Christmas Day

This is Leilani's first Christmas.  In no time she got into the rhythm of opening presents.  Each one might have a treat or something for her.  After a while she began to slow down enough for a portrait with her new reindeer antlers.

Percy got into the spirit as well with his red ribbon collar.

Soon it was too much for Leilani and she had to take a nap with two new toys.

Leilani at 24 Weeks

Now that the Senate has passed the health care overhaul bill guess who is coming to Kailua?

President Obama, Michelle Obama and the girls, Sasha and Malia are due to arrive later today.

Leilani thought that she could get a glimpse down the shoreline to their vacation home. 

She was not happy to hear that Bo Obama is staying at the White House.  Maybe he can come next year!  Somehow we have to figure out how to get Bo and Leilani together for a play date on Lanikai Beach.  Maybe we should offer Bo some of her Sandy Dog Biscuits™.
 
Mele Kalikimaka from Leilani and her people!

First and Second Dads

It has been months four months since Leilani has seen her first dad, Hana Boy.

We took a road trip (2.9 miles) from lanikai green house to McKenna Ford in Kailua.  Leilani sat on her Barking Dog Blanket for the trip.

We went to deliver some Sandy Dog Biscuits™ and have a dog ohana get together.  Leilani got to see Izzy, her mother, Benji, her brother and Hana Boy, her father.

Hana Boy and Leilani chased each other around the accounting offices before going up to see Mike McKenna in his office.

When the dogs began to slow down I was able to get Leilani to pose with her first and second dads.

Leilani at 23 Weeks

Our friends Dana, Ginger and Andi looked after Leilani while we took a mini-vacation to Waikiki.  She must have had a great mini-vacation too!  When I walk Leilani down the street she tugs her leash to guide me to their house.

Leilani even came back with photographs of her vacation.  Check out this web gallery of the pictures that Dana took.  We love the way he captured Leilani's spirit.   Look at her soulful eyes in photo number 10.

In case you are wondering, Dana Edmunds is a professional photographer.  His client list includes Maui Jim Sunglasses, Hawaiian Airlines and just about every hotel chain and magazine in Hawaii.  Click here to view his website.

Leilani at 22 Weeks

Last week was a busy time here at lanikai green house.   We invited about 30 of our neighbors over to celebrate the season.   So with the party preparation and family  visiting from the mainland, we now have to catch up on our what's new with Leilani.

We used a photo of Leilani on our  holiday party invitation. It is the portrait we used for Sandy Dog Biscuits™. Most of our neighbors had already met Leilani on one of her many walks to the beach, but she stayed downstairs with a pet sitter until just the right time for her formal introduction.  But just like a puppy she introduced herself  to some of our neighbors with a cold nose up a dress! Puppies will be puppies.

Leilani at 21 Weeks

We have launched our new product line: Sandy Dog Biscuits™.  The biscuits will be on sale today at the Lanikai Craft Faire.

Each bag has either 2 regular (aka LARGE) or 10 small biscuits.  The bags are made from recycled paper with a parchment paper liner.  The paper labels are held in place with raffia. The labels list the ingredients (all natural, no preservatives added)
and the flavor of the biscuits.

Our display stand is made from scrap redwood and looks like a beach chair with a paddle for a head rest. 

We have a nearly continuous quality control department.  Leilani gets to taste several biscuits from each batch.

You would think that Leilani helped write our business plan.  In a way she did!

Leilani at 20 Weeks

Leilani has started to lose her puppy teeth. For this we can be both happy and a bit sad.

Happy that her sharp incisors are gone and with time the small scabs on our hands, arms and legs will heal.  Sad that our wild and crazy puppy is growing up.

She is starting to mellow, just a bit.

She looks more like her father, Hana Boy, each week.  We can see the Golden Retriever snout in this profile. She also has his head and ears and eyes.  Very soulful eyes too.  Her coat changes continually and so does her coloring.  Here's to the complexity of poi dogs! She is indeed a work in progress.

Leilani at 19 Weeks

Coconuts are a big hit at our house.  Leilani has developed the technique on how to get the water and flesh from inside a coconut.

She starts at the stem end of the coconut.  She chews off part of the husk and her nose follows the smell.  In no time, she accesses the inside of the coconut and laps up the water and then starts on the flesh.  Then the coconut becomes like a Kong toy and she can spend quite a while licking the flesh inside.

Here is what the coconut looks like after a half an hour of fun.

Based on her attraction to coconuts, we have decided to start using coconut water in our recipe for Sandy Dog Biscuits.  

It could be just a couple of months before Leilani gets as good as this orangutan at opening a coconut.

Leilani at 18 Weeks

We had planned on taking an early morning walk to Lanikai Park, but on the way, a small white dog ran out from a house to greet Leilani.  The dog's owner was still talking on the phone as she picked up her dog, "Mark, the surf is wild this morning, maybe we can catch some waves at Flat Island".

So, with that tidbit from the coconut wireless, we decided to go to the beach instead of the park.  Leilani observed the surf breaking on the coral reef and also noticed some canoe paddlers passing by.

It was low tide but the surge of the waves pushed up high on the beach.  We never have a shore break at Lanikai beach which is why it is always safe for puppies and keiki.

We have heard that the Obamas will be back for the Christmas holidays.  Too bad Bo can't come!  Jorge Garcia, the actor who stars in Lost, thought Leilani was a Portuguese Water dog.  Well, she is at least a water dog.

Natural Dog Treats

Leilani enjoys natural dog treats from our garden.  Our palm trees are a special source of treats.

She collects, chases and chews the baby coconuts. We play with the fronds from our Areca, Manilla and Macarthur palm trees. It seems to remind her of her early days here at lanikai green house when she would go broom surfing.

It takes a couple of days, with periodic chewing and shredding, to finish up the inflorescence of this Areca palm.  She loves the way it feels in her mouth as she pulls it apart!

Leilani at 17 Weeks

The testing kitchen at Lanikai Tea Room has been working on a new product line: Sandy Dog Biscuits™, from Lanikai Beach .  This wholesome treat has apple bananas from lanikai green house, mint and all natural ingredients with no preservatives.  It is topped with grains of "sand" from the world famous Lanikai Beach.  Actually the "sand" topping is made from sesame seeds and just looks like grains of sand.

We plan to have seasonal flavors made with fresh fruit from Lanikai.

Yes, we do use animals in our testing.  The first round of testing was done by Leilani.  She gives it four paws!

Soon we plan to take some biscuits to McKenna Ford for taste tests by her father, Hana Boy, and her mother, Izzy, and all the other dogs who "work" there.

Leilani at 16 Weeks

Leilani has a new favorite toy.  It is a stuffed frog from Howlistic in San Diego. Jim's mother sent it to Leilani many weeks ago. We have wrapped the frog with a bathrobe sash from the Halekulani Hotel (no, not stolen, it was purchased) in Honolulu.  The sash is now quite dirty again and is due to be laundered. Poor Mr. Froggy's waist is in quite a bind. She loves to play tug of war with it and us.  That can last for up to half an hour.  When she tires, we wrap Froggy and his sash around her neck and all is well.

Leilani at 15 Weeks

Would you like fries with your cheeseburger?

It's dog in the box!

Leilani enjoys chewing on cardboard shipping boxes.  This gift box came from Harry and David. It's been around since early September.  She's a "green" pup at least as we recycle the cardboard pieces that litter our house on a daily basis.

Next week's sneak peak:  Froggy in bondage.

Leilani at 14 Weeks

Leilani is a lucky dog.  She lives near a beautiful beach and swims most every day. In addition, she lives in a dog-friendly neighborhood full of many nice pooches and their people too.

She's definitely fond of Dana and Ginger, our friends and neighbors. Dana let her experience his stand up paddle board this week and Ginger brought her a lovely puppy present. Ginger designs clever car seat covers and blankets for dogs (even cats can use them) using Hawaiian style designs.  She's definitely on a roll these days and her creations are now sold here in the islands and on the mainland.  Check out her website: Barking Dog Blankets and see for yourself!

Leilani's photo of the week shows her sitting in our Audi convertible on her new (and very cute) car seat cover.  Mahalo nui loa, Ginger!

This week's entry is in memory of Rockie, the original Rider.  Aloha 'Oe.

Bottomless Water Dish

Leilani loves water. Her blue water dish is not just for drinking.

She digs a hole in the dish looking for more cool water or ice cubes.

Once all the water is gone she waits for the dish to be refilled.

 

Is she smart or what?

Leilani at 13 Weeks

It won't be long before our temporary puppy barrier is too short.  Leilani is getting bigger every day.

The red white and blue ball on the homemade redwood bench was a first birthday present to our yellow Lab in 1995.  She took it to the beach many times 

Leilani will continue the tradition and chase and retrieve this well loved ball on our next trip to the beach.

Casualties of Puppyhood

It is not pretty.  It comes with pain and blood.  Oh, the casualties of puppyhood.

Leilani and her razor sharp teeth are a force to be dealt with!

Often she is running around with her mouth open and does not intend to sink her teeth into your skin.

Other times she is in a snappy mood and wants to bite and chew everything that will fit into her jaws.  Those are the times you have to be on alert!

You can say "NO BITE" and she knows what it means, but she does not agree.  She will push forward and simply touch her nose to your skin.  The next time she will touch her mouth to you with her teeth exposed.  If you are not alert, the next time she will give you a little nip - ouch!

Then the enforcer comes.  I hold her down on the floor and rub her ears and neck.  I do not let her up, even if she struggles.  After about 30 seconds she calms down.  I let her up and she goes on her merry way to the next adventure.

By the way, a half hour after this attack she came back to lick the wound.  An apology? Only puppies know the answer.

Leilani by Kevin

Last week Leilani had some face time, as in licks on the face, with Kevin.  Kevin, who is in 5th grade, recently moved to Lanikai with his family.

They moved from San Diego and did not have enough notice to put their family dog through a testing and vaccination ritual to avoid a four month rabies quarantine.  It will be a few more months until their dog will arrive in Hawaii.

Yesterday, Kevin's father, Kip, was walking by and asked if Leilani had gone to the beach again.  I told him that I was getting over a cold and would wait until next week.  Later in the day Kevin along with one of his classmates from Lanikai Elementary School and his father came by.  Kevin wanted to play with Leilani and give me a  Get Well card.  In his homemade card he had three drawings of Leilani.  I like this one the best!

Leilani at 12 Weeks

Our wonderful vet made a house call recently to see Leilani and our cat, Percy.

For two weeks Percy has had a plastic cone on his neck so that he  would not pull out the stitches on his back.  He had a nasty abscess that they cleaned up.  They removed his stitches and then removed his cone.  He is free again, well just partially, he gets to stay inside at night.

Our vet brought along his dog, Ping Ping for the house call.  Ping Ping is a two year old Pug.  She is just the right size for Leilani.  After a good romp with each other, Ping Ping and Leilani slowed down enough for a portrait.

Leilani at 11 Weeks

Our puppy, Leilani, has a new favorite word - Chewy.

Our vet gave her a bag of dog chews that are good for her teeth.  These are not just any chews.  Vibrac Cet Hextra chews have clorhexidine which helps remove plaque and reduce tartar. It is healthy treat that she likes.

She is posing in the morning sun on our deck.  She is laying on a PBS Hawaii beach towel that has a honu design.   Next time she goes to the beach she may get a chance to see a real honu.

Leilani at 10 Weeks

Leilani's first trip to the beach!  Leilani is not trained on a leash yet, but her vet said that she could go to the beach but try to avoid big groups of dogs.  We walked, and I carried Leilani, to one of our local beach access paths.  We call it sandbags because of the large erosion control sandbags.

It was low tide and the "surf" was about at most 6" high.  Not much for us, but something to consider for a short puppy.  Leilani was, at first not sure what to make of the Pacific Ocean, but soon she realized it was WATER.

She quickly got her feet wet and started running up and down the beach.  She even swam for a couple of seconds as a small wave washed ashore.

She decided that the beach is lots of fun.  Hopefully by the next time, she will be able to walk on a leash so I do not have to carry home a wet and sandy puppy.

Towels for a Wet Dog

Part of having a dog that loves to get wet involves trying to keep enough somewhat dry towels in stock.

It wasn't long before Leilani found the blue towel hanging on the chair.  It is easy to get lost in the moment.

She then looks behind the towel.

She turns to look at the camera for a sweet portrait.

Leilani at 9 Weeks

Red collar day!  Leilani strikes a pose with her new red collar.  Kathleen is helping to stage this shot by making funny sounds to get Leilani's attention.

She's looking more and more like her dad, Hana Boy.  Her "puppy coat" color changes daily with new bits of "Hana Boy Gold" showing up on what was once a mostly black pup.

First Play Date

It was still too early for Leilani to meet and play with other dogs but she did have a chance to have a play date with her brother Mandingo.  Here they are playing with a baby coconut from our garden.

Mandingo is taller than Leilani and has a shorter coat of fur.  He looks much more like a German Shepherd.

After chasing each other around the yard, they decided to take a dip and cool their paws.

Leilani at 8 Weeks

Leilani comes from a mix of breeds that should like water.  Her father is a Golden Retreiver and her mother is a mix of a Labrador Retriever and a German Shepherd.

Her first adventures in water included standing in her water dish and chasing the water coming out of a hose. She was still to young to go to the beach so we decided to get her a play pool.

Her razor sharp teeth would have shredded the normal blow up children's pool.  We purchased this hard plastic one at Hardware Hawaii.

Well there is now no doubt, Leilani loves water!

Leilani at 7 weeks

Leilani is always willing to go down to the lawn and help me clean up the flowers and leaves from our plumeria tree.  One day after trimming this tree, I decided to try and propagate some of the cuttings.  The Lanikai Plumeria Project started as a result of that effort.

When Leilani was seven weeks old,  she paused long enough, about 3 seconds, for her weekly portrait.

Broom Surfing

Not every dog gets a chance to grow up and go to the beach in Lanikai.  Our new puppy, Leilani, is too young to go the beach but she is already practicing her surfing moves.

She loves to help with chores around the garden.  She watches the broom closely looking for the right moment.  Just like a surfer waiting for the best wave in a set.

Once the moment is right, she starts running and then makes her move.  She catches the broom and goes for a ride.  Maybe this is not Pipeline, but it is lanikai green house.  The action starts just after sunrise and the regulars are always there ready to catch the best sweep of the broom!

Lani Kai Restaurant at Leilani Lanes Bowl

Just two years after Hawaii became the fiftieth state and the same year that Barack Obama was born in Honolulu (not Kenya), the Leilani Lanes Bowl opened in Seattle.

If you found our blog using Google and you are a Tiki fan or a bowler, guess what, you are lost. You can get there from here. Just use the following links:

• It's a turbulent farewell for Leilani Lanes bowling alley
• Wrecking ball to silence bowling pins at landmark Leilani Lanes
  
• Tiki Central
• Seattlest Bowls, Part 2: Leilani Lanes

This site has nothing to do with bowling unless rolling small coconuts across the lawn for Leilani to chase counts. More on that in a later post...

Dog Days of August

It was warm and humid the day that she arrived. Leilani quickly found the cool air coming through the metal floor register. She would retreat to the register each time she needed to cool down from her first day exploration of lanikai green house.