4H still projects judging day! Calvin turned in 9 projects in the areas of sewing, photography, natural resources, kits, paper crafts, poetry, and art. He received all A ratings and 6 honors distinctions, which are eligible for best in show awards, but we won't find out those results until we get back from camping at the end of the week.
Gimli is a smart, high-energy, working dog mix. Like many working dogs if he doesn't have a task or a job for at least part of the day he can become bored, which can lead to becoming destructive. To keep him busy we train several times a day, walk several times a day, and we give him several brain puzzles. We gave up feeding him in regular bowls when he was only a few months old, partly because he ate too fast, and partly because if he was kept busy by a meal for a while, he wouldn't be bugging us for more, more, and yet more play and attention! That first month we picked up just a few slow feeders, so bowls with obstacles they have to eat the food around. We also started feeding him in covered cupcake tins, the food hidden beneath re-usable cupcake wrappers, and we starting picking up a puzzle or two every month for variety. Some are harder than others and require multiple steps to open compartments to get at the food, but this was the first puzzle we used that simply confounded him. He knew where the food was, but he couldn't get drawers open, even though we hadn't get engaged the locking mechanism and were using it on the simplest, unlocked setting.
It turns out to be not his fault—he simply can't quite get his tongue, or his toe, in the drawer handles, they are too narrow.
You can see he is less than amused.
365_2019, Gimli, dog training, pets 
