ATTENDANCE: Lily Pomapoo, Sophie Frenchie, Oliver Shih Tzu Mix, Angus Cairn Terrier, Sasha Feist Mix, Gus Frenchie, Lyla Ital Greyhound/Min Pin, Ivy Rose Bedlington Terrier, Kaylee Westie, Lucy Jack Russell Terrier, Iko Golden Retriever, Molly Morkie.  Absent: Lily Cockerpoo, Gia Morkie, Breezy Terrier Mix and Sophie Shih Tzu

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DWD will be CLOSED for the week of August 22-29.  School reopens on August 29 for the Monday class.  School will also be CLOSED for the 4th of July Holiday on Monday July 5 (observed) and for Labor Day Holiday on Monday, September 6.

NOW OFFERING....Copies of up to 200 of your dog’s best images at play at DWD, including solo shots as well as group shots and action shots!!  Sign up if you’re interested and a photo album containing your pup’s shots will be put together for you to view on the big screen of my 27” iMac.  CD’s will be $100 each and will contain up to 200 photos for you to download on your computer and use in your own calendars, cards, photo books and prints.  You get to VIEW BEFORE YOU BUY!

OUR DAY:  I think that this day sets a record here at DWD for most new pups in a single class!  There are FIVE new pups in Tiny Tots today!!  Welcome, welcome everyone!

Lily PP, as of 12:30, has decided that she’s ready to play.  To some, this may seem like a long time at school before jumping in and feeling safe enough to play, but Lily’s cautious behavior is nothing new to me.  She’s tiny and she’s got a lot of fears.  Some fearful dogs can take a couple of classes to fully blossom into confident, independent pups.  Lily is well on her way!  First of all, let me just say that Lily is cute as a button.  She almost looks like a little cat, with her haircut and pointy ears!  At first, Lily was snappish and growly with any pup who came close.  Normal for a fearful tiny breed.  I let her set serious boundaries because she needed to practice these essential skills before her fear would dissipate.  Next, I worked with Lily on helping her to let go of her “need” to climb on me and jump on my legs.  This behavior may be habitual (i.e. learned and practiced a lot) as well as fear-based.  Tiny breeds often get held an awful lot, certainly more than the larger breed pups.  For this reason, they become accustomed to being carried around like dolls.  They’ve learned to feel safest OFF the ground. which does them a grave disservice.  Lily, while here at DWD, has the opportunity to keep all four paws on the ground all day and to just be a dog, albeit a small one!!  I am watching her run circles around Gus, who is on his back, engaging in some lovely, safe play.  I’m so proud of Miss Lily and I’m SOOOO happy to have her as a student because she will undoubtedly leave her fears behind within just a couple of classes and gain skills for her whole little life!  Yay!!

Angus is my first Cairn Terrier student, for whatever reason!  That’s amazing, since I’ve probably had close to 1000 students in 4 years.  Angus is not shy at all and he’s confident and playful.  He is learning some self-control skills, as one of the oldest pups in the class, Lyla, doesn’t like to be pounced on out of nowhere!  This is great, because she’s a good and gentle (yet direct) teacher for him.  Angus, as I predicted, fell instantly in love with Kaylee Westie.  They have the same wire coat, body type and play style.  He’s learning from Kaylee, though, that he’s not allowed to hump her.  Good girl, Kaylee!  She tells him with a snap and a growl to knock it off.  We love this!  Angus has been in the pool several times!  He’s also been involved in some serious digging action in the sandbox with the other Terriers!  Very curious how this goes....all the Terriers gathered around a Nylabone digging a big hole for a proper burial.  I love it!

Sophie Frenchie hit the ground running and has barely stopped since 7 a.m., in true Frenchie-style.  She’s been all over Gus Frenchie all morning.  He’s very tolerant of her and treats her somewhat like a big brother would.  He winds her up and watches her spin!  They’ve both been in the pool a few times.  Sophie tends to “lose it” pretty often, barking incessantly at a playmate and just getting out of control, so the pool has been a very nice way to cool her off and cool her down for a minute.  She’s napping now, which she really needed!  Busy little beaver, this one!  And she will be t-i-r-e-d tonight!

Oliver fits in amazingly well with this bunch!  Of course, he just loves all the fluffy pals...like his BFF from The Kennel Shop Molly, but also Ivy and Iko and Lily and Kaylee, too.  Oliver occasionally gets ornery and dominant during play, but not as often as I’ve seen this happen at the store on Sundays.  He is really good about lying down to rest when he’s tired, too.  He’s been all over the playground and has played like a little rock star!!  He’s curled up next to Iko for a nap now.

Sasha is having a really good day and has already learned a whole lot!  She is very bitey, even with me.  The first time I picked her up she was like a wild hyena with me.  By the third time I handled her, she’d learned NOT to put her teeth on me and allowed me to hold her with her belly up in a submissive, relaxed posture.  Great!!  With playmates, Sasha tends to come on strong.  Her best match for play has been Gus, who is tolerant but will set a boundary when necessary.  Sasha has made Iko mad a couple of times.  She doesn’t give an inch and is a bit dominant a times, and Iko likes to play with a gentle mouth and a mellow style.  She’s learning from these interactions and is already mellowing a bit and controlling her bite more.  It’s interesting to look at all the photos from the first half of the day.  In most of them, Sasha’s mouth is wide open during play.  She engages with her mouth so much!  Puppy play is going to help her soften her bite quickly, as her little playmates will STOP playing with her if she bites too hard.  Perfect!!

I need to be brief with the rest of this report, I’m afraid, as I need to get back to supervising the pups.  Most are beginning to awaken from their naps and want a snack!  Iko and Lucy have been GREAT together again today.  It’s like a lion lying down with a lamb.  Iko is amazingly gentle with his little friend, and she just adores him!   They even got into the pool at the same time this morning!  Wow!

Ivy has been more in control of herself and less energized today than last week, which is good to see.  True to form, she was very nice to all the new pups today, and especially likes little Oliver and little Angus, whom she played with at The Kennel Shop as well.  She’s been looking out for Miss Lily today as well.  She just has that mother hen quality about her, yet she also loves to romp hard and run fast with dogs like Lyla.  They are like two kangaroos, those two!

Kaylee has been great today, as usual.  Once in a while, she gets obstinant and refuses to come out of the house or up to the big playground with the group and sometimes she throws a little fit when I pick her up to give her a  “ride” up to where the group is.  She twists and wiggles to get down.  We’re working on this.  She’s very independent!

Molly is working on listening to me when I need her to.  At present, she will try to play a game with me when I want to get a hold of her for something.  The only thing that “works” to get her to listen is a very stern, deep voice telling her to “stay!”  I always praise and attend to her sweetly when she does stay, though, and this seems to be helping her to trust me and to let me approach without running away for fear that she’s “in trouble.”  Sometimes she IS in trouble (she dug a big hole in the WRONG place today) but often I just need to clean her eyes or take off her collar (it unraveled today and other dogs were dragging her around on the strings that were dangling).

Okay, that’s all I have time for.  Looks like it may rain before the day is out but my pack is good and  tired, so they won’t mind being in the lower yard and inside the school if that happens!  Just one potty accident so far today (Sasha, right by the OPEN door!!)!!

Ears will be cleaned and coats spritzed later this afternoon and you’ll all have tired pups this evening!!

Please do your best to keep your entrances very quiet when you return for your pups later....it makes them all stressed and excited if you are loud/happy/reaching over the half-wall.  THANK YOU for your help with this!