Gracie level 4 graduate, and dog parks

Gracie passed the level 4 test at the organization yesterday!  She likely could have squeezed by last month, but a month more of practice made her very solid on all items.

The only one I wasn't sure she would do was the go visit to another person.  I'm sad to say that Gracie has never actually had any practice in doing this to anyone besides myself.  I have worked a lot on lowering her head to a chair and keeping it there with distractions, but never actually had a person sit there.  It goes to show what a dog can problem solve if you have the foundations in place!


We've also been taking a tour of dog parks the last few weeks.  Lance and Gracie have been helping me find a dog park suitable for the Toller.  That means a park that consists mainly of trails and easy to avoid larger open areas where people might be throwing balls.  Vito is just so ball obsessive that he glues onto anybody who has a ball and Toller Screams loudly.  People do not appreciate this.

While I don't plan on going to dog parks very often, the opportunity to be off leash and explore is something I miss giving my dogs.  We found 1 park that fits Vito's needs but with the long drive we haven't been to it in over a year.  At least the 2 normal dogs have been having a blast exploring new places.  And we're doing our best to avoid the actual dogs at dog parks.