I‘ve wanted to reply to this thread for some time now and now it‘s finally about something I actually know so: Alina‘s being so gentle with her doggo because
A) she just got it
B) that‘s just her nature
But really, she just needs some training in a good dog obedience school and she‘ll handle it well. Being of a gentle and calm nature doesn‘t mean you can‘t have a dog that actually behaves. You don‘t have to become an Eteri to do so, you just need some basic rules and then it‘ll work. I‘ve got a dog, too and I‘d never consider handling him the way Eteri handles her student (not to say that she does it badly but just that it‘s not my way of working) and my dog‘s still well behaved. (most of the time. At least if there‘s no cat involved

) Eteri‘s very, very strict which isn‘t necessarily a bad thing but rather the right attitude if you want to raise aspiring champions. But I can‘t see Alina becoming this way, that’s just not her nature and I also don‘t believe she wants Masaru to become the next Olympic Champion in dog obedience.
But I agree, Alina‘s got some serious workload on her tiny shoulders already, Masaru could prove to be a real challenge. School, exams, figure skating, training, being an OGM, interviews, TV appearances, commercials, the rivalry against her teammate, her other pets and now a puppy she needs to train, too. That‘s... a bit much for a 16 year old. Honestly, how does she even manage all this without crumbling? I already feel overworked with my schoolwork and I‘m not an Olympic Champion in figure skating who needs to train half the day