Kai The Guy Jahbohney

Full disclosure: Kai isn't mine. But he's great and gets to come on adventures too.

If you've read the other intro posts so far, you've learned a bit about my Dad and his buddy, Loki, who we lost in January 2022. Loki was a tough loss, in some ways tougher than the others because it was sudden and he was still pretty young. It took my Dad a while to come around to the idea of getting another puppy, but he always knew it would be a German Shepherd.

That's where he and I differed in how we dealt with losing the OG pack. I knew I wasn't ready for a German Shepherd to be my next dog, but I also know that one day I'll add one to the pack. My Dad never waivered from the idea that he'd have another GSD. Well, there was a brief period of time where he dabbled in the idea of getting a pitbull because he adores Rudy, but, I digress.

Dad had been looking at puppies for a bit, before we spent about a week going back and forth about whether or not he was actually going to get a puppy. He landed on no puppy and that it just wasn't the right time (for me, it's always the right time). So I figured that was the end of it. The very next day, Dad gets home from work, sits next to me on the couch, and is mid-bite of his dinner when he looks at me and says, "So, are you ready to go get a puppy?" And off we went. We drove a total of about 4 hours that night between getting the puppy and getting him home. On October 13, 2022, Kai came home.

Choosing a dog can be really overwhelming when you have options, and that's not something I was prepared for. When I got Reaper, I picked him up out of the bed of a pickup truck so there wasn't much personality going on. He was just scared and a bit relieved (I think). When I got Grimm, he was the last puppy left, so there was no choice to it and I didn't even bother interacting with the other puppies. Tiny and Thor were puppies chosen for us and we just met up with the breeder in the gas station parking lot to get them. Loki was chosen by my Dad without me (he was in Ohio and I was in Florida) and he got to have the full experience. Going with my Dad to get Kai was really my first time picking a puppy at the breeder's house and being able to meet the parents. I could have spent an entire day there just observing them and learning about them. And let me tell you, Kai's sire was a handsome dude and so very friendly. He was definitely my kind of dog and I made several attempts to take him home too. Honestly, I think that picking a puppy might is way harder than picking a partner.

Once we made it to the address, Dad and I went back and forth about which puppy to bring home for what felt like hours. I'm not sure how often you look at a whole litter black and tan German Shepherd puppies all at the same time, but it gets really hard to tell them apart. There was a lot of corralling and holding and checking who was a girl or a boy. There was a larger, more social male that I was really interested in, and he almost made it home with us. Dad liked Kai because he was willing to be social, but didn't constantly need to be with the other puppies. It made sense, because at some point, my Dad and I won't live together, so the three dogs will be separated. It was important to my Dad to get a puppy who could enjoy time in a pack, but didn't feel like they needed another dog to be happy. If I remember right, Kai spent most of his time off on his own just watching the chaos of his littermates and then when we got home he observed the chaos that was Grimm and Reaper.

But now, Kai IS the chaos. He's super fast and clumsy and loud. His favorite past times include stealing toys and treats from whoever and biting Reaper whenever he can. He's still learning how to pick up doggy social cues, which can be a little trick to navigate. Luckily, Grimm and Reaper are pretty forgiving since they're still puppies themselves. We've recently learned that Kai doesn't particularly like when people come into the house, so the guard-dog nature is starting to kick in. He's walked well on a leash pretty much since day one, and is absolutely obsessed with his crate.

Like Grimm and Reaper, Kai is very spoiled. He already has quite a tag collection from both The Aussie Bros Co and Taglandia Co. Every single morning he waits for me to tell him it's time to go in the crate (sometimes he's already in it waiting) so he can have a Kong or Toppl full of his breakfast. He's also taught himself how to open the crates from the outside when the doors are closed but not latched. This skill comes in handy when he wants to double-back and see if anyone left some scraps in their enrichment toys. He also really loves the Moose Muncher Paddles from Allagash Antlers and anything I give him from Wild Nourish Pet. This week he started discovering the joy of tennis balls, which isn't surprising since he already loves to chase Reaper, so why not chase a ball too? I recently started to use a ChuckIt so I don't have to deal with touching the ball after it gets gross, and it's been a game-changer! Just be careful not to overuse it, because apparently ChuckIt Elbow is a real thing and it hurts.

Overall, Kai has been a pretty great addition to the family. I didn't realize how much I missed having a German Shepherd around until he came home, and I had to actively resist the urge to go back and get one of his siblings. He's funny, super smart, and ferociously independent. I guess in a lot of ways, he's exactly what a German Shepherd should be. It's crazy to think he's only about five months old and still has so much growing to do. I don't give him enough credit, but as far as puppies go, he's been pretty fearless when it comes to his environment. I usually take him for any vet appointments since my schedule is a little easier to work with, and I love taking him to the park and letting him practice on different textures and surfaces. He takes it all in stride and has really impressed me. I'll never forget taking him to the park after some shots and a little girl told me his name should be Prince, because "he just looks like a puppy prince," and I think that went to Kai's head a bit.

Coming up next for Kai and me:

• Continuing his leash training

• Strengthening his obedience training

• Working on respecting other dogs' boundaries

• Training out the incessantly barking

• Learning that the new dog bath is not trying to kill him

• Getting used to the idea that he's not moving with me

• Planning how to sneak him away from my Dad

Thanks for learning about Kai, and if you want to see more of him and the rest of the pack, check us out on Instagram at HerRunningTails, and follow our hashtag #herrunningtails.

Thanks for reading this tail, and hopefully many more!

Danielle & Kai