Not much was going on today so I went to the movies and saw All About Steve. I was afraid it was going to be cheesy, but what else did I have to do today? It was VERY funny, I really liked it a lot. Nothing sad, just a nice predictable comedy that was very cute.
I spent about two days cleaning out my closet and shampooing the floors, so I shut Lizzie and Breeze in the kitchen area, it is pretty rare anything like that happens to them. Three and a half years I have worked on recalls with Liz just about every day and as long as she is not overly stimulated she is pretty good. At the end of the two days Lizzie was acting like she had never heard that word come before and she was acting totally feral. YIKES, is this what it has come down to, would we lose everything if I was gone for a week??? LOL, I shudder to imagine that. So I got out the clicker and a bowl of treats and started shaping some tricks. Liz just loves shaping and working so much that she sort of connected with me again and was acting a lot more like herself but definitely still blowing me off when I call her. I guess we go back a couple of steps on the really reliable recall and polish that up so more. Have I ever said Liz is not an easy dog??? Then you take Breeze, she was with Liz the entire time, and she acts like nothing has gone on. Breeze is just such a Breeze....always easy, always sweet, always easy to predict, but still plenty of action and excitement when the situation warrants. I really am lucky because I could not have chosen a better pair of dogs, Liz keeps things wild and exciting and is always up to something new, Breeze is always reminding me that I can train dogs and she is so much fun because I actually have a pretty good idea of what she is going to do and I can work with her anywhere without factoring the humidity, the day of the week, who will be standing around, what bugs are there that time of the year, how many bunny's have pooped in the particular field, you get the picture....everything can make a difference in how Lizzie performs, hahahaha, she always keeps me on my toes. The best part is that both of those dogs really have the same energy level once they get to playing or working so they just get along so well, they truly are very good friends.
I have been trying to get Breeze more hooked on rubber balls, she is a real ball girl, and loves the tennis balls. Her teeth are about half way worn down because of her tennis ball habit even though I have tried to limit them and she is not yet three years old, so I keep trying to get her hooked on other things. Also she is not a big tugger, and I would love to get her more into tugging because that is a great reward when training. ANYWAY, Breeze has really fallen in love with these toys and they are on sale this week at Target. They are great, there is the ball part which attracts Breeze and then the neck part of the chicken which makes it easy to pick it up. I can grab the ball part, Breeze grabs the neck and she will tug with them. They also squeak really well, and can be washed off when they get dirt all over and are not going to wear down the teeth like the tennis balls. I am thinking when I get a puppy the neck will make them easier to pick up for small mouths, so just thought I would share that these are quickly becoming Breezes favorite toy.