Dorothy Enjoys a Puzzle

Dorothy had her first home playdate yesterday.  It seemed like a typical toddler playdate to me, in that she didn’t love sharing her toys or her crate, she had an accident, and her older brother was quite disturbed by all the ruckus.

The evening began with a 30-minute training session with Dorothy’s trainer, Perry.  I find it very interesting to watch Dorothy interact with Perry, because the moment Perry walks in the door, Dorothy is all business.  (Well, after she gives Perry an uber-greeting and then attacks her knapsack for treats, that is.)  She gets in a down-stay and then immediately tries to figure out what Perry wants her to do.  You can practically see her thinking, and she clearly likes to do it too—she likes to puzzle things out and then get rewarded with a treat.  Perry will generally only have to show Dorothy how to do something once or twice, and then Dorothy gets it.  

Last night we worked on the stay command, with Dorothy staying while we walked around and even stepped over her.  Then Perry thought I might want to start working on the “off” command.  This one is a bit tricky for Dorothy, because so many people who come up to meet Dorothy on the street squat down and want her to jump up on them and kiss them.  So we figured we’d go with an “off “ command, so that I can use it if Dorothy is about to jump on someone who doesn’t want to kiss her.  Strange though that may be….

After thirty minutes, we then walked a few blocks to pick up Perry’s foster dog, Puzzle.  Puzzle is a 10-month old mix, who was found down south and thought to be blind.  Her blindness was only temporary though, and she has turned out to be a really nice little dog.  She is believed to be part cattle dog, part Jack Russell, and part beagle.  I would call her a small medium-size dog, or a large small-size dog.  She is looking for a home, if anyone wants her!  She’s great with kids and other animals, and having spent the last three months living with a professional trainer, she is very well-trained and quite low key.  She’s cream and blonde in color, with a lot of spots and freckles, and one cream-colored puzzle piece-shaped spot right in the middle of her back.

Puzzle was very good with Dorothy, who was really having her first one-on-one play situation since she left Maine.  Dorothy, I’m learning, is all about the jowls—which I’m told is a bulldog play trait.  Puzzle wasn’t quite sure she wanted to play with Dorothy at first, so Dorothy just relentlessly went after her jowls.  I guess Puzzle finally figured she could either play with Dorothy, or be torn to pieces by her, so she went with play. 

I tried to document the play, but they moved quickly!

And here the two of them are in an almost perfect down stay!

And here is Dorothy, completely exhausted, after Perry and Puzzle left.  She couldn't even make it to a bed or couch, but had to collapse in the hallway:

Dorothy is ready for another friend to come visit!