Much has already been written about what we are trying to tell Venn, but probably the defining feature of this week has been starting to work out what she is trying to tell us.
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Like new parents, a current major topic of conversation chez O’Hanlon is the toilet habits of our young charge. Frequency and last known event are constant favourites, and we are starting to understand (a) how the need to “go” affects Venn, and (b) how that information is being conveyed to us. Unfortunately for all concerned, the latter only becomes apparent when we misread the signs and suffer the consequences.
At least some of what we put down to separation anxiety was probably “don’t go away and leave me, I’m busting” concerns and we have learnt the hard way that a sudden onset of barking is usually worth a trip out in the back garden just to “see.” The timing and success of the previous trip around the flower-beds is no predictor of whether or not the current trip is worthwhile; we’ve been caught out a couple of times with an “it can’t be that, she’s just been” approach. Frantic spinning and leg biting whilst walking on the lead usually means a deposit is on its way, but sadly, Venn herself does not yet appreciate this sign, and it is not unheard off that a full 15 minutes of watching her hoon around the garden like a mad thing must be endured before she does the deed and everything goes back to normal.
Of course, to queer the pitch a little, there are episodes of barking and frantic behaviour that seem just to mean that either energy levels are peaking and need running off a little, or that she is over-tired and needs to sleep. But best to check them in the order described, we have found.
In other news, recall training is still going well, on the whole. There have been a couple of wobbles, but we started the call/walk phase today. This is where I give the “come” command then start walking rather than running away from Venn. The walk is less attractive visually than the run, so we are upping the difficulty of the task, and need to make sure that potential distractions are kept to the minimum. We have a couple of weeks ahead of us doing this to make sure it is bomb-proof.
Oh and finally, today’s training treats consisted of smoked mackerel, stilton and small cubes of medium rare fillet steak (Only the latter was not bought specifically for her.) She is eating better than we are!
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