Michael & Liz are Bloggable

So it's about time that you blogged, I mean jeez, come on Michael, you even put a date on when you would blog next and you didn't do it. Or at least that's what I'm thinking anyone who read the last blog would say. So the experiment I would say was a tremendous success relative to where she was before the experiment.

Results:
Daisy is a much better walker now. I followed the advice from Jon Chase and put some food in my pocket on walks and whenever Daisy would lag behind, I would say "Daisy Come" with some food and she would start to run so that's fantastic. She is not lagging behind as much. She knows the amount of time she has at each mailbox now so whenever I pass her and tug slightly and say "Daisy Come", she starts running again. She still isn't great about running ahead, she runs as far as we let her though so whether the leash is long or short, she tugs the same so I guess that's good. If we keep the leash short she is always walking with us. One thing we are doing now is anytime she is running out ahead, we'll stop and she'll sit immediately (which has become voluntary now) and then we'll make her come so she runs back to us. It's working really well. I think the next goal is teaching her to "heel", which I realize will be a bear of a task. So overall Daisy is a much better walker. One thing she loves to do is just run in the grass between the sidewalk and the street with her nose down smelling everything. That way she gets to smell and we're not held up. It's great.

As far as waking up early, it's totally not happening, or at least all the time. I still have trouble getting out of bed. I do think I will take Daisy on walks more often then she had been before but I am just far too tired to be hopping out of bed like I'm happy about it.

Conclusions:
This dog is smarter than we give her credit for. After not taking her on walks in the morning for a few days now she is starting to beg for it. She'll get to our driveway and tug and then turn around and look at us like "let's go". And if I start walking towards her, she'll start walking away with her head slightly turned to make sure we're following. I don't think there is a trick we can't teach her or an action we can't get her to stop, it just takes patience and time, something we are willing to give.

Well this week should be fantastic because we are driving to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving. We are really anxious for my parents to meet her and for her to get a lot of attention throughout the week. But for now I'm gonna take her to the dog park so she's all tired out for the trip!