It’s a big day for me! Today we are getting a visit from an experienced dog handler. She came highly recommended from a friend. Our phone conversation last week revealed right away that she would be a good fit for us. Her positive approach to communicating with dogs came through the phone clearly. I look forward to having her over in person for our first meeting. I will try not to bombard her with too many of the questions circling through my tired brain.

Is their playing too rough? The rolling around all over each other with mouthes open?
Is there a way to stop some behaviors that could become problems: like digging in the garden, gnawing on the legs of the table, trying to hop up onto the sofa, grabbing a shoe quietly and taking it to a corner to nibble on, Koda humping Summer, or shredding a magazine?
How often do we need to separate the pups? Meals? Playing? Training?
Is there a special way to get them to come back to me when they run off to the perimeter of the yard behind all the tall bushes where I can’t see them? Yelling “I have a treat for you,” is losing its power.
And what about the collar and leashes? The times we have tried to get them comfortable with them it looks like a rodeo ring, with a wild bronco twisting and turning away from the restraints. Summer tried to eat the leash. Koda just laid flat on his stomach. So I guess I will need some help with the collar and leash thing!

I will proudly say, they sit on command (for treats), and they go to the back door when needing to potty. That’s progress for less than two weeks in our home! But there is so much more we and they need to learn. Help me, Dog Handler!