Wildflower Fun

Kadi (Mariposa) has met her goal of 100 new people since arriving at her new home — wow! Great Job Team Kadi. That is a fantastic and impressive accomplishment.

Lucy Clover King had an adventure yesterday…

And she was not the only one to have a river experience — Pozy Clarkia also visited a river.

This is a three-second-sequence of Pozy at the Bitterroot River.

Investigating…

And then — with no cue — she makes the decision to check in with me.

For that she got a small treat because that is my goal — a dog who is engaged. I do not ask for it — I simply pay attention to her all the time we are together and reinforce those bids for connection.

Today is a big day — Pozy starts her tracking training! My puppies all start with tracking as their first “formal” event — it is easy, natural, and they love it. Photos and etc. tomorrow.

Have a wonderful Saturday — and maybe jump in a river?

Pozy Clarkia at Ten Weeks

On top of having Puppy Brain, which means I cannot seem to even finish a thought because a certain someone needs something, I am back to an awareness of what it means to live with Pandemic Brain. It is like a double-dose of saturation and so keeping balls in the air is difficult — heck, even finding the balls is a feat!

Having just one puppy means I am able to focus all my best intentions on just her. I want to do more — and better — with every puppy, and I embrace and enjoy that challenge.

Pozy Clarkia is all the dogs I have loved rolled into one. She is related to every one of them. I see all of them in her. She is like a small and fluffy echo, reminding me that although distant, those I love are not really gone.

And at the same time, she is herself.

She is actually rather magical.

She gets along well with everyone and everything — this is Pozy and Sparkle.

My primary goal in training right now is to build and support engagement. I do this by creating opportunity for Pozy to offer connection — and then I reinforce it. Constantly.

I do not ask for attention because I want the behavior to be her idea — that will make the behavior stronger. Instead, I walk and reinforce as she follows. I stop and I reinforce when she looks at me.

It works so well that I have to be careful not to trip over her.

I have been working on the Kaibab website, including creating a page for Pozy Clarkia; you can check it out HERE. Let me know what you think of it.

Please have a wonderful and safe Friday.

Quick Sunday Note

For a Sunday, it has been a busy day.

Alison J. and I recorded the first Puppy U class for Team Wildflower this morning via Zoom — thank you so much to Alison for her willingness to help with this endeavor. I will have the video edited and uploaded this afternoon; we will also have a private Facebook group to support this remote learning opportunity.

After that Pozy and I headed off to visit Jay, Suzanne’s husband, as he generously offered bounty from his incredible garden.

We are healthier already from all the greens — thank you, Jay! And Pozy got to add a new person AND a new place to her Notebook of Novel Experiences — and she had a short (crated) car ride as well.

Suzanne is off on an adventure but Pozy reports that Suzanne’s flowers are just fine under Jay’s care…

And then another Zoom session while Pozy napped from her busy morning — this is Pozy and Harper B for Best Great-Auntie Ever.

I hope you are having a terrific and amazing Sunday!