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Description
At long last, the snow was beginning to melt and the signs that spring was on its way were more promising. It won't be long before the first heat wave of the year hits us full force. I'm sure I'll welcome it with open arms! The winter's just been so unpleasantly cold this year. Then again, maybe my tolerance to the cold has drastically declined, which makes it all feel ten times worse. The subzero temperatures should come to no surprise as winters here have always been that way! I'm just such a wimp!

Today was an exceptionally beautiful and warm day and it so happened to land on Calypso's puppy training class! The judge even decided to do the testing outside in a fenced in area near the building. Having the sunshine made everything brighter and more cheerful. Calypso seemed to love it too! After being able to run and explore the surrounding area, Calypso settled nicely by my side while the judge explained the testing process.

Of course I was worried Calypso wouldn't do everything flawlessly! She is a sweet pup but has a mind of her own. Because of that, I've been spending extra time training Calypso to better prepare her for this event. Every day after work, I had her practicing her basic commands and manners. She seemed to really like the additional attention and initially did everything perfectly. After a few training sessions, I noticed she would purposely make things more challenging for me. Calypso's too smart and stubborn for her own good! I know she did that to test my patience and because it added more fun to the routine. I always made sure the training sessions were never more than 10 minutes to avoid pushing her too far. But even with that, Calypso wanted to make things more interesting. So when she started giving me that stubborn stare when I'd ask her to sit, I knew I had to add some spice during training.
This pup is not overly food or toy motivated. Calypso does things when she feels like it. With that, I started throwing in silly little tricks into our training sessions and mixed the basic commands around. She never knew what to expect! When working on her heeling on leash, I'd even suddenly change direction. She seemed to love being kept on her toes and alert at all times. I plan to continue on with our training sessions because we are both having a blast with them!

I am very proud of Calypso's performance today! She did all three of her tests beautifully! I can't wait to find out how she did! Here's a brief recap:

Sit On Command:
I was a little worried about this one! This is one of those over used commands that became repetitive for Calypso. Being the sassy girl that she is, she tended to lie down instead during our training sessions. I was expecting her to do something silly during this test. My heart dropped when a couple of seconds went by and Calypso still hadn't sat down. I remember looking into her challenging eyes and feeling defeated. "Calypso!!!! Siiiiiiiiit pleeeeeese!!!", I thought to myself. And she did sit down! Three seconds felt like too long during that moment because I knew of the stubbornness that was running in her mind. I could swear I saw her smirk. She knew exactly what she was doing!

Toy Acceptance:
Next was the Toy Acceptance test. This one was a piece of cake! Calypso isn't possessive at all and doesn't really care about toys. She seemed completely uninterested when I took the toy away from her.

Walk Without Pulling:
And lastly, we did the heeling on leash. She started off slow for this one but soon picked up her pace and walked around flawlessly with me. Never once did the leash between us get taut.

Now we just have to wait for the judge's results. She was smiling the whole time Calypso and I were together. She told me she admired the connection I had with my pup.

Today's outing really tired Calypso out. She is curled up on the couch with Aida, Dash, Vegas, Tootsie and Candyman right now! Yes.. all seven dogs fit on that couch!

I'm looking forward to what the future has in store for Calypso! I have so much planned for her! Lots of fun adventures ahead!

BRK's Embark On A Dream "Calypso" owned and loved by
Finished: March 21, 2017
Breed: Wiltshire Spaniel
Prismacolor markers and pencils & Photoshop background

Description
At long last, the snow was beginning to melt and the signs that spring was on its way were more promising. It won't be long before the first heat wave of the year hits us full force. I'm sure I'll welcome it with open arms! The winter's just been so unpleasantly cold this year. Then again, maybe my tolerance to the cold has drastically declined, which makes it all feel ten times worse. The subzero temperatures should come to no surprise as winters here have always been that way! I'm just such a wimp!

Today was an exceptionally beautiful and warm day and it so happened to land on Calypso's puppy training class! The judge even decided to do the testing outside in a fenced in area near the building. Having the sunshine made everything brighter and more cheerful. Calypso seemed to love it too! After being able to run and explore the surrounding area, Calypso settled nicely by my side while the judge explained the testing process.

Of course I was worried Calypso wouldn't do everything flawlessly! She is a sweet pup but has a mind of her own. Because of that, I've been spending extra time training Calypso to better prepare her for this event. Every day after work, I had her practicing her basic commands and manners. She seemed to really like the additional attention and initially did everything perfectly. After a few training sessions, I noticed she would purposely make things more challenging for me. Calypso's too smart and stubborn for her own good! I know she did that to test my patience and because it added more fun to the routine. I always made sure the training sessions were never more than 10 minutes to avoid pushing her too far. But even with that, Calypso wanted to make things more interesting. So when she started giving me that stubborn stare when I'd ask her to sit, I knew I had to add some spice during training.
This pup is not overly food or toy motivated. Calypso does things when she feels like it. With that, I started throwing in silly little tricks into our training sessions and mixed the basic commands around. She never knew what to expect! When working on her heeling on leash, I'd even suddenly change direction. She seemed to love being kept on her toes and alert at all times. I plan to continue on with our training sessions because we are both having a blast with them!

I am very proud of Calypso's performance today! She did all three of her tests beautifully! I can't wait to find out how she did! Here's a brief recap:

Sit On Command:
I was a little worried about this one! This is one of those over used commands that became repetitive for Calypso. Being the sassy girl that she is, she tended to lie down instead during our training sessions. I was expecting her to do something silly during this test. My heart dropped when a couple of seconds went by and Calypso still hadn't sat down. I remember looking into her challenging eyes and feeling defeated. "Calypso!!!! Siiiiiiiiit pleeeeeese!!!", I thought to myself. And she did sit down! Three seconds felt like too long during that moment because I knew of the stubbornness that was running in her mind. I could swear I saw her smirk. She knew exactly what she was doing!

Toy Acceptance:
Next was the Toy Acceptance test. This one was a piece of cake! Calypso isn't possessive at all and doesn't really care about toys. She seemed completely uninterested when I took the toy away from her.

Walk Without Pulling:
And lastly, we did the heeling on leash. She started off slow for this one but soon picked up her pace and walked around flawlessly with me. Never once did the leash between us get taut.

Now we just have to wait for the judge's results. She was smiling the whole time Calypso and I were together. She told me she admired the connection I had with my pup.

Today's outing really tired Calypso out. She is curled up on the couch with Aida, Dash, Vegas, Tootsie and Candyman right now! Yes.. all seven dogs fit on that couch!

I'm looking forward to what the future has in store for Calypso! I have so much planned for her! Lots of fun adventures ahead!

BRK's Embark On A Dream "Calypso" owned and loved by
Finished: March 21, 2017
Breed: Wiltshire Spaniel
Prismacolor markers and pencils & Photoshop background