Sixteen-month-old Birdie started a new gig this month with LASS (Literacy Alliance of the Shuswap Society) where we visit North Canoe Elementary School and read One to One with 3 students per session, once a week. We go to our designated 4/5 split classroom, pick up our first student, with a book of their choice, and go to the library to a quiet corner and read together for 15 minutes and then we play literacy games for 15 minutes. Birdie settles in nicely on the floor while reading and sometimes the child practises some of Birdie’s commands with her so that they could give her a treat. It’s a wonderful training ground for Birdie to be around young children. Birdie loves seeing so many kids in one place at once, and she is on her best behaviour. Some kids approach her to say hi and possibly pet her but only if they are given permission. We attended 5 sessions this month and it’s going very well.
We had four puppy classes this month, where we continue to work on more difficult dog distraction drills. The pups practised walking over 4 different surfaces, one being a metal grate which some of them were not comfortable with and tried to skip over. We haven’t used the platforms lately and they seemed to have shrunk! It was difficult to do a down on them without having limbs hanging overboard!
One week 6 of us met at Orchard Park Mall in Kelowna for a class outing. We practised loose leash walking through the mall, ignoring Christmas shoppers and all their bags. Then, in a quiet part of the mall we lined up and practised dog distraction with various drills. Even though we were in a different setting than our usual space at the church, the dogs behaved well together. At the last class of the month, Birdie spent the entire class with another PADS handler (by my choice). She just adores raiser/sitter Carol and was more than happy to perform her drills for Carol, as you can see by her tail wags.
We went to Baby Time again at the library this month with our grandson and daughter-in-law. We hadn’t been for a while. There must have been a dozen babies and their parents in attendance. Birdie settles nicely during the singing session, and afterwards, the babies and moms mingle. This is when Birdie needs to learn not to show too much of her love because babies do not like to be abruptly licked in the face.
Christmas is coming and you can’t miss all the decorations popping up in the stores. At Home Depot we saw Santa, his reindeer, a snowman, Yoda and a rocking dino. But they aren’t real, they are all stuffies!
And lastly, Birdie and I attended our PADS friend Carol’s local 5-pin bowling tournament in Chase BC. With 8 teams, 5 players per team and 3 games later, we can say we learned a lot about bowling. Even though Carol’s team came in last place, we had fun cheering them on and mingling with the other players, spreading the good word about PADS.
Submitted by: Chris Buitinga
