Churro’s Training Adventures: Week in Review

As my "maternity leave" (🐾🐶😂) comes to an end, I’ll be wrapping up Churro’s training blogs soon and shifting back to more photography-related content. But before that happens, here’s a look at what we tackled this week on the training front.

Leash Manners, Recall, and Socialization

This week, we continued reinforcing leash manners and introduced the "wait" command with distance, paired with a recall. To further proof his established behaviors, we switched up handler/trainers, giving Churro the opportunity to generalize his skills.

One of the biggest highlights of the week was visiting a senior living community, where Churro had a fantastic socialization experience. He was exposed to live music, elevators, long hallways, walkers, wheelchairs, and, of course, plenty of friendly elderly folks. We even practiced the art of "doing nothing" in the lobby while happy hour was in full swing - a valuable lesson in settling in busy environments!

Prepping for RV Life

In anticipation of our summer adventures, we introduced Churro to the open stairs of our RV - made even more exciting by the winter cover flapping above. He handled the new experience like a champ, gaining confidence in navigating different surfaces and environments.

Tackling Car Sickness

We’re actively working to break the car = sick association. To start small, we drove Churro just one mile as a lap puppy, letting him enjoy a walk in a new and exciting location. Since he handled that well, we took things a step further the next day. After giving him a dose of anti-nausea medication, we drove just under five miles to a creek, where both Churro and Queso had an absolute blast in the wet. Of course, I had to capture some of the splishy-splashy moments with my camera!

I took the opportunity of the watery mirror to craft a “Future Reflections” using both Queso and puppy Churro. 🥰

First Bath and Blow Dry

After all the outdoor fun, it was lap puppy time for the drive home and then another first - a bath and blow dry. Let’s just say Churro was less than thrilled with this particular experience. 🤣 But he powered through, and now he’s fresh and fluffy (at least until his next adventure).

Earlier in the week, he showed us how brave he can be by climbing into the tub on his own.

The Ongoing Queso & Churro Dynamic

Queso continues to be extremely patient with Churro’s puppy antics, rarely setting firm boundaries - though he certainly has the right to! I have plenty of video evidence of the “disrespect” Queso endures daily. 😝

And mom and dad often serve as “home base” for their interactions.

That said, Queso has discovered an excellent escape strategy: higher ground. Whether it’s joining us on the bed for morning cuddles or retreating to the couch for a well-earned break, he knows exactly how to get a little peace when he needs it.

As always, watching their relationship evolve has been such a joy, and I can’t wait to see how it continues to unfold.

Stay tuned for more updates - and soon, a return to more photography-related posts!

Ginger Wick Photography is an award winning dog photographer specializing in creating beautiful custom artwork of dogs & their people. Based in Parker, CO serving the Denver area.