July Day Seven -- Night Out on the Town

Can you tell by the smile on his face that he went to a party tonight? Ok, it was really just a small BBQ, but Zoltie was sure it was the most happening place in town.

He met a retired service dog that he really liked. Ketchum was pretty happy to have someone to play ball with. We had been practicing our recalls throughout the day so I knew he was ready for this. He was a ROCK STAR on his recalls this morning, turning on a dime when he was mid run with another dog.

We thought we were all good...until he met the cat. Oh man, that was really exciting. Golden is good at enticing dogs to approach just so he can swat at them. He has no fear when it comes to dogs and he has no hesitation about taking them out when necessary.

This drove Zoltie crazy. He wouldn't get close but he really wanted to. So, instead, he barked. And barked. And barked. And he forgot what his name was or what "come" meant. That gives me real clear feedback on what I need to do.

First of all, because he wasn't responding to me when he was barking like a fool, it was time for a short time-out. Bummer. All these fun things to do and he's stuck with me on leash at the table. Boring. But now, when I do release him, I am going to get him a little farther from the distraction and I'm going to move closer to him so he doesn't have as far to get to me. Now, let's try that again, "Zoltie, come!" See? You do know your name and you know how to do a recall. Good boy! Actually, his recalls were excellent after that. It didn't take me any time at all before I could easily call him to come when he was right next to the cat and really far away from me. That's just the kind of practice we like!

It was a party, of course, so lots of opportunities to show off his greetings. The puppy, Odon, was still learning how to greet people. Zoltie, said, "Oh, I've got this, I know how to do this." Odon, however, jumped up while I was taking pictures and broke my camera. Oops. It's sure nice to have a dog who sits for his greetings.

A couple of people had met Zoltie before (several of these people are my helpers when we are working on greetings with dogs) so we got a lot of compliments on what a nice boy he is and how good he is. Everyone was really impressed with his greetings (good job!!!). And, of course, he's just so super sweet so everyone adores him. He thinks it's pretty keen to have all these people doting all over him.

He's all worn out...again. I keep telling him, it's not going to get any better at Caroline's. He will be just as worn out there as he is here...maybe even more so. Wait until he finds out there is a big giant hose there called a "river." He's not going to know what to do with all that water.

This is our last blog entry for his stay with me. Not to worry though, I'm not going to cut you off cold turkey. I'll try to post a picture or two every couple of days or so. That is, of course, after I get my camera fixed. Hazards of the job...