THIS PUFFIN FAMILY HAS HAD A BUSY DAY TODAY

We woke to rain this morning and it continued intermittently throughout the day. Still, the weather is very mild as compared to what it might be.

It was a long day today beginning as usual at 5:30. I was told to be ready to go out at 9:30 and decided to take advantage of the early morning to do my laundry. As it was washing, I groomed Puffin in the grooming room nearby. I also had some time for some stretching exercises before the clothes were ready for the dryer.
I met with a person on staff and soon it was time to go out. My clothes spent the day waiting for my return. That is something I would rather not do as others may want the machine. There are three washers and dryers for the 20 of us.

We went into town and walked a few blocks to a hotel and practiced negotiating the revolving doors and the various floor surfaces and halls.

We arrived back at the dorm just in time to park the dogs and give them water and then go to a lecture at 11:00 on access laws regarding our dogs. Soon after that there was lunch.

This was the day that we could purchase items from the gift store set up in a room near the dining room. I waited my turn, but my time to go out came sooner than my time to be waited on.

This afternoon, we went to Starbucks and practiced clicker work again. Then we went through the courthouse. It gave us two opportunities to practice going through the metal detectors and negotiate narrow halls with stairs throughout.

On our arrival back at campus, two in our small class were dropped off at the vet’s office to learn about the health histories of their dogs. My turn is still to come.

We got back to the dorm in time for me to retrieve my laundry and begin putting it away before feeding and parking the dogs. Then came dinner and a lecture at 6:30. It was instructions for beginning to leave our dogs in the rooms for brief periods on their tie downs and to gradually extend the time. They need to remain quiet and to not be destructive. We were given a bell that can be clipped to the dog’s collar so that we can hear them moving about as we begin to give them some freedom to be off tie down in the room with us present. We have been working on teaching them to “Go to your place.” I think it is tomorrow evening when they will be expected to go there and stay there as the food is delivered to our rooms by the trainers.

We have been using old harnesses and tonight, we were issued the new ones that we will be taking home. The leather is stiff and we will begin gradually to increase the time that the dogs will be wearing them as the leather softens.

There was a birthday party scheduled for one of the students after the evening park, but Puffin said “No!” She was on her bed and did not budge so I yielded to her fatigue and chose to finish putting my laundry away. I did not insist that we do this one additional thing. I am also very tired and will be glad when sleep comes for me as well.