Weekly Training Update (Aug 14)

Since I’m on a streak of avoiding real life as much as possible healthy and completely normal coping these days, Lilly and I went to class on Wednesday … even though it was scorching hot. We hadn’t been to class in 6 weeks. It was a new park location we did not know. She did NOT do particularly well.

In fact, she reprised the role of She Who Snarks a Lot.

It began when she barked at goodness knows what when we first arrived. There were some bicyclists going by, pulling kid trailers, but she has seen those before. So, who knows? We walked it off.

Then, she snarked at a longtime classmate (a malamute) for no real reason other than he came to lay in the shade about 15 feet from us. Normally, that’s plenty of space for her, and he was totally minding his own business.

Soon after, she snarked at another well-known classmate (a big doodle) upon his arrival. Now, this one I get because when he was a pup this particular dog drove Lilly NUTS. Even though he is much calmer now, Lilly still harbors a grudge.

Later, Lilly snarked at our malamute friend again because he crossed behind us and a tree while Lilly was “shopping” in Miss Gigi’s training bag. That wasn’t fear. It was resource guarding both the bag and Gigi, who was bending down. We walked it off.

And, she showed her fangs to big doodle boy during a heeling-passing exercise. SO, we often kept our distance. Everyone is cooling off under the pavilion, so we used a nearby tree for our shade.

Still, look how close she is during this loose-leash exercise. Typically, we bring up the rear of the group so that all the other dogs are in front of Lilly, where she can see them and we can avoid any surprises. That’s the big doodle boy right there.

 

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Lilly was SUPER S-L-O-W again at first, so clearly I need to resume her transition training so that it doesn’t take her so long to “warm up” to being at class.

By about 2/3 of the way into the hour-long class, she was actually wagging and moving at a normal speed. She seemed pretty good, even moments after a snark.

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Once we had to use a young, new classmate (a boxer) as a blocker, when a small, barking dog came out of its yard and near the neighborhood path. Usually, this youngster makes Lilly a little nervous, but she was happy to have him between her and the noisy little dog.

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The New Car

Lilly is adjusting well to the new car and crate system. I took this shot at a stop light on our way to class. She doesn’t always face forward, but this time, she was. As you can see, the new soft-sided crate is mesh on all sides except the bottom, so us girls can see each other. She looks a little sheepish here, but I promise, she loves to ride in the car.

I’m still trying to get some good photos of the Mini, but here is one attempt from the other night. It’s all silver, no stripes. Well tinted windows. And, honestly, it’s really NOT that small. Or at least, it doesn’t feel terribly small to me.

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A Visit to Grandma’s

We dropped by Tom’s mom’s house after class. He has been there a lot lately. A huge thunderstorm, hail storm, and tornado that did not touch down completely did loads of damage to her house a few weeks ago.

We’ve been going there a fair bit too, so Lilly is quite trustworthy off leash. Here, she ponders heading back to the old chicken and sheep sheds.

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She likes to hang out on the patio while we have lunch with Grandma Ginny. It makes us laugh to have Lilly sitting at the patio table.

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Here she poses with the new patio furniture. See … she could have a career in catalog photo work.

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