Drake's party

This was my first-ever dog party.

Even watching the videos gave me joy. The first to arrive was Krissee, a very cute Chow Chow. However, she seemed quite angry and aggressive. I got a bit worried.

It was highly amusing when Drake, my Alaskan Malamute, came in and “smelled” her. She calmed down. It seemed they knew each other.

Then came Bamboo, a big black shiny Labrador who is quite sweet. My niece, Nicola Mayuga Villanueva, is the owner of Bamboo.

Then came two small Jack Russels — Speedo and Beowulf — dogs of my brother Ernie Lopez. Beowulf is a character, barking and lording it over everyone. My brother Ernie remarked doesn’t realize he is small.

The male dogs gravitated toward Krissee. It was really amusing! Then Matilde, a female white Shitzu, came. Red Lantern, a Golden Retriever, who knows how to ring the doorbell, arrived next. His owner brought King a really cute small brown dog. I can’t remember what breed.

Handling the party was Jojo Isorena from the Better Dog Canine Behavior Center. Jojo does dog training and behavior consultation. His wife does grooming. They even have a dog hotel.

It was Jojo who taught my son Roberto and househelp how to handle Drake. It was important to have an “expert” if we were going to have all these dogs.

When I talked to Jojo, his instructions to me were: when the dogs arrived at the party, let them pee. Then make sure all the dog-owners have plastic bags to pick up the poo. Have water bowls with ice in case they get thirsty.

We targeted two games. The first one was a running race. On one side were the dogs; on the other, the owners. At the go signal, the owners were to call their dogs. The first one to reach the line won. I gave everyone treats to give their dogs. The winner was Bamboo.

Then we had musical chairs. Ernie had a great jivy song. It’s the same as the usual musical chairs except the owners are not supposed to sit unless the dog sits first.

It was a lot of fun. And the winner was Bamboo and Krissee!

My son Roberto came up with this great dog recipe: beef, cottage cheese and broccoli. It looked quite yummy and deluxe. All the dogs loved it! I had apples, cheese and dog treats to munch on. I had bags of dog treats as giveaways when they went home.

Jojo Isorena with Drake. Jojo trained Drake so they have a special bond

Two hours. Short party. I had “human” food and dog food. Everyone had a good time. I asked my staff to tape the whole thing. If you want to have an idea what a dog party is like you can click on this links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tnRp447Ns0&feature=youtu.be or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XMCBVR2PRc&feature=youtu.be or go to YouTube and type Drake’s Party – May 20, 2012.

There is a short version and a longer more detailed one.

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Jojo Isorena is a story on its own. He used to work in an advertising agency with Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez.

He decided to go into dog training because he had a problem with one of his dogs. Jojo liked dogs even as a child. He had an Alaskan Malamute named Kona who was overly aggressive. Kona even killed two of his smaller dogs. That was traumatic for Jojo. Alarmed, he decided to go to a professional dog-training academy in the US.

Armed with this expertise he decided to shift careers and put up his own dog school. He also learned that there was nothing he could do about Kona. She is the way she is. So he just makes sure that she is not with other dogs. Aggression is a normal dog behavior. The solution was to keep Kona away from other dogs. Dogs are like people. They have their own individual personalities. We deal with them according to their temperament.

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I looked at my sweet Drake, and asked Jojo: “Do you think Drake will ever get violent?” He shrugged and said one never knows. Oh, well, right now he is sweet. We cross that bridge when we get there.

When I asked Jojo his reflections and advice to dog owners this is what he said: “Keep the dogs busy. Don’t cage them. Exercise is really important. Exercise not only physically but also mentally.”

I had such a good time with the dogs. Drake was more interested with chasing after Krissee than winning any game. By the end of the day he was so tired.

He also seemed sad that his nanny Mic Mic was leaving him. She has a sick mother. That’s life: people come, people go. It’s uncanny how Drake senses things.

It was nice to meet other people in the neighborhood through the dogs they owned.

Next dog party I will know how to do it better. This one was a good beginning.

I think Drake had a good time. So did we all.

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If you are interested in meeting Jojo, call 886-5918, log on to betterdog.com.ph; or e-mail jojo.isorena@betterdog.com.ph.

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I can be reached at regina_lopez@abs-cbn.com