Unfortunately a lot of time has passed since my last blog update. Sometimes there’s no stories to tell and sometimes there’s no energy to tell the stories. I’m not sure there’s either right now, but I’m going to try!
Heineken was sick. One night she puked. Then the next day she was coughing. And then there was diarrhea. So I took her to the vet. I was worried that Heineken might have a worm, so I took Stella along too. I figured if Heineken had a worm then Stella probably caught it as well.
Rewind to the last visit (pre-dog training) to the vet: I struggle with Heineken and Stella as I get them from the car to inside. Once inside, we bark/lunge/scream at an innocent dog at the counter. The receptionist asks us to wait outside until she can get a room ready. So yes we got demoted to the parking lot waiting room. Then when we were in the exam room, Stella was so out of control that the vet could barely examine Heineken. Not to mention that Stella would tackle every new person that came into the room. I left feeling very frustrated and pretty much like a failed dog owner.
Ok, back to present times. So for the first time in a long time I had both dogs to contend with. I did practically get dragged inside again, but once inside we were able to act fairly normal. I got Heineken on the scale, then I got Stella on the scale. Stella actually stayed still enough to get a reading. Heineken even saw a cat in the waiting room, but I was still able to maintain control! Once in the room, we did a lot better greeting visitors. Stella also handled Heineken’s examination much better. She sat next to me and waited her turn. This time I left feeling like I actually could control my four legged friends!
Heineken has started her school. We missed the first class, but I still worked with Heineken on the heeling. We had our second class last night. It’s a lot easier the second time around. Plus Heineken is much calmer than Stella. We started out a little shaky. When we were walking in circles, Heineken just wanted to either get to the dog in front of her or behind her. But after the first round she was getting the hang of it. We did the normal heeling exercises with the sits. Then last night we started the stay as well. And we also learned the lay down. Heineken felt like a breeze student though compared to Stella. We will be busy as we work through our lessons!
