RONA'S FIRST TRIP TO THE BEACH

I have to warn anyone that wants to apply for Rona to reconsider if you hate alot of attention.   Rona is a people magnet.  After daycare yesterday I took her to the beach and just about every person we went near commented on how pretty her eyes are, inquired how old she is and asked what breed.  My standard answer is "your guess is as good as anyones" and then I wait to see what they come up with.   So far the guesses have been crossed with husky, puggle, shepherd and a few others.   She is 41 pounds so she's a  really great medium sized dog.  She has a bit of creasing (almost a wrinkle) around her face and a shorter nose and then you toss in the blue eyes and wow, it's so hard to know what breeds took part in this beauty.

When we first got to the beach she was tentative about the new setting.  She did alot of sniffing around and when other dogs approached she gave them her hind end for sniffing and growled just a little bit if they were too intrusive.   If a dog was rude about checking out her face I stepped between Rona and them and they would move on.  She soon learned that meeting dogs at the beach was okay, they meant no harm, and most importantly that I 'had her back'.  


....just not sure whether to like it or not



For the first 15 minutes she looked a little nervous and stunned by it all.

As we moved down the beach and met more dogs and dipped a couple of paws in the water she noticeably relaxed.  Her tail went up, her ears relaxed and she started to look like a dog enjoying the beach.  She even started to play with another dog who was fetching a ball from the water.   She is great at playing with dogs at daycare, but new dogs out in public is a whole other scenario for some dogs.  It can take a while to see that meeting on the street or at the beach is okay.  



"I thought you said this was fun"



Rona figures it out and looks happy at the beach.

I have been using an extendable leash with her to help her get a bit of distance from me for on-leash peeing and used it at the beach for a little freedom too.   If she were startled by anything I can't guarantee that she wouldn't bolt so I keep her safe on a long leash.   We have been using a martingale because she had previously learned how to back out of a flat collar as well as a harness.  Her attempts to slip a collar in certain situations is lessening so I will probably go back to a regular collar or harness soon.   She walks pretty well on the leash and is checking in with me alot more.

It was pretty funny when we were walking back we got stopped by a group of people who were oohing and awing over Rona and as we were walking away the lady was yelling down the beach at her friend to check out Rona before we got too far away.  It was like we had created quite the stir by having her at the beach.  Like walking a Superstar!   She only comes second to the attention that Whitespot used to get.

All in all the beach was a great experience for Rona.  It's always important to end any activity on a positive note and at the end of our walk we met a very nosy border collie.  The owner could not call him away from Rona and her tail ended up tucking and she was quite bothered by this dog.  I ended up picking her up and walking away.  The dog still persisted in following and circling me. The owner couldn't catch his collar or chase him away from us and he told me that the more we tried to stop him the more of a game it would become.   I stood still with Rona in my arms until he finally was able to move his dog on.  I wouldn't ask for that situation to happen but it was good for Rona to see I would protect her by any means, even if I look like the weirdo at the beach carrying the 41 pound dog like she's a tiny thing.  

Truck update:   After a good walk at the beach, Rona was lifted into the truck and she curled up and seemed quite relaxed.   By the time we got home there was less drool than I'd seen yet and no peeing enroute.  This morning there seemed to be less drool too and she had a full pee in the morning so no issues there either.  She ran up to daycare with tail wagging and greated the staff quite happily. 

After the beach yesterday Rona slept the evening away.  Only getting up to eat her dinner and for the last walk of the night.  Once back at home from our short evening walk she drank some water and took herself upstairs to bed.  She didn't care whether I was going or not, she knew that's where she wanted to be.  I've only had a few dogs that would go to bed on their own.  Mitsy who I fostered a long time ago had her own bed time and Rona's the same.  Like they have an internal clock.  11:00 to bed and for 3 mornings in row Rona has been awake at 6:45ish.  

p.s. I can't wait for the day that Rona will surprise me and jump into the truck on her own.  I can see it happening soon and I'm gonna be super happy for her.