I gave Keisha a bath today.  She really needed one.  It’s funny, my Yellow Labrador Retriever really doesn’t like water, but my Siberian Husky doesn’t mind it too much.  I got the bathroom ready earlier, and when I came out to get Keisha, Sophie was standing in the hall by the kitchen with her front legs spread out bracing herself for the worst!  She relaxed once she knew she was safe from the tub. 

Keisha is getting heavy, and it’s getting harder for me to lift her into the tub now.  We have really deep soaker tubs, and they are too tall for her to jump into on her own.  This time when I lifted her, she spread her front paws out to try to stop me from putting her in the tub.  I mamaged to get her in there ok though, and she had a nice shower.  Hand held showers really come in handy!  She likes to put her front paws on my bath bench while she gets her shower.  She’s funny like that.  She didn’t do that this time though.  She actually just stood in the tub and let me wash her that way.  I guess she’s getting too tall to lean on the bath bench like she’s use to.

The funny thing about bathing a husky is that when they are wet they look a lot smaller, but when they shake the fur on their heads gts really fluffed up.  Then you are left with a husky with a really small body and a huge fluffy head!  It’s so funny! 

Anyway, after her bath I cut up some meat to use for treats and took her into the kitchen.  It only took me a very short time to teach her to close the drawer with her nose.  She’s very smart and learns things quickly.

I was stumped by what words to use for opening and closing doors and drawers.  I was thinking of using “push” and either “pull” or “tug”.  Then, as I was laying in bed last night, not able to get to sleep I thought about it some more.  I realized that I didn’t have to use the words that described the action she was doing, but could use words that described what happened when she did it.  So, I have decided to use “close” and “open”.  That way she will know now to stop until the drawer or door is completly open or closed.  I will say the word “push” for buttons and “pull” for helping pull my wheelchair up steep curbs. 

The problem is solved!  I guess insomnia helps sometimes after all!