Today we still got up and went for our short walk in the park, getting there about 5:30 am. I was tempted to stay home, since I was wonderfully sore this morning, but knew the walk would help loosen me up. I could tell when I got up more precisely what hurt. Wow.
Reilly was awake and quietly waiting for me.
At the park, he was pulling on his leash for the first time, trying to keep up with Murphy. I had to constantly correct him. I tried moving the lead from harness to collar, but when it was on the collar, he just wanted to eat it, and that didn't get us anywhere. We ended up having Murphy go further ahead, but that's a temporary respite. Reilly needs to learn rather quickly not to pull, so I need to do a bit of research on proper methods to discourage that. It won't wait for puppy school.
We got home and fed the livestock. Reilly so much prefers visiting the sheep to the poultry. It makes me wonder what he's thinking in his little immature puppy brain. Does he prefer the sheep because they are mammals? Quieter? Smell more interesting? Because he can get up close to them? It'd be fun to know, but I guess I never will.
All the dogs went back to sleep after breakfast...rice, eggs and broth for the big guys, and a carrot to keep Reilly happy. He doesn't need the extra protein. Shortly after noon, I needed to go to a friend's house, about an hour north, and Reilly went with me. Ricky and Carolyn have a sheep farm, lots of free-range poultry including species I don't have, and other dogs. We visit back and forth a lot, and it would be good to have Reilly comfortable there.
When I got there, the first thing I did was pour water into a collapsible bowl for him, which he was happy to have. Then we headed down to the sheep barns. We hadn't gone ten feet before Reilly started telling me that it was HOT, and he wanted the AIR CONDITIONING!! Yes it was hot. I was pouring sweat. But it wasn't going to kill either of us to be out for fifteen minutes. At least, that's what I told him. He didn't believe me. We continued on, as I particularly wanted Reilly to meet Sugar, the Border Collie that is half pet and half working dog. Such a sweet dog. Part way to her, the livestock guard dogs (Great Pyrenees) spotted Reilly and barked the alarm. Reilly froze. He looked. He said he wanted to go back the car. I told him I would protect him from those dogs, but we were going on. He didn't like it. It was HOT and there were dogs telling him he was in their territory. But he came when told to, and walked with me to meet Sugar. Sugar, he liked. He would have loved to have jumped on her like he does Murphy. But she wasn't as happy to meet him. Oh, she was the perfect lady, but she'd had a litter of pups in the spring. She knew exactly what puppies were all about, and she was having none of it. She did not want responsibility for another one! She hid behind her people and tried to figure out how to greet me without getting near Reilly, while he watched her attentively, my hand holding his harness. Finally, she came to say hi and sniffed noses with Reilly. He wasn't allowed to greet her roughly, and he did well. After a few minutes, we decided that was enough and headed back to my car. I poured him fresh water, which he drank, and then he proceeded to lie down on the collapsible water bowl, and try to get inside it. "MOM!!! it's HOT!" Yes, it was hot. Not hot enough for that, silly puppy. But I poured some on him anyway, just in case, and cranked up the car so the a/c could cool it back down. And in a few minutes, I got him back inside on his bed. My friends laughed at me for cooling the car down for him, but it was for both of us. The level of prednisone I'm on makes me sweat so much I felt like I was melting. It was in my eyes so I was having trouble seeing, and I was breathing rivulets of sweat, which is not fun. So me getting into a pre-cooled car was better, too!
They unloaded the tapestry loom I was dropping off, and Reilly and I headed home. When we got there, and I unloaded "Sir Reilly The HOT Puppy", he decided it was playtime, and started running around like a crazy pup. In the same heat he had told me was going to kill him. I don't get it. Maybe he was just glad to come home! And he kept going when we finally came inside, too!
I did take him to the wading pool today. I put his front feet in, then his back feet. He wasn't impressed. He wasn't upset either, he just walked back out and went on with the sniffing he had been doing before I so rudely interrupted him.
Things I noticed in particular today:
He knows where the carrots come from. Today, even if Reilly had been fast asleep, if I opened the fridge, I could look down into soulful eyes. No jumping around or active begging, just hope. Twice I told him to sit, he did, and I rewarded him with the carrot. The rest of the time he got our "empty hands" signal we use with The Boys. Showing them open, spread hands, front and back. They know that means I don't have anything for them. That's one signal he'll need to learn.
He can no longer walk through the railing on the carport. His head goes through, and his shoulders will go through, one at the time. But his hips will not go through. He figured all that out, too. But instead of pitching a fit about being stuck, he immediately backed out of the railing! Good boy! Then he had to think of another way to get to my side. He sat and stared at me for a minute. Then I walked down to the end and stuck my head around. He stared for another ten seconds, then leapt into the air and ran to me, all happy.
And not a single accident in the house all day. It was a good day.
Meg and Reilly
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