Day 1: Getting to Know You

Margaret and I arrived safely, and she has been having a great time settling in! She traveled well, just a couple of barks early on, a bathroom break in Philomath, and a water break in Alsea.

Sniffing in Philomath

Stopping for a drink and a leg stretch  

When we got to my place, Margaret hopped out of the car happily, and got  down to some serious playing in my fenced side yard.

 Play is a great way to get to know each other.

 Once I had played with her for a while, I introduced  her to  Debbie Golob (my training assistant, and the photographer for most of the photos in this blog) and to her dog The Moose.

Margaret  immediately liked the Moose and the feeling was apparently mutual.

After we had walked them around on leash and long line for a bit, they were ready for some play in another off leash fenced area.

 We made sure the dogs had breaks in between chase games so nothing got out of hand

 But it was pretty much love at first sight!

 I also introduced Margaret to the chickens - and she did great

 She was interested in them but able to respond to me when I called her name to her her attention back on me.

 Next Margaret had to try out the RTV

 And got a snuggle at the same time.

We also dropped by the barn to check that out. Margaret can be a little cautious with new experiences, and she wasn't too sure about crossing the threshold into the barn - but once she dared to go inside she was enthralled by all the interesting smells.

  Margaret was doing so well on her 30ft line, coming when I called her and sticking close to the Moose, so I let them play off leash in the big field for a little while.

As you can see, Margaret is feeling pretty happy about her new circumstances!

Although Margaret thought it was all fun and games, and probably didn't really notice, she was also working quite hard! We were  doing  quite a lot of training as we played: Name recognition/attention, Sit, Lay Down, Fetch, Drop it, Come, Wait, walking on a long line.

We also worked on impulse control as a matter of course -- waiting for permission to exit her crate, go through doorways or gates, or get out of the car; no forging or barging on stairs (waiting at each landing as we go down stairs), sit before playing catch a toy  or stick tossing; no counter surfing; quiet manners in the house (no barking at nothing!) and waiting quietly for very short amounts of time when confined (penned area in the living room, fenced side yard, crate in car.)  

Margaret is smart and loves to be active. She seems to grow in confidence when she is given tasks she can succeed at, and loves to be praised and rewarded for a job well done!  

Such a good girl!   

It is now evening, and Margaret has eaten her dinner, played with toys in the living room, and spent some time in a penned area in the living room while I ate dinner. She is now sleeping peacefully near me on the cool hardwood floor.

She is a real sweetheart, so sweet and smart and responsive -we are going to have a lot of fun training together, and I am sure she is going to learn a lot - she is one smart little cookie!

I hope you don't miss her too much. All things considered, although everything is new  and strange for her and she probably misses home, she is quite settled in already, and doing great!