Day 263

Some how, some way I have got to get really going with the jumping. No matter what I will start it tomorrow. This morning's work session with the articles was great! Three articles outside without a single hitch even with a loose dog wandering around the pile while she worked. Great distraction!

The second session was this evening and darn if she didn't work four articles just as well. Now I know I will be starting leather tomorrow. Yeah!

Overall there has been a giant leap forward in her retrieving skills. After what seems like months and months of struggle and arguing, she is starting to retrieve just about anything I send her for and do it quickly and with little fuss or muss. The funny thing right now is her gratuitous retrieves. These are including multiple cans of canned dog food. I have a dog boarding here right now that eats a really nasty brand of canned food. Sanity knows these cans have this truly stinky food in them and several times a day she has taken to bringing me two or three cans of the stuff when I am working at the computer.

The new thing we are fighting over is where the outdoor toys, bones and "good tree limbs" are going to live. I say outside with all of them. Sanity, on the other hand, is willing to spend large chunks of her time combing the yard for every single ball, toy, bone and good tree limb and carrying all of them in the house. When I am not looking she slips passed me and stores them in the living room. I find her treasures, insist they must all go back outside and proceed to toss them out. She gives me a mournful look and begins to gather them all up once again. And so the battle of wills continues to rage. No, she still hasn't come in season.

Speaking of coming in season, I ordered her a very fine pair of leopard spotted bitch's britches. So now all she has to do is come up wit the proper reason for wearing them. In the meantime, I have had her wear them for a couple of short periods today. I figure if I get her used to them before she actually needs them, it will be easier on the both of us.

I continued Tyler's work on sit and come. For some reason, I was able to get in more good recalls today than I did all weekend. Had better chances to work on his sit command as well. Maybe it was because there were so many dogs here today. We are filling up because of Spring break and it looks like it will be pretty hectic around here for the next couple of weeks. I looked a the calendar this afternoon to realize that I have some days where there will be 20 dogs here at one time. I am going to be one very tired puppy by the time this rush is over. The upside is that having so many here means we will get some really great training sessions in. That twinkle-toed Miniature Poodle puppy is gone, completely and totally. In its place there is a rough and tumble very short, solid black and curly Doberman in disguise. He is so funny and no matter what sort of a pickle he gets into with the other dogs, his guardian is right there to bail him out. Mutt and Jeff, indeed.