Moving Day

Moving Day approaches.  I am finally all packed up.  Tomorrow after work a friend and I are going to move all the small things and boxes, and on Saturday after Dottie's Utility A debut, the workers are coming and I'm picking up the U-Haul and we are moving the rest of the things.  As far as big items go I have my bed, 2 dressers, night stand, dryer (washer broke and is gone,) fridge, 3 bookcases (light weight) and the giant TV.  Plus the kennel panels.  That is about it.  Shouldn't take long right?  I hope.

As for Dottie's utility debut, I really shouldn't go.  She has been messing up articles so much in practice, I don't think she'll be able to do it in the ring.  She seems to have a higher rate of sucess using the leather wallets and metal pencil cases I bought recenlty.  But that could just be because I tend to do them less formally, with less articles and me standing close to the pile.  Even so, I bought red nail polish and labeled the wallets, so I can use them if I choose.  The smell of the nail polish is still quite strong, so I am unsure if that is a good idea. 

If Dottie does her signals and go outs without taking a jump, I will consider it a good effort.  Her signals seems strong, but Pie has failed them so many times (always the down) that any signal exercise pass will make me happy.  And I have worked very hard to teach Dottie NOT to take a jump on the go out. What seemed to work is to treat it like a retrieve.  She knows from open to take a jump on a retrieve when the command is Over, and to not take a jump when I just say Bring.  So I started putting the dumbbell in the go out spot and saying Bring and we made progress.  I had previously put food and a toy out there, but she would still take the jump.  Now I can say Zoom or Bring and she goes to the go out spot.  However, on the busy show grounds with lots of distracting visuals in the back ground, I can see her reverting to taking the jump if she is confused.  Only one way to find out, and that is to show up and give it a try.

2 more nights here in the studio.  It was a nice place to live while it lasted.