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Kaladin is very energetic and loves people and dogs. New people, dogs, and places send him into a tizzy of jumping, dashing, kissing, and snuggling. He usually wants to go meet new dogs he sees on walks and tends to be calm when saying hi. Once he's done sniffing he tends to quickly scurry off in the other direction, so make sure to hold onto the leash during these interactions.

If you're curious on what Kaladin is, check out his genetic profile!

Caretaking Instructions

Kaladin has a lot of energy and gets very interested in new things. He loves walks and is fairly good at not constantly pulling. However, if he is pulling a lot (like when he's in a new neighborhood or sees a small animal or skateboard) a gentle tug on the leash is usually enough to get him to slow down for a little bit.

He's been a spoiled dog so he has free reign of the beds and couches at home. If you don't want him on any particular piece, just ask him to get "off" when he tries hopping up and he'll get the message if you're consistent.

Vet

His regular vet is Lake Union Veterinary Clinic (206-467-5882) if you happen to be nearby, but if he needs immediate attention you can use a vet you know and trust or any other vet with good online reviews.

Food

• Meal Amount - About 2 cups a day, but he doesn't eat as much when he's away from home.

• Meal Schedule - Kaladin is a grazer, so feel free to leave a bowl full of food and he'll eat it when he wants. If you have another dog, feel free to feed Kal with that dog's schedule, but Kal might miss a few meals until he understands he has to eat at a set time.

• Water - He saves drinking water for when someone is around the house. If you leave for a while and notice he hasn't touched his water, that's why. He'll slurp it up once you're back. He also prefers fresh water, so if he won't drink try replacing the water with a new bowl. In addition, he tends to not drink if the bowl is less than half full.

• Dental Sticks - Give him one of these (usually) green treats each day to promote better dental hygiene. We'll point out which treats they are when handing him off!

• Big Treats - He gets one most days. They are good for getting him to calm down and take a break if he's too energetic or you need some quiet time. We'll point these out as well.

• Other snacks - Use to reward tricks or to show him some love!

Potty Breaks

He likes to go outside to pee every 4 to 6 hours, but he can hold it for longer if needed. If you need him to pee quickly, say "potty break so fast" and he usually gets the message.

If he's not interested in peeing, you can gently push him over to a bush to get him in the mood.

Kaladin will occasionally come up to you and paw at you or furniture nearby. As long as you're not holding food, this typically means he wants a break outside.

Walks

Kaladin has a lot of energy, so he needs to have active time for at least an hour each day. We typically do this through walks on the following schedule:

• 9am: 20 minutes, his first chance to pee during the day

• Noon: 20 to 30 minutes, usually at a faster pace to let him get more energy out. But if he wants to stop and sniff things that's a great time for it too

• 4pm: 20 to 30 minutes

Kaladin's harness is on him correctly when the red piece is on his back. Keep his leash hooked to the front of his harness to reduce pulling and give you better control over him when you do run into any potential problems (as laid out below). When on a walk, especially in a new area, he'll want to sniff all the things and leave his scent multiple times throughout the walk.

He's really good with kids and the elderly. He might try to jump on everyone else if they say hi to him with a lot of energy, so keep him on a tight leash when interacting with other people. He loves people so anytime someone wants to stop and meet him, feel free to let them do so!

Kaladin also loves to go on runs. If you take him on a run with you he's generally good at keeping up with your pace. If you give him a five to ten minute potty break time before starting the run he's much less likely to stop abruptly during the run to sniff and pee or chase distractions, but keep a tight hold on the leash the whole time. All the potential problems on walks in the section below still apply during runs.

If you aren't able to walk him around the neighborhood and have a yard, you can encourage him to sprint around by making quick motions and shouting "Go" or any other energetic movements so he can match your energy and catch some zoomies.

If you don't have a yard, he enjoys playing fetch inside, tug of war with whatever rope or toys laying around, or chomping on fluffy and squeaky toys.

Potential Problems on Walks

• In new areas, he pulls quite a bit because he's so excited to see all the new things. A short tug will get him to calm down for a little bit, and I've been working on "by me" and also treating him any time he looks up at me.

• Kaladin will lunge after and pull hard to chase squirrels, geese, ducks, any tiny animals who scurry away, or other new or unique things he sees in the world. Please keep a tight hold on his leash at all times.

• He is scared of of any sort of skateboard, Segway, scooter, or other non-bike transportation device. He didn't see many of them growing up so he is still adjusting to them (even after 8 years 😮‍💨). He's getting slightly better, but he'll pull hard and start barking if they get close enough. It's been impossible for me to get his attention at that point so I've just had to wait it out until they are out of sight. He might snap at you if you go near his face, so grab the back of his harness and put a hand on his butt to ask him to sit with a little push and he'll calm down a little. It's best to pull him off the sidewalk if possible if they are passing nearby and get a good hold on his harness and leash. I think he just wants to chase them and is confused at how they are moving so quickly. (Once he broke his harness and chased a scooter. The person stopped and Kal stopped next to them, just staring and waiting for them to move again.)

• If something grabs Kal's attention, he focuses intently on that thing. Only the biggest, best treats can pull his attention back, and even then it's not enough. He will respond to a gentle press on his rear to get him into a sitting position, and he'll typically stay there until the distraction is gone.

• He is wary of some German Shepards and fluffy dogs with hair that looks like sheep, so the best bet is to cross the street and avoid those kinds of dogs. In general he does great, it's just impossible to know when he'll start barking and snapping at them.

• Kaladin is often opinionated on where he wants the walk to go. Most of the time he just wants to get further away from home! You can ask him "where do you want to go" or "which way" when there's a new path to take and he'll decide. In addition, if you need to head home and he sits down and refuses to budge, you can give him pets and explain that we have to go "home" right now. He just needs you to acknowledge that he wants to continue the walk and then he'll be happy to follow you.

Commands and Tricks

The following list is the command for tricks he knows, along with gestures that help him do it more reliably. Feel free to treat him when he does one!

• Sit - Point down to the ground

• Stay - Put your hand up in a stop gesture

• Shake - Hold out your hand

• Fist Bump - Hold out your fist

• High Five - Hold your hand up around chest level

• Spin - Hold your hand above him and move it in a wide, circular direction

• Down - Bring your hand down slow motion towards the ground

• Hugs - Tap your chest with both hands

• Off - No gestures are needed

• Which way? - No gestures are needed

• Where do you want to go? - No gestures are needed

• Potty break so fast - No gestures are needed

• Wait - No gestures are needed

What We're Working On With Him

• By Me - For whatever reason, the training program he went through a few years back used "by me" instead of heel. We haven't been consistent with it but I'm working on it with him again. At this point he'll stay next to you if you're holding a treat, but if anything more interesting comes up he will ignore it.

• Sit (when skateboards/scooters/Segways are near) - If I see the person on one of those coming, I'll have him preemptively sit, which helps him stay a little calmer when they go flying by. Still get a good grip on his harness and leash when doing this.

• Watch Me - If he ever looks up at me I try to treat him to encourage his focus on me. I'll also try saying "watch me" to get his attention. Sometimes doing that makes him look around for a skateboard, since I've tried "watch me" when they are coming in the past, so it's still very much a work in progress.

• Share - He hasn’t had a constant friend to practice sharing toys, treats, food, water, or attention with, so if there is another furry friend in the house, Kal will need attention, as well as someone to help in case there is a scuffle when sharing things.