#43 weeks

[oscenfortrouble]

happy halloween!

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Repeat of yesterday, except with some counter conditioning around a basketball game instead of skateboarding (and no mud 🥳)

[oscenfortrouble]

dogs and leaves must be fall

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Using Premack principle to humanely stalk squirrels. She stays by my side as we creep all the way to the tree and then I release her for the last couple feet. I’m sure we look insane but she loves it so much and it’s good heeling practice 🤣

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Mondays are the height of Mandana’s sassiness and today started off extra spicy. Here’s how we turned it around for the better.

1. Turn on light & pick up laundry

2. Practice an extended place & settle

3. Structured walk in heel position

4. Freedom walk for decompression

5. “watching” from a distance at the Skate Park

6. Muddy play session with her doggy friends

7. Bath & Maintenance

8. Cuddle & Relax together

I’m exhausted but I feel good about harnessesing her behavior in ways that will have longterm benefits.

[mandana-the-service-pup]

A little reward for being so good on the leash this morning. Perfect heel and focus around barking dogs, moving trucks, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, etc.

[mandana-the-service-pup]

She’s so sleepy after our hour long freedom walk. She’s definitely a bit out of shape. We had a whole month stuck in the house, but now we’re getting back into the swing of things so expect to see a slimmer, more muscular dog in the near future 😊

[mandana-the-service-pup]

Quick PA trip to Barns & Noble. She did great with heeling, ignoring kids, not sniffing shelves and watching the escalator (not riding it yet).

We did our first off leash exercise in public and she nailed it. I asked her to sit & wait on one side of the metal detectors. I walked through and then asked her to heel. It was a simple exercise but it will help prepare her for future airport work.

I didn’t get a picture of her in gear because we were in a hurry but here’s one of her on the way home.

(she’s wearing a crash-tested seatbelt and we roll the windows up at faster speeds)