This October was very exciting, as I’ve been officially declared a teenager! With this title came so many new developments in my life: my legs got longer, everything grew more exciting, and I got to work really hard on the skills I learnt when I was younger, to make sure that my growing brain is remembering all of them.
Settling, recall, and a variety of skills (sits, stands, downs, beds, kennels, chins, jump-ons, wait/out, and my cooperative care and grooming) have all been worked on each week, and my duration is growing. Whenever I learn something new, we try to nail it at home before taking it on the road, and this month I got to do longer settles, more off-leash trails, and far more public durations. This was especially interesting at the end of the month when Halloween costumes and decor were everywhere.
The raisers had lots of family staying from abroad, so I was given welcoming duties for the first visitor’s stay, but then got to go on a vacation myself…
I spent the last part of my month with a sitter, and boy, did we have a great time working hard together! We went to Hockey and ice skating practices, a mall with PADS Arthur and Fendie, supermarkets, Home Depot, the bank, watched outdoor soccer game and football practice, settled at kid’s playground watching them play for 20 minutes, Costco during busy time , indigenous Learning Centre and the marina at Elgin Heritage Park, Tsawwassen Mills Mall, Bass Pro Shop, giant fish tank, visiting friends and family, coffee shops to practice settling, and Spirit of Halloween (please enjoy photos of two of my Howloween costumes – my spider friends and Scooby doo!).
Something very special that we got to do was visit the BC Cancer Agency chemo department with a friend (and greeting the staff at their request), as well as another human doctor and their patients. Apparently, all the people around me loved having my support in these places, and it was so mutual.
Such a busy month, full of lots of amazing people. Hopefully I can wear my spider costume every day next month (raiser note: he will not).
Submitted by: Fiona Mak
