Gimme and I had a very busy day. After church a bunch of friends came out and had a little petting fest with our girl. As always we had a good time and I'm blessed to have good dog friends that are willing to work with her every week.
From there we drove to Auburn and spent some time at an ASCA agility trial. The first time in the building she got to sit outside the elite ring watching the dogs and eating peanut butter. She did a nice job remaining calm the whole time. She'd watch the dogs and then when they were coming in our direction, she'd turn to me and say "mo peanut butter please".
The novice ring was running when we came in the second time, so we stayed away from the rings and spent a bunch of time getting petted and trained by my agility friends. The big moment was when a family of four came and their daughter asked to pet the Cutest Puppy on the Planet. So I hooked my thumb in her collar and we both petted her. Then her brother joined us in the petting, then dad and then mom. Gimme almost split a seam she was wiggling so much; she was wiggling so hard I worried she might wriggle right out of her skin. She's never experienced nine hands petting her at once and I think it gave her a whole new perspective on the possibilities of people. Of course, she's always loved people, but this took it up to a whole new level. We hung around for awhile and then she got another break in the car.
The third time in the building we couldn't get a good place to sit and watch the other elite class. The only spot available put us in a direct line with the start and first two jumps. So we moved further back from the rail and that put us on the other side of the aisle. Gimme could see what she needed without the potential of distracting dogs in the ring. We also had the experience of three dogs passing down the aisle and right in front of her. She handled it all very well.
From there I went to my parents' house where we were having a family get together because my Aunt Anita was visiting from Missouri. Before heading home, Gimme got out to sniff, snoop and seriously cramp my nephew's style. Every time he'd move to find a secluded spot for some "quality time" with his girlfriend, in no time Gimme was there. Who knew she could do such a great job as the fun police, though I'm sure she thinks of herself more as the activities director type. The girlfriend isn't a dog lover, so I think he should dump her anyway.
On the way home we stopped at Home Depot and Gimme got even more petting and some training from the dog savvy employees. One woman she saw for the first time two weeks ago, who had insisted she sit for treats, was there - Gimme saw her and trotted over and sat right in front of her. She also got petted from other customers. She's back to not jumping up on people… and instead looks around going, "hey, mo hands, mo puppy petters please". It seems she thinks the function of people in her universe has been altered for the better.
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Read some back posts and have the impression Gimme kicks up a fuss in the car on the way to her favorite places. My Dalboy used to yowl and howl all the way to the dog park, twice a day. He was beside himself if he spotted a dog/cat/squirrel/skateboarder through the window. After putting up with that nonsense far too long, I started bringing a spray bottle full of water along in the car. As soon as Dalboy went into nut case mode, I sprayed him. Works like a charm. I usually see the other dog/cat, etc. first when we're driving, and now all I have to do is wave the bottle in the direction of the back seat. Silence or,at most, an indignant grumble ensues. Wish I'd thought of this long ago.
Actually, that was one of the earlier solutions I tried. Its worked with every other dog I've had that did the same thing. It had no effect whatsoever on Gimme, which surprised me since the Empress of the Cosmos hates getting wet. It does work when she gets going in the house, but not in the car.
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