What a fun-loving girl Kiyoko is! Every morning, when I let her out of her kennel, I’m greeted with a stuffed panda in her mouth (true Golden style) and a very waggly tail and dancy behind as they go back and forth! She is dancing with sheer joy, which brings a smile to my face! Sometimes she chases her tail around in circles and even catches it. Other times when she is leash-free on the trails, she picks up a piece of birch bark and tears up and down the trail with it in her mouth. It’s so cute!
We had a busy 10 days this month looking after our 2-year-old grandson, Heath, and grand pup Jeff, while our kids took a trip overseas to France, Switzerland, Italy and Iceland. Kiyoko was very well-behaved with our grandson, being courteous of his small size and gentle when interacting with him. She also gets along well with Jeff, who puts Kiyoko in her place when she wants to rough house and he’s not interested. They are great together out on walks, on or off leash. The ten days altogether were a success, no one was injured or put out, and no baby toys were eaten!
We attended four PADS puppy classes this month. We worked on our kickback stands and tuck sits where the front paws do not move as the hind end goes up and down. Kiyoko already had this figured out. We also worked on hind-end awareness, having the dog stand on a CATO board with their 2 hind legs and getting the pup to step off the board with the back legs and back on again, going backwards with no luring. A challenge that we still need to work on some more. She does well off-leash in class with both toy and dog distraction drills.
We still do our reading once a week with the kids at the Elementary School. One student is teaching Kiyoko to balance a kibble on her nose! She enjoys seeing the kids and settles nicely as we read together, one-on-one in the library.
We went out for weekly dinners and visits to the local brewery, where she settled nicely under the table. She’s pretty good at walking past the seated people as we maneuver to our table. At the mall or the grocery store, I encourage people to leave her alone so that she can get used to being ignored. The odd time people still want to engage, so that is my opportunity to spread the good word about PADS.
We went on a few hikes this month. So nice that the snow has, and the trails are drying up. Grandpup Jeff accompanied us to Rose & Swanson Mountains and a walk about Margaret Falls with Heath as well. It was so cute watching Heath loose leash walk his own dog! We also hiked The Test of Humanity Trails in Summerland and at Crown Land Kelly Mountain at Glenemma, where we also saw a couple of horses. We love to get out in the fresh air and see the sights. After one of our walks, she had to have a shower, which she was not too impressed with but tolerated it.
And lastly, we did our civic duty and went to vote on Election Day. Kiyoko patiently waited in line beside me for a long time as our poll station was not the fastest. Even at the polling station, most people see the vest and ignore her with a big smile on their faces. As she gets older, our caped outings get easier with less interference from the public.
Submitted by: Chris Buitinga
