Tovah, my youngest, has been going to work with me most days. She enjoys daycare, and we also use her for evaluating dogs as well. Though I've been lacking on her scent training, I'm hoping to be able to do this with her, as well as some possible therapy work. Unfortunately, I won't be able to use Delta Society, a premier organization for service and therapy dogs since their recent ban on raw food fed dogs which has caused quite an upheaval in the dog training world.
Tovah also had success this weekend as she took a road trip, her longest ever! She was a champ and handled the car ride amazingly well.
Hank, my oldest, has several hot spots. I'm not sure why he decided to chew himself. The last two instances seemed to be correlated to when I was traveling. He'd be fine the time I was gone, then the very day I was coming back, he would chew a hot spot. This time, I noticed it last Thursday/Friday which was a few days before my trip to hand off G. to Cammy. Other than that, he is doing well for his 9 1/2 or so year old self.
Daphne, my Boxer, is also doing well, though she has had a few recent instances of pleasuring herself to my turntable where I keep non-perishable items. The last, a few weeks ago, was a canister of hot cocoa mix! Luckily, she only had some diarrhea, but it could have been worse. I'm not exactly sure why she has decided to do this, but it just goes to show you that even dog trainer's dogs are far from perfect. Actually, we jokingly remark that it is just like the saying " the shoemaker's children have no shoes."
Lastly, little bunny Clover just turned 5 months a few days ago! I truly keep forgetting she is so young, but she is doing well overall. Every month, I try to take her on an "outing." Last week's outing was a visit to the vet for a meet and greet. I had only expected to be there for 30 or so minutes, but I was there for 1 1/2 hours. Since there were no other animals in the lobby at the time, we let her run around the lobby and down the hallway which she found loads of fun. My vet also realized that they needed to be more "bunny" friendly since Clover helped herself to an ivy plant. She was quite proud of herself for finding this.
About midway through our visit, I noticed someone was coming in with a puppy. Eeeek! Luckily, this puppy was only about 3 months old and apparently fearful of everything. Clover did try to do a door dash which about made my heart skip, but I got her redirected. She met the puppy and vice versa. Both didn't know what to do, but it was certainly not what I'd call a traumatic experience. The hardest part was getting her back in the carrier which she truly loves. (she jumps in there multiple times a day and "nests") After about 15 minutes, I finally got her back in, and then headed back home. Overall, it was a successful visit.
Her other test was this past weekend when I had my boss, A., come over to let the animals out, including Clover. Last time, she would not come out for anyone, but this time, she came out, took treats, etc. Little by little she is getting used to new people and different environments. Bunnies, like cats, by nature do not like much change. Certainly, you can't expose them as frequently to different situations like dogs, but you can teach them incrementally to feel okay in certain situations. Clover will also be tested at the end of this week when my mother and her husband come to visit.
Lastly, like I mentioned above, I reunited Cammy and G. over the weekend. He was very happy to see her no doubt, but I think he'll miss seeing some of new found friends here too. He and Tovah became good playmates, and poor G. tried hard to get Daphne to play, but she didn't budge too much. We'll miss G. here, but I know he is glad to be home and with his person.
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| From L to R: Daphne, Hank, & Tovah in front of Baxter's Tree |
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| Clover has apparently found the motherload! |
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| This has become a favorite spot, obviously! |
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