Day Three

Caspian Day 3

Caspian has had what I might call a luxury day at Great Dog today! He was up early for breakfast and a romp with his daycare buddies. At 9AM his friend/trainer Carolin arrived to provide some training, exercise and enrichment activities. They started out with a walk in the surrounding neighborhood; showing off his newly achieved loose leash walking skills as he calmly walked with Carolin. We have a novel training opportunity in our neighborhood as there is a full-size bronze statue of a sitting German Shepherd in the back yard around the corner. It is very life-like, but…well it doesn’t move…it’s a statue. It is visible from the sidewalk and generally takes every dog that sees it by surprise on first encounter. Caspian was no different; Carolin reported that he noticed the statue looked at it several times, got a bit worried, looked up at her for support and then barked. It was a typical reaction and a good training opportunity. Carolin helped him regroup by requesting him to sit and accept treats from her. She used a happy “no big deal” attitude and voice and Caspian recovered quickly. Several hours later I walked him past the same yard, he slowed to look for the statue, observed it, looked at him, looked back at the statue and just kept right on walking calmly by! Good dog, Caspian! This is evidence that he is a fast and competent learner. On his first walk of the day he encountered sometime novel and a tad bit frightening. On the second walk he remembered that he had been offered calm support by his human companion resulting in a sense that he has in a safe zone. On his second trip past the statue he was able to assess the situation, remember that it caused him no harm and move on to another adventure. As a canine educator I am always excited when a dog is able to take a novel situation, get support from a human partner to learn how to handle the novelty and better yet, be able to apply that learning the next time the same situation happens. This is a sign of a dog that is capable of learning, assessing and adjusting to unusual situations without making negative behavior choices. Caspian, what a dog!

His afternoon was dedicated to luxury lounging. He was so tired on the daycare floor that a staff member noticed that he was actually falling asleep while standing up! This is a frequent experience for dogs new to the daycare routine. They enjoy being able to play and romp with so many dogs with frequency that they need to learn to pace the activity. They are also a lot like little kids who don’t want to take a nap because they might miss something. But, the staff knows best and they knew he needed a nap. He was invited to the Concierge Lounge where our clients and their dogs can sit in a quite space to book daycare, grooming, training, etc. There is a choice of soft beds; one is a wicker basket that fits our JRT and Cairn Terrier staff members with a little room for leg stretching. Caspian decided that the basket was the place to nap so he curled up into the tightest ball of a brindle dog that I have ever seen and with his head hanging a bit over the edge he took a nap. I can report with confidence that Caspian can snore like a pro! ;-) with some very funny little gurgles mixed in for our staff’s entertainment. He slept all afternoon.

Now he just bounced in with one of our other canine educators who has been working with him outside watching dogs come and go so he can work on his ability to be polite when other dogs are approaching him. He was a perfect gentleman until his new best friend walked by on his way home and he just had to bark a farewell. He was pretty determined to have his say, but he did respond to a distraction and once again settled into a calm sit and watch.

He is still trying to figure out how to complete the “down” skill. He is not eager to put his tummy on the floor and he likes to keep his bum in the air with his tail wagging. Humm…maybe because we all laugh at him because he is so darn cute-he thinks it is more fun to do his version of “down”. Well, all I can say about that is that we are pretty dog-gone good trainers here, but if YOU saw Caspian’s version of “down” you would be laughing and encouraging the behavior too! I have decided to teach him “bow” for the little maneuver that is his version of “down” and re-visit “down-the real one” in a few days.

Please think about adopting this amazing dog. He is inspiring everyone here. More tomorrow…