Dora Swims…

I wanted to drop a line to let you know that Dora learned to swim yesterday and has been practicing lots today. (We were unable to capture swimming photos, but we will.)

Fetching — loving the retrieve

Just like everything I’ve seen on the blog, it was for the love of stick fetching- we threw a stick a little further than usual and instead of her usual look of defeat she plunged in after it anyway. She looks pretty goofy, (like a drowned rat, really) and isn’t particularly speedy because her back half sinks, but she’s SO proud of herself, it’s hilarious, trotting around like she owns the world.

Separation Anxiety 

Have been working on alone time too, and she’s getting better. Still mopey when we leave and very happy to see us when we return, but overall less worked up as we increase frequency of alone time. Thanks for encouraging us to work harder on this, I know she’ll be so much better for it.

Love her to death. Thanks again for our best buddy.

Breeder’s Note: Dora got used to being with, and helping Jeremy build their new home. She spent every moment with him, and she believed life would forever be as it had been. Change is not easy for the concrete-thinking Weimaraner. She is crate-trained, and able to stay alone. It is just hard for her to do it.

Great job (Carrie and Jeremy) at insisting she learn to adapt to your current lifestyle. Pitfalls can come along when we least expect them with this breed. Any habit or routine can become a problem. Early on, the routine often makes training easier. Later, they have become accustomed to the routine, and find it very hard to adjust to the new changes. With great effort, progress can be made. Along the way to adulthood, your schedule should see some changes to teach them how to adapt to new situations.