Kimo in the house

took Kimo out front to poop, but got caught in the rain.

Went in the garage and up backsteps. And let Kimo in the house for a rare occasion. I let him sniff around a bit, then took him out the back door.

[12/30 pm or 12/31 am, posted 1/14 am]

Bobby the Papillon

While taking Kimo for his afternoon walk, Vern was walking too and told me that Bobby (the Papillon) passed away.

Later Mamo told me that Bobby wasn't that old. He was throwing up and they took him to the vet. The vet took him home and he passed away while with the vet. Sounded like he ate something poisonous.

[12/30 posted 1/7]

Mr. Hershey and the mailman

Hershey was howling at the mailman, so I went over and took him for a walk basically behind and alongside Garrett in the mailtruck.

Diana gives Kimo a present. A bag with some dogtreats.

[Monday 12/29, posted 1/4/09]

Zeus

Brian Kajiyama has never been able to talk due to cerebral palsy, but he and his new service dog, Zeus, have formed a special bond that goes beyond words.

The young Labrador retriever has learned a new sign language created especially for Kajiyama, who can only move his right hand and arm, and his mouth.

"Zeus has a very unique coloring, where his back fur is golden, but has two light spots that are like angel wings; he truly is heaven sent," said Kajiyama through his DynaWrite device, which converts what he has typed into a human voice.

not easy getting Kimo up

Kimo was on his small pillow. Reached under to unhook leash and he growled. I pulled him up and he went slightly wild. Hold until calm. But he wasn't completely calm as he wouldn't lie down (like he usually does eventually) when I massage his neck.

Still have to be careful (and remain calm).

[12/27 p.m. posted 1/2/09]

Eddie off to Thailand after all

Eddie came by this afternoon with a bag of dog treats and a couple of bottle of pills for Koa. He's leaving for Thailand tomorrow. Says he's coming back in March. We'll see.

[12/27, posted 1/2/09]

sensitve tail

I accidentally stepped on Kimo's tail and he jumped on me.

Still not the packleader.

[12/27, posted 1/2/09]

Chloe on the loose

The dogs were barking. It was Chloe on the loose by Iha's house.

I went in back to retrieve a leash, but when I opened the gate Kimo ran out and went across and went down Iha's steps. And I had to go down the steps to retrieve him. Gary was on the computer or something and didn't seem to notice us going down and up the steps.

Then I went looking for Chloe. She was by her house but I couldn't figure out how to return her since nobody was home and the gate was locked. So I brought her home. I went to the back fence with her and Kimo went wild (on the inside of the fence). So I kneeled in between them until Kimo backed off.

I tied her to the railing in front and read the paper to keep her company. She eventually dozed off. And I waited until Malia came home. I went up to Malia and we went down to retrieve her.

Chloe is getting old and maybe she's wandering off in her last days.

[12/25, posted 12/31/08]

Chloe on the loose again. Bring her up steps and ring doorbell.

[12/29, posted 1/14/09]

visiting Miki and Shammy

I took Kimo out and saw a dog loose. I thought it was Koa but wasn't totally sure. I was up by Tanabes. Keith was barking, but not crazily. But then Pat came out and clapped to chase Koa away who was in front of her house. At that point Kimo went wild, and I had to hold him until he calmed.

Continuing on, the Miyamoto family (Amy, Reina, Wynn) were all going out. So on the way back, I decided that was my chance to sneak in a visit to Miki and Shammy. I wasn't brave/crazy enough to bring Kimo in (why spoil Christmas?), so I left him between the gates. When I went down, I didn't see them. They were both in their house. Miki came out to be petted, then Shammy got up too. After a short while, I went up to leave. Miki and Shammy came up but stayed by the corner of the house. I faced Kimo so he could look at them. No incidents. Then bye bye.

[Thu 12/25, posted 12/31]

running back and forth

Kimo was barking at Keith walking in the front.

So I went to cut him off and ran to the other gate. So I went to the other gate and he ran back to the other gate. So I started to chase him back and forth. One of us got some good exercise.

That night we went to Julie's house for the Christmas party. They have a big retriever named Junior. Jenny's daughter really likes him.

[Wed 12/24, posted 12/31]

tape worm again

I took Kimo out in the morning and saw tapeworm in his poop again

that afternoon, I took Kimo out and when I was coming near Tsutsui's house, I stopped as mom was talking with Pat with Keith next to her.

They were calm for a while, then they acted up briefly toward the end.

Then I let him stay on the landing as I finished mowing the front grass.

Later I took him in back and I accidentally stepped on his tail or foot. And he went wild at me. I stood my ground. And eventually he calmed down and went to the side of the chair and sat down

[Tue 12/23, posted 12/30]

I gave him the tapeworm pill (droncit) that evening.

Dog Man

I was out walking Kimo and Charlotte happened to be in the mood for conversation. She told me about that she had been sick, went to jury duty, and read a book called Dog Man.

It was about a man in Japan who decided to keep try to keep the Akita breed alive. From Amazon.com: Morie Sawataishi had never owned a dog, but in 1944, when the Japanese man was 30 years old, the desire for one came over him like a sudden... craving. During WWII, snow country dogs were being slaughtered for pelts to line officers' coats; working for Mitsubishi in the remote snow country, Morie decided to rescue Japan's noble, ancient Akita breed—whose numbers had already dwindled before the war—from certain extinction.

I asked her and she said she heard about it on the Charlie Rose show.

Then at the end of the walk, Kimo sniffed the black and white cat (Musubi?).

[12/19, posted 12/26]

only a flesh wound

Keith was barking at something and Kimo was going wild at the gate.

I kneeled down in front of him with my arm as protection and he either bit it or scratched it in his fury. I hope that he'll learn not to do that. But maybe the only way to prevent it is to have him do it and learn the consequences (which is a scratch or bite on my arm).

It would have been a bit safer if I had my sweatshirt on at the time though.

[posted 12/26 - I still see the scratches/bitemarks]

Ginger update

Took Kimo out and picked up Hershey.

Saw RMS coming. We ducked to Koa's place and both poop on the grass.

Then we went off to the park. Ginger was barking and wasn't wearing her cone. Good sign for her.

We went to the tennis court. I ran across. Kimo comes. But Hershey just sniffs.

Returning, the dogs were barking at Mr. Wong who rarely walks down the street but did today. I brought out Kimo and went toward the Tsutsui's. Hershey quieted down. I guess he sort of listens to me (even though I didn't say anything.)

Also some neighbors that I'm not familiar with went walking too. Father, daughter?, boy, girl. I think they might live at the house behind the Flores house.

[posted 12/24]

Koa on the loose, Kimo on the driveway

Koa was loose this afternoon. And came to the back gate on the DH side. I took Kimo out and they sniffed. Then Koa ran to the other side (ewa) of the house. I called him and he came. Then ran off again.

I walked up the street and saw Eddie. I guess he ain't in Thailand.


That night I took Kimo out to pee and after he lied down on the driveway. Uh oh. He was stiff and didn't want to get up. I carefully pull him up and slowly shook him out it. Then went back and made him sit there and go off again.

[posted 12/24 2:20PM]

very carefully

[Monday 12/15 a.m.]

I took Kimo out on the ewa side to pee/poop

After his business, he lay down on the driveway and I chained him there & went to pee

After coming back, I wanted to get him up. But the leash was not in a good position. So I very carefully grabbed him and gently brought him as he soft growled (as best that I can recollect it now).

Another thing to work on. He sometimes claims a spot and doesn't always give it up easily without a protest.

[posted 12/19/08 9:16 PM]

Kimo in the house

[Sun 12/14]

While out on our afternoon/evening walk, Donna's car came driving by and Kimo started pulling to go back home.

When I finally got home, I took him in the back and saw Christie back from school lying down on the patio mat. I opened the door and Kimo ran inside and ran to Christie. I told Christie to stand up, then Kimo started running excitedly throughout the house, then to Donna on the couch. I put the leash on him then made him lie down in the patio and took him out the door.

So he's definitely not calm in all instances.

[posted 12/19/08 9:11pm]

Indy and Spider

[Sun 12/14]

I decided to take Kimo to see Spider and the new puppy.

When I got there Spider barked (and barked and barked). I couldn't get him to stop. The puppy seemed more friendly though and came up as I sat on the steps inside the gate.

Cathy left to go play racquetball but I persisted in trying to retrieve Spider for another walk. Indy followed me as I pursued, but Indy stayed well out of distance.

Then I went outside the gate and tried to wait out Spider, but he kept barking and barking even with Cathy's mom there trying to quiet him. Finally, I went farther away and the barking subsided slightly and I went for a walk with Kimo around the block.

After that I went to Liliha and walked around that area. Chibi came up to greet us, but Kimo snubbed him. I saw mom driving to church on Judd. And visited the friendly dogs on Judd and Bachelot. Then I came back to Chibi and he didn't bother coming up to the gate to see us again.

[posted 12/19/08 4:35PM]

up Keith's stairs

After returning from our afternoon walk, I had Kimo loose while I dumped his poop in his trash. Suddenly I saw him running up the street chasing Musubi (or the other black and white cat). Then he diverted and ran up Keith's stairs. And they both went wild after each other. Pat closed the door and I tried to get Kimo (thus Keith) somewhat calm before I took him back down.

Later Kimo heard fireworks. Keith barks when he hears the fireworks, but Kimo still gets scared, though not as scared as he used to be. He stayed sitting by the fence for a while, then by the chair next to the door, then finally he went into his house.

A little while later I thought Kimo wanted to go out to pee, so I let him out the gate and he went into the garage and up the steps. (That's where he goes when he's scared.)

After a while letting him sit there, I noticed he went back down the steps. So I brought him in the back again and fed him.

[posted 12/17]

Kimo and Big Koa

I took Kimo out and treated big Koa. Kimo growled some at end. Still some work to do.

That afternoon, Kimo was barking as Keith is out. I took Kimo up the street and Big Koa was out. I walked past but had to correct Kimo. Still some work to do.

Vern went for his walk and we joined him. But stopped to smell that cat by Ito's place. (Kimo, not me.)

[posted 12/24]

Miyamoto driveway

[Sun 12/7]

I took Kimo out for a short walk. Emma came driving by with Nalu in the car still looking for Kaleo.

I went to the end to visit Max. Kai was lying on the roof looking ready to fall asleep even with Kimo right there.

Then I decided to go down the Miyamoto driveway. Mochi and Fifi started barking from the balcony, but the boyfriend/husband? shushed them and they went back in the house.

I let Kimo sniff around the area including the garage where he used to run to get treats. Surprisingly Miki backed away from the gate as we came into the vicinity. No reaction from Kimo either even though he kind of avoided the gate.

That's a little suprising, though encouraging. Though he still reacts some when he sees Miki from the park volleyball court. Especially if Miki barks first.

He still goes wild when he sees Reina walking Miki and Shammy. I wonder if he's reacting to Reina too?

[posted 12/15/08 9:29 AM]

Spider

[Sat 12/6]

I took Kimo to Cathy's mom's house to see Spider. He was shy and ran away when I went inside the gate and tried to get near him.

Cathy finally caught him and I took him and Kimo for a walk. Spider protested at first. Then I adjusted his choke chain and put him on the left and he walked beautifully. Actually better than Kimo.

But he's still shy and was scared when I tried to pet him.


After that, I took Kimo to Donna's house. Nobody was home. I went in the back and let Kimo loose. He went to the bushes by the side of the house and I trimmed a little grass near his old area. But then when I went to check on him for about the third time, he was gone. I went to the front and couldn't see him. Then I went back to the back and heard him barking at the cat near the back makai fence. Whew.

Then I took him for a walk around the block. He still reacted to the house on Nehoa and I calmed him down and went back and forth and he seemed better.

[posted 12/14/08 3:27 PM]

fence fight

Later that evening, I heard some growling in the back. Kimo was fence fighting with a terrier. It looked like Petey. I put the broom in between them and Petey ran off.

They both have some anger issues.

[posted 12/14/08 3:19PM]

distracting with biscuits

[Fri 12/5]

With Keith walking, I decided to bring Kimo in front on landing and distract him by feeding him biscuits as Keith walked by (ala Victoria Stilwell). Seemed to work somewhat successfully.

[posted 12/14/08]

Hershey and the stick

[Fri 12/5 a.m.]

I took Kimo and Hershey to the park. A dog was loose there. It looked kind of like Snoopy but was a little bigger and darker. There was also a lady there doing tai chi. The dog came to her and she gave it a bone. I guess that's her dog.

Then I took them to the tennis court. I ran and Hershey chases Kimo. Then Hershey grabbed a stick on the side of the court, I chase Hershey to try to get the stick, then Kimo chases him too

[posted 12/19/08 9:34 PM]

two Musubi?

[Thu 12/4]

I took Kimo up the street and passed by the black and white cat by Ito's house. Then further up near Tano's I see another one. There's two black and white cats! [Evidently the one with the collar is Musubi.] I let Kimo smell Musubi at Malia's. He got close, but then Musubi pawed him and backed up. Surprisingly Kimo didn't react much. I guess that's a good sign.

[posted 12/14/08 3:08 PM]

Kaleo is missing

[Wed 12/3]

I took out Kimo and picked up Hershey
RMS was out. Kimo didn't see them at first, then went wild (across from koa's house)
I held him but his leash came loose. I grabbed him and pinned him down

Continuing further, Kamakani and Emma came driving by. They moved on Monday and Kaleo got loose and they're looking for her.

Then we went to the park. It was rainy and they chase a little while on the volleyball court.

[posted 12/17/08 12:02PM]

Kimo at the dog park

[Sun 11/16]

I decided to take Kimo to the Moanalua dog park. As we entered a small dog came over to smell. The owner kind of took the dog away and Kimo went his way toward the back and up the hill and explored up there for a while.

Later another dog came to the park and came over to smell Kimo and Kimo shied away. I took Kimo away to prevent any problems and we watched the other dogs chased.

Then we left the park to walk around the tennis court. A guy playing tennis came over to greet Kimo and held out his hand through the fence despite my warning. He seemed OK for a while until he tensed and barked.

another attack

Tue 12/2

I took Kimo in front as Keith was out

tried to keep him calm but he flared up at the end, so I downed him.

Then Sakuda came out hitting golf balls, he was mostly OK, but then had an outburst at the end

Then he was lying down with the leash tangled at his feat. I tugged a bit to try to get the leash loose and he jumped up and went for my face. I quickly got things under control. But Kimo is still dangerous.

Then we went for a walk and stopped by to see Koa who was outside. Eddie came out and said he's going to Thailand again, so maybe I'll have to watch him again.

[posted 12/16/08 3:56 PM]

Myle's mother

[Monday 12/1]

take Kimo & Hershey out
both go wild as Rudy and Blue pass
go down Miyamoto driveway, Miki shies away as I take dogs near gate
go to park, make way to tennis court
Di comes w/ Max
Kimo & Miki bark at each other - calm Kimo down
Kimo chases Hershey, but Hershey not playing w/ Max
lady with two dogs comes to talk with Diana, turns out she's Myles' mother
Kimo growls at little terrier (outside the fence) & goes briefly wild
calm him down then seems OK
shy black & white dog barks briefly at Hershey

[posted 12/11 7:47 AM]

today's long walk

[Sat 11/29]

On the spur of the moment, decided to take Kimo for a long walk today

barking black dogs on Iholena, friendly dog on Judd, Chibi on Liliha, Elena, Sereno, Kuakini, Bachelot, another friendly dog (but Kimo not interested), guy walking 2 dogs crosses to other side of street, Judd, Liliha, see pomeranian being walked by girl, visit Chibi again, Kunawai, Lanakila, Laki, Kealakai, see JWs, Lolena, Kula (Koa outside - say hi)

[posted 12/8/08 3:26 PM]

Kimo likes hot dogs

[Tue 11/25/08]

I accidentally dropped a hot dog that I was going to eat on the floor. So I decided to give it to Kimo. I broke it up into eatable chunks and he gobbled it down. I guess Kimo likes hot dogs.

[posted 12/7/08 7:54PM]

Hershey and the sliding board

[Tue 11/25]

I took Kimo and Hershey down to the park again since Di was supposed to have a day off. [Yesterday, Hershey and Max wrestled and Max got pinned about three times.]

After waiting around for a while, I took them onto the playset. I had Hershey behind me and all of sudden I hear a noise and see Hershey sliding down the sliding board. Hershey looked kind of surprised with his big eyes.

We went to the tennis court after that and Kimo was active and Hershey chased him a little while.

Di and Max were no shows (it turned out Di got called to go somewhere else), so we headed home.

[posted 12/7/08 1:57 PM]

Ginger attacked

[Sun 11/23]

I decided to take Kimo for a long walk: Lanakila, School, Alaneo, Kuakini, Bachelot, Judd, Liliha, Panui, Kunawai, Iholena

A loose Snoopy greeted us as we returned via Iholena. Then I saw Di & Max at the park and Di said Ginger was attacked by two dogs near the teahouse and was injured fairly badly.

[the teahouse reported the incident and they found the owners. I saw Ginger today at home with a cone on when I took Kimo and Hershey to the park today (12/3)]

[posted 12/3/08]

Hershey and Max

[Tue 11/11/08]

I decided to take Kimo and Hershey to the park and saw Di with Max there.

We decided to take the dogs to the volleyball court. Soon enough Hershey and Max start to run and play. And Hershey starts humping and takes Max down plopping him on his back.

Meanwhile Kimo was sitting there and watching. Though Miki was watching the commotion up the hill and barked and Kimo barked back.

on the landing

[Sun 11/9]

Pat was out with Keith, so I decided to bring Kimo in front.

I made Kimo lie down on the landing as Pat sat on the front steps with Keith. I noticed she was trying to fix her slipper or something, so I tied Kimo's leash to the railing and went over.

It turned out she was trying to take out a small rock lodged in the bottom of her slipper. It was pretty deep so it took me a while to get it out. Meanwhile the dogs had a few outbursts at each other, but it was mostly quiet.

Koa is loose, and then Kimo

[Sat 11/8]

The dogs were barking. Ah Koa is loose.

I got Koa to come to me, then walked Kimo and Koa together. Then took Kimo home and started walking Koa by himself.

Suddenly I see Kimo running up Pat's steps and fiercely barking at Keith (and vice-versa). I ran up the steps to grab Kimo and Koa ran up the steps with me. With Kimo barking, Koa started growling and they went at it briefly. I grabbed them both and took them down the steps. Luckily (I suppose) I didn't get bitten.

I took Kimo home, then took Koa home.

I think I had exited by the DH gate and left it open, then brought kimo home via the Ewa gate. I gotta remember to close the gate when I leave!

Keith and Max

[Fri 10/31]

I took Kimo out in the afternoon and met up with Diana's daughter taking out Max. We made it down the street and then I spotted Pat out with Keith. I think Donna was there talking with Pat.

I decided discretion was the better part of valor and stopped and warned that Keith is not good with other dogs and let her go down by herself with Max. She walked Max down past Keith and Keith went nuts. Good thing I stayed back. Sheesh she exclaimed.

Kimo, Paco, and Kimo

[Fri 10/31]

Paco was bold enough to head butt Kimo again. Kimo (the human) was watching. I was a bit apprehensive but thought Kimo (the dog) might behave. He didn't and went after Paco. I had him by the leash before any damage, but it was disappointing. It seems the dynamic changes if there's some other party present besides me, Kimo, and Paco.

big Koa and Koa

[Tue 10/21]

I took Kimo and Hershey up the street. Big Koa was home with Mr. Wong. Big Koa was barking and Hershey seemed scared. I made Kimo lie down and waited for Big Koa to stop barking. It took quite a while. They said I'm patient (Mrs. Wong later mentioned). I hope it's training Big Koa, but I dunno.

After that, I struggled with the dogs to the end of the street. (I guess I picked up Koa). They sniff.

Then I took them to Koa's backyard. Hershey was shy and stayed by the fence. I had to bring him down back. Soon enough, he starts running around and they chase. I hear a little growling.

Kimo went to Miki's corner (the corner nearest the Miyamoto's house) but I block him without too much trouble.

Koa want to go with me, but I have to leave him & take Hershey and Kimo home.

That afternoon Eddie is finally home.

Obama dog petition

[11/9/08] When President-elect Barack Obama said in his victory speech he would make good on his promise that if he won he would get his daughters a puppy, Scott Dodd envisioned the hapa, Hawaii-born senator picking up a poi dog from Hawaii.

"A poi dog is considered a mix," said Dodd, a Hawaii Island Humane Society board member. "It seemed appropriate."

In his first news conference since the election, Obama elaborated on the doggie dilemma his family is facing, saying daughter Malia has allergies but they still hope to find an animal from a shelter.

"Obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me," said Obama, in an apparent self-deprecating reference to his mixed-race heritage. "So whether we're going to be able to balance those two things, I think, is a pressing issue on the Obama household."

Dodd is excited about the first family adopting a pet from an animal shelter because it might encourage others to do the same.


[8/3/08] Sen. Barack Obama and his family have said that, win or lose, they're going to add a dog to their family after the election this November.

That's a great idea. But I hope they decide to adopt one from their local shelter. Why? Because as long as people still buy their pets from pet stores and commercial breeders, millions of abandoned pets will be killed in shelters across the country every year.

So here's one issue that's truly bi-partisan -- one that we can all agree on. Let's ask our national leaders always to adopt their pets from shelters, rather than buying them from pet stores.

Members of Best Friends Animal Society have started a petition to invite the Obama family to do just that. Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, left-wing, right-wing or any other wing, you can make a bipartisan difference by signing the petition at www.obamafamilydog.com, and encouraging all your friends and family to sign it too.

Cindy Newburg
Compassion for Animals Inc.
Honolulu

[they might have a chance since he's endorsed by Oprah]

Kimo looks at Mochi and Fifi

[Mon 10/20]

I took Kimo out for his afternoon walk and was at the beginning of the street. Then I see Kimo's daughter (the older one?) and her friend? bringing back Mochi and Fifi from their walk. I had him sit and watch as they walked by and he remained mostly calm.

Good sign as he doesn't react badly to all dogs. In this case it was good because though he's familiar with Mochi and Fifi, he wasn't familiar with the people walking them.

Koa on the loose

[Fri 10/24]

After Gerald dropped off Hershey as I was walking Kimo, we walked a bit w/ mom & Harriet. Then I took them to Koa's place.

Hershey started running around, and Kimo, then Koa, started to chase him. I heard a little growling during the chase (from Koa?) But all seemed to end well after they were all chased out.

I went to leave and opened the gate as I usually do when feeding Koa. But this time Koa took off up the street instead of going to his area. I took the dogs and tracked him down behind Max's house. And returned them all home.

running around in front

[Thu 10/23]

After their walk, I let Kimo go up the front steps (where he used to "live") and Hershey sniff around the front yard. After a while, Hershey started to posture and Kimo barked. Then Kimo came running down and chased Hershey around until Hershey ended it by lying down and submitting.

I think these chases are good for Kimo but only if he calms down at the end. It backfires if he stays wild (which happened once or twice but not on a play chase). Hershey still seems a little scared of Kimo.

Petey and Kimo

[Thu 10/16]

Malia went out and so I dared to take Kimo up the side to the fence. Petey was there and naturally barked. Shirley (and Chloe?) came too but went away after a while.

But then it escalated and both Petey and Kimo went wild. I took Kimo back down toward the front and somebody (the older daughter?) came out to quiet Petey. And I carried Kimo (something I don't normally do) and hopped down the wall.

OK, that didn't work out too well.

Hershey and Musubi

[Monday 10/13]

I guess Kimo didn't want to go out, so I went to visit Hershey and took him to Keith's stone wall. Naturally Keith barked but I stubbornly stayed there.

After a while, Musubi came by. I took Hershey up to the curb near the Pang fire hydrant and sat down. After a while Musubi ventured over. Somewhat surprisingly as Musubi came over, Herhey shied away. Yes, this was the same cat that Hershey chased and I had to go looking for him.

Next I took Kimo to poop and I took him to Keith's wall too. Then we went to visit Koa and I took them to the backyard. I blocked them from going up the steps as Big Koa was barking.

Two girls (one haole and one oriental) were walking their dogs as we returned to the front. And I made them lie down and waited for their return.

Hello Snoopy

[10/27]

I took Kimo out and pick up Hershey and decided to go to the end of the street. I figured WTH I'll go to the park via Yokomoto's garage. With a bit of encouragement, Kimo jumped down from the wall.

I walked around a bit and was headed for the tennis court, but then an elderly man started walking around the tennis court and basketball court area. So I sat with Kimo and Hershey at the picnic table near the restrooms. As I sat there, a guy came walking to the tennis court and started doing exercises. I guess they were some kind of Chi Kung exercises but nothing I really saw before including a movement I call the look-both-ways-before-crossing techniques.

After what seemed quite a while, they finally left. I made it toward the tennis court. But then a truck came, took down the chain, drove between the playground set and tennis court, causing Kimo to act up for a bit before settling down.

I took them to the tennis court. They were sniffing around. So I decided to start running to the end of the court and Hershey and Kimo started running too. Kimo chased Hershey for a while before Hershey turned the tables and started chasing him. End of chase.

I was about to take them out, but then Snoopy (I think it was Snoopy - a smallish brown dog with a curly tail) came over and to sniff. I left Hershey and Kimo in the court, took Kimo leash and went to see if I could retrieve Snoopy.

I finally enticed him to come over and leashed him and walked him to the tennis court. After a short while, Hershey postured and they started chasing and playing. At one point, they both were in a play bow. And Hershey would jump with his front legs on top of Snoopy in a kind of a play fight (I guess).

Kimo remains shy and watched them play, but didn't participate. Later he sniffed Snoopy, but walked away when Snoopy tried to sniff his butt. [So Kimo still has a ways to go, but at least he's not violent toward every dog.]

Time to go. Snoopy went his own way and I returned the normal way. Koa was waiting to be greeted. Hershey still seems scared of him. And finally everybody went home.

Dog Prodigy

I noticed Cesar Millan's new book at Costco today. The first reviewer of the book on Amazon is Kevin Salem who is called The Dog Prodigy and has a webpage and book of his own coming out.

The video on the webpage opens with before and after sequences of a dog pulling and not pulling on the leash. That's what I want to do with Koa. A number of the chapters of his upcoming book are available on his website.

So far all three of the reviews on Cesar's book (which came out on October 7) are positive. So far. I am not so naive to think that everyone will be so positive (unfortunately).

worms again

[Wed 10/1]

I took out Kimo, Hershey, and Koa. Then saw RMS and did an about-face.

I wound up at the Tsutsui's and Koa pooped in the bushes. And I saw the tapeworms again.

What to do?

up the sidewalk

[Tue 9/30/08]

I'm trying to expand Kimo's conditioning. He's getting pretty decent walking up and down the street on Iha's side of the road, not reacting so much to Keith's barking. (And Keith might be getting better at not barking, so I guess I'm conditioning him too.)

But Kimo still has trouble walking on Pat's side of the road. Since Pat was out walking Keith in the afternoon, I decided to take Kimo up the sidewalk on Pat's side. He still reacts, looking up at the window for Keith, even though he saw Keith being walked up the road. Funny that he can't put 2+2 together.

Anyway, he still requires correction, especially if he's to the left of me. He's better if I'm between him and the window so I can block his movement with my leg.

While up the road, I got introduced to Malia's friend whose name is Norman. And I also found out that the black and white cat's name is Musubi (because he's black and white).

It's just popped up in my head that I keep forgetting the name of Joyce and Bry's cat. Well, I'll put it in here when I remember. It's some kind of food I think. Ah, it's Won Tun.

Looking for Mr. Hershey

[Monday, 9/29]

I took out Kimo and Hershey and Koa was waiting for me. I took them in the back but the visitor was there taking out a bicycle.

So I took them to my backyard instead. Koa and Hershey were sniffing around the grass, but Kimo stayed on the concrete.

Suddenly Koa and Hershey went wild. They saw the neighbor's cat in front. Kimo went wild too and pinned Hershey to the ground. I decided to risk a bite and grabbed Kimo and pinned him to the ground and grabbed Koa too. Then I looked up and saw Hershey on the other side of the fence chasing the cat.

I took Koa home, then went around looking for Hershey. Behind Chung, behind Yokomoto, to the park, Miyamoto driveway, behind Tsutsui, down Aulii, to the school.

As I walked down the school's driveway, some people came out of the office. One of them happened to be Maile and it turned out they had caught Hershey on a rope.

Whew.

Malia's friendly cat / Hershey & the mailman

[Wed 9/24]

The JWs were in the neighborhood from them. This time as they came down the street, they were followed by Malia's cat. As I was talking to the guy (or him talking to me), the cat came up to me and got petted.

Later, I went to the back and the cat went to the fence and stayed there. Kimo got wild at first. But after a while, he got used to the cat at the fence and settled down.

[Days later, I saw Malia and the cat and asked her what the cat's name was. It's Musubi -- since the cat is black and white.]

Later that day, Hershey started howling at the mailman. I went over and Helen let him out and I decided to walk him behind the mailtruck as it went up the street. This was the sub mailman and he gave Hershey several treats.

come sit

[Sun 9/21]

This morning Rudy and Blue were walking. And I got Kimo to come and sit between the chair and his house and petted/calmed him.

So maybe I'm making progress (getting him in the habit of coming back from the fence).

Koa's back yard

[Fri 9/19 a.m.]

take Kimo out (barking at something), pick up Hershey
Koa waiting, see Charlotte walking Jason
take them in backyard, Hershey shy at first
mostly behaves but barks at dog barking, try to claim back makai corner
Kimo jumps on bed, shoo him off w/o trouble
feed Kimo/Koa some kibble, make them sit
Hershey starts running, Kimo then Koa chases & growls a bit
I was a little surprised Hershey was able to keep out of range of Koa
And I was worried a little that his leash might snag so I took it off

So I guess that's sort of encouraging that they would run around like that. Though maybe not, with the growling. But I hope that's part of the play.

Koa gets loose

[9/18 - the adventures continue]

take out Kimo as Rudy & Blue walk
Kimo goes wild, hold leash until calm (fairly quickly)
pick up Koa on way back
see Kamakani w/ Nalu & Kaleo
bring Kimo & Koa up driveway
bring back to street, Mochi comes over to sniff, Koa allows then snarls
Koa gets loose, take Kimo to Koa's house to tie him up
retrieve Koa
take them to back of Koa's house
Kimo goes on bed, gets a little possessive, make him lie down
goes up steps where big Koa is, make them both lie down as Koa is barking
feed them some leftover kibble
Hershey is over, lies down when Kimo comes over
take to backyard, Hershey reluctant, wait a while then take out
bring to Keith, sit in front

That afternoon I brought Koa with me when I went to water the plants and he went to the other side of the fence (probably under) but at least he didn't run away.

Koa climbs the wall

Wed 9/17

I decided to bring Koa home since nobody was at his house. To be safe, I put Kimo in the front and Koa in the back.

Koa seemed to get used to things as I put a pillow by the back door and he lay down on it. And I lay down on the other side of the doror

But then he got up and went to the back wall and climbed up the wall. And I had to climb up and retrieve home.

Time for Koa to go home..

Later that afternoon after waking and feed Koa, Pat was out with Keith. I decided to walk with them. Kimo was still in the back and came out to the fence. I shushed him and he turned away from the fence. Not bad..

Dog Whisperer on South Park

[9/15] I see that my favorite South Park episode (actually every episode) is available online. Who needs to buy the DVD?

dogs and babies

Owners of properly trained dogs should not have any problems between their dogs and their babies, said Dave Pang, owner of The Pet Spot at Ward Warehouse and the father of a 13-month-old boy, Kailoa.

"Proper training makes the difference between having a good dog and a bad dog," Pang said. "In 20 years, I can count on one hand the number of dogs that were nontrainable, and they were trained by being abused.

"That's the only way they know how to respond, by attacking. And if the baby does something they don't like, they respond the way they were trained, by attacking."

All dog owners need to exercise their pets daily and stimulate their minds by teaching them tricks and playing with them, Pang said.

Dog owners who are also new parents need to blend all of their dog's old routines with their new children, Pang said.

"If you suddenly put the dog outside, it's punitive, and you haven't done your job as a pet owner," Pang said. "The No. 1 thing that comes to mind (of new parents) is the fear factor: This dog is going to bite my baby.

"It doesn't have to be that way. If you walk your dog twice a day, you still need to walk your dog twice a day, but bring your baby along. That way, you include him in your new family."

a good start anyway

Fri 9/12

I took Kimo and Hershey to the park and to the fenced tennis court. I got tired of waiting for Hershey to initiate playing, so I started running myself and that got them started.

All seems OK as they were panting coming back, but then as I came to the beginning of the street, RMS were coming down. I took them up Max's driveway but as they came closer Kimo went wild and bit my arm and I grabbed him and put him down.

Took him a while to calm down as he continued to breathe heavy walking back

Later Rudy and Blue came by and Kimo barked and Hershey howled.

Don't give up.

Miki and Rudy

Sat 9/6

I took Kimo out and Brit came w/ Rudy & Blue. Kimo walked pretty well for once

Then I saw Reina with Miki & Shammy and I let Brit go ahead. Miki barked at them and Kimo went wild, so I faced him away. Then I completed the lap.

Aunty Snips was at the backdoor and Kimo growled at her. I stood next to her and he eventually went to lie down on his pillow.

work in progress..

long distance reaction

Fri, 9/5

I took Kimo out then Gerald came and I picked up Hershey, but saw Reina coming back as I went up. I waited and she went down the driveway.

I decided to go to the park, but as I was across the street on Lolena, Miki was barking at her fence. Kimo reacted and he squealed as I downed him.

Saw another new dog there, a brown dog with a curly tail. I first thought it was Ginger, but then I heard the lady with the dog spreaking Japanese.

To the tennis court, Kimo initiated then came the chase


Took the dogs home, but here came Brit w/ Rudy and Blue. Hershey was howling and I decided to take him out to follow them. But she was on her cellphone and R&B wanted to come over to Hershey even as he continued howling. The commotion was too much and she took off running up the street.

I waited until Kimo started barking then followed. Saw Koa and picked him up, but he was pulling.

After going home, I feed Kimo some.

Made him lie down. He sees lizard, prevent him from going after it. Goes wild at me. (Still gets scarily aggressive.)

My conclusion? Still have a ways to go.

Kimo bites mom

Another big setback. Maybe THE setback.

When I was taking a nap, mom went outside and went to sit down. Kimo came over and mom went to pet him. And he bit her on the hand and arm. I heard her scared yell and I ran outside and got between him and her. He looked wild as I pulled him away.

I'm guessing she went straight over his head when she went to pet him. And he got scared and bit in self-defense. This is not a normal dog.

The bite wasn't minor but didn't look really major and might be treatable without going to the doctor. She washed it and put on bactine and bacitracin.

Some would consider this might be the end of the road for Kimo. It's always a consideration. But he seemed fairly normal when I went outside later.

I don't think mom is going to push it, but I guess it's up to Donna.

Kimo and the lizard

Thu 8/28

Usually Kimo ignores the many lizards in the backyard. Or if he chases them, he can't catch them. But now there's some bigger lizards in the back and he killed one of them. He doesn't eat them though. Don't know if that makes a difference in his aggression.

Paco, Hershey, and Kimo

Thu 8/28

Kimo (the man) was out with Mochi and I was out with Kimo (the dog) and Hershey. Paco (the cat) comes over. Kimo tolerates him, but Hershey barks and Paco ran off. That set Kimo to growling. Paco hasn't come over over since. Another severed relationship. This dog thing ain't easy.

the tick

Wed, 8/27

I see a little bump in the fur on Koa face. I wasn't sure what it was. I thought maybe it was a mole or something. But today, I happened to be picking at it and it came off. I turned out that it was a tick.

Despite not doing it in an approved way. (I just kind of smashed it between my fingernails and pulled it off). It seems to have been removed OK. At least I haven't seen any problems in the couple of weeks since I removed it.

running, wild

Toward the second half of my walk, Gerald dropped off Hershey. So I decided to take them to the park. I got them into the enclosed tennis court, but no playing was in sight. So I decided to run and see what happened. Sure enough, they started to run and chase each other.

They were panting as we headed home, so I thought that was a good sign. Then as we hit the beginning of the street, I saw Reina coming with Miki and Shammy. I took them partway up Max's driveway. But Kimo went wild as Miki came closer and clamped on my wrist. I finally got him down with one hand (the other hand was holding Hershey) and waited for him to calm down. Then I looked up and Reina was nowhere in sight.

Kimo was breathing heavy and pulling as we continued down the road, so I repeatedly stopped in an attempt to calm him down. I fed Kimo and Hershey a couple of biscuits after I took them back. But Hershey shied away. I think he's wary of Kimo after he sees him go wild. (Can't blame him.)

* * *

That night, after I came home from watching volleyball, Kimo was into his barking mode. I wasn't sure what he wanted. Finally, I gave him some food, so I figured that's what he was barking for. Well, at least that was one of the reasons.

Later he barked some more and I figured he wanted to poop. I would have thought he would poop on the grass inside the fence but no such luck. He also peed on the chair. Maybe it was because it was drizzling and he didn't want to go off the concrete. Anyway, I let him out and he pooped just outside the fence (I think - it was dark and I couldn't see if anything came out). Then he went down further by the corner of the house and started running back and forth. I let the leash go to see where he would go and he went over to Keith's house. He wound up under the front window and Keith went wild. Kimo might have gone wild too but I grabbed him and faced him away from Keith. It seems he still wants to go up the front steps but I guided him back to the back.

Don Sullivan, The Dogfather

I was watching some late night TV and came across this informercial for The Perfect Dog featuring The Dogfather, Don Sullivan.

Here's one person's experience.

more comments. Seems the system uses a special collar that works not unlike a choke chain

WikiAnswers has a couple of satisfied customers

Another one

from the amazon.com dogs forum

***

[5/28/10] Karen Pryor (or is it Kristy Peake or is it Corinthian?) apparently puts her nose up at anybody who doesn't subscribe to her correct terminology of operant conditioning.

Cesar, Brad Pattison, Don Sullivan, and the "Natural" trainers (which would be Behan, LCK, Sattin) are lumped together (and implicitly dismissed). But from what I can see, all these "alternative" trainers are effective. And I'd bet more effective than their one-trick critics. Which makes me want to gravitate to them further.

Here's another discussion with people's experiences on Sullivan which seems pretty "positive" (from the early ones I read anyway).

Hey it's not like everyone in the history of animal training before Pryor and company came along was evil.

*** [3/27/13]

Saw Don Sullivan's system on a shopping channel (on DirectTV) at my sisters house.

So I took a look again.  There are some videos on youtube.  And apparently some people have had good results with this system.  The denizens at dogwise are predictably less receptive.  One recommended a look at Zoomility which sounds interesting.  The rationale is that you can't use these techniques on wild animals such as a grizzly bear.  Which makes sense (in a way).

Rudy and Blue

Sat 8/24

I walked Kimo to the beginning of the street and the lady with 2 dogs came up the street. I held Kimo and asked if I could walk with them. She seemed to want to pet him, but I tried to discourage her.

Kimo was wild at first but after a while, he settled and we walked decently.

It turns out she (Brit) moved to the house near the park a couple of weeks ago. And her dogs are named Rudy and Blue. Rudy is the one in the front.

try try again

Fri 8/22

I took Kimo out and saw the girl with the brown dogs again. Then Gerald came with Hershey. Then I saw Amy out with Miki & Shammy

I waited near Koa's house. Kimo growled and Koa barked (as the dog went by I guess). I knelt between Kimo and Amy. But Amy went home with the dogs anyway. Oh well. Next time.

Trying to finish on a positive note, I took Kimo and Hershey to the park and eventually they played on the tennis court.

go ahead

Thu 8/21

the lady is walking the 2 dogs again
I let out Kimo who growls, then Hershey comes and growls too
I hold them, then follow at a distance, bypassing Koa

See Amy with Miki & Shammy. The dogs kept relatively calm. But she told me to go ahead. We went to the beginning of the street, but Kimo reacted to a truck and Amy turned around. Oh well.

Trying to salvage a bad start, I take them to the park. There's a lady with a furry dog with white and black spots and also a small terrier. It runs out they live in the house above the park where Myles used to live.

I take them to the tennis court. Eventually Hershey starts to bite and play with his leash and he and Kimo start chasing each other.

Time to go home. We bypass Koa on the way back who's waiting in the driveway (for us to come back?)

I feed Kimo and Hershey treats at Hershey's house and take Kimo home.

After a little while, I hear mom asking why Kimo's in the house. Evidently the back door wasn't closed all the way.

In the afternoon I took Koa for his walk and fed him. Then I decided to take Kimo in the car to Liliha to visit Chibi. We walked around the block but no other dogs to walk with this time.

So sort of a busy dog day today.

chasing another one home

Wed 8/20

After leaving Betty's place I saw Amy walking Miki and Shammy. Reina had gone to the mainland for a few days.

I ducked behind the stonewall of a driveway until they passed and followed. Kimo followed surprisingly easily and they were walking well together almost like the old days. But then Kimo must have heard something (or realized who he was walking with) and got spooked and went wild. That caused Miki to act up.

Kimo finally calmed down a bit and Miki too. But Amy said too late and headed home. OK another one chased home.

watering Betty's lawn

Sun 8/17

Flo had left a message Saturday asking me if I was interested in watering her lawn until the new tenant came in October.

Being the type to avoid work, I was hesitant but decided it might not be too bad to let the dogs roam and sniff while I watered the lawn. So I took Kimo and Koa to the yard on Sunday morning.

I decided to give Flo a freebie and let the dogs roam while I watered. Koa was friendly to Flo and she petted him. Kimo was too but I was cautioning her about Kimo so she wouldn't be too eager to pet him.

The dogs were OK until Kimo heard some other dogs barking and started barking. Then Koa reacted by howling at Kimo and I had to intervene. Then I left them inside the fence and went to water the front.

They both went to the Makai gate and waited by the gate for me to finish.

Wed 8/20

Since it drizzled on Tuesday, I figured I'd skip a day before venturing to water again. Gerald had dropped off Hershey, so this time I brought Kimo and Hershey to the yard. I saw water drops on the plants, so I knocked on the door and Flo told me that she got Willie to do the watering. Fine with me.

Flo and Kimo seem to be getting along as I saw Flo petting Kimo a bit. I forget though if it was today (8/20) or the previous time (8/17). Or maybe both.

close the gate!

Tue 8/19

After walking and feeding Koa, I took Kimo out for a walk.

I brought Kimo and let him stay in the front since I was going to dig some grass in the front. But later, I saw Pat taking out Keith so I took Kimo to the back and let him in the Ewa gate.

I went back to digging and Pat and Keith walked by on the street. To my surprise (and Pat's horror), Kimo came charging from the back, went right up to them and was barkig and growling. Pat snatched Keith off the ground and I managed to step on his leash and quiet him down eventually.

What happened was I had left the DH gate open when we left for our walk and forgot it was open when I put Kimo back via the Ewa gate. OK, next time try to remember!

figuring Hershey (and Paco)

This happened today (Thu 8/28 and Tue 8/19), so I figure I'll put in the same post.

Hershey always used to want to play, but when I bring him into the back yard, he seems to be wary of Kimo (can't blame him). I fed them some treats, one on each side of me. Kimo kind of pepped up and barked (though today it seemed a little more of a scary growl/bark). That got Hershey goingbrought over Hershey and he got into it and they wound up playing for a while. I think playing is good for Kimo so he can get some energy out by chasing Hershey and also learns to be chased without getting violent when it happens.

Earlier today though, I was walking Hershey and Kimo with Kimo (the man) walking Mochi. Paco (the cat) was trailing Kimo and Mochi then came back to us to greet Kimo. As he drew closer, Hershey barked and Paco ran off. And Kimo started barking at Paco. Well that kind of ruined it because Kimo reacted wildly at Paco when we saw him coming back. I think Paco was kind of spooked at Hershey and Kimo was reacting to Paco being spooked. Hopefully they'll be better the next time when they encounter each other without Hershey around.

Hershey shy too

Friday

After dim sum, the gang came over to park before going to racquetball.

Hershey saw them and howled. I brought him over but he continued to howl. But finally subsided when I handed the leash to Cathy.

I took Hershey up to visit Koa and Toni. Big Koa passed by which equaled a bark from Koa.

I talked to Toni. Koa lay down. But Hershey was shy and hung around the boat area.

white wiggly worms

later that day...

I saw Kimo under mom's window. It was like he thought he was stuck and so he just sat there.

I went out and saw some white worms wiggling in his poop. They were maybe a third of an inch long and an eight of an inch wide and were sticking halfway out of his poop and wiggling. Kind of neat and gross at the same time.

I looked it up and it sounded like tape worm.

I emailed Donna and she called the vet. And got a couple of pills for Kimo. I broke the pills in half and put it in his food bowl as he was eating and he ate it. I don't notice the worms anymore so I guess it worked.

Reading the lable on the bottle, the pills are droncit. Seems like a common prescription.

* * *

[10/5/08] Koa has tapeworm too. I called his vet a few days ago, but the receptionist said I would have to bring down a stool sample. Not wanting to go through the trouble, I thought to have Donna get some pills for Koa from her vet. But then Diana told me they have tape worm medicine at the pet shop too. I looked around and there were various ones. The cheapest one I found was safe-guard 4 at Pet Discount Warehouse. I checked at Kalihi Pets yesterday, but they seemed expensive. And the place on Ward didn't have anything today. I was going to wait for Donna, but what the heck, I picked up safe-guard at PDW today. The only problem now is that I see it's only one day's dose of a three-day treatment (whereas the one I gave to Kimo was a one-shot deal). The active ingredient is fenbendazole. Which is also the ingredient in Panacur. Well, we'll see if one dose is enough. (Doesn't look like it.)

I see the droncit is by prescription, but fenbendazole is not.

Looking further I see that Canine Tape Worm Tabs (praziquantel) has the same active ingredient as Droncit and is available without a prescription

[8/24/12] Kimo has tape worm again and I got him the droncit from Dr. Kamiya.  But I notice that it's available w/o prescription from Amazon.  It's called Tape Worm Tabs with the ingredient praziquantel (which is what I see I wrote above) Available from Amazon.

do not attempt these techniques without consulting a professional

Thursday, 8/14

It started out like a normal day. I took out Kimo, then saw Hershey and grabbed him for the walk.

Then I saw Reina coming out with Miki and Shammy. Kimo reacted as I came closer so I ducked into a garage. And she passed. I didn't look.

I went to get Koa but he was back to pulling. But it got a little better as the dogs started to pant

I took Kimo home and Hershey too (fed Hershey and Koa treats).

Try a new strategy walking Koa. Let Koa go loose on leash and then let him get jerked when he reaches the end of the leash. It seemed he was starting to get the idea after a while. Anyway, it was better than him constantly pulling.

I continued on and saw Amy leaving home. Reina had left over. Then I saw Ann coming back w/ Mochi and she took him home.

Lead us not into temptation. I took Koa down the driveway wanting to see how he and Miki would react to each other. But Miki went down around the corner and they were out of sight of each other.

Then Ann and Kimo left. Double-temptation. WTH, you only live once (maybe).

I opened the gate and brought in Koa. I went around the corner. Miki and Shammy were probably happy to see me, but didn't know what to make of Koa. At least they didn't charge him right away.

Shammy came over to sniff. I held Koa and he started to growl.

Miki reacted to the growl. And Koa reacted to Miki. They went at it and I grabbed them both.

Miki calmed down quickly and I took Koa back to the first gate and made him lie down. Shammy still wanted to sniff him and Koa growled uncomfortably. Koa seemed scared and wanted to go home, but Miki & Shammy seemed calm.

I fed Shammy and Miki some treats through the fence and treated Koa too.

I figure that was enough and exited.

Dogs were barking as we left. I think one was Nalu but I'm not sure who the other dog was. I sat Koa until all was quiet.

I took Koa home. He lay down and I noticed a small bite bark on his hind quarters. I guess Miki got him.

I went home to get some bactine and saw Vern out w/ Bobby. Bobby barks (but it sounds like he has his vocal chords cut), and gave him a treat.

Then I went back to administer the bactine.

Gee, I hope nobody is reading this. But, despite the incident, I think this shows that these dogs can get co-exist and wouldn't be constantly trying to kill each other.

It's a chain reaction. Koa get scared and growls in self-defense. Miki takes that as aggression and becomes aggressive. Or maybe she was defending Shammy. I'm 99.9% sure that if the right person (or dog) were in control of both Koa and Miki they could co-exist. I don't believe Koa is aggressive, but defensive. And Miki seems to mostly react to the other dog's reaction.

dog walking banned in Saudi Arabia

Every single man knows: Walking a dog in the park equals sure babe magnet. Saudi Arabia's Islamic religious police, in their zeal to keep the sexes apart, want to make sure the technique doesn't catch on here.

The solution: Ban selling dogs and cats as pets, as well as walking them in public.

the other way

Wednesday.

I was out with Koa at the beginning of the street. Reina sees me and goes the other way (for the first time in many months - ever since Koa growled at them up the neighbor's driveway). I decided not to pursue them. That was probably a good decision, but then I remembered that I had taken Kimo to the front.

I went to big Koa's place. Koa wasn't too friendly with big Koa, so I made him lie down facing away for big Koa. The tip of Koa's tail was under the gate so big Koa could smell it. What made it more complicated was that big Koa was barking. But I think he wanted a treat so I made him sit and gave him one.

In the meantime, I could hear Keith, Kimo, and Hershey barking/howling. So I could kind of tell where she was on her walk.

I figured I better not stick around when Reina came back, so I went back a little toward the beginning of the street and ducked into a garage or driveway. Reina came back but avoided looking at me (it seemed). So maybe she's still not happy. Barking dogs could do that to you.

* * *

That afternoon, I took out Koa and large Koa was out walking with mom and daughter. Koa barked so I decided not to push it and turned around.

Later I took him to Yokomoto's garage where Mr. Yokomoto seemed to want to pet him. June came out and Koa went over to get petted.

chain reaction

Tuesday

I let Kimo sleep in and went to visit Koa. I'm trying to get him in the frame of mind of following me. So I picked up some leaves with him in tow with the leash. After sweeping some in the back too, we went for walking practice. And he was better, not pulling for longer stretches of time. I didn't want to feed him because I think he might be eating too much (can't feel his ribs), so I just played some food fetch with him in the front.

Hershey missed his walk too, but I heard him howling in the afternoon, so I went out to look. He was inside, but Helen saw me and let him out. I took him for a short walk, then decided to bring him in back with Kimo. He's now gunshy of Kimo and stayed mostly by the fence entrance area. Kimo saw him, but stayed mostly in the dirt area where he likes to sleep. OK, never mind. Take Hershey home.

Then it was Kimo's turn to go out. I took him to Koa. Kimo remembers eating Koa's food and went to his dish and it was empty. But then he started drinking his water and kept drinking and drinking. Then he saw the bag of food which had blown from the table to the ground. He started sniffing. Red flag. I blocked him with the broom. He started growling a bit and then backed off. Disaster averted?

Time to walk. Yokomoto and Chung walked by and I tried to follow. But Koa started pulling again, no matter how many times I corrected him (Caesar makes it look easy, but it's not for me). We struggled our way up the street.

After passing a bird above and Keith, we got up the street. But Shirley (the black spaniel) made her way to the balcony and Kimo went wild at her. And Koa went wild at Kimo. I grabbed both leashes and pulled up, mostly worried about not getting bitten by a redirected Kimo. After things calm a bit, I induced Kimo to lie down though he didn't go on his side.

Head back home, but the paperguy comes and I head back. I let Koa go in the Yokomoto driveway to get petted by Sam. But he heads toward the back. Luckily Sam caught the leash with his foot. And got his pet in later. In the meantime, the Cheungs come home. Steve puts away the trash bin and Melinda heads for the door.

Take Kimo home. Take Koa home and feed.

Go home and feed Kimo early cause I'm off to Salt Lake. Kimo eats all his helpings since I'm sitting there watching him eat.

walking Koa

Sunday.

I took out Kimo. Koa was snoozing on his pillow as we passed, but whined as we passed him on the way back.

So I took home Kimo because I didn't think Koa was ready to walk with him. Then went to get Koa. We walked up the street but it wasn't going all that smoothly so I decided to reverse the leash and put it high on his neck. He seemed to walk much better that way. At least it was less of a struggle for me.

Keith still barked when we walked past. So I kept walking back and forth trying to condition him not to bark. Whenever I thought I almost had it, Keith would let out a bark and back I would come. That went on for quite a while. And I guess Pat got fed up and got Keith away from the window. Then we went on our merry way.

Back up the street I saw Reina taking out Miki and Shammy. Challenge. Since Koa seemed to be walking in control, I figured I'd try. But Koa was reacting to Miki so I struggled to get him closer. But then Miki acted up on sight of Koa. Undaunted I caught up with Miki. Reina kind of told me to go ahead but I wanted them to walk together. But the dogs didn't like it and Reina took them home. I told Reina I was sorry and that I wanted to see what they would do. And she said she kind of knew what they would do (that's bad energy to me) and she wanted me to go ahead. I told her I could go ahead but down the driveway she went. She didn't seem too happy.

I guess we're on different wavelengths. I'm trying to get the dogs to walk together. But she wants to avoid conflict. Well, I should force what I want on her. I'm pretty sure they could walk together, but I wouldn't think it would work the way Miki walks in front of her. It probably would work with Wynn holding Miki. And maybe even with Amy.

Keep going. I went back down the road and heard Max barking at us. So (undaunted again) I took Koa to Max's door and let them sniff each other. Diana was in curlers, so she didn't want to take out Max, so I offered to walk Max w/ Koa. I took them down to Kimo and let Max and Kimo sniff each other thru the garage fence. Then I took the dogs home.

So I'd say it was a mixed bag today. Well, live and learn.

The next day

Friday (Olympic day). I went to retrieve Hershey and brought him to the DH side gate. But he didn't want to go in. Maybe because he could see Kimo lying down looking at him. I guess Hershey's a little gun shy.

So I took him to the Ewa gate. Kimo went into his pouncing posture. But Hershey doesn't play. Finally they both got near the Ewa gate and I took them walking.

I bypassed Koa and took Hershey home before picking up Koa. I put on the rainbow leash again, but Kimo starts barking at the neighbor Koa and (our) Koa also starts going wild. I make both of them lie down.

Then I take them walking, take Kimo home and go back to feed Koa.

* * *

That afternoon, I took Koa in the back to see Kimo. Kimo play bowed again (or pounce bowed). But it seems Koa doesn't know how to play either.

Hershey, Kimo, Koa, Snoopy, and the rat trap

Thursday.

I went to retrieve Hershey first and brought him to the back. He started sniffing, then he and Kimo started to play a bit (though with Kimo one is sometimes unsure if he's playing). Both walk pretty good. So things were off to a good start.

Next retrieve Koa. He struggled down to the front of the road (meaning he was pulling me to get to where he wanted to go). But then he walked better on the way back, even going by Keith relatively painlessly.

As we came by my house, here came Snoopy. Snoopy and Kimo sniffed each other friendlyly (is that a word?), but Koa growled and I restrained him. After a while, he seemed to settle and I let them sniff. But then Koa growled and lunged and Snoopy was off to the races. I pinned Koa down but the damage had been done. So Koa has issues too.

I put Kimo into the garage whereupon he came across the rat trap in which I had caught a mouse the previous night (and put in the trash bin -- the mouse amazingly squeezed through the wires but was still in the trash bin -- that's another story) and starts sniffing and pawing it. I went in to see if I could separate Kimo from the trap, but he got possessive wild. He had apparently claimed the trap as his. He jumped on me and bit me on the leg (fortunately the wound was minor). I pin him and take away the cage.

But in the meantime, Koa starts barking fiercely at the wild Kimo and they go wild at each other. Mom yells at me to take Koa away, but I correct Koa physically with the leash and Kimo verbally (they were on opposite sides of the fence). [I forget, but I might have pinned them both.] Meanwhile, poor Hershey is witnessing all this and seems a little gunshy.

I put on the rainbow leash on Koa, which seems to control him better, and I take Hershey home (who wants to immediately run up the steps). Then I take Koa home and feed him.

Whew.

Kimo, Hershey, and Koa

Since Kimo didn't seem too eager to go out (he was barking earlier but was lying down after I got ready), I decided to check if Hershey was over. And he was. After walking Hershey a bit, I decided to bring Hershey in from the DH side. He seemed a little hesitant as I approached the gate. But Kimo was right at the gate and came out when I opened it up. Soon enough they were chasing each other with Hershey leaping the stone wall several times.

OK, walk two. As we reached Koa's place, Koa was waiting for me in the driveway. OK, try three. Hershey seemed apprehensive at Koa (probably Koa growled at him some time ago?) but warmed up a bit later. As we continued on, I saw Amy going out with Miki and Shammy. Kimo seemed torn at running to Amy and growling at Miki. With three in tow, I decided not to chance it and turned around and went the other way.

It was a struggle at first with all the leashes especially with Koa pulling. Finally they settled down a bit and managed a halfway decent walk for a stretch.

As I reached the top of the street, taking some time to shush Keith, I let them on the loose leash at the grass. But Hershey got loose and went to Malia's place and right up to one of their cats. The cat didn't move and happily Hershey stopped and didn't go after him/her. I managed to grab Hershey's leash from street level and led him back out.

I took Kimo home, then went with Koa solo. He seems to get better after he relieves himself early in the walk and gets a little tired.

I'd call this a semi-success. At least no incidents.

I went to feed Koa, then the screen guys (aka roofer guys) truck went by. Hershey was howling and Kimo was barking. Time to leave. As I walked by Hershey house (he was at the door inside the house), I shushed Hershey with my finger on my lips and he actually shushed. Next was Kimo on the steps and he pretty much stopped after he saw me coming.

A little food fetch and he seemed comfortable with them at Pat's house and was mostly quiet after that (so far).

Chibi

After giving Koa his medicine, I took Kimo out for his afternoon walk. I saw a bunch of people running (it looked like some kind of running event) and they seemed confused as to where to go as some of them started running into our street before being told they were going the wrong way. One person was running a sheltie (or it looked like one because Amy told me later that her neighbor has a sheltie which was the dog that looks like a small collie).

I also saw Amy heading out, so I decided to trail her. Apparently she was still wary of Kimo next to her because she told me I could go in front, but I told her she has to lead and that Kimo wouldn't bite her.

We walked down Hala, then to Kunaway, then to Liliha and spotted Kimo's "brother" across the street. I told her I was going to cross and she went on her way up the street. I went to visit the dog and I guy asked me if Kimo was a Japanese Spitz. It turned out he was the dog's owner and that the dog's name was Chibi and was three years old. He's about the same size as Kimo but his coat is fluffier and whiter than Kimo's. Kimo looks a little scraggly in comparison.

I decided to walk around the blog because I saw some other dogs walking. There was a lady with a small dog (chihuahua) and asked what Kimo's name was. And they sniffed. The dogs that is.

And I followed some black dogs being walked and it turned out they lived at the bottom of the street (Bachelot and Kuakini). I came back up and saw the owner was taking Chibi out for a walk, so I decided to tag along. Chibi pooped like three or four times, so I see that Kimo isn't the only one. He said he used to have another Japanese Spitz that was like 45 pounds and used to poop multiple times too. So maybe it's a trait of Japanese Spitz. He said his first spitz lived to be about 10 but might have poisoned. And it turned out that his vet was Dr. Lau who used to be in Kalihi. I told him that used to be our vet too. And the owners name is Stanley.

I began the trek home and saw Diane out with Max on Liliha near the beginning of the street. I asked her what her daughter's name was (since I had walked with her a day or two ago) and her name is Antonia or Toni for short. Another Toni.

Well, I guess Kimo is good for me meeting people.

Hershey and Kimo update

Kimo didn't seem to want to get up, so I decided to walk Hershey by himself Tuesday morning. He walks pretty well with the choke chain high up.

I was a little unsure, but I decided to bring Kimo to our now-fenced back yard. Hershey was a little wary. And actually Kimo initiated by charging at him but Hershey didn't react too much. But I guess Hershey couldn't help himself and got into a playful mood. And they started to run around and play some. It didn't last too long and I took Hershey home.

Then I went to Koa and gave him a little food and some walking practice. I guess it went so-so (I don't really remember). I just remember walking past Hershey's house and Helen brought out Hershey because he was barking. But I told her I had already walked Hershey earlier. I might have taken him, but I had to go take Christie to Kapolei for her driving test.

Koa at tennis

I was planning to go to tennis solo on Monday. It's getting crowded and bringing Kimo becomese more complicated compared to the days when the court was empty.

I decided to stop by Koa's place on the way and he came running up. Nobody seemed to be home and his bowl was full of food so it seemed to me that whoever left the food (Toni's son?) wasn't planning to be back to feed him soon.

So I let him in the car. When I arrived, Koa started whining. It was like he thought I brought him there to abandon him in the woods or something.

Koa immediately went to Bob much to Joyce's chagrin. But was friendly to all.

I went to play with Joyce against Bob and Cat. This was unusual because usually the team is Joyce and Cat. In the meantime, Bryantt (who is actually scared of dogs) had grabbed Koa and was running with him around the tennis courts. They went quite a while and finally it looked like Koa was getting tired as he wasn't running ahead of Bry so much.

I brought him over to the other bench where the girls on Lori's team was sitting. And he really took to Su Jinn who began showing pictures of her dog on her IPhone.

Anyway, nobody was home when I got back and Koa probably got a good night's sleep.

Koa and mastiffs

Saturday.

After not being to hook up Flo with a truck (Bry had to go RHPS), I figured I'd drive around and look. I drove to check on Koa and decided to see how he was going riding. He went right in.

I passed by Lori's house. There was her van there but nobody was home. Then I went pass David's house. As expected, the garage door was closed so I couldn't tell if he was home (I don't what I was expecting). Then I figured since I was out, I'd drive to Cathy's mom's place.

She was out in the yard and I suppose she was surprised to see me though she really didn't show it. But she said she got rid of the cats by hosing them. I let Koa out anyway in the yard and he walked over to the front and immediately deposited a present.

As I was chatting, Cathy came out saying she thought she heard a dog (which was unusual because I don't remember Koa making any noise).

Then a neighbor walked by with a mastiff and Koa reacted and wanted to go after it. So I guess he has dog issues (in addition to Miki and Mochi).

Then later I decided to walk Koa up the street when I heard some heavy barking behind a fence. It was two mastiffs barking! And I had to drag Koa off because he started barking back. Well, actually first I tried to sit Koa with his back to them but they didn't stop barking. So then I took him away.

Since Kimo was attacked by a mastiff, now I know where to find one if I wanted to undertake the task of trying to desensitize him. But he seems to be OK with dogs behind fences. He goes wild when he sees Miki on the street, but largely ignores her when she's at home behind the fence.

Koa and Mochi, and Betty (the dog)

I was walking Kimo Saturday when I saw Amy out with Miki and Shammy. I turned into a garage and waited until they passed, then came out and walked behind at a distance. No incidents this time.

Then I went back to grab Koa and saw Mochi loose. He went out on the street despite Ann calling him. Ann went to get the leash and walk with us. But Mochi started acting up and then Koa. And Kimo went wild. Ann was ready to take Mochi back but I told her we got to force them to walk. And to follow behind us. That seemed to work as far as it went.

We went back to Koa's place and Kimo went over and drank Koa's water. But then he didn't want to leave his spot near the water when I went over to grab his leash. And he went stubborn wild. To compound the problem, Koa started to howl. But eventually everything calmed down.

I took Kimo home then saw a couple walking a small white and brown dog. So since I was on a roll, I decided to take Kimo and walk with them. After a while, it came back to me that I met them before. The oriental guy is John. The big haole lady is Diane. And the small dog is Betty. After I heard the dog's name, that's when I recalled that I met them before. And they remembered the last time I walked with them I told them Kimo had just bit me.

We walked pretty well, but when we walked past Koa's place he howled at us. So he does seem to have some dog issues.

Hershey is back

After what seemed to be a couple of weeks, I heard howling next door. Hershey was back. I went over and he seemed extremely happy (or excited) to see me.

I brought Kimo over to see his reaction. After Kimo got attacked by Miki, he became very quiet for days. Then when he saw Miki again, he went wild.

Hershey's reaction was very mild in comparison. As I wrote earlier, the next day he saw Kimo he went turned and went back into the house. But the day after, I walked with them almost as if nothing happened.

This time, Hershey didn't seem to do his play bow to try to entice Kimo to play with him. But he didn't run away either and in fact came to me. Then when I took them walking, Hershey walked quite well.

As I reached the end of the street, I saw Reina coming with Miki and Shammy. I waited until they came a little closer to see how Kimo would react. When I though they were getting close enough. I took them both into the garage out of sight. Then I waited until Reina turned around and took the dogs out. Not much reaction from any of the dogs. Though Kimo wanted to sniff on the side and Reina went home after just one lap. Maybe I should call her not to run away (otherwise the problem will never be solved).

I took them both over to Koa and Hershey seemed a bit apprehensive, then I tried to walk them altogether. It was quite a chore as Koa was pulling. But Kimo behaved. Even when he was walking behind Koa and Koa's wagging tail was smacking him in the face!

I decided to take them to the back of Koa's house. After I got them in, they mostly went their separate ways with Koa mostly staying by me and the other two wandering off. All was peaceful until Kimo heard another dog barking. I think it might have been Miki but maybe it was one of the neighbor dogs (the one who moved in after Oliver left). And once Kimo started barking at the barking, Koa started to howl.

I managed to quiet them down after a while. But Kimo obviously still has a reaction problem to many things.

I looked at the new Dog Whisperer episode today about a dog who reacted aggressively toward men. The solution is to desensitise him to a lot of different men. Kimo was going wild at the workers today, so maybe I'll try to desensitise him to them.

lie down

Undaunted I took Kimo back to Koa's place. Actually Kimo was lying down on the grass when I was ready to go, so I left him at home and walked Koa first. I saw Reina out with Miki and Shammy. Koa was starting to react a bit, but I persisted and brought him closer. Then as they were coming back, Miki started barking at Koa and I held him. Then Reina made tracks for home. (Unfortunately, they'll never learn to co-exist if they are kept apart.)

Later I came back with Koa to get Kimo. Kimo reacted a bit when I brought Koa but then I got them to walk together (on opposite sides of me).

Anyway, it was fairly peaceful at first when I got there. I pulled up a chair and watched Kimo sniffed around. Meanwhile Koa came and stayed next to me to be petted.

A while later, Kimo started barking at neighbor Koa at the top of the steps through the fence where they can see each other. I went up and Koa started howling. They both got excited which can be a scary situation. Plus big Koa was barking too. So I made Kimo lie down. Then I made Koa lie down too. Koa growled a bit but I corrected that. But big Koa kept barking even though the little boy next door kept calling him to come. I kind of slid Koa away so he wasn't facing the other Koa, but big Koa kept barking. Then I figured maybe he was barking at me because I sometimes give him treats and he wanted some. So I turned my back to him. And eventually he stopped.

I blocked a couple more places and left Koa in the back while I took Kimo home. But I broke a vase (sshh, don't tell anyone) that was in the dirt on the side (I was first going to see if I could use that to block the opening). So I went home to get the glue and sure enough Koa was still in the back. I brought him up front and he seems to like the front so he can lie down on his pillow. In the meantime, the vase kept falling apart on me. So I took it home. Another thing to fix.

still out of control

Today was the day Toni was supposed to have left for the neighbor island.

I took Kimo on his walk and as I was coming back I was surprised to see Koa loose. The metal clasp had come off of the rope. I took Kimo home and went to get the screwdrive I use for weeding. I tried to get the clasp off the other rope, but it looks like the rope was burnt to weld it shut. Actually it's pretty much off the the burnt part expanded making it hard to take out of the metal loop. So I just tied the other rope.

I went to walk and feed Koa in the afternoon. Since apparently nobody was home, I took Koa in the back to feed him and looked around to see if I could block any obvious openings. I used a couple of pieces of lumber and slid it under the metal gate that I've seen Koa slide under to get back home. I also took the sheet of wood on the side of the steps and tried to block the path under the stairwell. On the other side of the stairwell (on the side facing the street), there looked like there were a couple of openings. So I tried to block them with a 2x4(?) and a piece of raingutter I found nearby. But there still looks like there's some space to squeeze.

While there, I took off Koa's leash, then it took me a while to find it. I could also hear Kimo barking. So I left and it turned out that Pat had taken Keith out. So that wasn't much of a surprise. I went home and tugged Kimo up the street (after cleaning up his pee and poop in the garage).

Koa was by the gate when we came up and I let Kimo in. The dogs more or less kept their distance as Kimo went sniffing around. It was OK for a while, but then Koa started howling on the landing on top of the stairway. He was howling at the neighbor Koa. There's an opening where they can see each other. Then Kimo comes over and starts barking/growling. And that made it worse when they were both acting up. The neighbors yelled at their Koa to get away from there. And finally the dogs settled down.

Then Kimo wandered near the back fence overlooking the park and he saw something he didn't like and started barking/growling. That set Koa to howling. And I had to carefully stay between them in case an attack broke out. After a number of heys, they calmed down and I tied Koa in the front and took Kimo home in the back.

Kimo was lying down, but then heard a truck or something. I pulled him back away but he didn't calm down. In fact he got worse when the truck was leaving (it sounded like it since I couldn't see it). I was trying to snap him out of it but the leash was under his body. He got so wild and jumped up on me. I kneeled down in front of him and he nipped my arm. Luckily I was wearing my sweatshirt so it was a surface scratch. After a few firm tugs on the leash, he finally came back to his senses and I made him lie down. He seemed OK after that. But he seems to get into these states where he's out of control.

So it's still a fine line I'm walking. The safer way to handle it is to wait until he calms. But I'm always tempted to try to snap him out of it even when he's in the red zone.

stubborn wild

I don't what else to call it.

Kimo was barking in the garage in the early a.m. (like 2 or 3 a.m. I guess). So I let him to out to pee and/or poop. He peed some and then when I left him back in, he ran up the steps to the landing. That wouldn't do, so I brought him back down and he lay down in the middle of the garage. That wouldn't do either, but the leash was on under him so it would be kind of hard to pull him. So I maneuvered it and kind of tugged to get him up.

He jumped on me with a wild look in his eye. I'd say that was a dominant act. So I tried again and he jumped on me again. It was like he didn't even recognize me. He seemed to be getting into the red zone, so I grabbed the leash, then grabbed him neck and pinned him to the ground. It took a number of seconds until he finally relaxed and had some semblance of recognition. And he sort of rolled to expose his belly.

I'm not exactly sure how to handle this. It's very similar to the cases when he doesn't want to move from a certain area (like when he doesn't want to exit the car) and he goes wild when you try to move him. So I guess I have to be able to claim the spot that he's on. Maybe practice going the down and up at that problem spot. I think he's better at getting in and out of the car. So perhaps I have to do the same thing on the landing and in the garage.

still out of control

I still don't have Kimo totally in control (needless to say).

This morning I let him out of the garage to poop and Katherine happened to be taking a walk (which she does only occasionally). Kimo saw her, ran out to the road next to her (I tried to step on his leash, but missed) and started barking. I had to go out and grab the leash and calm him down.

Well, since he was out, I figured it was time to walk. So I walked with Mr. Yokomoto who was also walking at the time. Then with Betty. Then finally slowed down to walk with mom, Harriet, and Amy. He walked fairly well after that, though he acted up a bit with the birds on the telephone line above the Fongs house and a bit with Keith when he started to bark at us from the window.

Petey on the ledge

Petey was out on the ledge today as I took Koa for his afternoon walk before feeding. I tried to wait until Petey paused barking before walking away, but he never really stopped very long and it took me a while to get going back.

Then it was Kimo's turn. I bypassed Koa at first when were going up because he was sleeping on his pillow. It looked like his legs were in the air. But he was up on the way back and I grabbed him. Also Nalu's mom? and son were out and they decided to follow us.

They were walking pretty well. The first obstacle was Keith. I switch Kimo to the makai side and we made it slowly up the hill. But then Petey was out again. Kimo got wild at Petey barking and that set off Koa who got wild at Kimo getting wild at Petey. I had to settle them down and once again it took a while to get back the hill as I tried to walk when Petey paused (but when I started walking, he started barking again, so I paused again, etc.) Plus the Cheungs were home with Mr. Cheung working the weedeater outside. So they have more to complain about.

I took Koa home and decided to bring Kimo up the street solo. Disapointingly he went wild again and I had to grab him by the collar. After that he was mostly calm though Petey continued to bark and it was slow going once again going back home.

Well, I got Keith to curtail his barking by waiting until he stopped barking, but I don't know if that works with other dogs in general. Well, I figure they have to eventually get tired of barking. Eventually.

I did a quick search on the net and here's one person's account on getting a neighbor's dog to stop barking.

Hope for Keith and Kimo

As usual, Keith and Kimo were at each other as Pat took Keith out with Kimo on the steps and Keith and Pat on the street.

Hot on today's success with Miki, I determinedly took Kimo up the street after them. Kimo went wild near the Hatanaka house as Pat was returning with Keith. And Keith went wild too.

Finally they settled a little and Pat took Keith down the road. Evidently Pat had had enough as she went to check her mail. She was taking a little long looking through her mail, so I sensed opportunity. I took Kimo back to the garage and grabbed the rainbow leash. Then I asked Pat if I could walk Keith.

I put on the leash and Keith walked surprisingly well. As I came down the street, I wondered what Kimo was going to do. He went to the top of the steps and lay down. A surprisingly good sign. Vern was coming down as I went up with Keith so I walked with Vern. He seemed a little apprehensive with Keith sniffing him. But other than that, no problems. Keith had one small flareup as I came back down after Vern went home. But I just gave him a mild correction and returned him to Pat.

I'd give that a thumbs up.

A little later I took Kimo out to make sure he relieved himself enough. Then Snoopy made an appearance. I let Kimo loose and they sniffed each other by the stone wall. And Snoopy went on his merry way. Another good sign.

Wynn with Miki

Today, Kimo was barking. It turned out to be Betty and her daughter walking down the street. Usually he doesn't bark at Betty, so it must have been her daughter. When they came within view, he started wagging his tail. I assume that was at Betty.

Actually he had another tail-wagging incident this morning when Alvin came in his truck to borrow my lawn mower. Alvin parked on the side of the road and usually Kimo barks like crazy when a truck comes by, but he was quiet so that means he recognized the truck. Then his tail went crazy when Alvin came walking up.

Acutally earlier, there was a barking incident. Barking at the newspaper guy.

Anyway, back to Betty. Since they were walking, I figured it was time to walk Kimo. He went over to get petted by Betty. Then he went over to her daughter. I've always kept Kimo away, but this time I let him go over. She let him smell his hand then went to pet him. He had this unsure look in his eyes, so she retracted her hand. Probably a smart move. Then we proceeded on the walk which must mostly OK until..

We saw Wynn out with Miki and Shammy. When Kimo saw them, he went wild (red-eye, flashing teeth wild). But I held him tightly by the collar until the rage subsided. And Wynn brought the dogs closer. Miki acted up a bit but Wynn corrected her. Then finally Kimo settled down and we walked together. Almost like the old days. This was good to confront the problem today because I see that it's possible to get them to walk together again. Reina usually takes the dogs away now when she sees Kimo acting up. I can't blame her though, since that's a normal reaction.

Then on the way, we stopped over by Koa. He was on his bed in the corner and I kept Kimo away in case Koa would get territorial. I sat down and Koa came over but was a little territorial/protective and kind of growled or barked mildly. But then I leashed up Koa we went walking together reasonably well, though I'm keeping them on opposite sides for now. Kimo (the man) and daughter drove by and must have been surprised to see me out with Koa. He said he didn't think Koa was walkable. Right on he said as I explained the situation.

walking Koa

I talked with Toni a couple of days ago and now we have it straightened out. She was under the impression that I was going to feed Koa every day. But I wasn't sure because the first day Eddie left I saw somebody had left food out for him. Plus he wasn't always outside when I came over to check on him in the evening. So we decided that I would feed him during the day when he's outside.

I've walked Koa a few times before when I caught him loose on the street. But not very consistently. When I tried walking him a couple of days ago, he was pulling most of the way and I stopped numerous times to resettle him.

But when I tried yesterday, he walked much easier and didn't fight me so much. He seems to be learning fast, but we'll see the next time.

He doesn't really know how to sit though. He sits for his food. But doesn't seem to know how when there's no food around.

Ivomec

Kimo is taking Ivomec (a brand name for ivermectin) for his mange. I was wondering if I could get it cheaper somewhere else besides from the vet. Evidently you can, but it's not recommended.

[1/27/09] I noticed in Coco The Blogging Dog that the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club includes pets. I looked and unfortunately didn't see ivermectin on the list.

[4/1/10] ProMeris is mentioned as an alternative treatment to ivermectin for mange.

[12/9/10] Dr. Fox on mange: Sarcoptic mange is treatable with dips and a drug called Ivermectin. The veterinarian can take skin scrapings to check for mange parasites that burrow into the dog’s skin. The other type of mange called Demodex is more difficult to treat, causes hair loss and thickening of the skin, and is aggravated by stress in young, growing animals who become infested from their mothers while nursing and may show no symptoms until stressed later in life.

I found this interesting because Kimo's vet said his condition could be triggered by stress which is Demodex. But he's being treated by Ivomec which is for sarcoptic.

However another site says ivermectin produces excellent results with red mange (demodicoses) though it's actually not approved for treating mange.

This site confirms that ivermectin is the treatment of choice for demodectic mange. Makes me wonder about Dr. Fox..

***

[6/22/11] I wonder if I can save money and by the ivomec commercially? Well, here's what the marvistavet site (linked above) says:

WHILE WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO BUY LARGE ANIMAL FORMULATIONS OF IVERMECTIN (SUCH AS IVOMEC®) THROUGH CATALOGS, WE STRONGLY DISCOURAGE THIS PRACTICE BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL TO EASILY GIVE A TOXIC DOSE IF THE PRODUCT IS INCORRECTLY USED.

LARGE ANIMAL FORMULATIONS ARE MUCH MORE CONCENTRATED AND IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO MEASURE A DOSE APPROPRIATELY FOR A SMALL ANIMAL ESPECIALLY IF ONE IS ATTEMPTING TO MEASURE A DOSE APPROPRIATE FOR HEARTWORM PREVENTION.

THERE IS TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL FOR SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS IF IVERMECTIN IS INAPPROPRIATELY DOSED.

Kimo at tennis

I don't know if should bring Kimo to tennis any more. It's getting kind of crowded with Lori's team there and I can't run around with him on the court.

I tried out the muzzle on him at the court and it went on readily enough. But it looks a little big as the strap has a lot loose at the end. Plus Kimo doesn't like it and paws it off.

He misbehaved a couple of times. He went to Bob and Bob started petting him under the chin. Then he got nervous and Kimo growled and snapped at hime.

Later I had him tied up and a lady came near to him and he barked at her.

So this past Monday, I left him at home and it still was pretty crowded.

A Giant Step Back

I keep thinking Kimo's making progress, then he takes a giant leap backward.

I took him over to Hershey on Monday and let him loose while I went to retrieve Hershey's leash. Then, before I knew, I heard this commotion and Kimo had pinned Herhsey against the car.

I grabbed Kimo and downed him eventually (it took some doing) and held him until he settled. But he wasn't completely settled as he lay down as he protested when I gently tugged the leash to get him up.

What was worse was that Helen was watching as all this was going on.

Usually, Hershey initiates play by charging and running away. Then lies down, at which point Kimo stops and sniffs him. This time Kimo didn't stop. Actually, I'm not sure what happened because I wasn't looking. It might have been Hershey just ran into the car while running away and Kimo kept going.

The next day, I walked Kimo to the garage with Hershey in the house and Hershey started barking. Helen let Hershey out, then he saw Kimo and did an about-face back into the house. Can't say I blame him.

On Wednesday, Gerald came with Hershey as I was at the beginning of the street. He heard about the incident, but let out Hershey anyway. I grabbed the leash and we commenced walking almost as if nothing had happened. I'm sure Hershey was apprensive but he didn't struggle. But I'm keeping an eye on Kimo for a while, just in case.