MAR'S DESK: AN INSIDE JOB!

marcoujor

Thank heavens for Weebly's auto-publish feature! 
 
A couple Wednesdays ago, my Unassembled Snowflakes post was written and ready to go...business as usual.
 
I sat down with my first cup of coffee that morning and my trusty tablet, ready to send out the e-mail I usually do, to let you all know about my latest, when Sir Andy Jordan whirled past me with an effusive "Good Morning, Ma!" bark.
 
So, as I was waiting for my new Laptop to arrive (oh, say a prayer, it has a virus, but I know it will be on the mend soon!), I made a hand-written list of all the items our boy decided we didn't need anymore.

It was quite staggering when I saw it, completed, in front of me:
 

•  Two  screen doors (like the one shown in the picture here)
  
•  Mommy's brand new slipper (just one)
  
• Dad's inhaler
  
• Too many toys and doggie beds to mention...!!
  
• Oh, and my tablet ... ☹

---

sCHOOLING

Andy Jordan

My husband, Geoff, and I had been discussing obedience training for Andy (and us), and we knew we couldn't put it off any longer.  We guessed our boy's age to be about 9-months and it's ideal to have training before your dog is a year old.
 
With Aunt Baby our goal was to socialize and to decrease her shyness.  As such, I took her to a class with about a dozen other dogs of all breeds and sizes.  She thrived and even went on to take agility training.
 
We selected a personal trainer from a local business called The Dog Talk.  I found Mike online and he called me back almost immediately.  I was impressed with his gentle, positive and educational tone on the phone.
 
The three of us had our first session on Sunday for one hour.  It felt like the fastest hour in the history of mankind.
 
Andy has a completely different personality than Aunt Baby. He really wants to please us.
 
During our first session, Andy learned to come to his Mommy and his Daddy and yes! We're all all excited about this! We view this as Andy's job, not commands.  He wants to do his jobs for us and he is a very smart little boy.
 
Andy also learned to sit and to wait, and honestly, he's better with Geoff than he is with me.  I think he sees me as a bit of a pushover but he's still better than he was. For me, that's a miracle in itself.  (For the record, Aunt Baby saw Geoff as the pushover.)
 
Also, Andy got to add leave it and settle to his learned accomplishments list. I was amazed at how quickly he picked everything up.
 
Now it's our job to be a united front and to reinforce what we have learned.  Mike is available for questions or concerns and we will see him in a couple weeks for a follow up class.

---

Before you go

Here are some recent publications in the Weeblyhood you won't want to miss ... 

• Lost ... Seasonal Affective Disorder via From Loss to Living
• Dr. Tarrin Lupo: Why tsū is Besting Facebook in Social-Marketing via the Pumpkin Run Pulse
  
• Natural Childbirth: Are You on the Fence? via Bravewarrior's Feathered Pen

Take good care and have a peaceful week,

mar