A walk in the park

Fuzzy moon

Today started at 7am with the moon shining brightly. Or at least it was trying to shine brightly through the mist.

Misty morning

Within the space of around 30 minutes, we had dark misty pre-dawn with a smudged but bright moon, totally clear skies with a bright clear moon, dawn breaking with bright sunshine, and finally cloud covering and drizzle. And all the time, Ruby was playing in the back garden. By the time we went back inside, the view from the front window was quite impressive. The sun had come up and there was mist in the valley. A bank of fog was also moving slowly from right to left across the moor.

Today was the day we tried out the car crate for the first time. We wanted to make sure that Ruby's first journey in the crate was both short, and had a nice experience at the end of it. The first part of the plan unravelled slightly due to some roadworks. The journey took much longer than expected and Ruby yelped the whole way. 

However, once we got to Sarah's mum's and got Ruby out of the car, all the complaining was forgotten. We (that's me, Sarah, Rhianna and Anne) took Ruby into the park on a 'flexi' lead. She had a great time. I was really impressed that although she was distracted by all the different things going on, she didn't just run to the limit of the lead an try to pull. She ran ahead a little, then stopped and waited. She kept coming back to us and was forever checking to see that we were following her.

Ruby met a few dogs (and a few humans) on her walk. One dog gave her a fright as it was not on a lead, and although friendly, when it ran towards Ruby, she let out a squeal and retreated rather quickly.

All in all, Ruby had a great time and loved having a run around in the open. On the way home she barely let out a whimper in her crate. I think she has already got the idea that the crate leads to nice things.

Happy dreams

We got back home and she crashed out underneath the sofa. So much to take in for a puppy.

Other than the trip to the park, toilet training is having its ups and downs. It's amazing that however much you think you are keeping an eye on her, you can go to take her outside and notice a puddle on the conservatory floor. Goodness knows how she manages to keep doing it without us noticing. I must get some of that enzyme cleaner again. There must be traces of urine smell on the floor so she thinks that is where she should go. The last product didn't agree with Sarah who really didn't like the smell of it. I'll try another brand and see if it works (and smells) better.

Ruby with her  ball on
Saturday

Training is also having it's good and bad days. She can be quite stubborn, especially when she is excited. I'm looking forward to getting started with the obedience classes so I can get some expert advice. She sits and lies down pretty well on command but getting her to come to me and to stay is proving more of a challenge. But hey, she's only 13 weeks old so maybe my expectations are a bit high.