Ella continues to do well and is coming out of her shell more and more. The institution walks are helping her gain confidence needed as a service dog where she will often be exposed to new environments. As mentioned last week, we have learned Ella will pee inside if she has too much water. We allow her to drink small amounts throughout the day and that has prevented any further accidents. A 50 lb dog her size needs about 50 ounces depending on activity level and we give her about 8-10 ounces every few hours. After a week with slightly less food she lost one pound and we have since upped her food intake back to about 2.5-3 cups per day depending on her activity level and she continues to show food motivation.
One of Ella’s strengths is also one of her weaknesses and it is her love for people and dogs. It is a weakness when she shows bad manners or lacks duration while in a command. This week we have been working a lot on her waiting before released to eat, drink, or break from a command. This is good for her to learn duration in a command. She likes to break from commands when excited so we are working on that and will continue. She has improved a lot these last few weeks so that is encouraging. We also reinforced Leave It a lot this week with a food bowl right in front of her. She also learned touch this week as well as place.
Overall I am pleased with her growth and the milestones she has accomplished. She is a sweet dog and will make her new handlers very happy.
