A Giant Step For Helga

Helga and her trainer have had an exciting week getting ready for doggy graduation and making sure her basic commands are polished for when she goes to her forever home.  

One very positive step forward per her trainer, Helga is able to climb stairs all by herself!  She needs a small nudge at the beginning and then she takes over and climbs up the stairs.  When Helga gets to the top or the bottom of the stairs, she looks for her treat and will wait until she gets it before moving.   Her trainer is still working with her on the “Stay” and “Heel” command and hopes to have them mastered by the time she leaves.

This cutie pie will be very missed.

Cutie Pie

This week Helga’s trainers continue to work with her on stairs.  She still hasn’t been able to completely go up by herself but she can go down them ok. No worries. Her trainers are really working hard and hopefully will have the stairs mastered by the time she leaves.  Her commands continue to get sharper as she is eager to please.  She has started running more and more with the other dogs.  

Helga has found a favorite toy in a squeaking rubber chicken and will play fetch with a ball part of the time.  The other time, she will just watch it roll by. Silly girl.

Easy to Love

Helga is a very loving dog who is playful but calms easily.  Her trainer says you can do pretty much anything to her – grooming her, loving on her, whatever – and she isn’t bothered by any of it. 

Helga is still working on mastering the stairs, as the open metal stairs make her a little nervous.  I can’t blame her. Other than that, she is doing fabulous!

Loves to Run

Helga has lost all of her hesitation to run, and will now run around the yard by herself or with the rest of the dogs.  She has become slightly complacent with her commands and isn’t following them as clearly as she used to, so her trainer is working on cleaning up her responses in these last few weeks.  She’s sure Helga will have them down pat by graduation day.

Leaps and Bounds

Helga has started running with the other dogs, and her trainer is so proud of her! One day she just took off running with the others, and she’s been going ever since. She has also started to enjoy playing with toys. She will chase toys when they are thrown, but doesn’t understand the part of fetch where she is supposed to bring it back.

Helga’s knowledge of her commands is continuing to grow as her training continues very well. She is also very easy to handle; she doesn’t react when she is groomed or petted anywhere. She enjoys a good ear scratch and belly rub.

Helga the Explorer

Helga has continued working on her commands this week, and can follow them verbally or with hand signals. They have been working a lot on “Stay” this week, which is Helga’s least favorite command since she thinks her trainer is going to leave her.

Outside she prefers walking or maybe jogging with her trainer over running with the other dogs. She is curious about anything she sees moving and has to go investigate. Her trainer says it is so funny to watch her explore everything she can.

Such a Smartie

Helga’s personality is coming out more and more as she settles in at Pulaski.  She is also becoming more active, but only likes to run when her trainer is running with her.  She is attached to her trainers, so she likes to go where they go.

She is doing extremely well with her commands.  She is doing them quicker than before and has started responding to just hand signals without any vocal commands being given.

Sitting Pretty

Helga continues to do her best when it comes to learning her commands. She is currently working on “Sit” and “Down”. Something unconventional she does is whenever she sits, she likes to do it against a wall so she can lean. Anytime her trainer tells her to sit, she’ll find a wall to sit against.

As she gets more comfortable at Pulaski she is becoming more curious and wants to explore everything. She is still a giant love bug through and through, and continues to want all the affection she can get. She is a joyous pup, and her trainer is so happy they are on this journey together.

Laughing with Helga

It’s been another week of laughter as Helga’s personality has continued to shine through. She still wants to be petted and loved on by anyone and everyone. She wants to be petted by her trainer always, and if she stops Helga will move closer and closer until she starts again. When she feels she’s not getting enough attention she will just put her head on your leg and stare at you until you give it to her.

She has a habit of collecting toys and objects from around the dorm and bringing them back to her bed, but she shows no aggression when her trainer reclaims them for the rest of the group. She is a little bit of a busy-body, so she prefers to check out everything that is going on than rest. She and her trainer are working on “Sit” and “Down”, but right now whenever she lays down she rolls over to get her belly rubbed! She’ll get the hang of it in no time.

Love Bug

Helga is a little love bug who wants to give everybody kisses. She also loves the attention and affection she gets back.

She has already picked up the “Bed” and “Kennel” commands, and truly enjoys spending down time resting in her kennel. Her trainer is so excited to spend these next 10 weeks with her.