Living with Koa in Manteca California

This is going to be a very long post. I didn't really know where we were heading, when Mum told me to "climb" into the car. The car was packed full of stuff, and my bed was in it, so I did as I was told.

We drove for a mighty long time, and even had to stop in Oregon for a night-over, because the car ride was killing me, I think it was killing Mum and Rob too. When we finally got to our destination, I found out we were in Rob's parents' house. They were very welcoming and warm people, but the best part was, they had a dog too. His name is Koa, Koa is a shepherd lab mix, and he is slightly younger than I am. We got along immediately, and became best buddies. More on Koa shortly...

Rob's dad bought crab one evening and we, no I mean they, steamed it for dinner. It smelled wonderful and I thought I was going to get some, but I didn't.

This is Koa and I. We are on a "down stay" waiting patiently for the photo op to be over, so that we can devour the Easter box treats in front of us. Rob's parents, Gail and Bob were so nice to prepare a nice doggie Easter box for us. How come I never get any Easter treats back home Mum? Happy Belated Easter everyone!!

Koa shares all his toys with me willingly. Between him and I, we established quite early on that I was the more dominant and he was more submissive, so he mostly let me have my way, and he'd follow me around the house. Many times, I tried to teach Koa to play 'bitey face' like all Airedales do, but Koa wasn't too sure how the game went. We made lots of play-bows to each other, to make sure we all understood, this was just a game, and so we could have fun together.

We played chase around the house, in the backyard, in the front yard, and even in and out of all the rooms. Gail and Bob did not mind that we ran through the kitchen, around the living room, around all the nice furniture, because it seemed like we didn't make too much of a mess. I did like taking all of Koa's toys and strewing them all over the house. I think I made more of a mess than Koa ever does. Koa is a bit shy, but with me, he was carrying his own weight sometimes.

We play tug of war really well. We take turns to let each other win, but there are times when I really wanted to win, and I wouldn't let go. We both even growled and mumbled and refused to let go. When it got too intense, Mum or Gail would yell, "Hey cut it out" and then the game would be over. So we tried our best to play nice.

Almost everyday, someone would take us for a long walk to the big park. Either Gail, Bob, Rob or Mum would take us. Going to the big park meant that we could run out more of our energy and play nicely at home. We would walk very nicely together, Koa and I. No tight leashes, and no pulling.

I'm tired from all the running and fetching in the hot afternoon. Can you tell?

Hey Koa, I've got the ball in my mouth, come and get it!!

Happy dogs playing chase

Now Koa's got the ball, I love being chased, but I love to chase too. We've got to take turns chasing and being chased. Its part of the game. Koa plays very nicely with me. We get along just great.

Rob uses the Chuck It so that we can run further to catch the ball. The lawns were so nicely cut and manicured. The weather was always sunny and nice. Why can't the grass on our property be so nice too?

When we got too hot, Koa and I would escape and hide in the shade of the trees. It was very nice to cool off.

Hugs,
Kimi