He loves his family fiercely and to this day cannot miss greeting every member of the family, in the morning and every time we come home, with a new toy in his mouth, his ears crinkled down, and his happy circles around us. And we love him, everyone’s heart simply melts at his daily greets.

We do obedience class every week (which he LOVES) where we work on SDA routines. He is definitely a class favorite and is used by the instructor a lot for examples and as a “neutral” dog. We also do scent class every week (which he REALLY LOVES). We are getting ready to trial for the first time hopefully soon once we are able to get a spot at an event near us. But all this work is starting to pay off, Koda got his CGC 11/14/17 and was complimented by the test evaluator as a really great looking dog. Next stop will be trying for the FO after the new year! He is the smartest dog I have ever encountered and is an absolute joy to work with. He is eager to learn and you can see him thinking and making each connection. I teach hand and verbal signals and it is so fascinating to watch him watch my lips then my hand then back again until he finally realizes what I am trying to say.

He loves spending time on my parent’s houseboat and has come to love the boat and the kayak! I hop in and tell him to load up and he runs right in and settles down. We are working on mastering the paddleboard next! (once it warms back up again of course). Koda and I just went on a vacation to an Airbnb near Yosemite and visited the park. He was a perfect gentleman with all of the new trails and people and waited patiently when I slowly followed him down some of the harder trails. I have arthritis and that makes it harder sometimes to navigate the trails but Koda has always sensed something because he will go down a hill first, wait for me, and if I struggle too much he comes back to me and walks slowly down again as if to show me the right way. Even off leash he never strays farther than 10 feet away. Koda is finally discovering his protective streak, which is great being a single woman in the world. On the street or out in nature, he will not hesitate to put himself in front of me if someone sketchy appears. Plus his “grown-up bark” is sure to deter anyone from coming close to my window at night. But despite this he is so gentle with little kids it amazes me since he doesn’t encounter them regularly. Not many would think a huge 80lbs shepherd would patiently lick a child’s face as they hang off of his jowls and pull on his ears. Or that a little kid can hold his leash and he will stay with them and let them pull him around. He just wags his tail and tries to give them licks.

He truly is everything you told me he would be, smart, “soft”, handsome, and my protector. I just wanted to tell you thank you again for all of the work you do with your dogs and puppies—it is truly something great and i know there are so many families who are so incredibly happy with the fruits of your labor. Koda Bear is a happy pile of mush who is loved very much and is my go-to companion for exploring new adventures (next up is learning how to snowshoe the trails in Tahoe!). When it is time to get another dog, my family and I will only come to Candlehill.

All the best,

Carly

P.S I have sent along some pictures of Koda (including our “photos with Santa” put on by our local SPCA). Happy Early-Thanksgiving!