8/5/06 - Kobe is pending adoption

8/4/06 - Kobe continues to do well here at his foster home.  He is so playful and such a love.  He gets so
excited when you walk in the door or first wake up in the morning.  He really gets his butt
wiggling.  He is eating well now.  I was a bit concerned when his appetite wasn't that great but it must
have been the heat.  I didn't want to eat either.  He is still playing well with my children and
my 2 other dogs. Although, today he really was interested in a neighbors cat.  I don't think it was
a good interest.  Maybe its not a good idea to have one around him.  He absolutely adores the
neighborhood children and anyone who will throw a ball to him.  Kobe's playful energy is what I love
the most about him.  All you have to say is hi Kobe and he will run and find a ball to bring to
you.  He has not damaged anything in our home or our camper.  He also has not had any potty accidents
in the house at all.  Kobe loves a soft place to sleep and he took over my Tyson's dog bed.  Tyson
doesn't seem to mind though.  He just moved up onto my bed. Kobe had his first grooming session
with us today.  He had a bath, a good brushing, his nails trimmed and his teeth brushed.  He did
great with all of this.  He especially loved to be brushed.  We finished off the grooming with a long
walk to dry him off and he settled down nicely when we got back home.  He is still curled up on
the dog bed surrounded by 3 balls and he is snoring away.  You will easily fall in love with this
boy.  Bringing any dog into your home is a major decision but believe me, as well as the
responsibility and commitment, it also renders so much laughter, and love.  I have had the privilege of
sharing my life with 2 boxers and my foster babies and I would not have it any other way.  These are
great dogs.

8/2/06 - Kobe is finally coming out of his shell a bit.  He was shy when we first received him but is
playing like crazy now.  He would thrive in a home with children who could throw a ball to him all day. 
He absolutely loves his walks and does very well.  No pulling at all.  He also loves a ride in the
car and sits still and quietly the whole trip.  This beautiful boy would be a great addition to
any home.  He is coming over to us for affection now and he has become more generous with the boxer
kisses.  Kobe is also quite comical.  When he gets excited his one ear stands up and the other
lays flat.  It is also a riot to watch him carry around balls that are bigger than his head.  He just
loves them.  He has not shown any aggressive behavior to any adults, children, or other dogs.  He
allows my children to lay on his belly while watching TV.  He also has been initiating playtime
with my 2 boxers and they get along fine.  I'm not sure why he would not play with the other boxer
in his previous foster home. Kobe has not chewed or damaged anything in our home.  He is doing well
in his crate when I leave him for more than 2 hours.  He has not chewed anything when left alone
for shorter periods.  Kobe does however want to come with you wherever you go.  He sits by the door
when he hears the keys jingle. This boy is definitely a people dog.  He prefers to be by your side
all the time.  He is quite the tail.  Kobe requires lots of attention, playtime and affection and
he deserves it.  He is a boxer trapped in toddlerhood -----playful, playful, playful.  GET THOSE
APPS IN---this one is a keeper.

7/31/06 - Kobe arrived here yesterday and he has made himself right at home.  He has already claimed the
couch as his own.  He has been introduced to our 2 boxers and has been playing well with them so
far.  He does have a lot of playful energy as most boxers do, so we walked him 3 times yesterday
and played ball with him. This seemed to tire him out for the evening.  He already loves my children
and has been bringing his football to them to play with him.  I will begin to work on his
separation anxiety today.  I will leave him for short periods and see how he does. I will continue to use
his crate if I will be gone for long periods for now. I believe that a long walk before I leave
him or some playtime may burn off some of that nervous energy.  Updates on his progress will follow. 
He is a sweet, submissive boy, full of love to give. 

7/30/06 - Well, Kobe made it to his new foster home.  What a cutie and a super boy he is!!  He rode well
with everyone along the way.   He was quiet as a mouse.  Thank you to all involved with his transport...looking forward to more updates on this great boy.  Hopefully he will find a great home with
a stay at home family that he needs.

7/19/06 - Kobe had an adventure this past weekend. We took him and our dog Cash down to the river to cool off. The White River is very shallow, Shawn and I could walk across it in many places and it is
very slow flowing. I'm not sure either of the dogs had even been taken for a swim before they were
hesitant at first to get in, but once they decided it was ok they hopped right in! Kobe was quite
confident navigating in the water and he even willingly swam a bit. Rivers are apparently much
less intimidating than bath tubs LOL!
     Kobe has continued to get along better with his foster fur brother every day. They spend a
lot of time grooming each other especially when I get home and let Kobe out of his crate. Today for
the first time Kobe brought Cash a toy and left it for him. Then a bit later they played tug of
war ever so gently for just a minute with a very long stuffed snake. I am really beginning to think
that Kobe just had not been exposed much to other dogs at his old home. He doesn't seem to know
what to do when Cash play bows at him, but he has decided that Cash is harmless and might even be
fun. Kobe has also begun to show me that he could be very happy as the lower member of the dog pack.
He waits to begin eating until I've put Cash's food down even though they eat on opposite sides of
the kitchen and he will stay lying on his back if I'm giving him a belly rub and Cash comes over
and stands over him or licks him. Kobe is a very good boy for us when we are home. He is a pleasure
to have around and spend time with. Kobe's only problem is that he is very unhappy when we leave
him, and since Shawn and I work full time we are away from home for a long time every weekday which
is why he will be going to a new foster home soon. We'll miss him.

7/15/06 - I have really begun to see in the last week that Kobe's coat is filling in. Kobe had some bald
patches over his flanks and on top of his back when he came to us. Actually his whole coat has a new
sheen to it.

7/10/06  - I've been meaning to mention something unique about Kobe, when he is excited or very intent
on something like a toy one of his ears stands up straight while the other stays flopped over like usual. It is very cute and gives him a comical look which fits because he is usually being silly while he does it. Also Kobe has become a super walker. He almost never pulls on the leash at all and will often walk beside you all on his own. Kobe had his first bath here this past weekend which I suspect may have been his first bath ever. Kobe did not want anything to do with the bath tub with water in it and it was a bit of a struggle to get him in the tub.
Once Kobe was in the tub he did ok he stood tolerably well with just my hand on his collar and let me lather him up and spray him off just fine. You could tell Kobe wasn't happy because he stood on his toes and shivered while he was in the tub, but he trusted me enough to let me wash him (he got me back by shaking ALL over me when I let him hop out of the tub). I think Kobe could get used to an occasional bath he didn't hold any hard feelings with me after I let him out of the bathroom and acted just as normal once he got dry.

One naughty thing Kobe learned this weekend is how to pull down the baby gates that separate
him from the off limits part of the house during the day and then hop out of his room. The first
time it happened I wasn't sure who had done it because both dogs were loose in the house when 
I got home. I had been using one baby gate on top of another to make a tall barrier. After the 
first escape I added one more baby gate behind the bottom one. Today when I got home only 
Kobe was out and Cash was still behind the half laid over gates. I was giving the boys the 
benefit of the doubt the first day that the gates might have accidentally been knocked over, but
 I can't see how the two bottom gates could have both been pulled in without it having been done 
on purpose. I'm going to see what I can doing about rearranging the dogs' space so I might use 
a door to keep them in their area during the day tomorrow otherwise I may have to go back to 
crating Kobe during the day. On the bright side nothing in the house was disturbed either day
that Kobe was free unsupervised. If the ferrets weren't in the other end of the house I think I 
would give the boys free run of the house during the day. Kobe has been very good with the 
ferrets and hasn't tried to push over their fence but I would rather not leave him so near to them 
when I can't watch.

7/8/06 - Kobe went to the vet with me Friday. He was a good boy though a bit nervous. He got a 3 year
DHLP-PV ( he ws already UTD with the Rabies vac. and was tested for heartworm and he had a fecal
test done which was also fine. Kobe was quite interested in a friendly way with the other animals at
the vets office and he did pull some because he wanted to see them but with firm direction he sat
nicely while we waited and it was a bit of a wait.
    Another note, the longer I know Kobe the more I notice that he is a bit insecure. He shook
quite a bit at the vets because he was unsure. I would not say that Kobe is insecure in an unsafe
way, he is a very good boy but I do think it's something to keep in mind when he is in a new
situation. I think if he were more socialized than when he came to us Kobe would be more sure of himself
and a happier dog for it. We will keep working on Kobe's confidence while he's here.

7/7/06 - Jaime wrote this:  Kobe is a big, sweet, 3 year old, fawn boy. He is very happy, confident and outgoing with people he was even good with the kids we met at the pet store he sat calmly and gave them gentle kisses. He seemed to realize they were little and he should be careful. Kobe is very good about not jumping up on people most of the time, he does get a little excited when you get home but will respond to a 'off' or 'uh-uh'. He loves to give kisses, and his kisses are sloppy wet, vigorous and very thorough. Kobe will crate with a little coaxing to go in and he does ok with it, but he doesn't like the crate. We have had Kobe behind a double high baby gate in two rooms of the house during the day and he does very well and is not destructive. His old owners said in his surrender info that Kobe is 'afraid of baby gates' I wouldn't quite say that he is afraid of them, but he is very aware that they can be knocked over (that's scary) if they are leaning up against the wall when not up, when the gate is up to contain Kobe he is respectful of it and won't push it but he isn't leery of going up to it to look at you. Kobe had at his old home and has here a dog door to a fenced area outside and he will let himself out to go potty during the day. He has not had any accidents at all here.
Kobe has also been pretty good with leaving my ferrets alone, I can trust him while I'm home not to push on the gate to their room. He has also been reasonably gentle when I held them for him to see and sniff, he didn't open his mouth at all. Kobe has also gotten used to our neighbors cows which we see on walks and he will walk by with just a 'leave it' unless the cows are right up at the fence and then he still is pretty responsive it just takes more work to get him to pay attention. Kobe has unfortunately figured out how to slip his collar, which he did one day to chase our other neighbor's senior beagle. Kobe didn't hurt the beagle and as far as we could see he didn't try to bite him, but he did stand right over him and growl. I am told that Kobe got into a fight with a bigger dog while he lived with his former owners and came out the loser, which might explain why he has shown this behavior. We have also had him on leash around other dogs at the pet store which he was fine with. As far as walking goes, since the day Kobe slipped his collar we have walked him with a harness which he walks very well with. He tested his limits in the first few days he was here to see whether he would be allowed to pull or walk his people and as soon as we
showed firm leadership he has walked wonderfully. We have been taking Kobe for two 1 1/2 mile walks a day and he has been wonderful and calm in the house. Kobe met Shawn's parents' cat one day and was inclined to run after her though with a firm will and a leash he could sit in the same room with her, but he wouldn't look away from her. That particular cat did entice him, she was yowling at him the whole time. I would say a cat free house would be easiest for Kobe though he is learning to be ok with the ferrets so a more dog friendly cat could may be ok.
We have decided not to keep Kobe from this foster-to-adopt situation not because he isn't a wonderful dog, he is great, but because he isn't just right for us and for Cash our other foster-to-adopt who came in at the same time and who we are keeping. Kobe really does not like to be without his people and Shawn and I work full time. He has been trying to refuse to go into his and Cash's room in the morning when it is time for us to leave, and he has gone as far as refusing to eat when he knew we were leaving. I think Kobe would be the happiest with someone who can spend a lot of time with him, someone who worked from home would be perfect. As far as Cash goes he and Kobe get along ok, and they can be together while we are at work, but they don't really like each other. I think for Cash's part he would like to
play with Kobe but he finds him intimidating. Cash is very submissive with Kobe and often spends time licking his face. Kobe hasn't shown any real inclination to play with Cash though he does play with me and Shawn or even by himself. He also has a tendency to take toys or food away from Cash. When
they first came here Cash wasn't allowed by Kobe to touch the toys at all, but Kobe has relaxed some on that and now Cash can play with the toys with Shawn or me sometimes. I have a hunch that Kobe is a bit insecure with other dogs whether it be from the fight he was in or something else. I do think Kobe could live with another dog though it would have to be just the right dog and it might take work to get them to be buddies. I think Kobe would be very happy as an only dog. Kobe certainly would be a wonderful and easy to live with companion as an only dog.
Kobe LOVES toys! He likes balls and pull toys and things that squeak. One thing to keep in mind when shopping for toys for Kobe, he is like a little boy who wants to know how his toys work (like from the inside). Have you ever known a little boy who upon getting a toy would immediately take it apart? Well if he can Kobe likes to. Kobe also likes dog beds he will spend a lot of any quiet time lying on a dog bed if one is available. You can tell Kobe to go 'lay down' and point at a bed and he will go. Another good thing
about Kobe he hasn't shown interest in getting on the furniture.
Kobe is going to the vet one Friday. He is due for his shots which he will be getting as well as a general wellness visit. He also has several bald areas which we are thinking may be seasonal alopecia (seasonal
baldness) which we will have the vet check out. He had a skin scraping not long ago with his old owner and mange was ruled out.
I know there is a wonderful home out there for Kobe and he deserves it, are you the people with that home?
Shawn wrote this:  Kobe is doing pretty good with us,  but I think he would be better off in a home where he was the only pet.  He seems to have problems with other animals.  He doesn’t really want to hurt them I think. He just doesn’t know how to act with them.   He loves toys!! He could play all day with you if  you wanted.  He tends to be a little rough with toys.  So he needs that are strong enough to deal with the punishment that he is going give out.  I think the biggest thing that he will need in his new home is people that are seldom gone for long periods of time.   Jaime and I both work pretty long days.  He hates being left alone.  Somebody that is home a lot so he could be with them would be great.   He has gotten much better on walking and doesn’t pull at all anymore.  He would probably better off with somebody that could deal with his spurts of energy.
 

6/24/06 - Kobe was surrendered to BAR by his family because his family moved into a small condo and the children have moved into apts. They say:  "Kobe has not been happy since. He loves me and I know that  and I love him very much but I know he will be a much happier puppy with a family with a big yard and some kids to play with. I am doing  this for his sake because it breaks my heart to let him go. He is truly  loved."
He is described by the family as:: Friendly, active, playful, playful, playful, smart, affectionate, affectionate, affectionate.  They had neighborhood children that came over to play that were in  elementary school. They liked to play soccer with Kobe. He liked to steal  the ball.