Loki's Yard

Here's Loki in his new fenced yard. Yes, it's small, but at least it's something. He loves his yard. There are different levels so that he can jump around when he does his Shiba 500.

The first time we took him to his yard, he promptly peed on a couple of the trees. The second time we put him there, I think he didn't pee at all. I'm afraid that once he learns that it's his yard, he will refuse to pee in it. Perhaps he's already learned that this is his yard. Grrr... that was the point of getting a yard for him - so he could pee there!


Good thing we don't want a garden or grass or any other sort of vegetation, because Loki's already started digging a hole.

Loki's New House

Yesterday we closed the deal and got the keys to our very first house. The first thing we did was show Loki his new home. Of all the houses we have ever taken him to (my aunt’s home and my parents’ home), this house was the one he loved the best. We entered through the garage and walked into the basement. He immediately loved it. Sniffing around every corner and running in circles.

At one point, he stopped, sniffed the doors that enclose the laundry machines, and was about to mark, while Yun and I gasped and yelled, “No!” Luckily for us, he understood us. Phew!

We opened the backdoor and let him into the small fenced yard. Wow, he was in heaven now. He marked both the big tree and the little tree. Then did his Shiba 500 with a huge smile plastered on his face.

Afterwards, we proceeded upstairs to the main level, which had hardwood flooring. Loki didn’t seem to mind too much. He really hates tile floor, because he slips on it. But he was confident enough on the hardwood floor.

It didn’t take long before we lost him. Where is he? He’s got to be in one of the carpeted areas – the top floor or the basement? I yelled for him to come. Looks like it’s the top floor. He looked so cute as he stood at the top of the stairs, looked down at me, and cocked him head to the side, as if to say, what do you want? I’m busy exploring here.

He explored the house faster than we did. He’s not one to stick close to his humans. He wants to explore on his own. What fun!

We’re not exactly sure when move-in day will be, but it’ll be soon.

Buying a house for a dog

Tonight, we went to a home buying class. Slide # 5 of 73 said:

Why Buy

• You want deep roots
• You're going to stay put
• You want a home unavailable for rent
• You want creative control
• Your home is your castle
• You're handy
• You want to accumulate equity
• You have a dog

What? "You have a dog"? Who buys a house for a dog? Oh, right, we do.

The half-a-million dollar dog house

We are currently looking to buy a home. This is possibly one of the largest purchases we will make in our lifetimes. It’s a huge financial investment. And yet, why do we feel like we’re buying a home for our dog?

Condos? Definitely not, there is no yard.

Townhouse? Only if it has a fenced yard, or at the very least a yard that can be fenced.

In fact, we fell in love with one particular townhouse this past Sunday. It was completely us, much more so than any of the 20-some other open houses we had visited. From the open, contemporary floor plans to the pre-wired audio-visual entertainment closet, it fit us so well. But alas, there was no yard at all. So we crossed that one off of our list.

Detached single family houses? They typically have a much larger yards and many are already fenced. But then the questions become even more astounding: are there enough large trees to provide adequate shade for Loki?

Wait a minute, when did we become Loki's buyer agent in the purchase of a really expensive dog house?

Our cross country flight

On Sunday, we took a red-eye flight on United out of Los Angeles International Airport to Dulles International Airport. We opted for a red-eye because of temperature conditions for Loki. Even though United did not have any hot weather restrictions for us, we figured it was better to travel at night when the temperature is cooler.

We got to go to a special check-in counter, which was good because the lines for regular check-in were really long. At the special check-in desk, the customer service representative said that we were supposed to arrive 2 hours before our flight to check-in our dog. Unfortunately, I forgot this and we arrived late, only 1.5 hours before our flight. Luckily, the customer service representative didn't mind and we didn't have any problems at check-in. Then, we had to take Loki out from his crate so that TSA could check it. You know, to make sure that we weren't smuggling drugs. When they were done, we put Loki back inside and I tied down the door of his crate to prevent it from accidentally opening. Lastly, we had to say our good-byes.

I've read online a lot of suggestions about how you should watch to make sure that your crate gets on the plane. I found this difficult to do, as it was at night and boarding is often done earlier than luggage gets put on the plane. United has a process in which there is a pink tag attached to the dog crate and when the crate is on the plane, they bring you the bottom half of that tag to your seat on the plane before the doors are closed. While this does require owners to trust the plane handlers, it did give me some assurance that Loki was indeed on the plane.

Although I was a nervous wreck, I did manage to get some sleep on the plane. That helped pass the time. Finally, we arrived at Dulles and the first thing we did was go to the specially designated area to pick up Loki. We nervously waited, and watched employees dump over-sized luggage items there. We hoped that they wouldn't just dump Loki there too. Finally, an employee wheeled Loki out in a luggage cart. Good thing, they didn't just dump him like the over-sized luggage.

I'm pretty sure Loki did NOT like the plane at all. His crate smelled awful, like he either peed or vomited in there. He never messes up his crate and is pretty fastidious about being clean, so the only reason for him to mess it up must be the stress. Poor pup. At least it's now all over.

Calling for Local Recommendations

Hi! Are you from the Northern Virginia area?

We are looking for recommendations for a good vet, dog walker, and also boarding location. Most importantly, we need a vet and dog walker. (Or, if you had a bad experience, let us know who to stay away from as well.)

Thanks!

Nomads living at the Hyatt

We lived at the Hyatt in Century City for four nights, since we were homeless & also attending the Naaap Convention.

I suppose that I shouldn't be so surprised by how dog friendly Los Angeles is, but I was. The hotel not only allows dogs, but also brought a dog bed & food/water bowl to our room upon check-in. While I was impressed, Loki was not. He wanted nothing to do with that dog bed, which probably smelled of hundreds of other dogs.

The back area of the hotel even had a "pet exercise area." Really, this just meant a patch of grassy area. For decorative purposes, the hotel had a section with bamboo. Loki started chomping on the bamboo right away. He gobbled it up. He sure is an Asian dog.
Yummy, yummy.

Holding it

Most dog owners have the problem of their dogs peeing and pooping in all the wrong places, especially when visiting new places. I get the opposite problem. Loki just won't go.

At first I thought it was wonderful that my aunt & uncle had a very well-fenced backyard. We could leave Loki there and not worry about taking him out to poop or pee. That's the great benefit of having a yard! Unfortunately, Loki mostly refused to poop or pee in my aunt & uncle's backyard; he just held it in. Once, he claimed ownership of the land, he didn't want to mess it up. He didn't even want to pee in the front yard! He gladly peed in all of the neighbors' yards. Pooping was another story. He just held it in for over a day, until we came across an acceptable pooping spot far, far away.

Nomads

Moving your stuff across country takes a considerably longer time than local moves. The movers estimate 1.5 - 2 weeks. This means the only things we have are in suitcases (mind you, these are the heaviest suitcases I've ever packed). No bed, no table, no fridge, nothing.

We stayed at my aunt & uncle's home for a few days. For sure, Loki thought, this must our new home. And boy was he happy about it. We certainly got his stamp of approval. As soon as he walked in, he decided that he owned the place. Seriously, owned it.


He barked at my aunt & uncle as if they were intruders on his territory. We might hold alpha status over him (by a small margin), but everyone else is beneath him.

Loki loved the residential upgrade, and especially loved the stairs. They are carpeted, so he raced up and down them as fast as he possibly could until the very last step, on which he very gingerly placed his paws, because of the hardwood floor.

Moving Across Country (Part 4) - It's Packing Day

We are very fortunate to have a company pay for professional packers & movers. I imagine that this must be much more stressful for a dog than if we moved ourselves. This morning, Loki's exercise pen got reduced to half it's normal size & he was locked up. He's still locked in there as I type. Good thing I put him in there before the packers came. He growled at them. I've actually never heard him growl before.



He settled down soon enough. I just told everyone to ignore him. Still, I'm sure that he's feeling stressed out with all the chaos around him.


It's super difficult to implement Cesar Millan's suggestion of taking him for a loooooooong walk. Unfortunately, I have a zillion other things to take care of and exercising Loki gets pushed down the priority list.

Moving Across Country (Part 3)

The dog crate arrived this morning! I put his blanket in there and put a handful of his breakfast kibble in the back. He ate the kibble by putting his front paws in, but keeping his back paws out. He hasn't taken too much to the new crate, but I think I won't make a big fuss about it. I'll try feeding him in there and dropping treats randomly in the back of the crate. I hope two and a half weeks will be enough to get him used to it.

As mentioned before, to get Dog.com's not-really-free-shipping "free shipping" deal, I also bought a $1.19 dog toy. I gave it to Loki, but he didn't really play with it. Instead, he's simply taken possession of it. There's no doubt that he understands the concept of "mine".

Moving Across Country (Part 2)

I just ordered an airline approved crate for Loki. The one we currently have is wire, so that won't do for airplanes. I found shopping for crates to be really annoying. It's difficult to search for the best price. There are so many different names for the crates with different meanings for "small," "medium," and "large." On top of all this, if you are shopping online, shipping can be quite expensive.

In the end, I got a medium-sized Sky Kennel by PetMate for $47.99 from Dog.com
Because they have free shipping (cough, cough) for orders over $49, I picked up a random cheap dog toy for $1.19.

Here, free shipping doesn't really mean free shipping. It means they drop the $8.95 base rate for shipping, but they still charge you $0.75 per pound! So, with their "free shipping" deal, I still paid $13.50 for shipping.

Moving Across Country (Part 1)

In approximately a month, our whole family will be moving across country. Having finally graduated from school, I will be starting my career in our nation's capital, Washington DC. Moving is one of the most stressful events in a person's life. What might it be like for a dog?

Thus begins a series of blog posts devoted to moving a dog. Part 1 looks at some travel options.

Flying
The fastest way to transport a dog is to fly him. In flying, there are 3 main methods:

1. As carry-on luggage
   
2. As checked luggage
3. As cargo
   

Loki is too big for us to take him as carry-on in a plane. What a shame, because that's the easiest way to transport him. The next best way is to fly Loki as checked luggage on the same flight as ours. Lastly, many airlines also fly pets as cargo, meaning that the pet travels alone.

As a 1.5 year old shiba inu, Loki passes all of the the airline breed and age restrictions. Most restrict typically aggressive breeds (Pit Bills) as well as breeds with short noses. Also, senior dogs (over 7.5 years old) may require additional vet papers documenting good health. (Note: All dogs are required to have basic vet papers stating good health, it's just that you may need additional papers for an older dog.)

Most airlines have some sort of summer embargo, in which they will not transport a pet if any city on your itinerary is over 85 degrees Fahrenheit. For instance, Northwest Airlines specifies that it won't transport a pet to Las Vegas, NV and all cities in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, between June 1st and September 15th. I hope that Washington DC will be acceptable. I'm not sure yet and will have to call each airline to double-check. However, it looks like if they won't ship as checked luggage during the summer, they will ship as cargo. My guess is that they already have temperature controlling equipment in their cargo planes.

How much will it cost? For in-cabin pets, the fee tends to be around $100-$150 for most airlines. For checked luggage, the cost varies depending on the airline. For instance, Alaskan Airlines charges $100 regardless of size or weight, while Northwest Airlines charges from $139 for a small dog (25 lbs) up to $359 for a giant dog (150 lbs). Lastly, for cargo, the cost again varies depending on the airline. For instance, Continental charges anywhere from $149 for a small dog (below 25 lbs) to $659 for a ridiculously gigantic dog (over 200 lbs.).

Here's my compilation of airlines that transport pets:

• United
• American Airlines
• Delta
• Continental
• Northwest
• Alaskan Airlines

Driving
Another option is to drive Loki across country. Having driven across country once before, I know first-hand that it's not fun. It might look fun in the movies, and some crazy people might insist that it's fun. But, really, it's not. Who wants to spend a week in their car?

There exist some services that will drive your dog for you. I'm not convinced that this is better than flying. The advantage is that the dog will not be subject to the airplane environment with all of its strange smells and sounds. The disadvantage is obviously time. And in either case, you have to trust your dog with strangers, whether it be airline handlers or a driver. I didn't research this option much, but it seems that the cost varies between $600 - $1000+.