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| Nova - 6 months old! |
Nova turns 6 months old on June 7, 2012. Happy birthday to Nova and her 10 brothers
and sisters! As you can see, she’s grown
a lot. She’s also learned to sit and
stay, although shortly after this picture was taken she gave into the
irresistible urge to attack the Coke bottle. I started taking pictures of her with the Coke bottle at 9 weeks old. At that time she didn't sit and stay. It was a real challenge to snap the picture before she knocked the bottle over.
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| Nova - 9 weeks old |
Nova and I have come a long way in the 4 months we’ve been
together. She no longer tries to eat the
mulch under every tree and bush in the yard.
She’s finally accepted that she can’t catch robins. She still picks flowers, but not every one
she finds. She still loves to leap into
the air in pursuit of a butterfly, but I’m hoping she never outgrows that! She can sit, down, stand, stay, “get your
toy” and come on verbal commands, in addition to many agility skills.
Although she has been able to heel on a leash for a while when there are
few distractions, it took a bit longer before I could walk her around the
neighborhood without feeling like I had the Tasmanian Devil at the end of the
leash. We still occasionally have walks
that start like that, but if we go back home, give her a little time-out in the
crate, she is better behaved on the 2nd try. She still loves to steal socks and dish
towels, but a yummy enough treat will sometimes convince her to trade. Her latest accomplishment is the realization
that a quick sit makes the crate door open faster. What a smart girl!
She has graduated from both a puppy pre-school class and an
AKC S.T.A.R. puppy class. She is a member of the Klondike Canine Academy Canine Playgroup, where she romps and wrestles with her doggie friends once every week or two. She is one of several puppies at my local kennel club and the club has become one of her favorite places to be. I'm working on teaching her to NOT drag me through the door, but it's a tough sell! She is
currently enrolled in the Foundations for Agility class at the kennel club. She is the youngest dog in the class and the most disruptive, although she has quite good skills when she settles down and
pays attention. Our classmates are all
wonderfully understanding. They give me
the same patient look I give parents in the grocery store whose child is laying
on the floor screaming. But, each week
brings improvements and I’m certain she will be a model student eventually.
Stay tuned for more news. With Nova, life is never boring!
