Well, I've made the commitment! *L* It's hard for me to make commitments these days because I never know when I'll flare up with this joint disease. But I NEED to get out and DO things more, so after much consideration I decided we should do this.

We went to the first vocal rehearsal on Saturday. Khana wasn't needed there but I wanted her to go and just get acquainted with the people, the noise, the singing, etc. It wasn't on stage, just in a choral room at the same place the performances will be. Khana was SO excited to be there. She is a true "people dog" - she loves everyone and loves to be the center of attention. We went in and sat through the first couple of hours of practice and when there was a break, kids gathered around her and petted her, asking questions and just loving on her. She was on leash but I told her "go ahead" and she was out at the end of it, kids all around her, and she was in HEAVEN! *LOL* She would glance over at me and I'd smile at her, and she'd turn back to the kids, kissing any face that got close enough. The kids were thrilled with her and loved petting her furry back, playing with her curly tail, and Khana just basked in it all.

When the break was over, I called her back to me and she happily came back and laid down at my feet, just watching everyone. During every little break, kids would sneak over and pet her more. This is the most attention Khana has had since I've been sick! I had complete confidence in her, though - like I said, she LOVES people.

When the "orphans" were dismissed, I went out into the hallway with them and they played with her some more. She got to meet "Annie" and only Annie was allowed to give her treats (I want a definite bonding between them). There are something like 30 orphans in this group, so it's a LOT of kids! I had her do some of her tricks for them, and they thought she was wonderful.

So step one is completed - introduce Khana to everyone!

There are 10 weeks of rehearsals coming up, then nine performances. I read through the Annie libretto to find out what exactly was expected of her. I had been told that they would work around whatever we could do, but I'd never actually seen Annie so I wasn't sure what was typically done! I know, crazy to say "yes" to something before you know exactly what it is, but I know the woman who is setting this all up and she thought I was the best person to do this training, and I know my dog and my training abilities, so I wasn't really worried about it. Chris (the woman setting it all up) has taken her dog through my classes in the past, and knows me well. The request for a Sandy dog went out to the training groups, but I was the first to respond and Chris was happy to have me on board.

I went online and watched numerous video clips of Annie/Sandy performances. Even the ones with "real" trainers were fairly basic. Sandy has to come to Annie when called (in the script it says he crawls to her), has to stay with her while she sings "Tomorrow" (in almost every performance I saw, there was a leash on the dog that she held onto - the one performance where the dog was off-leash it left her and went off-stage ..*L* .. and Annie had treats with her for most of the performances), has to respond to her when she calls it away from the dog catcher (in the script, Sandy ignores her the first couple of calls and then comes on the last call, but in the performances the dogs came right away and most of the time the dog catcher was holding the leash until she called - oh, and in the script, Sandy runs to her and then jumps up and puts his front paws on her chest, but none of the dogs in the performances did that), and then in the finale, while the entire cast sings, Sandy is brought out in a big box - like a Christmas present - and the box is opened to show the special present.

SO - Khana doesn't know how to crawl, so we started working on that. I don't know if I can get the girl playing Annie to work with her enough to get all the signals down, but it would be darn cute if we could get Khana to crawl to her at first! I will design a short, fairly invisible leash to put on her so that Annie can keep her with her ... even if we build a good bond between them, expecting the dog to stay with her while she's singing an entire song is a lot to ask. In one performance I saw, she had the dog lay down and she kneeled beside him and petted him the entire time. That seemed to work well, but I don't know what the choreographer has in mind yet. So I think a short leash (maybe like a frayed rope, like the dog chewed through it - Sandy is supposed to be a stray) will be best. And getting Khana to ride in the box should be easy enough - I've had her ride in a wagon before. Oh - there is one point where Sandy is supposed to wander across the stage by himself. I'm pondering that. It's right after Annie is carried away, and if we could get her to drop something (a glove, or a scarf, handkerchief, whatever) then I could send Khana out to retrieve it. That would give her some focus. Either that, or I could put a piece of tape on the ground and have her go to the target (baiting it most of the time). What will be hard is trying to mimic the audience noises during rehearsals. It's one thing to do the behaviors when it's just the regular people, but you add an auditorium full of audience members and everything will be different.

So my dog training mind is spinning .. *L* .. this is the kind of thing I lived for, back when I was training. We didn't have many opportunities to do this kind of thing, though. Trick, one of my GSDs (the world's most perfect dog), did a commercial once. And my dogs and I did lots of performances over the years, at talent shows and at the local fair. In fact, we performed at the fair every year for maybe 8-10 years. But it was different from this, as I was WITH my dogs for every trick. This will be a fairly new challenge!

I'll take pictures along the way. Khana is not exactly a scruffy, Sandy-looking terrier-type mutt dog, but at least she's a reddish brown so the "Sandy" part will work! *LOL* She's actually a very beautiful dog, but it won't matter. In the performances I watched, there was everything from mixed breed terrier types to golden retrievers and labs and other light-colored dogs. The golden retriever was the one that left the stage during the song!

It will be fun. Exhausting too, I think, but just because I get tired too easily. I have a few health things to deal with (have dental work to get done, but have to go off of at least one of my meds first so I don't know how I will feel) but the director already knows this and understands. I hope to get that done soon and out of the way, and then I can concentrate on the musical.

I'll keep you all updated!

Melanie and the girls in Alaska
(for those of you who don't know, Khana is a Chow)

Congratulations! It sounds as if you are excited about this challenge. And your head is spinning but your mind is already working on how to do the training. lol

Treats by Annie only was a good place to start.

it will be good for Khana, too, getting so much attention from so many people.

Have fun and keep us posted.

Congrats, have fun!

Melanie,

Well I'm thrilled! Mostly, I want to you post updates during rehersals so we can enjoy your training and Khana's acting. It's clear that you have other, less pleasant things that also require your attention-but this is such a natural thing for you.

Anyway, it's a great story and I want to hear all of it (pictures from the ads would also be nice).

MJ

That's awesome. And I'm so happy to hear Khana was on Cloud 9 hanging out with all the kids. That will certainly make things a lot easier!

That is so awesome!!!!! We are going to HAVE to have pictures!!!!!

Melanie that is great.

Just a thought could you take some hair spray or gel and make some clumps of hair on the beautiful Khana? I am trying to think of things that would stick the hair together but not hurt her pretty coat. I don't think you would need much just some on the ends of the fur.

Sounds great - sounds like Khana has the perfect temperament for this. What a blast!

YAY!! I am so very excited and thrilled for you and Khana, Melanie! She will do wonderfully, and you will have stories about this to cherish forever.

Pictures? Pretty Pleeeeeeease??

How cool is that?! I can't wait to read all about your training and the experience. Khana is going to be a star!