Secret was fantastic at the dog center last night. I decided to go ahead and put her in the pop-up playpen with the boys to see how things would go. I heard Secret & Kaiser playing in there a few times, but I never heard Luke get grumpy, so things must have worked out well enough. I know that Secret was definitely happier to get to hang out with the boys instead of getting stuck by herself in a crate.
I worked both of the boys during my second class since two of the three students didn't show, which meant that Secret was the last to come out and play -- and boy was she excited about it! That was so nice to see.
I came well prepared with toys -- I brought the furry tail/tennis ball, the squeaky chicken and the little pink Wubba toy. I also had a full pouch of the "good" treats that she enjoyed so much last time.
I decided to introduce Secret to a full-sized tunnel last night. We started with it all scrunched together so that it was roughly the size of the puppy tunnel that we played with last time. She caught on quickly and in no time the tunnel was fully extended and even had a curve in it! I would send her into the tunnel and then throw one of her toys as she exited, which really helped to build up her speed and drive through the tunnel. She wasn't phenominally fast, but it was a fantastic start. Secret did better at sending from my right side and needed a bit more guidence from the left.
We also played with sending through a single hoop. Curiously, with the hoop, Secret was better at sending from my left vs. the right!
We ended our session by working on waits and running recalls. By this time Secret was losing interest in the toys and was more interested in a food reward. She definitely showed more interest than normal in toys last night, though, which was good to see. She retrieved the chicken several times from a fairly good distance, even!
I brought the video camera with last night but ended up not getting a chance to tape anything. :o( Hopefully next week I can set it up somewhere to get a good shot. Secret will be nearly 4 months old next week, so it will be a good time to document where she's at in her training. It will be fun to look back on in a year or so!
Secret got a new kennel last night, but it likely won't be used for a while. I couldn't pass up the deal, as Laurie was selling a $120 kennel for $50. I didn't realize it at the time, but it's actually the same crate that Luke has -- which technically, is likely far bigger than Secret will need. But oh well, she has it now! :o) I took it out of the box and set it up when we got home. Secret seemed to love it! If I wanted to abandon the play pen, I think that Secret & Kaiser could happily share this crate at trials. Of course, then we fall into the problem of fitting two giant crates into the Vue...
We had more puking excitement last night -- or rather, this morning. In what seems to be becoming classic fashion, it again took three tries for the object of the day to present itself. And when it did, I think it's fair to say I was a bit shocked:
Sigh. I'm quite certain that this is part of the knee-cap that Luke broke off on Sunday. Kaiser and Secret both swooped in to grab the pieces. I saw what Kaiser took and was able to take it from him -- and really, it wasn't all that big. Secret gulped her piece before I got to her, so I had not realized how large it was. OMG, when this came out I was shocked. Obviously we are going to have to be more careful about bones in the house.
Why do dogs gulp stuff like this?? At least it came out safely. I'm starting to wonder if Secret will see her first birthday -- at least without major surgery! Argh.
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