It's been a couple of months so everyone was really excited to see Sia. And she was very excited to see everyone else as well. When she first enters the group, she holds her body carriage low and keeps her ears down. She tries to be very unobtrusive and doesn't engage the other dogs right away. But it doesn't take long before she is done with her "I come in peace" routine and she is off and playing with everyone.
And, of course, she is always happy to see people and wants to get in real close. We're working hard on appropriate greetings. Nice, calm greetings are rewarded with lots of attention and praise. When she's jumping to greet, she's trying to get attention. But by removing the reward of the greeting, she doesn't get rewarded for the jumping behavior. Only when she is sitting and behaving calmly does she get rewarded with attention. It's amazing how one little touch can reinforce that jumping behavior so easily.
Sia plays really well with the other dogs. There is always a lot of give and take. Sometimes Sia has the toy and other times Sinbad has the toy. Neither gets anxious or over the top if the other one has the toy.
The intensity level remains pretty even. No one is getting too worked up.
Both dogs will still respond to me when I call them and they will stop if I ask.
Ok, I admit, I put this photo just because it made me laugh. She is such a stitch!
And here is where she becomes very brave and tries to engage my old girl, Healey, in play. Healey almost always prefers to be left alone and will let the puppies know so (pretty clear by the expression on her face).
It was a good try, Sia, but her play sessions with the pups are few and far between and now both you and Rosario are trying to appease her so she'll stop barking at you. Funny girl...
Really, Rosario is much more her speed and she is always happy to play with her.
Now time to rest...we have a lot more work ahead of us tomorrow.
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