Puppy Training Part 1

Happy March, everyone.  As I've said before, this year is really going fast!

As I've also said before, I have a young puppy.  Cari is four months old now and I've decided she will--hopefully--be more trained by me than I'll be trained by her, unlike her dear but demanding "sister" Mystie.  Cari is such a little bundle of energy I'm not sure that'll be true, but I've begun taking her to puppy classes at the Hollywood Dog Obedience Club--which is the very wonderful and kind organization that has been letting me observe training sessions as research for my upcoming Harlequin Romantic Suspense mini-series themed around K-9 training.  So, part of this is also research--which I have to incorporate at least somewhat into my life! 

So how is it going?  Well, Cari really got into one of the commands: sit.  Now if I catch her eye she'll sit... for a few seconds at least.  She also looks for treats, and I oblige some of the time.

But there are other commands we're working on, too. She didn't get "down" at the class at all, so now I'm telling her "down" if I see her resting, which of course is rare.  I do give her treats if I'm close enough and see a bit of progress, but not sure how long it'll take before she's onto that one.

Then there's a command that's not "heel" but is similar, to get her to stay with me as we walk.  That's not too difficult most of the time, but I also have to combine it a lot with "leave it" since she likes to eat grass and taste a lot of stuff on the ground, which worries me.  

And as time goes on there'll be additional commands I'll be taught in the class.

One thing that's wonderful is that Cari is a Cavalier, a people pleaser, so I'm sure she'll catch on eventually.  She's still a baby, after all.

Still, yesterday my husband Fred and I went to Universal Studios Hollywood because we have a pass that's close to expiring, and one of the things we saw was the Animal Actors performance.  It was a lot of fun--and showed me how far I have to go with Cari's training, even if I don't intend for her to be so well trained that she can be a performer.  But we'll continue working on it.

Oh, and by the way, I have been able to continue writing despite all this.  I'm getting back into a routine so I get some done pretty much every day.