Adventures in Dogwalking: Puppy Love

In case you're wondering, the dog wasn't called Puppy Love. As a stray dog, she didn't have a name yet, but she was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo adorable and sweet (all those extra 'o's are well warranted), and even though she wasn't a puppy anymore she was still very young and very excitable.

The first thing she did when I met her was lick my hand all over. It was instant love; consider her my new favorite dog at the SPCA! Since she was a stray, we were confined to the back pens again; I actually like being back there, as on the regular trail some of the dogs get really distracted with all the other dogs there, and it's difficult to divert their attention when that's the case. With Sweetie (again, not her name but making 'click click' noises with your tongue only gets their attention so many times, and after I started calling her Sweetie she responded more consistently) she was very food motivated, which is great because that meant she was all the more willing to learn! We worked on 'sit,' 'down,' and 'paw,' all of which she did very well. After I gave her the treats, she would nuzzle her entire muzzle into the palm of my hand and give me all these kisses. Then she'd roll over one her back and let me rub her chest and belly: it's the ultimate sign of submission. Yes!

In the pen next to us there was another walker who also had a German Shepherd dog out. Hers was obviously an adult, and male. When they first came out, my dog reacted a little bit fearfully and barked and growled at them. I pulled her away and walked her in a big circle around the pen, getting closer and closer to the pen. Eventually, she just sat down and looked at the other dog, whining once in a while but not barking or lunging. After she calmed down, we walked both dogs to the fence so they could meet and sniff each other and it appears they took an instant liking to each other! They kept licking each others' noses, and following each other up and down the fence, and when I led Sweetie away from the fence to the opposite side, the other dog whined and barked after us, and tried to paw the fence that was keeping them apart. It was so...CUTE!

After being out for a hour it was time for her to go back into her kennel. I actually think she was quite tuckered out by the end; whenever I would stop for even a second she would plop down on her bum and just sit there. She's not up for adoption yet, but when she is she'll probably be scooped up quickly...just look at her face! :)