Lacey is doing a board-and-train visit with us for the weekend. Matt, Tanya, and young Jake are moving into a new home. The chaos of that, plus the added stress of trying to help Jake try and cope with and process everything (if you recall, Jake is autistic), is too much for Lacey to cope with. So, she’s spending the weekend with us so that she can relax, have some fun, and work her butt off practicing her lessons.
Lacey was very excited to see Glimmer and Violet. Glimmer and Violet, however, were not thrilled. They both are still adjusting to being able to move around the house freely and without worry. Lacey loves the two of them, but she gave them so much excitement when she saw them at the door that neither one of them would have anything to do with her. Glimmer and Violet tried to show Lacey how to greet them politely, but Lacey was so excited that she completely missed the cues. The result was that both Violet and Glimmer moved away from and ignored her until she calmed down.
Due to some unwanted behaviors she’s been consistently practicing at home, I kenneled her for the night. She had no trouble going to bed, and she slept peacefully all night. She started working early this morning, beginning with learning how to come out of the kennel calmly and wait in a sit position for her collar to be put on. She needed to potty something fierce, but she did a good job with the exercise itself.
6:15am – Breakfast was an interesting adventure for her. Her normal routine is to potty and then go and eat. But in my house, we work for our food. So, when I asked Lacey to go into a sit-stay position and wait for permission to eat, she vocalized a little to express her confusion. She figured it out fairly quickly, though, and she ate all of her breakfast calmly and quietly.
7:20am – Lacey is relaxing in the big dog bed right now. Glimmer, Violet, and my husband are sleeping. In a few minutes, I’ll be getting dressed and getting Lacey out for a training walk while the temperature is still cool enough to allow for it. I’ll be using my hands-free belt and leash, as Lacey responds very well to that tool. She needs some work on her heel and auto-sit, and the hands-free lead not only assists with teaching the correct heel position, but it also helps Lacey drain out excess mental energy much quicker, because she has to figure out how to keep the lead loose while maintaining the correct position.
Updates with photos and (if I can get them) videos will be posted later. In the meantime, have a great day, everyone, and remember to stay calm and lead on.