Elli has discovered the age old parenting trick of providing lots of activity for your children so as to wear them out, thereby getting an early and solid night of sleep. We now know how important this is with puppies. So, about midday, Elli and I decided to take Rudy for a walk. We intended to only go as far as the Will Scarlet cul de sac and turn around. However, at the end of the cul de sac is a wooded path down a hill to a small area between Queen's Lake and Princess Pond. Walking up the hill on the other side brings you out on Little John. We took Rudy off leash down by the pond and explored around for a few minutes. When we got back up to Little John, we re-leashed him, knowing there would probably be other dogs and people around. Sure enough, we met Krypto, an eight year old Jack Russel, and his owner, Carol Walch. Turns out, Carol's son used to own our house. A few yards later we met Henry, an older Golden Retriever. Didn't catch the owner's name. At both meetings, Rudy was polite and respectful to the older dogs. He sniffed and then lay down, wagging his tail and waiting to be invited to play. Neither dog had that much interest, but Rudy was so friendly and cute. We came home and Rudy gulped down some water and went to sleep!
I didn't intend for this to be a puppy blog. I like how a puppy provides a good rhythm to the day. He must be taken outside, exercised and loved. He forces interaction with others--neighbors, strangers, everybody. A puppy doesn't discriminate. It's a good reminder that these are things we ALL need.
