We still have little Elma. I'm not sure how much longer. Her raiser is going to be in a cast for 6 to 8 weeks and I'm not sure if I'm keeping Elma for the entirety of that time or if she's being transferred elsewhere. I'm waiting to hear. In the meantime, we've started working with Elma on sit and wait, which she's catching onto well, and learning how to behave around cats and dogs which she's slower to catch onto, but I've been able to get her to sit quietly with Ardella for a few minutes. We still have to keep the dogs separated, which is working out fine. Walking is our biggest challenge, but it's been so cold that I haven't wanted to go outside more than I have to. I also took Elma to get her shots this week. She got the rabies vaccine, which surprised me. I thought they got that at 6 months. Elma is affectionate and mischievous. I really like her, but it's not up to me to decide what happens with her and I'm okay with whatever decision is made. I do like these long-term puppy sitting assignments.
An example of how cold it's been is this fountain at a house Lyn passes by when he walks the dogs. He liked the ice sculpture the frozen water made.
It's been dry and cold, not wet and cold as usual, and everyone's skin is dry and itchy. We were supposed to get freezing rain today, but fortunately that hasn't materialized. We're going back to rain as usual and I think I'm glad.
I started my shift in the cattery at the humane society. I help socialize cats and help with cat visiting for potential adopters. I really like it - I get to hold cats and get to send cats home with people. Since adopting Willow, I've gotten the urge for more cats out of my system and can concentrate on enabling others to adopt. Willow is doing very well in our household, by the way. She's been a good addition and she's wonderful with dogs, sometimes clueless, but mostly wonderful.
Ardella went to agility today. This was the fourth week and her best one, I think. Agility has been really good for both of us in terms of boosting confidence. I'm learning not to go coddle her when she falls off things and to encourage her to get back and not quit when she starts acting stressed. It's very rewarding to see her confidence build throughout the agility session. Lyn took a few pictures during class today. They're a little blurry, but we were in motion.
The first station was the chute, one of Ardella's favorites.
From the chute, she was supposed to go over a jump, but we didn't get a picture of any of the jumps today.
Next was the dog walk - something Ardella did surprisingly well (I really need to stop being so protective). This is where Ardella fell off, but we were told to keep walking her, then pet her, and then made her get right back on, which she did without hesitation. She just needs to slow down.
Next was the teeter-totter, which we call teeter, and Ardella was very stressed over this activity last week. Katy, the instructor, worked with us and she was a pro by the time we finished that station.
Then we did a patterned routine where Ardella jumped through a tire, then went to the A-Frame, down the A-Frame to a table, sat (although not shown sitting here), and then went through a tunnel.
I don't have a picture of Ardella walking through the weaving poles, but that is something she does very well. Today we were able to take away the guides and she had few problems weaving between the poles.
So, that's what we do in agility. We have 2 more classes and then I need to decide what we're going to do next. We're having fun in agility, but I'm eager to do more obedience.
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