Sioux went to her second workshop involving nose work on Saturday. Just to set the stage for you, we arrived at the workshop fifteen minutes late because there were so many detours around flooded rivers. So, I'm dragging my soft crate and belongings in, huffing and puffing, with my dog in tow, struggling to get set up. I get her situated and try to listen to the presenters. After a few demos, we are asked to go take our dogs for a potty break, then come back in to work. Now, Sioux is NOT working at these things, she's HAVING FUN. Therapy dog stuff is work, and she's very serious at that, and pretty focused on the people. At workshops, it's all about being with mom, getting lots of loving and hugging, and oodles of liver, salmon, and other stuff. She is very obedient, but unless I'm in the work area, she is allowed to walk ahead of me, sniff around, do a few tricks for cookies, and generally blow off steam (not that Sioux ever has much steam to blow off). I am not as able as I once was - I have very bad arthritis in both hips, so when I'm sore from that, I am not as fast as I used to be either. So, I sometimes ask my dogs to help as I'm walking up inclines. Just that little tension on the leash steadies my bad hip and assists me up the hills, enough so I don't need a cane even on my worst days so long as I have a dog with me, so, here's dutiful little Sioux obeying my "free" and "go" cues, doing just that, as I make my way back up the ramp to the training facility on Saturday, when some other trainer just behind us looks at her and says, "Now don't pull." I laugh to myself, and just tell Sioux to keep going forward. But, I couldn't resist, at the door, telling Sioux to "wait" as I opened it, made a big deal of peeking around to see if the coast was clear, and then telling her "OK" and allowing her to proceed. The biggest highlight of the day, though, was my almost ten year old "disobedient" dog basically frosting all the cookies of those young whippersnappers and finding all the "finds" every time she was in the ring. I never said anything to that trainer, but I burst with pride every time I look at my Sioux, who has always risen to every occasion and always been the most perfect dog ever for me. Just goes to show - never assume anything;-)