Puppy!

[Squeaksmyalias]

Only one or two at your dog parks? It must be a paradise!!

Well, I didn't want to scare the new puppy parents...I actually avoid dog parks near me. Too many issues that I don't want to deal with, I go to different social nights at dog bakeries and places like that. More controlled socialization, my dog was never socialized until she was close to a year, so its easier to remove her for a minute if she starts to get nervous or there is a problem owner or dog. Also my dog needs human socialization too so having a many understanding owners attending is helpful. Both places are owned by people who don't allow problem dogs to stay, the owner gets educated on the first warning but after they ask you to leave if you don't try to control your dog. There was an issue with a lady who let her little dog run free to greet dogs face to face, mark things and let her kids run free to feed strange dogs without permission. She didn't even get a warning before being booted. I'm sure you can see why I like going to both places.

[BookstoreEscapee]

and no dog parks for now.

The dog area at the park near my work has signs that the dogs have to be at least 12 weeks and have all their shots, anyway. (Not that there's really anyone there to enforce it, as far as I can tell.) Sometimes I walk over there just to see the dogs. If I'm lucky someone is coming out who lets me pet them. There are two areas there, one for big dogs and one for little dogs (25 pounds is the cutoff).

[Squeaksmyalias]

The dog area at the park near my work has signs that the dogs have to be at least 12 weeks and have all their shots, anyway. (Not that there's really anyone there to enforce it, as far as I can tell.)

That's why I'm not really a fan of dog parks, with people not understanding their dog is aggressive or bring sick dogs in. We had an issue with someone taking their dog in with kennel cough. Luckily word spread fast enough, and only two dogs came down with it before it spread more. I was very worried since my neighbor's dog was in the group who played one on one with the dog who had it could have caught it and spread it to my dog. (The neighbor's dog is my dog's boyfriend, they give each other kisses at the fence. ) Another concern for me since at the time I was pet sitting and would see up to 20 or more dogs a day many who had gone to that park, I didn't want to transfer anything between homes.

Socialization is a wonderful thing, but some people don't understand how to do it properly or safely.

I hope I don't worry anybody by saying that, just make sure to have your dog up to date on shots and if you find a dog who is aggressive, or who isn't doggy savvy (too pushy, or greets in an aggressive way due to not knowing any better) or might be sick remove your own dog from the situation.

[Ellain]

Ceileighe has learned her name, and what "sit" means. We don't get to work on "come" very often, because she's usually right by you. She is working on "down" and "off" as well. We've gone somewhere every day, and met new people. New animals are harder to find, since I don't trust people to keep them up to date on shots and socialize them properly.

She loves to chew, of course. Unfortunately, the myriad of chew toys we have for her hold no appeal whatsoever. She likes the furniture. It must taste good!

She tries to play with the cats. Most of them just jump up on the table to get away, but Rowan will play with her. Unfortunately, this morning she got excited chasing him, fell and twisted her leg. She limped for a bit, but seems to have recovered. We're watching her really closely.

She has also decided that dog food is not worthy of being eaten. We have 4 different, high quality brands, including one the breeder gave us. Nope, she'd rather eat her own poop. She now gets raw meat, and scarfs it down like nobody's business. I've started cutting it into chunks and giving them to her singly to keep her from eating too fast.

Look up joseph bonnette (my hubby) on facebook for more pictures