From pack leader to perfect pair

9/2/2026

When Allison Kaiman moved back to Iowa with her dog, Bandit, a corgi, she admits her mischievous dog got away with “bloody murder.”

“I felt bad for Bandit with all the changes he encountered. He was running the show, where he was the pack leader,” she said. “I wasn’t the pack leader.”

One of her friends suggested dog trainer Kim Smith, who helped with Bandit’s behavioral issues. Smith also runs a pack dog training program, Chasing The Wild, where she takes dogs on hikes, including Bandit.

Smith needed another dog to assist with her pack training in Utah.

“I volunteered Bandit, and he went to Utah with her. He got to hike the rocks and all kinds of stuff,” Kaiman said. “She sent me dog photos. I said, ‘My dog is doing things I’ve never done.’ My dog is living his best life.”

Bandit now goes on hikes at least once a week, which has helped instill confidence.

“We know the boundaries now,” she said. “It’s been a really great experience. He gets to play in the field, get dirty and stinky, but comes home and sleeps for two days because he’s so worn out.”

Kaiman noticed Smith’s corgi, Otis, who went on hikes with Bandit. Otis had recently been surrendered and was staying temporarily with the trainer.

Kaiman and her partner, James Dawson, took Otis for the weekend to see if the two corgis could get along. They did, and the pair took Otis home the next day.

Since Kaiman picked Bandit as a puppy, Dawson didn’t have a dog of his own. After bringing Otis home, he and Dawson bonded.

“It was funny. Here’s a dog who needs a family, and we needed a dog that needs James,” she said.

The duo takes both dogs on vacation. The humans and dogs all love being at the Lake of the Ozarks, riding on a paddleboard, boat, wave runner or kayak.

When traveling, the two corgis sit in car seats, strapped in.

“It’s just like just like our kids. They jump in, each knowing which side to sit on,” she said.

Through the hiking program, the dogs have made friends with massive dogs five times their size. Thanks to his weekly hikes, Bandit is now calm when approached by other dogs.

“He’s excited and wants to say hello to everybody,” she said. “There’s no pulling on leashes and being out of control anymore.”

The dogs love playing fetch and catching the Frisbee.

“Otis has rejuvenated Bandit, and now Bandit wants to play all the time, too,” she said.

Allison likes corgis because of their playful, smart and protective nature.

“With their big ears and short legs, I feel like that’s kind of me, because I’m a short person and we go together. People are enamored with corgis and like these happy-go-lucky, funny-looking dogs,” she said. ♦

Jackie Wilson has written hundreds of articles for CITYVIEW and the Iowa Living magazines. She covers ordinary people living extraordinary lives.