8:46am
Socializing a puppy
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I know people have conflicting opinions about dog parks. Some people thing they are the greatest thing since sliced bread, others think they are an accident waiting to happen.
Yesterday was the first time I was able to take my 4-month old puppy Phoebeto the dog park. Her older "brother" Atlas is a seasoned veteran of this dogpark, and we both love it there.
Phoebe normally gets worried and whines in the car, and I'm sure this time she was surprised at Atlas whining in anticipation of the dogpark. Atlas has been somewhat confined since we got Phoebe, so he was delighted to see his old playground.
Even better, although it was about 35 degrees and 8 inches of snow on the ground, there were lots of people and dogs there! Atlas couldn't wait to get inside. Phoebe was a little hesitant, and with good reason. She's been playing with Atlas for the past 3 months, but virtually no other dogs.
Phoebe came into the dogpark and was immediately nervous when a Weimaraner and another larger dog came to sniff her. She tucked her tail and tried to run, which of course made the dogs chase after her. Eeek! She wasn't sure this was such a fun spot. The other owners called their dogs off, and Phoebe began to learn about the give and take of the dogpark.
Within about 15 minutes, my scared little puppy was prancing around like Macho Pup 3. I could see the twinkle in her eyes as she explored new territory. She checked in with Atlas and me occassionally, to make sure everything was OK, and then she was off again to explore!
In about an hour Phoebe was no longer running away from curious dogs. She had developed some confidence and it was a beautiful sight to see. She was dancing and playing in the snow, stopping to eat it, and then up and running again. She had met 3 Golden retrievers, a weimeraner, several labrador retrievers, two greyhounds, and many large All-American mixes.
All in all, a wonderful way to start socializing a puppy.
