Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Spring Semester

The new semester has started, not only for our family's homeschooling, but for Alfie.  His walks have gotten longer and more challenging. Alfie seems happiest when he's mentally engaged!

Here we are at the Texas State Capitol. It's a great place to train...


sitting on a bench in front of the Capitol building, Alfie sitting next to me

...because it's usually crowded, giving us lots of chances to practice the concept that we're here to work, not play with the cute kids!


I'm sitting on a bench inside the Capitol, holding Alfie's collar with one hand, trying to keep a toddler & her mom from petting him

The Capitol is also full of things for puppies to "find," like seats...

Alfie guides me to a bench in the Capitol rotunda area

...and trashcans, our newest find.

Alfie gets a treat for guiding me to a trashcan

We practiced "heel" and walking on a loose lead...



...and did some obedience, like "down/stay."

Alfie outside lying down, head up, leash on the ground, in down/stay

We discovered pigeons, which are interesting...

pigeons pecking the ground on a grassy area in front of a cannon on Capitol grounds

...but even better when chased by little boys!  Alfie seemed to understand, however, that he couldn't join in.  He seemed content just to be a spectator. 




Another recent outing was to the mall. Of course we practiced finds...

sitting on a bench in the mall, having been guided there by Alfie











Alfie alertly sitting next to the trashcan, waiting for me to throw something away so he can get his reward
...and stairs...

rear view of Alfie going up stairs, stretching those little legs!

...and did some people-watching (Alfie found the bungee-rides, barely visible in the background of the photo, intriguing!)

Alfie, on upper level, pokes his nose thru the bars to watch a boy on the bungee ride

Good work, Alfie...you'll get an A+ for today!

front view of Alfie sitting & looking up eagerly

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

He's doing so well!

Lauren said...

It sounds like Alfie is really excelling in his training. He is so good at walking at your side, and it looks like he has got his commands down! How lucky you are to have such a fabulous training environment nearby. He is such a handsome boy!