I took Romeo to the other lake yesterday afternoon. This lake stays very shallow for quite a ways out so it is a wonderful playground for children and dogs. As I had hoped there were lots of children and a couple of dogs. One was a beautiful golden retriever, the other a black Portuguese Water Dog. The children came over to us and were entertained by and entertaining Romeo, now nine weeks old. Then the mothers and dogs came over. We exchanged names and pleasantries. To my surprise, the black Portie is named Lila, the same name as my last dog, also a Portie, also black. I’m glad they don’t live too near.
I’m introducing Romeo to as many new people and experiences as possible. I’ve read that it is good to have your puppy meet and be fondled by 100 people during weeks 8 to 12. Apparently this is a “fear period“ so it is helpful to expose him to as much as possible. He’s doing well with this, a little hesitant sometimes but then gets into it. We met the neighbors across the road this afternoon. They have a ten year old chocolate lab who played with and put up with Romeo’s puppiness. Talking about variety of possibilities, in the photo above, Romeo is enjoying a venison popsicle! It was impossible to get a photo where he kept his head still; he was enjoying himself so much on a very hot day.
Sometimes I think about painting! I would really like to but know how fast this time passes and how important it is to start off right. I am working on crate training so I can have some time to paint, but I must admit, I’m really enjoying spending all my time with Romeo. I did get to tai chi class last night but only stayed an hour. Maybe the whole class next week. And more. Maybe even studio time!