...that "yasha" has more of a ninja implication 
than a literal translation.  He's not an anime 
fan, and he's only been here in the US for about 
7 years, so I consider his explanations more of 
a "Japanes man on the street" kinda thing.  :-)

He said that the title "Inuyasha" implied "dog 
warrior".  Sounded good to me.

JP