Title: To Win
Fandom: Beyblade
Pairing: lightly Kai/Takao
Warnings: spoilers for the end of G-Rev
Summary: With maturity comes the understanding that sometimes you have to sacrifice yourself to win.

As they prepared to go out into the stadium, Kai said Takao’s name and jerked his head to the side, indicating he wanted to be followed. Max and Rei raised their eyebrows in question, but Takao just shrugged and followed Kai until they were around the corner out of sight and hearing range. When Takao caught up, Kai was staring at the ground with his arms folded over his chest. It was a typical Kai posture, but Takao had become fluent enough in Kai-ese by now to know that he was just thinking.

“Well?”

Kai raised his head and levelled his piercing gaze on his teammate, rival, best friend. There was no one other than Dranzer Kai would do more for. He had already put his heart through a woodchipper once for Takao’s own good, he would do it again if he had to. Hiro probably felt the same way. But it was time to think of the present and all that entailed.

“This match is going to be messy. I want your word you won’t step in. No matter what happens.”

Takao caught Kai’s serious tone and frowned, eyes searching Kai’s face in concern.

“What’s going on, Kai? You can win this, right?”

Kai couldn’t help but smirk a little, although it never reached his eyes. “Of course. But you have to trust me.”

Trust was something Takao could understand. He’d matured a lot over the past few years into a natural leader, someone that everyone could respect. But even in those early days when Takao couldn’t sit still and shouted all the time, Kai had seen something there that had captured his attention. He’d done all he could to nurture that and challenge it, and now Takao was the strongest person, let alone beyblader, that Kai had ever met. He didn’t even rank in comparison.

Takao was still serious when he nodded slowly and said, “I trust you.”

Kai felt a small smile bloom involuntarily on his face and made no effort to suppress it. He’d grown too.

“Thanks,” he said softly, closing his eyes to preserve that glowing feeling. He had a feeling he would need it later. He opened them again when Takao’s hand was on his shoulder, brushing the ragged ends of his latest scarf. He felt himself stiffen involuntarily and then forced himself to relax again. Takao acted like he hadn’t noticed.

“Whatever it is, Kai, I’ll be supporting you all the way. We all will.”

It felt like a fist had closed around his heart, squeezing, and his breath caught in his chest. He almost wanted to stop now, to just fight Garland and leave Brooklyn to Takao, to drop the entire thing, because he knew now how much it would kill Takao to watch the kind of battle he had in mind. But he’d already extracted his promise and he knew what he had to do. The reasons for doing it hadn’t changed. He looked away, but he was sure his eyes gave him away because Takao’s hand squeezed before it left.

Kai took a deep breath and voices called from down the hall. They were going to be late.

“Go ahead. I’ll come last.”

Takao looked at him for a moment and nodded, and then flashed him a smile as he turned away, that smile that had won the hearts and minds of far more people than he’d ever realize.

“We can win this Kai, I know it,” he said as he walked away.

Kai only stood and watched him go, warring with himself, and when Takao was out of sight his head fell and he settled in to steel himself for the long match ahead. He was already aching, exhausted, from the previous matches. He only had the sketchiest of ideas, instinct, to go on. But he was going to win. To prove that pure talent and arrogance could never beat a lifetime of dedication and love for the sport. To prove that he wasn’t still a victim of Boris and his grandfather. To prove Takao right. He could and would do this, no matter at what cost to himself. He would win.

i can’t believe how much you forget after you’ve had a kid.  you particularly realize this when you have another one (and another, at least i’ve been told).

kalena is an awesome baby.  i cannot complain.  she sleeps well and is very straight forward.  or, most likely i was just an idiot with kai and he was almost just as easy (minus the gas).

kai is adjusting as well as can be expected to all this new change.  he loves his “cute” little sister (as he calls her), and is very helpful.  sometimes i wish he could understand a little more in terms of communication, though.  often our conversations go like this:

me/rick – “Kai, we don’t stand on the couch.  Please sit down.”

kai keeps standing on the couch.

me/rick – “Kai! Don’t do that.  You could get hurt.  You understand?!”

kai – “what.”

i feel like we keep having this same conversation over and over again with various things, and all he says back is “what.”  it’s like he thinks when you say, “do you understand?” you are supposed to respond with “what.” (meaning yes?)

All I can think of is the future, and that’s kinda scary for me. I’ve always been the level-headed one. but scary in an exciting way.
I’m making steps to apply to a new university, i’ve got to phone Edinburgh Napier and enquire about a course.
I essentially want to study French and German (not just for Kai, but for my benefit too. I always wanted the chance to study more languages, and i didn’t get that chance in school :/).
I’m also going to enquire about TESOL post-graduate degrees and if they’ll give me the same careeer opportunites as my Joint Honours TEFL degree. It’s all very confusing.
I want to teach English abroad. I’m sick of this place.

i think my excitement today has stemmed from reading a local job advert posted around University, looking for fluent speakers of French, Spanish and German. I was like I WANT. it paid really well, even though it was just a lousy full-time office job.

I’ve even formulated a 5-year plan which is a “key strategy for forward thinking” according to the lecturers here. i also cannot type strategy properly. jesus bloody christ.

Plan A: Finish first year at Coventry, transfer to Edinburgh Napier, study French and German, post-gradding in TESOL or TEFL after my year abroad and undergrad degree. do PGCE and stuff. Finish uni. Work and live abroad.

Plan B: Finish first year at Coventry, transfer to Sunderland Uni, study French and TEFL, while still learning German. post-grad in something (lol planning ftw). Do PGCE. Exactly the same.

Plan C: Stay at Coventry, but look for new accomodation / halls. Finish French and TEFL degree. etc etc.

Plan D. Finish first year at Coventry. Take gap year, go work in France / germany, anywhere that will take me. Start at Plan A/B again, with further life experience and knowledge of the languages.

I dunno.
I’ll decide shortly after I make this phone call.

Anyways, brb i’m gonna go an STD test. lololol

Yesterday I posted about the product ‘JerHigh’ sold by Vitapet here in New Zealand.  I was concerned because after feeding small amounts of the treat, Kai had developed worsening diarrhea.  Eliminating other potential factors had left the treats as the most probable cause.

I emailed Vitapet with my concerns after doing a web search on the product name + diarrhea and finding a match from an old Trade Me thread, and then the FDA warning about similar treats.

A representative from Vitapet contacted me immediately (Kudos to Vitapet for their swift response) and came out to see Kai.  Vitapet have assured me that the potentially lethal product referred to in the warning comes from a factory in China (and is primarily sold in the US), while the products sold here in New Zealand are purchased straight from the factory in Thailand.

He took the product away to be ‘tested’ – I’m dubious that this will happen, as it feels more like an attempt at pacification, but if they DO actually test the product I would be very interested in the results.  Since I stopped feeding the treats though, Kai’s stools have gone back to being small and hard as you’d expect from a Eukenuba-only diet.  In the past 24 hours he’s only been to the loo 3 times as opposed to 5 times.  This, I might add, was on feeding only a very small quantity of treats during training.

The rep from Vitapet left me with the New Zealand version of the chicken-breast jerky (from the JerHigh factory) and once I’m confident Kai has no other digestive issues, I may try a very small amount and see what his reaction is.  The rep also suggested it may be an intolerance to chicken – I’ll also test this with cooked meat (to be on the safe side) as it’s better to know about a food allergy or intolerance sooner than later.

I must add, with the return of his stools to normal, Kai seems to have settled down a bit, become less ‘bitey’ and agitated and seems to be a calmer wee fellow.

I will post more about the JerHigh experiment for anyone out there interested in knowing more about these types of treats.

My little waif

From Toy Story to Bolt, animation has brought us an array of wonderful characters to cherish and enjoy. This roundup highlights a selection of simply awe inspiring 3D characters.

Stunning 3D Characters

Captain Jack Sparrow

Created using 3DSmax, Zbrush and Photoshop, the attention to detail and expression are fantastic.

Bobby, The Little Octopus

Textured using ZBrush and decorated with Blender, taking 5 days of work. Bobby is a unique and fascinating piece of work.

Harlequin

Hauntingly realistic, Harlequin is truly a spectacular piece of art. At first glance, one might think this was a well lit photo.

Science Doc

Modeled in maya and rendered in Mental Ray, Science is an excellent character, with matching production values.

Goblin Mechanic

Inspired by Max Cant’s soldiers when modeling the furnace on his back he is full of expression and crammed with an array of wonderful details.

Will Smith Caricature

Hilarious and superbly created using Cinema 4D, ZBrush and Photoshop. It has a warmth and charm that make it stand out.

Jelly Spider Friend

Realistic and a little creepy, this is beautifully crafted with amazing colors and textures. The lighting adds to the freakish feel of the piece.

Cloud Tribute

A tribute to the popular Final Fantasy character Cloud, the emotion behind the eyes is extremely powerful.

Beautiful Vanadisa

Created in Daz Studio with a rendering time of over 22 hours, this is a simply breathtaking 3D portrait.

Isabelle

Modeled using a combination of Poser, Vue, Cinema 4D and Photoshop CS, she has a real sense of mystery and magic.

Art Ventura

A wonderful caricature, Art Ventura solves mysterious CG cases. The behind the scenes of its creation is worth viewing.

Ogryn Stare

The artists first project using ZBrush with the entire piece taking over two days. It makes great use of textures.

Rose

A beautiful pose and composition, great use of light and a thoroughly captivating expression make Rose a compelling piece.

Emocionado

A funny and charming piece with great attention to detail on the cloth patterns and the stubble on the chin.

Aztec Priest

Inspired by Mel Gibson’s movie “Apocalypto”, this Aztec Priest is detailed, imaginative and original.

Cyber Goth

Created using a combination of Poser and Photoshop, the design on her scalp and the eye markings really draw the eye.

Samurai Troll

The texture work in the armor plates and skin are amazing given that the artist views this as a work in progress.

Smoking Creature

I don’t what’s more frightening, the hideous character or the amazing amount of realism he possesses.

Kai

This is Kai, Nariko’s dedicated friend (from Heavenly Sword). Created using Poser, Vue and Photoshop.

Shadow Conscious

Absolutely incredible detail, the artist really captured the emptiness in her eyes and created a character deep in thought.

Female Vampire

Inspired by the vampire film 30 Days of Nights, this female vampire looks really realistic and deliciously evil.

Arwen

Created using Cinema 4D, Poser, Vue and Photoshop with an obscene render time, Arwen is a pearlescent beauty.

Fries With That

Fantastic modelling, texturing and shading make this utterly realistic, you will think it’s a photograph. An amazing achievement in 3D realism.

Suspicious Minds

An incredibly striking, beautiful, realistic and moving portrait with an interesting story behind it.

The Worlds Enemy

A superb model of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy with the rendering taking 3 hours and the post production taking 6 hours.

Chris In 3D

An absolutely stunning combination of Poser and Photoshop work. Do yourself a favor and check out this render’s immaculate details.

Cyborg Head 01

The level of detail is nothing short of amazing, enhanced by the textures and lightning that give this 3D render superb qualities.

Ethereal

Artwork based on the W40k universe, it’s an Ethereal from the TAU empire, taking 2 days to complete using Cinema 4D, ZBrush, VRay and Photoshop.

Knight of the Temple

A lone knight of the Temple, standing guard. The chainmail and stone are particularly brilliant in detail and texture.

Grandma

Just awesome detail, amazing textures, superb blending and the befuddling expression on the woman’s face make this a wonderful piece of work.

I swear, I can almost see him grow in his sleep.  From 5.2kgs to 6.5kgs in three weeks – that’s an average of 400+ grams per week.  And it’s all gone into his legs.

I can’t honestly say how toilet training is coming along, as when he whines I take him outside and he goes – but frequently not that much.  On the other hand, occasionally he’ll just take off into another room and in the space of 5 seconds will pee without apparent warning.  But we persevere.

With a mouth full of emerging teeth he’s a chewing monster, so I keep plenty of chew toys to hand.  On fine days, a hard-bottomed plastic pool with a few ice cubes in it keeps him busy for a fair while, and the ice should help numb his gums and ease some of that teething stress.  Another useful toy is a squishy blue ball that is basically a mesh you can put things into.  I put in some treats, but he can’t actually get them out.   Keeps him busy (and frustrated) for quite a while – then I will help him get a couple out, so it’s not a futile effort.

I’m mindful that some people recommend putting peanut butter into a Kong, but I can’t help but feel that peanut butter is a really bad thing to come into contact with teeth that are never brushed.  I would rather he ate a carrot, which will clean his teeth and not provide any additional calories to his diet.

Bite inhibition training continues and I can tell when he needs a nap, as it all goes out the window.  When he starts ignoring my ‘don’t bite’ command, then he gets time out, which seems to work.

However, Kai is proving to be extremely food-motivated.  I feed him Eukenuba three times a day on wet days, or on fine days, twice a day with a raw lamb bone at lunch time, but with him growing so fast, he’s always hungry.  But this means he’s very quick to learn new commands.  Now that he understands the process – word+action=food (around 30% of the time), he is coming on very quickly.

We have a pretty reliable sit, wait, come (when food is involved) and come round to heel, although ‘down’ is taking a bit longer to process.  I’ve also started introducing ’stand’ as in competitive obedience distance control, it’s better for the dog to stand before he lies down so that his paws don’t move forwards.

His retrieve is coming along very nicely and he’s proving to be a natural.  Lots of praise when the ball is returned right to me, and silence when it’s not… then after a while I will get his treat ball and tempt him back to me to be treated for returning the ball.  This doesn’t happen often – I’m always very careful not to chase him when he has the ball, or give him any attention if he runs away with it.  So far so good.

There is one thing that’s bothering me though.  I’ve been using Vitapet’s JerHigh treats to reward him, and since then he’s developed worsening diarrhea.   As I wrote this I did a quick internet search  and found this website which indicated that the product could cause kidney failure and potentially death!

FDA Warning

While the kidney failure and death seem unlikely, there’s no doubt that the diarrhea is real and a reaction to only small amounts of the product, so I would caution people not to feed these treats – the resultant upset for the puppy isn’t worth it.

Kai really is becomming a lovely little man, with a soft, sensitive nature but plenty of curiosity and energy.

Kai being a goofball

kai kase kai chalu ahe

Nok en gang rullet store dønninger innover mot havneområdet og det gikk ikke veldig lang tid før en kajakkpadler dukket opp.

Tidligere på dagen i dag var det regn, vind og de berømte rullende dønningene som går rett inn i Os havn.

Se og: Herlig lek i fønvind og dønninger!

Naturligvis dukket det og opp en utfordrer til dønningene i kajakk. Han var ikke like god å se hele tiden, men så ut til å ha god kontroll på det han holdt på med.

Ich staunte nicht schlecht …

“A River Runs Through It…It Being Egypt”

November 17th, 2009

Ever since I stopped receiving screeners for Being Erica, I’ve been falling off from covering the show. It isn’t that I haven’t been watching, but with a busy life and a busy TV schedule I haven’t been getting to episodes with any sort of timeliness.

But the show has continued to be quite engaging, although in some ways it has reneged on some of its potential. The show has done a lot of work to expand its identity in order to introduce some new dynamics between characters, but for the most part the show hasn’t really delved into them. In recent weeks the show has thrown Erica into the future, and in the process has created a scenario where the show itself is in some ways an enormous therapy session.

But rather than complicate the show’s basic premise, it’s effectively been folded into the already existing construct that the show is as much a therapy session for Erica’s present than it is a therapy session for the past. The show’s storylines present complicated moral and ethical scenarios that it wants to play for both comedy and drama, and it is avoiding the supernatural storylines on a broad level to be able to follow those goals. “A River Runs Through It…” continues a storyline (Kai and Sam’s relationship) that is really frakked up when you really think about it, but it doesn’t really want to talk about the metaphysical ramifications so much as it does the personal ones. And, so long as it keeps telling strong stories within this structure, that’s fine, but I do sort of want the show to look beyond interpersonal relations to the overall premise being peddled here.

The idea that Kai and Sam hooked up raises a whole lot of questions, because as noted we are now effectively living in someone’s therapy session. Kai is an intriguing character because he’s so easily fallen into his old life that he is unwilling to leave, which is something that Leo’s post-university experience sort of mimics within Erica’s flashback. The idea of become detoured, rather than actually moving forward, is the central premise of Kai’s therapy session, but that therapy session isn’t really the point of the show. It seems more interested in Erica having feelings for Kai, and Erica struggling to deal with her own relationships, for it to actually become about Kai’s session, and Sebatian Pigott isn’t a strong enough actor to be able to carry the show was Erin Karpluk is (although I’ve been impressed with some of his work).

And yet that’s the part of the show that I find most interesting, primarily because it creates some rather interesting paradoxes. What happens if Kai were to start a relationship with Sam? Would it be possible for them to have a baby (just stick with me here)? The idea of living this long within a therapy session, and seeing it from the perspective of those living in that time and interacting with this individual, has a whole host of ramifications like this. The show wants to avoid them, though, and instead uses Kai’s future as evidence of his weak character. Every now and then the show throws hints at us about this process, like last week when Dr. Fred makes note that Dr. Tom has yet to tell Erica what the next step of the process is (which Kai seems to know, and which seems to have contributed to his desire to remain in the past). But because of how personal the stories it wants to tell are, it resists these larger questions for stories about Ethan’s porn fetishes and self-pleasuring.

I don’t blame the show for this, just as I don’t blame it for expanding its universe to more grounded character like Julianne (who Reagan Pasternak continues to give some intriguing shades to) or Sam. And if we look beneath the surface of each episode, there’s some interesting shading there. This week, we saw Erica return to her teenage years and act like her Mother in trying to keep the party from flowing over into the car’s destruction, which was both comic (in terms of her constant disgust at her boyfriend throughout) and dramatic (in terms of igniting tension between her and Leo that eventually turned into understanding of his role in the ruse). It also connected with both Leo’s return to teenage behaviours following leaving college and to how Kai is responding within his own therapy session. He’s enjoying being able to return to his youth, and instead of using this to his advantage (inventing things that haven’t been invented yet, writing songs before anyone else could write them, and generally wreaking havoc) he’s just trying to avoid all of the things that will eventually land him in therapy and at the end of his rope.

But the show is more interested in Erica’s crush on Kai, because this will always be a show that introduces these elements but doesn’t fully commit to them. That’s fine so long as Karpluk (who won a well-deserved Gemini this week) remains so charming, and so long as the drama around her continues to feel honest. Still, I think there will be a point where well-wrought drama within an interesting but underused construct will run thin, so I’ll be curious to see where the show goes from here.

Cultural Observations

• I don’t know how an episode about porn and masturbation will go over with voters, but Erin Karpluk was so funny watching Ethan’s porno last week that she deserves something for the performance. Also, how many CBC shows have filmed their own fake Pornos before?
• The material with Sam and Josh’s breakup is the sort of storyline that still feels sort of ineffective because we don’t spend enough time with those characters to really engage us. We’ve never been given a reason to think Josh is worth staying with, so other than Sam proving to have no backbone until when it really matters it hasn’t accomplished much of anything.
• Dr. Tom entering into Erica’s life directly in front of the sex therapist is the sort of thing that is really bizarre at first glance, which tells me that the producers will probably avoid the issue entirely next week.
• I didn’t notice any glaring errors at Wonderland in terms of showing rollercoasters that weren’t there when the flashback was set, but I might have missed something – and yes, I notice these things.

Things are becoming more and more intense and i only half like it. I’m trying to juggle everything around at the same time, making sure I keep in touch with Kai every waking hour, catching up on months-worth of overdue sleep and having a decent social life around University is seriously mentally breaking me down. Not only that but i’m now essentially studying three language. I feel like I don’t know enough French at the moment, but I want to learn German as fast as possible, for obvious reasons. English is much harder than expected. Today for example, I had to instantly switch between speaking German, French, English and speaking the IPA. looooool

Oh yeah, and i have no money. But I need money for food, Christmas, rent, going to see Kai and going back home again for my birthday. I need an overdraft quite quickly, but i can’t find my card and they haven’t sent me my PIN number. god.
So many flipping decisions, do i just try to eat as little as possible until i can get moneys? or do I go get some money from the bank? I don’t want to land myself in shitloads of debt, although i can pay it off in January tbh. Maybe that sounds like a good idea. But I literally have £254 in my bank account as of today. i have £4 to spend on myself until Dec 11th-ish. £250 rent naat good.
Also, i need a job. But doing that would give me even less time to do all above, including my all important essays and revision and stuff in exchange for a small wage. Teh fuck?

I even went to sign up for a GP today, i was dead impressed with myself. Unfortunately the uni surgery was closed and I can’t get tested for every known sexually transmitted infection until a later date. i’m trying not to imagine the awkward conversation i’d have with Kai if there actually was anything found. rofl

Oh aaaaaand because I was silly and did shit loads of work myself today, i have words like genitive, allophonic, passé-composé, Bildungsroman all jostled up in my mind atm. Stupid stuff really, but it’s all kinda important to me. And not only do I have extra revision i should be doing. I need to start reading my French novel for French literature class. I also need to write almost 2000 words about the economy of France and the DOM-TOM in the Trente Glorieuses by next Friday. Fuck my life indeed.

However, i have cake and a full english breakfast (at 3 in the afternoon. lol) waiting for me now. Fucking yes. Take that hunger! x

The GazettE and Alice in Chains have been staples of my music selection over the years. I love them both, great bands, great talent, great music. But this year they both let me down. Not in a huge way, but both DIM and Black Gives Way to Blue were disappointments for me.

The GazettE really are a talented band and I’ve been listening to DIM since July when it released but I still can’t see how it’s any better than the band’s previous albums, in fact in may be worse. There is a noticeable difference between the quality of the music between Stacked Rubbish and DIM. Ruki is still as strange and vague as ever but the band seems to have gotten lazy. The three previously released singles on the CD were probably better than most of the tracks on the CD. In fact, The GazettE could have used all nine songs from the the three singles and they would have put out a better album.

I’m not saying the album is terrible but so many things are missing on the musical end. The album is pretty much void of good guitar solos, if they are there they are muddled by effects of Ruki making noise. Aside from Guren there isn’t really any gut wrenching, make you want to cry songs. The heavy songs are more muddled and crazy as ever. It almost seems like some songs were made especially to attract a younger crowd. In fact I felt a few times that Ruki or Kai could not have wrote certain songs since some just seem manufactured to blend in with a increasingly generic visual scene. If DIM was supposed to be the spiritual successor to NIL it did a piss poor job.

I’m also starting to wonder what is up again considering the gazeboys released Before I Decay in October.

Now onto Alice in Chains. There really isn’t too much to say, I’m glad the band is back together, I’m glad their making music again but no one can replace Staley. There is just something missing in the vocals. Though I must say, great job on putting some sort of meaning back into mainstream music. Radio rock has largely shifted from decent angsty music to really shitty party music. We’re at a point where there are hair metal lyrics mixed with grunge music and it makes me want to puke. It’s so terrible, honestly how many songs do we really need about partying?

A Nariko figure has finally been made, I’m not pleased with the fact they’ve altered her face. I may still buy her simply because she is the only Nariko figure available. No word yet if they’ll make a Kai one too.

According to Reuters, a new translation service is available for expecting parents. For just 1,000 pounds – that’s about US $1,678 – the firm will translate a name into 100 languages.

The firm suggests this service will prevent parents from naming their kids things like Suri.  (Speculation has run wild about the name’s meaning ever since Tomkat chose the appellation.)  They also warn about the perils of Kai (apparently it means “stop it” in Yoruba) and Zuma (which means “Lord frowns in anger” in Nahuatl.)

Humphrey Bogart once quipped “You’re not a star until they can spell your name in Karachi.”  If you’re Gwen Stefani, I can imagine that you could fret about how your little one’s name will appear in the press in Shanghai and Dubai and hey, maybe even amongst the Ancient Aztecs.  (Actually, Nahuatl is spoken by more than a million people, mostly in Mexico.  But still.)

And yet somehow, I can’t help think that if you’re into Extreme Baby Naming you can live with the possibility that your kid’s name might not work well in West Frisian or Igbo.

Well, Kai has come a long way in two weeks, with all the expected inconsistency of a puppy his age.

Sit and down are both understood by verbal command and the beginnings of a hand signal and his ‘give’ is becomming more stable, so that I very rarely have to press his mouth open.  He gives an extra-fierce growl just before he releases the toy as if to protest the interruption and I will need to keep an eye on the automatic teeth-snap that seems to accompany it – but he does give up the toy by choice.

His periods of awake time are longer, as are his periods of sleep.  He’s very active first thing in the morning, happy to crash around 11am for an hour or so before lunch, then up again for a couple of hours in the afternoon before he  gets over-tired and snappy around 2.30pm.

He hasn’t peed in his crate once and accidents inside are pretty infrequent.  His tug-toy is a training/play only toy that he loves, so getting those commands working quickly using the toy as a reward is currently more successful than food rewards.

However, using his breakfast we work on a few things in the morning.  He has a natural tendancy to come and sit at my side which is great and easy to reward, and also comes and sits in front of me for the beginnings of a recall.

His retrieve is still sketchy, but using his natural pattern (to run back to a certain place with the ball), if I position myself in the right place he’ll bring the ball back to close proximity of my hands around 80% of the time.

Next will be leash training, as it’s only 3 weeks till I introduce him to the rest of the world!  I’ll start by attaching the leash to his collar around the house and try and distract him from chewing it – which is his natural inclination, even if the leash isn’t on him at the time!  Possibly I need to get a new leash, as this one is probably saturated with scent from my last dog which may be a distraction.

His has a certain degree of sexual interest in his toys which I discourage him from displaying by distraction and light reprimand.

I think it’s been a successful two weeks – he’s settled in nicely, learning good habits and while he’s not as quick to learn the names of his toys as Chase (my previous dog) was, I suspect this will come once he learns HOW to learn.  Once the pattern of behaviour+command=reward is established, I think the sky will be the limit with this little one.

Kai with tug rope

Jako, że dałem link do pierwszego odcinka remake’u naszych smoczych kulek wypadałoby to kontynuować, dlatego poniżej możecie znaleźć drugą część tego jakże wspaniałego anime opowiadającego historię nie tak młodego już Songa, jego syna oraz ich wiernych przyjaciół.

Link do drugiego [2] epizodu anime pod tytułem Dragon Ball Kai