Ups and downs

This morning was the first time that Guinness definitely “asked” to go potty! [Up Ü] When we were outside playing, he seemingly had forgotten all of Grade 1: he would not Come, Come On (casual Come), Sit, Let’s Go. [Down] I don’t think the reason is that we removed his leash too soon, but that we did not refill our pockets with treats, yet continued to expect him to obey without a food reward.

We store our summer pots under the deck, and he joined me. Now that it is full of patio furniture, there isn’t much room for an adult to move around, but he can scamper everywhere. He refused to Come when called. He wallowed in the water gathered in the sunken concave of his overturned pool. As I attempted to grab him, he slipped and fell in the water, drenching himself in dirty water. [Down] My usual calm demeanor exploded. Grade 2 cannot begin soon enough. The first class is tonight, thank heavens. [Up]


Daddy suggested that perhaps his shenanigans are due to missing Hershey. :’(

Guinness was charged with excitement as we arrived at school. He normally is beyond control as we burst into the building, but, tonight, he was hysterical. [Down and Up] Obviously, he loves school. As the attendance was taken, the teacher dubbed him, “Wild Thing.” Class is more enjoyable than Grade 1, because the dogs and handlers are on their feet the entire class period doing fun exercises. Also there is no boring 15 min. lecture at the end. Some of the things we are working on this week are learning to Come into Side, Jump (over a barricade), Down with no treat, and many exercises without leash yet with treats. [Up]

Score:
Ups – 4
Downs – 3

OK. We'll keep him.