Since Kiyoko was still in heat the first half of the month, she was not allowed in public yet with her cape, so she spent some time at home in her kennel if I needed to go out. She practiced her loose leash walking at various quiet venues without seeing her doggie friends. But we did go on a few outings: we made a day trip to Okanagan Falls to the famous Tickleberry’s ice cream shop and a walk at Vaseux Lake. We helped with the set construction of the Labyrinth show at Caravan Theatre and attended the Armstrong Bloom Festival, where we walked through a large field of gorgeous sunflowers. One day, we walked ALL the way to the skatepark with my grandson Heath on his push bike. The hardest part of that walk was walking PAST the large dog park at the fairgrounds, which was FULL of dogs, even one that Kiyoko knew.
On Thanksgiving weekend, we drove to Chilliwack, where we went on 2 hikes: to Bosumarne Falls and Lindeman Lake, and then we carried on to North Vancouver to visit my daughter in her new house. Kiyoko stayed in the basement suite with us since she wasn’t allowed to mingle with my daughter’s 3 cats and rabbit upstairs because they had just moved in and were still settling. For three nights, she slept on her dog bed (not in a kennel) for most of the night, until early morning when she came looking for us. Good practice for her.
While in Vancouver, we also went to visit my previous PADS dog Birdie, who is now a breeder and lives with caregiver Annika and her released PADS dog Harley. It was SO nice to see Birdie again, and I wish her well in her breeding career. The dogs got along very well, and I’m not even sure if Birdie even noticed me.
I donated blood upon my return home from Vancouver. Kiyoko is very well behaved out in public and settled nicely at my feet, once she knew that I was alright.
The last two weeks of the month, we finally got to return to PADS class after a 5-week hiatus. It was good to be back. Brian had set up various stations around the room, one week (bed, sit, leave it, down, kennel, different surfaces to walk on). The most difficult was perching on a 24” two-by-four!
The next week, we practiced milling with 2 dogs on leash and the 3rd dog off leash. We are aiming to increase the number of dogs off-leash. We also practiced duration with the dogs lined up against a wall in a sit, down or stand. The challenge was to walk past ALL the dogs in a down, one by one, including your own dog. Then, another week, the trainer brought in the CATO boards that we hadn’t used in a long time. The large, year-old dogs had a bit of trouble trying to lie down on such a small platform.
We resumed our weekly one-to-one reading in the local elementary school for the fall session. We’re working with a different teacher this year and three new students. They all enjoy reading with Kiyoko, who settles nicely at our sides. The next week, at school, we were entertained by a jazz quartet from Vancouver. The gym was full of kids and teachers who had fun engaging with the performers. Kiyoko calmly watched intently and enjoyed the musical atmosphere.
It was nice to get back to our old routine after Kiyoko’s heat was over and meet up for walks with our dog friends. We saw Liz with Doppler and Lucy and had a special visit from Alanna and PADS Vasuex, among others.
We made a trip to Davison’s Orchards, where Kiyoko inspected and sniffed farm animals, including chickens and goats. It was a nice sunny day, and we enjoyed hot apple cider on the patio.
And lastly, for Halloween, Kiyoko dressed up as a bumblebee. We attended the local “Treat Trail” downtown, where merchants close down between 3pm and 5pm to shell out candy to the young children accompanied by their parents in costume. And there were A LOT of them! What fun we all had, including Kiyoko, who wasn’t fazed by any of the costumes. A great experience for her.
Submitted by: Chris Buitinga
