Thursday was a busy day for us.
With the help of our vet at Family Pet Care, we found a trainer for Addie and her first lesson was yesterday at 6 p.m.
If you are a follower of our blog, you are probably wondering why we have moved to a personal trainer for our dog. Addie has been in some form of training class the majority of her young life. From puppy class to beginner obedience then to an additional beginner obedience at a difference training center. All focused on using the pinch collar yet the second that pinch collar comes she immediately stops listening to us. So we called in the big guns. No more pinch collar. Mr. Marcum's approach is much different than any other trainer that I have experienced before. He looks at the dogs behavior instead of dishing out the choking. We could not be happier with our first lesson. If you like to read, he recommends A Dog's Mind by Bruce Fogle. He stated that even though it is an older book, he has not found a better book than this about understanding your dogs behavior. I have ordered it. A book that I am already reading recommended by the trainer at Family Pet Care is The Other End of the Leash. This is a really good book and I would recommend giving it a look.
Then it was off to puppy class with Hailey. This is a time for Hailey to socialize with pups and humans. We were a little late due to Addie's class. When we had arrived poor little Selby had been rough handled by one of the Golden Retriever puppies. So much so that the second that Sandi would place Selby on the floor the Golden would attack all of the 2 little pounds of her. So much so that the trainer had to break up the fight leaving poor Selby screaming for her little life!
Round One
We arrived in time for the training portion of the class. Hailey indicated that she needed to go outside so off we went. She did her business and we trotted back into class. I picked her up at one point and then... sniff, sniff, sniff... thought to myself what is that smell? I looked down and there was poop all over my arm!
What I didn't notice was that someone how Hailey managed to poop on herself a little bit. Then when I picked her up I got it all over me! I immediately went to the sink to wash up as best I could. If we were at home this task would have been much easier.
The smell still lingering with us... this was going to be a looong class!
Being the stinky state that Hailey was in, no pictures were taken during this class.
Round Two
As soon as we arrived home, all of my clothes went in the washer, Hailey got a bath, and I got a shower. It was great to finally have the stinky stench off of me! I grabbed a drink and a snack and laid down on the love seat pictured below. As you can see Lucie loves this little couch. The second that I laid down I noticed something wet all over the couch. Being a little gun shy at this point I jumped up and looked at the couch. Lucie had thrown up all over the couch, had re-eaten what she had thrown up but couldn't quite get it all from the cracks of the couch. GROSS!!
Instantly disgusted, I freaked out just a little knowing what I had on me then was off to get the cleaning products needed for this mess. Given the size of Lucie, when she throws up it's like a small child throwing up. I didn't realize she could fit so much food in her stomach! Once I had the mess cleaned up I headed to take another shower.
Round Three
On my way to the shower I notice a smell. An all too familiar smell that I found on a Hailey at puppy class tonight. Yes, you guessed it. She pooped in the hall leading to our upstairs shower.
For me this was one of those zen moments where I was not sure what I was going to do.
- Run screaming from the house never to return
- Spontaneously combust from the overload of this evenings events
I grudgingly excepted my fate and got back to cleaning.
Lessons learned from this evening: Never pick up or sit on anything without reviewing that item and verifying that it is clean!
