Meeting Abbot: Our first day at 4 Paws

Today was quite an exciting day. We headed to 4 Paws and Nana was there waiting for us, much to Si's excitement. We went in and found a spot to sit, then waited impatiently for the head trainer, Jeremy, to make his announcements and bring out the DOGS! Each family was given a baggie of kibble for their dog. This was the dogs' breakfast and was the very first step in beginning to create a bond between child and dog. Si had a tough time waiting, but he made it!

Abbot sure was worth the wait! He is such a sweet and laid-back dog. Don't get me wrong, he is still a dog with all the doggie needs, but he handled a busy and crazy day, with lots of strange people (namely us!) with quite a bit of flair. One thing Jeremy reminded all of us is that each dog learns who his special person is, and for the last few months, each dog has had a trainer as a special person. Even though we knew his name and had his picture and dreamt of our lives together, for Abbot, we were brand new! So it will take time, love and treats to help him learn that we will be his wolf pack now, and Si, his number one kid. Jeremy told a funny story about how he trained a dog for someone from Tennessee, and how the words "sit" and "down" sound a lot different in a Tennessee accent. That dog needed to learn his new pack leader's dialect in order to perform as he had been taught. And the dogs do learn, but starting with lots of treats helps them really get that positive reinforcement when, otherwise they might be thinking "What did she say and does she like how I responded or not?!"

Today, we really worked on the bond by having Si give Abbot 7/8 of his treats (which were plain dog food). We showed Si how to make a "cup" with his hand and let Abbot eat out of his hand. At first, he just let the food fall to the floor, but pretty soon he figured out how to "make a cup" and then he really liked having Abbot eat a piece off of his shoe. He would set one piece on the side of his shoe and got such a kick out of watching Abbot gobble it up.

After lunch, Si got to play outside with Nana while mom and dad paid attention during training instruction. We learned about the different training collars, how to put them on, and then worked on the commands "sit" and "down". Abbot did really well with these. As Jeremy said, it's really us that needs to catch up to the dogs. They have been training since birth for this, and we are just starting now. We have a lot to learn, but I feel like we are in capable hands and we are on the road to speaking Abbot's language!

After a big day at 4 Paws, we got some dinner with another 4 Paws family, and daddy took Si for a quick swim with several other 4 Paws kiddos. Si loved it!

After that, it was time for meds and a bath. I think Si fell asleep as soon as he laid down! Now I will do the same! More tomorrow!