Oh, how time flies. It seems like it was just the other day when I wrote to you last. As it turns out, it was two weeks ago since I last gave you an update. I apologize. The truth is, it has kind of settled down, this puppy life.
After the last class in which we were the only attendees, the focus has remained on walking Bella. We purchased an easy walk harness two(?) weeks ago to help with walking on a loose leash. The main reason was because she was choking herself on just the collar, trying to get to the other dogs during class. The harness is pink. Chassie fought for that, I agreed because people would ask, "How old is he?" I guess the purple collar seemed to be a little too masculine for these Northern Virginia folks. Chassie has been using the harness on walks and she reports that it works great. That means both Draco and Bella respond well to the easy walk harness. That's two for two. I'll expect my commission check shortly, easy walk people.
I, on the other hand, have not been using the harness. Mainly because.... well, I don't like the color pink. Not that I'm embarrassed by it or anything. Chassie says that it's good that I don't use it since Bella will get used to walking loose leash both ways, with and without the aid of the harness. She's a smart woman, that's why I keep her around and it gives me a good excuse to avoid pink. Inside this mind of mine there is a good reason to like or use pink and that is breast cancer awareness and I'm all for helping out in any small way that comes up, my mom is a breast cancer survivor. Way to go Claire! Before we got Bella, we gathered some supplies we would need. Chassie asked if we could get a pink collar and I said only if it would support breast cancer research. I think we found one and it was 1) ugly and 2) only in a small size. Maybe I'll take my commission check and make a donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Back to the walking, though. I come home in the afternoon... it's getting later and later each day, and walk her for about ten minutes. One day earlier this week we were making laps around the island in the middle of our parking lot and I stepped on her paw. Pretty good too from the sound of it. She whelped and picked her paw up, looking up at me like I was the cruelest person on the planet. That's at least how I felt at the instant it happened. I knelt down and asked if she was okay and like the puppy she is, responded that all systems were go and we were back in business. It was at this moment that I mentally decided that the four foot leash we were using was not sufficient.
In comes the next selection process. We were late to class this evening, which if you recall we are usually early, but today it didn't matter since the class before us ran a little over. We were able to begin looking for a longer leash, Chassie started with pink. I'll let you guess what Dave said to that. We discussed the thickness of the leash and then it was time to join class as our instructor came to get us. We were able to go back to the leashes after class. Honestly, I'm not sure how we got to our conclusion but we wound up with a grey leash. The gray leash is a neutral color, one inch thick and six feet long. Not to mention "gray" can be spelled two different ways and both are acceptable. But that's a topic for another blog, hint hint wink wink. Here's looking at you, dad.
Today's class was about "wait" and "stay" which are very close to the same thing. Again, Chassie and I are slightly ahead of the class (and by the class, I mean the Corgi) because we have been practicing "wait" on our walks. We will make Bella sit at the corner and "wait" before we cross the street. It's like our own version of look both ways and both of us decided to do it on our own individual walks with her. The "stay" may be a little more difficult. She's sure to get it... eventually.
A few things to mention as we come to our conclusion. We regained a member to the class this week as the Corgi rejoined us. The owner of the Corgi seems to be frightened of dogs playing. He puts an end to playtime real quick. Bella played with some type of sheep dog as Chassie signed us up for Intermediate class. The sheep dog finally put Bella in her place as she wound up on her back on numerous occasions. After we picked out her new grey leash, she played with a five month old lab. The two lab pups played very nicely. Now, here's the interesting thing, the owners of the lab thought theirs was some type of mix. Chassie told them the American Lab had a longer snout and longer head, while the English Lab had a shorter snout and boxier head. They were flabbergasted. Then came the random tidbit of the day when she told them that the reason dogs lick each others mouth is because in the wild, younger pups will lick older dogs mouths in the hope they will regurgitate their food. You should have seen the look on the dude's face.... priceless.
It's hard to believe we've had Bella for ten weeks. It's really a short period of time, but it's more than half her short life and it's gone by in the blink of an eye. Yet, the more I age, the faster time goes. I can remember when I was young, how slowly things moved. We all can relate, right? A school year was like a whole year. Now the days just disappear and before you know it it's been two weeks since we last spoke. I can't even begin to imagine what goes on within a dog's little noggin. I'll try to fill the space between our visits a little more in the time still to come.
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