I grew a lot in March! Learned a ton, and had fun! It was my second month with Victoria & Tony. Naps, sniffy walks, adventure walks, and off-leash, plus training sessions sprinkled throughout the days.
In March, I got big enough to better fit my vest, I also outgrew my ‘baby collar’ and got a ‘big-pup collar’ in purple to match my leash. So now I can represent both sides of my family: PADS (yellow) and National Service Dogs (purple). And as March rain showers brought spring flowers, I took some colour-coordinated photos!
My raiser took me on what she calls “Fieldtrip Fridays”, where I practiced my settling in at Tim’s, went briefly into Costco & grocery stores, celebrated the last ever Daylight Savings with my handler over a special brunch – just us two! I was driven up Cypress Mountain to experience elevation and play in the snow, walked on various surfaces, heard the sounds of construction, and went to a small airport. We also walked down a busy street, where it took me 45 mins to go two blocks, then I experienced the optometrist. Walking in a straight line is not my thing, hehe.
We went to Rathtrevor Provincial Park several times to practice my long line walks, recall, and build my comfort around other dogs – working at varying distances and angles of approach. I also practiced my “Drop It” & “Leave It” around an additional type of pinecones! I love to eat pinecones of all sizes and shapes…. but my hooman says I need to stop that, because it isn’t fun for either of us when it comes back up or out the other end! yikes!
I got to wear a pretty yellow raincoat that matched her yellow boots for a week, until I outgrew it. No body sensitivity to handling issues.
I’d like to talk about curling for a hot minute. I popped in on the staff social for the Museum of Anthropology staff. Bazinga’s friends were happy to see me. After some watching, I was brave and surprised everyone when I chose to step onto the ice for a sec. What’s the big deal? Is it just pushing around some big rocks? And why is everyone trying to hurry so hard? I was a good boy and relaxed on a warm blanket.
After spending some time with PADS Blair on Vancouver Island, I think I’ve licked the scarryness of other dogs (“licked” … get it?). … Thanks, buddy! Even though my next in-dog puppy class in the parkade was pretty intense (feelings about dogs), I think I managed pretty well. It was great to be able to come home and rest with my favourite quilt from NSD!
Submitted by: Victoria & Tony (long term sitters/raisers)
