Just a puppy dog and his kids

We all feel like we hit the doggy jackpot with our Koda Bear. He has fit into our lives beautifully and we have all fallen in love with him. I'm sure another adjustment is coming for him and for us when we transition back into school/work/hockey, etc, but we are determined to get him out on a walk every day and give him all the love and attention that he desires. Lots of evening and weekend adventures to come in the spring and summer months with the days getting longer and the weather starting to warm up a bit in the coming months too. We can't wait to try this guy out on our paddleboards and out camping and see how he does with two of our favorite activities :) 

For now...here are my favorite photos of him with each of the kids. 

This kid NEEDED a dog in his life. We always knew he'd be the best big brother to a fur kid and we were right. He loves him so much and you can tell Koda loves him too.

I'm amazed every time we take him for a walk how good he does both on leash and off leash. His recall is great and he doesn't pull much at all and is easily corrected if he does.

This has been the trickiest relationship for us to navigate since getting Koda. He was really quite intimidating for Kennedy the first week that we had him. He is a big dog and was trying to herd her which resulted in some scary nipping, a LOT of tears and some real genuine fear on her part. She was a really brave girl and has worked through her fear (with us never leaving them alone anywhere together) while we worked really closely with Koda to ensure he understood that she was the boss and he had to be gentle with her. I won't lie...there were a few tough days that I feared we would have to give him back, but I knew with time and patience we would get to where we are now. They have an understanding...but I don't know that there is total love and trust there yet. I'm sure it will be different down the road, but for now he's still much bigger than her and I still occasionally see the faintest look of fear on her face. We are very careful with him and have noticed a few trigger moments that we need to work on with him to ensure that everyone is safe with him. 

Both the kid and the dog have the best smiles! 

Being a brand new dog owner has had it's challenges for sure, but I still feel like we 100% made the right decision in getting him, and we plan to love him as part of our family for as long as he is alive. We waited a really long time to take the plunge into the dog ownership world, but we feel like he was totally worth the wait.