Thankfully her test patient has patience
But before she grows up, Penny still has a lot to learn. This past Saturday Emily and I headed out with Penny with the goal of continuing her socialization training. Her meaning Penny – I think Emily’s pretty well socialized at this point 😉 Eko was quite content to stay home at watch the couch cushions for us.
“Stay out as long as possible. Just take her with you.”
Our first stop was lunch at a nearby dog-friendly patio
“Hmm, why don’t I see any dog treats on this menu?”
A restaurant patio presents a fun (and difficult!) challenge for socialization. There are people, there is food, there is constant commotion – to a puppy, all of these things are infinitely more interesting than you are.
Penny honing in on one of those distractions…
Another pup! Who was also fantastically uninterested in his people
Penny was desperate to say hello to the other puppy immediately, so this gave us the opportunity to help Penny practice restraint and patience. Only once the two pups settled down did we have an introduction. Penny of course was also desperate to wrestle, but she learned you can’t wrestle every dog every time.
But there are some dogs you can wrestle some of the time! Our next stop was a visit with another puppy pal, Bo. Â Bo and Penny hit it off and spent a good romp hitting into each other at full speed.
Clash of the (mini) Titans
Our final stop was a friend’s birthday party. Penny was a hit with the crowd and it was a great opportunity for her to meet new people. However, shortly after the introductions Penny’s battery finally wore down.
“Dad, I’m ready to go home”
Some training, some fun and a little social butterfly learning to spread her wings. Not too shabby for a Saturday afternoon. Penny’s not ready to fly quite yet, but we’ll get there!
