Buzz

We have been trying to get Echo to stop chasing insects and amphibians as they fly, crawl or hop by. During the weekend there were at least two toads that congregated outside our front door that Echo loved to chase. They didn't taste good, but it was all about the chase. He still looks for them.

Echo had an unfriendly encounter with a buzzing bee. After a loud yelp, he was barking at it, and couldn't get back inside the house quick enough. We incorrectly thought that he would learn a lesson. However, at training class he still tried to catch insects as they flew by.

There was a good showing of OccuPaws puppies at the training class: Lilly, Archie, Deegan, Moby, Oliver, Reggie, and Echo. Bella, an alum, even stopped by for a refresher. We concentrated on STAY and STAND. Echo did relatively well on the STAY since we have been working hard on that command. This was our first attempt at STAND - needs work. This was a good session to compare Echo's progress and identify areas of improvement.

Marlene also stressed the importance of our puppy's "in house" behavior. Echo needs to behave as well in the house as he does on outings. The highlight of the evening was either puppy play time (a dozen puppies and visitors frolicking around the yard) or the slide show of Moby's two week trip to Boston.