Walking in the Rain

Walking in the rain may be, to most creatures nothing to write home about but for a French Bulldog, its a mutant power, and I have this super power. Witness, me this morning taking my usual full length walk in a light drizzle. For most frenchies, this would probably elicit a 'there's acid burning my flesh, take me back inside' mad scramble. Not me, in fact I can walk in a sudden downpour and even take care of business on a rainy day unlike the legions of frenchies that won't even step out the door in bad weather. And look- how loose is that leash, can it get any looser?

Bring It

And drop it. That's what we are working on in the video. I'm a bit of a resource guarder wait, who am I kidding- I'm a big time resource guarder. Even with low value things I'm less likely to give them up, but with this training, I'm finding a double reward- not just the treat for dropping but there's game thing that happens- called fetch that I'm also kind of digging. Sometimes it's not just treats- I run back and there's a brand new toy, fresh out of the toy drawer in fosterpop's hand that I am totally cool about dropping the old toy for.

Nobody's Perfect

So Humphries is going to be a 'Good Dog' at the training seminar that my trainer Jenny is presenting, about French Bulldog behavior. OK, I'll admit he's pretty easy to get along with but he's not without a couple of foibles. Like the heavy duty leash pulling caught on film above. Oh, and what's that stuck on your lip there buddy- a leaf? That's on the 'you can sniff but do not eat' list dude. Busted. Nobody's perfect.

Autumn in New York

It gets dark earlier, it's been getting cooler, there's been lots of rain. On our walks I have to hop over puddles and I sniff leaves on the pavement that are the color of my ears. It's Autumn in New York and I'm mellowing along with it. I get a good boy at the end of the video because I just slowed down at a crossing. I'm doing better with dogs on the street- I can look at them and move on if they are across the street - that's it, no closer. And I can do about 4 or 5, no more. I'm mellowing, but slowly.

Sitting, Patiently

Patience is also a form of action. ~ Auguste Rodin

I've been working on my sits. I don't just sit now, I have to sit, patiently. Here I am sitting, waiting while fosterpops does his thing prior to a morning walk. He has to go get my treats from the fridge, poop bags, his shoulder bag, put on his shoes, grab his keys. Sometimes he's in the kitchen forever because he's cutting up treats or he's looking for bags. Sometimes he walks back to the bedroom because he forgot to turn the air conditioning off. Sometimes he goes to his computer to check the weather. Sometimes he fusses about what he wants to wear. There's always something. Meanwhile I sit waiting. Patiently.