24 Hours Later…

Maverick Kodi’s Saga, continued…

24 hours later we know:

• His name is not Maverick (his shelter name), nor Woody (which was his original name). His name is Kodi ! (although I have been informed there is dissent in the ranks… ie. Rhiannon thinks Kodi is too All-American & he needs an exotic & unique name.)
• He has a serious need for leash training. We have a Halti, otherwise called a Gentle Leader. He hates it. Too bad.
• Sadly for him, Kodi’s previous life did not include things like stairs, mirrors, tv, toys, or even bones.
• Happily for him, Kodi’s new life includes all of those, and much more – a loving home.
• He really loves Kasha. Really, really loves Kasha – in the way only unaltered boy-dogs can love a female dog.
• Kasha really loves Kodi. Even though she was spayed, and then re-spayed when she continued to go into heat, she may be releasing bitch-in-heat pheromones. Sometimes, females will re-grow some ovarian tissue after a spay. The “second spay” was to look for it, but they were unsuccessful in finding it.
• Kasha is tremendously tempting to Kodi, driving him slightly insane with the innate drive to breed. But Kasha will not allow that. She’s had to tell him there will be no puppies for him. Many times. Glad he’s set to be neutered next week!
• Kodi seemed like such a huge dog at the shelter, but it’s really that his head shape is just very different from what we are used to – long muzzled German Shepherds or GSD-mixes. Next to Kasha, who is over 100#, he is not so big after all.
• I never thought I’d sort-of provoke dog on dog assertiveness, but when Kodi’s overly excited, hyper-stimulated brain had him whining and barking just about constantly over his desire for Kasha, I needed her to gain his utmost respect. So I gave her back her “babies,” the soft toys she keeps on the porch, and is very protective of. She’s even snapped (without contact) at the cat over her babies. Kodi got a much-needed lesson, with no harm done – I knew there would be no harm, or I wouldn’t have allowed it. Now she just has to curl her lip.
• Kodi loves to be brushed, and we quickly relieved him of a pillowcase worth of golden fluff. I suspect this was his baby winter-coat. He’s much blacker through the body now. He’s supposed to be about a year old. His teeth are very young-dog white.
• Underneath all that golden-fluff is really a pretty skinny dog. With a big head. I think he has quite a bit of filling in to do, and won’t be surprised if he grows another inch or two taller. He’s at least two inches shorter than Kasha, and much shorter through the body.
• I love the way he wiggles his non-existant tail. His fur grows into a slight point at the end of his back, giving the illusion of a stump. He tries to wag his tail, and the fur wiggles in the most adorable way!
• He’s very cat-respectful. Interested, would like to sniff, but not prey-drive interested. Thank the gods!
• Hyper-stimulated, overly excited, learning about so many new things and new people, and just released from the shelter, dogs can be very hard to get to sleep. He was awake until 3AM. I was ready to go to sleep at midnight. He was up again at 7AM, briefly, but then finally gave in to his exhaustion and slept soundly until 1:30PM. So did I!
• He gives most excellent good morning (or, good afternoon) greetings! Flopping down in my lap, big kisses, cuddles and snuggles galore!
• Kodi is very smart. It doesn’t take him long to learn what’s expected of him. Or to learn that it’s much cooler in the house than it is outside, and therefore inside is the place to be.
• I thought Kasha had a big-dog bark. At 100#, she ought to! But wow, Kodi’s bark is much, much more intimidating. So far his barking has been confined to complaining that Kasha’s rejecting his advances. Once he learns that this is home, I suspect he will greet visitors, or intruders, with that bark, and they will high-tail it the other way as fast as they can. He was a big sweetheart in the shelter, gentle with kids walking through, interested in greeting everybody without any aggression.

All in all, while it has not been an easy 24 hours, the dog that’s laying contentedly in the hallway now is a far cry from the wound up, confused, anxious dog we brought home yesterday. I think all will be well, once he’s become acclimated to how things work around here, our schedules, the pack dynamics… and gets neutered.