Bad Roomba

To keep the peace at home, Keith Hearn had to scold his new robotic vacuum cleaner.

The trouble started when Mr. Hearn first turned on his Roomba automatic cleaner. When the device started scooting around the floor, Mr. Hearn's dog, Argos, attacked it.

Seeking help, Mr. Hearn found an online forum dedicated to the hundred-dollar Roomba buzzing with similar stories of pet assailants. Owners were offering advice. Among the most popular: Chastise the vacuum in front of the dog.

WSJ's Adam Najberg reports that dogs exhibit a curious dislike for technology, which they often attack. Watch as he negotiates a truce between Sunshine, a Heinz 57 hound, and a Roomba, the robot vacuum cleaner.

And so, with Argos looking on, Mr. Hearn shook his finger at his gadget and sternly called it "a bad Roomba." Argos appeared to be mollified. "After that, he never tried nipping at it again," says Mr. Hearn, a software engineer in San Carlos, Calif.

not yet

Kimo's not there yet. Today Koa was loose and the dogs (Keith, Kimo, Hershey) were barking. But Kimo's barking wasn't so frantic this time.

I decided to let him out and try to trail and possibly interact with Koa. But no dice, Koa went to the side of Chung's house or something and Kimo went off to Fong's yard, then to doodoo at Hayashida.

Koa then reappeared and ran down the road toward home. I let Kimo loose, but instead of chasing Koa he went to Keith's window (on Ito's side) and went wild. I pulled him back and tried to calm him (over and over). I even made him lie down for a while. He seemed to be a little better, so I took him back to the Ito driveway and tried to get him to walk calmly to Keith's house. I started to make slow progress (it was hot and he was panting - so maybe he was just tiring out), but then I went to retrieve the napkin of poo I left on the stonewall (I had forgotten to bring a bag and I was tired of carrying the napkin) and he bolted and went wild. I tried to go around in front and kneeled down in front of him to block him as he was in a frenzied state. This was a dangerous move, but after all, he hadn't bit me today. Well, he did. It wasn't too bad since it was through my sweatshirt, but still.

OK, try again. I walked in short sections taking his tail position as a cue. Maybe the bite seemed to calm him down and I made it down the sidewalk without Kimo looking or Keith barking. Well, I guess it ended successfully. But I don't know if I'm making better or worse. Hopefully better, as long as I end on a good note.

how to walk a dog

The Hawaiian Humane Society seems to largely agree with Cesar on the philosophy of walking a dog:

If you've seen a pack of dogs in motion, the leader is always at the front. If your dog is first out the door, first back in the house and walking out ahead of her, it's letting her know where it thinks her place is in the pack.

This is a great opportunity for your daughter to practice calm and firm leadership.

* * *

Well, I guess they said calm and firm instead of calm and assertive so as not to be too obvious.

Google has a bunch of links on how to walk a dog.

[2/11/09] Here's one by Ian Dunbar [as I was looking up how old a puppy should be before you walk him]

[5/24/09] The proper way to walk your dog (Cesar Millan style)

[7/14/09] Traditionally, training a dog to walk on a loose leash required a show of strength, perfect timing, and a willingness to teach the dog that the consequence of pulling was pain. Today, trends in training emphasize a less physical, more dog-friendly approach that encourages and rewards cooperation.

Here's a somewhat similar approach to loose-leash training that turned up when googling the above Parade article.

[3/17/10] Victoria demonstrates the close command in the episode Great Dane Devotion

[3/17/10] Here's a guide from the Survival Kit for Dog Owners [found from googling John Ross dog walking, so you know it's kind of dated (DogTalk was published in 1992, so maybe it's not THAT old..). Sadly I see John has ended writing his column.]

[4/13/10] QUESTION: How can I get my dog to stop pulling on the leash?

ANSWER: Teaching a dog how to walk properly on a leash takes patience and perseverance. Most important is to not give up because walks are essential to your dog's well-being. Always talk to your dog while you are walking her, keep the leash short, and give her treats while at your side. If she pulls, just stop and wait for her to stop and look at you. Avoid distractions like large crowds and dog parks while you work on this. Training collars help, like Gentle Leaders and Easy Walk Harnesses, which are sold at the Humane Society.

[6/2/10] Yahoo answers.

[4/17/11] Cesar demonstrates and explains his technique

[6/10/11] Turid Rugaas video [via pos-4-reactive-dogs]

[6/10/11] also found videos by tab289 while viewing the above

[7/16/11] Zak George video: How to train your dog to not pull

[4/30/12] How Cheri Lucas walks 16 dogs

[6/3/12] Training your dog to heel on a loose leash (Nigel Reed londondoglistener)

[8/20/12] Here's Stan Rawlinson's approach (using his bell).  [Stan Rawlinson is the "original" Dog Listener.  I found Stan Rawlinson because somebody in dwf was trying to find a poem that he wrote and I read about his training methods.]

[4/4/13] Cesar's 6 tips for mastering the walk

[4/10/13] short excerpt from A Short Guide to a Happy Dog

New dogs in town

On Tuesday, Kimo wanted to go down the driveway where Oliver used to live. I think he heard a dog yelping down there.

When we got there there were two dogs there. On the steps, was a collie (or collie looking dog -- it seemed a little smaller than a full sized collie). And next to him/her was a small dog yelping in the bushes.

I brought Kimo closer, but the collie kind of shied away. And since the door was open (so I guess somebody was home), I didn't press the issue and led Kimo away.

Amy, next door, had come home and told me the new neighbors actually have seven dogs! Most of them small little dogs.

when will it end?

It happened again. I was sitting on the bottem step of the top flight holding Kimo down on the landing(not very tightly) with my left hand as Pat walked Keith.

All seemed normal, then suddenly Kimo turned and attacked my arm. Luckily no blood this time. But this is very worrisome, not to mention scary.

I guess I'll have to watch him even more carefully as I handle him.

Later, he was on the top landing seeming relaxed as he watched Keith then suddenly went up to bark and growl. I don't know if Keith did anything, but as Kimo went wild, Pat pulled Keith up with the leash.

going wild

Yesterday, Fifi, Mochi, Paco were out with Ann. Ann was worried about Fifi loose with Kimo so she called him back. Paco did his headbutt and lie down routine with Kimo. So far no problem. Mochi was let out on the leash to come closer. Kimo started to growl and I tugged him away and he jumped on me and growled showing teeth. It's like he doesn't recognize me when he does it. Or the andrenaline (or testosterone or whatever) overcomes him. A few seconds later, he comes to his senses and he's OK.

It also happened this morning when we passed Keith's house on Iha's side of the street. And Keith wasn't even by the window.

Most scary of all was later when the roofers arrived and I had Kimo lying down on the landing with my fingers putting light pressure on his neck. All of of sudden he got up and turned to growl wildly at me. Luckily (for my hand) I held on to the back of his neck until he calmed down.

I'm not sure what I should do. Well, one thing I should do is be careful...

a new attack

This attack was a new one, though pretty much a variant of the old ones.

This morning, I saw his pillow was wet on the side. I'm guessing he peed on it. So I went out and picked it up to spray it. Kimo was still in his house and I guess he heard me and woke up. He came charging out of his house jumped on me and growled. So I guess that's bad.

However the growl was mild and he calmed quickly after he recognized me. In the past, he would stay in a excited aggressive state longer and I would stay still and stare him down which would take more than a few seconds. So maybe this episode might actually be a sign of progress??

dog nurses kittens

Ewa Beach sixth-grader Megumi Schultz was astounded when her cat-hating dog started breast-feeding feral kittens they found in her garden shed.

"I was quite shocked when she started nursing them," she recalled as she related how her dog morphed into a tender, doting mother.

Cat Walk

I'm beginning to think that Kimo likes cats better than dogs. Today, the tailless cat was in Kimo's [Max's?] garage and Kimo wanted to go up to sniff him.

Also I let him sniff the dog that Diana is dogsitting. It's a chihuahua-terrier mix that Diana says is the best trained dog. He comes to her when she calls him at the park. And goes to bed and stays put on the pillow.

Anyway, Kimo and he were sniffing each other through the fence. But I heard some low growling. I couldn't tell which dog was growling. I thought it might have been Max who was nearby but not sniffing. Later (on the afternoon walk) I discovered it was the new dog, though he still seemed friendly enough.

I also encountered the black cat with the purple collar near Malia's place. Kimo didn't go wild. On the contrary he went over and tried to sniff him. He got close enough that the cat pawed him. And I was pleased to see that Kimo didn't go wild or even react much to the paw. The cat went across the street to Tanabe's bush. Kimo followed but the cat moved away.

So maybe Kimo is getting a bit more socialized. At least to cats. (I think Paco has helped him a lot in that regard. And Hershey has helped him learn to handle interactions better by playing.) He still barked at Keith when Pat took out Keith and I was out in the yard. But he seemed to come without too much struggled when I tugged the leash and told him to come.

Note: the above two links are from Free Dog Training Info, which is another informative site.