Molly knows I'm not keen on water & especially dislike the shower, but she'd heard a few stories of dogs like that who will join their owners in the shower. I don't know why they'd want to do that! So Molly decided to let me upstairs while she had a shower on Saturday (& each day since) to see if it would help persuade me that the shower isn't so scary. I don't mind being in the bathroom but as soon as Molly turned the shower on I shot out of the door & stood in the doorway for the duration of her shower. The next time I put my front paws inside the bathroom but I'm not stupid - if I get any closer I might get wet!
I'm an adolescent now so like to mark everything with my scent. Molly understands this but is slightly puzzled by why I've felt the need to mark one of her car wheels (the same one) on a couple of occassions now!
On Saturday morning we went for a walk in the woods which was good fun. We saw a couple of people in the car park but once we got into the actual woods we didn't see a soul. We did the longest walk we'd ever done there which included exploring some new paths. There was some shooting going on nearby but the loud noises didn't faze me at all.
When we got home Molly went out for a couple of hours without me. I'm not very keen on being left on my own at the moment so Molly always tries to take me out first so I'm more likely to sleep while she's away.
That afternoon I had fun digging in the garden.
"It wasn't me!"
Molly just liked this pose
When Molly lies down on her bed to rest I often get very excited & lick her face. It always makes her laugh. I do lots of things that make her laugh. I'm allowed upstairs whenever I like now but some of the rooms aren't "Toto-proofed" so the doors to those are kept closed. Molly goes into them a couple of times a day though to open/draw the curtains & open/close the windows so I like to follow her in. Her younger brother's bedroom is particularly exciting because there's so much on the floor for me to explore. I miss him when he works away during the week so like being in his room which smells of him. I often steal & run off with a sock from his room but found a tissue first this morning so ran down the stairs with it, shredding it as I went!
On Sunday morning Molly spotted a baby hedge sparrow in the garden.
She saw it before me so shut me inside while she decided what to do with it. Humph! I like to play with other animals but she was worried I'd kill it like I accidentally did with a baby robin a couple of months ago. The baby bird soon hopped away so I couldn't find it when I was allowed out again. Its mother kept trying to distract me from my search though by popping up behind me & encouraging me to chase it!
That day it was quite rainy so Molly discovered a drawback to me being allowed upstairs & on all the furniture when her bed got covered in muddy footprints, oops!
Molly wanted to take me out somewhere slightly different but didn't fancy driving so her youinger brother suggested a variation on the route we usually take round the fields at the edge of the village. He said it'd take about an hour but obviously didn't take into account how much longer his legs were than Molly's - it took us an hour & 40 minutes! I did some good exploring though & we saw views like this.
Molly continued to distract me with food when we saw exciting things & she was really impressed when it worked as we were passed by a cyclist with an off-lead dog running alongside!
In the evening Molly went out to the cinema so I got the chance to spend some quality time with her younger brother while he was home.
On Monday morning Molly's younger brother left for work so Molly was in the house alone. I took my guarding duties very seriously & spent ages sitting at the front door barking & growling every time anyone walked past. Molly said she understands that I feel the need to alert her when anyone comes to the door but doesn't need to know every time someone walks down the road. I disagree & like to warn her.
We walked to the playing fields again & did some more recall & distraction practise there. Molly got a bit frustrated though when she was trying hard to distract me from other dogs & their owner just let them run up to me. Before they arrived though we had a nice sit down on the field - well Molly sat down & let explore on my long lead.
Then we saw Kate & Libby. On the way to the playing fields Molly successfully distracted me from a dog & a child on a scooter on the other side of the road & on the way home there was a border collie (a fair distance) behind us on the path but Molly managed to get me to focus on her & ignore it. She said I'm making good progress.
That afternoon Molly went out without me again. She was gone a bit longer this time but was very relieved when she got home to discover that I wasn't waiting for her behind the front door.
On Tuesday morning Molly woke me up earlier than I would have liked so we could fit in a walk before she had to go out for a medical appt. We didn't have time to do any recall training with the long lead but she had some success with distracting me from dogs, although there were a couple Molly didn't spot in time. This walk was before my breakfast so I tried to eat a few things I found while we were out.
Molly came back from her appt having also called in at a pet shop to get me a few things. I wasn't allowed any of the chews then but she gave me a new fleecy blanket so I can have one upstairs & one downstairs.
That afternoon Molly tried to teach me "fetch" but I couldn't get the hang of it. She hopes I'll learn in time. We'll see. We then did some more training of the thing we're not going to tell you about til we've perfected it. Molly said we're getting there. We also had a little attempt at "stay" later that day but I was too bouncy.
Molly tried to watch a film on TV but the sounds on it made me growl & bark so she had to give up & watch something else instead!
Molly felt guilty about not being well enough to take me out for another walk that day so tried to think of some other ways to stimulate me & ended up giving me my evening meal in my Tornado toy. That was fun!
^ Working out my next move
Yesterday we had another early start so I could have a walk before Molly had another medical appt. We were pushed for time but managed to get out for half an hour & covered a greater distance round the village than Molly anticipated. Her appt didn't take too long this time.
When she got home she insisted on washing my beard so I didn't look too much of a mess for our new training class that eve. I soon got something sticky in it again though! She also popped out to buy some chicken to use as rewards in training but I wasn't impressed when she cooked & chopped it up without letting me have any!
I enjoyed resting in the garden yesterday now the weather has improved.
And of course I had to investigate what Molly was doing!
A couple of hours before the training class Molly took me out for a walk to try to burn off some of my excess energy in the hope that I'd be calmer later. Haha - wishful thinking! I was successfully distracted from cyclists coming right past us & people walking past on the same side of the pavement but was very keen to play with the other dogs we saw.
Molly said training last night went much better than she expected. It was the first of 4 sessions at a new venue with a new trainer. Molly went to observe another class by this trainer a few months ago & thought it looked good but was put off by the fact that it was in a small indoor hall as she knew I wouldn't be able to focus that close to other dogs. So when a new set of classes at an outdoor venue was announced Molly thought we could give it a try. I was really excited by the 6 other dogs when we arrived. They were all excited too but calmed down after a short while. I didn't though & every time we had to pause or wait to do something during the class I tried to pull Molly over to the other dogs so I could play with them! We both had fun trying out a few obstacles/pieces of agility equipment (a hoop, tunnel, weave cones, a path of planks & jumps) & apparently I made some good progress with starting to learn "stay". Pieces of chicken certainly helped motivate me!
I don't usually like to rest/sleep on Molly's bed when we're in her bedroom, I tend to prefer the sofa or floor. But on 3 ocassions yesterday I stole her spot on the bed when she left the room briefly - it was so kind of her to warm it up for me! She moved me the first couple of times but on the third ocassion she said I looked too cute & tired (after training class), so she left me there & sat on the floor instead!
This morning Molly gave me a pizzle for the first time to distract me when the supermarket delivery man came. I didn't really understand what I'd got initially so still barked a lot but once I realised what Molly had given me I settled down calmly to chew it. I chewed it solidly for over 2 hours, until I finished it. Molly can't believe it kept me busy for that long & said she enjoyed the peace! I thought it was yummy!
Once I'd finished it I fell asleep, yesterday's training class was exhausting! I like to sleep wherever I fancy, this time it was in the middle of the living room floor. I still haven't really the hang of sleeping in my bed.
But sometimes I get it right
Molly managed to capture me yawning the other day!
And here are a few more sleepy photos
After writing the majority of this update, Molly said we could go out for a walk! We went to a big local park that we'd only been to once or twice before so it was great for exploring.
The weather was gorgeous, we think summer has finally arrived. I was on my long lead the whole time so had lots of freedom but I also did some good recalls when Molly asked me to. We both had a lovely time.
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