Hello everyone,
It’s me, Lumina. I’ve been a bit busy this month again, but this time my raisers remembered to take pictures. I was still in heat for the first week. After that, I started doing more things again outside.
I went for a lot of walks in September but one time, my friend came along with me, and we saw a bear. Twice. The same bear too. The 2nd time, we had to walk a long way home because the bear wouldn’t get out of the way, or move. I was very calm and really didn’t care about him.
With my raisers, I attended 1 class in person & 1 on Zoom. We are working on “go-in” a lot more now, as I need more practice when I am on a bus or Skytrain—still working on “heel” and “side”, as well as keeping up with my usual, so I don’t forget.
I took a nice Skytrain ride into downtown Vancouver to work on some skills and to have a nice day out. The train was so busy, but I did really well. It was good practice for me.
I did some shopping so one of my raisers could get new pants for work, and even went to this other store that was so big. They had real stuffed animals there. Then we went to a restaurant afterwards. The next day, I went to see Agnes, the sitter lady, on September 21.
Submitted by: Monika Dunphy
Bonus Pupdate:
I spent 2 weeks with a sitter towards the end of Sep. The weekends were packed with activities, and I loved it! I went to an outdoor tai chi practice every Sunday, and people were telling my sitter how calm and well-behaved I was. My sitter introduced them to PADS and explained that I was training to be an assistance dog to change someone’s life.
On the first Sunday, I also attended a blessing of the animals at a church. I really wanted to say hi to the golden sitting behind me, but my sitter reminded me that I was in uniform and on duty. So, I sat patiently and waited for my turn to be blessed.
I reconnected with the puppy next door and had play dates, and then we practiced LLW together whenever the sun came out. I loved playing tug with her, and we took turns chasing each other.
My sitter also took me to a busy place to practice duration. She parked me in front of a group of hikers who were talking and eating, and a crow dropped by, and the sitter’s pet dog was strolling around. My sitter was impressed that we worked the duration from 30 seconds up to 2 minutes.
On the second Sunday, we made a quick stop at the Makers’ Market, and then we played tourists in Vancouver. My sitter and her friends walked and ate and repeated. So I got a lot of chances to practice my “go in” whenever they sat down to eat or drink. And oh boy, all the nice aromas from Hojicha, squid tacos, donuts, and ramen. I am sure I will be dreaming about it for a while.
Submitted by: Agnes, PADS Puppy in Training Sitter
Photos below…
Submitted by: Agnes, PADS Puppy in Training Sitter
