On the Beach

By Fred
What a difference one week can make. The weather has turned from frigid to perfect, Bingo has lost some weight and is looking very good, and his performance at class, while not perfect, was arguably improved and not without some mitigating factors, as I will explain below.

This week our obedience class went for a nice walk on the beach. Too bad we don't have one of those super cool cameras that can capture the real beauty of the beach at night. (I love it, but Cheryl says the dark water scares her. Big baby.) It couldn't have been nicer.

Bingo did much better on the sand this time, except for sampling some seaweed and chasing after the surf as it retreated. All of the dogs did well--no fighting or craziness.

Then we moved up to the patio for some drills, and again this week was an improvement over last. Here's Jennifer, the SEGD trainer, trying to distract Bingo, but he's having none of it. Possibly he's getting better at handling distractions, and possibly his feelings are still a little hurt after Cheryl and Jennifer called him out for being fat last week? Poor guy...

I did have a nice talk with him, though, and I think, down deep, he feels better. Sometimes the truth hurts. We've cut down his food a little and we're going on some long walks, working on right-right and left-left and find the sidewalk.

Next week Cheryl and I are on vacation and Bingo will be staying with a new puppy-raiser family. We won't be surprised at all to find him better behaved on our return.