Happy 2023, Everybody! Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Thank you for coming by and reading my January report. I hope you are all as happy and healthy as I am and that your new year, like mine, will be full of new experiences and goals. I turned 6 months old two weeks ago, and already in this brand new year, Iโ€™ve had several โ€œfirsts.โ€

I recently had my first Assessment with my Raiser and Instructors at Home Depot. I had no idea what to expect, but now I know itโ€™s actually great fun. Afterwards, the Instructors gave us important feedback so that my Raiser and I could go off and tweak my game. Weโ€™re already making good progress.

My biggest goals right now are all about this huge thing called โ€œdisengagement.โ€ Iโ€™m the sort of guy who is always at the ready and really likes participating, especially with my Raiser. I would wear my Cape around the clock and help her with every single one of her curious activities. Apparently, thatโ€™s not exactly the plan.

So, Iโ€™m learning a lot about being calm and composed on my own. The Instructors gave us all sorts of clever ways to practice this – most times, I didnโ€™t even know we were practicing when it turned out we were. Very tricky! In one of my photos, you can see me with my chin on the rug. Thatโ€™s practice. Sometimes, Iโ€™m just pretending to be restful, but more and more these days, my chin rests down without even realizing it. I think that might be โ€œdisengagementโ€ happening.

This month, I also attended my first official PADS Event at the VanCity in our neighbourhood! Iโ€™d walked past it many times, but this time I got to go in and spend time with the Staff. My brother, PADS Reef, was there too, along with 3 much older PADS pups-in-training. We were the youngest by far. It was a perfect day! The Staff really appreciated seeing PADS pups at different stages. I was on my best behaviour and received so many nice compliments. That always boosts a guyโ€™s confidence.

I continue to go on a lot of field trips, including to the Mall. As you can see from my photos, the Mall is a perfect place to practice walking in crowds, keeping at pace on stairs, resting under benches, staying close & connectedโ€ฆ AND getting my picture taken with huge Rabbits.

But, sometimes, my Raiser and I prefer visiting the duck pond.

Have a great year, everyone! Thanks again for checking my progress.

Submitted by: Mikal