Remember when I said that having a random work schedule made it difficult to figure out what day it was?  That the weekends had no meaning and I was always checking the calendar to figure out where I was supposed to be and when?  Well, let me tell you,  being unemployed is even more confusing.  With nothing at all scheduled I have no place to mark time.  So I’m just going to have to fill up the space, organize some organization into my days, get myself going.  Or not.  It’s taken a couple of weeks, but I’m beginning to like this feeling of not knowing what day it is – and not caring anyway!

Katie and I do have the Monday drop in competition obedience class…but I don’t have to go every week.  And last week I did start her in a Rally class on  Thursday mornings.  So I guess there is some semblance of organization and purpose in my life.  Or in hers anyway.  We went to Obedience last night.  Twenty-four dogs (at least) there.  Way too big, we had to do things in groups and wait while other groups were working.

Katie and got there an hour early so that she could acclimate to the building.  We sniffed all around the edges of all three rings.  Looked at the agility equipment piled in the corner of the building, caught our reflections in the mirrored wall…sniffed all the dog crates.  And suddenly as I was wandering with her I realized she was heeling and looking at me expectantly!  All by herself!  And we were only 10 minutes into our hour!  What a girl!  So we did some practicing of our own in the empty rings.  Heeling, staying, coming, more heeling.  She was spot-on.  Of course after all that I still had 30 more minutes to fill before class began.

We met three other shelties, and I got to have a long talk with the owner of one of them, a small breeder, about sheltie attitude and shyness and what they (the breeders) were doing about trying to be careful not to breed shyness into the dogs.  Mostly though I waited my turn to get a little ring time.  Katie is not a patient dog, and was barking when she had to hang around too long.  Another sign she was acclimated and feeling her oats, the fact she’d bark at instructors and other dogs.

This week she waited when she was supposed to and didn’t follow me out as we were doing recalls.  And she was perfect on her long sit.  We were doing long sits and downs near the end of the class and a large group of people were gathering (maybe for another class) in the waiting area.  They got louder and louder until it was difficult to hear our instructor.  There were lots of dogs waiting as well, and Katie, sitting near the edge of the ring had her back to all this activity.  She was doing a pretty good job of ignoring it all when suddenly two big dogs, waiting with their owners right in back of her, got into it.  They growled and barked at each other in anger, and Katie went straight up into the air then began running toward me on the other side of the ring.  I was already moving fast toward her and we met in the middle.  I led her back to her spot, put her back into a down while the dogs on either side of Katie were struggling with their owners, refusing to go back down.  Katie just sat and watched each of them, her ears flat.  One of the instructors came up behind me and said “Good recovery.  It’s OK to go back to her tell her she’s a good girl and come back out.  They all need a little reassurance sometimes.”  So I did.

That was the end of our class and Katie was glad to leave.  I think she won’t need as long to get into the training mode now, and we won’t have to be there so early.  She really was ready to go home about the time the class began!  And it’s just way too big.  So when our 8 visits are over we probably won’t go back.  The Rally class is much smaller, the building is more quiet, and she gets 30 minutes of obedience which is just about right for her.  So we’ll enjoy that more I think.

On the other hand, when we got home she still wanted to play and brought out some of her favorite toys to entice me.  Silly dog, she should have been worn out.  I know I was!  But she’s still ready to go Go GO!

I took Katie to one of the pet stores to see if I could get her to concentrate on me instead of everything else that is so distracting.  We spent quite a lot of time walking around the back of the store, back and forth, up and down the isles.  She got better as we went, I was pretty pleased with her behavior.  I had her stop and wait at one point, not noticing where we were.

She said “MOM!  It’s boring here in the kitty litter isle!”

She was much more content near the dog food.

After we had practiced quite a bit I told her “OK! You can go for a walk now!”  And off she went on ahead of me, free to explore.  Of course we ended up near the toys.  She doesn’t need another toy, but she likes to look anyway.

“Can I have THIS one Mom?”

The good part about not being employed is that I get to take the Katie dog to school on Monday nights.  We missed last week because I had to work, and I was scheduled to work tonight and next Monday night too.  Good thing I got layed off!  Because missing even one week has turned Katie into a squirrel.  Really.

She was extremely excited to be going to school, running out to the car and standing on her hind legs to get lifted into the back.  She pulled as usual, eager to get into the building once we arrived.  But inside she shut down almost immediately.  I cooked fresh chicken that morning, and had little chunks of it in her treat bag on my hip.  I gave her a taste before class started, so she’d know what she was working for and she spit it out.  Great.  That’s the first sign she’s not going to pay much attention to me.

There were 12 dogs this week.  Three Shelties, a few German Shepards, a totally deaf dog that sort of looked like the dog for Target, some Goldens, a Border Collie and I can’t remember the rest.  Katie got totally freaked out doing healing around the ring, running to keep up with the dogs in front of us, and never ever looking at me, so she was always surprised when we turned and went the other way, or slowed down, or sped up.  And certainly had no clue when we were going to stop.  Sit when we stopped?  Oh no, not going to happen.  Chicken?  Who likes chicken?  Not Katie for sure; makes her feel sort of ill.  Apparently.

We did long recalls.  Both times she sat while I walked away but ran to me immediately after I turned around, long before the instructor told me to call my dog.  And both times she ran right past me, did a victory lap around me and than wandered.  She never does this!  I’m going to have to tell them I need to go back to her rather than call her for the next couple of weeks.  And probably not go so far away from her either, until she gets used to the building and the class and feels better about being away from me.  After the second long recall she asked to be picked up she was so scared.  I didn’t….pick her up that is.

She was weird for 45 to 50 minutes of the class, spooked and distracted.  It wasn’t till we were doing returns, pretty much on our own and I moved away from the others that she settled down.  “Front did you say Mom?”  OHHHH FRONT!  Well OK!.  HEY!!! You have CHICKEN?!!  Why didn’t you SAY SO!.  Watch me sit and look expectantly at you!  Watch me strut my stuff and look at you adoringly!”   And then we did stand for exam, which she rarely ever does correctly.  And she stood right there when I asked, waited her turn and let the instructor come up and PET HER WITHOUT MOVING! And then the instructor and I stood there and talked and Katie still didn’t move!  Way to go Katie!  You redeemed yourself!

So.  Tomorrow we go back to the park.  But maybe we have to go somewhere else, somewhere she’s less comfortable, to practice tomorrow.  Wednesday is a fun match, where we can go and pretend we’re at an obedience trial.  It’s in the same scary building.  I guess I’ll see how she is tomorrow.  Or..today, since it’s almost morning here.  She’s having no trouble sleeping.  Me?  I’m still kind of weirded out myself about not having a job.  Guess we’ll both have to learn to adjust!

No, not me…Katie and I went to doggie school tonight.  In the past 8 days we’ve been in obedience classes three times.  You’d think she’d be back in the swing of it.  But no such luck.  Tonight’s class had 20 dogs, 4 other Shelties, 4 Shepards, an Irish Setter, a Whippet, a Roti and several others that I lost track of.   Katie was excited to go to school, pulling on the leash as we approached the building; but once inside she was overwhelmed by all the activity.  Her focus was nonexistent, and she wasn’t tempted by treats again this week.  And the one thing that I can always count on, perfect recalls, fast and straight with an immediate sit..well…she ran right past me tonight!  She’s never done that before!  She was, however, simply wonderful on her long sits and downs.  Probably because she was afraid to move!  I wish I had a picture of her sitting there next to a Mastiff, a Roti and a Shephard!  She’s so tiny!

Now that we’re back home she’s fallen asleep.  Upside down of course, against the back of the sofa.  I tried to get a picture, but of course that made her wake up.

And now she’s a CRANKY sheltie…so I have to go!

We’ll be practicing in the driveway this week, especially on our heeling and our figure 8’s.  Maybe I can get her confidence higher.  And mine too.