Marsh’s Adolescent month of March:
Well, according to everyone, I’m an adolescent, and I don’t really care, because I know everything and those humans know nothing. March was a month of ups and downs. My trainer told me to do lots of training and walks with no other dogs around so I could focus on the important stuff and not get too distracted. When I see another dog on a walk, I just stare and need to sniff it, and then I forget all my manners. It’s as if all the blood in my brain goes to the tip of my nose. Anyway, every day, I work on my cues and have learned a few leash-guided cues, like walking backwards, which I’m sure will be useful one day. On walks now, I don’t get much kibble, and even eating less, I still managed to put on a little bit of weight.
Places I went to included a Hospice to visit the nice nurses, the human dentist where I lay quietly and listened to the drills buzzing around someone else, the garden center to check out prices of the garden flowers, numerous grocery stores, the mall, mostly in the places I go, I walk around nicely and then have to lie down for a while. One mall had a Super Heroes Day and I met people in costumes. I politely pretended that they were the actual superheroes. But I did meet police officers, paramedics and firefighters. They are real heroes.
One important thing I practiced this month was staying home alone. I had a 3 hour session one evening, and I just slept the time away. Then baby puppy PADS Raava came for a few hours. She had puppy breath and she was a bit nervous, but I was very gentle with her once I’d sniffed her all over.
This last week, I went to the University of Fraser Valley, and I sat and lay in the student building, and a few young people came over to see me. It was Research Project Day, and a lot of students were showing off what they had been learning. One professor told me about how they created a sensory room for special needs kids, and I wanted to go, but, they have another dog in the facility, and they didn’t want two dogs there.
My family’s kids have been home on holiday this week and dressed me up like the Easter bunny. The weather has been nicer, and I have helped do some gardening too.
Submitted by: Jo & Laura
