I got him to sit on it for about 2 minutes while I took the picture. Then he was back to chewing it.
The biggest thing that Kato did recently was attend his first puppy class. THAT was interesting. Ben was out of town so I had to take him by myself. The day started out really well, and as soon as Kato woke up, he knew something was up. Probably because I was running around packing and getting things together, as we were leaving from puppy class to head for Kentucky. Kato is still doing really well in the car, whenever he sees me grab the keys he gets really excited and ready to go. It never fails though, the day that Kato is going in the car, the weather is AWFUL. Last time I had to put him in by myself, (and by him I mean him and all of his stuff. Bag of food, treats, blankets, toys, bowls, etc., AND the giant crate), it was snowing like crazy. Snowing so hard the car was covered by the time we were able to leave. This time it was POURING rain. Not just drizzle or rain, but POURING. Ugh. Poor dog was all excited to leave, but as soon as we got to the edge of the garage he wanted to go back in. I don't blame him. The rain was horrendous.
Anyways-finally get him in the car and he settled in, relaxing, ready to take a nap. Little did he know, this was not a sleeping trip. The kennel where puppy class is held is only 5 minutes from our house. We arrived and I let Kato walk on the leash into the building, and there was already another dog in the lobby. My dog went ballistic. To be fair, the other dog was just as excited, but she was WAY smaller than Kato. The trainer let us into the room, and Kato continued to be ridiculous. All he wanted was to play with that smaller dog. He was pulling and jumping and barking. I had never seen him act like this, and even his physical state was crazy. His skin was bright pink, the inside of his ears were beet red, and his eyes were very bloodshot. I didn't know what to do, I knew the point of the class was to socialize, but I was so afraid he would hurt the little dog because he was just SO much bigger. The trainer told me that his response was a normal stress response and to just let him play. In fact, the trainer took the leash from me so I could see what would happen. Kato was all over the smaller dog. Jumping on her, biting her ears, grabbing her tail, but the whole time, the little dog just took it. Not only did she take it, but she gave it right back! I had never seen anything like it. I was continuing to freak out, (which I KNOW is the wrong response, Kato was probably freaked out because I was, but hey, this was completely new to me too!), but the trainer said that if he got too rough, the little dog would let him know. I kept telling myself that. By this time, more puppies had arrived. Every single one of them was at least 15-20 pounds lighter than our bruiser of a K-9. I was worried the other puppy parents would be freaked out by their tiny dogs playing with my huge dog, but everyone seemed to love him. They all thought he was such a handsome boy with his tiger stripes. :) The guys in the class especially liked him, he is a man's dog after all. During class we learned how to sit (which Kato already knows!), but my pup was just so distracted. He sat maybe twice on command. I was fine with that, because I know he knows how to sit. All those cute girls were distracting him! (Yep, every puppy in the class is a girl except for my boy!) I'm curious to see how he acts this week, because now he has been around other dogs, and because Ben will be there. I'll be sure to update this blog, and maybe take some pictures this time!
Saturday was probably the biggest day of Kato's life so far. Not only did he have puppy class, but then we drove 3 hours to Kentucky. He was a good boy in the car of course, slept most of the way, and we didn't even stop to potty. As soon as we pulled in the driveway at my mom and dad's the neighbor came over with the news that her grand puppy Jax was visiting! Jax is a golden retriever, about a year old, so this was the perfect playmate for my little guy. We have really been wanting him to play with a bigger dog. The two of them were BFF's immediately. They played and played, and ran and ran. It was really great to see. By the time we went inside, Kato was completely wiped out again. Later that night, around 9, (way past Kato's usual bed time), we took him out to play with Jax again. That night he slept from 11 pm-7:30 am....the longest he's ever slept, and the longest he's ever gone without peeing. Good boy Kato!
Kato & Jax liked to roll around in the bushes 
Crazy pups!
The next day my mom, sister and I took Kato to the new pet store in town. Ben's mom is working there so it was great to see her, and great for Kato to go out in public again. He was a very good boy at the store, he got his nails clipped, picked out a new toy, and completely ignored the cats in cages. What a good puppy!
Kato had lots of bonding time with his Aunt Mo this weekend. He loved her, and she loved him. All weekend he was such a good boy. Very calm, played with his toys or slept, and only had 1 or 2 accidents. My parents pointed out that he was maturing some, and I really thought he was just being calm because he was tired. I think they were right though, since we've been home I have noticed him being calmer, and being a better listener. (Not perfect though that's for sure! He still has his moments). Thank goodness!
Getting some snuggles from his Aunt Mo!
Being a silly boy with Gramma and Grampa!
He LOVES to play with his Grampa!
More snuggles!
We ended the weekend with a very special visit from my old roommate and her little girl. Kato had a blast, and it was great to see him interact with a child. He hadn't done that yet, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good he was with her. He wasn't too rough, just played and tried to eat her headband. =) We went on a great walk in the snow. Later that day they brought over their yorkie-schnauzer mix....that didn't go so well. Little Millie wasn't interested in playing with Kato, and that drove Kato nuts. It was alright though, we went on a walk again, and let the pups and AB play in the snow.
Love this picture. AB was loving my silly boy!
Daw, what cuties!
AB put the headband on Kato's head! :)
We had a great weekend, and we are really looking forward to puppy class again this week! Kato goes to the vet today, can't wait to see what he's weighing in at these days!
I just love this picture. Sweet snuggles with Daddy when we finally got home!