Whoa, where has March gone??
It has been a bit of a quiet one for me this month as I went into my first heat at the end of February, which put a dampener on some of the fun, but it was a good rest month!
My raiser went on holiday, so I got to spend nearly 2 weeks with a fantastic sitter and released PADS pup Mirabel. She is so much fun and was also a great mentor, but when I was getting too much, she would just ignore me, and we had lots of games of tug! Mirabel’s humans have a cabin on the coast, so I got to enjoy the ferry, and I think I’m getting a bit of a pro! They did try to get me to swim, but I’m a toes-only Lab! Also, lots of fun bird-watching from my bed, which made my raiser smile from the pictures.
When I finished my heat, it was time for the dreaded bath, but my sitter did a very good job and made sure there were lots of kibbles and even a peanut butter lick mat, so we were able to get a couple of days out in cape, running errands before my raiser came home.
I was very excited when my raiser picked me up, and she did make some funny sounds for a few days afterwards, but I did my best laying at her feet, and we just relaxed (Raiser note – I had lost my voice!).
The last weekend of the month, she was feeling better but also felt like I needed a play, so we headed to another PADS person’s home, and it got very exciting with 10 other Labradors! So many games of tug and chase and nail trims? I was just as confused after I jumped on the table.
Here’s to the nicer weather in April and my first experience camping! Can’t wait to tell you all about it!
Submitted by: Sarah
Bonus Pupdate:
Things were a bit quiet with Golly since she was in heat.
We took the opportunity to do lots of training in the house – specifically worked on door manners, touch, chin, side (by cue only) and going around objects (cone exercise).
I also put her in a down, on a bed, while I trained Mirabel, and Golly was good to stay in a down.
We also did a nail trimming (good girl, easy to do), and she had a bath (peanut butter was involved, but she was very easy to bathe and showed no signs of stress.)
She would initially want to play a bit hard with Mirabel, but with redirection, she quickly calmed down. Mirabel mostly ignored her, and they would share a bed and play tug, coexisting very nicely and calmly.
Submitted by: Kathy, PADS Puppy in Training Sitter
