Monday, February 25, 2013

23 Weeks: Training - Day 44

Playful Emma.
Emma ended up spending an extra day with me this week.  Her owner called and asked if I couldn't keep her till late Saturday so they could attend the funeral and reception afterwards without worrying about her being left alone at home all day.  I agreed and told them I would be heading out of town for the day for an event I had planned with Max.

We started our day early and I decided against trying to stuff training her into an already busy morning. I fed her and the other dogs out of their bowls and then packed her and Max up and went to Ronda's house to pick her up for our fun filled day.

Ronda has four dogs and four cats.  Most of the cats are not seen, but Raider, her grey Russian Blue cat is almost always in the middle of the dogs.  When we arrived Emma was curious and excited and completely unaware the house would spill out dogs the moment the door opened.

Sheba, Chatzee and Deva all spilled out of the door and came to a stop and began exploring the new dog in their yard.  Each were gentle with her, but Emma was lost in the midst of three very large dogs (two German Shepherds and a Rott mix).  From within the house I heard the Drama Queen, DJ, screaming her head off that the evil puppy was in her yard.  If you remember, Deva and DJ have already met Emma and DJ was certain Emma was going to burn her fur off every time Emma got close to her.

After a nerve racking (according to Emma) 20 seconds the crowd broke up and went about their outside business while I brought Emma into the house with Max.  The previously tail tucked and slightly shy Emma was now bold and curious again.  We chatted for a bit as the girls (all of Ronda's dogs are female) came in and did a brief hello to Emma and went to their spots to lay down.

It was at this point that Emma decided maybe she could check them out and went off to say hi to them.  She found Raider and quickly backed up and decided to sniff her only when Raider was not looking at her.  Raider, on the other hand, could care less Emma was present.  Raider is a perfect cat for introducing to dogs.

After a few minutes Ronda, Emma, Max and I packed up and we headed to Hunter Vet Clinic to get Attitude's meds (did I say my morning was busy?  It wasn't even 9 AM yet!) and spent a few minutes waiting for them to open.  Emma was in Ronda's care while I worked with Max (he was in work mode at this point) and she and I took the dogs to the side of the building to let them relieve themselves.  Max did, but Emma was too busy play bowing and getting the rips on her lead to do any potty business.

Inside the building Ronda kept control of her while I weighed Max (79.0 pounds) and then she took Max's lead while I weighed Emma (22.2 pounds).  Max was more worried about my leaving him than Emma.  Emma was returned to Ronda while I paid for Attitude's meds.  Ronda said she was sitting pretty before her, looked over and saw Max was laying down and followed suit, putting her chin down between her paws.  Good girl.

We then headed for breakfast at a restaurant on Market and Frances.  Since Emma is not a trained service dog and has not learned how to lay quietly under a table for a full meal yet, she was left in the van while Max, Ronda and I went in.  She was calm and in a good mood when we returned from hour meal about an hour later.  Ronda took her out to potty, which she did and then we headed off to our destination in Suncrest.

Haute Paws Grooming had offered kindly to show me how to groom Max in a way that kept him from being a hair monster all the time when we were out.  We arrived early and Emma and Max curled up at my feet and waited for our appointment.  When Ralph came out to say hi to us, Emma stood and barked.  He was a new man, wearing a hat and had facial hair.  He was patient as Emma barked and Max followed suit (apparently Max decided that he had to back her up on this trip).  Once they got over there brief bark session he fed them treats and played with them a bit.

We stayed there for four hours.  Emma was monitored by Ronda and did a fantastic job of being polite and well mannered the entire time.  She ate her lunch out of her silver bowl without complaint and when given a chance to be off lead and explore was a perfect lady.  She even got her feet cleaned up (shaved) and her potty areas cleaned up.  Thanks Sandi!

After that we left and visited a friend of Ronda's for a bit.  Emma explored the house and played and had a great time.

She impressed everyone.  Ralph and Sandi said they were used to six month old puppies who can't sit still and couldn't believe how well mannered and contained Emma was.  The friend of Ronda's was pleased with her goofy and friendly behaviors.  She had a great "day out" experience and was ready for some serious play when we returned to my house.

It was a great "out and about" day.




Level 1
ZenTargetComeSitDown
StepCompletedCompleted CompletedCompletedCompleted
Level 2
ZenComeSitDownTarget
Step52234
FocusLazy LeashGo To MatCrateDistance
Step22211
JumpRelaxHandlingTricksCommunication
Step111Completed1

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