A Pepper Picture Post

Scott's been away for a week and a half at InterVarsity's student training camps, and it's been busy around here with soccer and band and swim lessons and birthday parties and cupcakes. Today it's rainy, and there's time to breathe.

So, a good time for a Peppercentric post.

Here we have Pepper helping Anna learn her current violin piece--Perpetual Motion. We showed up to our lesson Sunday without the violin, so Anna's trying to finish the song before the next lesson. With Pepper's guidance, she's progressing well.

Anna took this next one, which is notable for a few reasons. One, the cat's glowing eyes of death are always fun. Two, the tennis ball that's mid-air is interesting. And three is the mystery. Was Anna holding the camera in one hand while throwing the ball with the other, intending to get this picture? Or was it a happy happenstance?

This weekend, while Justin was playing soccer in Indy, Anna and I took Pepper to Games! Dogs! Play!, an event sponsored by the SPCA. Pepper got a bag of goodies, including a snazzy yellow kerchief. She had several tasks to perform for the Games! and did, well, about average.

She performed well enough on the basics--weaving in and out of cones, sitting, waiting, and jumping. And she aced the "What will your dog eat" challenge, happily eating cheese, hot dog pieces, and the like while disdaining the cucumbers and fruit.

Here she is catching balls--no problem.

However, she would have nothing to do with tunnels, which lost her points in two games. And our first attempt at the ball on a spoon challenge was an utter disaster. I was to guide her as we weaved through cones, holding both her leash and a small ball on a spoon in one hand. As I took the first step, Pepper jumped up and captured the ball. Once I gave some firm instructions, she did better, and our second attempt was a great improvement, but we still didn't make it all the way back through the cones due to my lack of hand-eye coordination.

And, Anna and I only scored a six out of ten on the dog anatomy test. 

Later we went over to the grandparent's homestead. It was a beautiful day for sitting outside. Or running on the soft grass while spraying Pepper with a hose.

I bought this book a few weeks ago on the recommendation of Charlie's (Pepper's best friend) owner. Pepper needs plenty of stimulation--otherwise she starts to play games with us on her own terms--like "the take something I'm not supposed to have so that someone chases me" game.

I started working with her yesterday on balancing a treat on her nose, then catching it. It's a little tricky. The dog is supposed to flick it up in the air and catch it, but most of the time, Pepper lets it fall to the floor. The book says that exuberant dogs will naturally fling it up, but Pepper, though exuberant at times, is still the dog who fell asleep during puppy training classes.

The way to keep your dog from letting it fall to the floor is to go after it yourself. This did seem to work, and she caught it in the air the last two times.

That's a pretty easy one, and she should have it down in a day or two.

We'll be working up to this one...

As of yet, no one in the family has volunteered for it.