About Dawn Davis (and Kona, too!)

Dawn

Dawn and Kona Dawn and Kona [2006]

I have lived in San Diego for 24 years. After leaving the US Navy 20 years ago as a data processing specialist, I chose to be an at-home mom for my two children. To supplement our family income, I began my career as a childcare provider. Later, I homeschooled our two children for eight years along with various volunteer activities in the community and my church.

I chose to pursue work in the area of pet care because it allows me to work with animals, one of my passions. I take my job seriously and enjoy serving you as a caregiver and comprehensive resource for help and information related to all areas of pet care.

I have a 13-year-old grey kitty named Kalee and a 8-year-old black Labrador Retriever, named Kona. Kona and I have completed many hours of formal obedience and specialty training together. We have completed therapy dog training in order to work as a therapy team visiting hospitals and convalescent centers. (More about Kona below.)

While I have many years of experience as a pet owner, I am also an active animal rescue volunteer. I work with San Diego Labrador Rescuers as an adoption consultant and animal transporter. In fact, while Heaven Scent Pampered Pets has it’s own unique mission, my personal mission is to do all I can to keep dogs and cats out of shelters.

Because pets are precious to me, I routinely carry extra food, treats, water, and other pet provisions in my car. Too many times while driving, I have found a dog in danger of being hit. I will pull over, catch it, and try to find its owner or turn it over to a rescue shelter.

List of animals I have cared for (so far):

  • Dogs
  • Cats
  • Hamsters
  • Mice
  • Fish
  • Pig
  • Turtles
  • Snakes
  • Birds
  • Frogs

When not caring for animals, I spend time with my husband and two children who are now 22 & 20 years old. We love to travel, kayak, spend time at the beach, and we are active in our church, Calvary Chapel San Diego.

The fruits of our labor are proof of our commitment and capabilities. So the majority of this page is dedicated to my own dog and faithful companion.

Kona

Rockinoak Kona Makai Okalani Rockinoak Kona Makai Okalani [2005]

Kona is my black Labdrador Retriever. She is my motivation and inspiration for working with animals. Kona was bred by Ania Becker of Rockinoak Kennels, a reputable and well-known champion Lab breeder, trainer and handler.

What’s in a Name?

Kona’s formal name is Rockinoak Kona Makai Okalani. The meaning of this Hawaiian-inspired name:

  • Rockinoak - The breeder’s kennel name.
  • Kona - “It won’t be long ‘till my ship will be sailing back to Kona, a grand old place,” and one of our family favorites on the big island. Kona’s black coat reminds us of black pahoihoi lava.
  • Makai - Hawaiian for on the water side of the island. Where else would a Lab rather be?
  • Okalani - Hawaii’s last queen, called by her Christian name, Lydia, was later redesignated by her king brother to the more exalted Lili‘uokalani—“okalani,” literally of the heavens.

Pedigree

Kona’s parents are Raven (Mex CH Hathersage Sea Raven) and Essie (CH Quailwood Indian Legacy WC), both show and field champions. Kona is what is often informally referred to as a “British-style” Lab, or as the Brits fondly call a “Chunky Lab”. She has the traditional blocky head, muscular jaw, deep chest, thick coat (wavey on the spine) and exceptionally solid build that typifies this original working gun dog. Kona is what a real Lab should be.

Unfortunately, she is often mistakenly characterized by those who are unfamiliar with AKC standard black Labs. They will often ask, “Does she have Pit Bull in her?” or will comment about her weight, which is a healthy 81 pounds, suitable for her stocky frame.

Raised as a Pup

Kona was crate-trained and continues to sleep every night in her adult-sized open crate. She received formal obedience training as soon as she completed her course of puppy shots. She’s not a backyard dog, but a part of the Davis pack. She receives lots of exercise daily and ample mental stimulation.

Kona has received over 200 hours of formal training at Cape-Able Canines, a well-known San Diego canine training facility. Outside of classes, reinforcement and practice is ongoing, no matter where we are. She is certified as an AKC Canine Good Citizen and has trained for therapy work in hospitals and convalescent centers.

Kona’s Commands & Tricks

In addition to formalized training, Kona also knows many commands and tricks, and continues to learn new ones. She is highly treat-motivated, as are most dogs, which helps.

Commands (some of these can also be given with hand signals):

  • Sit
  • Down — Legs fold under, head up.
  • Roll — From a down position, she rolls to one side (chosen by a left or right hand motion). Handy when doing ear cleanings.
  • Crawl — Commando-style, Kona will maintain a down position while crawling on all fours.
  • Stand — She rises from a down or sit position and stands on all fours.
  • Come — Overused by many dog owners, this is our special “stop everything and come here now” command that we use only when necessary and always reinforce with a treat.
  • Here — Our overused version of “come”.
  • Shake — From a sit, she extends her right paw for you to shake.
  • Wave — From a sit, she raises her right foreleg and waves it.
  • High-Five — From a sit, she raises her right foreleg and slaps you some paw.
  • Heel — She sits at your left knee, facing forward.
  • Around — From the right, she walks around behind you into heel position at your left. Fun to do when she’s already sitting at your left side, as she’ll do a complete 360.
  • Watch Me — Gets her attention and eyes on you. We target by pointing at our nose, treat in hand.
  • Stay — Freeze! (Eyes and tail are all that can move.)
  • Release — If we don’t use this, Kona will remain in a stay forever.
  • Wait — With a wave of the hand, we draw an invisible barrier where she must stay behind, but can move freely.
  • Paws Up — Given while pointing to a surface. Kona will jump up and put her front paws on it. (Stay is implied)
  • Off — Reverse of “paws up”.
  • Say Hello — She will lay her head in your lap or on your knee and look up at you until you “release”. Excellent for introductions during therapy work.
  • Get It — Go get that thing I just threw. Kona also knows the names of some of her favorite objects, like her toys, blanket, leash, etc. Say, “Get your blanket” and she’ll drag it out of her crate for you. Also fun to do when in a sit stay and balancing a treat on her nose. Kona knows only to snatch the treat out of thin air when “get it” is given (even if other random words are given).
  • Bring It — Carry that thing you just got and bring it back! Big praise if she brings it all the way and drops it into your hand.
  • Catch — Catch what I toss to you. Kona is a pro at catching toys and treats lobbed from a distance.
  • Drop — Release what you have in your mouth.
  • Take — Take this thing and hold it in your mouth.
  • Carry — Usually given after “take”. Kona can carry her own tied potty bags when on walks.
  • Where — Followed by the name of an object or person, she’ll look in their direction. (“Where’s mommy?” or “Where’s the bird?”)
  • Give — Give me that thing in your mouth. Can be used to give object to someone she knows. (“Give it to mommy.”)
  • Kiss / Kisses — She’ll be more than pleased to lick you to death. Can be used with give, as in “Give kisses to daddy” and she’ll walk over and smooch dad.
  • Smell — Hold a treat or other object in front of her nose and she will only smell it.
  • Leave It — Handy utility command to tell her to ignore something. Kona has now been trained to automatically “leave it” if something is dropped near her, including yummy treats (important in a hospital setting where a dropped pill could kill her if swallowed).
  • Inside — Go into the house/doorway/car.
  • Outside — Go outside.
  • Wipe Your Paws — Clean your paws on the doormat.
  • Blanket / Blankie — Used when you want her get onto her blanket (usually before giving her a particularly messy treat). Invariably her prodigious chewing finds her off her blanket again, and another “blanket” command will fix it.
  • Speak — It took Kona a while to find her voice but is now exceptionally good at guarding. When we command her to speak, she has to work at getting a woof out from deep inside somewhere. It’s rather funny to see her mouth the attempts a few times first. But when it comes out, it’s quite authoritative. She understands that “No Speak” means hush up.
  • Go Potty — Go do your business. With treats, we can give this command from inside the house and Kona will go out, do her thing, and come back. A tremendous convenience at night or during rainy weather.
  • Close It — Present her with an open cupboard or drawer and she’ll push it shut with her nose. Extremely fun to do in the kitchen with every drawer open. Multiple “close it” commands are used in rapid succession.
  • Go In — Puts her in a down stay, usually under a table or desk. Great for use in restaurants or at home during human dinner time.
  • Go Crate — Time for bed.
  • Ring the Bell — Taught since puppyhood, bells on the doorknob give her the ability to tell us it’s time to go outside for potty.
  • Find It — One of our favorite tricks. We start with “sit” and then command her to “smell” some object (toy, treat, someone’s wallet, etc.), then “stay” while we go out of sight to hide it in the house. She’s released with “find it” and enthusiastically bolts into action sniffing everywhere until she finds it and brings it back. (Would like to retrain her to have her sit, speak, and stay when found, like security and rescue dogs.)
  • Walk — Since “heel” means to sit at my left side, this command is used for walking at my left side. She also understands “slow”.
  • Walk Easy — Relaxed walk, smell as you like, just don't pull.
  • Run — Break into a run.
  • Jump On — Jump onto something, like a bench or platform.
  • Step — Take one step on a staircase.
  • Over — Jump over some object while running or from a complete standstill.
  • Under — Go under some object, crawling if necessary.
  • Weave — For lacing through the weave poles on an agility course.
  • Do Hair — For the ladies. Kona will find the hair tie holding a ponytail and deftly pull it off with her front teeth.

Training

Observers tell us that Kona is pretty smart. We know that the extent of trainability often is the result of the breed and breeding, but we recognized early on that all those dog training classes are really meant for the people of dogs. It is our job to apply what we learn to our furry family members through consistent and regular sessions outside of class.

We give much of the credit for Kona’s (well, our) good training to Aleita Downer of Cape-Able Canines, whose methods, experience and wisdom have made all the difference. Excellent dog and people trainers are a rare find. We highly recommend her to any dog owner!

Breeding

Just because two dogs have papers and you mate them, doesn’t mean you will get a dog with good breeding. Reputable breeders do not sell to pet stores, in the newspaper or at swap meets. You won’t buy a great dog from a flyer you saw on a lamp post as you drove by.

I didn’t choose Kona. She was chosen for me by breeder, Ania Becker. She knows Labs and knows how to match puppies to people. She chose the right puppy for me.

Are you my Kona? “Are you my Kona?” [2002]

A good breeder doesn’t let you come in and pick the cutest one. They guide you and will not sell you a dog that they know doesn’t match your temperament or lifestyle. They will not sell you a puppy as a birthday or Christmas gift for your kids! Quality breeders breed dogs because they love the breed and seek to propagate the amazing traits found in a well bred dog. They don’t do it for the money because it costs more money to breed than you can make unless you are mass breeding, which means you don’t know your pups and cannot properly home them.

Well-bred pups also minimize health issues that often appear in “pet shop” dogs. Pay more for a quality animal up front, and you’ll not only likely save yourself in vet bills down the road, but it also increases the odds that your dog will not suffer from temperament and health problems.

Tips for a Great Dog Experience

Do your homework. I spent hours of research, planning and preparation before Kona even came home from the breeder. If you live in San Diego, contact me about my Doggie Adoption Advisor service.

Dogs are not accessories or toys. The shelters are full of dogs that were bought for the wrong people. I know, because I’ve spent a lot of volunteer time finding homes for dogs that never should have ended up in shelters. Good breeding and training provide a good start, and good daily care and dedication is essential for a successful pet-as-family-member relationship.

Labs and most breeds are intelligent animals who get bored because they are usually left alone too much and with too little to do. They find things to do, like chewing your walls, barking at neighbors or just running away for some fun. These behaviors can be prevented.

We use gentle lure methods of training (not punitive) so Kona is eager to please and participate in training. She knows it is fun to go to class or work on her tricks, games or obedience. I can ask her, “Go to class?” and Kona will respond with eagerness to get into the car.

We keep her well stocked with chew toys and treats which satisfies her need to chew. She’ll even rip apart boxes that we give to her, and she knows not to touch those we don’t offer. We’ve not lost a shoe or furniture to her chompers yet.

We have two feeding times each day. She gets one cup of high-quality kibble and promptly devours it in seconds. And that’s it — no free-feeding (except for water). Often, we’ll put the kibble in a special toy feeding ball that releases the bits only after sufficient rolling around the floor. This extends feeding time, exercise, and gives her mental and physical stimulation.

If you read this far...

Good person! Thank you for your interest in Heaven Scent Pampered Pets for your pets. I strive to care for your pets just as I do for my own and to provide you, the pet-parent, with the comfort of knowing that your pet is well taken care of. If you have any questions about me or Kona, please contact me.