April 30, 2003
Skinny Puppy - emphasis on 'skin.'
Dusty went to the groomer today!
11:00 p.m.
I took Dusty to Robyn, the new groomer today. New is a relative term - she's been in the schnauzer business for a loooonnnng time. And, as it turns out, Dusty had kin in the house - Robyn owns Dusty's grandmother, Domino! She also grooms one of Dusty's littermates and she raised Dusty's mother as a pup. She showed me photographs of Dusty's grandmother from her show days. It was really neat!
I arrived at her house in the East end (miraculously, considering the bus situation) right on time. She lives way, way out, so it was a long schlep on the TTC to get there. Once I arrived, she greeted Dusty and showed me around, then put me out on the back deck with a 11-week-old puppy to play with and took Dusty downstairs.
The puppy was named Poppy and boy, was she ever cute! I know it wasn't that long ago that Dusty was tiny, but I can no longer imagine it. This pup was curious and active and a lot of fun. It was relaxing and entertaining, sitting out in the sunshine with this furball!
Robyn did a great job. I wasn't completely happy with Dusty's last clip. The groomer didn't take the fur down far enough, so Dusty was shaggy within weeks. Robyn gave her a close shave and the schnauzer cut was great. I'll definitely be going back.
Our last puppy class was tonight. Dusty wowed everyone with her new haircut, but she was a bit skittish all evening, probably because I didn't walk her enough during the day.
We learned one new skill in class - 'stand' - and then we were tested on our loose leash walking, 'sits' and 'downs.' Dusty did fine, though her 'down' was a bit sluggish. Finally, we played some games. The first was a 'sit-stay' competition. One person immediately asked if Dusty would be disqualified from participating (because she's too good at it). I just laughed it off.
In fact, Dusty *did* win the contest. She held her stay long after every other dog had broken it. We were allowed to pick a prize. I picked a doggy placemat for her food dishes. There was also a 'down-stay' competition. I was almost relieved when Dusty broke the stay to sniff a bit of food. We both relaxed and watched the other dogs after that.
There was a 'recall' drill. The dog started on the other side of the room and had to walk through a clump of other dogs/people, go to his/her own person and sit. When Dusty had her turn, the instructor said "Let's make it extra hard for Dusty - try to block her."
My poor Dusty, confronted with a mass of moving people all intent on blocking her way, totally panicked. She ran in circles, whimpering until she finally found me, crying with relief.
But all of that stuff is just drill. I had my real satisfaction toward the end of the class. Dusty seemed agitated, so I sat down on the floor with her and stroked her head. She stared beseechingly at me and whined. "What's wrong, little girl?" I asked her. I tried to sooth her. I offered her a treat and briefly considered getting her some water.
And that's when we had our moment of pure, clear understanding. When I asked her the right question, her face almost melted with relief, as if she was saying: "YES, *that's* what I want!"
I picked up her leash and walked to the door, explaining to the instructor that we needed to take a brief break. Dusty practically pulled me up the stairs and out the door. She needed to go potty, and *this time* I was listening to her when she tried to communicate this to me.
To be honest, I didn't learn very much about obedience in this class - Dusty knew most of the skills going in (though the classes were excellent practice). The most important thing I learned was to show leadership when things got chaotic. I couldn't be distracted and tense if I wanted my dog to be focused and calm.
And this also means listening to my dog - really listening - when she needs me to understand her. After all, I'm probably the only person who's going to. We got our diploma. I think we earned it!