to get stuck in his beard!

Teeth are a big issue for him at the moment. All of his remaining adult teeth are coming in, with some of his milk teeth refusing to fall out. Currently  both upper and one lower canines have the adult and milk teeth sitting next to each other. It looks really odd! We have collected four of his baby teeth which adds to the ones we have from Kayla and Bella. With luck the milk teeth will fall out soon, must be uncomfortable for him having multiple teeth in a space intended for one.

He was clipped for the second time yesterday, and looks so handsome. Next major event for Kai happens this Tuesday.... castration!

Our handsome little smarty pants!

So, what's been happening to our little man recently? 

Kai reached the age of five months last Tuesday. It's weird because in some ways the time has flown, but equally it feels as if he has been part of our lives forever. I know I'm biased but he is extraordinary - incredibly affectionate, scarily intelligent, very handsome, has a fantastic temperament and is definitely our dog (doesn't favour Eric over me or vice versa).

The most noticeable change physically is that his legs are longer so he can reach up more. Don't reckon he will ever get big enough to jump onto the sofa or my chair, but at least he can now jump off things rather than 'hoof and woof' in frustration. His fur grows at an astonishing rate, already his paws are looking like 'mops' again and he's becoming scruffy again. Not that we mind scruffy, It's all part of his charm. It's only been a couple of weeks since he was clipped. We booked him in for his next clipping in 8 weeks. That's definitely going to have to be brought forward otherwise we run the risk of Kayla not recognising him again!

He is slowly wearing down Bella's grumpiness to the point that she almost starts playing with him, realises and then stops herself. She is as protective of him as she is of Kayla, coming and standing on the arm of my chair while I groom him. It's like she's supervising me! Yesterday morning Eric was telling me that on his walk, Kai met a very large Bull Mastiff. He was scared and ran away squealing. It's the first time he's been scared of a dog. Bella went into protection mode and saw off said bull mastiff. Size doesn't matter to Belle, she stands up to any dog she sees as a threat.

They say the Mini Schnauzer is a big dog in a little body. They're absolutely right. He responds to everything, always wants to know what's going on, and never misses a trick. I mentioned previously about him doing fetch beautifully without training. Last night he got hold of a potato (goodness knows how) and took it off upstairs. Lots of thud noises could be heard as he played with it. Next thing we knew he was quite deliberately dropping it down the stairs so that he could run after it. Kayla does a similar thing so I can only assume he picked it up from her.

The calm before the storm!

He's quite happy entertaining himself, tossing toys around, pouncing on them, squeaking them..Far better though is to play tug with me or Eric, rough and tumble and of course fetch. His play with Kayla is ever more boisterous, with him giving as good as he gets. He tries to tug toys with Kayla, but she has a tendency to either pull too hard or jump up on a chair with the toy where he can't follow. Doesn't stop him trying though!!

Kayla in full flight about to pounce..

He particularly likes my Hummingbird Dental flosser, dancing around woofing and trying to grab it as I turn it on and off near him. He only has to see it and over he comes!

I regularly have to try and play with three dogs at once, throwing something for Kayla (she has to put a toy on boxes next to my chair, or on the arm of my chair otherwise it doesn't get thrown!) whilst playing tug with Kai on my lap and tug with Bella straddling the arms of the sofa and my chair. They insist on having a session before bed. Just what you want at that time of night!!!

Kai certainly knows how to express himself. He woofs at the back door if he wants to go out. Paws up on the edge of the sofa if he wants to get up. Same thing on my chair. Trouble is he then plays hard to get, backing away so you can't get hold of him. Usually takes several attempts before he lets himself be picked up. Such an imp! Oh yes, and he can howl. If Eric goes out he usually takes Kayla with him. As long as Kai is up on me we're OK, but if he gets down on the floor, the most pitiful howling begins. Anyone would think the world was coming to an end. Oww whoooo, owww whoooo. Well you get the idea.

He has also joined the other two in their guard dog duties, so anyone daring to ring the doorbell is confronted by three dogs barking. Albeit with two deep and one slightly squeaky one. Do dogs barks break? He has also taken a real shine to coming and sitting with Bella on my chair. This is how most mornings are spent. He is fair though, going to sleep on the sofa with Eric when he's sitting down.


All in all he's lovely but he can be a real little imp. He's pretty good at leaving things and dropping them. Apart from when he chooses not to. Brilliant fun watching Eric try to catch him when he's decided he doesn't want to give up the item. He's really fast and does a brilliant dodge. He particularly likes to run off with Eric's slippers when he takes them off, or a sock if he can reach it. He doesn't do any damage though but you can see how pleased he is with himself!

He is a grot magnet or should I say his beard is. You name it and it gets stuck be it fluff, paper, soil, foam, feathers; the list is endless. Imagine what it's like when he eats or drinks? His beard clumps together and liquid dribbles off. The worst thing has to be the pilchards in tomato sauce that they sometimes have in their dinner. Not only does he end up with that in his beard, it also stains it and stinks. He still smells of fish the next morning. Urgh!

One for the tooth fairy...

One of Kai's baby teeth which came out today. It was wobbly for a few days so we were hoping to get it to add to the ones we have of Bella and Kayla. It's tiny!

Baby molar fell out 21/1/2012

Velociraptor!

Ah, a finger.. Think I'll bite that!!

Oh boy, is Kai teething or what?!?

He has teeth and he knows how to use them. Namely sinking them into us at every available moment given half a chance. He prefers to bite Eric, going for sleeves, shoes, wrist, hand, fingers. He has also become very adept at pulling his hankie out of his pocket.

He has teething dummies which he is starting to gnaw at but irritatingly Kayla seems to get hold of them at every opportunity. She got through two whole sets of teething keys when she was a pup, plus what was left of Bella's.