To School, Choya!

I'm relieved that Sunny Heights could re-open in 'Exiting Circuit Breaker: Phase 2'. During this period at home, I observed the dog carefully to make sure her temperament and behavior are suitable for a return to school, and flagged two new traits (fear of thunderstorms, and food aggression) to her handlers. It's only right and responsible for me to do so. The school can't predict or be made to bear responsibility if owners don't alert them to red flags

Beyond the home, we want the dog to have a wider social circle and a range of social experiences. She learns pack etiquette, understanding how to behave around other dogs, she knows how to deal with new humans and how to react to different stimuli. She needs to be able to do all these without us around. Then she learns independence and she will be able to manage any anxiety that will arise at any point in her life. 

Having her out of the flat also meant that I could schedule teams of service crew to come in for AC maintenance, plumbing checks, replacement of tap filters, and whatever minor repairs we need. The bedding and toys are always aired, and they get washed every week anyway. But when she's out of the house, I could deodorize the carpet with sufficient time for it to dry.

On Choya's first day back at school, her handlers took the trouble to send me lots of photos and videos. It was a day of rain and grey. That didn't daunt her. She managed fine with her fear of thunder. She swam, she ran, ate her snack box, pooped, peed; she played with fweeends, jaw snapping, darting, jumping and all. I almost cried tears of joy watching her roll in the grass and mud, and running around all muddy and wet. That's some proper play!

I swear she waited for the whole week to go to school again. Her handlers said she was super happy to be rolling about in mud and grass. Hahaha. I AM SURE. She loves doing that, except I don't let her roll in mud. Grass (with no poop in it) is fine. Her second week at school saw better weather, and not much mud. So she swam. Yayyy. I'm not optimistic that this will continue with an unbroken streak to year end. Once borders re-open and traveling resumes, community cases will dramatically spike. Still. May we not return to the Circuit Breaker or Phase 1.