Yesterday was another great escape moment, all the more perfect because we didn't even know the little brats were gone until there was a ringing doorbell. As I was walking down to answer the door I heard barking dogs and knew they were mine. One sounded like it was coming from the back, which was normal. The other ... that sounded odd. I opened the door and there was a concerned neighbor, saying he didn't normally see my dogs out running free so thought we should know. There was Piyomi, running around in the road and barking at another neighbor dog. I think my eyes bugged out of my head.

This neighbor is in fact a K-9 cop, which is kind of amusing and embarrassing given the circumstances. But, at least he recognized that we don't normally let our dogs roam. It turned out that the other barker (Sikari) had also gotten free, but had had the sense to run around the side of the house to hide from me. Actually, she had run toward where they'd gotten out in the first place but she couldn't get back in.

Luckily both girls came to me pretty easily. I was able to pick up Piyomi (no small feat, she's our biggest dog) and bring her in, Sikari following and bouncing with this look that said,  "Throw her, mama!"

When I came in, Rob said that he'd come half down to see what was up and had the surreal moment of seeing Piyomi trotting along the street in front of the house. So, he was in the process of closing the dog door so that he could go seal up the breach. It didn't take long, really, it was just a matter of finding the staple gun to secure the mesh that had come free from its anchor.

The neighbor said that at least they had stayed pretty close to the house. Turns out someone else had tried to knock and let us know earlier, but Maia gives us so many false door alarms that we hadn't though someone was actually there.

At some point in the next few years we need to replace our fencing anyway. By then we'll have a better plan for how to deal with that one spot aside from wire mesh. The mesh actually works quite well all things considered. It's also the easiest fencing issue to fix.

I went to Snopes to confirm that this wasn't just an urban legend, and sadly it isn't. No matter how much someone tells you that "Dogs won't usually eat it," I haven't met a dog yet that doesn't want chocolate, and Cocoa Mulch contains chocolate (IMO this is an incredibly irresponsible claim by Hershey's, that " It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won't eat it.") I'm sorry, but I'm not willing to play Russian roulette with my dogs' lives.

Chocolate contains theobromine, a chemical toxic to dogs and other pets. Read the Snopes coverage about Cocoa Mulch yourself and protect your pets.

A Piyosecond is a unit of time rushing by as Piyomi is being denied favorite activities, such as waiting at the door to go walkies. The more Piyoseconds pass, the more various noises come out of her, some so high-pitched that you feel them more than hear them.

Hmm, dinner was a bit too good tonight. I admit it, our dogs get people food, though they're pretty good about waiting patiently for it. If you study pack order you know that the lowest in the pack eat last, so you can use that to reinforce some dominance issues and whatnot. Yes, I'm even a geek when it comes to my dogs.

Anyway, usually Zorro just bows out if plates are put on the floor to lick. He's not interested in drama. Maia will go and then leave if drama stops, typically. It's the sisters, Sikari and Piyomi, who are always the "Exciting" ones.

Sikari and Piyomi each have their favorite types of foods. If it's sweet, Sikari will bristle and growl and basically tell Piyo "If you want to keep your limbs, back off." Piyo then comes to us with a pathetic look, which is rather amusing since she's about twice Sikari's size if you factor in her weight--she's not fat, she's just a much bigger dog in height and build. For other kinds of things, Piyomi gets it and Sikari either bristles but just for show, or wanders off.

However, sometimes, occasionally, it becomes a knock-down, drag-out battle. There's rarely a scarier noise to hear than a dogfight, really. They're full of sound and fury. Having four dogs and none of them younger than 3 years old, the sound no longer freaks me out. However, there's always the delicate issue of whether to get involved or not. They have to be able to sort things out to a point or you mess up pack order and general canine "manners." At the same, time, though there's always the fear that a fight that isn't winding down is going to continue. Plus, you really don't want to encourage fighting over food.

So the fight was broken up, no more food was offered, and dogs were inspected. With these dogs we've learned from experience (Zorro's younger rough and tumble days) that a wound may not show up until hours later, the blood finally becoming visible in the fur. So, you look and feel and probe, focusing on the areas that are, well, damp from slobber. Dogs aren't exactly punching each other after all. Turned out Sikari had blood in her ear so she was whisked off to the bathroom counter for inspection, cleaning, and hibitane. Turned out not to be a huge wound, which is good. Ear wounds are very bloody though, ugh.

Piyomi on the other hand never did show any signs of damage. Guess she "won" that one.

Having four dogs and only two people makes life interesting. When we walk the dogs we each take two. Sometimes they get themselves into lovely tangles. Today was one of those days. I usually walk Zorro and Maia, and they got themselves multiply wrapped around a fire hydrant in different directions. I typically encourage the dogs to get themselves out of their own messes, since otherwise the clever little critters will purposely get themselves tangled up so we'll have to get them out. This time, Maia decided she'd had enough and bucked her way out of her harness.

Every one of the dogs has had a moment of "freedom" outside off leash, most of the time not intentional. We have learned that if it has to be one of them, we're best off if it's Maia. Zorro will trot around staying JUST out of reach so he can't be caught. Sikari and Piyomi are young and adventurous and seem to conveniently forget their names. Maia, on the other hand, might have a stubborn moment or two but then comes over wagging when called to get the harness back on.

I reached down to harness her and she yipped and rolled onto her back, wiggling around. Rob said that she looked like she'd "just realized that I was going to kill her." It took some cajoling to get her flipped over onto her feet so I could harnass her. Once I started putting on the harness she relaxed, realizing what I wanted. She's a strange, strange dog at times, but she definitely has personality to spare.

Edited to add: I realized I don't have any pictures of Maia up yet. Here goes!

And what series of puppy pictures would be incomplete without one of Sikari? This is Piyomi's sister.

I was looking through some images the other day and found a bunch of old puppy pics. Aaaaah! Lethally cute! Here's PIyomi, who is now over 3 years old.