My friend D. asked me if I would be willing to take care of her dog H. for a day, or maybe two, if necessary at some point. I said: ‘Okay, but then I need to get to know him very well now he is still little!’ (H. is a German Shepherd!) And that’s why I meet with them at puppy class on Saturday mornings. Last week when I got there, D. and H. had not arrived yet, but there was another German Shepherd pup who looked a lót like H. You could have fooled me into believing it was him. This pup turned out to be his sister!
After class we had a lovely lunch in a farm house surrounded by a beautiful garden.
This morning the puppy’s were trained to step on a little platform. This is an exercise to prepare them for the scale, because it seems seventy eight percent of the dogs are afraid to step on a scale at the vets. And they have to sometimes. We all do, don’t we. H. did wonderfully, of course!
They also had to sit on a table while their bosses pretend checking paws, ears and eyes. Playing this game on a regular basis (and rewarding the dogs for allowing it!) will make the dogs get used to it, which you will be thankful for at the time you have to do it for real!
Another exercise: call your dogs name and only when he is so close you can take his collar, you say the word ‘Here!’ and reward him.
After class we walked to the farm, looking forward to a nice lunch just like last week, but…
It was closed for visitors because of a wedding, so we said goodbye and D. walked back to her car, H. following her.
After staring at the horses for a little while, I mounted my bicycle and galloped home with a big smile on my face.
