Friday 3 February 2012
Beards, hats and high vis jackets!
For anyone reading this looking for a simple way to diet, lose weight and tone up at the same time, the first few weeks of puppy ownership seem to have it all covered. Molly’s playtime demands and supervision are a more than full time job, I have discovered cooking anything more complicated than a bit of pasta and I risk missing a wee stop in the house and cracking her last bit of toilet training. Carrying a 5.2kg puppy around for her to meet beards and hats beats any weight exercises at the gym and gone are my pop to the shops on a whim for a bit of chocolate – leaving Miss Molly home alone is a carefully planned operation all about timing – wees, poos, food and playtime all need to be covered first with military timing.
However my black and white fur ball has been so much fun this last week and I am very pleased to say life is getting a little easier. The wheelie bin has made it out on the right day, the milk is now stored in its rightful place and my brain has rejoined my body following some very good nights' sleep courtesy of Molly sleeping right through the night.
Her socialisation tick list is looking pretty packed now and she has done brilliantly taking new things in her stride. Yesterday she met a fabulous beard / hat / glasses combo sported by a lovely gentleman we met in the Wood Green shop - he got a Molly face lick and her tail never stopped wagging. People wearing high vis jackets have been delivering cheesy treats to Molly and now she squirms with excitement when she spots one in the distance. She has had her first few playtimes with well mannered and fully vaccinated dogs, although very unsure at first, with encouragement she has grown in confidence and worn herself out playing chase with them. Watching her hang onto the end of Kermit the frog while Reef the Australian Shepherd pulled at the other end was fabulous and made me realise how much another dog tires a new puppy out and teaches them manners so lots of doggy playtimes are getting booked in.
Meeting children is the one part of her socialisation that I need to get right more than any other. For Molly to become an education dog with the Hands On team, meeting new children has got to be something she enjoys a lot. My aim is to build up her time with children slowly, she’s not yet ready to meet a big class of thirty children as she could get overwhelmed so two keen volunteers Emily and William came to visit her and start her confidence building with small people. She loved playtime with them and zooming round the garden at top speed, so - so far so good.
An unexpected part of her socialisation this week was meeting a microphone and headphones as she took part in her very first radio interview with BBC Radio Cambridgeshire discussing dog training. Molly is now proof you can’t start dog training too early – in fact she has mastered her sit and down and is close to getting her roll over and stand. Channeling her clever brain to learn new things has been great in the cold evenings and a fun distraction for her – plus it means I still have a music collection to listen to – her chomping of my CDs has finally come to an end after a lot of perseverance….
So next week we are both counting down the days until she is fully covered by her vaccinations and can enjoy her first walk with paws on the ground outside. She also has a steady stream of visitors booked in to meet her and I am on a mission to establish a good relationship between her and my two cats as all has not gone as smoothly as I would have liked so far, hence I am now armed with some great tips and a lot of cheese - find out if all goes to plan next week!
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