Megan at the park

Megan had her first trip to the park on Sunday. We didn't do an off-leash park this time, just a state park that allows leashed dogs on the trails. Obviously, we need to work on applying obedience training to real-life distraction-filled situations. Nothing awful happened and she wasn't exactly bad, but she wasn't exactly good either. A good sign of progress - and one that she has been displaying for about a week now - is her willingness to simply jump in the car without a leash. She knows the difference between "Let's go for a ride" and "Let's go for a walk" so I make sure to tell her what we're doing. When I tell her we're going for a ride, she shakes her head and starts to drool a little but she waits for me to open the car door and jumps right in. Anyway, when the car door was opened in the park parking area she bolted out the door. Granted, I didn't tell her to wait. I've gotten spoiled because she hasn't needed that command in so long. She seemed a little freaked out by being in such a different place. She wouldn't come when called, but she didn't run away either. She sat where she was when I told her to and allowed me to put the leash on her. So we're walking along the trail enjoying the scenery when suddenly she pounces. We look over to see she has a small rodent - vole or mouse - in her mouth. No amount of saying "leave it" - a command she was really good at in obedience class - would get her to drop that mouse. She ate the whole thing. Ewww. I know she's a dog and is made to hunt things but...GROSS! When I tugged on her leash, her collar came off. She wasn't interested in running away, so that's good. I need to see if I can get the collar a little tighter.  Anyway, that's our adventure! I'm glad we did it. I am having knee surgery tomorrow morning so I won't be able to go for walks for a few weeks.

You can see pictures of our outing here

Graduation

Yesterday was the last night of Megan's introductory obedience course. It was a fun one. They had a pseudo-agility course set up. It was a combination of obedience stations and agility props. Megan was really good at it. The last station was a "mystery trick". The instruction pulled a card from the game "My Dog Can Do That". On the second run through Megan got "lay on your back with your legs in the air for five seconds". The instructor was amazed that Megan can do this. Such a good girl! At the end of class Megan got a diploma. The next session of classes starts August 2. I won't be able to do this one since I am having knee surgery July 28th. I think we're done with basic obedience though. The next class we do will be either agility or freestyle. Pam thinks flyball sounds fun as do I. However, Megan has no interest in chasing balls or anything else (except bunnies and chipmunks). She is also getting really good at riding in the car. We've been taking care of my sister-in-law's cats while she's out of town. The house is just a few blocks away. So we throw Megan in the backseat and take her over there. Then she gets to walk in a different neighborhood.

Megan the rockstar

Yep, that's what she got called in obedience class yesterday! We were working on stay when the instruction said the next step was to turn our backs and walk a few steps away from our dogs. She said our dogs would get up and follow us except maybe Megan because she's a rockstar. And guess what? She stayed still as a stone! She also passed the distraction test with flying colors. I am so proud of her. It may seem like a small thing but I think it's great.

She's not perfect, though. It's getting harder and harder to get her in the car. Now she is backing away when I try to get her in. Used to be that she'd jump in willingly enough if a led her with a leash. Now I have to throw treats in and even then it's something of a chore. Other than the drooling she is okay once she is in the car.

In other news, we are talking about getting a second dog. We really miss having a small spaniel-type dog (like Sparky) and we think Megan would appreciate the company as well.