Backstage practice

Last night I took Laev along with Shakespeare to rehearsal. Shakespeare has only one scene during Act 2, and that’s the final scene, so it left plenty of time for me to fetch Laev from the car and expose her to some different environments. We did a little heeling in the lobby area (she was very distracted at first!), met some teens, did a little heeling in the house down the aisles (while Warbucks planned to adopt Annie, followed by song and dance — lovely distractions!) and then went backstage, where she was petted by costumed orphans.

It was great kid exposure, though they were a little closer and tighter than I would have liked; they’re very good about asking to pet the dog, as they must always ask before petting Shakespeare backstage, but I let many pet him at once, and it was hard to get them to slow down for Laev, who’s *not* used to being overrun with kids! Still, she did quite well, and when she got a little excited I just had her lie down and nibble at some dried lamb heart while they petted her back. (I don’t tell the kids what I’m feeding!)

Anyway, she was pretty distracted at first, so I kept the heeling in very short bursts, but I was overall happy with what she did. I have my eye on an obedience trial in February which is close to home and relatively small. It would make a great debut environment, but I want to make sure first that Laev understands she can heel *anywhere* and not just at home!