Socialization

Kong, king of doggy toys (though it has to be said it looks like a sex toy as well!)

So far the nights just keep getting better and better with Rupert so we're definitely making improvements on that side of things - there is still the issue of sorting out leaving him on his own in the daytime, which is something I intend to start doing tomorrow properly, but it's all slowly slowly catchy monkey for the time being.

In the morning Rupert and I spend a good deal of time in the garden, primarily this is to do with lots of playing but I also want to do some more weeding out the back, so whilst Rupert is merrily occupying himself I get on with plucking all the weeds out of the soil. To be honest it's a miracle anything is growing in there since the soil is as hard as concrete at the moment. Rupert lends an hand (or paw) by chewing the weeds that I'm removing and removing bits of bark from the flower beds, which of cause I'm eternally grateful for ;)

The afternoon is set aside for socialising, so I take Rupert to the vet where we pick up a list of puppy training classes. Then we head off to the local pet superstore where they allow you to take your pets in - so we have a look at the fish and guinea pigs and also get a puppy Kong toy and some squirty stuff to put in it which I think will keep Rupert occupied for many an hour. I also get a harness as I might try him with that rather than a lead. Rupert gets plenty of attention in the store by the people working there, and also 2 ladies and a baby who came into the store on purpose as they'd seen me go in there with Rupert and they couldn't make out if he was a rabbit or a cat :) We then go over to my gym and he gets introduced to everyone and there were lots of volunteers prepared to look after him which he enjoyed. When we finally get home the next door neighbours have some young children over and so I pass Rupert over the fence so he can be introduced to them as well. He was a little more nervous of them but was generally ok.

So I'd say on the socialisation side of things we're getting there, along with travelling in the car.

In the evening I go to the gym again and Phil is left in charge with Rupert who apparently had a mad 30 minutes or so of acting like a lunatic after Phil introduced him to the watering can, and he'd also left me a nice present on the path when I got home, which is good news since it means he's not adverse to having a poo on any old surface, but hopefully not carpet :)

We did have one accident today, but that was my fault. I went upstairs for a pee and Rupert decided to follow suit on the doormat in the hallway. Nevermind, it can be easily cleaned up.

Oh, for anyone who's not managed to post a comment to my blog of late this is because I'm being spammed like a biatch at the moment and have had to set a limit on the number of comments submitted on a daily basis. If you've got sommat you'd like to say in the meantime please do drop us a line via email.

Posted by Abi on the June 28, 2006 9:38 PM