2020 Life Logs, Day 30: Shadow 4, Judy 1
Date: Thursday, January 30, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 33 degrees, Low 22 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I lost the day in terms of puppy training. Shadow won 4 battles while I won only 1. The ‘homework’ I was given by the dog trainer didn’t go smoothly. He could easily get Shadow to sit and stay even when there was a treat before him that he couldn’t have until he sat for at least 20 seconds. When I tried it, we made it only 5 seconds. It did become painfully clear to me today that I have let this beautiful, sweet puppy become Top Dog and he is not going to easily let me take his place as leader of the pack. I did win one battle and that was with using the snap collar to keep him from pulling when on a walk. That gave me my 1 point. But on 4 different occasions when I went to put his leash on to take him outside, he was nippy and just wouldn’t give in. Shadow definitely won the day today. But I will persist and hope tomorrow the score comes into my favor. We shall see.
I drove off Cape, just across the bridge to Buzzards Bay, for a 1 pm meeting with a representative from the Bourne Newcomers group to check out the technical set-up for my presentation before their Lunch and Learn group in two weeks. It is always a relief to know that the technology set-up for any presentation is in place. It was, so we adjourned to a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts to have coffee and conversation. I then drove home and took Shadow to the Dog Park as suggested by Joe the Dogman. I had never been there before and found there is large dog fenced in area, a small dog fenced in area, and a time-out area between to the two. There were lots of dogs playing in the large dog area, but they were too big and too aggressive for Shadow. We went into the small dog area where there were no dogs and played for a bit, but I’ll have to return on future days and hope that there will be some small dogs to play with. It is a really nice area and Shadow did enjoy watching the big dogs play. When we got home I took Shadow on a long walk and then I left again. This was for a Women in Newcomers dinner back across the bridge, very close to where I had been earlier in the afternoon. It was great to get together with this group, but driving across the bridge twice in one day is not something I want to do often.
Tomorrow my day starts with a vet appointment when Shadow will get a shot to prevent Lyme disease. There is not such a shot for people, but the shot for dogs has shown to be effective in somewhere between 60 and 85 per cent of the dogs who receive it. Since I live with forest on three sides, the chance of getting a tick bite is huge. And since seeing a tick on a dog with lots of black hair is almost nil, the shot seems like a good idea. After the vet appointment, we’ll come home and work on the training program. Sure hope it goes more smoothly tomorrow.
