Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Training and distraction -- balls are a good thing

Paco's training is coming along. He knows sit, and is getting really terrific at heel as long as he's not distracted by another dog, or bicycle, or, you know, a leaf blowing along the street. He's even catching on to leave it, which at this point is mostly about leaving my shoes alone when I'm changing from house shoes to outdoor shoes. And while the puppy nipping hasn't been nipped in the bud quite yet (see what I did there), he is easy to distract. Six months ago, when we thought he was coming to foster with us, I bought a couple of toys for him. When he didn't join us, I thought of donating them to the Humane Society, but was too lazy to do it. For once, procrastination paid off. He loves this one ball to play a bouncy game of fetch. It's also a good tool for his nipping training as he's redirected to something it's okay to bite on. The picture is a bit blurry because, part tornado, but our little Paco is a terrific fetch artist.


The heat today has been so bad, that Paco should enjoy his bath this evening. His terrible dandruff and itchy skin are now 90% under control, but I want him to be as comfortable as possible. It will also serve to cool him down a bit, given our lack of air conditioning. Naturally I get as wet as he does, but that's a good thing today.


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