Monday, 31st of August 2006
Nothing chewed on so far, but no the teeth are coming in full speed and it itches, so I guess we need to be prepared for some destroyed items. The weather is also cooler so he is more alert. Today it was the toilet-roll that was great fun! In the evening we went to i Skrylle and Manuel had a harness and rope. Cows are very interesting, he stands totally still just watching them. The same with birds, just staring. We need to find a better solution when using the harness and rope. Depending on what side the rope is hanging on he runs a bit diagonally. OK we change sides, but that is still not OK. I mean one can see the difference on his walk just based on which side he carries his tail (we change sides for him all the time) . I had contact with Silvia, Manuel's breeder on MSN and she had a good laugh, since he really is in his "ulgy-period" now. Hugh ears, and small body. But she liked his colour very much and wrote she was happy he had such a good life. /Charlotte Tuesday, 1st of September 2006
Manuel played with Golden Retriever puppy in the morning. The puppy was only 12 weeks so we kept the leash on as Manuel is a wrestler. Tin-tin got some blood on his neck and for a second I doubted myself - had Manuel really hurt that puppy??? But no, Manuel is loosing teeth now, so the blood was Manuel's. Later that day, Mikael came after been playing with Manuel and told me he had found worm. And I tried to figure out based on his description whether it was roundworm or tapeworm and wasn't sure, but thought it was roundworm. Still not convinced though, so I bought some Drontal comp forte, which I know he can handle, and called the day-care to arrange the start for next week instead of tomorrow. It is a pity it wasn't me who saw the worms, since I am fairly used to dissecting cats' rabbits' and horses' feces.
Luckily Mikael can work from home tomorrow, as I am working in Älmhult (150 km's from here). In the evening Ingela called and told us she couldn't baby-sit Manuel the week-end we had asked about. I called my sister and she said OK. So Manuel will spend a week-end in my parents' house with a huge fenced garden plus a real dog-lover. In the evening, back in our park "Magistratsparken" training "come here" and tracking in a harness. Well lamb makes it into a piece of cake, but the whole idea is to manage without treats. When arriving in the flat, he had a loooong "crazy-go-round"and we were just talking about the need of bringing him to the yard after such crazy-game - when we noticed him standing over the magazine on the floor.....well well. We found some more worm, and he had a bad stomach, which is natural after having both worms, and then the strong medicine. /Charlotte Wednesday, 2nd of September 2006 We went to the woods in Torup (Bokskogen) for some change of scenery. Manuel seems to handle the harness and rope much better now, not finding the rope crossing his back so irritating anymore. I believe he can see the advantages, I mean, it enables him to run around free (he thinks). We made some tracking and "hide-and seek" and then we headed home. /Mikael Thursday, 3rd of September 2006
Morningwalk in "Magistratsparken" Where we met Jack-russel "Henke" a totally balanced dog with an aura of calmness. During the day Manuel was awake a lot, playful and spent most of his time near me. I found a baby tooth on the floor, which I haven't for any other dog. It was a small front tooth (incido). In the evening we went to Torup again, with harness and rope - again./Charlotte Friday, 4th of September 2006
Manuel got scared of our neighbour in full motor-bike gear and started barking. We will start practicing with men in "uniforms" for sure. But are taking it slowly.In the evening I went to Ribban (the dog-park by the sea) with Manuel and he got to play with a very soft, mild Labrador/Dalmatian called Moltas. /Charlotte Saturday, 5th of September 2006 
Today was an eventful day for Manuel. In the day we drove to Teba in Höör and bought some bowls, a blanket. We also tried some harnesses on Manuel. Manuel has a relatively big head to his neck which makes it hard to find a harness that fits everywhere. We found one type that had the buckle at the neck which could be an option. Then we headed for Skummeslöv to meat my parents and my sister and the proud collie-gentleman Santhos, nine years old. We went for a mini-walk together and Santhos behaved very well but clearly stated that he was not interested in a mini-puppy-brat and was mostly interesting in peeing wherever Manuel peed. When in the garden we had Manuel on a leash (not necessary, I know, but we had promised my parents). This picture really show the situation. A very curious Manuel and an Santhos showing that he is "not interested" (just a little, but won't show them). Manuel was really really great and got a grip of the situation very fast. Manuel was lying on the lawn and Santhos passed by very very closely. One could see how Manuel fought with the thought of playing with Santhos' tail, but that he managed to get hold of himself. He showed that even a little puppy knows what wrong and wright is. 
In the evening we went to Bjärred for grilled pork fillet with mushroom-sauce. Yummy. Manuel and Golda played very well and Manuel stayed within the boundaries of the garden even though it has no fence. I also worked fine inside the house. Manuel is not ready for jumping down the 1 meter wall that separates the garden from the sea, but Gold jumps Hundarna funkar även bra tillsammans inomhus (än så länge). Manuel hoppar ännu inte ner för den 1m höga "muren" som skiljer tomten från havet, but Golda jumps easily down whenever wanting a bath. Manuel had a hard timer sleeping when we were there. He was resting, but one could see that he had "one eye open" all the time. I guess he will be exhausted tomorrow. /Charlotte Saturday, 5th of September 2006 Oh such a morning tired Akita-puppy! We went for a mini mini walk, and then he fell a sleep for hours, on the balcony. Having a blast like yesterday, does cost it's amount of energy.
Tonight we should go out fairly early, trying to get into "working routines" since he has yet a very exciting day tomorrow. It will be his first day at the dog day-care center! We spent the day with a lot cuddling and playing. When cuddling with Manuel he sometimes think it is extra ordinary cosy and then makes a rumbling sound!!! In the evening Manuel got to play with the German Shepard bitch - he'd met before, in the park. She is really patient and allows him to make some wrestling moves, shows him when he is too rough, and has full control of her movements - just like a mother would have been. The owner told us that she probably is expecting and if so, this will be her second litter. At one point Manuel got so excited that he found himself trying to mount the bitch, but I saw he got just as suprised as I did! He had no idea of what he was doing. At home again I packed a small bag with stuff for tomorrow. Food, blanket, bowls, copies of insurance, shots etc. It will be an early wake-up call for Manuel tomorrow. Sweet dreams! ! /Charlotte
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