So, guess what we found out today? Rascal's "official" name is actually Sir Rapscallion, and he's registered with the AKC! I got his pedigree and his dam and sire's pedigrees, too. Also have the breeder's name, but a Google search turned up nothing on her... Hmm, suspicious... anyway.
In preparation for probably moving to an apartment building in the middle of a city, Rascal and I have been practicing our "city manners." Today we went to a new outdoor-ish shopping center where we sat down and had some lunch near a fountain in a fairly crowded area and walked around practicing "sit," "down," and "stay" at various places. We even met a few people who gave Rascal treats and - despite my warning them not to - PETTED him. Gasp! He was super and seemed to really enjoy the attention!!! Good boy!!!!!!
We then drove a little closer to home and practiced walking around a duck pond (since there's a nice duck pond near the apartment complex) and paying attention to voice commands even when there are exciting ducks nearby. Rascal was super!!! He only once attempted to chase a duck, and then came back to sit in front of me when I called his name. We still need some practice, but he was great.
Then, since the duck pond is next to a fenced-in daycare center, we practiced ignoring screaming, playing children and listening to commands in their presence. Again, he was super! Couldn't have cared less. The kicker was when a little kid came walking by outside the fence with her mother. (Rascal does NOT like little kids, for unknown reasons.) I pulled him off the sidewalk a little bit when he started to fixate on the kid, asked him to pay attention to me, and then asked for a "sit" and a "down/stay." He was awesome! Ever so slightly distracted, but mostly focused on me. Good doggy!!!!
Anyway, now we're super tired and are going to go take a nap. :) Just wanted to share our adventures!!!!