The past couple of months have been a bit quiet for Alpine. We attended our first in-person class this month and little Alpine exceeded my expectations. She has not had the opportunity to work around other dogs very often but she did quite well. She was attentive and for the most part was able to ignore other dogs. This highlighted some areas that we need to focus on over the next couple of months.

In puppy class, we worked hard on ‘heels’ and ‘sides’. Overall I am pleased with Alpine’s knowledge of these cues but she will try to anticipate what I am going to ask of her. I have been working on trying to have her listen prior to moving. With her basic cues, we have been working on duration without the reward of food. She is able to hold a sit for 3 minutes, a stand for 2 minutes and a down for 15 minutes. It has taken months to get here and I continue to be amazed at how eager she is to learn.

This month I am hoping that we are able to do more public outings and work in higher distraction environments. I have loved every second that Alpine and I have spent together and will cherish the next few months before she moves on to the next stage of her training.

Submitted by: Stephanie