Here's one when we came back inside. The blur around the tail is because she's wagging it.
We've had an off day all day long today. I also got my first weird comment - borders on the obvious, but still made me roll my eyes.
Ardella has been using a head collar for a few weeks now and up to today has been a really good way to take Ardella for walks, to help her resist distractions, and to stop eating stuff off the ground. However, today she decided to just freeze and not move. She did this on an outing to Borders and Whole Foods where I was looking for an anniversary card. Ardella froze several times, but the worst place was in the middle of the street. This is where I got my comment. Someone felt obliged to ask me, "Don't you think it's not a good idea for a guide dog to stop in the middle of the road when she's leading someone?" Well, obviously not. I was good. I explained she was a puppy in training, not a guide. Still, the comment wasn't helpful. So, I couldn't get Ardella to budge and ended up picking her up and taking her to the car. Maybe not the best solution, but it was the middle of the road and we were blocking traffic.
It's possible that Ardella's mouth is sensitive. She's been teething and we did play a brief game of tug and I there was a little blood on the rope and then I noticed her loose canine was gone. She's been teething for awhile though, so I don't know if that is what is bothering her. Ardella has a way of learning things quickly and then balking weeks later. I hope this isn't one of those times. I always considered the head collar a real breakthrough for us.
Puppy class was last night and I discussed housebreaking issues with my leader. I'm going to restrict free water for Ardella and will limit what she drinks to 1/2 cup at a time to see if that will help. So far no accidents at all today. We have a fun field trip coming up in a few weeks where we'll be attending a tulip festival. We've been promised potential for taking great pictures of the dogs. Can't wait!
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