Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined them chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the second day of the month is "Entertainment."
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On Friday afternoon, we met up with Humphrey and his person at the dog park.
Since Hannah was a grown dog when we got her, she's never been as much of a wiggle butt as Humphrey is. He never stands or sits still, so getting a good photo of him is impossible. In the meantime, do enjoy this blurry photo of him jumping with the sheer joy of the freedom that comes from the dog park.
To get this photo of Hannah, all I had to say was "Hannah stay" and she just stood there while I circled around her taking photos. Humphrey's person was perplexed. How did you get her to do that? Years of training and NOT being a puppy. LOL.
We had a discussion about whether or not Hannah should be allowed to go to the dog park after her biting incident at the dogsitter's house. Our vet suggested that the dog park is actually great for her because she'll never feel trapped - all she has to do is run away from anyone she thinks is threatening. I watch her super carefully and she lets everyone at the dog park pet her, even men, without ever acting stressed at all.
I'm starting to really believe that the biting thing would never have happened if we'd been there and it was a fluke. It's a fluke I am taking seriously, but I'm absolutely less freaked out about it than I was a month ago.
This isn't the best comparison shot because they're so far apart, but Humphrey officially weighs more than Hannah. He's eight months old and had to switch to the big dog flea and tick medicine. He's still growing!! And he's still pretty annoying to Hannah. It took about 10-15 minutes for her to stop snapping at him when he tried to jump on her. Humphrey is learning pretty quickly that not all dogs appreciate his enthusiasm for life.
Once again, I'm so thankful for our dog park. It's so big that we rarely actually interact with other dogs or other humans. Yay for a fun dog playdate!
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Have you ever had a puppy in your life? When do they stop being...crazy?
Look at Humphrey grow! Hannah is so awesome--I agree with you that the biting incident is a big fluke probably precipitated by being in a strange place without her family.
ReplyDeleteAnd as always, I'm in awe of your training skills. Huck is nine (and not a puppy) but would not be able to stay still like Hannah. Max is a month younger than Humphrey and definitely not out of puppy zoomies yet. He too likes to jump on everyone and we call him the KoolAid puppy, because he just bursts in on everyone.
Well, don't give me too much credit on Hannah! She's just a naturally chill dog and has never had even a fraction of Humphrey's energy. Getting her to stay in a stand has been a challenge, though, she is much better at staying in a sit or down. But we just keep plugging away at it and she knows what she's supposed to do, even if she doesn't always do it!
DeleteWe had Barkley from a puppy and honestly, I can't remember when he stopped being crazy. Maybe around age two? I have noticed that Rex is a lot calmer now that he's over two. Barkley was a puppy when my sons were 3 and 4, and so everything was pretty much crazy at that time.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who trained her dog to pose for the camera. She'd just say Alton, camera! and then the dog would stop and look at the camera. It was so funny. Barkley was the worst for posing for photos, it was nearly impossible to get a picture of him. Even if he'd stay he'd move his head right at the last second.
Ha! I should teach Hannah a camera command! I've actually just been combining two commands - "stand" and "stay" - but it would be easier if she knew that I was going to do something after I said the command. What a smart idea!
DeleteIt's very good that she's doing well at the park.
ReplyDeleteI am very relieved it doesn't seem like we have to stop going.
DeleteHa, I LOVE the jumping photo of Humphrey! I've never had a puppy so I have no words of wisdom here. But the dog park looks so, so fun- for you and the dogs. I'm glad Hannah is doing well there and you're feeling more comfortable taking her.
ReplyDeleteI love that photo too. Sheer puppy exhuberance!
DeleteEven the still shot of Humphrey looks like Potential Energy. He's SO much a puppy.
ReplyDeleteMy granddog Zydrunas is about 10, and he's just now settling down into his senior years. He retained a lot of Puppyness well into adulthood. Some dogs are just incredibly exuberant and have a continual Zest For Life. This, I realize, is not Good News for Hannah, who is already more sedate and decorous.
The dog park looks like a great place for them both.
Hannah was never a rambunctious dog. I don't know if her nature is just chill or if she's hurting a lot because of her injuries/illnesses, but she's never been as puppy-like as Humphrey. I don't mind at all!
DeleteThey are both just lovely looking dogs! I have to chuckle at Hannah being a bit less enthused about H's energy levels :)
ReplyDeleteShe's over puppies. Like, she's been there and done that and never wants to go back. LOL.
DeleteOur dog is eight and still runs silly at the park when he goes off lead. Other dog owners can't believe he's eight. He can also get really excited at home and do crazy laps. He is a golden retriever though and he is more settled than he was at 1-2 years old. At our park there is an almost one year old golden retriever who loves to jump around and lick Riley's face which he doesn't like but he just pulls his face back and runs away.
ReplyDeleteHannah does get the zoomies once in a while and it's so cute to see her just run around in circles like a crazy dog. But they don't last long. I sure hope she's still doing it when she's eight.
DeleteYay! I'm glad Hannah can still hang at the dog park. I, too, think that incident was likely a fluke.
ReplyDeleteThe only puppies I've had experience with are Chip and Lucy and they were SO very different as puppies. Chip was CRAZY. He did not stop moving or getting into trouble, and the only way to get him to settle down and take a nap was to put him in his crate. He just wouldn't sleep otherwise! Lucy was much more chill. She's still crazy at time, but nowhere near as much as Chip was and she would actually settle down and take naps out of her crate, lol.
I think puppies just have different temperaments. Hannah is so lazy that I imagine she was a laidback puppy. You just gotta roll with what you're given, I guess. But it also makes me super nervous to ever adopt a puppy - I'm so used to lazybones that I think puppy energy would exhaust me.
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