I picked up Kyndall from her first-ever extended stay with a puppy-sitter (4 nights with our old friend, the highly experienced LeAnn), and it was gratifying that Kyndall seemed happy to see me again. On the other hand, she’s happy to see everyone, particularly Tucker (see below). I’m not convinced she has imprinted and considers me to be her Mom.
LeAnn’s impressions were reasonably assuring. She worked a lot on getting Kyndall to stay Down when commanded, and she reported that on Friday Kyndall remained in position for two hours straight at one point. (At other times, she comically stayed Down for only a few minutes before leaping up to chase her tail.) LeAnn also found her to be doing well at the Wait command and good at walking on her leash.
She was most concerned, she told me, that Kyndall might have a strong “prey drive.” Her attention evaporated every time a group of birds flew overhead, and she darted after blowing leaves. More bizarre was hearing about her going after the bees buzzing around one of the plants in LeAnn’s backyard. She didn’t get stung because of LeAnn’s strong intervention. (Later I wondered if maybe a close encounter with a bee might not have been an excellent lesson.)
LeAnn and her husband live with only one dog at the moment, Silky, whom they raised as a puppy for CCI. Despite initially being a “puppy on crack,” (LeAnn’s words), Silky somehow pulled it together to graduate and admirably serve someone. When that person died, LeAnn and her husband happily took her back.
Silky’s 12 now, and she looked pretty mournful about Kyndall’s presence. In contrast, I thought Tucker seemed reasonably happy when we arrived back home. His hackles were up, but his tail was wagging. Judge for yourself:
Tucker’s a patient big brother.
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