This morning she hit 6 AM before she needed to go out, which is when Ron gets up anyway, so, over to you, big guy! I’ve moved Scuba’s crate back into the dog room and Stitch is sleeping in her ex-pen all alone with no trouble at all. Three cheers for breeders who get their puppies used to crates!
Only one housebreaking accident today. We take several long walks around the dog yard with Scuba. Find a bunch of half-buried toys, wrestle them from the ground and parade them around. Run full speed into a tree. That doesn’t seem to bother her. I’ll have to write her a memo about looking where she’s driving. Then since she’s following so well, we take a private walk down the lane outside the dog yard. She sees RapidFire, one of the llama studs, in his pen by the road, and takes off to visit him. If I had a rock, I’d fire it at her. Or him. I’m horrified, Terrified. Hysterical. I know a yearling llama that killed a Great Pyrenees, and this is a full-grown stud and a puny little brat. Fortunately he thinks she’s mildly amusing and I climb through the fence and scoop her out from between his front feet. From now on we walk down the road with the leash on.
I try turning her over in my arms when she isn’t quite sleepy. She thinks about telling me off and changes her mind, settles for whining, yapping and struggling. I hold her until she relaxes, then put her down. She turns around and wrestles my pant leg.
Several more tooth infractions today, but they’re getting less painful and she’s backing off immediately with a soft “uh” from me. Not so polite with other people. Several college-age guys complain about her mouth.
She’s figuring out that anyone standing in the kitchen is liable to be a soft touch. She’s developed sit as a default, betting that a Sit and Stare in the kitchen is going to get her something interesting. It’s a pretty safe bet. So far she’s learned about tortillas, tomatoes, bagels, peanut butter, cheese, bologna, chicken, carrots, and corn flakes. Yes, she’s purebred. She likes them all.
We do another meal’s worth of clicking for the same things. Emphasis this time on eye contact. While standing in the kitchen later, I start the Get Lost game. She places her bet on Sit and Stare, gets a treat, gets another one, then I turn my back and continue doing the dishes. Eventually she comes around where she can see me, Sit and Stare, and get more treats. Do this about five times. I’m feeling kind of guilty about how much training I’m not doing, but then I keep telling myself she’s only 8 weeks old. She’s got another month to learn calculus.