Shasta and her family came back to Vancouver after spending six weeks in the Okanagan. She is such a good traveller and is very low maintenance in the car. Shasta went on many long hikes and outings in February and spent a lot more time at (quiet) dog parks working on recall. Her recall is quite good so long as her play is only moderately rowdy and not in the red zone.
We have an Individualized Education Plan in place now for Shasta to help curb her ongoing counter-surfing and food theft issues. It is a work in progress, as she is always trying to tell us that she is starving to death and needs food urgently! Last week we went to Safeway to buy groceries. Shasta managed to grab a delicious loaf of German rye bread off the shelf and was in the process of trying to crocodile it whole when I pulled it out of her mouth, bag and all. Minutes later, when we got to the cashier, Shasta was the perfect PADS dog and was lying patiently and quietly as our groceries (including the open bag of bread) were being scanned. Another customer commented on how well-behaved Shasta was and asked if I would train his dog. I pointed out the shopping basket full of loose slices of German rye and told him that appearances can be deceiving!
A couple of nights ago, we were all woken up by the sound of a pack of coyotes yipping and howling in our front yard (in East Vancouver!) for several minutes. Shasta was VERY spooked by the sounds and smells, coming in through our open window and barking frantically to get out of her kennel. For two hours, she sat on our bedroom floor beside us, staring at the window and refusing to lie down and go to sleep. I don’t know what she thought was down there, but it definitely unnerved her. She has been fine with night-time kennelling ever since.
This month Shasta has been to numerous stores, a cafe, a pub, an automotive garage, a post office, the dentist, and a restaurant.
Submitted by: Lisa Heiberg
