Meet MoJo!

So I found this dog survey...it's just like the things we all fill out about ourselves except you fill it out about your DOGS! Fabulous, right? Well, I thought it sounded fun. :) Plus I figured it would be a good excuse to post pictures of my little cuties. :) And, it will be a welcomed break to my usual gym and eating rambling, right? I'm going to break it into three posts, though, otherwise it could get a little too long (and take me all bloomin' day.)

 MoJo 

(short for EskiMO JO)

The 411

Breed: Alaskan Klee Kai (like a mini-husky)

Age: Almost 4. I can't believe it!

Fur Color:  Black & White

Fur Type: Fluffy and very soft. He sheds year round but he blows his dense undercoat twice a year.

Eye Color: Brown

Size: He only weighs 11 lbs! He's really lanky - all legs and fur! We've tried all kinds of things to make him gain weight. He's a good eater and gets lot's of treats and "people food." Wish I had his metabolism. *haha*

What's your favorite thing about your dog? He's so sweet spirited. I love it when he comes up and just LEANS into me so I'll pet him. He also has very responsive eyes. When you're talking to him he just stares at you like he's listening intently and cares about everything you're saying. He's a sweetheart. :)

What's your least favorite thing? When he gets into a heavy "argument" with the neighbor dog, he will NOT come when called. He's absolutely deaf to my voice. It makes me FURIOUS!

Background

Where did you get him? He came from a breeder in Springfield, Missouri.

Runt of the litter?  No. In fact he was one of only two puppies and his brother was born with a minor hip deffect. :( 

(I will post more puppy pictures of MoJo at some point after we get the scanner situation figured out. In the meantime, here's one from the breeder's website.)

Any special details? So glad you asked! *haha* We had been married for a year and it was the only period in my life when I didn't have a dog. It was hard. I started to get puppy fever really, really badly! Jeremy had never owned a dog, so it wasn't as big of a deal to him, but he knew how much it meant to me. But while I would have taken any ol' mutt off the street, he wanted to do a lot of research. 

So we spent a great deal of time at Borders, with stacks and stacks of dog breed books. He was really attracted to the arctic breeds, like Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes, but neither of us really wanted a dog that large. I vividly remember Jeremy saying, "Well maybe we could get a miniature version!" I laughed at him, in all my dog-lover-for-my-entire-life arrogance. "There's no such thing." Well lo and behold, in the biggest dog book in the store, was a two-page spread about the Alaskan Klee Kai. (It's still the only book I've ever found his breed in.) I still haven't lived it down, but I had NEVER heard of them! In my defense, it's a very rare breed that's only been around since the 80's. And they're not recognized by the AKC (yet).

After doing some research online, we found that the closest breeder was in Springfield. Oddly enough, we just happened to be going to Springfield the next month for Jeremy to bowl in a tournament! So we contacted to breeder and asked if we could come visit her dogs so we could meet an AKK in person. And we did! The woman was very nice and let us play and cuddle with all of her dogs. They were so beautiful and playful and affectionate! We were sold INSTANTLY. So we asked to be put on the waiting list for a puppy. This "kennel" works on a very small scale...only like two litters a year with usually no more than two puppies at a time. We were told we'd have to wait quite a while. But that was ok because we were still living in an apartment but looking for a house.

Well shortly after that, we received a call. She had apparently bumped us up on the list (I guess she was impressed by what wonderful people we are *hehe*) and wanted to know if we were interested. She told us she had a shy, subdued gray & white male...and a playful, ornery, kinda naughty black & white male. It's obvious which we picked. :) We told her to definitely reserve him for us...but were now panicking because we hadn't found a house and our apartment didn't allow puppies, only fully grown dogs. But we had faith that because this whole thing was falling into place so easily that the rest of the pieces would fall into place.

And they did! In fact, the weekend we went to pick MoJo up, we signed the offer on our house! (Literally. We drove back into town with our adorable new puppy and went straight to the realtor's office to sign the paperwork.) And when we pleadingly explained to the woman at our apartment complex that we were in the process of getting a house and could they please, please, please make an exception and oh, look how cute he is...she caved. :)

Whew! Are you still reading this? *hahaha*

Where's the mother? Her name is Kellika and she lives with the breeder. Isn't she beautiful? 

Spayed/Neutered? No, because there was a chance we could have bred him...but then his, erm, little boy bits never appeared. Not even by a year old. In fact, the vet had him pinned down on his back, feeling around for them for a good 10 minutes before he felt them. (It wasn't pleasant for poor MoJo.)  This was considered a defect so he was no longer eligible for breeding (though doubtful he would have even been able to) so we had him neutered (though the operation was more like being spayed *haha*).

Any injuries or illnesses? Besides the problem mentioned above, MoJo has been quite a "firstborn," always giving us some kind of scare. I've taken him to the vet more for weird symptoms or accidents than I have the other two combined. Most notable:

I once hit the wrong button when sitting in the car at a Sonic drive-in and rolled poor MoJo's head up in the window. *ashamed* It was terrible. For that afternoon and next day he was hacking and couching and whining. I finally called the vet and they freaked me out, saying I could have severely damaged his windpipe and he could be struggling for air. So we rushed him in for immediate observation and X-rays and all kinds of expensive tests. Anything wrong with him? Not a darn thing. (MoJo is a bit of a drama queen, just so you know. My fault, for babying him too much. You can merely skid your foot across the top of his toe and he yelps like you just amputated it.)

About a year ago MoJo started doing this HORRIBLE and frightening wheezing/snorting/seizing thing. His whole body would go stiff and he would sound like he was about to hack up some kind of alien being. It was freaky! I recorded it so I could show the vet when we took him in, since I didn't know quite how to describe it. But Blogger is being a pain and won't allow me upload the video of MoJo. Amazingly, there are dogs all over YouTube that have the same problem. *haha*

Turns out, it's a very common occurrence in dogs called R.S.S. - Reverse Sneezing Syndrome. Reverse sneezing? What the heck kind of syndrome is that?!? It can be caused by allergies or dust...or by nosemites (which they ruled out in MoJo's case.) Anyway, since this incident, MoJo still does it periodically and Cubby has started doing it too. But as the firstborn, MoJo got to be the case I freaked out on. *haha*

Training

Does he bite? Only on accident. I've pulled him away from furiously barking at the neighbor dog and my hand got in the wrong place at the wrong time. Otherwise, he's very good. I can give him kisses on his nose while he's chewing on a bone and he doesn't even growl.

Does he jump on people? *sigh* Yes. It's a habit we haven't worked hard enough to break.

Is he house-broken? Yes, but good luck getting him to do anything outside if it's raining. You may as well get a towel cause you're going to be cleaning something up from somewhere.

Has he chewed up anything special? Even as a puppy, he was never very bad about chewing anything but his toys. The ONLY two incidents we've ever had with him were a brand-new (and stinkin' adorable) pair of lime green flip flops with a sparkly daisy on the toes...and the transmitter for my iPOD. I about killed him that time. Jeremy taped it back together and it still worked...for a while.

Does he bark? He's not especially yappy. He does love to go after our neighbor dogs, but they start it, I swear. *haha* He's more of a "talker." Like when we get home or when he gets really excited, he runs around going "Ah ah ah ah ah!" like a monkey or something. 

Fetch? Only if he's really into playing with something and you throw it. And he'll only do it once before he's like, "Dude, nevermind. It ain't worth it."

Sit on command? Like a champ! And with impressive posture.

Did he go to obedience school? Yes, he completed Puppy Preschool AND Kindergarten at PetsMart. *hehe* 

Does he play nicely with others? For the most part. Jeremy and I joke that he doesn't realize he's a dog. He doesn't seem to quite know what to do when Wrigs or Cubby wants to play with him. He likes to be chased or play tug-o-war, but that's about it. And sadly with new, "doggie strangers," he tries to dominate them right off the bat and if they won't allow it, he gets snippy. 

Has he ever humped your leg? No. He did with a toy almost immediately when we got him as a puppy. I was so shocked! I practically drenched him with the water bottle and he's never humped anything since. *haha*

Any special tricks? MoJo is smart as a whip. In fact, he had us thinking we were pretty good dog-trainers. (Then we got Wrigley and that myth was busted.) Combined with the fact that he was our "firstborn" means he can sit, shake (with EITHER paw), wave, lay down, roll over, BANG! (he rolls over and stays on his back), spin, dance on his hind-legs, Pick-Which-Paw (you put a treat in one of your hands and make him guess which) and Leave It (ignore a treat until told to take it). And if he's in the mood, he'll speak, but even then it takes a lot of coaxing.

Preferences

Where's his favorite place to sleep? On the nights Jeremy works, he gets under the covers on that side of the bed and stretches out. Needless to say he's a little annoyed when Jeremy's home. *haha*

Favorite food? Hands-down, no question, it's cheese. He only needs to hear the wrapper and he comes runnin'!

Favorite toy? Anything he can play tug-o-war with. That's his favorite game.

Favorite place to run around? Well the only place he's allowed off-leash is the backyard.

Favorite owner? He's equally overly-attached to both of us. *haha* But he does love his Daddy time. (As they all do.)

Personality

Is your dog calm or hyper?  Visitors never believe us when we say that 99.5% of the time he's totally chill. He only gets really crazy when we have people over or when we first get home and set him free from his crate. Otherwise, he spends a lot of time sleeping and lounging around. Seriously!

Explorer or Couch Potato? When given the choice between the two I'd say he prefers exploring. He loves to "run the fences" in our backyard and go on walks.

Does he learn quickly? YES. Like I said before, he's very bright. Sometimes TOO bright, we're convinced. 

Stubborn at all? For sure.

Does he like to swim? NO! He hates the water!

Is he a cuddler? Absolutely. He loves to curl up on you, next to you...whatever you'll allow. :)

***ADDED***

What are his nicknames?

Mojey Pojey, Moje, MoJoHoSoPhat, Mojers, MOJO BUTLER!! (when he's in trouble), 

Some favorite pictures

Trying to figure out if Cubby is a stuffed animal or an actual dog.

In his favorite spot- the pillow by the front door/window.

Bein' nosey.

MoJo & SnowJo

In his element. :)