Dog Days of Summer

The wee monster...I mean lassie has been in my care for exactly three weeks today and is 13 weeks and 3 days old.

After a frustrating training session last night (trying to teach loose leash walking LLW), I was just about fed up with the pup. But I must remember she is a baby! And she is trying to figure out what I want just like I am. In any case, it was blazing hot out today. After a couple days of cooler weather, it just wasn't fair! Even in the shade, I was melting. No breeze. So the pup did not get too much interaction aside from a trip to town.

Bria did pretty well, though. We went into the local feed store. She actually walked with me up to the door, but then decided she did not want to go in there. Had to pick her up and carry her. But once inside, she got attention and even a puppy treat! She was ready to leave after we checked out, but walked patiently with me to the door, waited for me to open it, and walked (with a little encouragement) over to the truck to go home. I am proud of her! She was a little shy of people in there then got a little overstimulated when another customer came to say hi to her, but overall, she did great. A few more visits, and I think we'll be well on our way to getting her socialized. Okay, probably a lot more visits.

So I was finally able to go out and spend time with her this evening when it cooled down some. I thought maybe she would still be mad at me over the training session from last night, but she didn't really seem to be. She was excited to see me, which reminds me that she is re-learning the command Relax. She has to be calm, usually sitting or laying down in order to get attention if she is in her pen or on the leash in the yard. In any case, she was quite happy to see me and quite happy to play. She fetched several times. Also ran through her basic obedience stuff real quick. She did fine. Knows Sit quite well. Down is next best. Shake is coming. Play Dead is still in the works. She even sat with me and cuddled for a bit. I guess I won't give her to the next person who stops by. Kidding, of course. She's not going anywhere!