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.