Kirby Akita DofB 05.11.16 Bromley

Dogs that have found their forever home
Beccastj
Posts: 637
Joined: Thu 23 Aug 2018 18:05

Re: Kirby Akita DofB 5.11.16 Gatwick Kenns

Post by Beccastj »

Kirby has come home for the day. He’s was quite excited for the first ten minutes, and then a couple of hours snoozing on the floor. A little break in the garden for a run and a sniff and he chose to come back inside for another snooze. He’s greeted each member of the family gently - he is a soppy dog with people. What he loves most is being groomed.
We ate lunch while Kirby continued to snooze. He’s not food focussed but loves a pig’s ear or a piece of chicken.
All afternoon he continued to lie at my feet quietly and didn’t budge when I left the room for a while.

It’s a shame Kirby is overlooked because of his muzzle, as he’s a lovely boy in the home.
He would be such an easy dog for someone working from home - as he’s not a dog that requires a lot of stimulation. He’s a very gentle dog. He reminds me of Rexx who we brought home recently for a short break. Hopefully someone will adopt him soon.
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FJB

Re: Kirby Akita DofB 5.11.16 Isle of Wight Hols

Post by FJB »

Kirby’s Isle of Wight foster break - day 1

Jason and I went to pick Kirby up and he was in great spirits. A quick potter and then into the car for a trip to the Isle of Wight.

Within about 10 minutes he was starting to settle and by the time we were on the motorway he was starting to snooze. He seems to like laying with his head on the armrest between the front seats! By the time we were around Winchester on the M3 he was curled up and fast asleep. He is not phased by travelling in built up areas either and doesn’t react to what’s going on outside the car other than to watch with curiosity.
kirby in the car_opt.jpg
A walk before getting on the ferry and we grabbed some lunch outside a coffee bar. Kirby was brilliant. He sat and stayed when we asked him so we could eat our lunch with ease and together. He didn’t bat an eye at people walking past him with wheeled luggage or groups of people.

He was excellent on the ferry. We found a spot in the shade and after watching what was going on for a while he laid down on deck to snooze and didn’t bat an eye at all the people around him or constantly walking past him. He showed some interest in the smaller dogs walking past but was easily distracted.
kirby on the ferry_opt (2).jpg

Back in the car and off to the cottage. Had an explore when we got here and then settled down for a snooze. Woke up, played with his toys (will get footage as it’s super cute to see), snoozed again, had tea, pottered in garden, snoozed again. Chose to sleep downstairs when we went to bed and we didn’t hear a peep from him all night until he came to see us around 5.30 to let us know he’d like to go for pee. Now, you guessed it, back to snoozing.

All in all a great day.
Last edited by FJB on Mon 07 Sep 2020 10:31, edited 1 time in total.
Julieh
Posts: 837
Joined: Mon 02 Jun 2014 19:08

Re: Kirby Akita DofB 5.11.16 Isle of Wight Hols

Post by Julieh »

Wonderful update . Thank you for giving this beautiful boy some home comforts 😊
FJB

Re: Kirby Akita DofB 5.11.16 Isle of Wight Hols

Post by FJB »

Kirby's Isle of Wight foster break - day 2

Today we walked into Cowes, pottered around, and then pottered back to the cottage for a well earned rest.

kirby on his bed_opt (1).jpg



Things we learnt about Kirby today:
  • he loves to stop and sniff, back track and sniff and then sniff again just to be sure he's not missed anything;
  • he is happy walking at the end of this leads but doesn't really pull and is great at listening at verbal cues;
  • he is not phased by cyclists, joggers (with or without buggies) or small children on bikes - whether they are coming towards him or just go sailing by from behind (we were walking on a wide paved footpath which used to be a railway line);
  • he seemed fascinated by the sea at Cowes waterfront - so we're going to try and find a beach which allows dogs and see whether he's interested in getting his paws wet;
  • he loves being brushed;
  • he likes to eat treats on his bed rather than anywhere else (he takes them from us, trots over to his bed, flops down and then eats them there);
  • he does NOT like carrots & one of his super powers seems to be eating everything in his bowl and leaving said carrots behind;
  • he is ok walking by dogs which show no interest in him but if we come across one which is barking or moving towards him he will respond. He is, however, pretty good at moving on when asked to do so;
  • he was very well behaved in a pub we stopped in for lunch - and settled down to snooze at our feet whilst we ate;
  • his striking looks draw attention - and lots of people came to talk to us and find out more about him when we were sitting watching the world go by;
  • he takes treats so very, very gently;
  • he knows 'sit', 'stay' and 'paw' (and can do them all with style).
Settled beautifully by my feet in the pub (he was like this most of the time - he just got up occasionally to see who was coming in the door and to find a new position):

kirby in pub 2_opt.jpg
FJB

Re: Kirby Akita DofB 5.11.16 Isle of Wight Hols

Post by FJB »

Kirby's Isle of Wight foster - day 3

Today we started off with a bit of playing together in the cottage:





Then we went to a lovely dog friendly pub and sat outside on the veranda with a corner table (lots of room for Kirby to sprawl out in). He was brilliant - I cannot over emphasise how good he was. The pub was busy so service was 'slowish' and when we looked at our watches we realised over 2 hours had passed and Kirby was still behaving absolutely beautifully. He spent the time either snoozing or watching the other dogs nearby. Just the once someone walked their dog a bit too close and he sat up interested and gave a solitary 'woof'. That was it. He doesn't beg for food or try and get what you're eating (just as well as sitting his head is at table height). We had a totally relaxed pub meal out with him and it/he was lovely.

Afterwards we went to explore a dog friendly beach we'd been recommended. Kirby was more interested in smelling the rocks which were exposed by the tide going out than the sea. But, whatever makes him happy ..... We did spend some time on the water's edge - and he was ok pottering along. When a wave came in which caught him unawares though he did a little jump and side step out the way. He was absolutely fine being towelled off before getting in the car - I could lift his paws up, clean between the pads to make sure all the sand was out, rub his legs and tummy with a towel and he was as good as gold.
kirby on the beach_opt.jpg
Then back to the cottage for some well earned rest.

Other things to share about Kirby:
  • he isn't hugely food orientated;
  • he much prefers tinned food to kibble (big bag of large dog kibble being donated to RR at the end of the week then). we tried sneaking a handful of kibble into his wet food - he ate his way around it;
  • he is absolutely fine travelling on the back seat in the car on this own - he is so chilled he just sits and watches things out the window or goes to sleep;
  • he has started to sleep upstairs with us. He comes up, walks around the bed to see each of us for a fuss and then goes and lies down on the floor at the end of the bed and sleeps there (see photo below) until one of us gets up in the morning (when he comes over for a cuddle and a fuss);
Kirby on green rug_opt.jpg
  • he doesn't snore (big bonus)!
  • he is well house trained & can go from 10pm until we wake up;
  • he has no reaction if on lead dogs don't pay any attention to him; he is alert if there are off lead dogs around (there were a few on the beach) and will react to them but then goes back to pottering along;
  • he is extremely gentle and good tempered. And here's an example to illustrate this. I thought he had a skin tag on his right eye lid but it was a tick (yuck). We removed it with a tick remover without out any problems (Jason held his harness lightly and I got to work). What an AMAZING boy! No grumbling, squiggling or anything. He just stood there patiently until the tick was gone.
Last edited by FJB on Thu 10 Sep 2020 12:04, edited 3 times in total.
FJB

Re: Kirby Akita DofB 5.11.16 Isle of Wight Hols

Post by FJB »

Kirby's Isle of Wight foster - day 4

Today we thought we'd try a secure dog field just in case Kirby fancied a mad dash around. It was a lovely field but the fences were a little lower than we were comfortable letting him completely off lead with (as we weren't sure how he'd react). So, using our long lead off we went ..... No mad dashing around here! Just a gentle amble around the field with lots of sniffing ...... We threw balls but he just looked at us like we were off our rockers and then carried on pottering. 0002.gif]



Kirby being photogenic in the secure dog field
kirby in secure field_opt (1).jpg
Then it was off to yet another pub for lunch (where again he was excellent and just went to sleep under the picnic table and ignored the other dogs around him), a walk along the beach front and then back to the cottage for sleep, play time and supper.

Another lovely, enjoyable day with Kirby. He is laid back, gentle, affectionate and from what he's shown us over the last couple of days very easy to live with.
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SarahW
Posts: 3326
Joined: Sun 01 Jun 2014 10:57

Re: Kirby Akita DofB 5.11.16 Isle of Wight Hols

Post by SarahW »

I am loving reading the updates on Kirby's foster break, how wonderful he is showing what an awesome dog he is. Thanks!
Would you like to walk our lovely dogs too?
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FJB

Re: Kirby Akita DofB 5.11.16 Isle of Wight Hols

Post by FJB »

Kirby's Isle of Wight foster break - day 5

This morning we spent time at the cottage and Kirby enjoyed a brush in the garden - floof was flying everywhere and he looks much sleeker now!

Then it was off to Yarmouth. Kirby travelled well in the car, did really well in the pub (settled down for a snooze under the table) and was great on the walk. He just pottered along, sniffing all the things and for most of the way walked on a slack (rather than at the end of his) lead. We walked through a field with horses in and he didn't bat an eye - just continued on his way. Next it was alongside a couple of fields of sheep and again mostly uninterested - he did pop his paws up on the fence to see over the hedge and have a look at what was going on though.

kirby by the river in Yarmouth_opt.jpg

Then it was off to take a quick look at the Needles before going to back to the cottage for some tea, a snooze, a short play session, another snooze, a cuddle on the sofa, a snooze on the floor, supper, more snoozing, the quickest pee break he could get away with and then upstairs at bedtime.



So, another lovely, chilled day with Kirby.

A couple more things we are learning about Kirby:
  • he's not that bothered about breakfast - he'll eat a couple of mouthfuls of wet food and lick some of the gravy (if we're lucky).
    He does have an appetite towards the end of the day though so he has a bowl of wet food when we come back to the cottage in the afternoon and a bowl of chicken, egg and rice for supper;
  • he will sit and wait for you to invite him to eat before he'll go to his bowl full of food;
  • he seems to get quite thirsty when out walking - on a 4 mile walk today he drank the 2 litres of water we had with us plus a top up pint (of water I hasten to add) we got from a pub on the way around;
  • we'd read that akita's don't wag their tails much - Kirby definitely wags his love4.gif ;
  • he loves ear scratchies and having his tummy rubbed;
  • he lays on the floor quite a bit (I suspect because it's cooler) but also likes sitting on the sofa and arm chair if you let him. If we're on the sofa he likes to lean/touch one of us.
EmmaNicole
Posts: 1156
Joined: Mon 02 Jul 2018 21:52

Re: Kirby Akita DofB 5.11.16 Isle of Wight Hols

Post by EmmaNicole »

Such an amazing trip for Kirby thank you so much for taking him it sounds like you are all having the best time.

Also love the pic of him of him in the freedom field without his muzzle. Shows just what a handsome boy he is. Now all we need is his forever humans to spot him :crossfingers.gif:
FJB

Re: Kirby Akita DofB 5.11.16 Gatwick Kenns

Post by FJB »

Kirby’s Isle of Wight foster break - day 6

Another part of the island and another lovely walk. Kirby doing his usual of sniffing all the things and pottering along. The route took us through a field of sheep (as opposed to alongside one yesterday) and we can report that Kirby is interested in sheep! He did some on the spot bouncing and spinning in his excitement/desire to get to them. He was, however, quite easy to refocus and to get him to move on again which was good. He can also manage stiles relatively easily.

The big news of the day though is that Kirby is a doddle to wash. woo.gif]. He stepped (yes stepped) into the bath when I asked him to and stood there whilst we washed him (using the handheld attachment). We didn’t need peanut butter around the rim of the bath or any treats. He simply stood there as good as gold (and moved when we asked him) whilst we washed the dust and grim away. He is by far the easiest dog I have ever tried to wash (out of 6 dogs) and was a complete star.

He allowed me to towel him down too - no trouble at all. He went running around the cottage afterwards and played vigorously with pink pig for a while (I think to let off steam - very well deserved) and then he had a nap.

Slightly later on he and Jason played a game of fetch with pink pig and then it was time for more snoozing and some tea.

I really can’t over emphasise what a lovely, gentle, laid back, affectionate, soppy dog Kirby is with humans. Admittedly there are some other dogs he doesn’t really seem to like when we’re out and about but that’s only a small part of his personality and everything else we’ve seen this week more than outweighs that.

PS: he does a great lean in too. He did it to me today when we were waiting to cross the road and later on when we were sitting and waiting for Jason to come out of a shop.

Kirby snoozing in the evening:

kirby on arm chair 2_opt.jpg



Earlier in the day, Kirby showing that big dogs can be lap dogs too:

kirby as a lap dog_opt.jpg
Last edited by FJB on Sun 13 Sep 2020 17:05, edited 1 time in total.
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