Feb 17 - and again

Since the day was nice, I opted to get Cassie out to the sandbar and ride the next day (which will be today).  She ran and ran ... sound familiar ? ... but this time she was fetching in water that she could bound in at first and then later, up to her chest and she had to walk.  Before we left, I got her to fetch a couple of times where she had to swim -- short throws, perhaps 20 feet, but symbolic.

Then we had doggie training.  Thinking that I might have tired her out on the island, I was hoping for a calmer dog but nope.  She was frisky, playing and chewing on her leash, rolling around wriggling on her back etc.  Duh.  Otherwise she's got this down fairly well.  We did some walking among the other dogs, sitting while an instructor approached with a walker, this kind of stuff.  Basically they're to learn to stay calm when people approach, not to be surprised when the unusual happens, like walkers and wheelchairs.  Cassie was fine with the walker but a couple of other dogs were not and started barking.  That startled Cassie and made me think "let's not teach her to bark !".  There is one black lab who is a real barker; that's hard to cure. 

Two more sessions and then repeat, repeat, repeat.  The instructor said that it takes 40-50 repetitions for a dog to learn something.  She was working with one of the other owners and saying that basically the reason that the dog wasn't doing what she wanted was because the dog didn't understand what she wanted.  For example, a treat must be given within 1-2 seconds or the dog won't associate the reward with the activity. 

Does that sound like my attention span ? 

Moving on ... this time we dropped Cassie at the house before going to dinner at the SYC.  We'd called ahead this time to ensure that the kitchen was open and Pam already had our places set at the bar.  You have to love dining out at home, which is what the SYC is like ... dining at home with no cooking and no cleanup !  Wonderful !

We both had Caesar Salad and Flounder.  Sandy had the broiled; I had the fried.  Sandy had sweet potato; I had the steamed veggies.  The only complaint that I'd have about the SYC cooking is that the veggies aren't crunchy -- not mushy but not crunchy. 

Back to the dogs -- at the end people had questions as we stood at our places in the "ring".  We talked about separation anxiety, not giving too much attention (one dog is re-starting to chew furniture), jumping at front door arrivals etc.  Repetition, repetition, keep a leash handy etc. etc.  The trainers are good, know their stuff, have worked with many dogs of different types.

Sandy, meanwhile, alternately sat outside the ring and watched the puppy class in the next room where there were a couple of goldens, both more typical golden-looking than Cassie.  A full grown golden that we'd seen before came through and this one has a tail that comes out, up and forward like some other breed.  One of the aforementioned golden puppies has hip problems ... ugh ... I guess you see quite a variety at these training schools, the good and the bad.  Cassie is a little off kilter, head smaller than typical, ears perkier.  She'd never be a show dog; nor would Abby have been.   Vickie was more in-the-mold, perhaps, but I'm sure that someone who judges the breed would find fault.  Since we're not showing, it's all about companionship and love ... and there's plenty of that !

Another day was done.  I'll do some bike maintenance this a.m. and hit the road.  It's going to be a little cool and it will be windy, but not too bad.

Marda nailed down her dates so the blog schedule that you can see to the left is pretty much nailed.

Onward ?  hope so !