Miro starts school

It's a busy spring with me at my desk all day between bouts of letting dogs out and putting dogs back in confinement. Alanis and Miro spend most of their outdoor time racing around the yard, playing biteyface and, in Miro's case, getting rolled on the ground. He bites her beard; she holds him down by the neck; when I can't stand it any more, I make them stop.

Checking the new leaves.

Typical biteyface.

The few seconds' delay between pressing the button and the camera and the time it gets around to taking the photo makes it impossible to get good action shots. I know, I need a fancier camera (maybe in a couple of years!).


This plastic bottle with rocks in it was a favorite new toy for a couple of days.

Miro started obedience school last week. In our class there are a Samoyed who squeals constantly, a Newfoundland, a Bernese Mountain dog, a Basenji, a little ball of fluff with a squished-in face, and a JRT cross. Apparently the Samoyed squealing and keening is typical of the breed. We had to move across the room from them so that I could hear the teachers.

Miro already knew "sit" and "down" as well as a bit of walking beside me on the leash, so Day One was a snap. Also a snap were Miro's jaws--he's a typical mouthy, bitey Airedale who wants to keep busy all the time. There are all kinds of ways to teach bite inhibition. The one that worked best was the instructor's holding Miro's muzzle closed until he stopped struggling, then giving LOTS of BIG praise. After that, all he needed was one "uh uh" reminder when he tried biting again. The instructor was very impressed by how quickly he learned.

I want him to learn to have my hand in his mouth while he's gentle with his teeth. We're working on it.