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Maltese Mind Meld

James Jacobson — Sun, 02 May 2010 22:30:00 +0000

Have you ever heard of a maltese mind meld?

It's when two maltese do the same things at the same time.

I had never heard of it, but my business partner is a vet, and he
is the one who pointed it out to me.

Dr. Dressler and I were meeting in my office yesterday, and
"the girls" - Kanga and Tink - were hanging out with us.

They are completely different in personality, but Dr. Dressler
noticed that they do the same things at the same time.

He called it a "doggy mind meld" when they were stretched out, two
feet away from each other, both lying on their left side, snoring
teensy little snores.

I told Molly about it, and she told me that they were "spooning"
on the living room couch a few days ago. Tink was lying on her side,
and Kanga was too, just behind her, with Tink's head snuggled under
her chin.

I can't possibly describe how cute she made it sound. We'll try to take
a picture the next time they do it.

We started looking for other "doggy mind meld" moments, and now
we see that they often turn their heads at the same time, cock
their heads to one side at the same time, or sit down at the same
time.

It's so sweet.

I'm calling it "maltese mind meld."

If you have more than one dog, does yours do it too? Tell me in the comments below. I would love to hear.

Is drinking seawater bad for dogs?

James Jacobson — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 07:30:00 +0000

Tink took her second trip to the beach this morning, and it was so
fun (and funny) that I had to tell you about it.

Before we got her, Tink hadn't been to the beach yet, at all, even though she only lived a few blocks away.

Kanga, of course, thinks the beach is where she should be all the
time. She would stay all day long if she could.

The first time we all went, Tink included, Tink mostly ran around
our ankles. She couldn't seem to figure out how sand works. The sand
on our beach is very soft under the feet. There are almost no shells
or rocks at all, and it's very white and powdery.

Tink lifted her feet up high as she ran, like she wasn't sure she
could trust the sand to not pull her under.

At first, Kanga hung around and watched her. After a few minutes, though, she shook her head and sneezed and ran off to sniff around and run, run, run.

Molly said Kanga said "WhatEVER!"

Well, this morning, on her SECOND trip, Tink behaved very differently.

She ran. She skidded to a stop with a great wave of sand shooting
in front of her (Kanga's favorite trick). She greeted others on the
beach with a sit and a smile and a lot of licks to the hands.

She also did a couple of things we need to watch her for.

For one, she drank seawater. Yuck. Not only is it way to salty, it could also have parasites or impurities in it. Kanga's done that couple of times, and thrown up afterward. We always give a lot of water before we get to the beach so they're not thirsty - and more once we're there - but this morning the little lapping waves that come up in sheets over the sand must have looked irresistible to Tink.

We made our "stop that" noise, which is a kind of eh eh eh eh eh
sound.

She moved away from the water, but she looked like she was
still interested. I'm going to keep an eye on this scamp.

I think she also ate a crab.

I'm not sure... but I saw her poke her nose in a crab hole,
and a minute later she was chewing something. Sigh.

She's a busy, busy dog. Polar opposite of Kanga.

I think the next trip to the beach will be preceded by a longer walk.

She needs to get a little more tired out.

Tink’s new pixie cut

James Jacobson — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:50:23 +0000

There are nearly 100 homes in my neighborhood, and five
of them belong to Maltese (dogs).

Kanga loves her little white friends, but she doesn't look
anything like them. We keep her in super-short cut, and they
all have traditional long, lovely locks.

Our neighbors spend hours each week brushing that long hair.

Kanga spends hours at the beach. When it's time to go home,
she knows she's in for a little shower, but it doesn't take long
and she's dry in minutes.

When it's time to get trimmed up, she prances afterward.
It's hot in Maui year round, so it seems she likes the feeling
of a "light coat."

Tink came to our house with a grooming appointment already set.

Tink has the same groomer that Kanga has, which is convenient.

Lovely, sweet Allyson has been with us for several years. Maui
loved her to pieces. In fact, Allyson helped my sweet dog
pass away. Just days before she left for the Rainbow Bridge,
Allyson came and gave Maui with a loving bath and trim. We weren't
sure Maui would want the session because she was already very
sick, but when she saw Allyson, she wagged her little tail more
than she had in a month.

Anyway, when Tink came to us on Easter, she already had a
grooming appointment set up.

We kept it, of course, and Allyson came by.

Tink now has the signature Jacobson cut. Super short,
sporty, and ready for a roll in the sand!

I'm so grateful to Allyson for taking such good care of all three
of my girls. She's an angel, for sure.

She's given my little Tinkerbell a real pixie cut.

two dogs – twice as much noise?

James Jacobson — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:30:00 +0000

We hadn't realized how quiet and ladylike 18 month old Kanga
had become until 11 month old Tink arrived at our house.

Tink is still easily startled by noises, and we have many
at our house that she's still getting used to.

The funniest thing is Kanga's reaction.

Let's take the garbage truck, for example. Kanga used to tremble
when she heard the truck. When she was little, she would sound
a huge alarm, letting us know that the big bad truck was outside
and MAKING NOISE!!

Well, now Tink is kicking up a fuss. We live near a hotel, and the
garbage truck comes every morning to pick up the trash. So every
morning so far Tink has woken us all up with a giant bark (we sleep
right through the garbage truck).

Now that Tink is the one raising a ruckus, Kanga seems to have
decided that she must be the big brave girl.

When the truck starts loading up the dumpster, banging lids and
grinding gears, Tink barks her little head off. While Molly or I
work with Tink to calm her down, Kanga looks at us with an expression
that says something like:

"Can you believe what a fuss she's making? How immature."

It's so funny. If she could roll her eyes, she would.

Tink tolerates the noise more each day. Soon she'll sleep right
through it, just like Kanga does, I'm sure.

It's just so cute to see our "little puppy" Kanga acting like
a big sister.

A New Maltese Enters our Life under unfortunate Circumstances

James Jacobson — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:40:53 +0000

Please comment below and welcome her to our family...

Angel in a Little Fur Coat – Fun Song

James Jacobson — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:30:00 +0000

This is a video of Helen Downs, one of our members, who wrote and performed this beautiful song about our dogs being "Angels in Little Fur Coats."

Watch the video-- it is precious. And you can drop Helen a note on IRememberlove.com. Her profile page is: http://www.irememberlove.com/profile/HelenDowns

Enjoy!

Valentine’s Day Goes to the Dogs

James Jacobson — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:30:00 +0000

Every Valentine's Day since 1992, I have celebrated my dog Maui (pictured above) with an abundance of gratitude.

That's the day that I brought her home with me when she was a tiny puppy, and that's the day I launched Do You Remember Love? years later, in 2007.
Maui passed away in the summer of 2008, and I dreaded Valentine's Day 2009. But the day ended up being wonderful. I was still missing Maui, of course.

But I was also so happy to have gotten over much of the pain of her loss; and to walk with a joyful new little Kanga on the same beach that Maui loved so much. The day ended up feeling more like a celebration than mourning.

The power of Maui's love protected me from too much grief on that day.

This year, as Valentine's Day 2010 rolls closer, I am so grateful to Maui for "keeping my heart open" - as my wife likes to say - for all of those years. And I'm grateful to her for inspiring my book, How to Meditate with Your Dog, and my little poem/movie Do You Remember Love? and for the creation of this website, which would not be possible without the love that our dogs show us every day.

Two years ago a member of this community (an intern for my publishing company) designed a t-shirt that says "my dog is my valentine!"

I asked her to make a mug version, and she kind of went to town with a book bag and a sweatshirt and a whole mess of other items. If you want to see her designs, you can go to www.DogValentine.com.

My Question for You...

Here's a question for you: would you send email valentine's to your friends' dogs? A couple of years ago I had a valentine system set up, and I was thinking I could set it up again - is it something you'd like to have? Let me know. I want to really celebrate Valentine's Day this year - because my dogs Kanga and Maui ARE my valentines!

Just reply to this post below.

Book Publishing Predictions for this Decade

James Jacobson — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:08:49 +0000

With the beginning of a new year, we also celebrate a new decade. And with that, many make prognostications.

I am a trend watcher and so when I came across Seth Godin’s predictions, I had to share them here on my blog.

Here is what he says about publishing this decade…

“This is the decade when book publishing will (finally) be transformed from a business that chops down trees and puts returnable books into bookstores… into one that finds ideas, funds the writers that need it, and uses their (authors’ and publishers’) leverage and skills to promote those ideas to people willing to pay for them, in whatever format is the most efficient way to get that transaction to occur.”

I can not think of a better way to frame the discussion of what a publisher is. Over the past several years, this has been the direction that my company, Maui Media, has been going.

Seth concludes his prediction with another more dire one for the publishing industry if it choses not to evolve…

“If that doesn’t happen, and the industry (led by reactionary old-school CEOs) persists in defining itself as being in the book business, it will be 15% the size it is today by the end of the decade. It’s our choice.”

I encourage you to check out Seth’s comments and a broader discussion of publishing predictions for this decade.

Reviewing Restaurants in Maui–The Tasty Details

James Jacobson — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:26:59 +0000

The latest edition of our Maui restaurant guide was released and we will tell all in a talk entitled Reviewing Restaurants in Maui--The Tasty Details.

I am delighted to report that the latest edition of our Maui restaurant review and dining guide, Top Maui Restaurants 2010 has been released.

This is a project that my wife, Molly Jacobson, and I have been researching, writing and editing since we met in 2005. It is a book that tens of thousands of people have turned to–and I am very pleased about that, because we work hard to put each subsequent edition together.

It takes nearly a year of research and writing and when we are in the thick of it, we are eating out an average of 11 times per week. That is a lot of food, a lot of extra calories…and a few extra inches around my waist.

However, when people find out that we publish this book, many say something like “Wow–that is the dream job!” After all, eating at all the best restaurants in a tropical vacation destination like Maui sounds amazing…right?

Well, yes and no. We do love it, it can be a lot of fun…but it is not all “caviar and champagne.”

I am working on a presentation entitled Reviewing Restaurants in Maui–The Tasty Details where Molly and I will reveal all. We will present it on January 27, 2010 at 7:30AM at the Kihei Rotary Club breakfast.

Here are the details:

Reviewing Restaurants in Maui–The Tasty Details…

It sounds like the dream job: eating at all the best Maui restaurants and writing about them for a guidebook.

However, when you have to eat at ALL the restaurants and dine out an average of 11 times a week, it can turn into a belly ache. The husband-and-wife team of James and Molly Jacobson have invested over $107,000 of their own funds researching Maui restaurants in order to publish their tell-it-like-it-is review guide “Top Maui Restaurants 2010 From Thrifty to Four Star.”

The publication started out as an online eBook in 2005 and has since evolved into a paperback reference trusted by tens of thousands of Maui visitors and residents each year. The 2010 edition of their book was just released and the Jacobsons will share what it is like to research, write and publish such a book…and they will share their top picks for Maui’s best restaurants in all price categories.

If you are a foodie on Maui, don’t miss this presentation.

Presentation sponsored by Kihei Rotary Club.
****** LOCATION: Five Palm’s Restaurant located in the Mana Kai Maui Resort 2960 South Kihei Rd Kihei, Maui, HI 96753
When: Wednesday, January 27 2010, 07:30 AM

Where: Five Palms Restaurant, Mana Kai Maui Resort, 2960 South Kihei Rd Kihei, Maui, HI 96753

Kanga and her Christmas Tree

James Jacobson — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:36:55 +0000

Christmas marks our one year anniversary of Kanga joining our little family, and I am so grateful for her joyful, silly, bouncy presence in our life.

Naturally timid, Kanga spent a lot of time underneath our Christmas tree when she first arrived. In fact, we took it down a few weeks later than we normally would, just because she loved it so much.

I wasn't sure if she would remember "her" tree ... but I think she does. When we put it up this past Sunday, Kanga stayed up on the couch, out of the way. She didn't seem that interested in the tree, at first. But over the last two days we have discovered her sniffing it.

Today Molly went upstairs and found her playing with her rubber chicken, under the tree! She caught her on film just after she stopped squeaking, and before the kids started making noise in the yard next door.

Find more videos like this on I Remember Love
I'm so grateful for my dog this Christmas. Molly and I can't think of a better Christmas present than having her safe, happy, and healthy. Well, she could sit a little sooner when we tell her to.