Dogs4All 2011

So! On Sunday Gummi and I went to the big dog show Dogs4All with my sister and Harald. They are planning to add a Bedlington terrier to their family, like we’ve mentioned before. This time we were going to watch the breeder, Gro, show a couple of her dogs (the daddy to be included) and just look around. I jumped at the opportunity to come along as I loved the idea of the socialization options for Gummi.

Harald and Astri, my sister, talking to Gro and one of the Bedlingtons. Big congrats to Gro who went home with BOB (Keira) and BOS (Mr. Finn – daddy to be) and they can now also be called Norwegian Winner 2011 as part of their names!

I have to admit I’m even getting used to their strange appearance – they really are quite cute.

Gummi getting some love from his Auntie.

Looking SOOO silly in his chair!

We also worked a little on the stay in your chair exercise we’ve been working on

So cute!

Now that’s one relaxed puppy!

Or maybe not.. he’s actually just offering “relaxed behaviors” like we’ve been training him to. Now that’s not as good as actually being relaxed, but it’s still a whole lot better than being stressed or jumping around. I love that he’s gotten used to the relaxation training to the point that they are a quite default behavior for him to offer. I keep reinforcing him and he’s showing a gradual increase in the length of time he’ll lie down and relax for. I’ve never tried such an active way of teaching relaxation, but I’m starting to believe it will work quite well. Oh – and when we were standing in line Gummi charmed the two girls ahead of us, and they both agreed he was a very relaxed staffie and not at all as hyper as the staffies THEY knew. Hah! And that from my little puppy.

Ane

PS: I have no less than 3 – THREE – exam essays to write in just over a week, so if I comment on your blogs or write too much here you really need to tell me off! 😉 I’ll be back to a more regular blogging schedule soon.