Riding shotgun...

The other day, Mesa took a step towards being a big girl by taking her first ride in the truck riding shotgun, and not in her pink crate (which was provided by her breeder as a stopgap until I can find a bigger wire crate like Dally's). On my lunch break, I loaded up Dally and Mesa into the truck and headed off to Mesa's first veterinarian appointment.

We're still a little shaky while riding shotgun (I put the consul up in the truck so the girls can share the bench seat with me), but after a while she relaxes and starts to enjoy herself. I'd like to think that Dally's whispering to her, "It's OK, kid, just enjoy the ride, it's fun! And when you get big enough, maybe she'll let you hang your head out the window like me," as she's standing up looking out the window.

Mesa's gained a pound, now weighing in at 8.5 pounds. I've continued with the clicker-loading with treats, meanwhile teaching her to "spin" (which I use to warm Dally up before our runs) and sit. She's so excited to get the treats, I don't think she really understands what she's doing, just that when I say something and she does it, she hears the click and gets a treat (at this time, a kernel of cat food). If that's what clicker training is all about, then...well...I guess I'm doing it right. I still need to do some research into finding the right book to read on this topic.