a bird in the food

After walking Koa with Stanley and Sam, I went to feed him. When I opened the lid, a bird was in there and flew out. Must have been in there since the morning.

Later I tried to see if I could get Keith to sit for food. Not working.

[2/27, posted 3/11]

Kimo, Hershey, Koa go to the park

Took Kimo out and picked up Hershey. And saw Koa, so picked him up too.

Struggle to the park and to the volleyball court

The dog sniff and I made them come for treats

Before we left, Kimo was acting frisky. But Hershey seemed scared so no dog chasing this time.

[2/27, posted 3/11]

What your pet can teach you

I am honored that so many people look to me to help them enjoy more fulfilling relationships with their dogs, but the truth is that the dogs themselves have been my teachers. The most valuable lessons I’ve received have come from animals. Here are some of the ways dogs have helped me become a better, happier, and more-balanced human being.

Live in the moment.
People often wonder how I get such quick results with the dogs I rehabilitate. The answer is simple: Dogs live in the moment. They don’t regret the past or worry about the future. If we can learn to appreciate and focus on what’s happening in the here and now, we’ll experience a richness of living that other members of the animal kingdom enjoy.

Nurture a balanced life.
I tell my clients to follow this simple rule with their dogs: Offer exercise, discipline, and affection every day. Do the same for yourself. We humans are happier if our routines include physical activity, a sense of structure, and the opportunity to give and receive love on a daily basis.

Trust your instincts.
Animals don’t care about words. They recognize that what’s really going on in any interaction is beneath the surface. Many of us have lost touch with this all-important instinctual part of our natures. By paying attention to nonverbal cues such as body language and energy, we can learn more about our friends, our loved ones, and ourselves.

Be direct and consistent in your communication.
Many of my clients only intermittently enforce rules, leaving their pets confused about what is and isn’t acceptable behavior. Great relationships, no matter the species, begin with clear and consistent communication. This is a lesson we should carry into other areas of our lives—with our family, our friends, and at work. Remember: We teach people how to treat us.

Learn to listen.
Make the time to lend an ear to those you love or those who want to transform their lives. But don’t try to fix their problems, and don’t take their problems personally, either. A great leader is also a great follower and knows that everybody counts.

Don’t hold grudges.
There’s a remarkable lack of conflict in dog packs. That’s because members resolve the situation when disagreements arise, then move on. Imagine what our world would be like if we dealt with our conflicts before they escalated out of control. Holding onto negative feelings tends to make them multiply and prevent us from moving forward.

Live with purpose.
When dogs are bored, they develop issues ranging from anxiety to aggression. But when given a job and a way to contribute to the pack’s well-being, they turn around almost immediately. All animals—including humans—have an inborn need to work for food and water. Ask yourself how you can contribute more to your job, your family, and the world around you. You’ll feel much better about yourself if you earn your food and water, too.

Celebrate every day.
For a dog, every morning is Christmas morning. Every walk is the best walk, every meal is the best meal, every game is the best game. We can learn so much by observing the way our pets rejoice in life’s simplest moments. Take time every day to celebrate the many gifts that are hidden in the ordinary events of your own life.

Cesar Millan is the author of A Member of the Family and star of the National Geographic Channel’s “Dog Whisperer.”

Kimo and Aunty Snips

I was in the back with Kimo and Aunty Snips came to the screen door.

Kimo didn't bark or even react much. I don't know if it was because I was with her or he's getting used to people at the screen door. Maybe Sophie helped. I remember last time he would react (bark & growl) when Aunty came to the door (though I was inside at the time).

[2/26, posted 3/9]

better than kids?

Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't want to wear your clothes
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college,

and.....

11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children...

[via raynette]

Max has a visitor

For some reason, Kimo wanted to exit via the ewa gate in the morning. I picked up Hershey and heard barking as we got to Max' house. Max was behind the gate with another dog (not sure if it was Kapena).

I let Kimo loose and he went over to sniff the other dog. But Hershey was shy and stayed back. So actually Kimo is relatively friendly or at least curious because he always likes to go to doors and sniff.

[2/25, posted 3/9]

Hersey, Koa, Kimo at the park

took Kimo out and went to get Hershey. Koat was loose. He stayed around briefly then ran off.

We proceeded on our walk and Koa showed up on our way home. He smelled. It looked like he rolled in (his?) poop.

I took them all to the back yard. Then decided to take them all to the park. It wasn't that easy with Koa pulling.

We got to the volleyball court. Kimo started running. Then Hershey got Koa to chase him and they play fight (with a little growling).

Took Koa home, then saw big Koa by the gate. Get them to sit and treat them.

[2/24/09, posted 3/3/09]

Kimo, Bear, and Betty

Sunday morning.

Early barking at lady walking two terriers

I took Kimo out via the ewa gate and saw Koa loose. I was going to retrieve him but he ran away.

Proceed with pooping and walking.

Koa shows up again as we return. OK, we walk w/ Koa too.

After eating (though he wasn't too hungry), more barking

It was Lana's husband walking Bear.

I brought out Kimo and they sniffed each other though I answered in the affirmative if Kimo bites.

Then Betty came walking. Pet with no problem. Then we went to Yokomoto to get lemons. And we walked back.

Sunday evening.

After coming back from the volleyball game and driving back on our street, I saw a dog who looked kind of like Kimo being walked. Actually it was Donna walking Kimo. I guess I'm not used to seeing somebody else walk Kimo.

[2/22, posted 2/25]

Kimo and the wedding day

Since I was going to be out on Timmy's wedding day, I decided to take Kimo for a long walk in the morning.

Instead of going down Kealakai, I went down Judd and noticed there was no barking on Iholena. Apparently those dogs up on the balcony are all gone. Which is sort of surprising.

Then we visited the good-looking husky-type dog on Judd. Then to Liliha, but no Chibi in sight.

Finally to Bachelot. There's now a younger dog joining the bigger one. The older one still seemed friendly. But the younger one was more excited and barked as we left the area.

[Saturday 2/21/09, posted 2/25]

fixing the fence

Tsutsui's fence was missing a couple of planks, so I had extended the plastic fencing to block Kimo from going next door.

But today I finally decided to fix the fence and I found a few nails and nailed the planks back.

[Fri 2/20, posted 8/2]

Kimo and the bridal shower

Mars' bridal shower was at our house and I was supposed to leave and take Kimo with me, but I stuck around for a little while as the early guests arrived.

Mars' niece, Sophie, came to the back door as Kimo was back with me. And I was pleased to see no growling or barking. She pressed against the screen and he sniffed her. Then I decided to play some food fetch and she seemed interested in watching.

Finally I decided it was time to go. Jacque was arriving as I was leaving and I held Kimo as she went up the steps. She commented that he usually barks at her when he sees her.

Off to the Moanalua dog park. Nobody was there when I arrived. Just some people playing basketball on the court next door. Kimo went up exploring in the hills as I tried to keep sight of him through the bushes.

Later a lady came with her 1-year old female beagle. They sniffed each others noses with no incident. Then Kimo walked away and she kind of followed him for a bit. Then they went their separate ways.

They left after a while and I sat at the table reading some Dog Listener (IIRC). Kimo went to a dirt patch on the grass in the middle of the field and sat there waiting for me.

When I was ready I walked to the gate and he got up and followed me.

Next I off to Donna's house. I took him for a reverse (counter-clockwise) and he still reacted to that one house. I sat him and fed him treats until he calmed down and continued on.

I put him in the back and tied him to the fence where he used to live. He barked a few times. Not sure of all of them, but at least a couple times it was at other dogs barking. After a while he calmed down and just sat for quite a while in his enclosure waiting and watching.

After a quickie nap and a phone call to Donna, I was back home.

Mars and her sister and her friend was still there. Sophie was still there too and Kimo went up the front steps and sniffed her through the front door with no problem.

[2/19, posted 2/24]

Kimo snaps

I took Kimo out for his afternoon walk. At the beginning of the street, Max barked. So I brought him to visit Max through the screen door. Di brings him out and tried to pet him after letting him sniff her hand. I could see him tense up and said uh-oh. And he snarled and snapped at her hand. I pulled his leash up and looked at him until he calmed down. No contact as far as I could tell. But still scary and disappointing.

After that it was Koa's turn. He's getting better walking on the steps as I'm trying to train him not to walk in front of me when going up and down the steps. Once that is done, I hope to do the same on the regular walk.

I'm also back to using the reverse leash when walking him. So that he gets used to walking on the side of me. I'm walking a little brisker so as not be as frustrating for him (and me).

I went back to the front of the street again and Max barked again. To the door. Di brings Max out again to visit. But Koa sees Kai by the plants and reacted, though he didn't go very wild. Still Kai jumped on the garage roof to get out of his way.

[2/18, posted 2/21 a.m.]

Kimo, the cat, and the fish treat

Kimo was barking in the back. It turned out to be the black and white cat that he seems to be friendly at when he's out on the street (but apparently not when he's behind the fence).

I took Kimo out of the gate and the cat came closer. I decided to try to give the cat the fish treat (that Bry and Joyce gave to Lori but she didn't want and I wound up with it). The cat sniffed it but didn't eat it. So I decided to give Kimo the fish and the cat some chicken jerky. That worked better as the cat started munching on the jerky and Kimo started to eat the fish (though he only at about half).

Then we went out for our walk and the cat followed us for a little distance.

We went to the end of the street and saw RMS coming. I motioned for them to keep coming and took Kimo up Betty's driveway steps and fed him bits of jerky to keep him distracted.

[2/16, posted 2/20]

Kimo goes long

I took Kimo out in the morning and decided to take him for a longer walk. We went down Kealakai but didn't see the dog at the corner. Maybe he's gone? Then down Kunawai, then to Liliha to visit Chibi. We didn't see Chibi at first but then he appeared with a young girl who spotted Kimo and encouraged Chibi to come to the fence. Chibi came to sniff and this time Kimo didn't snub him and sniffed back. I mentioned to the girl that they met before.

Then I took him to the dog on Judd Street. They sniffed a short while and I noted they both looked wolf-like though Kimo is much smaller. As we were leaving the dog started howling like he wanted company and didn't want us to leave.

[2/14, posted 2/17]

the lady with three dogs

Kimo was barking at Pat taking out Keith. So I leashed him to my leg while I was sitting in the back.

Then I took Kimo out and as I neared the beginning of the street we saw a lady with three dogs coming. She asked if it was a deadend and it was. Kimo got restless but eventually calmed down as I walked him toward her and the dogs.

Then she turned around. It turns out that two of the dog were Papillons aged 7 and 17 and one was named Gizmo. The other dog is a chihuahua named Nacho.

Nacho was kind of acting up toward Kimo and the lady sort of spanked him. Then I kind of volunteered to walk Nacho and after a short while they were walking pretty well together.

She asked me about the lady who told her to come to the park. I told her that was Diana with Max and we went to her house where the dogs interacted a bit.

Then Diana's daughter came to take Max for his walk and the lady took the dogs home as it looked like it might rain.

Then later after going home, a lady was walking two terriers.

Kimo was running back and forth then seemed to get uncertain which way to run and started running in circles. I don't know if that's the true explanation, but it looked kind of funny.

[2/13, posted 2/16]

Koa walks up the steps

It's still slow going walking with Koa. Today I tried walking him up the steps. The mission is for him to walk up the steps behind or with me, but not go in front of me. It's still slow going, but I think this is a more concrete way to understand. Finally did it after several restarts.

Then once we get this done, maybe we can generalize to regular walking.

[2/13, posted 2/16]

Hershey gets a panic attack

Kimo didn't want to get so I took out Hershey instead

I brought Hershey up to the DH gate, but he seemed scared to go up so I kind of coaxed him up, but Kimo still didn't get up even after he saw us. So I took Hershey out solo.

While walking, BRB (Brit, Rudy and Blue) came up walking. Hershey howled and started getting panicky and pulled. Never really saw him like that.

He eventually calmed a little and I took him to the gate again. This time Kimo sat up and I took them both for their walk

[2/11, posted 2/16]

another visit with Spider

I took Kimo and Hershey to the park in the morning. And as we were leaving, Di brings Max. OK, back to the court. The problem was Hershey got loose. He ran circles around the playground set and eventually came to me for a bacon bit.

Back to the court. Hershey and Max wrestled again. Same result: Max gets pinned.

In the afternoon, I went to feed Koa. He was in the front lying on his pillow. The strange thing was that he wasn't even tied up. I walked back with Mr. Chung and Mr. Yokomoto. Then took him home. Guests were in the back as I fed him. After the feeding, they (and Toni) were headed home (to the Big Island?) he drove off with Toni and and headed home (to the big island?) and I tied Koa in front.

After that, I fed Kimo early and stopped off at Cat's house to see if she was going to bring Indy to tennis.

Spider started barking as usual. Indy was more friendly Cat eventually got the choke chain and leash on Spider and I took him for a walk. He walks pretty well, so I'm wondering if he had walk training before. He was still wary of me though since he didn't take any food. When I got back, he went to Cat and eventually I enticed him with the chicken jerky. When that seem to be working well, we moved inside the gate and got them both eating treats out of my hand.

OK, that worked though will probably have to repeat a few times.

Off to tennis.

[2/9, posted 2/14]

Kimo takes a bath

the dogs were barking, it was Ann walking Mochi & Fifi.

I brought Kimo in front to poop, then joined them on the walk. No problem.

When I came back, I figured WTH, I'll give Kimo a bath. I carried him up to the garage basin, not much trouble. (It's been a while since he's been bathed in the basin because we've been wary of carrying him. But since I've been handling him more in the last few months he seems more comfortable with being grabbed.)

What was more trouble was trying to rinse him since I didn't have the rubber hose attachment for the faucet, so I had to kind of splash the water up toward his neck area. But I guess it went OK.

[2/7, posted 2/11 a.m.]

attack from the house

I put the big pillow in the doghouse. At first Kimo didn't seem to want to sleep on it, but tonight he was fast asleep while I looked over the old newspaper in the chair. Suddenly Kimo woke up and attacked. He nailed me in my left side then went higher (for the head?). I blocked him with my arm and waited until the rage subsided. It was over pretty quickly as he recognized me and calmed down. After that he sat by my side and I petted him like usual. The whole incident probably took like 3 seconds.

OK, not completely cured yet. But no huge damage. I still have some scabbing from the bite though (which went right through my sweatshirt).

[2/5, posted 2/10]

up the Keith staircase

As I was taking Kimo back from his walk to the back gate, he veered off and run up the back steps of Pat's house. He made his way to the front of the house and naturally this ensued in a lot of frenzied barking from Keith.

I decided to carry Kimo up the front steps to see what would happen. Naturally there was more barking, but Kimo didn't struggle much. I stayed there until Keith calmed or at least stopped barking. I don't think it actually took that long. Then repeat.

[2/4, posted 2/10]

walking Petey

I was going up to feed Koa but then Malia and Norman were coming back from their (rare) walk with Petey, Shirley, and Chloe. I figured I'd walk back with them to see how Kimo and Keith react. I got Petey's leash and stopped between Kimo's and Keith's houses as Malia and Norman continued up.

Kimo seemed a little confused but slowed down his barking. I think Pat might have blocked Keith from the couch, but he started jumping at the window. Well one out of two. Sort of.

In the meantime, Petey behaved pretty well with no noticeable reaction to either Kimo or Keith.

[2/1, posted 2/7 a.m.]

Koa and the kerchief

I went to feed Koa and he was wearing a kerchief. I have to say it looked pretty good on him. I guess Toni's back because who else would put a kerchief on him?

[1/29, posted 2/4]

Praise as correction

I was revisiting the Lee Charles Kelley blog and see that he has a new site at blogspot. I found this article particularly intriguing. I'll have to study it more carefully but on quick reading dogs (and other animals I suppose) do undesirable actions because they view the event in a negative way. The idea is to change the negative connection of the event. In this case, LCK uses something positive (praise or play) as the event happens and eventually the dog should associate it with something positive. Like when Victoria Stilwell gives treats to dogs to distract them from a negative stimulus. Or something like that.

Koa and the Miyamotos

I went to feed Koa and decided to take him for a short walk first. Amy and Reina were coming back from the Hayashida open house. And Yokomoto was coming back during his walk [if I recall correctly]. So I decided to stop with Koa as they chatted. I brought Koa to sniff Amy and she backed away with Reina remarking that she more careful with dogs even since she got bitten (by Kimo). And Reina remarked that Koa looked so calm. At least in comparison to the times she seen him growling and snarling when she used to try to walk Miki and Shammy past him (but now she only goes the other way).

[1/25, posted 2/1]

Kimo goes to the vet

Kimo's poop is still runny and has pretty much degraded to multiple runny drops.

Donna decided to make an appointment with the vet.

There was an older guy assisting the vet and he just carried off Kimo to be weighed with no muzzle or anything. And no protest from Kimo though he seemed a little scared (with the tail between his legs). Turned out that was the vet's father (who's also a vet and I guess the one who started the business).

The vet found some kind of bacteria in his poop which he might have caught from exposure to birds. So he got some medicine. A bottle of Erythromycin and a bottle of Metroridazol.

Erythromycin is an antibiotic. Metronidazole is an anti-infective medication, but I think it was for his soft poop.

The vet said it might be a challenge to get him to eat the pill as it doesn't have a good taste. I told him I was giving him vienna sausage with a medicine and he replied it's really not that good for the dog. I asked what he suggested for the pill and he said there's a product called Pill Pockets. So we picked some up at Pet Discount Warehouse.

[1/31] Anyway, after taking the medication for a couple days, he seemed to be more energetic and his poop is much improved. Really good actually.

However Donna took his poop to the vet yesterday and he said the bug isn't gone and prescribed another week's dose of the medicine.

[1/24, posted 1/31]

Koa runs away

It was about 3:30 in the morning when I heard Kimo barking (is that why Steven Cheung no longer waves?). It was Koa on the loose. I followed him up the street but he went up Banzai's driveway. I waited for him for a little while at his house but he didn't show up.

Later that morning, mom says he showed up at our house (around 6:30 AM or so), but he was gone again.

I went to check on Koa later that morning, but still a no show.

After a quick shower, I got in the car and drove around looking for Koa. I stopped at AOP again, but this time no luck. Maile said she'll call if she sees him.

On the way back, I stopped by the house again and heard him in the garage, apparently trying to get into the house. That's a relief. I fed him a little then tied him in the front.

[1/22, posted 1/28]

Koa and the neighbor

I took Kimo out for his afternoon walk and Koa was barking at the gate. So I decided to bring him along. I went with the reverse leash this time which usually works for a little while, but then it seems to lose its effectiveness for a while (where one would think it would become more effective as the dog gets more tired).

I took Kimo home and went to feed Koa. And practiced walking (having him follow me with food in my hand). He followed I suppose, but not anywhere close to a heel.

Soon after going home, Koa was on the loose and showed up at my front door. I walked up the street with him and he jumped on to the neighbor's lawn. The neighbor shushed him away while I said "I got him". He said Koa poops on his lawn and I jumped up onto the lawn area as Koa ran around back and forth (almost like the crazies that Kimo sometimes has/had). Finally he settled down and I grabbed him and took him home.

[1/20, posted 1/28]

RMS progress?

not yet.

I took Kimo out and took Hershey too.

We were coming back from the beginning of the street and Reina was coming up from the driveway. She saw us and asked me if it was OK. I nodded OK and held Kimo. But then he reacted as they came closer and Miki reacted to his reaction. And back down the driveway they went.

I called to her that it was OK to come back out as we were going back down the road. But I don't believe she did.

[1/20, posted 1/28]

Nylabone

Kimo still isn't right with his poop still small and runny. I looked at his Nylabone chew toy and saw that the edges are being eaten away. I'm wondering how safe it is.

It's probably safe as thousands are being sold, but I found there are a number of cases where eaten Nylabone chunks have been harmful to the dog.

I hope Kimo isn't one of them. Hopefully whatever he has eaten has passed through or thrown up. It doesn't appear to me that too big of a chunk has been eaten but only little bits. But just in case, I'm dumping the old Nylabone.

And it's not just Nylabone.

Apparently there is no completely safe chew toy. But apparently the Kong and some of Nylabone products are among the safer to use. Maybe this one too?

sitting with the cat

Later that afternoon, I took Kimo out since he was barking at Wayne/Keith.

We went up DH side of the street and the black and white cat started joined us. We all sat down near the curb between Tanabe/Pang and watched Pat and Keith walking up the street.

[1/18, posted 1/27]

Kimo throws up

I thought Kimo was getting better but his eyes are still watery and he unexpectedly threw up his food by Tanabe's place. Stay tuned.

[1/18, posted 1/26]

Dog Listener

While browsing at the library, I came across this book called The Dog Listener. It's inspired by Monty Roberts who is called the Horse Whisperer though it doesn't really use the specific Horse Whisperer techniques (not that I know what they are). One day I'll have to watch the movie. (The movie I see now is modeled after other Horse Whipererers especially Buck Brannaman, not Monte Roberts.)

The author is Jan Fennell and she calls her technique Amichien Bonding. It's based on the view that the dog is a pack animal and doesn't use forceful techniques.

Here's a less than positive review of the book by Kate Connick. Frankly, the reviewer comes across as a jerk to me (just based on how she wrote the review). Maybe she was just in a bad mood. Or that this "amateur" methodology was an affront to her professional expertise (like Dodman against Millan). Because her website (other than this review) seems much more positive [just the name of site seems positive - Courteous Canines]. Hey, if it works, it works. [2/5/09 - I see now that she has reviews of quite a number of books on her site. So I suppose she must be knowledgeable. Perusing some of her reviews, she sounds like a right-wing Republican. NTTAWWT.]

More positive reviews are at Amazon. Out of 89 reviews, 68 are five star and 4 are one star. None particularly say her techniques don't work, but take issue with the theory behind why they work.

[1/15, posted 1/24]


[1/26 a.m.] Fennell also has a book called Tales from the Dog Listener (found from an ebay search) which is a book of stories. (The sitstay link on the right came from a google search on this book.)

big Koa on the wall

I took Kimo out a little late for his morning walk and Hershey was inside the house already.

I saw RMS in the distance and stopped on the street and fed Kimo treats to distract him. Turning back, I saw big Koa on the wall, we went to him and he stepped onto the trash bin and jumped down. Kimo growled a couple of times so I had to correct him and we lured Koa back behind the gate. Then treat-time.

Going home, I put Kimo on the landing while I trimmed the plants and pulled some weeds. BRB came by and Kimo went wild. I had him lie down on the return trip and he seemed OK.

[1/15/09, posted 1/24/09]

Banzai

When I went to feed Koa in the afternoon, I saw Bobby's owner walking back with a new small dog. I stopped and gave him my condolences and discussed the new dog. He got him from the pound and is part basenji. The son named him Banzai.

feeding on the other side

Kimo didn't seem eager to eat, so I place the bowl on the side near his doghouse and he ate there. It seems he's waiting for the signal that it's OK for him to eat, but I don't know what it is.

[1/10, posted 1/16]

walking with the cat

Today the black and white cat (w/o the collar) was out. Seemed friendly with Kimo and walked with us for a little while as we headed back down the road.

[1/10, posted 1/16]

under the chair

Kimo heard a bomb (one of those illegal homemade firecrackers I think). If he were in the garage he would run up the backstairs. I would have expected to go into his doghouse, but this time he went under the chair on which I was sitting. I continued reading the paper.

[1/9, posted 1/25]

UnderDog to WonderDog

There's a new show on Animal Planet called Underdog to Wonderdog. It's kind of like a combination of Extreme Makeover and Dog Town. They have a team working to rehab a dog to prepare for placement with a family. It's for a good cause, but sometimes seems sort of like a overuse of resources. Not sure if I'll be recording these to DVD. Maybe.

[1/8-1/9, posted 1/14]

Kimo and the storm drain

Kimo smelled something in the storm drain. Or saw something that went inside. I moved him away and he growled. Hold until calm. Still working - not there yet.

Seemed more energetic today, so maybe he's getting better.

[1/8, posted 1/14]

Koa and Keith again

Koa was on the loose again and this time Pat was out walking Keith. Keith goes wild and Pat picks him up

Koa runs home and I followed him home. Toni had let him out because she thought she heard me. Take him for short walk then feed him.

[1/8, posted 1/14]

Keith and Koa

Kimo was barking at Keith and I went to greet Keith outside.

But Koa was loose and Keith went nuts.

I leashed Koa but he slipped the leash. I grabbed him and took him in back. Then took Kimo (who was barking) and Koa back to Koa's house and tied Koa in the front.

Then Kimo got to go to tennis.

[1/5/09 posted 1/13/09]

take Koa home

After coming back from Utage (Christie's back to school tonight and mom went to Donna's house), Koa was loose.

I took him to his house, then thought hey why not bring him to my house. That would be a surprise for the people coming over. So I carried down his pillow to my house with him in tow. But when he got there it seemed he wanted to go in my car. So I drove him back home and tied him in front.

[1/3/09, posted 1/12/09]

Rudy & Blue's other walker

I went up to check on Koa and saw Rudy & Blue coming with the other person (not Brit) walking. I decided to stop and walk a bit with her at the same time checking whether Kimo would bark. It turns out her name is Melissa (the doctor) and that Brit was away on the mainland. She inquired about my fence since she was interested in fencing her yard but didn't want to pay big bucks for a chain link fence. Gardenfence.com

[1/3/09, posted 1/12/09]

On The Grass

Kimo didn't seem to be energetic this morning. He wasn't hungry and just lies down. Don't know if it's an after-effect from the fireworks or that he's sick. Or both.


Usually when Kimo wants to poop, he walks back and forth to the DH gate and sometimes barks. That's sort of strange because he's outside in the backyard and just needs to walk the other way to the grass.

But today I saw he did go by himself to the Ewa grass to poop. I guess it's how bad he wants to go and whether he knows if I'm nearby. There were multiple spots of poop, so he went multiple times without me noticing.

He doesn't really like the grass too much though because when he's done, he runs back to the cement area.

[1/3/09, posted 1/12/09]

Koa at the park

I went to check on Koa and he greeted me like I've been gone for a long time
Took him to the park for the first time and ran a little, then practiced walking in the tennis court

fed him his medicine w/ sausage and chanced leaving him in the backyard (instead of tying him up)

[1/3, posted 1/16 9:13PM]

still touchy

Kimo was lying in the back near the door. I opened the door and touched him and he jumped up on me. Still touchy sometimes.

So now (as I write this on 1/11) sometimes I purposely touch him lightly with the door. And in general, he gets up and moves a bit away. In general..

[1/1/09, posted 1/11/09]

Kimo on New Year's Eve

The first year I got Kimo (late 2006), I took him with us to Billy's house on New Year's eve. He mostly sat outside next to the chair or went into the corner under the little shelter Cyna prepared for him.

The next year, I left him at home. We had the doghouse in the garage, so I thought he would go and stay there when/if the fireworks started. But when we came home, at first I couldn't find him. It turned out he had squeezed under the door that separated the garage from the laundry room and was hiding in there. He must have been scared because normally he doesn't fit under the door.

The year, I decided to leave him at home but to come home earlier before midnight. We got home around 11:15 or so and he was in the bushes where he normally doesn't stay. Apparently he was trying to figure out how to get to the back steps leading up from the laundry room to the house.

I decided to bring him to the front steps and try to keep him calm while watching the fireworks. There was quite a lot, more than I expected, and he seemed pretty skittish but mostly OK.

Sometime after midnight, it seemed to die down a bit. I was sitting on the steps just above the landing and I left him to go by the railing on the landing nearest the street. Kimo took that opportunity to run into the garage and up the steps. We stayed there for a little while, then I took him in back.

Not sure what I'm going to do next year. Maybe the same thing.

[posted 1/8/09]

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.