Piper finished her final class of “Foundational Skills” last night at The Canine Coach. Sarah and I have been taking her to weekly classes for the past seven weeks. As always with dog training classes, it’s more about training us to be consistent with our commands, expectations, and rewards than it is about truly training Piper. The main job for us is to continue to practice with her at home in the coming months.
Still, there were some areas where Piper excelled. The “stay” command was one of those. Check out her self-control below as Sarah laid out treats in front of her.
Piper waits patiently after receiving the “stay” command while Sarah spells her name in delicious treats.
Griffin canoed in the boundary waters with Camp Widjiwagan from June 20 to July 1. He had a fantastic trip, but he had an accident in his final days. On June 29, he was leaping from rock to rock (as one does) in “Disappointment Lake,” about six miles from the Canadian border, when he landed on an unstable stone and pitched forward face-first into another one. Cracked two teeth and injured his wrist. At first it seemed like the wrist was merely sprained, but after a few days with little improvement, x-rays confirmed that he had a buckle fracture on the growth plate. At least he doesn’t need crutches for this one. (He broke his foot in April!) Cast should come off at the beginning of August.
With the much larger yard at our new house, the kids have been lobbying for a trampoline. At first, Sarah and I were completely opposed to the idea. Cost and safety were concerns, of course, but we also didn’t want a gigantic ugly thing dominating the yard. The kids, however, were persistent, going as far as creating a slide presentation about the many benefits of a trampoline.
As we scouted around the yard for a location, we realized that at the far end of the yard, there was an overgrown area that was actually reasonably flat if we mowed it down. In the summer it is completely out of sight from the house, shielded by trees and bushes. Our resistance crumbled. And now we have a trampoline in its own hidden glade.
Griffin enjoying the trampoline after returning from Camp Widjiwagan.
If you look carefully, you can see a slack line between the pines, left of center. The trampoline is just beyond that, but the yard drops down several terraces there, so it can’t be seen.
