First Impressions and Walking Woes

My friend Caitlyn, who recently got a job at the farm I work at, is finally here! I am very excited to have a friend close by, especially one who loves and understands dogs. I've decided that Keena has an issue with first impressions; she makes really bad ones! Most dogs don't know what to do with her, partly because of size and partly because she is a very "in your face" type of dog. She is very confident in herself and thinks she is the queen! Well, Caitlyn has three dogs, only two of which has Keena met so far. Shelby is a small rottweiler mix who is very timid; they rescued her and suspect that she was abused. Mannii is an alsakan malamute mix puppy who is a ball of fur and fun! They are both very sweet and active. The first time I took Keena over to their house she walked in and claimed the place as her own. She has never cared about dog beds at all but she stretched out on their dog's bed because they were on it. Long story short, I kicked Keena out of the kitchen because she was sniffing Caitlyn and Logan's food too intently for my liking. Aparently that did not make her happy because as Shelby tried to walk past her into the kitchen Keena attacked her! It was short lived and not injuries occurred. Needless to say, Shelby was a little more on edge after that. Later, Keena startled Shelby (not intentionally she was just walking past as Shelby had her eyes closed) and Shelby snapped at her. My hopes were not completely dashed at Keena having doggy friends, I knew we needed to try again. This evening I went over to visit before I took her on a walk and it was a different story! Keena was a little tense at first but it went off without a hitch! Shelby and Mannii LOVED her and were sniffing, climbing on, playing bitey face and play bowing left and right. They even started playing! Unfortunately, no house is big enough (ok, no house that I have access to) for Keena to really play without doing some serious damage. We decided it would be best to take them all on a walk in the park and they loved it. I am so glad we didn't give up; it just goes to show you that dogs don't hold grudges. They are truly beautiful creatures in that way. I believe even more that Keena is a blessing in my life and know I can learn many things from her.

Exhausted after I got her to go up the stairs.

It's tough getting into shape!

   On another note Keena and I have been walking a lot lately. I'm loving every minute of it! I feel so good and it invigorates me. Keena, on the other hand, loves the walks but is even more out of shape than I am! Knowing that giant breed dogs are even more proned to overheating so I try to walk her later in the evening. It's been getting up in the 90's lately so I've been waiting until about 7 or 8 since its still light outside. We walk about a mile and by the end she is EXHAUSTED! One evening I actually was dragging her back to the car and when we got to the house she came in the door and laid on the floor before I could even get her leash and halti off of her! I am loving this time with her and thinking I can probably get myself into better shape with the help of my walking buddy. I have a few pictures above of the after effects of walking but none of Keena with the other dogs yet. I plan on getting a camera soon so that will help!