we made it

Shhhh… don’t tell Spike - Adia got to go to Grandma’s house yesterday to have a visit with her uncle Graham. We’d gone to town for a PetSmart practice (more about that later) and since we were in the neighborhood dropped in to see Graham.

As soon as we got into the house I did a bit of ‘puppy proofing’ - so many things that a waggy tail could knock over! She sniffed and sniffed and then settled down at my feet for a relax. We stayed in the kitchen so she didn’t spread her hair onto any furniture - next time I’ll bring her mat so she has something familiar to lie on.

Now onto PetSmart… I suppose I wasn’t in the greatest mood and also didn’t have a clear plan in my head, so it wasn’t great. Note to self: have a plan. I found myself comparing her to Spike back in the day. He was much easier to train, or so I seem to remember. I forget how much effort it was to get him to not react to other dogs, so I’m not being fair. The old adage of ‘train the dog in front of you’ stands true (bashing myself over the head with this). 

I think one of the differences between them is that Adia’s puppy life was more sheltered than Spike’s. He’d seen many different places by the time he was Adia’s age. She’s not had that advantage, so everything new is something to be sniffed and explored, and is so much more interesting than I am. I guess I’ve answered my own question on how to move forward - work on getting attention, but also expose her, and let her explore, more environments. Socialize.

Adia might be a more curious dog than Spike, perhaps because of her upbringing, or maybe it’s just her nature. Goodness knows, her nose is into everything!

I didn’t get out on my snowshoes yesterday, even though it was a beautiful day. We were out for much of the day (excuse 1), and my arm was super sore (excuse 2). I was expecting a little soreness after my vaccination, but gosh! I was a gimp.

I spent much of my day staring out the window waiting for the storm to start. Would school be cancelled or would the storm hold off long enough for safe travel? The storm did hold off and school was not cancelled… the roads going into the city were good. Coming home not so much, but Carm took his time and got us home safely. A big sigh of ‘we made it’ escaped my lips when we turned into the laneway.

“The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration. ”

~Pearl S. Buck