Kiyoko turned 11 months on August 19th and has grown into quite a calm, well-behaved puppy.
She plays well with my 2-year-old grandson and his toys, is considerate of his space, and doesn’t knock him over anymore. She doesn’t chase other pets; she respects our cat and even enjoys the company of a friend’s cat (see picture). She walks well on trails, on and off leash, by herself or with other dogs (after the initial excitement is over). She settles well when we go out to restaurants or breweries and walks through stores and malls calmly without tugging or being rewarded.
One day, I walked along the waterfront with my grandson on his bike and 2 dogs on leash: Kiyoko and my grand puppy, Jeff. I wasn’t sure how successful we would be, but they all surprised me. We did not lose sight of the toddler on his bike, the leashes remained untangled, and the passersby were generally ignored! A great outing.
This month, she accompanied me to my bone density test, where Kiyoko AND my grandson had to stay behind a barrier with a stranger out of the way of the X-ray beam. Well done!
We went on an on-leash hike at Silver Star Resort, where we encountered many downhill mountain bikers whizzing past us. We had to be careful of other bikers when our cross-mountain hiking path intersected with the bikers’ downhill path, as seen in the picture. We all got our fair share of delicious huckleberries, too!
Kiyoko practiced her boating skills again this month in our tandem kayak. First, we did a couple of shorter paddles at Gardom and Wood Lakes as test runs. All was good. Kiyoko calmly sat in the kayak and did not try to get out while we were out in the water. Then we did a much longer paddle at Kalamalka Lake. This paddle involved many stops along the shore while we got out to go geocaching. She eagerly hopped out and back into the kayak. Sometimes she just stayed on board with my friend while I got out. She sat or settled on my lap while we paddled. Good thing the wind never picked up, for it was a delightful afternoon out on the lake.
We attended the Salmon Arm Fair this month, where Kiyoko did well with the noise and commotion of the midway rides. At the fair, we participated in waulking a blanket that I helped weave. The ring of four blankets was put on a table with water and soap, and then we gathered around and waulked them around a circle to clean the cloth, making it softer, thicker, and more airtight. Meanwhile, Kiyoko calmly had a rest in the sunshine.
We were invited to a double header at StarLight Drive In by our PADS co-ordinator, Brian, as a volunteer appreciation outing. Kiyoko attended her first drive-in movie with 10 other PADS dogs: most in training, two released pups, and one in service. It was a clear evening, the popcorn was great, and the movies were good as well. It was a great evening out, and was much appreciated, thank you Brian and Paul.
We made a short trip to Vancouver and stayed in a hotel one night, where she slept on the floor for almost the entire night. She took the SeaBus again, had dinner out, and encountered a NO DOGS allowed sign at a spray park downtown. Wow, a $10,000 fine!
And lastly, we attended three indoor PADS puppy classes this month. We look forward to class time, seeing our other raisers and sitters with their pups, practising our skills, while trying to ignore our other furry friends. We practiced changing our pace while walking, people approaches, leash pressure techniques, sit-down-stands in a line against the wall, and heel and side against a wall. I was very proud of Kiyoko when she did a perfect off-leash recall in front of a line of dogs and a walk by, off-leash, in front of the dogs as well.
Kiyoko is approaching her first birthday and has not had her first heat yet. I’m thinking next month is going to be a very quiet one.
Submitted by: Chris Buitinga
