Shephard Falls

We dont know that Shep got to experience Fall last year, so its been fun to watch him interpret it. So far he hasnt been one to kick any type of weather out of bed, but fall seems to be his favorite. He is digging all of the leaves on the lawn and loves to roll around in them. At first he was frightened by the leaves and the noise they made when they hit the pavement, but in our neighborhood, you quickly get over that. After encouraging him to "check it out" (aka getting next to whatever object he is afraid of and totally praising him for approaching it and investigating) on several walks, he's realized he's got the leaves by the stems, and will literally walk around with leaf stems hanging out of his mouth.

Since we got him, he will plant himself firmly if he doesnt want to go inside or turn/move forward on a walk. Our trainer (who is one of our favorite people!) taught me this awesome technique last winter that is used with horses to move them. Essentially, you take the leash, extend it as far as it will go and walk in an arc in the opposite direction that you want to dog to move in. Historically this has been my go to move to outsmart my dog but apparently the crisp air has brought an increased level of cunningness to Shep. Late for work the other morning, Shep decided we weren't done rolling around outside. I "arc'd" him. Instead of him moving as expected, he simply looked at me walking around him in a half circle like a fool, and promptly layed down in the grass and batted at leaves, rendering my "arc" maneuver useless. Shep 1, Maggie 0. It was a "Seriously Dog?" moment, but all I could do was laugh as I had to physically put him on all 4s. Thanks for making me realize it's okay to be late once in a while.

Also, bonus: we are finding the leaves are covering up the errant twigs and sticks that Shep will obsessively eat until the point of no return--puppy puke at 4am. He may;however, be employing this as a tactic to engage Jeremy and I in team building skills while half asleep...

Despite his cunningness, Shep tries to be helpful in the weather by distracting us from yard work: