Kino's First Nickname

 When Kino came to live with me as my "foster dog" - the first nickname he got was "Mr. Puppy." He earned his nickname when I realized that while he may have LOOKED like an adult dog at 90 pounds, everything else about him was pure puppy. 

My guess was that he was never allowed inside his previous home because he didn't know the first thing about being inside a house. Consequently, we had to start with the basics . . . potty training, simple commands (sit, down, stay), etc.  I also had to help him get comfortable with all the things he would encounter while living indoors.

He had obviously never encountered a mirror before because he would routinely go into the half-bath where the mirror came down to sink level. Standing with his chin resting on the sink counter, he would whimper (or bark) at the sight of another German shepherd in the house.  LOL  He didn't know how to go up and down stairs and he hadn't yet learned that counter-surfing was a no-no. He didn't get on the furniture, even when invited up. It was as if every single thing inside a house was a "first" for him.

I also described him as a 90 pound feral cat because he reacted much the same as a feral might when you attempted to touch him (which made grooming impossible, as well as cleaning his ears which were a necessity because he came out of the shelter with a horrendous ear infection). His reaction to everything was to try to bite you. Since he was pretty much an "adult dog" with "adult teeth" it wasn't quite like dealing with a puppy. He could do some serious damage with those big strong teeth of his. He didn't know how to take a treat from your hand without somehow biting your fingers/hand. 

Then there was the odd mixture of him not wanting to be touched yet also not wanting to let me out of his sight. He was literally on my heels and/or standing on top of my feet every time I moved. I can still remember how much my feet hurt that first month from constantly having him step on the tops of my feet. I had to stop wearing flip-flops inside the house because he put his foot inside my shoe each time I took a step. Since my foot wasn't moving with the rest of my body, I was lurched forward giving me a constant neck ache and throwing my back out of alignment. 

If I needed to go to the bathroom, he would follow me in there and then attempt to play tug of war with my underwear, WHILE they were still on my body. When I changed the sheets, he also thought it was an invitation to play tug of war with each sheet / blanket as I attempted to put them on the bed. 

It was all "puppy" but so much more challenging with his size and his high level of strength. In an attempted to be humored by these behaviors rather than irritated by them, I used his nickname more often than his real name. He was and will always be my "Mr. Puppy."