A lack of planning on our part (failing to schedule a dog sitter in advance) turned into an opportunity for us to bring Daisy along on our trip to DC.
Both of the couples we visited have friendly dogs and were very happy to have Daisy come play with their pups. Lucky us!
Daisy is great with other dogs. She's instantly at ease and smiling. I figure it's easier for her to communicate with creatures who speak her language.
At our first stop, Daisy was thrilled to hang out with the more mature Malachi, who showed her the ropes. Daisy warmed up quickly, even to our friends' 14 month old daughter, who is easy-going, smart and good around dogs. Daisy didn't really know what to make of this pint-sized person at first, but after a few sniffs, she was happy.
She even braved the 'scary' stairs in our other friends' place - the stairs have no vertical back, just horizontal steps that even their outgoing dog won't try. She walked up like it was no big deal! Matt and I were high-fiving for joy!
And our walks by the waterfront in DC went really well, too. Ollie, the lab mix, loves squirrels, so Daisy would walk past all the squirrels to scare them off before Ollie had a chance to chase them down.
In turn, Ollie showed Daisy that cars passing and doors closing are nothing to worry about. Glad she seemed to start getting the message.
Daisy still hasn't gotten a chance to get in the water, but she seemed interested yet not possessed by the idea of jumping in. We hope to take her to the lake this summer.
Daisy did much better in the car as well, jumping in and out more confidently.
We could still use more practice with:
- doors closing
- obedience on demand, in new places, around other people
- comfort with people walking and talking (even other languages)
- coming when called even when distracted
- standing our ground when Daisy rebells (when we go out a door and she freezes)
- trust and confidence outside
Overall, this trip was great. Great friends, great dogs, great times. Thanks, DC!
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