Day 39---Fun at Play

Mr. Eiven wins first "spot" today. This little guy won Gavin's heart from day one. Back when he was just tiny and white it was because he wore an orange neck band. He was held gently so many times by Gavin that before his little eyes even opened he could sense when Gavin was near and would crawl to him. Eiven now recognizes Gavin by sight and the sound of his voice. Eiven is a dark liver boy with not as many spots as the others but I believe this little dog will always love children.

These puppies are a riot when I put different things in their play yard. I change toys and things in and out through the day so each thing brings great excitement. Here was some tunnel fun yesterday.

Sparrow thinks over might be more fun than through. Notice that she is balancing on the wobble board to do this trick. They have all become adept at balancing.

The ball pit was added for more riotous fun. 

They discovered that the smashed balls can be fun to chew on. The mother of the previous litter loved to steal the balls and chew them flat.

Bonnie decides perhaps she will just steal one and take it out of the pit. 

Rose thought that doing a back stroke in the balls might be fun. 

Findlay plays peek a boo with his siblings from behind the tunnel. 

We had company twice yesterday and the Kidz were admired and handled. I once again reminded folks not to pet or pick up a puppy unless they sat calmly for attention. It is very hard for people not to pick up a bouncing, squealing puppy that is demanding attention, but in the long run these pups will be better for it. They are learning self control at an early age. Here are three that want me to pet or pick them up as they wait patiently for that attention. Good Manding babies. 

I have discovered another thing since this litter arrived. Most of you that own Dalmatians know that they are notorious for jumping on guests as they arrive. Some folks have been better at training their dogs than others to stay down or they at least manage with barriers until the dogs settle. I must confess that I was never successful at teaching good greeting habits to my dogs. When my first puppy visitors arrived and my adult dogs behaved poorly, I decided that I had better get a handle on this. I didn't want to ban the dogs from the room because I wanted prospective puppy owners to meet the parents of the puppies and see what great dogs they are. My solution was to ask each visitor to totally ignore the big dogs, no pets, no talking to them and no eye contact. What a surprise to learn that the dogs all settled almost immediately. I watch the dogs and when I see that they are ready for some attention I allow people to interact with them. WOW, why didn't someone tell me this about twenty years ago?