We discovered the joys of fetching outside, in a yard, at a nearby park. It was glorious!
When we started, Zenzi would run like mad to get the toy, pick it up, but drop it halfway back. No problem, I rewarded her effort, and made a point to slowly walk to pick it up and throw it again.
See Zenzi? When you don't bring it back, play is slow-going.
After only a few repetitions of that, she was bringing it straight back to my feet and/or hand. She played and played, we did dozens of retrieves before she finally looked at me, all smiles, and slumped into a down in the cool grass. I gave her some good belly rubs, and we headed home.
She was on the 50-ft long line for the first time, and had no issues with it. She's still rather shy about having her harness put on. I don't know why, and I always give her treats during/after the process. Oy. Girl drama.
This morning started out with breakfast at a local restaurant, Knowlwood. We ate outside so Zenzi could accompany us and experience the comings and goings of strangers. She was all "Stranger danger!" at first, but was much more relaxed after being jackpotted for every onlooker. The other day, she actually barked in surprise at a woman who appeared out of nowhere, so we are making a point to expose her more to people now. From there, we ran a quick errand to Ralph's (grocery store) and while my husband went in, we hung outside and flirted. Zenzi is, strangely, much more confident meeting people when she's in my arms. We had a nice greeting with a one-year-old boy and his mother that way, and she was brilliant.
Sorry no pix, I'm sick and didn't want to handle a puppy AND camera while doing all these activities. :(
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