This morning was another lovely spring day that we took full advantage of by going to the park before work. The dogs were in for a long day so I wanted them good and tired! Being a vet tech I am lucky that I can take them with me to work, so I got to play extra long at the park this morning!
The place was pretty empty when we got there, just a town worker replacing the trash bags and picking up around the parking lot. I let the girls blast into the park! Maggie and Etta charged up and down the hills, sniffing, crashing into each other and looking so happy, like the dos I've always wanted them to be!
I decided to work on my recall with Maggie today. Her daddy has spent as much time unintentionally undoing her recall as I've spent working on it, so I got a plastic whistle and decided to condition a new recall signal. And darn if she wasn't responding nearly immediately when she heard it! Her recall has never been great, so this was really exciting to see her making the connection.
I am feeling more and more confident with both dogs at the park by myself now. I was always okay with having one or the other but I always felt like they were both going different directions and I could only comfortably focus on one of them. Etta's recall in the last year has gotten really quite good and now I have a glimmer of hope that Maggie's will catch up!
They seem good and tired now, barely a peep out of Etta in the kennel (and that is rare!). I now have plans of another early morning trek to the park tomorrow. Maggie is scheduled for her first attempt at being my distraction dog for a bouncy, easily distracted dog tomorrow night (I never thought I'd feel ready for that!) so I want her good and relaxed!
Get out and enjoy this weather!
Jessica, Maggie and Etta
