Sunday Salutations and Back to Training

I am curious what was everyone’s first dog like? What did you do wrong? What did you do right? What breed was it?

Crokell is our first dog. Well, he is my first dog as an adult, and it is a learning experience. He is a Newfoundland and he is amazing. But he is also a learning experience. Not that we didn’t prepare, but there are all these little items that come up. I feel like having him taught me more about myself than about dogs. And on that note, we have added dog training back into our schedule, which I am happy we found time for because I missed classes.

While training sort of cuts into writing time, it is also something that as Larry says “fills my bucket” of creativity. I need my puppy time!

I have been missing dog training classes, not because I can’t train Crokell without them, but because it is different. He gets run through his trick list every morning and night before he gets fed, but it isn’t the same as a class.

I miss getting the corrections from other trainers, making connections with the other trainers, and in general just having something scheduled for the training and I miss meeting new PUPPIES (AKA new dogs, all dogs are puppies in Anna World). For some reason, having something on the schedule every week works best for me. Also, I am still fairly new to dog training — Crokell is my first dog as an adult. So, as much as I have read and studied, hands on directions from people that have been training dogs almost as long as I have been alive is amazing and priceless.

Also, I am super excited because I get to train with one of my favorite trainers, who collects dog titles the way some people collect sea glass. (And others collect dust.)

In addition to being incredible at collecting titles, she is good at noticing and correcting individual issues and not just making general comments. In a class with multiple students, that is always amazing. And in order to fix things that you are doing wrong, you have to know you are doing them wrong!

Since I am planning to get Trick Dog Titles with Crokell, we might end up posting some videos of him on the site. It depends on the technical side, and if I can find a way to not be in the videos — AHH the picture will steal my soul.

Other than that, it was a quiet weekend. I wrote some, finished the third chapter of the new novel and started the fourth. I cooked a lot yesterday, chocolate chip cookies. I also took my first try at making gluten free pierogi from scratch. (It was really, really tasty! – Tod) I need to work on it a little more. The filling was good, but the dough isn’t quite right yet. I think it is close, but not there yet – when it is I will post it.

I also got asked last week for my cardamom spice cookie recipe. I might have to make them again so that I write down all the steps. It really isn’t fair to write most of it and then say “I put the spices in until it smelled right”. Or “I mixed the dough until it felt right”.

“You know it when you know it” doesn’t work for any type of training or cooking advice in my book.

Hope everyone had a good week. If people have specific recipes they want, please let me know.

Now, go be a good dog — or at least be good to a dog.

~Anna