Mutt Strutt!

Kaline, Juno and I went to Mutt Strutt this morning, and we had a marvelous time! This is an annual event at Coyote Point, put on by Peninsula Humane Society (where I got Juno), and yet I had never been before this year. I took the website literally when it said 9-1pm, so I got to the park at 9:00. Way too early. The walk, it turned out, didn't start until 11:00!

Mutt Strutt base camp.

There were a ton of dogs and people all around. I had decided beforehand to take the dogs unvested, mostly for Kaline's sake. Juno couldn't care less, really, about socializing with dogs and people she doesn't know, but Kaline does. And at four months old, I want him to do a lot of socializing! Just not in his vest.

The pups in their super awesome Michigan bandannas. Lots of people think bright bandannas make Big Black Dogs look friendlier and more approachable.

Everyone, I think, follows a different vest protocol. Heck, I have different protocols for each of my dogs! For Kaline, I want the vest to mean that absolutely NO socializing happens with anyone but me (and Juno, naturally). For Juno, the vest means she has to be on her best behavior, but I definitely have let her say hi to people in her vest, and she's even eliminated in her vest (now a big no-no!).

Both dogs did amazing, and I was especially proud of Junebug. When I first got her as an eighteen-month-old, she would have had a massive meltdown at an event like this. (Now that she's good, I really wish I had some video of the crap she used to do when in the presence of other dogs.) Even today, when she's unvested she's not above saying something nasty to a dog she thinks is stepping out of line. So I was a little apprehensive about having her in the crowds where people would let their dogs run up toward her face.

She was a star all day. Not one cross word, not one incident of stink-eye. I think it really helps when she's in an environment of nearly all happy-go-lucky dogs, where everyone is just chill. Same thing happens at obedience trials, she's just cool as a cucumber because everyone else is too. Tons of other dogs were in Juno and Kaline's personal space, but not in an aggressive way, and they were completely fine with it. It was just a wonderful experience for all of us.

My rock star.

After we made a first circuit of the booths set up around the field, we hung out on these hay bales set up on one side. We met an adorable pit bull-mix named Kona who was wearing fabulous pink doggles. She's ten months old, and what a face! I was in heaven getting to see all these happy beautiful pit bulls everywhere. Had I the money, space and time, I would run out and rescue a pit bull yesterday. As you might have noticed, though, my hands are currently a tad full, what with the baby Doberman and all.

Kona!

There was a great disc dog demonstration and then a costume and tricks contest. Kaline's one major transgression during this portion of the day was continually trying to scarf down the plentiful goose poop. So gross. He kept looking at me, affronted, when I'd pry his little mouth open and remove the stuff. "But Mom, everyone else is doing it!" And they were, except for Juno. Evidently goose poop is a doggy delicacy.

Chilling in the grass, NOT eating goose turds.

But he was great with all the dogs passing by. He'd either remain in his down, or politely go and sniff noses. I freaking love his dog manners! Juno and Angel both had to learn such manners, over months (years!). And Kaline just knows. Love. There were tons of gorgeous dogs up for adoption, including what looked like a pint-size version of Juno and this striking black-and-white pit bull who rolled over for everyone who approached. "Rub my belly?"

Vinny, a pit mix who is currently available for adoption at PHS! This was how he greeted everyone.

A little before 11:00, our friends Amie and Matt, and their dogs, guide dog puppy-in-training Pilaf and little terrier mix Ozzy, arrived! They are still shooting their show, Growing Up Guide Pup, even though for now they can't actually put together the episodes. So today Juno, Kaline and I got to be filmed! It was pretty sweet.

The dogs did well on the walk, though Kaline continued his annoying new habit of pulling. It's not like he gets out ahead and yanks me around, but despite pop-and-release corrections he keeps a constant tension on the leash when we are out with dogs he finds exciting (like a ton of brand-new dogs). Which hurts, yuck. And it makes me worry more about his little thinly furred neck. Juno was fantastic, pacing along steadily right at my side and keeping Kaline between us. At one point her Michigan bandanna fell off, and when we went back to get it she picked it up ever so nicely when I asked her to. We made a couple Michigan friends, and I was overjoyed when Matt actually knew where Kaline's name came from!

The walk was absolutely gorgeous, tree-lined and curving along the Bay. We could see planes coming in super low to land at SFO, and there were all different views of the Bay. Matt got tons of great shots. Little Ozzy is even more of a social butterfly than Kaline, and people and dogs both are so drawn to his adorable little mug. Pilaf was just cool, doing everything she was supposed to. She and Ozzy together are so cute!

Amie with Pilaf and Ozzy!

My awesome girl after the long walk.

By the time we got back, Kaline was wiped. It was like at the street fair, he collapsed every time I stopped. Still, we went around the booths again, and met more people and dogs, and hung out more with Amie and Matt. And right at the end, we met a pair of mascots!

Some dogs, understandably, are frightened of mascots, because if you didn't know there was a person in there (and how should they know?), those things are kind of freaky. Kaline took one look and thought: An enormous stuffie! When one of the mascots held out a paw for Kaline to sniff, my little guy opened his mouth and went munchmunchmunch. Didn't get a squeak, but still seemed satisfied. The mascots were charmed (thank goodness). If possible, I'd definitely like to figure out a way to work on mascots some more, since when Kaline is 80+ pounds it won't be nearly as cute if he munches on a paw. But I'm very pleased that yet another weird thing (in dog terms) happened and Kaline showed no trepidation. I love his confidence!

Hopefully we can do more outings with Amie and Matt and their gang soon!

Kaline for the rest of the day, post-walk.

First trip to Costco!

The pups had a nice full day today. We had a long walk in the morning with Dad. Our first stop was Borrone's—if you're not familiar with it, it is a delicious cafe which is almost constantly packed. You can go by at 10 on a Saturday night and the place is hopping. It's very dog-friendly outside, so it's a great place to take the baby for socializing.

We practiced "under," Kaline's newest command, today. Basically, when I give him that cue I want him to lie quietly behind my legs. He did fairly well with it, much better than I did! Since he's a puppy, I always get nervous if I can't see his head. Most of the time when I couldn't see his head, it was because he had curled up completely and was using his flank as a pillow. Chill out, Mom.

Tons of different dogs went by, and Kaline either ignored them or was politely interested. Juno, of course, was crashed out under the table. Only one owner actually let his dog come up to Kaline, yay. We spotted another service dog, a Border Collie, several tables away, which was pretty cool. The dogs also got to meet a little boy, maybe five years old, who had very nice dog manners. Kaline quite liked him; Junebug suffered his attentions with good grace but when he left, she was not disappointed. She is a snobby girl sometimes, but it works to my advantage. Someday Kaline too will be a snobby boy. A little bit, anyway.

After breakfast at Borrone's, we walked all the way down to Fremont Park, then turned around and came home. I want to expose Kaline to downtown Menlo Park and Palo Alto as much as possible, so a bit of bustle is just normal for him. Soon, I want to take the pups on a San Francisco day! That'll be great fun but probably really tiring. Sometime in the next month or two.

When we came home, each dog got bathed. Kaline still is not a fan, but he's not catatonic about it or anything. Once he is tall enough to get in and out by himself, we're going to work on jumping into the tub a couple times a day so he gets cooler about it. He got adorable bath zoomies afterward. Both dogs smell awesome.

We also worked on Juno's reactions to Kaline. In addition to the removal when there's unnecessary barking, I'm starting to try rewarding Juno for not reacting with a bark or growl when Kaline passes her, or licks her face, or runs around, etc. This is going to be an ongoing thing, though everyone assures me they will be better friends once Kaline gets older.

In the late afternoon, we did some errands with Dad—Pet Food Express, the car wash, and the big finale, Costco! Kaline settled super nicely with Junebug while we were waiting at the car wash; I'm a huge fan, unsurprisingly, of the automatic settle.

Settled at the car wash.

He also did shockingly well at Costco. It can be a scary place for a small guy, with the huge carts rattling about, the forklifts, clattering dollies, crowds of people. I think it helped that Juno was on his left and I was on his right, so he was buffered. But his attention was fantastic, and he really didn't startle at anything. The most he did was show intense interest, but not so intense that he didn't immediately respond to the "watch" cue. Anytime I asked him to watch, even while walking, he immediately did. It was so awesome. He did just fine standing in line; his stand-stay may not be anywhere near Juno's yet, but he sure knows how to "wait" in a stand. Thank goodness.

After we'd checked out, we sat at a table to have hot dogs and pop. Juno went all the way under on her "hide" command and sacked out; Kaline got to practice "under" again. There was a lot of clattering going on again, but Kaline wasn't bothered, just wanted to look. Hurrah, the pups did great!

All the things, and Saturday Class No. 3

Thursday night, Juno was an absolute star. I had the worst lower-body fibro flareup that I've had in a long time, and it started in the middle of a University of Michigan alumni networking mixer. Once it started, I sat down, and that did nothing. To get up, I had to brace on Juno. To get up the stairs, she had to pull me slowly forward. Dad and I stopped briefly to get takeout Thai for dinner, and Junebug had to give me momentum pulling there too. My knees and calves were starting to burn like they were on fire.

We got home, and I stayed on the couch. When I tried to get up again, everything was a million times worse. Dad took Kaline out for his last potty break, and I took Juno, thank goodness. She took tiny, tiny steps to keep pace with me hobbling around. Going down the stairs, she went one at a time so she could support me. I basically crawled back up the stairs, because it was easier to have my knees taking the pressure than my feet. I was kind of wondering about my options for becoming upright when Juno helpfully popped out of the kitchen and braced wonderfully for me to get up. What a fabulous girl. It's days like those when I'm like, "Gawd, I want a BLD!" But those days don't happen that often, and a BLD is very expensive, so at least for now I'm holding off.

Friday we tired the crap out of wee Kaline with three pack walks, back to back to back. After that, he took a big ol' nap, then came to the tdoc appointment with us—in his adorable vest—and after a little bit of being antsy, went to sleep again. How glorious.

Naptime!

 However, by about 7:30 or so, Kaline was fully recharged, so we went on a very long walk (Juno stayed home to beg dinner off my parents). We went to downtown Menlo Park, and Kaline met a ton of people, including two little girls. The girls were all over him, hugging and petting, and I would have said something if Kaline looked uncomfortable (most dogs don't like to be hugged). These kids hugged him, both at once, and he just closed his eyes and leaned harder against them. He looked positively blissful.

Kaline also finally encountered the stone dogs outside this one downtown store. It took a while before he was completely convinced that they weren't real. First he stayed back, stretching out his long neck and sniffing energetically. Then he got a little closer, for more sniffing. He went all over both the stone dogs, sniffing and sniffing. Then, as a final test, he playbowed before them and did his very best to get them to play, even barking and running in little circles. It was pretty amusing.

I took him to the park at the end, and he ran around me in circles, like he was a horse on a lunge line. More hilarity. He slept very well once I brought him home.

This morning we had obedience class. After starting in the back seat, this is where Kaline ended up by the time we got to the park.

Kaline did really well at the beginning, and of course started to lose focus toward the end. Now that I think back, I could just see the gas gauge getting to zero during the remote sits and downs, usually one of his best things. At first he was doing it, and then all of a sudden, he'd go down and he was down. Head on the ground, eyes saying, "Do not ask me to get up again."

I'm staying right here.

We did a lot of heeling work, especially in close with the other dogs. We also did a ton of individual recalls, and even when I dropped the leash, Kaline didn't break once. And that's a tough thing for a baby, to have to hold a sit when he sees all the other dogs running to their handlers. We did a lot of meet and greets with variation with a lovely German Shepherd named Harley (Juno, inexplicably, cannot stand either Harley or his biological brother, Wheeler). Kaline did all right there too—broke one sit when he got greeted by Harley's handler—but he was losing it, so all the sudden recalls started to not be tons of fun for him. He was totally fine when I left him in a down with Harley's handler and went out of sight for a few minutes. Woohoo!

After class, we did our first two-service-dog outing, to Red Robin. I was so nervous. What if they gave me a huge access challenge over having two dogs in the restaurant? What if Kaline peed in the restaurant? What if he suddenly barked at Juno and she barked back? What if he refused to hold any kind of a stay and just made a pest of himself?

Kaline on the way to Red Robin ... I was just hoping he didn't totally recharge by the time we got there.

It ended up being completely fine. Both dogs were very professional. Kaline wore his head collar, so I'd have more control if he started to go for something on the floor. We brought his new mat, which is (I kid you not) made of memory foam and has a super soft blue outside. Juno and Kaline walked in together, and I set their mats up on either side of my chair. I got Kaline settled, with Juno waiting patiently, then gave her the "on your mat" command. Kaline immediately snuggled down in his mat (hey, who wouldn't snuggle into that thing?) and only got up once or twice. I rewarded him periodically for his lovely settle.

And I must say, the staff at Red Robin were fabulous. They didn't ask any intruding questions, or give us trouble about the two dogs. Our server grinned at the dogs but never talked to or touched them. She was so sweet: "Yep, I could tell the little guy is in training—the big one is just cool." They sat us in an area with few other people, so there was plenty of space to put the dogs and have them out of the way of anyone walking.

Needless to say, I was very proud of the kids! Took them to Petco after (unvested, of course) to get some treats and loving up. Yay, our first real Juno-and-Kaline outing was a success!

He's enormous

I took Kaline's 13-week photo yesterday, finally remembering that maybe I should take these things from the same angle every week. Check this out! A comparison of Kaline at 9 weeks and at 13 weeks:

He's so huge! Look at those crazy long legs.

He used to fit on one step.

Yesterday Kaline got his first little taste of crowd work. It wasn't intentional, but it ended up being a great beginner crowd for a pup. This pup anyway! Mom had this brilliant idea to go to a small gathering of food trucks over by Willows Market. The gathering itself ended up being disappointing: cramped, my favorite food truck wasn't there, the ones that were there were subpar, etc. But I was pleasantly surprised with Kaline!

There weren't that many people, but they were all packed in the long, narrow space between the trucks and the market. So it was kind of a baby crowd. Kaline handled it superbly. (I hated being in it, baby crowd or not. I hate crowds, and unfortunately Kaline is not big enough or trained enough to really help me in one.) But at least he was cool—if he hadn't been, we'd have had to hang on the periphery for more than one reason.

Kaline met a baby, and was great with her, super gentle. The way the dad introduced the two of them annoyed me a little, and reminded me of an article I read once, on the crazy crap people let their kids do to their dogs, and proudly say, “He'll let them do anything with him.” (And then eventually the dog has enough of it and bites someone. Here is a similar article.)

This man just plopped his child down in front of my puppy, who he'd never met before, without asking. (Luckily I was paying attention.) And then, when Kaline was licking the baby's face and she clearly didn't want him to, I redirected him and put him in a sit; yet the dad kept insisting the baby was fine with being slurped. She clearly liked having her hand kissed better than her face. Like many dog people, I don't get why people think it's acceptable either for dogs to invade children's space, or children to invade dogs' space, willy nilly.

Kaline also met a bunch of adult men who were very lovely to him and complimented his ears. (I have not yet met a person who thinks he'd look better cropped. Everyone says, “Oh, I'm so glad you left his ears alone!”) When we were in line for food, he just downed by my feet and dozed there, oblivious to all the big feet around him. At our table, he again lay down, with Juno this time, and calmly chilled under the table. Good puppy.

Juno and Kaline under the table.

Both dogs did well at training today, though Juno's down-stay-breaking continues. How can you get mad at her, though, when after she breaks she comes over and squeezes her head between your legs? She's so damn cute.

With Kaline, I worked on heeling and recalls, his two weaker areas, as well as attention, which he's good at. It was hot and we were doing recalls partially in the sun; after three pretty decent ones, he'd had it. Freddie could tell, and just told me to give him water and put him up. I really need to work on knowing when to work through something, and when to just stop for a bit, with Kaline. (With Juno, the answer is almost always “work through it,” because she's an experienced adult.) I always tell people, and now I have to take my own advice: You have to have different, and reasonable, expectations for young puppies.

Heeling went okay, and will definitely get easier as Kaline gets taller. Which he's doing at an alarming rate, of course. I have to make sure I don't turn into the puppy as we're halting, and try to get him to sit up with me, rather than rocking back into his sit (same problem as we have on the recalls).

His attention was excellent, especially for a baby as young as he is. At training, there are lots of distractions—dogs, both silent and annoyingly whiny/barky; grass; trees; leaves; the wind; sounds of kids playing on the playground nearby; multiple people with bait bags; the list goes on. But when we worked on sit and down stays, Kaline was pretty darn focused for a pup! I can go the length of the leash away from him when facing him; I can go in a complete circle around him, both directions; and I can stand behind him without him breaking his stay, either kind. Little smarty pants!

Juno and I did a lot of heeling work, along with Kristin and Ben. Juno is actually better at left about turns, which at least in my view require tougher footwork from the dog, than she is at regular about turns, where she always lags. She did well at transitions and at the moving stand. Remote sits and downs, with verbal and without, went pretty well too. One of Juno's favorite games, haha.

Both dogs got to have playtime in the sprinklers with Ben and Phi. Kaline is smitten with Phi and was chasing her all over the place. Juno just chased whoever was moving at that particular time. Both dogs also did really well in our abnormally crowded car—they were in the front, Juno on the seat and Kaline in the footspace, while on the backseat we had two poodle-mixes and a Golden, and in the backseat footspace we had Baxter. (Kaline had a grand play session with him in the afternoon; see video below.) I thought six dogs in the car would be utter chaos but we really didn't have any issues.

Terrifying thought of the day: Things like training really used to tire Kaline out, to the point where he'd need a couple-hour nap. Now he sleeps for maybe an hour, if you're lucky, and then he's raring to go again. He recovers way too fast! Thank goodness for bully sticks and pressed rawhide chews.

Asleep in the car.

Big brag on Juno, and Kaline's first street fair

Last night, Juno and I went with the parents and some neighbors to see The Intouchables, which was a fantastic movie. Juno's new BLD leash came, which I plan to use for outings where we're going to be sitting a lot. She has a rare talent for tangling herself in her 8x8 in such situations; the 8x8 is awesome though if we're going to be walking a lot, especially if I might have to carry something. The new leash is great, but Juno was even greater!

A little way into the movie, Mom dropped the bag of popcorn we'd been eating all over the floor—all over Juno. It was at least half a bag. Even before I whispered, "Leave it," Juno never even reached for a single piece. She slept the entire movie away with an enormous mound of popcorn just past her outstretched feet (she likes to sprawl, if the opportunity arises). I tried to take a photo after the movie was over; it didn't come out great, but you get the idea.

Today, we got up real early to do the Connoisseur's Market, the annual Menlo Park street fair. We went early for several reasons. It wasn't prohibitively hot, as it will be later in the day, brutal on pups in general but especially their feet. It also was not crowded, which it will be later. Juno is a pro at crowds, but obviously Kaline hasn't had a chance to become a pro yet. And, now that Kaline is thoroughly worn out, the rest of us get to have a relaxing afternoon. (He was a terror last night before he fell asleep. An absolute horror.)

Dad handled Juno while I handled Kaline, and he did so well! As I had expected, he got to meet a ton of new people, one of the biggest reasons I wanted him to go to the fair. After the first little bit, he also did really well matching his pace to mine, much slower than we are used to walking. He also had to ignore a lot of other dogs, both well-behaved and basically out of control.

(Tangent for the day: I cannot believe people come to street fairs with their dogs on Flexi-leads. You're going to be in a crowd, and you think that having your dog 26 feet away is a good idea? Also, Flexi-leads attached to prongs. Saw those everywhere. A Flexi, by its design, keeps constant tension on the dog, one of the reasons they teach dogs to pull. A prong collar is meant to have no tension on it unless you are giving a pop-and-release correction to the dog at a precise moment. Why would you ever use the two together?! End tangent.)

First we went to breakfast at a bagel place. Kaline was not really into lying down under the table; we compromised with a sit. He was super antsy to get going, at that point; he was ready for his walk! So as soon as we finished, we headed out into the fair.

Kaline at Bagel Street Cafe.

We stopped at a bunch of booths, and Kaline was very polite most of the time. Early on, he would whine if we stayed especially long, but after a while, he would just collapse in a puppy puddle to wait. He was definitely running on fumes by the end! He is asleep now and probably will remain so for a good long time, hehe.

He's out.

So's the big girl.

Kaline was definitely not overwhelmed by the atmosphere, though. Anytime I asked him to get up from his puddle, he immediately did and trotted by my side to our next destination, then plopped there. He only tried to chew on one person's tablecloth, and I quickly stopped him. Amazingly, he did not pee anywhere inside the fair. I wouldn't have blamed him if he had done (it's outside on a street, after all), but I'm very pleased he didn't! He was his usual super-social self, and no one could resist such a cute, well-behaved puppy.

Just try and resist this face.

Totally different subject: Kaline has been meeting a lot of cats in the past few days, and I'm pretty happy with the interactions. He is cautious but curious, and the cats have shown very plainly by their behavior that they don't find him threatening at all. Kaline shows no urge to chase them—he would just really like to smell one, please and thank you.

Big boy at training

Kaline is running with the big dogs! Or at least getting treated more like one. Yesterday at training, he got tethered like everyone else, instead of put in the playpen (from which he is quite adept at escaping). Unlike everyone else, he had a tire with a rope, and a stuffed lobster to play with. He also got to participate more actively than before. Instead of just coming out for the Kumbayayas, he worked on some loose-leash walking around four or five dogs in down stays, as well as recalls, and “meet and greets” with all the tethered dogs.

He did pretty well! Our new strategy for recalls is to call him in, then make a ninety-degree turn either left or right so he has to follow me and still come in straight. I have no issues getting him not to rock back when I do that, so we'll keep on.

Juno really improved on her down stays yesterday—she didn't break nearly as often as she has been doing, so hooray! She did an excellent job as usual with the jumping (26 inches). I was really happy with her. But later that night, when we went to My Fair Lady, she leaked on her mat. Very worrisome. This is the second time in recent history that she has leaked on her mat. It's not like an accident, because she was calmly lying down when it happened. She doesn't know it's happening.

So today we went to the vet. Junebug got her favorite vet, Dr. Ulla, and she took a urine sample to test to see what we've got. I'm hoping for an easily cleared up UTI, rather than early-onset incontinence. Dr. Ulla was so sad she didn't get to see Kaline, that after we got home, we just set out on a walk with him and went back to the vet's office so she could meet him. (Dr. Ulla has a black and tan Doberman named Anchor.) No one was in, so we just let Kaline gambol around the office in his adorably clumsy way. Everyone was commenting on his lovely temperament and obvious confidence. Whee.

Kaline also got to go on his first real pack walk today, with Juno, Gracie and Wilson. Four-dog packs are my most common, although that will change when Kaline becomes a regular. (Five is my limit, and will become most common.) Wilson and Kaline will just egg each other on in silliness, so I put Gracie between them. She is only a year or so old, about the same age as Wilson, but you'd never know it. She is such an old hand when it comes to dealing with other dogs who need to learn the ropes. She was a fantastic buffer between the boys and made everything go far more smoothly.

Kaline of course did fine. I don't think he's going to have an issue with pack walking in the mental/emotional sense—it doesn't faze him. I just don't know where in the pack I'll put him when I've got Jett too! Normally in packs the least-trained/experienced dog goes on the extreme inside, but since I started with Jett, that's been His Spot, regardless of who else is walking. Mostly because even though he knows what's expected of him now, he can still unintentionally leave huge swipes of drool-slime on passersby if the opportunity presents itself. If I put Kaline to Jett's right though, I have a feeling he'll get smushed. He may end up in the middle, next to my No. 1 Puppy Wrangler Max. That'll be fun.

I shall leave you with a most adorable sequence of photos. Yesterday after training, we all came home tired as usual. Juno flopped on her blue bed, and after a few minutes, Kaline's eyes lit up: Snuggle Opportunity!

So brazenly, he marched over to Juno and curled up in the curve of her body. Then he started scootching around, trying to find the exact perfect spot with the absolute largest area of his body in contact with hers. Would it be better with his head over her neck, or against her shoulder? It was hilarious. Juno grumbled the whole time, naturally, then quieted once she realized he had no interest in chewing on her feet.

Most adorable picture ever, methinks!!

Last bit of news: I finally know Kaline's registered name! It's my first choice—Gatehouse As Time Goes By! Woohoo!

Fourth of July and aftermath

Kaline and Juno had a pretty fun day! We got invited, along with my parents, to the house of a family friend for a 4th of July party. They just redid their backyard and it looks so pretty! They've got a little mix named Joey who is about Kaline's current size, so Kaline was really excited to play with him. Joey, unfortunately for the pup, has a pretty one-track mind when there's food around, so Kaline was not high on his priority list! Nonetheless, Kaline had a good time following Joey around.

Kaline under one of the stools. Enjoy it while it lasts, buddy!

Juno hopes for a bite of hot dog.

Pretty backyard.

Kaline and Juno's paws.

Kaline fell asleep, as he is wont to do.

Oh the cuteness.

Kaline hanging out with Joey, the 4-year-old, and her grandparents.

Raaawwwrr, chase me!

Kaline and our lovely hostess.

Kaline and his new buddy.

Good puppy.

The noble, regal, dignified Doberman.

Joey.

Kaline and Joey playing.

Pooped puppy!

There was a low table with a bunch of food on it, and Kaline and Joey were around that a lot, but Kaline never really offered to beg or (worse) take any of the food. Good puppy! He did drink out of a plastic water cup that was on the ground, but can you blame him? There were two bunches of balloons as well, and it was a little windy—Kaline was a little curious, definitely not afraid. He seemed surprised that he would get treats for being around the balloons, but certainly wasn't going to refuse!

Black dogs by the balloons.

Juno was fantastic. She shadowed me the entire time, lying down whenever I stopped for a bit. She did her usual share of begging with her big, sad brown eyes, but that was it. She only begs from people she knows, anyway. At one point she was asleep next to my left foot, and Kaline was asleep between my feet. Too cute.

Juno supervises the playtime.

Juno and Kaline napping during lunch.

In addition to Joey, Kaline got to meet several tall men, a four-year-old girl, and a bunch more women. Hurrah. He did great with everyone, and everybody wanted to fawn over him. At the end he even played a little fetch with the four-year-old.

Later that night, we went out for a walk, during which we could hear firework booms. Neither Juno nor Kaline reacted at all. I taped the Boston Pops fireworks show for Kaline, to use as desensitization, but he slept through it. On our walk, we met many new friends, got charged (again) by the local Pekes, and met a carful of beautiful Greyhounds. Kaline is doing so awesome with meeting new people and dogs!

Today he's been kind of naughty. Lots of mouthiness, ignoring his own toys to go bite hands/electric blankets/power cords, pestering the crap out of Juno, etc. I took him on an evening walk with Juno, during which he peed and pooped, and then when we came home he promptly peed in the big blue bed. Twice. Sigh. At least we got three decent (not pudding) poops out of him today! TMI, I know.

Send back that puppy. He peed in my bed, you took it apart, and LOOK HOW SAD I AM.

But he was really good when we took him to lunch at a local burger place, just slept under the table. And he was very good about his couple of stints in the big crate. We're basically scrapping the little crate, even though he still fits. He will willingly go in his big crate, and he doesn't cry in there like he's being tortured.

We had a training session out in the common area (grass, leaves, cement, etc.) Kaline did pretty well. We worked on his sit and down stays, watch, come, a little heeling, sit-down-stand, and not being mouthy. I started teaching him to lie on his side as well. He's finally getting touch! I even moved my hand from directly in front of his face to either side, and he still got it. Yay.

Kaline's post-meal cottage cheese face, before he licked it off.