long sault

Adia’s day did not end with a bouncy blue squeaky toy… oh no… another adventure was in her future.

For years we camped at Woodlands for the annual dog show but after our trip to Alberta in 2013 we fell out of the habit. Today though, without camper, we loaded Adia into the car and drove to the park to spend a few hours.

It was the perfect socialization outing. She was very nervous at first but we were able to stand off to the side until she relaxed a bit. Slowly moving into the thick of things she saw lots of dogs and people. People are her favorite - a very strong reward for enduring the dogs. As the minutes went by she relaxed more and more, getting curious about what was going on around her.

We talked to a lady with two standard poodle puppies about raw feeding - we have her phone number for some tips. It’s a good thing that there was no for sale sign around the female’s neck or we might have brought her home. We talked with two Rhodesian breeders who knew Tina and commented on how nice her dogs always are. They loved Adia’s sweet face and friendly greeting.

We stood for a while in the shade of a giant tree, Adia lying in the cool grass, happy to be a spectator. Later we had a pogo so Adia got to lie in the shade of a picnic table. So many new experiences! We left on a good note and plan to attend the dog show next weekend to cement her positive experience.

She’s crashed out now (after being thoroughly sniffed over by Spike).

Meanwhile, poor Spike was at home alone… he’s a challenge with other dogs himself and I didn’t want to deal with uncertain two dogs. Three weeks till camping though - that will surely lift his spirits.

“There is a master way with words which is not learned but is instead developed: a deaf man develops exceptional vision, a blind man exceptional hearing, a silent man, when given a piece of paper...”

~Criss Jami