June 28, 2003
Pup of the Woods
10:00 p.m.
If any dog ever deserved a trip to High Park, it's mine after this crazy week of ours. So that's what we did in the evening - to Dusty's great joy and delight! On Dog Hill, I lost track of my dog and the next thing I saw was a Dusty-blur whipping by followed by the blur of an australian shepard - it was Chinook.
We all took a walk together - people and dogs - and Dusty was really worn out by the time we headed home. She's still sleeping. A little while ago, I tried to get her attention and called her name - the little ball curled up in the dog basket didn't even move a muscle. I called again. Nothing. Finally, I said "Puppy?" and her head shot up, startled. I'd obviously brought her out of a very deep sleep.
We had our puppy agility class in the morning. Dusty did really well, considering that we didn't really practise anything last week. We worked on the same equipment as last week, with the addition of jumps
and the tire.
The instructor also added a new challenge to the 'plank' the dogs have been walking over - she made it tippy. Eventually, as the pups get used to the motion of the board, they will be introduced to the teeter-totter.
Dusty really loves the tunnel. She runs through it every chance she gets - even when it's not her turn! I had a new challenge for today's class - I've been saying Dusty's name before the cues (ie: "Dusty, tunnel!"). This is not the appropriate way give a cue - I need to knock it off, but it's really hard to break that ingrained habit!
Our biggest breakthrough today was in using our waiting time effectively - when Dusty and I were waiting our turn, I worked on sits and downs and attention. This kept her mind on-task and kept her from wandering around quite as much (she still did, but it was more under control).