June in a Nutshell

I haven't written a blog here in quite some time and I'm sure you all know why! Life is busy!

I never did an introduction post for Miss Roz, but everyone here basically knows that situation already. But you guys are in my closed group, so instead of recounting what has been public I want to add some not so public fun to this blog.

Azul and Roz are best of friends with a definite sibling relationship of loving to pick on each other, get in trouble together, and also help each other out. Azul has never been a cuddle bug and still wants his space when he's sleeping but he's also pretty chill with Roz invading his space when he's awake. They take turns laying on top of each other during their daily WrestleMania fun.

Azul still enjoys one-on-one time for kayaking and grocery shopping or other work environments. But he's also enjoying more alone time to nap, most likely due to life in general being so busy. He's generally happy to sit back and watch Roz work as demo dog, learn new skills, and play with other puppies. He was not so happy for me to allow Roz in the same room as the killer St. Bernard without him there to protect us. (St Bernard is a harmless lovebug adolescent, but Azul simply doesn't like him.)

Roz (Rosalind by previous owner, Rozzie Bear by me) is an amazing dog who loves everyone and handles every situation with enthusiasm. Her major issues are counter surfing and overly energetic greetings. In the short time I've had her, both undesired behaviors have been greatly reduced. Management and training are going well with management already starting to fade away.

Roz is an amazing worker and lives for a job. We are working on finishing up her public access skills and some of the more generic tasks. She has a pretty solid dropped item alert and then retrieve on cue. We are working on counter balance and forward momentum. These are important because while I CAN take both Azul & Roz out in public, we draw a lot more attention and accomplish a lot less training so I've been taking Roz out for PA Training without Azul. She can do enough of Azul's tasks that I feel safe being without him when I have Roz.

That leads me to the debate of do I take Azul or Roz on an outing. This was my biggest worry and a place I didn't want to be in. Azul typically hated being left behind, but I'm wondering if he realizes that Roz has me and can take care of me since Azul doesn't mind catching a nap while we are gone.

The bathroom picture I won't post in other places! 😂 It's nice having my own private bathroom where the SD's can practice skills in a relaxed way. They both can fit in the stall easily, but Azul generally chooses to stay outside of the stall.

Azul is still top dog and I for sure work him more, but I can tell that he's enjoying some relaxed rules and being able to have fun more than work. He's always had lots of fun in his day to day but since we've added Roz, Azul just seems happier.

Roz started to pick up on my dizziness a few weeks ago and last week she alerted to a migraine while Azul was outside. She loves doing the DPT task that Azul hates. 

At this point, I'd still give her up to someone who needs a Service Dog. But she's quickly becoming part of the family. Roz definitely isn't the GSD I want, but she fits well with my current lifestyle. Only time will tell as this story develops.