Therapy dog International test tonight!!

UPDATE!!! 9:20 PM--one hour of class and one 1/2 hours of waiting for our turn had Rio pretty ANTSY but by some miracle he passed!!!! Yes, I was way more nervous than he was--he was just anxious to go home since I stopped doling out the food once the testing started--he kept looking at me as if to say--"What the heck is going on here??" Then when it was our turn FINALLY, he got all shy on me and backed away from the evaluator when she was supposed to be petting him (I think he just wanted to go home at that point and couldn't be bothered!) --she said he would fail for that but gave him a minute and he came right up to her and was all lovey dovey from then on--PHEW!!! He even leaned against her when I left him with her and had to go out of the room for three minutes. He really was very good and I am very proud of all that he ( and I ) accomplished!!

Thanks to all for the positive thoughts--I think it helped!!

4 PM--

I am very nervous about Rio's TDI test tonight---I have to make this short and get ready to go...be thinking positive thoughts for us everyone! Rio is an intact male (stud dog for my breeder) and is just reaching a major MACHO stage at 18 months old. It does not help that he has his mother here as well and since she has not yet been spayed, he feels that she is his "woman"...oh, brother. (One more litter for her this fall and that is it!! Yeah!)

His timing is lousy since we have been working towards this test to three months--hope I can keep him settled down---he is great with the people and with all the commands, but occasionally feels the need to let the other dogs know that he is king of the hill. The little snot! I have been working hard with him these last few days to pound in the Leave it command and he is getting better---but all this training in 90 degree heat has me exhausted--he is as perky as ever, of course!

Well, ready or not, here we go! I will update everyone later--if I have not collapsed!

Here is Rio at a relatively calm moment....