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| I've had lots to write about, but seem to struggle to find the time to do it. We are in the middle of ramping up for USDAA Nationals for Smitty and Austin, and still in the throws of raising a puppy. Smitty and I are more in sync that we have ever been, and well, Austin and I are pretty connected on course too! My current musings revolve around how amazing it is that my special little Grit is only 5 months old. I thought at 5 months, pups didn't know much. They were, well, still puppies! But I have to keep reminding myself that Grit is still so young. She is one of those pups that can be described as an "old soul".  We are still in Silvia's Puppy Class, working on our last assignment. This class will finish up next week, and then we have 2 weeks off until Foundation starts (conveniently while we go to USDAA Nats!). However, most of my focus with Grit as of late has been more around "life" or "relationship" skills. Here are a few things that we have been working on: 1) RIding in the van: Grit is still having bouts of carsickness. The biggest trend I've noticed is that it helps her to ride more frequently. So with the cooler temps, we began operation "Grit goes everywhere". She can produce more drool than one would think possible. I'm still secretly hoping for the "grows out of it" that folks talk about, but will do all I can in the meantime to help her acclimate. This has the incredible side benefit of exposing her to many, many environments, and getting little bits of tricks and play in all sorts of new places. 2) Group class: It's also my goal to keep Grit enrolled in one group class a week. We are enjoying Senior Puppy at PBH right now, and I need to look for our next class after USDAA Nationals. I think these classes are good for distraction training, as well as taking us both out of our comfort zones just a little. 3) Play, play, play: Something that we have certainly done, but that I'd like to see a higher percentage of our time devoted to. I'm THRILLED with the progress that we have both made over the past week in this area. Trials are wonderful for this. She now has a couple of toys that she particularly likes, and I'm figuring out how she likes to play. She's even turning into "obnoxious puppy" when I pull them out with excitement, which is what I'm really looking for!!! 4) Retrieve: Another skill that continues to improve! I was particularly pleased with a session that we did at the trial last weekend, where all dogs but one were in the expen, and the dog that was out did a couple of retrieves with everyone else watching. Grit is proving to be another amazing dog that learns by watching, and when it was her turn, she was like a bullet. We are also getting more instances where she jumps up to give me the toy, which is awesome!!! 5) Connection/verbal responsiveness: This is an area where I've noticed we are really developing a bond. I can already talk to Grit in a conversational way, and she responds to what I want to do. We went through a little phase where she didn't want to go back inside several weeks ago, but now, an easygoing "come on Grit, let's go" has her charging to come in. A quick "hey", catches her attention and she stops what she is doing. She is just starting to feel "programmed" to my channel, knowing what I want almost immediately.  | ||||||||
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agilemindsmel's journal
