What a Change!

Kali has really turned a corner in the last few weeks. She's now curious and outgoing with new people. She still gets cautious at sudden movements, but quickly recovers and increasingly her reaction to being scared is shaking, not trying to flee in a panic. She's such a resilient pup!

Kali's Adventures: day 2

I'm trying to get Kali out and about in public each day this month (well, starting yesterday) - she's doing great at home and I think she's ready for new experiences.

Yesterday she spent some time in the lobby of Firehall 4 Vet and was very sweet to all the people and pups who came through.

Today, she went to Pawtropolis for her bordetella booster (I can't believe she's been here 6 months already!), then to Pet Supplies Plus where she was GREAT despite the confusion of an adoption event in progress, then on to my office to spend some time working. (She wasn't so impressed with the office time, and even less impressed with the Perrier I shared with her.)

Now she's home again, celebrating her successes with the antler she picked out for herself.

Kali's Favorite Odd Place

Kali has a few places she really likes - her crate being at the top of the list. The oddest place she really likes, though, is the staircase. It doesn't lead anywhere (the attic isn't finished so I keep the door closed) but it's where she goes when she wants a place of safety (she seems to know to head for high ground regardless the threat - vacuuming, a strange package, one of my dogs getting too excited) and, sometimes, when she just wants to relax.

More Breed Guessing

Apparently mixing Staffordshire bull terriers and whippets is a thing in some circles (called "staffywhippets"), particularly in the UK. While most of these photos are of rescue dogs, and thus their breed is just a guess, some of these look like they could be littermates of Kali.

Quizzical Kali

The Competitors

for the 35-pound "Terrier Title":

Confidence Builders

When Kali isn't sure what's going on or what's expected of her, she gets very nervous. Two things that seem to take the anxiety away: telling her to sit and putting a leash on her. She associates both with good things at this point, and seems to relax since both tell her what she should be doing.

Three Terrier Girls at "Work"

 

The video quality is not great, but this is Kali chasing a ball, then being chased by Willow and Molly.

Pretty day at the dog park.

3 Little TerrierX Girls...

...make a lot of noise when at play. Kali is pretty quiet, but Willow (8-10 y.o.) and Molly (12-14 y.o.) both use their voices to make up for their lack of endurance. I'll post a video of them playing in a bit...Kali is great with them, happy to lure them into chasing for at least a bit.

Running Away to the Circus?

Kali is a bit of a circus dog - she can stand upright on her hind legs, balancing gently. While she mostly does it if she's curious about something, she's starting to learn it in response to the command "circus".

Pleasantly Tired Pups

Willow and Kali have worn themselves out playing.

Kali In Class

Kali is an eager student - she really enjoys working and learning new tasks. She's graduated from the basic obedience class at this point and moved on to the advanced class. This week's focus: "stay", "come" and polite leash walking.

At class on Monday we ran through the first 5 tasks for the Canine Good Citizen certificate. Each week, we'll practice what she's already learned and add some additional tasks.

While I started taking her to classes to help her comfort level in new environments, it turns out she loves learning new things!

Cherry (Tomato) Picking

Kali is great about helping pick the tomatoes, and doesn't even complain if the one she gets as  a reward has a blemish in the skin.

First Place!

Kali won a contest in her training class tonight. The challenge was to see how many times your dog would sit on command in 1 minute, and Kali sat 16 times!!

In addition, she started to learn "mine" - in the sense that "this food is mine and you shouldn't even think about looking at it, much less eating it". She was a rockstar, only stealing one of the treats that was "mine" in about 20 minutes of work. I like training dogs for this because I don't want a dog that helps herself to my food, even if I leave it on a low table when I'm out of the room. I don't think she's quite there yet, but for a first try, she did great!

Kali's Training Successes

1. solid "sit" on command
2. lure to a "down"
3. "load up" for getting in her crate
4. "wait", although not quite solid
5. made 3 new human friends in the last week (and one new dog friend)
6. can differentiate "ok" from other words

current focus:
- "come"
- improving "wait", "down" and leash walking
- continued desensitization to new people and people pulling her by the collar

Tonight she starts the "advanced" class with Tina at Sit Happens. (The basic class continues for a few more weeks so she'll continue with that as well.)

Where's Kali?

Today's training outing was an early lunch at Barberitos (downtown). Kali wore her new headcollar - while she's not yet a fan of it, she's very tolerant, just rubbing her face with her front paws occasionally.

BBQ

Yesterday Kali and I did a training session at White Tiger. She did great! She was curious about the many people present but not intrusive and, while I think she would have preferred BBQ as reward for her sits and downs, she was polite and didn't help herself to any from the nearby tables.