Birdie turned a year old on July 2nd. Happy Birthday, Birdie! We spent her Birthday weekend camping in our adventure van near Adamβs Lake. We also babysat our new grandson while the kids mountain biked at SunPeaks. The pups did well walking about with the baby and stroller, taking in the sites, and ignoring all the other dogs. Oh, the joys of being grandparents!
Birdie was still in heat during the first half of July, so she had no public access and couldnβt attend puppy classes either. This was a period of rest for Birdie but not for us. Our Kelowna house was finally listed, and lucky for us, we received a couple of offers right away and struck a deal with one of them. The closing date is in one month, August 15th. The rest of the month was spent packing up boxes, loading the truck and/or car and making many, many trips back and forth between Salmon Arm and Kelowna. Our son, wife and grandson went on vacation to Australia, so we puppy-sat our grand pup, Jeff, for 3 weeks. Birdie and Jeff get along famously and were well-behaved in the house, entertaining each other while we concentrated on moving. They were so good in the car together, driving back and forth almost daily.
Jeff attended two PADS puppy classes with Birdie once her heat was finished. At first, the other pups were curious about this odd-looking, non-Labrador dog, but they managed to stay focused on their training and ignore the small dog. In class, we practised our one-minute stands all at once and individually. Birdie could hold a stand fairly well, but it is a tough command. Birdie was very comfortable taking cues from another handler in class while we practised our perch pots and walkabouts with and without leashes.
On a social note, Birdie had a couple of playdates with PADS Jelly. One playdate involved Jeff too, but the girls more or less ignored him since he is much more ball driven than they are. And 3 can be a crowd.
We also attended Music in the Park in Lake Country a couple of times, once with PADS Jax and his raiser Carol. The pups were pretty laid back, even with the loud music, kids, food and activities.
At month close, we took a day trip to Delta, BC where we met up with a guy who bought our adventure van. We will need to find another vehicle to go on new adventures in the future. And our biggest adventure will continue next month as we finish our month-long move to Salmon Arm.
Submitted by:Β Chris Buitinga
