Puppy Class and Rainy Days

So Wednesday Olivia went to her first Puppy Class at my local Petsmart. She is such a smart cookie! Every time she heard the clicker she'd look around for her treat even when it wasn't me clicking. There are four other dogs in her class of varying shapes and sizes. A Yorkie mix (maybe part Schnauzer) named Kenny took a liking to Olivia right away, which was cute. He kept trying to come over and say hi!!!!!

Of course my little monster had to tell everyone who was boss and sat and barked at her classmates in a general way (she wasn't barking at anyone in particular). Her classmate's parents were amused by her very large attitude (which is one of the things I love about her, she's a little dog with a big dog's personality). She did her "watch me" "sit" and "release" commands like a little champ. My mom told me if this class goes well I should also take Olivia to the Intermediate and Advanced classes. I agree. A well-behaved obedient dog is also usually a safer dog for it. I'd also love to do agility with Olivia. She loves the crinkle tunnel I have for my cat ( she goes through it as well as jumps it) and she loves to jump over things and climb the barriers we set up for her. But in order to be good at agility she has to also be good at taking cues from yours truly.

Apparently next week she will learn to walk on a loose leash and sit politely for a greeting. The trainer also said that although it's not in Petsmart's curriculum until week four, she would teach us "come" because of how important a command that is. Why Petsmart doesn't realize this, I'm not quite sure, but "come" will be greatly appreciated here at my house especially because one of Olivia's favorite games to play is you can't catch me! Ha ha!

Yesterday my mom and I did something we should've on day one of bringing Olivia into the house, better late than never. We pulled up all the rugs and blocked the doorways from the kitchen to the rest of the house. This way Olivia has more freedom (spends less time leashed inside) and she's definitely happier for it.

Today it's monsooning and everything is flooded at our house. Olivia is not too keen on rain this heavy or our lawn when it becomes a lake. I have this really cute little rain coat for her that is red with white polka-dots (think Minnie Mouse). She's so adorable in it I can hardly stand it. Her butt sort of hangs out the back because it isn't quite long enough, but at least it keeps some of her dry! When she comes in I dry her off with our "froggy" towel. It's like one of those hooded toddler towels, it's a frog, but I bought it from an online dog boutique for our other dog, Fern. So now Fern and Olivia share it.

Hopefully the rain lets up sooner than later, although the weatherman predicts it for the next four days :/ Looks like I'll be creating new games for Olivia to help get rid of some of that energy...