Dior had a much quieter month with her first heat finishing up and the summer heat settling in. She attended several family pool parties and was not happy that she wasn’t allowed in the pool. Every other time, she attends ‘off cape’ so that the smaller nieces and nephews can interact with her, which helps Dior to practise her calm and quiet with the kids when they’re wildly jumping in and out of the pool. One of her favourite things to do with the littlest grandkids is a walk in the Sunnyside Urban forest.
A quick trip to the Okanagan made it 3 road trips this summer for Dior. She is the best little traveller, though she found it challenging not to investigate everything and every little corner at the home we stayed in. Manners are on ongoing WIP.
It has been lovely to watch Dior as she discovered hummingbirds. She will sit or lay quietly with her head swivelling to keep up with their quick movements from flower to flower. She is particularly mesmerized by the hummingbird wars when a non-family member of the local hb clan shows up to forage in already claimed territory. She also discovered blackberry picking and became adept at picking nice, juicy, ripe ones for herself.
Dior attended an outdoor fundraising gala for a not-for-profit organization where she enjoyed learning how to dance with me to the music of an African music group. It was a challenge for her to ignore the lovely other animal smells in the grass. A little kibble can go a long way in helping with that.
During the recent weather change, we took a trip to White Rock so she could experience the sounds of the high winds and waves. It was also a good chance to practise ‘leave it’ with the abundance of crab parts and plastic garbage on the beach. She discovered a partly buried decomposing seal, which I managed to drag her off of just as she was throwing herself down for a good roll in it. While returning to the car via the promenade, we found some unusual textures for Dior to walk on.
Dior has made some big leaps in her ability to exercise self-control in many situations she has struggled with in the past. Her LLW with the Halty has improved substantially, with occasional opportunities to LLW using her flat collar. Every week, she is showing more and more maturity, though there is still a lot of lovely puppy left in her. :0)
Submitted by: Heather DeVries
