10 Month Day!

Wow! I cannot believe that my baby girl has grown up so fast!

At 10 months Carrie has pretty much learned all of the basics that she will need later for formal training.  From here on out we will be mostly doing touch-up on her commands and going on more difficult outings.

This month, for Carrie's 10 things I thought I would list things that she has learned and what she needs to improve on. It will probably be long (Hey, 10 things is a lot!) so feel free to skim ;)

1. Carrie has learned how to "sit", "down", and "stand" on command.  Now we have to work with her on doing them a little faster. She seems to think that as long as she does it, it's okay. She tends to do her commands in slow motion.

2. She has learned the appropriate way to greet new people. Of course, knowing what's right and doing it are different things! She will occasionally get a serious case of the wiggles- she doesn't do this with everyone and I still am not sure what triggers it. So in the next few months I will be working on getting her to greet everyone calmly.

3. Carrie has gotten over her fear of cars! Yay! When I first got Carrie she was SO affraid of cars. She wouldn't get into them or walk around them and when a loud one went by she would startle. From now on, I will just continue to work with her around them so that hopefully when I send her back, her car issues won't come up again.

4. She has learned to "Go to Bed". She will officially go to her bed when told and lay on it until you let her know it is okay to get off.

5. She has learned how to stay on a tie-down for long periods of time. This one has been extremely useful when I take her to school with me. It is something we stress from a young age with our puppies and I can happily say that she rocks at it :)

6. Carrie has learned how to dependably "Do Her Business" on command. We have, and will continue to, work with her on all surfaces.  I hope to eventually get her down to 2 bowel movements per day (she's at 3 now). It isn't all that important but it would be easier!

7. We have also been teaching Carrie to walk on all surfaces. For many dogs, different surfaces make them uncomfortable. Carrie is no different but the things that make her uncomfortable certainly are! While many dogs dislike walking over grates, Carrie has no problems with them. Her dislike is for pine needles. So we will be working on her with pine needles from now on.

8. Another important thing that these puppies have to learn is food refusal. Carrie has to be able to walk by tasty things on the ground and not pick them up. I think the best place to work on this stuff is the High School. There are a lot of messy kids at my school. We have come across just about everything from gummy bears to entire pizza slices. She does well but is still a bit distracted by it. I hope to eventually have her to the point of not even looking at it.

9. Carrie has learned that she shouldn't try to make friends with every other doggie she comes into contact with. I am actually rather impressed with her in that she isn't one to usually be dog distracted. I do want to get more work with this though just to make sure she is dependable.

10. Lastly, I have tried to maintain a positive training experience with Carrie. I try to keep everything as fun for her as possible unless she gets too excited. I have had loads of fun with her. She is a happy girl and she likes to work. She is good in public and has the drive needed for a working dog. The last 8 months have been so much fun and I am excited to see where we will be in a few more. No matter where she is or what she is doing I will always be so proud of her!