Friday, December 21, 2012

Zenzi's getting bolder, Dolce is getting more confident. :D

My new plan, now that Zenzi has had a couple weeks for all her puppy shots to kick in, is to take her to a "people" indoorsy place once a week, and an outdoorsy park place once a week for socializing.  Really, these are outings I would like to do anyway, so the fact that I'm socializing her simultaneously is just a bonus. :)

We went to the Irvine Regional Park, as I mentioned last week, for the second time this week.  This time, I brought Dolce along.  He is getting so much better about reacting to strange dogs, I figured in a remote place like the park, he couldn't have too much of an influence on Zenzi in a negative way.  This would be a good bonding experience.

I was right.

Dolce and Zenzi both had a blast.  However, the hydrant monster struck again, except this time, Dolce was its victim.  He gave the monster some "I mean business!" growls, gave it a wide birth, and half-circled up to it cautiously.  When he realized it was just a hydrant with a black trash bag taped over it, he literally hung his head in shame at his silliness.  He did do Paws Up, but declined a photo op. ;)

We hit the trail again, and the two dogs had such a glorious time exploring the sights, smells, and sounds of the nature at the park.  Zenzi remembered the horses, and showed no shyness approaching their fence.  Dolce didn't react to them either, surprisingly.  Livestock to be herded should not be so tall, or so he thought previously.

Onto some pix!

The Hydrant Monster

Ready to embark on our hike!
Zenzi fits into Dolce's old Walkeez harness.

Sniffing the scents...

Hitting the trail.

Lookout spot!

Isn't the park beautiful?

Obligatory sexy Dolce photo op.  Look at those muscles!

Tired, cuddly puppies after an hour of hiking. :)

And then today, we went to Pet Supply to get more cans for JoJo.  Zenzi was still trepidacious entering the little shop.  I'm not sure why, but it took much less enticing and much less time to convince her going in wasn't such a bad idea, so that was good.  She wasn't exactly eager to greet the staff, but did offer hand touches, sits, high-fives, and even tolerated some petting.  Something about cramped spaces makes her so much more uncomfortable for greeting.  We followed this visit up with a trip to PetSmart, where she was MUCH better.  She met two dogs and lots of friendly people.  She offered hand touches, was much quicker to permit petting, and required far fewer treats.  She likes the bigger space better.

All in all, both Zenzi and Dolce are doing much better, and they're both doing very well together.  I'm very pleased, and excited for our many years ahead. :)


1 comment:

  1. I do strongly believe taking an older stable dog along with a puppy is a good idea. They learn by following the lead of the more experienced dog.
    Smart move.

    ReplyDelete