Well, we had such a busy week full of wonderful visits from friends and their dogs.  Starting first with Ani the Australian Shepherd pup, then my friend Susan brought her three dogs; Sophie, Brixon and Penny on Friday. Saturday Kaylene came with Stella's sister ZuZu and her mom Hilly.  Everyone got along great! Susan's dogs are older and Stella didn't have much luck getting them to play. Sophie is actually Stella's great-great Aunt.  It was so fun to see another pup from Stella's litter.  It was interesting to see how different they are. ZuZu is much smaller than Stella with shorter legs and a more stout body. Her temperament is very fiesty as well. It's hard to say if my work with Stella using  Amichien Bonding contributes to her calm, relaxed personality but there is a big difference in her reaction to noises compared to ZuZu.  ZuZu's hackles would go up and there was lots of barking. I have yet to see Stella with her hackles up.  The three of them had a great time chewing on sticks, playing tug of war with toys and chasing each other around the back yard.

On Sunday Stella had her first visit to the big wide world outside of our home and yard. I took her up to Susan's house.  They live in the woods on many acres and the five dogs spent time exploring fields and rock piles as well as eating a fair amount of deer and elk droppings. I think Stella might even prefer it to the cat poo.  It is always a concern whether or not a dog will stay close to you off leash and Stella was very happy to stay with the pack, especially following Sophie and Penny around.  I guess those girls like to stick together!  She would get a certain distance away and then her little head would pop up and you could tell she was checking out where I was.  If I was too far away she would come running pell mell in my direction.  That is a good thing and shows she knows that being with the Alpha of her pack is critical for her survival and well being.

I am trying to use less and less food reward with Stella during leash training sessions.  We are venturing out into the front yard more and even into the alley and through our back gate into the back yard.  It takes great patience on my part to not react negatively when she stops healing and takes off to check out a smell or a noise.  I freeze, call her back to me, say heel and continue on.  If she just can't focus her attention back to me I end the session.  I have to continually remind myself that she isn't trying to test my patience or be deliberately disobedient.  She is still very young and her attention span is short. She reacts instinctively to sights and smells.  The important thing is that she continue to associate our walks with positive rewards of praise when she gets it right, which is often.  I know I have said this before but my dogs have taught me to have patience, which is a good thing in this world!