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.
When the cone doesn’t work, you bring out the old Spanx. I think they are serving a better purpose on the dog than they ever did on me. (She is doing fine, btw: she just got spayed on Tuesday and we’re trying to give her a good chance at healing quickly and well.)
Piper and I went on a lovely walk along the trails across the street from our house. Highlights included wildflowers and some wild turkeys.
In the following video clip, you can see two poults fly up into a tree just as we come around the bend. Then a third one struggles to get aloft and follows the first two.
Griffin and Sarah returned this evening from their separate adventures up north. Sarah was preparing for trail crews at three different forest service sites (as part of her job with Mobilize Green). Griffin was backpacking on Isle Royale where he had a ton of fun and apparently fed every bloodsucker on the island (by the look of his legs).
We’ll add more details in the coming days. I’m just glad we managed to locate pillows and sheets for everybody.
Today was mixed. I felt like I spent much of it looking for items that I couldn’t find (hidden in boxes I have yet to locate). Vegetable peelers, lotion, kitchen knives, sugar, etc. All minor things, but it is frustrating to reach for something simple and then realize that you have no idea where it is.
On the other hand, Maggie was a magnificent helper today. She tackled mowing the lawn, pumping up the pool, and using the central vacuum.
Grandma Pam spent the day with us in the new house today. She was a godsend, bringing us some delicious food, helping to unpack boxes in the kitchen, and spending hours rehabilitating our mangy couch.
Maggie is getting rather clever. Conversation this evening, starting with my question:
“Should we go exploring after dinner?” “No!” “We can walk down the sidewalk and see where it goes. There are some trails in the park up there.” “That sounds long.” “Not too long!” “What about ticks?” “The ticks won’t get us.” “Hmm. But don’t you think mama would want to be with us for our very first hike at the new house? I think we should wait until she gets back on Friday.”
Our first full day in the new house was focused on our movers. They unloaded our 13 crates of stuff and hauled away a moldy piano left by the previous owner. Our spacious, spartan new home has become a cardboard labyrinth. It’s a bit overwhelming.
In the midst of the moving chaos, I found many moments of joy today playing with Piper and the kids in the back yard.
As posted previously, we received the keys and moved into the new house this morning. In short order, Sarah headed up north for her new job. She’ll be back on Friday, returning with Griffin. Until then, Oliver, Maggie, Piper, and I will hold down the fort.
Despite the many tasks we needed to tackle today, we had a lot of fun in the new place. My favorite part was throwing the ball with Piper in the back yard. She loved that she could sprint!
Maggie and Oliver, I suspect, had their best time when our friends came over and they played some epic games of hide-and-seek.
We’re all a bit ragged, but thrilled to be in the new house. Now we begin the epic task of unpacking, and, more importantly, finding all the things we need in the interim.
Life was a whirlwind in April with spring break, the long-awaited start of in-person school for Griffin and Maggie, three birthdays (plus Piper’s), a cabin visit, and much that I’m forgetting. Lacking the time to write everything up in detail, here’s a selection of photos to remind us of these many events.