Banjo and Mochi

Banjo is 11 years old, so he is pretty mellow these days. Mochi is just 15 months old, so she can be a high-energy dog at times.

Food and water

They get meals twice a day, usually around 9 am and 6 pm. The kibble is on the top shelf in the kitchen closet (with bulk supply in the big green can on the pantry floor) and the treats are on top of the fridge.

• We feed them their first course under the coffee station—Banjo on the left and Mochi on the right. Their second course is in a food puzzle: Mochi’s is the yellow flying saucer and Banjo’s is the white maze bowl.
• What and how much?
  • Banjo: Mix 1/2 cup of kibble (one scoop) with a bit of cottage cheese, sardine, etc. mixed in his bowl, they take half out and scatter it in the maze bowl for second course.
    Banjo’s meds: 1 small pink pill and ½ a big white pill. Both of these, at both breakfast & dinner. Just put it on top of the food.
  • Mochi: Her ¾ cup (a heaping scoop) is divided 50/50 or so, some in her bowl mixed like Banjo’s, the rest as dry kibble in the flying saucer food puzzle. (Undo the clear dome and load it there…)
• For the first course, the dog should sit while you place the bowl, and not start eating until “Take it!” The second course is just somewhere else in the kitchen.
• And then: After they finish, they each get a tough-chewing treat: a pig ear or Oinkie. These treats are on top of the fridge, and there is more supply downstairs.
• Water: The water dispenser under the coffee station will need filling every day; they drink a lot. There are also water bowls in the back yard, it’s nice to keep these full for them too.

Peeing and pooping

They go out in the back yard to pee & poop on the earthen mound in the corner by the garage. They (Mochi especially) may require some encouragement to get this to happen. They haven’t had an accident in the house in ages.

If you pick up poops from there, use a poop bag and put it in the white bucket next to the garage in the back yard.

Banjo generally likes to poop while out on a walk; Mochi may also do this, but often prefers to wait and then poop in the back yard when she gets home.

Walking

Although they can be a handful together, that’s usually how we walk them. You can walk them separately if you prefer, but the one left home may complain.

Banjo has arthritis so he shouldn’t go too far or on too many stairs. Normally we walk him 4-6 blocks or so, a couple of times a day. Our standard walks are:

• Down Madison one block to the seminary, around the seminary grounds, and back home.
• Down Madison and around the block.
• Up Madison to Mt Tabor park, then around the grassy area for a bit, then back home.
• Up Madison to Mt Tabor park, to the left of the reservoir, turn left before the tennis courts, continue around block and back home.

Put your collected poop bags in the white bucket in the driveway.

Tip: It’s OK to put poop bags in the trash cans in the seminary, or in the trash can on the corner of the Mt Tabor tennis courts.

Optional: Mochi benefits from longer solo walks from time to time, leaving Banjo at home. A tired dog is a good dog.

Leaving them alone

When you leave the dogs at home, they stay in the house with all the doors locked. We never shut them outside. It’s prudent to invite them to “go do wee?” and “hurry up” before you go out. You might need to insist.

A kong (in the treats box on the fridge) or a plastic dog treat mat, smeared with peanut butter or a Kraft single, is a nice treat in the afternoon if you’ll be out a while.

We often ask Google to “Play soothing music for dogs” when we go out.

Tip: They’re not used to being left alone for more than a few hours. They can probably cope with somewhat more but not every day.

Vocabulary

• Tch tch — Go
• Whoooooa — Stop
• Cross-cross — Crossing the street
• Sit
• Go do wee? — Invitation to go out the door and urinate
• Hurry up! — Mochi version of go do wee
• Ah-ah-ah — Stop doing that
• Drop it
• Leave it
• Take it