Post-Fourth

I have to say my puppy is the best puppy ever.  He was a trooper on the Fourth.  A solid morning of meeting strangers and being so polite, and then an evening of strange sights and loud noises and he did so well.  When Murdocks came over for the evening, Pippin once again jumped all over Corinna and she took refuge on the couch under the cushions.  The way we got past that is by having her take him through his four training exercises.  The one where he touches your hand gently to get a treat was particularly great for her.  He calmed down and was gentle, and she got to reward him for behaving appropriately.  Pip eventually curled up on her lap and napped a little.  A bit later, Rachel and Sasha came over and he was a good boy with them, too.

Then is was time to see how our little guy would handle fireworks.  We went out to the front lawn and started setting off our own in the driveway.  He was just fine with the brightness and even the noise for a long time.   Eventually, though, he started whining a little and when the big ones started going off across the highway at the nearby park, he just wouldn't settle.  We weren't close enough for the noise to be an issue.  I think he was just tired and had had enough of strange things happening.  I took him in to his kennel and he curled right up and laid down.  All in all- way to go, Pip!