The last week of Lent

We're moving into Holy Week, the most sacred time of the Christian calendar. I always gain weight during Lent so obviously much of the concept is lost on me but I try. Today's service was somber and dramatic, acted out by readers and enhanced by subtle musical changes in minor keys and percussions. Beulie looked up at a sudden drum crash but otherwise stayed at my feet.

I walked 30 minutes this evening, with Beulie. I'm trying so hard to develop that habit. Beulie is a lot more fun to walk than Brix is, she flies along, undisturbed by smells and distractions, light on her feet and perfectly behaved.

On Thursday night, the day everything went wrong, there was one puppy training exercise that went exceptionally well, even for Beulie. There were about eight dogs in class that evening and we were meeting in the Santa Rosa Mall, a large urban shopping center which always has considerable foot traffic and is a good site for socializing young puppies. At one point we were upstairs in a corner in front of Sears. The trainer asked us to put our dogs in a Down-Stay, which we did, and then drop the leashes and walk into Sears. When we got the signal to return, about two minutes later, all the dogs, including Beulie, were still in the Down-Stay position. We repeated the exercise, this time walking further and staying longer, but everyone was in perfect self-control that time too.

I keep thinking how that exercise would have gone a few months earlier -- puppies running pell-mell down long mall corridors, jumping on customers, flying out the doors and knocking over little kids. How they've matured and how well they are doing now! They are all about 15 months old and several, like Beulie, will be turned in for advanced training in May.