Monday, November 5, 2012

Play Date with Jenny

Marley and I recently had a play date with her friend Jenny. We had a great time!  Jenny enjoyed going to the park.  I was able to experience handling two dogs.

Jenny was excited and a bit nervous to ride in my car without her dad. There was some slight whining and panting, overall she was great.

Bob was not happy to see Jenny at all, he fluffed up to twice his size and stalked the dogs.

I quickly discovered it was not easy to walk with two dogs sniffing around my feet.  Leashes quickly wrapped around my legs.  It was interesting to note that when I asked Marley to go potty, both dogs went potty at the same time.

In the car, Marley has her blanket on the front seat and she is content to ride there; however, while Jenny was riding in the back she had to join her.  It was simply adorable and if I had not been driving I would have taken photos of both dogs sitting on the seat looking forward.  There was no whining or panting or jumping around in the back seat. They looked like two civilized ladies being driven to the spa. I was so impressed.

Marley was very excited to have a friend join her at the park.  She played more in one hour than she has in the last month.  She initiated play with Jenny and other dogs.  It was interesting to note that after a few minutes of playing Jenny would stop and come check in with me.

In addition to walking two dogs on leashes, managing both dogs at the park was complicated.  Marley and Jenny love to meet new dogs at the gate.  I've been working with Marley to recall her when new dogs are going to walk in; however, I had no expectations Jenny would respond to my recall.  This meant I had to make sure to retrieve her at the gate before any dogs tried to enter the park.  It was a bit tiresome and Marley took full advantage of me having to retrieve Jenny to be a bit naughty.

I was very surprised at Marley's reaction when we dropped Jenny off at home.  Marley whined while looking out the window and when she realized we were not going to go back for Jenny, she threw herself on the seat with a giant sigh. She was not a happy camper.

I expected some resistance from Marley at having another dog at home and in the car in addition to having to share my time, I was very surprised at her happiness at having another dog around.

I suppose this might mean Marley is ready for a canine sibling.