Lovable teething puppy

 

What a difference a day makes!  Mommy preparing for it helps immensely!

Thursday morning started much like many others.  Let the cat in and fed him.  Got the dog up for pee, poo, and breakfast.  I wonder if the fact that I did not put her in the harness when first out made the difference, but she did not go after me like she did the day before.  Perhaps she's just feeling better in the teeth?

We were out for first walk at 5:53 a.m.  On this walk, my luck with avoiding the squirrel tail ran out.  I thought when it "disappeared" from the spot I expected it to be in that someone had collected it and put it in the trash.

Not so!  It had just migrated to the other side of the sidewalk.  Ember was clearly following a scent of some sort going back and forth and up and down the sidewalk, and found it!  Not only did she find it, she started chewing on it, and honest to gosh, I believe she swallowed it.

Oh, well.  Extra fiber and adventures in figuring out "what's that in the poop?"  

But back to preparations:  last night after she was tucked in, I went out and discarded all the fragments of cycle pad that she had chewed off, and strategically placed the "giant teething toy" a.k.a. a 20 year old indestructible garbage can along the fence.

This made for fine large muscle exercise as well as teething.  

I got an email from the landscaper that he was sending someone out to fill the sandbox Thursday, so I waved off the personal training session, since when the landscapers come, it's usually around the same time as the session.  I did not want to miss them, because the "little leftover bits" are usually the ones I'm most particular about.

They were tasked with filling the sandbox, "stabilizing" the steps from the patio to the yard (there's a wobbly one there), and fixing the splintered gate post.

Graham informed me that there is another bit I didn't have on my list:  they need to extend one of the downspouts out front so it goes beyond the retaining wall into the yard, not into the river rock bed.

I also went through the exercise of thinking about Ember's reluctance to eat her regular meals, and started using the new puzzle feeder strategically as well.  I placed a few treats among the regular kibble, so that when she searches for the treats, she realizes this other stuff isn't so bad, either, and it fills the belly.

I now have a nice, filled sandbox.  The one step is still wobbly, and the men left to get the downspouts (one for me, one for another client), saying they will be back to finish.  I'll be on the lookout.for their return, to see if they know that step is still wobbly!

Ember was very happy that they came, because it meant extra attention to her.  

We also made some progress on the fetch/wait games the dog trainer gave me to work with her on.  I was so proud when without leash attached, she did the "wait" for the tennis ball as cued.  Then "oops", this only worked when I rolled it in the same direction/room we'd trained with before.  Dogs do not always generalize their training to other locations / environments.

A little later, we did the game with her Holey Roller out on the deck and the patio a little later, and it only took two "wait" with foot on leash for her to generalize it for that toy.

She hadn't seen the Holey Roller in a while, as it was one of the toys that got her SO excited the teeth came out, and Mommy had put it away in self-preservation mode.  But in a brainwave, Mommy wanted to toss the holey roller into the trash can, to simulate an agility tunnel, and see what she would do.  She did great, by the way.

Speaking of agility, next week the dog trainers are taking July 3rd (Wednesday) off, and I didn't want her to miss a week of training, so we are going to celebrate the holiday week by having her do a "Puppy Agility" class on Tuesday evening, and the "Puppy Plus" class will come along just fine on the 10th.

So life is good in Emberville this fine Thursday. It is not as hot as it was early in the week, and it looks as though we might get a little rain.  We heard some fireworks about 10 p.m. last night, but Ember was in her crate for the night already at that point, and unphased.

Spark on, my friends!