River (Elim) Update

Leila sent this update on River's summer advnetures:

It's been an exciting, busy summer for River, Danny, and I. River is growing into a beautiful, sweet, frighteningly smart dog. She finished puppy kindergarten in June and is now in her second week of obedience class with Julie Flanery. She learns new things so quickly it's astonishing, especially when there are hot dogs and cheese, her favorite treats, involved (and there always are). My mother, who has owned dogs all her life and occasionally babysits River, thinks she's hands-down the smartest dog she's ever seen (and I agree). Of course, she's becoming a teenager right now, and has suddenly discovered that she can ignore me, so training has become a bit more challenging. I'm finding Julie's class really helpful in that respect--she helps me remember that this is just a phase in training, and that River is not an evil genius--just a really smart, adolescent pup. She is so confident and friendly that she wants to meet every person and dog she sees, so training goes out the window a little bit in these moments--but I'm really glad she has such confidence.

The month has been really fun because River's getting big enough to accompany us on adventures. She goes hiking with us every week (short hikes to match her short legs), and has been to the beach many times, as well as canoeing and camping. She even went to a wedding with us last month (the bride is a close childhood friend of mine who loves River and encouraged me to bring her to the outdoor ceremony and reception). I was a little nervous about that, but she was amazingly well-behaved and was a huge hit. Not many four month old pups could manage something like that, I think.

She's become a great swimmer and an intrepid water dog, although she still has some reservations about the water. She tends to plunge in and leap around excitedly for the first five or ten minutes after we get to the water. Then she seems to realize that the consequence of swimming is being wet, and she retreats to the shore and sits there looking sadly at me, as if to say, "Look, mom, I'm all wet. You know I don't like being wet... why did you do this to me?" She likes to stick close to us when we're swimming, though, so she'll plunge back in and swim after us if we stay in the water.

Kay Lee, and thanks again for bringing River into our lives. She is every bit the pup we were hoping for, and we really love her. Leila