Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Yay!

It does not matter what Eli is doing, if I say his name he looks. He is making me so proud of him with the way he is demonstrating his willingness to learn and do. As far as the Name Game exercise for Puppy Kindergarten homework this week, we have practiced this task 50 times as of this writing.
He and I had a wonderful breakthrough today, too. It was the first time Eli went potty outside!! I was so excited, I think the neighborhood heard me say, "Yay!"
Eli and I took a pretty long walk on leash this morning. He did such a fantastic job! I had no choice, since my car had to be parked down the road in the field so the street sweeper could clean up around the neighborhood. I am struggling physically today, but I had to get to the car and took the opportunity to let Eli walk beside me on leash. Let me tell you how perfect Eli and I are for each other ~ his little legs go at the perfect pace for my gait. 8)
Eli seems to know that I am in pain today. He has been calmer than usual, not expecting me to play with him as much. He has been curling up in a little ball in my lap and resting with me often.
Oh! We had a great shower experience this morning, too! I had been bringing a couple of treats into the bathroom when I shower. Eli whimpers quite a bit when I am out of his sight behind the curtain. I was just giving him treats to keep him occupied, but the trainer mentioned handing out treats to her dog while she is in the shower so I thought I would try something different this morning. I took Eli's treat container and set it on the shelf next to the shower. When he was quiet, I said, "yay" and gave him a treat. It made my shower a bit longer than usual, which is not that good for me because of my heat intolerance, but I know there are sacrifices I need to make if our relationship is going to work. I started out by providing the marker and reward right away when he stopped whimpering. Then, I waited a couple of seconds. Eli ended up not really whimpering at all, but just making a little peep every now and again and when he was quiet for a few seconds, he got his marker and reward. It was wonderful! I hope this marks the beginning of more pleasant shower time for both of us. 8)

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