Rippa did a solid job as an event puppy. She wandered the grounds and checked in with Yishai and I, and then would camp out at my feet while I timed. And then go venturing forth, but then come back when it gets crowded and hectic (ie, race meetings and finishes). Yishai's appreciating that while she's tolerant of people poking at her, she's also reserved - she stays close, ignores stuff, and doesn't get herself into trouble. There was one incident with a strange dog that she got into and started tearing around the field with this poor dog on a leash wanting to charge after her. Cute, but poor other dog!
Yesterday was kinda funny in a couple ways - when we got there, there was a big social picnic in our spot we had reserved. I had both puppies on leashes while Yishai unloaded his truck. As per the plan with Daca, I carry around a lot of chicken to reinforce good behavior. The problem with this is that Rippa is very food protective - if I feed the two puppies together, I keep their bowl separate, and Rippa will actually leave her food to go try to take Daca's (so I loom over her and threaten bodily harm and she quits). She and Daca have gotten into some good brawls over food situations, but we're learning how to manage the dogs all together right now. Anyway, so I am sitting there with the puppies and this group of ladies asks me what kind of dogs I have. I proudly (knowing my puppies are adorable) say, "Australian Shepherds!" and not ten seconds later they tear into each other over chicken that has fallen out of my pocket. Nice breed, right? Four month old puppies going at it? I am trying to separate them by holding their leashes way out and someone asks if they're playing - this guy trots over to try to help me, but with Daca's fear of strangers I was like, "No no" and finally Yishai came and picked up his dog and we chilled again. They were back to playing. Yes, I, Kristin McNamara, provide excellent ambassadorship to the breed.
Other than that, it was a nice day. I let both puppies roam freely all day, and Daca got to learn that she can avoid strange dogs and people without incident and my friends came over to feed her chicken and she quickly let them pet her. It is such a heart breaker right now. Everyone who meets her says they can tell she's clearly friendly, but she just can't take the petting. She runs up to people and gets in their laps happily, but hands come out and it's all over. Oh well, she's better than she was. I'm gonna have to figure out how to work stuff out around strange dogs, too.
She really is going to make someone a wonderful dog. She is just really nice, very calm, very sweet. She's super biddable, whip smart, and is always asking where the party's at. I keep looking at her as the total objective of my breeding - take all the good in Fury and improve it and you have Daca - better coat coloration, cuter (although her muzzle's kinda short for the standard, it is also ADORABLE), all the drive, none of the sass, all the intelligence and spunk. And, as I said, I actually think she's underneath it all very friendly (which she was when she left here, too - which is precisely why I sent her to the home I did). She really wants to meet people, but I think she's afraid they'll grab her and not let go or something. It's really a weird thing going on for her. Hope she grows out of it, but all of my friends are on board with helping, and I even have a bunch of business acquaintances encouraging me to take her on rounds to their offices for socialization. I have to say, my network is amazing.
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