This and that

I love this shot.  She was in the midst of her play when she noticed me shooting them. 

Good Monday morning.  We had our little Granddog here this weekend and boy has she grown.  Being a Bull Terrier she is growing very differently than my Standard Poodles did.  Standard Poodles grow to their full height and then beef up or fill in.  She is becoming a little tank; a small version of her future much larger self.  It had been about three weeks since she was here so I wondered if Elsa and her would just pick up where they left off or have to become reacquainted.  But as soon as they saw each other it was like she'd never left.  There was no feeling things out, they bounded around like long lost friends.  It is so cute watching dogs see their friends.

 When Penelope (Penny) comes to visit Elsa obsesses over her.  They don't have the time to lose the novelty of each other so it is very exciting and stays exciting for Elsa the whole time.  If it was up to Elsa, neither would sleep.  They would just spend the entire time that Penelope is visiting, playing.  She adores playing with her little puppy.  She is amazingly patient and has been a wonderful teacher for Penny.  She is teaching her about playing, using her mouth softly and not losing patience.  These are all essential tools in being a dog.

Elsa has an extremely soft mouth when playing with Penelope.

Luke does not like Penny; not that he hates her, he just wants nothing to do with her.  At 12.5 he has no desire to interact with the newcomer and her advances have received some very gruff feedback.  She of course is completely drawn to him.  After all he is a big scary male who is clearly the boss of the canine pack so she wants to get in with the guy at the top.  She has been a bit relentless in her attempts to become Luke's friend but we have done our best to distract her and keep her away from him.  It is very important that he understand that we will do this for him.  Although they must have some interactions so that he can also let her know how he feels.  But she is a determined little thing; very hard headed, literally and figuratively so there is much human intervention.

I love this shot too.  My daughter trying to get Penny's jacket on to show it to me and Penny trying to bite Elsa while Luke watches the whole thing.  She is a very chilly little thing and cries if she doesn't have her jacket on; when she's not playing that is. 

Elsa's never ending attempt to play.

Elsa enjoys chewing on Penelope's arm while Penelope chews on Elsa's toe.

Much of the tug time Penny just drops to the ground as Elsa drags her dead weight around.  A very typical terrier behavior.

The teasing worked, Penny is after the toy.

She's a cutie, with so much to learn.

Elsa and Penny spent most of Saturday just wrestling.  So Sunday we had some socializing to do.  First they went to a field to run around for some fun while Luke stayed home with Mom.  Then we visited the beach where there were lots of people and other dogs for Penny to meet.  She did great, she adores people and other dogs.  I cannot stress how important socializing is when a dog is very young.  The prime socializing period is before the age of 16 weeks.  Once that passes, you can do more most definitely but the socializing done before that period has much more effect on the dog.  Socializing is everything from meeting new people, dogs, places, different environments etc. etc.   Even walking on the sand or rocks is new to a puppy that has never seen them before.

Penelope learned how much fun sand can be yesterday.  She watched Elsa dig like a fool and did a bit herself.  She watched Elsa some more then joined Brad in a little dig session of her own.  Beaches are much more than just a great place to walk.  If you missed out on the peak socializing time you can always get more in.  I am still socializing Elsa at 1 1/2 years old.  There are things out there that she has yet to see and situations that we have not come across.  Out, out, out...........get out and let your dog experience life.  It will make them a much happier dog and well adjusted dog.