OK, spoiler alert, NO major training happened this weekend with Chispa. I was Trial Chair for the local agility club’s USDAA trial, and as it was my first time in that role, I was pretty busy making sure the place didn’t burn down due to my lack of experience. I’m happy to say, it seems as though the trial went well, and everybody seemed to express as much.
Just because I didn’t set down to do any formal training with Chispa, doesn’t mean no learning happened. On the contrary, she got a LOT of socialization and experienced a lot! Each day of the trial, George and I took it upon ourselves to take the judges around to see some of the sights and sounds of Portland. I’m not a city gal; I much prefer the quiet of the country. And so, I’m not likely to pack up a puppy and go downtown just for the purpose of said puppy getting some “city time”. So, it worked out perfectly that we headed downtown after the show each day to show the judges around. Chispa got to:
- Learn to potty in the tiniest bit of landscaping
- Slow down all pedestrian traffic she encountered with ooh’s and aaah’s
- Brighten people’s day with puppy breath
- Meet kids, adults, men, women, wheelchairs, street singers
- See and hear sirens, traffic, trains, and all of the noises of the city
- Try Ramen and Tots
- Head to Multnomah Falls (where again, pedestrial traffic slowed to a crawl upon seeing her)
- Visit the Portland Rose Gardens
Even though she spent a good portion of each day AT the trial in her crate, snoozing, the time spent in the city each day, doing touristy stuff, was WELL worth it. Just getting to “be” in an environment, with no expectations other than being cute, is priceless. Of course, she took it all in stride, no surprises there! So much cuteness…
So, now it’s Monday, and it’s back to more, erm…productive training, at least as far as this blog is concerned! Chispa doesn’t really care what kind of interactions are taking place, she’s up for anything. BUT, here’s what’s on the list for this week:
- The Manners Minder
- Beginning Foot Target Training
- Rear Foot Awareness
- Backing Up
- Shake my hand
This is in addition to all the “other” stuff we’re working on still…recalls, sitting for your food, getting in your crate for a kong or chew toy, potty training, dog door training, and DON’T CHEW ON THE MAMMA training 🙂
So, tomorrow, it’s back to some instructional video and other content for premium subscribers only. But for today, it’s catching up on other work related stuff, including decompressing from the weekend as Trial Chair!
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