Day 181

The rain comes down and it is actually almost 60 degrees outside. Better wet than white. Either way, it means my office is jammed with dogs. Just as soon as it gets full light and the rain slows down a bit everyone will get tossed outside and then the real work begins. This looks to be one of those days where I spend most of my time letting dogs out or bringing wet dogs in, drying them off, only to let them back out again. Not fun.

Sanity and Lilly very much want/need to play and get rid of some of the overnight build-up of energy. There is just no room in this tiny space for any true play. I frown on it and so do all the adult dogs. So they are learning how to control their movements. Meanwhile, I just keep on reminding myself that this too is an important part of their training.

Finally the rain began to slow down and I sent just about everyone outside for a quick trip while I went in to put on my shoes and socks and make the bed. Sanity actually came along on her own rather than waiting for me to call her. She retrieved both my socks and then my shoes on single commands and best of all she went around behind me and retrieved my slippers without my even telling her to. Now that is what I call progress and it is the thing I have been waiting and hoping would happen. When I told her "thank you" for the second slipper, I swear she smiled.

Spent about 40 minutes this afternoon working on recovering the lost or misplaced stand. She was so determined to NOT stand that I finally took the ecollar from around her neck, lengthened the strap and put it around her waist. Then with it set on 2 low/constant we got really serious about her letting me position her feet and her leaving them where I placed them. We also worked on her stopping in a stand position while heeling and finally coming up into a stand from a sit. I am looking for a response to the verbal command where the moving stand and the sit to stand are concerned and I also want to be able to hand place each foot, her head and tail without her resisting me. By the end of the session she was much more relaxed about the entire process. Guess this is going to be our next "do it every single day" exercise.