A Walk To The Park & Doggie Play Date

Tonight B's brother came over with his two daughters and his dog Howie for a BBQ.  Before eating

dinner, we took Athena and the two girls on a walk around the neighborhood and to the park.

Athena heeling at the cross walk with B and the girls

B's brother's daughters are in third and sixth grade and have grown up with dogs their whole lives.  Their mom also works at Athena's vet's office, so they are just a big family of dog lovers!  The girls play really well with Athena and we like when they come over so that Athena can have more socialization with children.  Since we are unsure of Athena's past, we don't really know what she has had experiences with such as children and other dogs.

Resting at the park

The girls love Athena and Athena loves the girls!

After the walk, the humans ate while Athena and Howie each spent some time in their separate crates.  Today was the second time that Athena and Howie played together.  Athena is an extremely high energy player and doesn't exactly match Howie's level of energy.  But, Howie was a good sport and let Athena know when she was annoying him with her persistence.  We can tell that Athena hasn't had much experience playing with other dogs because she doesn't yet know when to stop without us giving her some signals.  We appreciate B's brother bringing Howie over so that Athena can have some dog socialization with an owner and dog that we know and trust.  I didn't get any pictures of Athena and Howie playing because they were moving at the speed of light!  Next time I'll try to get pictures of them in action!

How do you help your dog to socialize with other dogs?

P.S.- I realize that I have yet to make an appearance in any of our photos.  I just happen to always be the one behind the camera!  Maybe I will make an appearance in tomorrow's post =)

-A