Daycare

We decided that Hawk really needed some other puppies his age to play with.  He meets adult dogs all the time and it takes him a while to warm up to these guys who hover so far above his head.  He is a rough player, but the big guys he plays with take a lot, so it was important for him to be around some other little ones to help him with his bite inhibition by using more effective body language; he could care less when we "yipe," and he might actually bite us harder when we do this!  

Because I work at The Dog Den doggy daycare and training center, there are puppies to play with every day, and a team of great playgroup leaders who supervise their every move, so I registered Hawk for his first daycare experience.  He met a puppy named Sully on the way in, and they became BFFs.  I only left him there a short time, but I heard the reports from my coworkers that he VERY much enjoyed the kiddie pool outside and made a leap right into it.  They said he likes to bounce toward other puppies when he is playing, and apparently he did demonstrate his Sit skill and recalling to his name, although he did do some impolite behavior of trying to hump his friends.  Dogs have such odd body language sometimes!  He tried that move once on Monte at home, and Monte firmly let him know that was not going to happen a second time, and it was a lesson that stuck with Hawk.  He does not generalize very well though.  He seemed pretty active when I picked him up, but as soon as he hit the car, he was out like a light.  We had a very quiet afternoon as his sleepiness persisted.  God bless The Dog Den!

He starts his first official group class in a couple weeks, and we are keeping all fingers and toes crossed that he is understanding the principles of potty training by then.  He is proving to be a real challenge on this concept.  He is going in for a checkup with our vet and it will include a urinalysis to make sure we are not battling a UTI--although at least we could deal with that.