Days Seventeen and Eighteen

We started off to work and worked on ways to fix the streetcrossings that had been so louzy the last time we did it. Then we let Quito run free, and o wonder, she *can* bark! She barks much lower than Hapoo; compared to her, Quito has a monster bark, like I suspected from her growls. We played in the little parking lot at work and then walked back straight to the physiotherapist's, where quito lay quietly while I was receiving my treatment. Only when the table was raised, she got up and looked at it curiously. The therapist is a nice calm lady, who herself owns a Hovawart, which makes things much easier, of course. Quito followed her in and out of the cabin like a champ, I was really proud.

Then we went to the IKEA store so Quito had seen it, and of course, we went major shopping. Because hands were needed to carry things, Quito had to leash guide me through the store, following the coach. She did even that in a calm manner, as if she hadn't done anything else in her life. We then stopped at the pet store, where I bought a car harness, a dog bed and a longer leash to be able to controll her at work while she is lying down comfortably. We also found a scales and guessed Quito's weight before putting her on the thing. I said she weight more than 30 kilos, I decided on 32, because when lifting her up I had realized that she was heavier than Hapoo, who had a standard of some 28 kilos. The coach insisted she was no heavier than 26. We were both amazed when the scale's display showed exactly 32 kilos.

At home my new furniture was set up, and then I fed Quito her fish meal, which was returned a little later. She lso had her hickups again, though not as much as the night before, I am surely going to ask the coach about it, as it starts to worry me.

　

Day Eighteen:

The food worries are gone, thankfully, so much for now. Besides that, we had another rough day. quito was testing her limits in a more than obvious way. I did put in an obedience session of two sits and ups at one point where she just was not going to even walk, and that surely helped set things straight between the two of us. There is one traffic light, at which we constantly meet dogs, so she is extremely distracted. However, that light is crucial, so we'll have to work on showing it a lot. But as we know, ignoring dogs is the hardest exercise, at least for Quito. But then again as we were passing the grocery store on the way to the therapist's, she passed another dog very nicely after a gentle verbal reminder.

After a break at the bakery we went to the train station. As we had just missed the train to mom's vilage, we took the chance to practise train entrances again, and this time it really worked much better. As we were enjoying the weather on the platform, waiting four our train to arrive, my friend Theresa, who had been the first one to greet Hapoo, came and said hello. She was not growled at by Quito at all, but received with interest and curiosity. Quito found the second train entrance, and visibly enjoyed the walk towards mom's home. We let her play on the field route, and on the way back we met my niece, who played "catch me" with Quito.

At mom's we first enjoyed the sun out on the balcony, and then a really delicious cake, which my sister had made, and we talked a lot, of course. Then we had to run to the train station in order not to miss the train (that would have meant waiting for an hour).

When we arrived at home, Quito immediately went to sleep. I had decided to feed her kibble, for she chews that a little more and eats it more slowly. This time it stayed inside the stomach, and I heard no more hickups or anything like that. Tomorrow will be the last day of official training, and I know, the real continuous work is just beginning.