Irie does not have a urinary tract infection. She does however have some "crystals" developing which typically means the urine is too acidic and she's probably not drinking enough water. I'm not entirely sure how to fix this problem since she's in her crate all day. I'm a little reluctant to leave a bowl of water in her crate with her because a) she'll probably knock it over and have to lay in water all day and b) if she drinks it she'll really have to pee. I got a water-bottle and attached it to her crate, but I'm not sure she's drinking out of it. It leaks a little so I'm not sure if the water level is going down from it dripping or her drinking it. Still trying to figure that out. But the good news is we haven't had any more accidents in the house in the last week.
In other news, we started dog obedience class last night. Well, rather, I started dog obedience class last night. The first night was for owners only. I have to say it was really a lot of fun! What was the most fun? They had us do an exercise where we were partnered up with another person and we had to get the person to do an assigned task using only the "clicker" to communicate with them. So, when they went the right direction, we clicked at them. If they went the wrong way, we didn't click. It was pretty funny and amazingly effective. I think I might have to use this in some of my trainings!
The teachers also informed us that the best way to make a dog pull on their leash is to put them in a harness and use a retractable leash. I had to laugh because that is, of course, what I've been using. And I, of course, do not want Irie to pull on her leash. So, apparently I will need to invest in a different collar and I picked up a different leash last night. She's small so it's not that hard to control her on the street, but it would be nice to not have her pulling all the time - especially when we're walking around in the city. Too many people and too many random hazards on the streets.
After I got home I worked with Irie a little and she's at work with me today, so I've been doing some practicing with her here and there. She seems to be picking up on the idea of "clicking". I think right now she mostly thinks that the treats make a clicking noise when they come out of my hand, but I'm sure she'll get it eventually. :-) I'm really excited about the class though and I'm glad I picked this one instead of going with the PetsMart variety. These trainers really seem to know what they're doing and they're very willing to help, even outside of class time.
AND they do agility training as well, so if Irie does well in this class I may get her started in agility. I really think she'd enjoy it. I flipped on Animal Planet last weekend for a minute and the dog agility championships were on. Irie was enthralled. I've never seen her even give the TV a second look before - but she definitely liked watching that! It was pretty funny.
In other news - I'm starting my crazy travel schedule up again. This weekend is our Illinois conference out at O'Hare. Next Wednesday I leave for a conference in Portland for the rest of the week. Then I'm back in town for a little over a week and then I leave for Orlando for 5 days. And then, I get to go to Baltimore for a few days. (But that one I'm actually excited about doing!) Yay!
It's a lot of traveling though. And leaving Irie makes me kind of nervous. Nervous for her safety a little and also the sanity of the friends I'm leaving her with. Not everyone is meant to have a dog and while they really want to watch her, I'm just not sure they're going to enjoy it very much. I'm sure it will all be fine though. (At least I'm hoping!)
I also met a new boy this week. It's way too early to tell if anything will work out at all, but so far he seems really nice and we seem to have a lot in common. It's nice to like someone new, even if it does end up being short-lived. If anything good happens, I'll be sure to let you all know. :-)
Alright - lunch is about over so I must run to the next set of meetings.
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