Day 47

Day 47

I think I may shoot her.  Just when I was about to start patting myself on the back for managing to get through the beginning of the chew everything stage with pretty smooth sailing she up and does IT.  The it was to gently “sample” the control wire for my CD player.  I was pretty annoyed with myself for not making sure it wasn’t dangling, yet I had that one slip-up and one quick gnaw just cost me $50.  Gotta beat myself on the head for that oversight.

Since tomorrow is going to be a pretty busy day, we made today our field trip day.  For reasons I don’t really understand today her heeling was on a par with that of a dog twice her age and with twice the training.  She even managed several totally straight sits in heel position.  At the same time her general random sit just continues to improve.  We went to Radio Shack with the hopes of finding a replacement for the wire she mangled.  No luck in finding one, however her behavior was wonderful while in the store.  Stayed in heel position, sat when told and managed to hold the sit while we were standing at the counter waiting for an answer about the power cord.  Then it was off to Petco and our weekly walk around.  In some ways she was much improved and in other ways she just gave me a warning.  

Beware!!!  Do not continue to do the same thing on each field trip.  The danger of it causing some really bad habits is mind-boggling.  This trip she all but demanded a cookie for the ride home.  I gave her one without evening thinking about what I had started doing.  On the way home I got to thinking about her behavior as we were checking out and then getting in the car.  She was too demanding and way too insistent that she have that cookie.  So for the next several trips there will be no cookies anywhere in sight and then when they do reappear they will be functioning as distractions rather than a quick energy treat after a hard lesson.

On the up side, she definitely understands that an open car door is not an invitation to jump in or out. In fact, she is waiting very patiently after the car door is opened and then only jumping out when I call her.  Guess I could say that today did have its ups and downs.