Excitement

Sometimes Memphis gets pretty excited playing with Jacques or trying to get Rossi to play. The other day, she dropped a tennis ball at Rossi's feet, and barked at him, expecting him to pick it up and play. She has a long way to go to understand cats.

Although she's friendly with the cats, they get her excited. Feeding time for the cats also gets her excited, and she would love nothing more than to barge into that party. She sometimes barks at the cats to try to get them to play and it's a challenge then to turn her attention to something else.

We give Memphis periodic time in the library, which is gated, and also occasional sessions in her crate. The crate is a good time out for her. She doesn't see the cats and typically, she quickly goes to sleep. While I've been off work, I've also been leaving her alone in the library for periods of different lengths to get her used to the idea that she'll have to spend some time alone - which she will have to do when I go back to work.

Although we're making some progress with training sessions, it is very difficult for Memphis to focus when she gets excited. Also, sometimes she loses interest in training treats, so I think I have to up the ante to a treat she's willing to work for under most conditions.