Trinity is growing so fast, she is turning into a dog before my eyes. She is becoming more confident and I am noticing less hesitancy in new situations and acclimating to new places much more quickly than before. She was never a chicken mind you, but when pups are young they are more cautious than bold, usually.
This week we walked the lake a bit. It's such a busy place with tons of folks walking, running, biking, and walking dogs it can easily be punishing instead of fun for a dog. I call it the pedestrian highway and for some dogs it can be a bit overwhelming. I went to the back side of the lake today so I could minimize the traffic factor. I find that when I am socializing a puppy they can get quickly overstimulated and shut down if there are too many variables at once. There was plenty to see and explore so it wasn't like it was boring or anything and because the passing cars were minimal she was able to notice all the other cool stuff going on.
The first adventure was a flock of about 100 Canada geese lounging on the lawn of an office building, milling about making a little noise and an ocassional flap of wings. Though she was interested in them she wasn't ballistic which I was thrilled about. She calmly and intently watched them for a few seconds, then went about her way. It took us a while to pass them (it was a large flock) so she had several opportunities to take a good long look at them. She didn't pull or jump or lunge, but she wasn't frightened either, just curious. We moved on and met another puppy that was a few weeks older and they had a nice little sniff and greet than was brief and pleasant. Then we listened and watched the children from the daycare center play on their outdoor playground. They were very loud and at a distance so it was a good unusual experience because she couldn't see them for a bit as we approached and they were making a lot of noise. She got to meet a 5 yr old girl who was fascinated but leary of her and so there was a lot of excited high voice hand flapping going on which Trinity dealt with very nicely. She sat and waited for the little one to calm down and then gave her a few polite licks. Many dogs don't know what to do with kids like this, the messages they send out are so conflicted it is hard for the dog to figure out what they are suppose to do. Many dogs think of this as an aversive experience and want to avoid children like this and who can blame them. I think if you can expose a puppy to lots of kids behaving lots of different ways and teach them to be calm (click for 4 on the floor, give a toy to the pup if they are mouthy) then they will grow to love children and tolerate and even enjoy all interactions with them no matter how bizarre.
Trinity is a natural with children based in no small part to my own kids and the kids she has been exposed to from birth to now.
We didn't get to visit with many people on this walk as most of them were in the middle of a workout. This is important exposure for any puppy but especially a Golden Retriever. Known for their social nature they think that every person they pass has the soul goal in life to pet them. It is important that a puppy learns that not everyone is there to pay attention to you and that walking by people without mugging them is a rewardable behavior. I alternate between clicking and treating for walking by people without soliciting attention and clicking for sitting calmly while people pass by. Plenty of people end up stopping to say hello which also works in our favor. This is an important skill to teach if we are going to spend any time in public. I love a friendly dog as much as the next person but a well mannered friendly dog that likes attention but doesn't demand it is so much more pleasant to be around. If you teach this from the beginning it will be much easier to maintain.
We walked the neighborhood a bit this week as well and I noticed that she is much more confident than she has been. The day we went we saw a million leaf bags on the sidewalks. This weekend is leaf pick up day and so all the neighbors have their bags lined up on the sidewalk. Rows and rows of fat towering paper bags full of leaves can be quite an intimidating sight to a small puppy but after a quick sniff she decided there was nothing to worry about. The fire hyrdant that spooked her on her first walk has become something to look forward to. This week she ran right to it and checked all around it to see if there might be a goodie there for her. Her tail is up and wagging, she is having a very good time in our neighborhood these days.
Our latest adventure was the feed store in Topsfield. This week we went to Essex County Co op to buy a gift for Bode for his 3rd birthday. Dogs are allowed in the feed store and it is an amazing place. They have a large selection of dog toys, treats, collars and beds as well as clothing, hardware, garden stuff and horse supplies. We roamed all over, selecting a nice new collar, some treats, chewies and a stuffed bear for Trinity's big brother Bode. She was a little weirded out by the automatic door at first, between seeing her own reflection and the motion of the door she had to stop and think about it for a minute but quickly decided this was a cool place to explore. The aisles are tight in the store as they pack alot of merchandise into a small area but she was very good about following me and not getting into trouble. I think she was a little nervous at first, not sure what this new place was all about but after seeing a few new people and realizing that the bully sticks were kept on the low shelf she quickly adapted and enjoyed her visit. We stayed about 30 minutes which seemed like just enough time for her to get used to all the sights, smells and sounds of this amazing new place.
Well, we are off to Maine for the weekend. Hoping to go on a hike or two and explore the stream again. It's been so warm we might even be able to get in a swim. We've had some fun wading in the stream and once she fell in at the lake and paddled around in her effort to keep up with the rest of the dogs but the more times we go the better swimmer she will become. The Fall in New England can't be beat, we are really enjoying the season this year. It's hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving....where does the time go ?
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