Lauri B ❤ aka Sunshine! 💙🦋💙

Because intermediate is an onleash level for left about turns, finish rights, or anything that involves circling we have a neat maneuver that involves taking the leash in the mouth, carrying it around the wheelchair and passing it back to the human hand. There's no bonus points for that but it definitely makes it a flashier performance.

Part of having a Rottweiler stomach means there's something goes in that shouldn't be there it just comes out and we keep on going. We have Jaws tough enough to annihilate bones, and they're a great source of calcium but chunks that don't digest end up in the corner of the living room on the carpet 🧀

Kenji likes to poop just outside the back door. Then he gets excited and jumps in it when he wants back inside. I'm pretty sure the human doesn't appreciate that, but once the snow is gone and it's easy to get down the ramp into the yard then it won't take long for her to teach him where to go.

@StigsBrowne @Loyalshari The chaotic moosepuppy is a shared project between the 2 humans. Good thing too because he makes enough 💩 to share.

We made the porch into a training room. It's pretty small. 8 feet wide by about 10 feet long. Excellent for practicing tight maneuvers though. We're just getting in a bit of practice before tomorrow's trials. 🐾 I've almost got the human ready!

@drvijaya_kat I love watching a pup experience the world and their fascination, overcoming fears, and having moments where they figure out how to do things.

@drvijaya_kat Oh but stick chewing is a true joy to a Rottweiler. Pizza on the coffee table, laundry, Kleenex on the floor... all stuff easy to learn to leave, but the prized stick, not so much

I had to miss today's rally obedience trials because I munched on some dead yard foliage, made 🤮 all over at 3 a.m., and the human had to sit up and cuddle me. This caused the moosepuppy to have a case of Fomo and start singing because he wanted to have cuddle wrestles. Nobody slept until the sun came out. The human decided we needed to stay home today and get some rest. Seriously? Look at me!!! I would have been a rockstar in the ring today! Now I have to wait until tomorrow for the bowl of chicken I get for finishing a round! And my breakfast was late!!! The lesson here? Only do middle of the night hurling on weeknights.

@LunnTunes Oh she's fine. Leave a good show on the tv and she will happily watch and then snooze.

@toddie1951a No toys on this trip. But I had chopped chicken and kibble so he was pretty thrilled with that.

I'm not sure yet if he'll go down that career path. He'll learn basic tasks as any dog living with me eventually will, but Chesnyy has a long career ahead of her still. If he does end up doing some service work then when he's on duty in public he'll have a vest. At this age though, it's all about learning to be comfortable around all sorts of people.

Admin Post: Because today's plans changed, Kenji got a trip to a local pet store! This was his first time in a pet store and one of his first outings without Chesnyy. There was so much to sniff! Some things were really scary though, the automatic doors and a big, rattling cart carrying boxes were intimidating at first. When something new makes him uncomfortable we move a little distance away and give him the chance to watch. New people can be really exciting and he let out a bark so we worked on looking at people then checking in with me for a reward. He practiced waiting for permission before saying hi to anyone. It's really hard to sit still when your tail is happily wagging, but he did it. Some puppies drop to their side and lift a leg to show their belly as a sign of submission. Not Kenji. While he was getting pats from a staff member he sat down, lifted both his front paws up and dramatically flopped flat on his back and stretched his hind legs out as far as he could. That isn't submissive belly exposure. That's a 'get rubbing this tummy' message. The woman complied and he was very happy about it. We also practiced his basic skills: sit, down, front, nose push and paw touch as well as his heel position. A new environment isn't the place to ask for things he is still learning because we want him to be successful. The goal on an outing like this isn't perfect obedience, but rather to build confidence so we ask for behaviors he knows well so that he can earn rewards and praise. In his mind when he earns that reward, it's a win, and getting lots of wins in a busy, loud new place instills confidence in himself as well as building a positive association to the environment. Was his outing perfect? Yes, despite the fact he sometimes pulled because he wanted to go see something, he was slow to respond to cues, and forgot where he was supposed to be positioned. He is just a baby and there was a lot of stimuli in the store. The goal was positive interactions and lots of little wins and he totally achieved that. ❤️🐾❤️