Day 9 - Jump for Joy

Sia met a new friend today. His name is Brutus and he's in training to be a service dog.

Sia enjoys having someone new to play with and I like having a new dog to test and see how we're doing on her training and it's good for her socialization. I was very pleased to see that she did quite well with her recalls and paying attention when Brutus was around. She is turning on a dime on her recalls, even when in the middle of a game of tug with another dog. I'm very pleased with her progress.

So it appears as though she is generalizing her recall pretty well. But I did learn one thing she's still needing to generalize a bit more. She is no longer jumping on me and, when we met new people in a different location, she did well and rarely tried to jump. When Caroline from City Dog Country Dog came over tonight we found that she was quite willing to jump and be mouthy with her. So someone new coming into a familiar environment was exciting enough that she had a harder time controlling those impulses. We worked through it and practiced a lot throughout the evening and she was much improved. Knowing that someone new coming over is extra exciting for her allows me to prepare the next time. I can keep her on a leash until she's ready and I can be ready with some high value treats to keep her attention on me. Or, if I don't have time for that, I know that I need to put her in a crate while the visitor is present.

One thing is for certain, everyone who meets her just loves her.

And even with a new, fun dog in the house, she curls up with her first crush at my house, Sinbad.